We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 39 [Shadow Swordsmanship]

Deng!Deng!Deng!
Before the swordsman could finish speaking, Ann, who was standing next to Xia En, picked up a rusty greatsword from the ground and charged at him with heavy steps.

With each step Ann took, the floor trembled slightly and left a deep footprint.

He was like a charging, heavily armored rhinoceros, unstoppable.

His attack was so decisive that the attendant didn't have time to react and could only hastily grab his longsword to parry.

clang!
Another muffled sound.

The greatsword wasn't sharp, but it was quite sturdy.

The heavy force traveled along the sword to the attendant's hand, causing him to stumble back several steps.

"Why are they all such incredibly strong brutes?"

"Not elegant at all!"

The attendant cursed inwardly. His swordsmanship was derived from court techniques and was known for its elegance and beauty. He actually showed some restraint in the face of this unreasonable brute force.

Ignoring what the other was thinking, Xia En took advantage of the moment when he and An were facing off to swing his legs and dart through the seawater.

Like a wandering ghost.

Once they were close enough, Shane used the iron hook in his hand at a tricky angle to aim straight for the attendant's back!
Soul-stealing and life-taking!

When it comes to these evil monsters, there's no need to talk about chivalry; we should all fight them side by side!

Is there anything wrong with forming a group to run dungeons and fight bosses?

This unsportsmanlike offensive immediately put the attendants in a dilemma, leaving them with no choice but to advance or retreat.

But he was, after all, a seasoned expert. His gaze sharpened, and he suddenly swung his longsword.

All of a sudden!
The sword vibrated and hummed, as if it had conjured dozens of afterimages, all of which slashed toward Xia En's body at the same time.

The silvery sword light stretched endlessly, its sharpness aimed directly at his face.

This scene is actually quite incredible.

It is important to understand that the use and application of any weapon are greatly affected in seawater.

Especially for a sharp weapon like a longsword, its speed and power are greatly reduced after it cuts through the water, not to mention the inability to leave afterimages.

Fishermen and salvage workers mostly use stabbing weapons, such as harpoons and tridents.

However, at this moment, the swordsmanship of the prince's close attendants seemed to be unaffected by the resistance of the seawater!

Xia En felt a chill run down his spine.

As expected of an old-timer from the previous era, he still has some real skills.

Moreover, he vaguely sensed that the true killing move of this sword technique was not the dazzling sword light, but something hidden beneath it.

A fleeting thought crossed his mind, and facing the dazzling sword light, Xia En swung his rusty iron hook with all his might.

This swing had no technique involved, only pure power.

Without any suspense, the afterimage of the object touching the iron hook vanished instantly.

It seemed that even the dazzling sword light could not suppress the momentum of this pitch-black iron hook.

laugh!
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Xia En's lower back and abdomen.

[Ship Soul Power - 10!]

Xia En's heart skipped a beat, and he looked down.

A gash appeared in the black robe that was used to cover his body, cut by a sharp blade, and waves of pain stimulated his nerves.

"What was that just now?"

Just now, he vaguely saw a shadow approach silently, using the cover of the sword light, and slash his waist.

This attack was no small matter.

It directly cut off one-tenth of Shaen's "health points", and together with the previous exploration, it has consumed about ten points of ship soul power.

If you withstand eight more of these attacks, this dungeon challenge will end in failure.

"Wait a minute, now that I think about it, it doesn't seem so scary?"

Xia En quickly calmed down.

In fact, if he were still made of flesh and blood, this one sword strike would have been enough to decide the outcome.

The damage to his diving suit and the continuous blood loss in the seawater both sealed his fate, leading to a slow death.

As for now...

Xia En smiled and said, "Go ahead and try your best. See if you can hit me eight times before I kill you!"

Nameless attendant, you are the real challenger!
"Your body...how could this be?"

At this moment, the man in white also sensed the strange sensation from the blade, and his expression changed slightly. But before he could think further, a torrent of water surged towards him from behind.

An wielded his greatsword and slashed down fiercely!

The attendant flicked his wrist, and the sword light and afterimages were unleashed together.

Just as he was about to repeat the same move and use a deadly sword technique to pierce the gap in the knight's armor, a dazzling light shone in the hall.

Xia En's idea was simple.

Since the attendant's killing move is the shadow under the sword light, as long as that shadow has nowhere to hide, his swordsmanship will be crippled by half.

However, upon seeing that radiance, the attendant murmured in a daze, "The radiance of the Lord of Radiance..."

"Who are you?"

He had just asked Shane this question when his expression suddenly turned painful and distorted.

"Ouch...it hurts...it hurts so much..."

Why does it hurt so much?

The coral on the right side of the man's face melted rapidly in the light, clearly causing him immense pain.

He couldn't help but cover his face with his hands, but the sensation he felt made him freeze.

That's definitely not the state that flesh and blood should be in.

"No...no...could it be that I already..."

The man looked down in disbelief and found cracks appearing in his palm, from which strands of fresh coral tentacles were emerging.

In an instant, he understood everything.

Over the years, his perseverance, his loneliness, and his pride have all lost their meaning.

Then, the man broke down.

More and more coral spread from his shattered body, eventually forming a bloated, inhuman monster.

From that gaping mouth, uttered the last discernible word.

"Please, kill me..."

……

……

The battle ended quickly.

Once the rationality and superb swordsmanship are lost, the second-stage attendant is merely a punching bag with a high health bar, posing little threat.

However, standing before its corpse, Xia En surprisingly felt little joy at defeating a powerful enemy; instead, he had a rather indescribable feeling.

The reason this attendant remained rational was probably because his obsession was so deep that he deceived not only the coral polyps living in his body, but also himself.

After a moment of reflection, Xia En walked up to the corpse.

[“Secret Sea Crystal” (Special) detected within the corpse. Absorb?]

"absorb!"

The mysterious, deep blue crystals of the secret sea precipitated from the coral monster's body and quickly seeped into Shane's skin.

A cool, refreshing sensation lingered throughout my body, eventually converging into the [Eye of the Secret Sea] in my mind.

[Ship Soul Level: LV1 (47%)]

[Learned skill: Shadow Swordsmanship!]

[Quality: Rare]

[Type: Skill]

[Description: The extraordinary swordsmanship wielded by the Atlas family's close attendants, derived from court swordsmanship, with its true killing moves hidden beneath its magnificent sword techniques.]

[When performing sword techniques, one can infuse them with mysterious shadow power; those with an affinity for shadow attributes will learn these sword techniques more quickly.]

[I want to become a master of shadow swordsmanship!]

[Note: "Nameless Swordsmanship" will be merged into this skill; previously gained experience and skill level will not be affected.]

"Skill?"

Xia En's heart skipped a beat.

Previously, when absorbing the Secret Sea Crystal, all that was unlocked were talents.

But this time, things seem a little different.

Before Xia En could figure out the reason behind this, fragmented memories flooded into his mind.

(End of this chapter)