Miketsu, who had just dived from the surface to the seabed, arrived exactly at the moment the skeletal fish surged out of the Abyss. Seeing it attempt to swim northward, she immediately understood its intent. Without hesitation, Miketsu condensed an arrow of light and fired.
The underwater explosion of the light arrow sent massive shockwaves through the water. The surging impact toppled vast areas of rock houses and coral. Brilliant golden light illuminated the darkness of the deep sea, and the three-hundred-meter-long skeletal fish tilted with a mournful cry, nearly crashing directly onto the seabed.
As the radiance faded, the skeletal fish swung its skeletal body back into position. Countless cracks had been blasted into the bones on one side of its body, yet there were no obvious fractures or shattered pieces. This caused Miketsu to furrow her brow slightly.
'The power is a bit low... Is its defense too strong? No... my arrow was weakened...' Miketsu murmured to herself. She could clearly feel that the power generated by the arrow she just fired was significantly less than she had estimated. There was only one reason for this weakening: the currents swirling around the skeletal fish.
The skeletal fish was an Ancient God of the Sea. It clearly possessed an extremely strong ability to control water. Vast, turbulent currents swirled around it at all times, forming a shield to protect it. This torrential shield could not only sweep away physical attacks aimed at it but could also 'scatter' energy attacks. Thus, Miketsu's light arrow had been weakened in this manner.
If one arrow isn't enough, then two... Even with these weakened arrows, I want to see how many you can withstand.
Thinking this, Miketsu condensed another arrow of light. She drew her bow to full strength and fired directly at the giant fish below, which had just returned to its position. The skeletal fish turned its heavy skull upward, seeing Miketsu and the incoming second arrow of light.
Suddenly, the currents surrounding the skeletal fish accelerated sharply, and their range expanded rapidly. A distance of five or six hundred meters around the skeletal fish was covered by massive, high-speed turbulence. The expansion of the torrential shield directly kicked up sand and silt from the seabed. Due to the influx of silt, the entire shield instantly became murky and turbid, concealing the skeletal fish's form within.
From the outside, the entire skeletal fish now looked like a living, giant tornado of sand and silt. After Miketsu's light arrow shot into it, it merely erupted in a burst of light before falling silent. The specifically reinforced water shield was now capable of scattering almost all the divine power within Miketsu's light arrow.
"You have some skill..." Miketsu murmured as she watched the scene. At that moment, the Ancient God of the Sea's counterattack began. Carrying a massive amount of silt, an ultra-giant water tornado a thousand meters in diameter surged up from the depths of the sea, seemingly intent on drawing Miketsu directly into it.
Miketsu flashed away at high speed, avoiding the Ancient God of the Sea as it charged with its torrential shield. Then, she condensed a six-hundred-meter-long slender blade of light in her hand and slashed directly at the Ancient God. The light blade penetrated the torrential shield, but due to the length, only a small portion of the tip struck the Ancient God's main body, leaving behind a minor mark.
A six-hundred-meter light blade was the maximum length Miketsu's current divine power could condense. This was roughly equal to the radius of the torrential shield, so only the tip could wound the remains of the Ancient God of the Sea. To achieve greater results, she would have to enter the turbulence to strike, but that was far too dangerous.
When facing an ancient god, Miketsu's causality vision was extremely limited in range. Therefore, she had to be exceptionally careful and could not act as recklessly as she did when dealing with modern gods or mortals.
What a troublesome shield... In that case...
While thinking, Miketsu began to borrow the Sea God divine authority from Susanoo again, attempting to use a Sea God to fight a Sea God!
As always, Susanoo responded to Miketsu, sharing the Sea God authority with her. Miketsu immediately used her vast divine power to drive this authority, intending to stop the turbulence surrounding the Sea God!
However, Miketsu's attempt was completely useless. This time, the ocean did not obey her command but continued to execute the will of the Ancient God of the Sea.
At this moment, Miketsu understood one thing: to nature, the will of an ancient god was higher than the authority of a modern god. This was not a question of strength, but a matter of hierarchy.
In the sea, the Ancient God of the Sea possessed supreme authority. No sorcerer, water yokai, or Sea God... no 'water-wielder' could hope to command even a single drop of water in its presence, no matter how vast the energy they drove!
This was why... despite the Ancient God of the Sea currently possessing little energy, it could still drive such a massive volume of water. Because it held the highest authority over the ocean, its efficiency in commanding water was far higher than that of any mortal or modern god water-wielder. It could command an enormous amount of water with very little energy.
The Ancient God of the Sea's authority over the ocean was higher than Susanoo's, so Miketsu's water control failed. Miketsu was fighting on the opponent's home turf, so her performance was heavily restricted.
"Even after dying twice, you truly live up to the title of Ancient God of the Sea..." After her water control proved ineffective, Miketsu began to adjust her strategy. At that moment, the Ancient God of the Sea began a new round of attacks, releasing more precious energy to control the ocean.
In the deep sea, the currents around Miketsu began to intensify, and a massive whirlpool formed around her. Relying on her limited causality vision to detect the danger in advance, Miketsu swam away to escape. Meanwhile, one invisible high-pressure water blade after another formed in the sea, shooting toward Miketsu. She relied on her limited causality vision and extensive experience in grazing bullets to dodge these invisible barrages.
Seeing that its successive water-control techniques were ineffective, the Ancient God of the Sea grew anxious. Hidden beneath the torrential shield, it used a significant amount of energy at once to intensify the water pressure in the area, forcibly rewriting the direction of the pressure to point toward Miketsu!
Instantly, Miketsu was pinned in place by incredibly powerful pressure coming from all directions, unable to move. If not for the Vajra Body from Dakini-ten's divine authority, she would have been crushed into powder by such force.
Seeing Miketsu trapped by the water pressure, the Ancient God of the Sea within the turbulence opened its skeletal maw. A blue light condensed within, and a powerful breath was brewing.
'Another breath attack. It seems that although ancient gods have all sorts of strange forms and powers, almost every one of them knows a breath attack... Is this a required course for monsters...?'
Seeing the energy condensing within the silt tornado, Miketsu couldn't help but complain inwardly. She had faced the breath attacks of both the Great Snake and the Eternal Worm before.
Inside the torrential shield, the Ancient God of the Sea's breath finished condensing. A beam of azure light erupted from the skeletal maw. At that moment, the energy orb at its chest shrunk significantly.
The azure beam pierced through the water, striking Miketsu directly as she was pinned by the intense water pressure. Under this strike, Miketsu had no chance to dodge.
The breath attack ended, the blue light faded, and the deep sea returned to darkness. The skeletal remains stopped at a distance, staring blankly at the scene ahead.
Miketsu, however, floated in her original spot completely unharmed. Looking at the object before her, she murmured.
"As expected... in terms of sturdiness, you're quite reliable. You truly are... my remains..."
At this moment, standing before Miketsu was a tall and majestic metal colossus. A Great Qin mechanical warrior clad in heavy armor held a giant shield, strictly guarding Miketsu. Several thrusters had transformed and extended from its back, emitting flames that scorched the seawater into a mass of bubbles. The resulting thrust allowed the massive metal body to float in the sea.
The Ancient God of the Sea's breath attack had just been completely blocked by this giant shield guardian, and there was not a single scratch on its body.
"My remains, forged into the statues of giant gods... I grant you power once more. Obey my command... Awaken!"
Turning toward the plains of the Sea Nation below, Miketsu waved her hand and issued the command. After an unknown number of ages, the remains of the darkness ancient god began to once again follow the orders of the divine soul.
At this moment, the sea rock martial statues scattered throughout the Sea Nation, which had been silent for a thousand years and weathered by time, began to tremble. The encrustations upon them peeled away, piece by piece.
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