Chapter 359 Troll Sea

A few days later.

A drizzle fell from the sky.

The "Troll Sea," marked with a danger rating of three skulls on the Dragon Kingdom's nautical charts.

Thirty years ago, when the Black Sam pirate crew passed through this sea, they encountered some gigantic titans of troll blood. These monsters possessed terrifying strength, easily lifting a three-masted ship with their bare hands.

Now, they were still here.

However, they had become even more terrifying Abyssal Corpses, and in considerable numbers.

The Dawn Mercenary traveled into this sea, as if entering a monster's nest.

Without warning, the monsters hurled rocks from the islands, and the battle attracted a large number of monsters from the surrounding area.

The sound of cannons roared on the sea, echoing for dozens of nautical miles.

"Artillery support! Two rounds of continuous fire!"

"Quickly, there are monsters approaching in the sea! The whaling team, get in the water and take them out! Don't let the monsters damage the ship!"

"Support team, focus on attracting the newly drawn monsters on the periphery! Concentrate fire to take down this ugly big guy first!"

"..."

On the Eternal Night, the crew was in the midst of a fierce battle.

Suddenly, the observer in the watchtower issued an urgent warning: "Be careful, the flying stones are coming again!"

Even as the words faded, dozens of stones, each several meters in diameter, shot from a nearby island like a rain of bullets.

The sound of the wind breaking through the air whistled in their ears, their power as terrifying as shooting stars.

Seeing that the rain of stones was about to hit the Eternal Night, Lolota and a group of swordsmen leaped from the deck. Together, they unleashed their blades, creating a net of sword energy in the sky.

In an instant, the flying boulders were sliced into countless small pieces.

Although most of the stones fell into the sea, some watermelon-sized rocks still hit the hull densely, thumping like cannonballs.

To be able to hurl dozens of ten-ton stone balls like cannonballs was simply impossible for humans.

But for the eighth-tier Lord [Titan Abyssal Corpse], who was over three hundred meters tall, it was just a handful of "small pebbles."

That's right, three hundred meters tall.

The monster was even bigger than the Eternal Night!

On a distant island, Soren, Chiyo, Barrett, Number Nineteen, and other high-level fighters were besieging this Lord-level Abyssal Corpse.

It was an enlarged version of a troll, with four limbs, but its head had mutated into a fox-like face covered in tentacles and pustules. On the monster's belly, there was a gaping maw full of dense, sharp teeth. In addition to spewing concentrated acid that could easily melt steel, its belly was like a bottomless pit, releasing countless scarlet tentacles to devour everything around it. It could even swallow things like cannonballs, sword energy, and various alchemical creations.

The battle was intense.

For most monsters, size directly equated to combat power.

Their massive bodies gave them terrifying strength and armor-like skin.

And this [Titan Abyssal Corpse] was no exception. With a body over three hundred meters tall, it possessed strength that humans could not contend with and a near-impregnable defense.

Because its body was too large, even Soren's Black Scythe and Chiyo's sword energy barely scratched the surface of its rotting flesh.

In terms of "health points" alone, it was not much inferior to the eighth-tier silver dragon that the Dawn Mercenary had hunted before.

Fortunately, although the monster's tier was high, it was clumsy and walked on two legs. Compared to the flying dragons of before, it was much easier to deal with.

As long as they were careful to avoid its attacks, there wouldn't be much of a problem.

Soren and the others fought fiercely, expending most of their stamina for half an hour, before finally killing the monster.

As soon as the Lord-level monster died, the undead monsters in the nearby sea quickly dispersed.

A special disposal team took care of cleaning up the battlefield, and Soren and the others returned to the ship after the great battle.

Walking onto the deck, Bartolo looked at the distant corpse, his brow still furrowed.

It wasn't just the melancholy of revisiting an old place, but also a hint of solemnity.

Soren walked over and asked, "Senior, did you see anything?"

Bartolo hadn't participated in the battle just now, partly because it wasn't necessary, and partly because Number Nineteen's [Righteous Angel] talent gave her a bad feeling. Along the way, she always felt as if something was coveting them.

Better safe than sorry, so he didn't let Bartolo, this top fighter, intervene. In case something really happened, they could have a backup plan.

Bartolo listened, his eyes thoughtful, and said, "Undead creatures usually don't have much intelligence. So many monsters gathering near here to attack us seems a bit unusual."

"Yeah."

Soren had naturally noticed this as well.

The density of creatures in a certain area has an upper limit. Without a special reason, these monsters would not gather together.

He asked, "Do you think someone is deliberately doing this, Senior?"

Bartolo said, "It doesn't have to be humans, it could be some special existence. The Ancient Dragon Kingdom is said to be the battlefield of ancient gods, and too many ancient secrets are buried here. Moreover, the eruption of the Hell Volcano can bring many undead creatures from other dimensions. It's only normal to encounter things that are beyond human understanding."

"..."

Soren frowned slightly as he listened, and didn't say anything more.

Ever since they killed that Abyssal monster in the Golden Sea a few days ago, they hadn't had a moment of peace, and the monsters were becoming increasingly numerous.

But if it was just monsters, it would be fine. They could fight if they could, and run if they couldn't.

The fear was encountering some incomprehensible "supernatural" existence.

For example, the monster swarm they encountered today just felt... off.

Soren looked at Crow Master on his shoulder again. The old bird didn't make a peep, which meant it wasn't fatal yet.

They had already accepted the risks before coming here, so there was no reason to back down.

Before long, the crew finished dealing with the monsters' corpses, and the Eternal Night continued to sail.

To prevent any special situations, double the number of sentries were stationed on the deck, and some precise energy wave detectors were also deployed, such as "subsonic wave detectors," "mental sensitivity instruments," and "thermal energy wave instruments." Mafa's research in this area over the years was extraordinary, and its performance was now sufficient to replace most means of perception.

Of course, there were also Tani and his mother, Friedel.

With multiple layers of insurance, they had almost eliminated any possibility of inexplicably falling into a dangerous situation.

The shipwrights also smeared dragon dung on the hull, which would prevent some low-level monsters from constantly bothering them.

They sailed like this until night.

Since entering the Ancient Dragon Kingdom Ruins, the Eternal Night had not lit its lamps at night to avoid attracting monsters.

Tonight, the night was not too bright. The black-sailed ship sailed on the dark sea, like a ghost merging into the night.

There was already a faint gray gas in the air: Hell Qi.

It was similar to the dark spiritual energy in Old Landun, a type of death-based spiritual energy. Long-term inhalation could lead to the risk of mutation.

However, for Soren, this spiritual energy not only had no negative effects, but he actually enjoyed breathing it in. He was now able to easily digest the death impurities in the spiritual energy, which was very beneficial.

Therefore, he hadn't been holed up in his cabin cultivating these past few days. Instead, he often strolled on the deck at night.

On the deck, the sentries were all wearing gas masks.

Seeing him come, they greeted him one by one.

"Mr. Soren!"

"Mm."

Because of the battle during the day, Soren still felt that something was strange. So, after taking a walk around, he didn't return to his cabin. Instead, he walked to the main mast and jumped up.

On the sturdy mast, Chiyo was meditating.

The sword intent she comprehended was "Thunderous Hell," which she had gained from the Land of the Yellow Springs. Now, encountering the true Hell Qi, she also felt a kind of unspeakable comprehension. Moreover, the closer they got to the core of the Ancient Dragon Kingdom Ruins, the more complete the laws of heaven and earth became. This was a rare cultivation environment for both of them, who could digest Hell Qi.

The two of them didn't speak. As usual, they meditated not far from each other.

Time passed in a flash, and soon it was midnight.

The moon in the sky had been completely covered by dark clouds. Without lights, the Eternal Night was like a ship sailing in pitch-black ink. It was impossible to tell where the water was and where the night began.

With a top-notch navigator like Tani, there was no need to worry about running aground. The Eternal Night continued to stealthily sail in the intended direction.

Soren placed the Rune Black Umbrella on his lap, his senses covering the entire ship.

All he could hear was the sound of rushing water.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide!

"Someone's coming?"

Soren was also very surprised.

Just now, a strange soul wave had suddenly appeared on the deck.

Even without looking, Soren was now familiar enough to distinguish the soul of every one of the ten thousand members of his mercenary.

That was why he had immediately noticed this uninvited guest.

After discovering the anomaly, Soren glanced at Chiyo.

With just a warning look, Chiyo immediately opened her eyes alertly.

They looked at each other, and she immediately understood, her hand quietly resting on the hilt of her sword.

The reason for such a reaction was because Soren sensed that the soul wave of the person was very strong!

So strong that it made him feel that this might be some kind of "soul monster," rather than a human.

Because even when he had met Master Piel, a ninth-tier mage in Landun, he had never sensed such a powerful soul wave.

In this sea where there couldn't possibly be any living people, the sudden appearance of a "person" made everyone feel a chill down their spines no matter what.

Where did "he" come from?

What did "he" want to do?

This guy was so strong, yet he was sneaking onto the ship. It was very strange.

"Oh? They actually came right to me?"

However, not long after, Soren was even more surprised to find that the guy was actually coming towards the main mast.

He immediately realized that this guy seemed to be coming for him?

To be able to so accurately pinpoint his position in the dark, Soren instantly thought of a possibility: that the other party could also distinguish soul strength!

And the person with the strongest soul in the entire Dawn Mercenary was Soren himself.

Bartolo had joked before, teasing him that his soul was as strong as a monster.

When Soren thought of this, a flash of inspiration struck him: "Could it be a fellow soul cultivator?"

Sure enough, after a few breaths, that soul wave walked silently to the base of the main mast, and then "floated" up.

Yes, floated!

Without triggering any sentries' alerts, without touching any of the ship's sensing instruments, he floated up like a ghost.

Although Soren himself couldn't see the guy floating up with his naked eyes, Crow Master on the top of the mast could see everything clearly.

Crow Master was a death omen, and it could see any form of spiritual body.

Soren frowned, but he still intended to strike first.

Just as this guy scurried up, he suddenly drew the Rune Black Umbrella and swung it violently behind him.

At the same time, the sound of a blade being drawn rang out beside him, and Chiyo suddenly opened her eyes and slashed down with her sword.

The Rune Black Umbrella had a special effect: it could strike souls.

And Chiyo's slash could deal fatal physical cutting damage.

Now, both of them could be considered top-tier professionals in the Alchemy Plane, and they had a tacit understanding. With perfect coordination, the person had no chance to dodge.

Sure enough, this sneak attack had a miraculous effect!

The sneaky guy wanted to get closer, but he didn't expect that as soon as he came up, a knife and a staff would greet him, leaving him no time to react.

Soren didn't know what means the other party used to maintain this traceless "stealth" state, and even spatial perception couldn't detect his existence. But his approach didn't trigger any alarms, which meant that "he" wasn't a physical entity in the physical sense.

He probably used some kind of special magic item.

At this close range, Soren had determined that this was definitely a living person.

An enemy who came with malicious intent!

As long as it was a person, he could be killed.

And in this sudden burst, Chiyo's strike was a step faster than Soren's.

The person probably thought that his ability could ignore slashes, so even though he was ambushed, he wasn't very flustered.

Chiyo's strike passed through the void, as if she had struck nothing at all. It didn't cut anything.

However, the purpose of this strike wasn't to injure the enemy, but to keep the enemy in this ghost-like state!

In that split second as the sword energy swept past, Soren's Rune Black Umbrella followed closely.

A magical scene then unfolded. On the empty mast, it was as if something had been hit by the Rune Black Umbrella, and a translucent figure immediately appeared.

Soren sneered in his heart.

Just like when he first met "Curator" and was stunned by this stick, the guy in front of him obviously didn't expect that there was a weapon that could directly strike a person's soul.

As soon as the translucent figure appeared, his expression immediately showed a "shocked" and stiff look that was visible to the naked eye.

Taking this opportunity, Chiyo flicked the longsword in her hand, unleashing a dozen more strikes, creating a magnificent sword flower that instantly sliced the man into more than a dozen pieces.

"Did we kill him?"

Soren's hand was still waving in mid-air, but his eyes narrowed slightly.

Because he could clearly feel that the other party's soul had collapsed, and this was a sign of death.

But it shouldn't be that easy...

Just as Soren was thinking about how to harvest the enemy's soul to ensure that he was dead, a bizarre scene unfolded before his eyes.

He watched as that shattered soul was suddenly reunited by an incomprehensible force, and then appeared on the sea surface a few hundred meters away.

Seeing this, Soren's pupils contracted sharply: "Resurrection..."

He wasn't surprised that he couldn't kill such a strong enemy on the first try. Being able to make them suffer a bit with a sneak attack was good enough.

But he was surprised that this guy actually possessed such a divine art.

Soren himself had been resurrected before, so he knew that the other guy had really died just now, and then been resurrected!

But looking at the other party's clothes, he was immediately no longer surprised, and murmured to himself, "High Priest of the Holy Army of the Celestial Plane, an eighth-tier Archmage... No wonder he can borrow the power of the gods..."

In the Celestial Plane, the ranks of mages were strict, and the rank was the status. There were obvious signs on their robes.

Eighth-tier Archmages didn't necessarily wear this kind of red robe, but those who wore this kind of robe must be Archmages.

Moreover, people who could wear this kind of red robe with golden patterns had very high positions in the Papal See.

At least, the guy in front of him was the highest-ranking person that Soren had ever seen from the Celestial Plane!

But what Soren couldn't figure out was, why would this guy appear in the seas of the Ancient Dragon Kingdom?

Also, did he come alone, or with others?

Soren narrowed his eyes and looked into the depths of the night.

In any case, with someone coming to his door, things seemed a bit wrong tonight...

Those guys from the Celestial Plane had been badly damaged so many times. This time, their arrival must mean they were confident in killing him.

The last time, three ten-thousand-man regiments were wiped out. Could it be that eight or ten were coming this time?

However, to Soren's surprise, after looking for a long time, it seemed that only this one guy had come?