"?!"
Suddenly realizing that the human ahead was even faster and more agile in the water than he, a crocodile warrior, Gu Guzha was momentarily stunned. He had planned out all the steps to defeat the enemy in his mind, but had not foreseen such a bizarre situation! He couldnât believe he was unable to catch up with this human underwater! He appeared clumsy, almost as if he couldnât swim!
Instinctively, he wanted to see if the human was using some hidden cheating method, but there was no opportunity, because at that moment Wang Zhifan was already racing toward him from behind with an unbelievable speed under the sea!
Facing such an attack, Gu Guzha dared not be careless, quickly turning around to thrust his spear backward. However, his magnificent strike missed its target again, easily evaded by Wang Zhifan, who had charged from the water. After this dodge, Wang Zhifanâs speed dramatically increased as he maneuvered to other angles, launching successive attacks on him.
Thus, the crocodile warrior Gu Guzha soon found himself overwhelmed by the endless agile strikes, struggling to cope. And at a moment when he lost his composure, his spear thrust towards Wang Zhifan was dodged once again, but this time Wang Zhifan avoided in a direction not backward or sideways, but forward!
With speed far surpassing his opponentâs underwater movements, he rushed in front of him, delivering a vicious kick accompanied by a dull underwater boom. Gu Guzhaâs fierce head was directly kicked out of shape, his eyes rolling back, he immediately fainted!
Solving the crocodile warrior with one strike, Wang Zhifan then grabbed the giant body that had fallen into a coma, swiftly dragging him out of the water like a dead pig, onto the hardened ice he had previously created using the power of the Ice Source.
"I won."
At this moment, under the gaze of everyone around, Wang Zhifan announced the result in a voice not loud, just slightly overpowering the sound of the waves, yet spreading especially clearly through the surroundings.
Because nearly everyone around was almost numb, unable to comprehend why the human emerged as the victor in this duel, especially at such a rapid paceâtaking no more than ten seconds in total.
"Damn! Fan is awesome!"
Several seconds later, Chen Mingâs cheering voice first echoed from the shipâs side, but judging by his surprised expression, he seemingly didnât understand what just happened, only knowing to shout praises.
"Did he use that illusion ability? But as he moves in the water, it leaves ripples, unlike that kind of method..."
Nearby, Chen Can started muttering to himself while stroking his chin. Watching Wang Zhifan moving so fast and bizarrely in the water, he immediately thought he might be using the illusion technique once used to slay the Black Giant pirates, but he also noticed Wang Zhifan continually interacting with the surrounding water, unlike the illusion trickâthis baffled him greatly.
Similarly baffled were the nearby crocodile people, including the giant Gu Gucha, who previously maintained a stoic expression before the duel, but upon learning the result, his yellow-brown vertical pupils displayed a very puzzled emotion, as though unable to comprehend how Wang Zhifan moved so swiftly and deftly underwater.
"Impossible! Gu Guzha couldnât possibly lose to you in the sea! You must have violated the rules using magic!"
After a few more seconds, a nearly unanimous murmur arose among the stunned crocodile bystanders, expressing disbelief at the duelâs outcome.
"Yes! This human must have violated the rules!"
"He couldnât possibly defeat Gu Guzha in the sea!"
"Cunning human!"
...
The crocodile people started discussing in whispers, unable to accept such a defeat, which was a complete humiliation for them, wounding their racial superiority complex.
Seeing the situation unfold this way, the giant crocodile warrior on the shipâs side, who had been silent for a while, prepared to speak to guide his stubborn kin toward accepting reality. But before he spoke, Wang Zhifan addressed them from below.
"Crocodile warriors! If anyone has complaints about the duel, I am willing to accept their challenge! Iâll let you experience the duel firsthand! Whoever believes Iâve violated the rules, feel free to come and prove it!"
He boldly invited these dissatisfied crocodiles to a duel, intending to prove his innocence through combat.
"I challenge you!"
As soon as the words fell, a crocodile swam forward, looking enraged and clearly not believing Wang Zhifan had the physical strength to easily defeat Gu Guzha.
"Alright, letâs begin."
Seeing this, Wang Zhifan did not waste any words. Leaving Gu Guzhaâs unconscious body on the hard ice, he jumped back into the sea, showing once again his previous speed and agility in the water, charging towards the challenging crocodile like a marine creature.
A second or two later, the crocodileâs stone axe swing during the rapid charge missed its target, and Wang Zhifan dexterously circled behind him, delivering a hand chop to the back of his head, knocking him unconscious on the spot.
But that wasnât the end of it. After dealing with this unyielding opponent, many more crocodiles challenged him. However, these crocodile people had one commendable aspect: they strictly adhered to the duel rules, refraining from ganging up tactics. Each challenge came after Wang Zhifan defeated one and announced their arrival, never resorting to ambush methods. As for magic attacks against Wang Zhifan, that was out of the questionâthey simply lacked the ability.
Thus, after roughly twenty minutes, Wang Zhifan continued defeating many dissatisfied crocodiles, directly overpowering them in their preferred underwater combat style, leaving them either unconscious or with broken bones. None could say he violated the rulesâthey had personally experienced their own lack of strength leading to such outcomes.
"Human! We have lost! Decide our fate as you please! The crocodile tribe are not cowards who fear death!"
Once all the challenging crocodiles were defeated fairly by Wang Zhifan, these individuals showed an aspect unlike most humans. They genuinely acknowledged Wang Zhifanâs strength, and agreed to abide by the rules established prior to the duel, not continuing with unwarranted argument.
"I donât want your lives; I just need your entire tribe to assist me with something, the details of which your kin, Gu Gucha, will explain."
Wang Zhifan at this point began wrapping things up. He had spent so much effort with these crocodiles and restrained himself in duels for this very moment.
Knowing he needed more help beyond these present crocodiles, he tasked the giant crocodile, Gu Gucha, to handle the specifics, considering he was part of this tribe and knew how to communicate effectively with them.
Wang Zhifan simultaneously jumped onto the deck of the Great Horn Shark, planning to take a rest after giving some instructions to the giant crocodile, Gu Gucha.
As he walked toward the captainâs quarters, Chen Ming and Chen Can hurried over, curious about how he could move so fast and be so agile in the water.
"Itâs because of this ring; it allows me to adapt to the underwater environment like a marine creature."
Wang Zhifan generously revealed the secret. In water, the Sea Godâs Protection ring played a crucial role, enabling his melee power to be fully unleashed. The ring had been looted from a Gray Realm in the real world and had been collecting dust in his personal space for a long time, but this time its specialized purpose proved quite valuable.