Chapter 345: Chapter 318: Slaying People, Creating Ships! (2/3)
For the "Privateer" of Fiery Flame Land, it took less than ten seconds for things to spiral out of control.
Without any Sublimators to intercept, even a regular navy would seem like a lamb to a tiger when facing Ian.
After all, they were up against a special case who could confront the Second Energy Level head-on, a being whose combat power defied all logic.
To stop him was possible, yes, but it would at least require a well-coordinated team of eight.
But where would you find eight people?
Even in the military, Sublimators were not so common as to be found everywhere. The glorious five thousand Wavepatroller Swordsmen of Whale Song Cliff had been assembled to face the centennial tide of Sea Demon Worms, a battle for the nation, yet following that, Whale Song Cliff drastically reduced its forces, maintaining only a regular formation of seven hundred Wavepatrollers.
Of course, this wasnât to say there were only seven hundred Sublimators in the entire navy; the actual number was multiple times that. However, the count of main combat elites and support troops differed, and one couldnât simply equate half-producing personnel with full-time professional Sublimator soldiers.
Fiery Flame Land naturally couldnât have a stronger navy than Whale Song Cliff, and spread across two High-Speed Battleships, they had two combat Sublimators and three Sea Battle Armor Suits, which was already a formidable force. According to the commander, two escort ships, three armor suits, and two Sublimators would be enough to suppress the White Mist Bishop, the seriously wounded Master Gossay, and the two young men, Yisen Gard and Ian.
Still, it was unexpected that one of the escort ships would almost be sunk midway, and whether the three armor suits could entangle the White Mist Bishop was uncertain. At the very least, the remaining escort ship appeared unable to stop Ian alone.
However, after this commotion, the Sublimators of Fiery Flame Land finally grasped the situation and set out to prevent further deterioration of the circumstances.
"Captain, to your left!" someone shouted, providing a warning not only for the captain but also for Ian.
The young man looked up and saw a sudden explosion occurring on the bridge to his right, followed by a massive figure that sprung out from the misty spray of the explosion.
This âCaptainâ was exceptionally tall and muscular, practically like a muscle tank. His body flickered with a pale blue Wind Attribute Origin Quality, with intensifying gales pressurizing layer upon layer, granting him tremendous strength, surpassing his already imposing stature.
The weapon he wielded was a long staff, studded with rivets inscribed with Inscriptions. Ian couldnât discern the exact structure of the Inscriptions in such a short time, but he recognized some of them as related to fire and heating.
That staff, when swung, would likely explode.
"A special weapon?"
Ian had no intention of resisting head-on, even though he was a Sand Armor Apprentice, and it seemed that everyone could notice that fact, but he had no intention of revealing his strength in this situation either.
The youth stomped on the deck fiercely, shooting laterally and upward into the sky, avoiding the high-placed sudden attack from his opponent.
Boom!
The Captainâs metal staff struck heavily on the deck, resulting in an intense expansion of hot air that heated the surrounding mist, creating an impressive explosionâthe deck was actually pierced by the staff, leaving a big hole on the surface of the ship.
The force of the impact made even Ian secretly alarmed. He wasnât unable to withstand it, but he hadnât expected that the âenhancementâ from the Wind Attribute could allow a First Energy Level individual to unleash a power comparable to that of an alchemic cannonball.
With the explosive Inscriptions added, being hit by that staff would leave him no choice but to expose his true strength.
â One mustnât underestimate other Sublimators.
With this thought, as he was turning mid-air to dodge enemy gunfire, Ian called out, "Yisen!"
On the sailboat, the blond-haired youth was holding the âWater Gunâ Ian had handed him before jumping overboard.
With his intelligence, he quickly learned how to use this simple inscribed weapon and had been waiting for the right moment ever since.
Now, at Ianâs call, he lifted the Water Gun, aiming at the Captain of Fiery Flame Land not far away.
â FzztâBoom!
There was a loud bang as a dark stream of flame erupted from the Water Gun in Yisen Gardâs hand. The blood-colored, dim column of fire extended forward under high pressure, crossing the curtain of rain, penetrating the mist, and tracing a slight arc in the midair.
The fiery trajectory hit the Captainâs right arm, where layers of swirling wind shields were in place. Initially, the Fiery Flame Land Sublimator took little notice, but he quickly realized something was wrong.
ââThe flame can erode Origin Quality?!
Since it was not Ian who personally attempted to boost the Wave Singer and Fairy Wingsâ power, but Yisen who used Origin Quality to stimulate the Inscriptions, the pillar of fireâs impact was quickly blocked. However, the corrosive power of the eroding flame turned out to be the most insidiously vicious Ian had ever encountered.
Even the flesh and blood of the Hive would be completely corroded by Yisen Gardâs blood; what more could be said for an Ordinary Sublimator from Fiery Flame Land?
In just a single breath, the right arm struck by the black pyrostream was burnt through, pierced from the side, splattering toward the chest.
The captainâs movements were interrupted, and Ian, who had landed on the deck, dispatched several encircling navy men with two swift sword strikes.
He now realized that his left arm, which housed the Spark, had grown considerably stronger, and the Morien Steel fused with his flesh and blood had greatly advanced the transfer of Origin Quality and power in that hand.
Ian swung his sword with his left hand, and the speed of the blade was so fast it was nearly invisible; even bullets fired at him were sliced apartâin a flash, the Fiery Flame Land soldiers who had been obstructing the path between Ian and the captain had all been either slain or had their limbs severed, creating a mist of blood.
And surrounded by the mist of blood, the white-haired young man dragged his longsword across the deck, prying it open.
With a flick of his wrist, water mist wrapped around splinters of hardwood sprayed toward the solemn-faced captain who stood braced for the assault, like the ammunition of a shotgun.
Boom boom boom! With an arm lost and his body off balance, unable to move swiftly, the captain could only raise his staff-wielding hand in front of his face, and then charged straight at Ian.
The power of the water blast, comparable to a shotgun, slammed into the back of his hand, where most of the force was deflected by a cyclone of protection around his body, causing little injury. The âStorm Armor Honey Badgerâ was such an exceptionally tough and powerful Magical Beast that normal attacks could hardly breach his defence.
But it did have an effect: after the captain lowered the hand that protected his face, the blood trickling from his nose was evidence enough.
He knew he had made a mistake by not waiting for another High-Speed Escort Ship to coordinate the attack. The opponentâs strength far exceeded everyoneâs expectations. Although the White Folks youth did not exhibit power beyond the High Rank of the First Energy Level, his swordsmanship was so exquisitely careful that it was as though he had honed it for over a decade.
Thatâs why he had to attack with his full strength, for if the battle were to drag on, he, who had already lost an arm, would only be slowly bled dry by his cautious opponent, leading to defeat without a fight.
But at that moment, to his astonishment, he saw that Ian did not raise his Galewind Longsword, but instead lifted his empty left arm.
A deep blue Origin Quality concentrated in his left arm as the roaring sound of waves emerged, causing the azure metallic lines entwined around the young manâs left arm to brightly light up one by one.
If Master Gossay had been present, he would have noticed that the rhythm of light and shadow in the Aether Crystal Dragonâs charging breath was extremely similar to the patterns now illuminating Ianâs left arm.
But all this occurred in an instant; what followed was a punch.
Just a single left hook punch, packed with a vast tide of Origin Quality, Ianâs fist blasted through the captainâs defence, and then the longsword grasped in his right palm struck upwards from below.
The icy blade cut through flesh and blood, halting the captainâs charge. He staggered backwards, blood silently pooling at his feet.
In the end, his bisected body fell face-up into a pool of blood, the impact of the corpse hitting the deck causing a tremor felt by everyone.
Ian, too, stared somewhat blankly at the corpse before him, then looked down incredulously at his own left hand.
ââThis powerful?
However, Ian was not truly dazed; he leaped backwards into the sea amidst the shock of the Fiery Flame Land navy whose captain had been slain in mere seconds.
With the support of the Fairy Wings, it took him less than five seconds to fly back up from the sea surface to the high-speed sailboat.
After that, it was Shashaâs turn.
Boom!
Accompanied by Shashaâs joyful cry, a huge shockwave spread throughout the entire escort ship, as Senan once again set sail.
This time, no ship would catch up to them.