Chapter 123

Chapter 123 Kreee...krrr...krrrrrr...

Scattered across the sand, Pablo’s remains began to pull together. The blood and flesh formed a profane magic array as a vessel for his liege.

He was the chosen apostle of the Outer God, bestowed with its flesh, blood, and bones. He was a being that was no longer human, and it made for the finest tribute. It was very useful for the entity, as the body could be used as a temporary vessel for its power to create an avatar.

The blood spilled on Atlantis City’s District 3 shores was a mere fragment of its aura, but it made thousands of people hold their breaths as its power unfolded.

They froze in place, eyes rolling back and frothing at the mouth as they trembled, limbs twitching.

“—————”

Those who had a certain level of power didn’t lose themselves, but they still didn’t have control over their bodies.

Jack Russell and Gordon Haywood were no exception.

Only one person resisted the force.

“Ugh—ah.” Leonard barely managed to move and raised his hands to cover Frances’s ears. Thanks to his shield, she was still cognizant. Her eyes widened.

Raaaaaah——!!

And then, Leonard used more than half of his mana to let loose the Azure Dragon’s Roar.

He couldn’t control his output at the moment, so his lungs and eardrums partially ruptured, making him throw up blood. It wasn’t simply a loud noise, it was a bellow meant to chase away evil spirits. Since Leonard’s martial arts were more aligned with Daoism than Buddhism, it was the roar of the Azure Dragon instead of the roar of a lion.

“Guh?! Oh, he broke the Outer God’s control!”

“You are a boy of many talents. You saved us.”

Russell and Gordon, who were standing near him, were the first ones to break out of it.

“Ack! My eardrums are gonna burst! Wait, huh? I can move!”

“Is it because of that roar just now? Well, whatever. We have to get out of here, now!”

“Isn’t it daytime? Why is it night?! What the hell happened?!”

The people standing next to Leonard and the ones who were skilled began to regain control of their bodies and shout.

Their reaction wasn’t surprising. The power radiating from the Outer God was potent enough that it even made Masters lose control over their bodies for a brief moment. The mental shock was enough to make them feel panicked or desolate. They weren’t wrong. They had to get out, fast.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

However, the members of Moby Dick who were hidden among the crowd were already worshippers blessed by the power of the Outer God and were undergoing transformation.

Just as Pablo had when he became a four-meter-tall giant.

Every one of them was a powerful fighter in the upper region of the External Force Tier, and they were free from the Outer God’s binding force, so they were astoundingly powerful.

“Δ?ξα τω Θε?!”

“Δ?ξα τω Θε?!”

“Δ?ξα τω Θε?!”

Chanting in an alien language, Moby Dick’s crew transformed into monsters covered in scales and attacked indiscriminately.

They seemed to retain their mana capacity even after transforming, and the Auras radiating from their hands and weapons were extremely sharp. Tens of people were ripped into pieces, and District 3’s shoreline became a slaughterhouse filled with a fishy stench of blood.

“We’ll have to fight them.”

“Dammit. What kind of bullshit is this? It’s the middle of the day!”

“Let’s go over there! If we stick with the Chief Elder and Councilor Gordon while we fight, it’ll be safer!”

“Don’t fight those Moby Dick fuckers one-on-one! They’re fucking strong!”

If there was one thing to be grateful about, it was that many explorers lived in District 3, and there was a significant number of powerful fighters. As soon as they realized that the transformed members of Moby Dick were overwhelmingly strong, people gathered with those around them, split into groups based on their level of skill and their roles in battle, and fought alongside each other.

“■■■■■■■■■....”

The Outer God didn’t seem pleased by their struggle. Another wave of power seeped out from the vessel created by the apostle’s blood, calling forth a catastrophe that should not have been possible.

Leonard was the only one who sensed the movement of the massive force.

The power exceeded that of a Class 9 spell. There was enough to bring down a meteor from the vast sky or summon a tsunami. Leonard was surprised, but it didn’t take long for him to find out what was happening.

Thoooooom!!

It was a whale.

It shouldn’t have been possible for there to be one because of how shallow District 3’s waters were, but a massive, bulky whale shot out from the ocean.

Frances stared. Even though it had shifted to a bizarre form, she immediately recognized what it was.

“The Moby Dick...?” she whispered absently.

One of Atlantis’s Four Masterpieces, whose value could not be equated in gold, had changed into a hideous form. It no longer had that pure-white body that looked as if it were made of the finest marble.

The hull used to twinkle with the reflection of sunlight and even starlight, but now, it only twitched with extremely grotesque flesh and blood. The ship was no longer an inanimate object. Brought to life with the Outer God’s power, the Moby Dick no longer needed a captain or crew.

Shwooooo...

Water spouted from the monster’s back, just like a real whale. But it was as black and thick as tar and as sticky and odorous as blood. The waters in the range of the spray corroded into Scylla’s territory and made Moby Dick even stronger.

So it’s the type of monster that becomes stronger over time. It’s dangerous.

Leonard discerned its fighting ability, his grip tightening around the hilt of his sword.

It wasn’t even comparable to the Mind Kraken. Moby Dick was at least a Third Stage Rank S monster, and if it evolved, it could become as strong as the Sea Dragon King.

“In any case, it does appear that this monstrous whale is part of the Outer God’s machinations,” Frances said. Her voice was strangely calm, considering the current situation.

The way she spoke seemed inappropriate. Leonard turned to look at her. She grinned.

“Don’t you remember? I prepared two measures. Other than Gordon Haywood, there’s once more.”

“Oh!” The moment Leonard remembered, that very secret weapon entered the battlefield with a commotion.

A shadow was swiftly approaching from the seabed. It ripped through the waves and revealed itself under the Outer God’s night sky.

Shwaaaaa!!

The phantom ship shot out through the surface of the water, just as the Moby Dick had done after turning into a monster.

That ship was none other than the Pequod.

The one-legged specter of Ahab stood at the prow and let out a wail filled with his rage and resentment.

“Pabloooo?! Moby Diiiiiick?!!”

Even though the ship had turned into a ghastly state due to the Outer God’s power, he immediately recognized it.

Blue fire blazed inside Ahab’s empty eye sockets, and the phantom ship suddenly began to accelerate, as if responding to his emotion.

Though it was easy to mistake the vessel for a ship because of its appearance, a phantom ship was an undead, not a boat. Regardless of how it had sunk, as long as it retained the spirit of the captain and had enough mana, it could keep fighting forever.

Its decision to charge forward without regard for the damage it would sustain was effective.

“Kree?! Krrrr...?!” Having just awakened its consciousness, the monster was shocked to see the Pequod racing boldly toward it.

Freezing up for that brief moment was a fatal mistake.

Thooooom?!!

The phantom ship lunged straight forward, hitting Moby Dick right in the head. The hull was crushed, and a moment later, the aftershock exploded, sending splinters everywhere. Moby Dick hadn’t seemed as if it would bow to any attack, but now it was pushed toward the shore and its spout stopped spraying water.

The monster wasn’t hurt much. It was merely floundering after being struck for the first time, and once it settled down, it soon realized how much power it had.

“I am Ahab! The vice-captain of Aquamarine, and the captain of the Pequod! This old man has come to avenge my friend, who has gone before me!”

At the moment of impact, Ahab leaped into the air as if to stop the whale from getting away, sword raised.

It was coated with the signature gray Aura of the undead.

This man was the vice-captain of Aquamarine during its golden days, and he was nearly unmatched in strength and experience at his time. It was hard to believe that he only had one leg when one saw how nimbly he and his sword moved.

Moby Dick sprayed tar-black blood in response.

“Kreeeeee?!”

Ahab’s Aura Blade tore into Moby Dick, causing its flesh to rip open for the first time, bringing a pain it had never felt before. The wound was by no means deep, but Moby Dick had never had one before, be it deep or superficial.

The Pequod and Ahab’s combination attack made it fall into a panic. It turned and fled toward the beach.

It never even considered that that was their plan.

“Leonard, I’m going to go back to the Aquamarine,” Frances said.

“To fight Moby Dick?”

“Yes. I am the captain of the team after all,” she said with her head held high. “Right now, it looks like it’s being overwhelmed by the Pequod, but once the monster gets accustomed to battle, the tides will turn in an instant. The only way we can be sure to defeat it is if the Aquamarine brings assistance. There’s only so much I can do by controlling it remotely.”

And there was only one way for her to go back to her ship from here. Jack Russell stepped forward and began to draw a magic array in the sand.

Gordon Haywood contemplated for a moment. “I will go prepare a way to keep the thing trapped on the shore. You only need to bring that monstrous whale onto the sand.”

“Are you sure it’s possible?”

“The Outer God’s power is indeed incredible... but there is a limit to how much it can do using just one apostle. I suppose that even transforming the Moby Dick like that caused strain.”

Russell nodded in agreement as he infused the magic array with mana. “What about you, Leonard?”

“It’s not that I can’t fight in the ocean, but I don’t think we can take any chances with that monster as our opponent. I’ll be waiting here,” he answered. He turned to the captain. “Best of luck, Fran.”

“You too! We’ll have to throw a party once everything’s over!” she said cheerfully.

With that, the spatial spell activated, and she and Russell disappeared without a trace, leaving Gordon Haywood and Leonard behind.

They turned in unison, watching Moby Dick grow closer and closer. Gordon’s eyes widened when he watched the boy step onto his sword, but he knew that this wasn’t the time for asking questions.

Leonard rose into the air with Sword Flight, looking around and spotting someone.

“Councilor, if I may, I’m going to do something first.”

The man looked at him quizzically. “Hm? Has something happened?”

“I’ve spotted someone who can help us fight Moby Dick. We’ll catch up to you shortly.” Sёarᴄh the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“I understand.”

Leonard flew straight forward. When his sword stabbed downward, he jumped off at the same time.

Boooom!

He came down like an axe, stomping on an Outer God worshipper. The impact crushed the worshipper before they could even heal.

Specks of blood and flesh bounced off Leonard’s augmented energy shield.

“Herman, why are you here?” he asked the man standing in front of him.

“Why, I came here to watch you and Pablo fight. Though, I was planning to have a rematch with him if he killed you.”

It was the wandering swordsman with four cutlasses. Herman Melville was a free man now. He looked Leonard up and down and chuckled.

“Wow, you’re a fucking beast. You beat me even before you reached the Transcendence Tier, but ever since you reached it, Pablo never stood a chance, even after he transformed into a monster. I don’t think I’d win against you a single time out of a hundred battles.”

“Are you scared of me?”

“Psh! One should be grateful if the mountain they have to climb is high.” He shook off the blood on his blade. “Let’s have a match once this mess is over. You see, I think it’s better to set my sights on you instead of Pablo,” he said frankly.

“Sounds good.” Leonard smiled, looking pleased.

Unlike Pablo, who had died relying on something other than his own martial arts, Herman was a martial artist who reminded him of the good old days. It felt refreshing.

Leonard said, “I’m going to give that monster whale over there a piece of me. It’s about as strong as the Sea Dragon King. Are you going to join in?”

“Don’t tell me you were planning to leave me here.”

The two of them casually teamed up. It was hard to believe that they’d fought each other with their lives on the line not long ago.

The mutants who tried to block their way were torn to pieces in a matter of seconds.

They didn’t seem to have Pablo’s healing abilities. Cut off a few limbs and slit their throats and it didn’t take long for them to stop breathing. Even though they went mad as they ran about, since the explorers had formed groups to fight back, this was one aspect that made them easier to fight.

Even if none of the Masters joined in, there shouldn’t be any problem defeating the worshippers. Though in that case, there would be a few more casualties...

Fighting Moby Dick was more dangerous.

The monster became stronger simply by existing, and it made it easier for the Outer God to channel its power.

If they didn’t kill it as soon as possible, all of Atlantis City could be in danger. When Moby Dick finally reached the shore, Leonard and Herman dashed forward.

Boom!

The two Swordmasters sprinted faster than the speed of sound, joining the battle against Moby Dick.