“This Merman Pearl is truly an excellent item for boosting power.” Looking at the panel in front of him, Luca couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.
Although he was still only at the high-tier level, his panel was already comparable to that of a Star-level professional. Although there was still some distance to break through his mental bottleneck, at least it no longer felt as hopeless as before.
For the next two days, Luca continued to sneak into the captain’s room every night, waiting for those monsters to deliver themselves to his door.
At first, he was worried that the Mutated Merman would stop sending people over once they realized something was wrong. But soon, he realized that his concerns were unnecessary.
That very night, the Mutated Merman who launched a surprise attack didn’t decrease in number; instead, there were even more of them.
Moreover, after discovering that they had the special cigars, the mermen gave up on hiding and started launching their attacks on them openly.
Countless monsters leaped out of the sea and lunged at them recklessly. In the blink of an eye, they were reduced to nothing but ash, completely incinerated by Luca’s Solar Divine Flame.
In the process, Luca gained a vast amount of experience and also collected plenty of Merman Pearls. After absorbing these Merman Pearls, his mental attributes were further enhanced.
What surprised Luca was the persistence of these Mutated Merman, far beyond his expectations. Despite suffering complete annihilation several times, they actually came back again the following night, howling as they charged at them.
Luca, as they wished, used the Solar Divine Flame once more, reducing them to ashes.
For the next few days, this pattern repeated itself:
—Mutated Merman launched an attack at night.
Experience tales at empire
—Solar Divine Flame!
—Mutated Merman’s agonized screams.
—All eliminated.
—Level increased, absorbing Merman Pearls.
—Mutated Merman attacked again.
—Solar Divine Flame!
—Mutated Merman’s screams once more.
—Level increased again…
This visible progress brought Luca an unimaginable amount of motivation. So, over the following days, after Isaac, Ellie, and the others finished their dinner, they would often see a tall figure on the deck.
He would stand against the sea breeze, gazing at the fog-covered ocean with an expectant look in his eyes. Only when the ugly Mutated Merman began emerging from the water would a faint smile appear on his face.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, two days had gone by. Within this monotonous yet not boring cycle, Luca’s level and strength skyrocketed as if riding a rocket, quickly reaching level 66 with his mental power surpassing 500,000.
It was at this point, as he wondered whether he should take a few more laps around the nearby seas to further increase his strength, that one evening came.
After finishing his dinner, Luca arrived on the deck as usual, right on time, waiting.
However, the wind howled, and half an hour passed. He did not see the familiar figure as expected.
A sense of unease struck Luca’s heart, a bad premonition creeping over him. But he still held onto some hope, gazing into the mist-covered sea, waiting eagerly.
Another half-hour passed. The sea was as silent as an abyss, mirroring the emptiness in his heart.
There were none! Not a single one!
The Mutated Mermen didn’t show up today!
Luca felt deceived, and anger swelled in his chest. These damned mermen, how dare they break their promise!
It took him a long time to calm his emotions, repeatedly telling himself that they might just be late.
Then, he spent the entire night outside, braving the sea wind, until the sky began to brighten. The mist grew thinner, and still, he saw no sign of the Mutated Mermen.
It was clear that the Mutated Mermen had noticed something was wrong and had decided not to deliver experience to him anymore.
Although Luca had anticipated this, he still couldn’t help but sigh. He wondered when he would get another chance to farm experience so effortlessly.
The next two days passed without incident. Under Jell’s guidance, the Windrunner Ship and Black Thorn continued their journey towards their destination.
Occasionally, a few foolish sea monsters would attack their ships, but they were easily dealt with.
The Mutated Mermen never appeared again, and Luca had fully resigned himself to that fact.
Meanwhile, they were drawing closer and closer to the Dead Black Sea.
Unnoticed, the sea began to change. The shallow gray water gradually turned as black as ink. From a distance, it resembled a black mirror, perfectly still, without a single ripple—eerily strange.
Everyone knew they were nearing the Dead Black Sea.
“Slow down,” Jell reminded. This week, he had been learning the language of Clinton from Isaac and Gavin. Though his tone was still somewhat odd, he was now able to communicate normally.
The Dead Black Sea was located at the very heart of the Sea of Mist. The dangers within were far beyond what they had encountered before. Luca hesitated for no more than a moment, then ordered the Black Thorn to reduce speed and instructed the soldiers and sailors on board to remain on high alert.
“Can you sense the Celestial Pearl?” Luca asked Sophia, even though he knew the Celestial Pearl was somewhere beneath this sea, its exact location only known to Zenobia.
Sophia shook her head. “The Celestial Pearl seems to have its aura blocked by something. Even I can’t sense it. With my current strength, I can only perceive it in the western part of this sea.”
Jell furrowed his brows slightly and said, “That’s the deepest part of the Dead Black Sea, the territory of the Fish Human Race, and it’s filled with many Superclass monsters.”
Everyone turned to look at Luca. They had already encountered the bizarre and strange monsters of the Sea of Mist, and even faced two Earth-level Superclass monsters. They couldn’t help but wonder what kind of dangers they might face deeper into the sea.
“Keep going,” Luca said without hesitation. At this point, there was no reason to turn back halfway.
First Mate Keik received the order and immediately went to execute it.
The calm, motionless black sea stretched before them, with the two Superclass warships slowly advancing toward the depths of the Dead Black Sea.
But as they went deeper, everyone began to notice something was wrong.
It was too quiet.
In this mist-covered Black Sea, the sounds of waves and wind seemed to have been swallowed whole.
They hadn’t seen a single monster along the way. It was so still, it felt like a dead zone—completely devoid of life.
The fog here was also much thicker than in other sea regions, completely obscuring their perception and sight. They couldn’t make out what kind of dangers might be hidden behind the mist and the still, black water.
A heavy mood began to settle over the group.
Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, fully alert, and not daring to let their guard down for even a moment.
Whoosh—A sudden gust of wind swept through, carrying with it a strong, pungent smell—like the stench of rotting fish.
“What’s that smell?” Ellie asked in confusion.
Luca frowned. Just as he was about to warn the others, a sharp sense of danger surged in his chest. He suddenly looked up at the sky.
He saw the gray mist swirling, and a massive fish tail, easily a thousand meters long, appeared. It came down with the force of a mountain, an overwhelming pressure bearing down toward the Windrunner Ship.
“Watch out!!” Several furious shouts echoed through the silent sea. Before the others could react, they felt the sky above them darken as if a shadow had fallen.
Boom!!! A thunderous explosion shook the heavens and the earth. The wind howled as the very air seemed to tremble. The endless black sea water was whipped up like a cascading waterfall.
The shield on the Windrunner Ship, strong enough to withstand Superclass-level attacks, began to crack, emitting sharp sounds of breaking. Then, to Isaac and the others’ astonishment, the shield shattered with a deafening crash!
It was a Sky-level monster?!
The rotting fish tail grew larger and larger in their eyes, until it completely blocked their view.
In that moment of despair, a powerful aura suddenly descended! Golden Divine Flame ignited on Luca’s body, and his figure turned into a streak of light, shooting upward with incredible speed!
“Get lost!!” Seeing the colossal fish tail blocking out the sky, Luca’s gaze turned cold. He raised his knee and twisted his waist, delivering a powerful kick like a falling star, striking the descending fish tail with all his might.
“Boom!!” To everyone’s astonishment, the massive fish tail, which seemed impossible to stop, was sent flying by his single kick.
Blood and flesh exploded, raining down like droplets from the sky. In that moment, the stark contrast between the two beings—the giant whale and Luca—created a shocking and powerful visual.
“Raaaargh!!” Roars filled with anger and pain echoed through the mist. The mist swirled, and the huge shadow fully revealed itself. Only then did everyone finally see what had been attacking them.
It was a giant whale, several thousand meters long. Its skin was pale gray, devoid of eyes, with only two dark, hollow sockets. The entire body was decayed, giving off a strong, nauseating stench. Along its belly were numerous red tendrils that resembled seaweed. At this moment, the monster’s tail was reduced to a mere stump.
Luca’s kick had completely torn off its tail fin.
“Lord of the Dead Sea!” Jell recognized the creature immediately, his eyes filled with shock as he looked at Luca.
The Lord of the Dead Sea was a proper Sky-level monster, a creature feared even in the Sea of Mist. How terrifying was Luca’s strength to take on such a monster?
But Luca didn’t relax his guard. Suspended in midair, he looked down at the enormous creature sinking into the black sea and calmly said, “Is this how you Fish Human Race greet your guests?”
The air remained still for a long moment, before the Lord of the Dead Sea slowly rose from the water.
Atop its back, a large, muscular merman with black and gold scales, holding a trident, appeared.
Looking up at Luca in the sky, the merman’s eyes revealed a deep wariness. He hadn’t expected to encounter such a tough opponent this time.
But instead of retreating, he spoke coldly, “Human from the outside, hand over that woman, and I will let you leave the Sea of Mist!”
As soon as his words fell, the dark sea behind him rippled. One after another, Mutated Mermen, covered in scales, with cold, fierce gazes, and weapons in hand, emerged from the water.
Under them, each merman rode a deep-sea monster, the weakest of which were at least high-tier.