Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Chapter 113 The Underwater Power of the Giant Sea Whale Guiding Technique

Throughout the long voyage, from the final stretch of the safe passage to the ten nautical miles where the Siren's Anvil was located, the atmosphere remained suffocatingly tense.

Siren followed Wall to two tactical discussion meetings in the swaying captain's cabin.

The topic of the first meeting was: Could we ambush pirates on their usual route?

Unfortunately, the proposal failed just ten minutes after it was put forward.

According to intelligence gathered from inside sources, the frequency and trajectory of the Grey Hemp Pirates' attacks are impossible to predict using common sense.

Sometimes they remain inactive for months, but in reality, the fastest interval between their crimes might be less than a month, while the slowest could be as long as nine months.

They had no fixed routes for selling stolen goods, nor did they have any preferred targets for looting; it all depended on the captain's mood and the depletion of resources on the island.

If large ships remain at sea aimlessly for an extended period, they will not only fail to consume supplies but also expose the Brotherhood's weakness.

The second meeting unfolded following the joke Sisi had made earlier.

Wall discussed whether they could recruit exceptional individuals skilled in swimming for a large sum of money to form a commando team to carry out underwater smuggling and decapitation operations.

After careful deliberation by Cook and several veteran sailors, the plan also met with utter despair.

To accomplish this decapitation strike and illegal immigration, the extraordinary individual faced inhumanly harsh conditions.

He had to dive to a depth of 20 meters in extreme cold without taking a breath, precisely dodging the dense anti-submarine nets and heavy barbed chains in the darkness.

Then, braving the unpredictable undercurrents, they swam a distance of 10 nautical miles.

That wasn't the end of it. Once he exhausted himself and climbed ashore, he would be facing a heavily guarded pirate camp. He would then need to sneak onto the ship as soon as possible and behead the senior first-level baptized captain.

This is a mythical task that is completely impossible to complete. Even a Tier 2 Ripper, known for its physical prowess, cannot swim 10 nautical miles underwater while holding its breath.

Siren sat in the shadows in the corner, listening silently to these despairing analyses.

His face remained expressionless, but his mind was racing with calculations.

He wasn't sure if his "swimming talent," gained from hunting slippery blackfish, combined with the enhancement of the Great Ocean Whale Guiding Technique, could actually play a revolutionary role in this deadly sea.

After all, he had never seen firsthand how terrifying the so-called anti-submarine nets and barbed chains really were.

The following evening, the sun was completely swallowed up by a thick layer of leaden-gray clouds.

The armed ship slowed down, and the group arrived at a strangely eerie sea area on the deck.

Xilun walked to the side of the ship and looked into the distance.

There were no ordinary islands on the sea ahead; all that could be seen was a thick white fog that seemed to connect heaven and earth.

The fog was as thick as milk, churning and swirling, exuding an ominous stillness.

The seawater at the edge of the dense fog took on a chilling dark green hue, with jagged, massive black reefs faintly visible beneath, resembling the fangs of a monster lurking underwater.

This is the sirens' anvil.

Everyone's expression instantly turned extremely solemn. Even Wall, who was known for his composure, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye.

The old navigator, who was in charge of steering, gripped the rudder tightly with both hands, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He shook his head directly at Wall, his voice trembling.

"Sir, we can't go any further. This kind of terrain is deadly, and the underwater currents are more treacherous than a rope. Without an extremely accurate topographical map and a guide familiar with the internal channels, our ship will have a very difficult time avoiding these dense reefs and venturing deeper."

If, while struggling to traverse this terrain, we were also to be distracted by artillery fire from the shore—that would be utterly impossible, and we would all be devoured by fish!

Wall's face was ashen, as he stared silently at the thick fog.

Cook sighed and cruelly pointed out, "It seems that forcing our way through the water from the surface is now impossible. If the underwater exploration reveals the anti-submarine nets and chains mentioned in the intelligence, and they haven't been corroded—then our anti-bandit operation is completely hopeless. We can only go back and report."

Wall took a deep breath of the cold sea air, pulled a tattered nautical chart from his pocket, and said in a deep voice, "Now that we're here, we have to give an explanation. Let's try the underwater route and see if those nets are really that sturdy."

He turned his head, his sharp gaze fixed on the two men in the group, and instructed, "Sirlen, you and Ceci are in the same group. You are both Baptists with vigorous blood and strong resistance to cold. Go into the water from the port side of the bow and be responsible for probing the depth of this section of the defense line. Remember, safety first, don't be reckless."

After assigning tasks, Xilun remained silent, turned around and followed Ceci to the lower deck, where he changed into a tight-fitting waterproof leather suit specifically designed for underwater operations.

While this leather garment offers some insulation, it still feels inadequate in the face of the extreme cold of the deep sea.

Beside the rope ladder at the bow, Sisi, while strapping lead weights around his waist, turned to Siron and gave him instructions.

"Brother Sir, I've checked your file. You grew up in the slums and are a landlubber. You barely touched water before your baptism, so you're probably not a very good swimmer."

The current down here is sharper than a knife. Once we're down there, you'd better stay quietly behind me and don't swim around or panic.

If you can't hold it in anymore, just pull the rope, and I'll bring you up. Understand?

Looking into Ceci's earnest eyes, Xiren knew that the other party meant well.

He nodded slightly and strapped a sharp dagger to his thigh. "I understand. I'll follow you."

The two of them flipped over the gunwale and silently slid into the dark green sea.

The moment I entered the water, a chilling sensation that seemed to freeze my very bones rushed over me.

Casi gritted his teeth and immediately channeled his extraordinary inner strength to resist the cold. Like a nimble fish, he took the lead and dived into the deep water.

Xilun followed closely behind.

After swimming in the dark water for a while, the surrounding light had been completely swallowed up by the seawater, and the baptized person could only barely see by relying on their weak night vision.

Soon, Xilun noticed a huge black shadow blocking his path.

It was an anti-submarine net woven from thick cast iron wire mixed with barbed chains.

It's like an insurmountable underwater wall, firmly blocking the underground passages leading to the island.

Sisi's expression became extremely solemn underwater. He made a gesture and began to swim forward to explore.

He tugged hard at the barbed wire and found that although the surface of the metal was covered with seaweed and rust, the core was still incredibly tough and not at all corroded to the point that it could be easily torn apart by hand.

Next, Sisi began to dive down along the barbed wire, trying to measure the depth of the net.

Xilun maintained a distance of about two meters, silently following behind to investigate.

The two swam vertically down the bottom of the net, which was covered in rust, and descended to a depth of about ten or twenty meters.

By this time, the water pressure had increased considerably, and every tiny movement required a great deal of physical exertion.

After swimming horizontally along the bottom of the net for a while, Ceci felt as if her chest was about to explode, and her face became red, swollen and painful due to extreme shortness of breath and water pressure.

He secretly estimated in his mind that he had swum at least a mile since he entered the water, but there was still endless darkness ahead, and he could not see the end of the net at all.

A wave of despair washed over Ceci; it seemed the intelligence was true.

To get around this net, one would probably have to swim 10 nautical miles at this depth without taking a breath to cross this Dead Sea. That's simply not something a human could do.

He couldn't hold it in any longer, so he turned to look at Xilen behind him, shook his head painfully, and gestured that he needed to go back to get some fresh air immediately.

However, when he looked at Xilun, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Because Xiren, who was behind him, had a rather strange expression on his face, which could even be described as relaxed and carefree.

Xilun truly felt an unprecedented sense of comfort at that moment.

Because of the passive activation of his "Slippery Black" swimming talent, he was very comfortable swimming underwater, and his body surface seemed to have an invisible film that adapted to the water pressure.

Most importantly, he didn't even need to go to the trouble of holding his breath like Ceci did.

His talent allows him to draw tiny amounts of oxygen directly from seawater through his skin underwater.

Without the mental panic caused by lack of oxygen, Xilun could calmly observe the complex terrain around him and carefully consider countermeasures.

He examined the gaps in the anti-submarine net and the direction of the undercurrent, secretly assessing whether he could use his flexibility to avoid the barbed obstacles if he acted alone.

After swimming for a while, Xilun suddenly realized that the energy in his body had become unusually active, as if every cell in the deep sea was cheering and jumping for joy, appearing extremely energetic.

A thought struck him, and he secretly tried to activate the incredibly powerful "Great Sea Whale Guiding Technique" in this perilous situation twenty meters underwater.

This operation stirred up a storm in Xilun's heart.

He discovered that this breathing technique, which originated a thousand years ago, displayed a terrifying power in a real underwater environment, like a giant whale swallowing the sea.

Water pressure is no longer an obstacle, but rather an excellent aid in promoting blood circulation.

Each underwater movement increased his cultivation efficiency exponentially, far exceeding his speed on land and on the ship.

He pondered to himself, trying to coordinate with the rhythm of his breathing, and made a few slight movements in the water.

The result delighted him. He discovered that his movements became several times more agile underwater than on land, and his strength was amplified by the current.

The so-called "water resistance" that is usually difficult to overcome on land seems to be completely weakened or even vanished in the imagery of the giant whale.

"If we were to use the Dorok Dark Claw technique here, taking advantage of the recoil force of this underwater current—"

Xilun's eyes lit up as he frantically rehearsed some of the breathing techniques in his mind, wondering if they would unleash a more terrifying lethality in underwater combat than on land.

While Xiren was immersed in the fervor of this awakening power, Ceci in front of him had already reached his limit.

Sisi's face turned red and purple, his eyes bulging. He frantically pounded the water and anxiously pointed towards the sea, indicating that they could not delay any longer.

Xilun composed himself, suppressed the surging whale-like blood within him, regained his calm facade, nodded to Cecily, and followed behind her, quickly surfacing towards the surface.

"Splash!"

The two broke through the water's surface one after another, greedily inhaling the damp but oxygen-rich air.

Sisi coughed violently, breathing greedily, like a fish that had just been caught.

The two climbed back onto the deck of the large ship using the rope ladder.

On the deck, Wall was wearing a coat and waiting anxiously for them.

Ceci pulled off her mask, panting heavily, and walked up to Wall, shaking her head in despair.

"Sir, the intelligence is true—there are indeed anti-submarine nets. The barbed wire isn't rotten at all; it still has deadly barbs hanging from it."

Cecily's voice was hoarse from lack of oxygen. "I just swam my butt off for at least a mile along the bottom of the net. It was pitch black all around, and I couldn't see the end of the net at all. It was too deep and too long."

Wall's face darkened. He clenched his fists, clinging to the last vestige of resentment, and asked in a low voice, "Then, given the physical strength of you baptists, is there even the slightest possibility of forcibly passing through?"

Upon hearing this, Sisi couldn't help but let out a desolate, bitter laugh.

"Sir, please don't joke around. No one can swim ten nautical miles in one breath from a depth of twenty meters. Moreover, underwater, you not only have to face the extremely cold climate and undercurrents, but also the various poisoned and rotting corpses of aquatic aliens. To avoid those heavy barbed chains and other obstacles in the dark, you need to be highly focused."

Ceci concluded in despair: "I don't think we can find such a lifeless monster in the Brotherhood."

After hearing these words, Wall's expression became even more dejected. His broad shoulders seemed to hunch over.

As the governor of White Crow Wharf and one of the Brotherhood's top leaders, he was responsible for the development and protection of many merchant ships on this waterway.

However, in the past year, the Grey Hemp pirates, like venomous snakes, launched three attacks, and each time they successfully raided his fleet, not only stealing a large amount of supplies but also killing his men.

This filled him with unprecedented anger and humiliation, but at this moment, facing this Siren's Anvil, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Over the next half hour, several teams that had been sent to explore other directions gradually returned to the ship.

Without exception, they all brought back the same despairing news.

"make life difficult for."

"The underwater area is completely sealed off by nets."

"Diving was completely impossible; I almost suffocated down there."

Frustration and despair, like the thick fog on the sea, completely enveloped the large armed ship.

Everyone lowered their heads, accepting the fate of Qu Qun, who had lost the bandit suppression operation before it even began.

In a corner of the deck, Celen was drying his hair with a towel.

He lowered his eyes, so quiet that he seemed not to exist.

But in those eyes hidden in the shadows, there flickered a chilling, dark light that only he himself understood.

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