Ten thousand I am across the heavens

The captain recognized the person who flew out immediately. He quickly realized that this was the ship's 22nd Level 3 Mechanic, who had just been promoted. He had just read the resume not long ago and the person was definitely a genius among mechanics. He never expected that the person had fled to the city-state because he was being hunted down.

He was momentarily conflicted. If a level 3 mechanic from the city-state were to die in battle, even if there were a plausible explanation, he would still bear considerable responsibility. On the other hand, if he could use this opportunity to develop this man into a loyal subordinate, the benefits would extend far beyond the profits from this trade. If this man possessed the potential to advance to level 4, the favor would become even more valuable. However, he knew all too well how difficult it was to advance to level 4. This man might never have the chance in his lifetime. Just as he hesitated, the Blood Sea Sword King had already made his move. His hundreds-of-meters-long giant sword split open, transforming into hundreds of thousands of flying swords the size of normal-sized swords. Half of these swords hovered in mid-air, forming a complex and intricate sword array, while the other half transformed into streaks of light, hurtling towards the enemy's location.

At the same time, the souls of vengeful spirits emerged from these sword blades, turning the originally light blue blades blood red. In the blink of an eye, a terrifying sword formation unfolded on the river, creating a death zone.

This is the Blood Sea Sword Formation, the Blood Sea Sword King's proudest ultimate move. Ever since acquiring this spiritual sword, he has painstakingly studied its usage, even sacrificing his own cultivation in the process. He practiced according to incomplete cultivation manuals passed down in the Mountain and River Republic, managing to cultivate a complete system of Dao traces within his body without any aids. This allows him to barely control the spiritual sword, which is probably why this treasure, once in his possession, wasn't snatched away by a higher-ranking figure. The sword's power in the hands of an immortal might not necessarily be greater than his, and immortals cannot erase their cultivation and start over.

"Captain, there's no need to make things difficult. I'll take responsibility for my actions. Today, I'll single-handedly stand against this so-called Blood Sea Sword King. Thanks to you all, I did indeed absorb some of your blood essence. Since you want it back, then come and get it yourself."

As he spoke, he released a dense, liquid-like crimson mist that filled his powered armor. The mist then combined with the mechanical modules, creating flesh and blood tissue that filled the mechanical parts, forming a gigantic half-flesh, half-machine mecha in mid-air. Numerous drones flew out from the ship; these were parts of the giant humanoid mecha. They flew to their designated positions, merging with the giant armor like a composite.

"Come on!" Dao Tian, ​​riding his armor, which wasn't too large and stood about 10 meters tall, charged straight into the sword formation without any intention of dodging. "Look at you. You set up this witness by picking up scraps from other people's homes, impressive. Or is it the Blood Sea Demon Armor that I forged by taking your sect's treasure, impressive?"

Although the Blood Path school appeared relatively late, it was very suitable for the demonic path. Its development was actually quite rapid, spreading throughout the world in nearly 1 years, becoming a signature style of the demonic path.

Dao Tian, ​​having lived lifetime after lifetime by stealing the destinies of others, naturally possessed some understanding of the so-called Blood Path. At this moment, he was unleashing a killing move using his immense blood energy, combined with the mecha he had crafted. Although he hadn't fully adapted to the Central Continent, and a significant portion of the Gu worms on his body were suppressed and unable to unleash their full power, with this local equipment, restoring his true essence supply to the fourth rank wouldn't be a problem. Furthermore, he had a large quantity of spirit stones on hand to power his mecha, so he wasn't afraid of attrition battles with his opponents.

Within the sword formation, thousands upon thousands of blood-red flying swords darted back and forth at terrifying supersonic speeds. Their inherent sharpness allowed them to shred steel as easily as tearing paper.

The Blood Sea Demon Armor had barely entered the sword formation when it was sliced ​​open by the sharp swords, blood splattering everywhere, its flesh and tissues being severed and scattered all over. It looked as if it was about to be torn to pieces.

Seeing this, the captain hesitated, unsure whether to seize the opportunity to rescue the man. Although the Blood Sea Armor was being severely suppressed, he had just scanned the half-flesh mech using the ship's scanning system. He discovered that this thing was extraordinary. Even the strongest level 3 mechanic on the ship, whose custom armor he had forged, might not have this level of strength. This had already initially proven that he was a promising talent, adept at utilizing various different powers and combining different styles to maximize his strength. However, this level of talent was not enough. It wasn't enough for the captain to immediately make a decision.

Dao Tian had guessed that the captain was hesitant to help him, but he wasn't in a hurry. Despite appearing to have been sliced ​​to pieces, he hadn't actually suffered much damage. The severed flesh regenerated immediately, returning to a state of delicate connection. Close observation revealed that even the loss of a single drop of blood would result in a fungal filament extending from it and reconnecting to the main body. The Blood Sea Demon Armor had suffered almost no loss in quality during the recent onslaught of the storm.

As the mech itself began to break apart, a spherical shockwave, like a self-destruction, spread out from its body, blocking the incoming flying swords. Many were even knocked away, colliding with each other in mid-air with a clanging sound.

Taking advantage of this brief period of freedom from attack, the shredded mech, as if drawn by a force, swiftly returned to its original position, instantly transforming back into its original blood-red, streamlined form.

Not only that, but there were also four flying swords hidden between the fingers of his left and right hands. These were the flying swords he had just captured, and a closer look would reveal these blood-red splatters. In fact, they were all translucent. Only a single structure inside, smaller than a droplet from a sprayer, was a real, solid object; the rest existed in the form of Dao traces.

At this moment, bright red flesh seeped from between the fingers, crawling up the flying swords and rapidly eroding them, turning them all a dark red in the blink of an eye. Then, four flying swords in each hand were forcibly pressed together, and then an unbelievable scene unfolded. The eight flying swords, through compression and erosion, fused into a giant sword, just the right size for the 10-meter-tall mech to hold and use as a short sword.

The Blood Sea Sword King's expression changed. He felt he had lost contact with those swords. Although they were only one in a million flying swords, they were truly beyond his control. The last time something like this happened was when he tried to gain an advantage on the front lines, using this sword to attack soldiers of the Mountain and River Republic. At that time, he only ambushed a dying soldier, and almost had his weapon taken away by the enemy. If he hadn't run fast, he wouldn't have been able to keep the sword. Now, a similar situation had occurred again. Although the enemy's efficiency in taking the sword was obviously much lower, it could actually corrode it. This immediately ignited his killing intent. More than half of the flying swords quickly converged towards him, reforming into physical form in his hand. He himself also joined the sword formation, not intending to give this troublesome fellow a chance, preparing to use the enormous energy contained in the condensed swords to forcibly kill him.

Dao Tian quickly held his short sword horizontally in front of him, and the two swords clashed instantly. His short sword shattered into pieces, and the machine itself was engulfed by the energy surge, falling in fragments towards the water's surface. In an instant, tens of thousands of tons of river water were dyed blood red, as if a Leviathan had been slain on the spot. "Not bad talent, but unfortunately, his cultivation is only so-so," the Blood Sea Sword King glanced at the captain, who was preparing to activate the missile system. His individual strength was, of course, insignificant against this ship, but he didn't need to fight the entire vessel. These businessmen were unwilling to fight unless absolutely necessary.

Just as he submerged to reclaim his blood energy, the crimson color beneath the water coalesced once more, and a massive whirlpool appeared on the surface. This whirlpool was over a thousand meters in diameter, even affecting the warship itself. It was only after starting its engines that it managed to break free from the whirlpool. The Blood Sea Sword King, who had just entered the water, sensed something was wrong.

He immediately tried to escape from the water, but this was a trap set by Dao Tian. The river, hundreds of miles wide, maintained its flow. It was at least several hundred meters deep, and in its deepest parts several thousand meters, almost like a strait. His opponent had just submerged when, under the influence of the undercurrent he had guided, he was pushed towards the depths. The resistance of water is incomparable to the resistance of air.

Without specific water-based killing techniques, free flight here is simply impossible. Even a fifth-level expert can't be like an immortal, possessing a mastery of killing techniques from every school. Aside from their own specialized killing techniques, their skill level in other schools is usually only average.

Now forcibly pulled underwater, the Blood Sea Sword King's killing moves could at most ensure he could breathe underwater. Slightly increase its underwater speed.

Meanwhile, his opponent had transformed his mech into a shark-like form, swirling rapidly around the water like a school of fish, creating a massive whirlpool and churning the currents. Underwater, it was impossible to discern directions. Although protected by his powerful sword, these underwater mechanical sharks couldn't harm him at all. However, after being pulled hundreds of meters underwater, he found himself unable to break free. Even more terrifying, underwater, he discovered that the shield he had constructed with his sword was being rapidly eroded by the blood energy, at a rate many times faster than the erosion he had experienced with the spiders in mid-air.

"Surprised? Strange, why am I able to corrode your weapon so quickly?" A mechanical shark appeared outside the shield, and with its appearance, his blood-red shield began to be dyed dark red at an even faster rate.

"You think I'm going to tell you why?" Dao Tian flicked the tail of his mechanical shark, quickly leaving after the opponent's attention was drawn to his conversation. He wasn't there to explain things to his opponent at all; he was simply there to distract him, waste his time, and buy him time to hack into the opponent's equipment and defenses. And now, the time was almost up. The military-grade weapon was completely stained dark red, and the Blood Sea Sword King had lost control of it. He was just an ordinary fifth-tier mechanic, a slightly stronger level 3 mechanic. If he had all his weapons, he would have a chance to win against these fifth-tier mechanics who weren't equipped with any high-tech gear, let alone since Dao Tian had already seized control of the spirit sword.

But the act still had to go on. In the midst of the massive whirlpool, Dao Tian personally piloted a small mechanical shark, breaking through the waves and soaring into the air. He shouted towards the captain, "Captain, that guy is trapped in the center of the whirlpool. Just one shot with the main cannon will kill him instantly."

The captain had hesitated before, unwilling to waste ammunition, but now, seeing what appeared to be a blood-red mass in the center of the whirlpool, struggling to break free but unable to escape in a short time, he decisively ordered the warship to turn its main guns around, aim at the center of the whirlpool, and unleash a massive beam of light, over 10 meters thick. The terrifying energy instantly evaporated tens of thousands of tons of river water, causing a white mist to rise from the river surface, enough to obscure the view for miles.

When the fog dissipated, Dao Tian, ​​piloting his tattered mecha, flew onto the warship, carrying a light blue spirit sword in one hand and a corpse in the other.

"Thank you for your help, Captain. This is the spoils of war. This fellow didn't expect you to intervene. He didn't even have time to destroy the Gu worms on his body before he died." He handed over the corpse without hesitation. But he kept the precious sword in his hand.

Everyone knows this sword is the most valuable, but similar items exist in the city-states. At the level of a Level 3 Mechanic, they can handle some. There's even a sword in the stone, similar to this one. If one can pull it out and gain the sword's approval, it can unleash immense power. Many have tried, but none have succeeded. Even the Blood Sea Sword King couldn't unleash its full power. They knew they couldn't possibly unleash much either, and the captain tacitly allowed him to take some of the spoils.

The other major forces that had followed the attack were dumbfounded by what they saw. The leader had been inexplicably killed, and now tens of thousands of heavy cannons of all sizes on the ship were slowly turning and taking aim.

Without the most threatening leader, it's better not to pay the protection fee.

[To be continued]

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