At the sudden turn of events, both sides were left in shock.
Whether it was First Mate Jack, Second Mate Carmichael, or even Tark and Nicholas, all of them stood frozen, their mouths agape in disbelief.
After all, Evans wasn’t some unknown figure—he was the notorious King of the Black Ravens, one of the strongest in the Western Sea!
And yet, here he was, kicked off the ground and sent flying by a mere teenager, someone who couldn’t even be older than his teens?
If this hadn’t happened right before their eyes, they’d never have believed it, not even in their wildest dreams.
Especially the pirates of the Black Raven Crew.
They knew better than anyone how strong Evans truly was. Ever since he had killed the previous captain of the Black Ravens and taken over the crew, they had never seen him in such a disheveled state.
“Is this the one sent to rescue me…” Ellie, who had been resigned to despair, now stared blankly at the tall figure on the ice. A flicker of light suddenly gleamed in her otherwise dim eyes.
So strong… and so handsome…
Meanwhile, Evans, still airborne, was surrounded by a surge of dense water elemental magic.
He twisted in midair, and his jagged blade slammed into the ice. Despite the impact, it slid over a hundred meters before finally grinding to a halt.
“You little brat, I really underestimated you.” He stood up, glancing at the imprint of the boot on his chest, then raised his gaze to the calm-faced youth, his expression darkening.
Ever since he had become one of the Four Kings of the Western Sea, gaining a notorious reputation across the Western Territory, this was the first time he had been so thoroughly humiliated.
“You didn’t disappoint me, though. You’re weak, but still not bad,” Luca remarked, never missing an opportunity to taunt his opponent. He then turned to Sophia and smiled. “Senior, leave this bastard to me. You should head back to the ship and recover.”
Sophia had not been physically harmed, but she had expended considerable energy. Remaining here would only expose her to further risks.
Her eyes flickered with a strange gleam as she glanced at the young man in front of her. A flash of complexity crossed her expression, but she eventually nodded.
It wasn’t that she lacked the strength to fight. Rather, she could sense that Luca’s power had grown since their last encounter.
Without using her divine rank, she was sure she wouldn’t even be able to block a single strike from him now…
“Not ‘maybe,’ but for sure,” Zenobia’s mocking voice echoed in her ear. “If he wanted to, he could kill you with one hand right now…”
Sophia’s face showed no expression. If winning required using Zenobia’s method, then she would rather lose. At least that way, the defeat wouldn’t be as humiliating.
As Sophia turned to leave, Luca’s smile slowly faded.
These pirates were even more despicable than he had imagined. Just the fact that they had dared to directly send people to ambush the Navy showed how out of control these sea scum had become. They had grown so brazen that they were beyond saving.
Luca knew he couldn’t let them run rampant any longer; who knew how many families would be destroyed if they were left unchecked?
However, before Luca could make a move, a sharp, azure blade of light suddenly flashed in the air, cutting toward him with murderous intent!
“Think you can leave? Have you asked for my opinion?” Evans’s figure appeared in front of Luca in an instant.
His jagged blade, accompanied by a howling wind and overwhelming force, was ruthlessly swung toward Luca’s head!
“Watch out!” Tark and the others cried out in alarm, having never expected Evans to launch a sudden attack.
Ellie, instinctively, shut her eyes, unable to bear witnessing what was about to happen.
“Are you that eager to die?” Luca’s eyes flashed with cold killing intent.
A burst of golden light flared as he suddenly exerted force in his wrist. The Sunstrike Spear shot upward from below, meeting Evans’s attack head-on!
Boom!!! It was as if a bomb had exploded! The violent gusts of wind spread out like a hurricane, centered around Luca and Evans.
Under the force of the collision, cracks appeared in the ice for over a thousand meters, which then exploded, revealing the turbulent sea beneath.
The mist and frost obscured everyone’s vision. When the fog cleared and the two sides looked again, they were all left dumbfounded.
The scene they had imagined—Luca being blasted away—did not happen.
The young man was surrounded by swirling Divine Flame, and the Sunstrike Spear in his hand was locked in a deadlock with Evans’s massive sword. Golden and green magical energies intertwined and clashed, but neither side was yielding.
Not just the others, even Evans himself was shocked. He was the Sky-level Messenger of the Furious Sea, the ocean was his domain, and generally, no Sky-level opponents were a match for him.
And yet, in this situation, this boy was holding his ground against his full-force strike!
“Is this all the King of the Western Sea can do?” Luca’s tone was calm, but the Divine Flame around him flared up even higher. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the jagged blade flying, then reversed his grip and, in one fluid motion, struck Evans with his spear.
There was a dull crash. Evans was sent flying once more, crashing into the ice, causing a series of splashes, before sinking into the sea, disappearing without a trace.
“Captain!!” The pirates screamed in shock.
No one could have anticipated that Evans would be forced into a disadvantage so quickly.
The soldiers of Seaway City couldn’t help but cheer, feeling that victory was within their grasp. However, Tark and the others furrowed their brows, their faces showing no signs of joy.
Furious Shark Evans had dominated the Western Sea for many years—how could he possibly be so easily defeated?
As expected, the next moment, towering waves suddenly rose from the sea!
“You brat, even if the King himself comes today, you won’t make it out of Azure Waters alive!” Evans was enveloped by a surge of azure-blue water and shot into the sky, charging directly at Luca.
Luca had no intention of wasting words with a man on the brink of death. He pressed forward instead of retreating.
Boom!! The two figures, one green and one gold, collided fiercely in midair, and the terrifying shockwaves spread out like a storm in all directions.
The sky darkened with thick clouds, and thunder roared as golden meteors fell from the heavens. The sea surged with monstrous waves, white mist rising as deafening explosions echoed through the sky.
Both the pirates and the Seaway City ships were caught in the shock, swaying dangerously on the sea. Some sailors even had the chilling sense that a storm was about to hit, their faces filled with fear.
“Is this Luca-sama’s true power?” Isaac looked up at the sky, his heart shaken. When Lyon Duke had confronted Luca, he hadn’t been nearly as powerful. To think, in such a short amount of time, Luca had already reached a level where he could face off against a Sky-level Superclass expert!
“Oh great Goddess of the Ocean, you have finally shown your divine will…” Gavin, standing nearby, looked ecstatic, his body trembling with excitement.
At first, Gavin had assumed that Isaac’s obsession with Luca—coming all the way from Southwind City to Haillan County—was due to Luca’s status as the lord of the city.
Now, he finally understood. His own perspective had been too narrow, and he had underestimated Isaac’s vision!
“You two, stop watching! Get over here and help! We need to leave this sea area immediately…” Tark, clutching the mast, barked orders as the ship swayed dangerously.
Before he could finish speaking, a massive wave struck the Wavebreaker.
Boom!! The ship rocked violently, and the crew quickly grabbed onto the sides for stability. Tark, however, was unlucky and was thrown overboard, nearly vomiting blood from the impact.
“Deputy City Lord!” Nicholas, his body enveloped in a golden Battle Will, quickly caught Tark, preventing him from being tossed into the sea.
Even so, Tark’s noble attire was drenched in seawater, and his thinning, graying hair clung to his face, making him look utterly disheveled.
Although Tark was a high-level professional, he was not a combat-focused class. The sudden massive wave that struck him nearly knocked him unconscious.
But this wasn’t the time to worry about his injuries. Beneath the battle between Luca and Evans, a massive deep-sea whirlpool had formed.
Enduring the pain, Tark quickly gave the order to retreat. A group of soldiers and sailors hurried to the boiler room to activate the Arcane Engine.
Unfortunately, they had been too close to the battlefield earlier. Even with the Arcane Engine now running, the ship continued to slowly drift toward the center of the battle, carried by the currents.
The crew, seeing this, nearly lost their nerve. They could barely withstand the aftershocks of the battle—if they got any closer, would there be anything left of them? They feared that not even their corpses would remain.
Just then, a blue streak of light fell onto the Wavebreaker’s deck.
It was Sophia. Without hesitation, she waved her hand, freezing a large portion of the sea into thick ice. The ship’s hull slid against the ice, which provided enough resistance to stop the ship from drifting further toward the storm’s heart.
Taking advantage of this precious moment, the sailors wasted no time. They pushed the Arcane Engine to its maximum power, turning the Wavebreaker’s bow and successfully steering the ship away from the battlefield where Luca and Evans were clashing.
On the other side, however, the Black Raven pirates were not so lucky.
Although most of their ships had managed to retreat from the battlefield, at Luca’s deliberate attack, at least ten warships were struck directly by falling meteors.
The defense shields, which could block high-level attacks, seemed as fragile as paper in the face of the golden meteors.
One ship after another exploded in a massive blast. In the blink of an eye, over a thousand pirates lost their lives on the spot!
The remaining pirates were all thrown into the sea. Apart from a few water-affinity professionals, even those with good swimming abilities could only struggle desperately in the raging waters, shouting for help.
Evans’s face turned grim. He wanted to save them, but Luca would never give him that chance.
The onslaught from Luca grew fiercer in an instant, not allowing Evans a moment to breathe.
Evans gritted his teeth in anger, swinging his blade to block Luca’s spear thrust, and roared, “You idiots, how long are you planning to watch? Hurry up and help me!”
Jack and Carmichael didn’t dare delay. They transformed into streaks of light and charged directly toward Luca.
Tark and Dacey, who had just managed to get away from the battlefield, saw this scene and their expressions changed.
They were about to rush back to help when they saw Luca, floating in midair, suddenly sneer and say, “Then you three can die together!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a blinding light suddenly erupted from his body, a mixture of black and white.
Thunder roared from the sky above, as a black hurricane swept across the sea. Silver-white lightning serpents lashed out wildly, as if the apocalypse itself had descended! Discover exclusive tales on empire
Wind and Thunder Surge!
