Reinforcements

The Abyssal Hunter accelerated.

The black hull was like an enraged steel beast, charging directly toward the blockade.

Alice stood on the deck and gave a low-voiced command:

"Activate the ship's defenses, pull the power to the maximum!"

The Descendant heard this and pushed the control lever forward.

In the next moment, layers of runes began to light up on the hull of the Abyssal Hunter.

A pale gold light enveloped the entire ship, forming a faint, ethereal barrier.

The effect Alice wanted was simple; this ship's layer of protection could not deal with the things at the bottom of the deep sea.

But against the somewhat dilapidated small boats and minor sea beasts before them.

It was more than enough.

The people on the enemy ships clearly noticed them.

Horns blared, and those deep blue ships began to turn their directions, flanking toward the Abyssal Hunter.

The mutated sea beasts beneath the surface also became restless, their massive silhouettes swimming rapidly underwater and stirring up dark surges.

"Fire!"

Boom!

The remaining cannons of the Abyssal Hunter spat fire simultaneously, and orange-red shells whistled out.

The first enemy ship was directly hit; a massive hole was instantly blasted into its hull, flames surged from the gap, seawater began to pour in, and the entire ship started to tilt.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

More cannon fire poured down as the batteries fired alternately, and bursts of fire rose and fell across the sea.

The enemy also began to fight back.

Shells flew from all directions, but those pitifully small shells were mostly blocked by the rune barrier on the hull, merely stirring up ripples of golden light before falling silent.

"Boom!"

Finally, a shell hit the gunwale, but the impact of the explosion was still absorbed by the runes, leaving only a shallow scorch mark.

"Keep moving forward!" Alice roared.

Seeing that shells were having little effect, the Deep Sea Church began to drive the sea beasts to attack.

The first mutated sea beast leapt from the water.

It was massive, its body a bizarre deep black, covered in scales and fleshy tentacles, its mouth filled with jagged, sharp teeth.

It opened its huge maw and pounced toward the people on the deck.

"Whoosh—"

A glass bottle flew out from the cannon deck, hitting the sea beast squarely in the head.

The bottle shattered, splashing silver-white liquid all over its face.

In the next moment, silver-white flames suddenly flared up, and the sea beast's entire spirituality was ignited in an instant.

"Hiss, ahhh—!"

The mutated sea beast let out a shrill, human-like scream as the flesh on its head was burned away by the mithril, emitting billowing white smoke; its entire body tumbled in the air before crashing heavily back into the sea.

More sea beasts began to leap from the water.

But the firepower of the Abyssal Hunter had already been pushed to the maximum.

Shells, mithril, and enchanted molotov cocktails poured down like rain.

The enchanted molotov cocktails smashed onto the sea surface, and orange-red flames instantly spread out.

The special maritime formula allowed the flames to ignore the seawater; instead, they burned even more fiercely with the splashed oil, dyeing the surrounding sea into a wall of fire.

The mutated sea beasts struggled and roared in the flames, some burned alive, while others fled in all directions in a panic.

The silver-white light of the mithril intertwined with the orange-red flames of the enchanted molotov cocktails, lighting up the greyish sea as if it were day.

The rune barrier blocked most of the attacks, and the hull shook slightly under the impacts, but it never slowed down.

Alice rushed to the gunwale, her warhammer wreathed in lightning as she swung, smashing a sea beast that had climbed up into minced meat.

Black blood splashed all over her.

Ed and Leonard coordinated with the Descendant on the cannon deck, their cannon fire continuous, sinking one enemy ship after another.

The Abyssal Hunter broke through the waves, surrounded by cannon fire and flames.

Inside the cabin, Lu Yuan watched the scene outside through a porthole.

The firelight turned the entire sea surface red.

Burning enemy ships floated on the water, thick smoke billowing.

The corpses of mutated sea beasts charred and sank within the flames.

He knew that going up now wouldn't help much; the most important thing was to recover as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, the greyish-white text continued to remind him:

【Environmental Perception: High concentration of maritime pollution, detected a large number of signals from mutated creatures】

The battle lasted for about fifteen minutes.

The Abyssal Hunter smashed through the last enemy ship blocking the way, with wood splinters and debris flying everywhere.

Behind them was the burning sea.

A blood-soaked path torn open by cannon fire and flames.

The Deep Sea Church's blockade had been violently ripped open.

"Charge through!" Alice roared.

The Abyssal Hunter went at full speed, rushing out through the opening.

The enemy ships behind them tried to pursue, but they were kept down by the continuous cannon fire.

Until the runes on the hull began to dim—the core had completely overloaded.

Alice stood on the deck, panting heavily, looking at the enemy ships left far behind.

"The Ascension Society's warship..."

She wiped the blood from her face, a trace of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"It really is impressive."

Earlier, when facing those things in the deep sea, the Abyssal Hunter had seemed a bit strained.

But against these small and medium ships?

Even with its firepower reduced by half, it was still a total massacre.

The dock drew closer and closer.

Through the porthole, Lu Yuan saw the wretched state of Gelimu Port.

The dock area had already mostly fallen.

Burning buildings, collapsed shelves, and scattered corpses were everywhere.

Some corpses had already begun to mutate, writhing on the ground and making sickening noises.

The Abyssal Hunter collided with the dock, the violent vibration making the hull let out a groan of pain.

"Assemble, off the ship!"

Alice was the first to jump onto the dock, raising her warhammer:

"Fight our way back to the base!"

The others followed closely behind.

The Descendant, Ed, and Leonard took the lead, clearing the way with firepower.

The two deacons and Philip carried the unconscious Marcus and the nearly scrapped Arbiter.

Gray supported Lu Yuan.

The team's progress was difficult.

Carrying the wounded and the Arbiter, their speed couldn't pick up at all, while the surrounding mutated creatures gathered in increasing numbers.

"There's a huge group ahead!" Ed roared.

At the end of the street, more than a dozen mutated creatures were surging this way, interspersed with several deep sea cultists.

Alice was just about to charge forward.

Suddenly.

"Roar—!"

A black shadow burst out from the side alley, crashing directly into the group of mutated creatures.

It was a humanoid monster entirely covered in a black keratin layer, its physique a full size larger than an ordinary person; its sharp claws left afterimages as it tore the mutated creatures into shreds like paper wherever it passed.

"Valentine!" Alice's eyes lit up.

The "monster" turned its head, revealing a hideous face, but those emerald eyes held a hint of playfulness.

"Captain Alice, you really are slow."

Valentine's voice was raspy and low, possessing a beast-like roughness.

Behind him, several Nightwatchers followed, clearing the remaining mutated creatures.

"Old Morgan sent me to meet you." Valentine licked the black blood from the corner of his mouth. "The road from the dock to the base isn't peaceful. Carrying these burdens, I doubt you'd make it."

His gaze swept over the unconscious Marcus and the scrapped Arbiter, a trace of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"So the people from the Ascension Society have days like this too."

"Less talk," Alice said crossly. "Clear the way!"