The Sea Bee King died, and the swarm, having lost its guiding brain, began to scurry about chaotically under the sea.
The random surging of over a hundred thousand Sea Wasps stirred up waves on the surface, creating huge rolling billows.
"Bang—Crack—"
Xue Jing looked up, the Shadow Flame burning in his pupils. Even underwater, his vision was unobstructed.
He could clearly see the underside of the 'Infinite Nova' riddled with countless dents and several holes. In the midst of the Sea Bee Swarm's erratic collisions, the ship's body was shaking violently, with new breaches occasionally appearing.
Seawater poured in through the holes, and the ship was slowly and continuously sinking.
However, compared to the previous constant battering, now, without the Bee King's command, most of the swarm instinctively kept away from the ship after colliding with it.
"Such damage should be salvageable."
Having assessed the damage to the underside of the ship, Xue Jing planned to surface and board the vessel.
However, several hundred huge figures were swiftly swimming towards his position.
"Hmm? These Soldier Bees..." seaʀᴄh thё novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Xue Jing's gaze shifted.
With the Sea Bee King dead, had the Soldier Bees not become headless flies like the ordinary Sea Wasps but instead targeted him?
A revenge instinct?
Xue Jing gripped the Crouching Rabbit Sword in his hand.
Compared to the ordinary Sea Wasps, the Soldier Bees looked different.
Not only were they huge, larger than an adult human male, but two of their six legs also took the form of sharp blades rather than the webbed shape of regular Sea Wasps.
The exoskeleton on their heads was larger and more fearsome, and the sting on their tails had countless barbs—it was clear that a sting would tear both skin and flesh away.
"Fsssh—"
Underwater, only the sound of the flowing currents could be heard when a Soldier Bee charged at Xue Jing, moving so fast it seemed to be flying rather than swimming.
The high-speed motion reduced the pressure around it, emitting countless white bubbles, forming a turbulent white line.
Maintaining a state of Twin Speed, Xue Jing kicked off with both feet, dodging the Soldier Bee's stab and swiping his sword at the weak joint between the bee's head and thorax as he shot past.
"Gurgle—"
Whether it was due to the resistance of the water or the Soldier Bee's tough body, the slash failed to kill the bee and only sent it flying like it had been hit with a stick, tossed more than ten meters away.
Seeing this, Xue Jing had a thought.
"Can't fight under water... better get up there."
To kill the Sea Bee King, he had dived nearly sixty meters down.
Now, as he tried to surface, the Soldier Bees wouldn't allow it.
Numerous giant figures agitated white bubbles, continuously charging at him one after another.
Xue Jing was forced to dodge and block. He couldn't tell if the Soldier Bees were doing it intentionally or not, but each attack forced him to dodge to the sides or forwards and backwards, making him move further away from the surface.
"This isn't working..."
A Martial Artist using Power required the coordination of breathing skills.
Although Xue Jing possessed swimming skills and was as agile as a fish underwater, his body structure was still human; he had no fish gills and couldn't absorb oxygen from the water. Therefore, he could hardly use Power or execute deadly moves while submerged.
The reason he was able to use 'Black Heaven Blade·Whirlwind Thunder' earlier was that he had taken a breath beyond human limits before diving, filling his lungs with a vast amount of oxygen.
With that slash having been executed, his supply of oxygen in his lungs was now low and was barely enough to support the consumption of one more deadly move.
Having only one move left was clearly insufficient to eliminate hundreds of Soldier Bees, and afterwards, he would face the predicament of asphyxiation without oxygen.
"Gulp gulp—"
Raising his sword to block an impact from a Soldier Bee's horns, Xue Jing flew backwards, but a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind mid-flight.
"This might work..."
He oriented himself, adjusted his position, and made sure his head was directly beneath the sea surface.
Then, bending his legs, he utilized all of the remaining oxygen in his lungs as it traveled through his alveoli into his bloodstream, surging to the rest of his body and mobilizing all his Power.
Spiral indentations emerged from the base of his thigh, winding down toward the sole of his foot.
Like wringing out a towel, all the indentation lines converged at a point in the Yongquan Point on his sole, resembling a drill bit.
Xue Jing's legs stomped down fiercely.
"Boom!"
Water exploded, sending a loud sound echoing even underwater.
Like bouncing off two highly elastic springs, Xue Jing shot up towards the surface like an arrow.
The fierce force parted the water beneath his feet, creating two vacuum spirals resembling rocket exhaust.
The speed of that Whirlwind Thunder foot stomp was too fast for the Soldier Bees to interfere; they could only watch as he shot towards the surface, following in his wake and trailing his bubbles.
"Pfft!"
Xue Jing leapt out of the water, still ascending several meters before landing. When he fell, he stepped on a randomly scurrying ordinary Sea Wasp atop the sea, used it as leverage for a kick, and jumped onto the cruiser's deck.
By then, his wine-red suit was soaked and torn. He simply tore it off with a rip.
Like a divinity's exquisite sculpture, his perfect upper body emerged into the open air.
"Plop plop plop plop—"
Countless splashes erupted from the sea, and one after another, the huge Soldier Bees leapt from the water, continuing their assault on Xue Jing on the deck.
On their backs, nearly four meters of transparent wings unfolded, buzzing with a deep hum as they vibrated.
These Sea Soldier Bees could actually fly.
Xue Jing took a deep breath of oxygen, with such violent turbulence that it even caused light to warp around his body.