Li Yue appeared on the deck, the scent of washing soap still clinging to her. A faint fragrance wafted from her long hair as it fluttered in the breeze.
“I thought you were asleep?” Sharon walked over. The sea ahead was smooth and vast. She had handed the wheel to her first mate to take a short break.
“Some unexpected incidents occurred, and they’ve bothered me enough that I can’t sleep.” Li Yue smiled and stretched lazily. She looked a bit tired, and Sharon found her expression unexpectedly cute, which brightened her mood.
“What kind of incidents?” Sharon asked with a smile, suddenly recalling a funny story about how she once couldn't sleep because she ate too much at dinner.
“A ship is following us. I don’t know who it belongs to,” Li Yue said flatly, her tone as casual as if she were mentioning she had just eaten a crepe.
“Huh?” Sharon froze. She stared at the sea behind them but saw nothing. In the night, everything was pitch black and blurred.
“They probably think this is a good place for a battle—no need to worry about disturbing any Sea King class sea monsters. After all, the nearest one is still several hundred nautical miles away,” Li Yue speculated.
“Cook’s fleet... I didn’t expect their tracking abilities to be this strong.” Sharon bit her fingernail. In the darkness, she couldn't see the enemy's position at all.
Only Li Yue and Sharon were on the deck. Everyone else had worked all day and, with Sharon’s permission, had gone to rest early. It seemed no one expected the enemy to catch up so quickly.
“Damn it, I can’t sense them!” Sharon grew nervous. Although the surroundings were calm, she was starting to see shadows in every corner.
“Don’t worry. We’ve already entered their attack range. Once they attack, we’ll know where they are.” Li Yue didn’t seem anxious at all. She casually sat down on a railing.
In the distance, a pale blue light ignited. It was strikingly visible in the pitch-black night sky, and it immediately streaked toward their position.
Sharon rushed to the helm and snatched it from her first mate, maneuvering the ship in an emergency dodge. Under the influence of her wind field, the streak of light grazed the hull and slammed into the sea. It instantly created a massive patch of floating ice, which was then shattered by the ship’s momentum.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!” Sharon shouted urgently. She grabbed a flare gun and fired three shots into the sky. The crisp explosions echoed through the night. After a flurry of commotion, the crew began rushing onto the deck, and the ship’s speed surged.
The large ship in the distance appeared to be getting bigger, and figures could faintly be seen on it. Though they were small, in Li Yue’s blood-red eyes, these figures were clear—tiny, yet perfectly visible, like ants.
Dark clouds gradually began to gather in the sky, completely veiling the once-clear moonlight. Faint signs of lightning appeared, with occasional bolts striking the sea. A storm was brewing.
“I just took a bath...” Li Yue pouted in dissatisfaction. She remained seated on the railing. Even though the ship was jolting violently, she showed no signs of panic or instability. “If you’re going to use large-scale magic, use it properly. What’s the point of just making it rain?”
Blan’s hands trembled slightly with tension. Li Yue understood that if they truly encountered a storm, his role would be indispensable. He had to maintain the ship’s stability amidst the encroaching waves. If he made a major mistake, the ship could very well capsize.
“But I don’t seem to know any ultra-long-range magic. If I really have to fight, I might be forced to use God's remains.”
Cook’s ship seemed to be very close now. The lightning strikes were becoming more accurate, nearly hitting the ship several times. Beams of multi-colored magic light shot toward them, only to be blocked by an invisible barrier.
A crystalline core had been placed on a device in the center of the ship, forming a magic circle that provided a barrier to defend against magical attacks.
“If only it could block the rain later too,” Li Yue thought. She occasionally manipulated blood crystals in her hand to intercept magic missiles flying through the air.
Gradually, Li Yue could see the specific people on Cook’s ship. Several people dressed as magic users sat in a circle. Their power was growing stronger, and the storm in the sky was imminent. The combined auras of these magic users were beginning to approach the might of a Great Mage.
The frequency of the lightning strikes increased. Massive bolts with a radius of several meters slammed into the surrounding waters. The sea became turbulent, and the wind grew more violent with every gust. Sharon’s magic was being interfered with by nature, making it increasingly difficult to control the ship.
Nature could suppress a person’s magic, but it could also be harnessed. Following the wind’s direction, the fledgling shape of a waterspout appeared on the sea. Pushed by the existing gale, a tornado quickly formed in front of Cook’s ship, forcing them to turn sharply and lose speed.
Li Yue swung her fair legs. None of this seemed to cause her any tension or fear. The thing that seemed to give her the biggest headache was the impending heavy rain.
“Hmm?”
She let out a soft sound of surprise. For some reason, she sensed a very powerful life force slowly reaching out from the depths. It seemed afraid of being discovered, as it left no traces of magic.
However, its massive heartbeat was something Li Yue could clearly hear, even through dozens of meters of seawater.
Li Yue recalled the descriptions on the map. Although this area was far from the island where Cook was stationed, it was supposed to be free of any Sea King class sea monsters. It was a peaceful zone—the final moment of tranquility before the arduous storm ahead.
“Could it be... that those monsters move their nests?” Li Yue thought as she used Death Abyss to mask their mana fluctuations, which were already small and only at the level of ordinary magic users.
In contrast, Cook’s vessel was no ordinary ship. Its hull was covered in various magic circles, and it was several times larger than Sharon’s ship. The arrays at the bow and stern repeatedly erupted with the power of a Great Mage.
Li Yue narrowed her eyes and waited quietly.
Boom! A red tentacle large enough to blot out the sky appeared and slammed down hard onto Cook’s ship. Explosions and screams erupted. Everyone watched in horror as the sea beneath their ship... grew increasingly black, as if something was hidden below!
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