Chapter 198: Chapter 11 Battle Testing!
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Around the evening.
Soran left the inn with little Vivian in his arms. The Amazon women had been more respectful of him after his show of force. The other party had also put away their curiosity. From the beginning to the end, they did not ask about the sleeping Vivian. Since a.s.sa.s.sins were full of secrets, it wasn’t a good idea to pry into their business. Just like the Naga Siren Priest who had known for a long time that Soran was traveling with a sleeping girl, she never asked questions about it.
Secrets may not always bring benefits, but they surely brought danger.
This was especially true for the secrets of an a.s.sa.s.sin!
Since he decided to go to sea, Soran could not leave Vivian at the inn, nor could he rest a.s.sured of the Amazon women. That’s why he was ready to move Vivian to the temple of the sea, which controlled more than half of the area around there; It was very easy to find a place to keep Vivian. Soran didn’t know how long Vivian would be asleep but he felt that her waking up had a direct relations.h.i.+p with his integration with the divinity of Fear. The last time she woke up, it was almost after Soran finished integrating with the divinity.
At an old building outside the sea temple.
Soran gently laid Vivian on the bed, then reached out and grasped her little hand. He then said in a very low voice, “Control your divine powers as much as possible to not expose your ident.i.ty.”
“I’ll come back quickly, and you’ll be awake soon.”
“I promise!”
Even though Vivian was not awake, Soran could feel that she still had a sense of the outside world, that was to say that, Vivian could still hear him. Otherwise, there was no way to explain why as soon as he left the little girl, she would automatically cast a divine protective s.h.i.+eld and recovered after Soran came back. Her powers were still in her body, but her consciousness seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep for some reason, and there was no sign of waking up.
Soran picked up the soft quilt and laid it on Vivian; then he laid beside her.
He too needed a good night’s sleep for tomorrow.
At the sea temple.
The Naga Siren priest stood in front of a blue sea. The sea temple was connected with the underground seawater and could enter the sea directly from there. The seawater had slight ripples. Then a creature with a long and narrow body, which looked like a giant sea snake, appeared. It swam to the priest bit by bit, then slowly stood up and came to the platform under the sea temple. At this time, its appearance became clear—it was a strong and ferocious male Naga Siren guard.
Its tail was longer than the Naga Siren priest. Its strong-arm held a trident, and there were few human features on its face; unlike the female Naga Siren, which still had some human female features, the Naga Siren guard was around seven meters long and reached a height of about two meters after standing up. His muscles were well developed and had a fierce look. He bowed slightly and greeted, “Your Excellency, the Priest.”
“I’ve called upon the Naga Siren tribes nearby. Soon they will dispatch their warriors.”
The priest nodded slightly, with a satisfied smile on her face, and murmured, “Very well Didanas. I’ll leave you to command the soldiers, and we shall take those treasures this time. The temple of storms seems to be preparing too. We cannot allow this wealth to fall into their hands as it will only strengthen them.”
“The Storm Lord has always been envious of our great G.o.d, trying his best to take over the portfolio of oceans.”
The male Naga Siren nodded and asked in a lower tone, “Your Excellency, I don’t understand why you would give the command of the Deadman’s Voice to that human. He’s a tough fellow for sure, but after all, he’s only one person. Besides, we can’t trust him completely because we don’t know where he comes from.”
The priest frowned and looked at the guard. Her expression became somewhat strange. She had a cruel smile when she said in a cold voice, “Are you questioning my decision? Didanas. Don’t try to interfere with my decisions with your silly head. That human is an a.s.sa.s.sin close to the legendary rank. Such a man is not weaker than a legendary profession in battle. He has values that we should draw on. Besides, after touching the Energy Absorption spell in him, I felt that he had the aura of the legendary realm.”
“He may have mastered a legendary grade skill; so he must not be far from the legendary realm!”
“There have been very few legendary a.s.sa.s.sins in the past two or three hundred years. If he can be loyal to our great G.o.ddess, our enemies will have nightmares.”
A legendary a.s.sa.s.sin.
Used to a.s.sa.s.sinate any enemy with influence; it would be a nightmare.
The priest seemed to see Soran as a sharp knife to sweep away her dissidents. A little smile came from the corner of her mouth, and she slowly said, “As for loyalty? There is no absolute loyalty in this world! As long as we can give him the benefits he wants, he can serve us! There are many secrets in this man and he absolutely needs us. Besides, he seems to have taken a sleeping girl with him. Although I haven’t tried probed into it, it seems that he cares a lot about the little girl. The relations.h.i.+p between the two seemed very close. He was. .h.i.t by Energy Absorption, so I bet the little girl must also be under some weird spell.”
“If necessary we could use the little girl; I bet he wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to her.”
“As long as he has a weakness, we’ll be able to control him.”
With a cruel smile, the priest looked at the male Naga Siren guard and said, “There are some things you don’t need to ask much about. Now send out the waresharks to look for the trails of the betrayers. We have to find those guys first, or more compet.i.tors might appear! ”
The male Naga Siren bowed slightly and dove into the sea.
The priest returned to the back of the sea temple. She slithered to a pool and gently recited a chant. Then the surface of the water rippled, gradually showing Soran’s figure, beside him was Vivian, still sleeping. A strange glow appeared in the priest’s eyes and she murmured, “Who are they? That little girl seems to be a born Sorcerer? A lot of powerful characters have emerged recently and it seems that a group of adventurers have come back from the abyss? The sea G.o.ddess has not responded to my prayers recently either. Is there something big happening?”
“It seems that I’ll have to hasten preparations!…”
The priest closed her eyes and went into the ocean.
Although the priests of Sea had great power, they could not directly mobilize the marine race because the secular realm and divine powers maintained relative boundaries. Few temples directly interfered in the kingdom’s internal affairs. Since the kingdoms were short-lived and the G.o.ds were eternal, the temples didn’t want to be affected by the kingdoms that had changed for hundreds of years.
However, if the priest could mobilize the different tribes, she must have had some social status.
She probably was of n.o.ble descent among the Naga Siren. Usually, if a n.o.ble didn’t inherit the throne, they would turn to serve the sea G.o.ddess.
A great mist was upon the ocean.
Soran appeared three hundred meters below the sea as he stood on the deck of the Deadman’s Voice.
Water was all around him, but it did not affect him because he wore a badge on his chest, which enabled him to breathe easily at the bottom of the sea. On the deck of the Deadman’s Voice was a Drowned sailor. Naga Siren banshees roamed in the hull of the s.h.i.+p. There were also undead weresharks patrolling the deck. There were a large number of shackled souls on the s.h.i.+p. They were all those who died directly or indirectly near the s.h.i.+p. They wouldn’t be able to fight but were forced into the mast and sails of the s.h.i.+p. The power source of this ghost s.h.i.+p was from these souls.
There were around eight to nine hundred of these souls.
The combat capabilities came from the Drowned, Naga Siren Banshees, Angered Souls and the undead weresharks.
Soran calculated roughly where they were and the course they were headed. As the ghost s.h.i.+p was best not exposed to the ordinary eye, they had to travel underwater as they left the port.
“Bring her up.”
Soran frowned and looked around at the fish. Because of the s.h.i.+p’s aura, the fish scattered when they saw them and fled in all directions. With Soran’s command, the Drowned sailor began to control the rise of the ghost s.h.i.+p. A little light began to show as they slowly ascended, followed by the clear blue sea above. The ghost s.h.i.+p finally surfaced as water splashed aside.
Soran looked around and commanded, “Summon the mist and conceal our s.h.i.+p.”
A thick mist appeared.
Within hundreds of meters around the s.h.i.+p, a mist covered them; this was the inherent ability of the ghost s.h.i.+p. With the spread of the mist around the ghost s.h.i.+p, everything nearby became hazy. Even though these evil creatures were pretty powerful, their weakness was also the sun.
The s.h.i.+p sailed silently along.
“Captain.”
A Naga Siren Banshee came up to Soran. With a slightly screeching voice, she said, “We’ve detected the presence of the living.”
The living?
We’ve encountered others so quickly?
Soran frowned and went to the helmsman’s position. Then he took out his spygla.s.s to observe. He could see a big s.h.i.+p in the sea near an island. From a distance, he could see the sign on the flagpole—It was an empty skull with swords underneath. This was the most commonly used pirate sign. If not part of a special group, the common pirates used such symbols. Names were required on special pirate flags, otherwise, you could be attacked by other pirates because of impersonation.
This was a well-known rule.
Flags were something important on the sea. Whether it was pirates, chambers of commerce, gangs and so on, it was a very serious matter to have flags. The rules here were all created upon the dead. In Soran’s memory, someone got their whole guild killed by pirates because they hung up the wrong flag. Even their posts on land were destroyed.
That guy was also quite foolish, as he hung a flag similar to that of the pirate king!
From this point of view, the world’s dangerous people living in the land, sea, and rivers were really a little like the green forest bandits and river people.
Some rules were better left untouched.
They seem like ordinary pirates?
Soran frowned and thought for a while, then yelled, “Prepare for battle!”
The pirate s.h.i.+p in front should be ordinary pirates who lived on the sea. All the famous pirates had their own flags. Generally, few pirates would disguise themselves; If there was a famous pirate, it must be hung up as much as possible, because it could help avoid a lot of trouble. Some special flags were even rare grade items, which after hanging out, sea monsters would even come close.
“Captain?”
The Naga Siren Banshee came to Soran and asked, “They don’t seem to be our target? Shall we still attack them?”
Soran frowned and looked at her then said, “Yes. I want to test the battle capability of this s.h.i.+p.”
“On second thought.”
“Prepare the crew to fight, and I will deal with them myself. Cover me and prepare for boarding at any time.”
Soran wanted to use them because he hadn’t fought on the sea for some time now.
Fighting was not just about chopping people up with a knife, but also about fighting in different environments and different ways. Fighting on the sea, on s.h.i.+ps, and fighting on the land were totally different. Underwater combat was another matter altogether. Fighting on the s.h.i.+p was difficult enough because the hull would sway and the combat environment was also narrow.
Many died because they weren’t familiar with sea battles!
Soran was a cautious person. He wouldn’t want to die because of ignorance.
Plus he had to test his now recovered capabilities.
Previously when he was in a naval battle, he could run on water; that was when he had a quasi-legendary skill. Now that he did not have such skills, the whole combat dynamic could be very different.
“Shang!”
Soran looked around the undead on the boat and ordered, “Bring the s.h.i.+p close, but not too close. Wait for my signal to attack.”
Splas.h.!.+
“Fly!”
“Greater Invisibility!”
After pulling away enough, Soran’s eyes glowed. He then began to cast continuous spells to test his battle effectiveness on the sea.
He started a counter.
Soran’s brain worked like a sophisticated instrument, and under the cover of fog, his figure flew directly out of the sea. The Greater Invisibility that was imposed on him made Soran disappear, leaving no trace of him. With a simple spell, Soran’s wet clothes dried. His whole body began to move closer to the position of the pirate s.h.i.+p. He moved at about a height of 100 meters.
Because he hadn’t fully mastered the ability, he couldn’t cast spells while flying; he had to maintain full focus while using Fly.
Time was of the essence.
No matter the spell, Fly or Greater Invisibility, there was a time limit to them.
Soran hoped to make use of this time effectively and gain the best combat result!
He slowly got closer and closer.
Everything on the pirate s.h.i.+p came into Soran’s view. He saw twenty or thirty pirates on deck, the watchman on the mast, the steersman responsible for steering the s.h.i.+p, and so on. These pirates were not very weak. They were stronger than many city guards, maybe grade 2 professions. However, most of them were Fighters because pirates preferred the combat style of the cla.s.s Swashbuckler. Of all the bandits, pirates had the strongest fighting capabilities and were completely superior to the mountain bandits. Only the desert thieves were also comparable in prowess.
One minute had pa.s.sed.
Soran now began his descent but was still invincible.
He wasn’t very far from the s.h.i.+p now.
Soran stayed about ten meters above the pirate s.h.i.+p. Light pa.s.sed through his body. Unless someone looked at his position carefully, no one could notice the difference. The enemy was now in plain sight; the powerful pirates were bored on deck. The anchor seemed to have dropped thus they seemed to be waiting for something. Soran continued to lower himself and landed gently in the empty corner of the bow.
There was a drunk pirate 500 meters in front of him. Unfortunately, the pirate was too drunk to notice Soran.
“I should kill the most important target!”
Soran glanced at the enemy in front of him, and finally locked in on a one-eyed pirate that looked like the deputy captain. He slipped silently and then thrust a curved sword from behind.
“Shus.h.!.+”
A gush of blood shot out. The one-eyed pirate who was previously yelling at his subordinates looked at his chest in shock. His heart had been pierced and the grade 3 pirate had been killed instantly.
“An enemy!?…”
The large group of pirates became chaotic and all pulled out their weapons.
They could see nothing except a curved sword coming out of their leader’s chest; then the sword was pulled out and there was no more sword.
Soran shook the blood off his sword. His figure was slightly exposed when he stabbed the pirate, but he soon became completely invisible once more.
That was the power of Greater Invisibility.
He would not be exposed even if he attacked someone.
“Slus.h.!.+”
A man’s head was cut off by Soran. A pirate with a beard heard the whistling wind of a sword, but he could not see the traces of swinging the knife. He clearly heard the wind and felt the slight outline of the enemy’s movement in front of him, but he could not see the direction of the sword. The pirate was decapitated the next moment.
Three flying knives flew out.
His figure was exposed slightly again, just as he threw the knives; but the enemy was too slow to react.
“Thub, Thub, Thub.”
Blood shot out on after another. Soran’s figure appeared and disappeared. He killed five people in the blink of an eye. The enemy couldn’t even judge where he was attacking from. They could only feel a vague and hazy figure moving around them at high speed. This fear lowered their morale, and some people seem to be totally frightened. Others even threw their weapons at him.
“Tang, Tang, Tang!”
Soran blocked the weapons thrown at him as his position was somewhat exposed.
He made a jump and to a height of 5 meters. He grabbed a robe; the contour of a hand was seen grabbing on to the rope, but nothing else was seen. Soran came down from the air with curved swords in both hands. In a large splash of blood, he killed five people in a row.
Blood splashed everywhere.
It was only at this time that his b.l.o.o.d.y footprints appeared on the ground. Soran’s figure was still very hazy. The bloodstains on his body were also covered by the spell. However, the pirates were now able to judge his movement.
Unfortunately, it was too late for them.
Three minutes had pa.s.sed, Soran’s figure stood in a pool of blood, surrounded by more than twenty bodies. There were a series of footprints on the ground, but he was still invisible.
The spell Greater Invisibility still had six minutes!
Soran shook off the blood from his swords, then looked at the cabin with a blank look. He grabbed a corpse and smashed it in. Then he cut with two swords and chopped the two enemies behind the cabin.
Fresh blood covered his clothes.
The effects of Greater Invisibility had somewhat weakened; Soran’s figure was now also somewhat visible.
However, this was not very important for Soran anymore. He now believed that he had the capability of killing all the pirates...o...b..ard the s.h.i.+p.