Chapter 353 – This Princess
He straightened his posture and dusted off his royal outfit with a dramatic flourish. "That octopus may not be dead, but it's definitely seriously injured. It won't dare to attack again anytime soon."
With that, Dastan turned toward the exit, his boots clicking against the polished floor of the control room. "This prince will head to the energy room and refill the spirit stones. Those electric attacks drained tons of power."
After Dastan exited the control room, Leyvi turned to the squirrel and said, "You hear that, Tantan? That weapon used a lot of spirit stones. So you can't use it for your games."
He had long noticed her expressions—the way her chaos-seeking eyes gleamed brightly, practically sparkling with anticipation. She was obviously eager to misuse the weapon.
"Shut up, Leyvi. This princess can do whatever she wants as long as the Master allows it. This princess doesn't have to listen to you!" she retorted immediately.
Of course, to Victor, it was all just a string of rapid-fire squeaks and chitters. He didn't understand a word.
But Leyvi… he went speechless. This princess? It was the first time he'd heard her talk like this. The tone and language style were unmistakably those of the clown prince.
Immediately, it hit him. This was the first time Dastan and Tantan weren't together. Usually, she was perched on his shoulder all the time. Whenever she spoke to Dastan, her words were cute and flattering. But now, with Dastan absent, she'd seamlessly adopted his speech style and his cocky attitude.
It's over, Leyvi thought darkly. This cunning squirrel is definitely going to cause chaos in the Howling Kingdom later… like asking him to build weapons of mass destruction and bullying every demonic beast in sight. Good luck handling her, Crown Prince Dastan.
"Tantan, you're his spirit beast. Keep in mind that you're supposed to help him and not bring him any trouble," Leyvi said.
"Hmph, you don't have to worry. This princess intends to do that. When the time arrives, this princess will make him the greatest human king the world has ever seen!" Tantan declared proudly, puffing out her tiny chest.
Leyvi stared at her, dumbfounded. Human king? Why does that sound like she wants Dastan to conquer the world? Stop, stop. Being the king of the Howling Kingdom is enough. He couldn't figure out whether she was just talking big like the clown prince or actually meant it.
A few minutes later, Dastan strolled back into the control room, looking satisfied.
"This prince has refilled the spirit stones to the max. Hopefully, we won't encounter another one. Using the Crown Lightning Bolt is fun, but it consumes too many spirit stones. If only grandfather would allow this prince to bring the spiritual vein here, we could fire it as much as we want, and it would replenish the spiritual energy on its own," Dastan lamented, shaking his head dramatically.
Though he complained, Dastan understood the risk. Losing the spiritual vein would be a tremendous blow to the Howling Kingdom, potentially shifting the balance of power in favor of rival kingdoms. After all, it wasn't just any resource—it was the greatest source of spiritual energy in the world.
Leyvi's ears instantly perked up when he heard the words spiritual vein.
Isn't that the thing we need to power Alita's airship? His thoughts raced. If a spiritual vein could let us use that powerful electric attack over and over… Holy! What kind of treasure is that? If Alita's airship really requires such a heaven-defying energy source just to operate, then what kind of airship does she even have? Don't tell me it's got some super strong weapon from another world? That would be amazing.
While Leyvi sank deeper into his speculation, Tantan's voice chimed in as she asked Dastan for permission to "play" with the Crown Lightning Bolt. Of course, her tone was nothing like the cheeky arrogance she'd shown Leyvi earlier. It was soft, cute, and deliberately charming.
"Daa hahaha! Sorry, Tantan. Normally, your master would let you have fun with it, but this time, we need to preserve our spirit stones. But don't worry, my cute Tantan. When we return to your master's kingdom later, you can play as much as you want. Your master promises!" Dastan said, ruffling her head fondly.
Tantan pouted adorably but didn't protest. Instead, she nodded in understanding. She knew Dastan adored her beyond reason. As such, she wouldn't push now, not when doing so might chip away at his affection. In her mind, a weak squirrel like her had to be smart and know exactly when to seize an advantage… and when to hold back.
It wasn't until several hours later that the octopus ink finally dispersed enough to stop interfering with the submarine's radar and other instruments. The water remained tainted with streaks of dark ink, but at least some visibility had returned through the viewing screens.
"Alright, Tantan, it's time to go," Dastan instructed casually.
The Crown Abyss Diver rumbled softly as it resumed its underwater journey. Even after covering nearly twenty kilometers, the water around them remained tainted with the octopus's ink. Visibility stayed low, and their instruments occasionally flickered with minor disturbances.
But it wasn't just the sensors struggling. It seemed that the ink carried a potent nerve-paralyzing effect. Leyvi noticed several demonic beasts drifting sluggishly within the darkened waters, their movements jerky and weak. Some floated helplessly as if in a daze.
Of course, not all were equally affected. A handful of demonic beasts, either immune or simply more resistant, prowled the murky depths with predatory intent. They wasted no time preying on their incapacitated peers.
Leyvi's eyes caught an especially vivid scene through his spiritual sense: a low-level demonic lobster clamping greedily onto a paralyzed high-level demonic beast. It tore into its prey without hesitation and devoured the demonic core. In an instant, Leyvi felt its aura surge—an evolution to an intermediate-level demonic beast.
Lucky guy… Leyvi mused. Or so it seemed.
Not long after, the lobster's greed betrayed it. Driven by its newfound strength, it lunged at another paralyzed beast for more. But the second target shook free from its paralysis, its power flaring to life. With a single strike, it crushed the arrogant lobster in an explosion of crimson bubbles.
Leyvi shook his head slightly. A perfect reminder. Don't get greedy. Know when to stop.
Soon, the Crown Abyss Diver breached the other side of the saltwater-freshwater boundary. The tainted ink extended up to the border but didn't cross over.
At that moment, realization clicked. So the perfect boundary between saltwater and freshwater wasn't a natural phenomenon after all. It was probably a bloodline ability of that demonic octopus. A territorial marker… or maybe even a defensive mechanism.
The submarine continued its underwater journey in stealth mode. For the next few days, aside from the usual chaos incited by Tantan, they occasionally encountered trouble in the form of commander-level demonic beasts.
These beasts, territorial by nature, attacked without warning, clearly displeased by the Crown Abyss Diver trespassing through their domains. Of course, there was no way for Leyvi and the others to anticipate where these boundaries were.
Some of the beasts retreated quickly once they realized their bloodline abilities and physical attacks couldn't even scratch the submarine's defenses. Others were less reasonable, forcing Dastan to deploy the Crown Lightning Bolt. Some of those unlucky enough to test it soon became little more than floating, charred corpses in the dark waters.
Leyvi, naturally, wasn't about to let such valuable spoils go to waste. Commander-level demonic beast corpses were rare treasures. Neither Victor nor Dastan could safely leave the submarine to claim them, but Leyvi certainly could. Also, each of the commander-level demonic beast usually live in their territory alone, so Leyvi didn't have to worry about another one suddenly attacking.
With a gleam in his eye, he exited the Crown Abyss Diver each time, braving the chaotic frenzy of scavenger demonic beasts drawn to the commander-level carcass. If before he was only a spectator to these underwater battle royals, now he was a full participant—and a dominant one at that.
Leyvi unleashed one Big Bang attack after another, his shockwaves tearing through waves of predators. Explosions of light and sound rippled through the murky water, sending weaker beasts fleeing in terror and leaving stronger ones bleeding or lifeless.
Eventually, those who survived got the message and scattered, unwilling to continue facing such overwhelming power. Leyvi calmly gathered the remains, both the commander-level demonic beasts and any other valuable carcasses, and stored them in his internal storage room before returning to the submarine.
This cycle repeated every time the Crown Lightning Bolt claimed a new high-level victim: Dastan toasted the beast, Leyvi went out, joined the underwater free-for-all, and returned with all the spoils.
Meanwhile, the first time Dastan and Victor saw Leyvi swimming and fighting underwater through the viewing screen, they were completely dumbfounded.
You said you're great at swimming? Bullshit! That isn't just great at swimming! You're probably the best swimmer alive! You move even better than most of the demonic beasts down there. And we're deep underwater, yet the crushing pressure doesn't seem to faze you at all.
Even water-elemental cultivators who specialize in swimming and diving would struggle to pull off what you're doing so effortlessly.