Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

Chapter 263: The Cocoon

"Skadi, if this is your choice..."

Ulpian was Skadi's former teacher and captain. He knew very well that this girl actually had a rather stubborn side. He was well aware of the risks involved in this change, but he could only respect Skadi's decision and protect his student outside the cultivation tank.

Every enemy here is far superior to him in terms of physical ability; it can be said that this is a place he simply cannot reach on his own.

However, he was also glad that Lotin valued Skadi so much, like an old father who was pleased that his daughter had found a reliable partner. Nautilus was powerful enough to crush these sea creatures.

"Sleep, sleep, orca, it's your turn to be Sleeping Beauty this time."

Laurentina watched Skadi through the culture tank. Once upon a time, she too was trapped in such a culture tank, and it was Lotin and Skadi who rescued her. This time, however, Skadi was willing to risk her life to put shackles on the large group.

Kal'tsit summoned Monster 3, but she knew that her power could only barely protect the Doctor. Without exception, the shelled monsters here were enough to easily crush her crystal monsters. Fortunately, she only needed to stay in the safe control room with the Doctor to ensure that the Doctor could control the fusion process through the control room.

The deep-sea hunters could only rely on the bronze giants standing in front of the cultivation tanks. The shelled monsters completely ignored the hunters and Lotin, charging directly towards the cultivation tanks at subsonic speeds, as if nothing else existed to them.

"Don't think about it!"

Lotin activated the shield from his W ability, enveloping the entire culture tank. The hard shell withstood the subsonic impact, but the soft tissue inside was not so lucky. It had to consume additional nutrient reserves to repair the muscle tissue torn by the impact.

The foul blood was evaporated the moment it splattered by the burning effect of the [Sunfire Shield], and not a single drop of it could splash onto the culture tank.

When Lothin grows to its gigantic size, its spell power increases dramatically with its health. How could a sea creature that even the Conqueror's attack cannot withstand the Destruction Anchor Strike enhanced by the Spell Piercer?

On the contrary, Lotin should hold back a little to avoid damaging the relic mechanism and thus affecting Skadi's fusion.

The other three deep-sea hunters, who had expected a fierce battle, found it incredibly easy.

"It would probably be relatively safe for the three of us to deal with one of them if we worked together."

The Deepsea Hunters' prized physical prowess is nothing compared to these shelled monsters. Laurentina judged that only through the combined efforts of her, Grandia, and Ulpian, along with tactical design and planning, could they deal with one of them.

Even with the group buffs from Lotin, this was still the case.

"But Lord Nautilus crushed dozens of such monstrous creatures with ease."

"Lord Nautilus even has the capacity to ensure that the structure of the ruins is not damaged by his attack."

Laurentina made a praying gesture, but she didn't dare to be distracted. If any fish slipped through the net, the three of them would have to bite the bullet and kill them before they could even enter the culture tank.

The pressure deep within wasn't as great as Lodin had imagined, so he used the Mountain and Sea Scroll to send W, who had nothing to do, back to land to support the Terrans who were struggling in battle.

Loting handed the shipbreaker over to her, letting her decide for herself who needed the help of this divine weapon.

Meanwhile, on land, one of the battle lines had been breached. A mad knight rode a warhorse transformed by the sea, riding the waves. Wherever he went, it was like a tsunami passing through. Even the elite warriors of the carrion eaters had their giant shields easily pierced. He moved freely through the army all by himself.

"The Northern Third Defense Zone has collapsed. Silver Spear Pegasus, prepare to provide support!"

Margaret's Originium Arts enveloped her, and Silver Spear Pegasus's Originium Arts group casting array was also activated. These swiftly moving revelations traversed the battlefield at top speed, reaching the breach that was about to appear in the defensive line.

"Strange, there aren't as many enemies here as on the most pressured defensive lines, so why did a breach occur here of all?"

Margaret quickly noticed something was amiss. There were no armored giants like those seen on other defensive lines, nor were there any sea monsters charging in large numbers with self-destruction. The battlefield was much quieter than other places.

Suddenly, a powerful bioelectric signal caused Margaret to feel an intense burning pain, followed by a piercing battle roar, a roar that was no different from a terrifying wail.

"Kill the sea! Kill the sea!"

What horrified Margaret even more was that she could actually understand those two sentences—yes, they were spoken in Kasimir.

"If he wanted to kill the sea, why did he charge towards our defenses?"

Margaret couldn't understand this person's motives, let alone his terrifying strength.

The knight lost his hearing and pointed his spear at the other side of the ocean. This knight, who had been corrupted by hatred of flesh and blood, did indeed have such an intention, but the frenzied and restless horde intensified its corruption on him, forcibly taking control of his body and interfering with his thoughts.

The knight was already mad, and the treacherous crowd reversed the boundaries between land and sea, altering his perception. In the knight's eyes, the land was the sea.

"The Qazimirs! The corrupt Qazimirs! The Qazimirs enslaved by the city, by the steel behemoths!"

"How could you associate with such a polluted ocean!"

"Bring the Giant Knight forward! Bring Nautilus forward!"

The indigo knight had become one with his armor, and his warhorse charged towards the formation of silver-speared celestial horses with lightning speed.

"Rosinante, sprint, sprint!"

Margaret finally saw the appearance of the charging knight, and she immediately thought of her sister's favorite knightly novel, "The Last Knight".

"The Tide Hunter Knight, he actually exists—no, even the Giant Knight is real, so it's not surprising that the Tide Hunter Knight is real."

"Everyone, prepare for a counterattack!"

The Radiant Knight unleashed dazzling wings of light, instantly increasing her speed, while the Silver Spear Pegasus formation provided Margaret with magical protection, allowing her to withstand greater damage.

The blood-soaked lances clashed with the pristine white lances, producing a deafening roar. The golden light vanished in an instant, and terrifying cracks appeared on the white armor.

Margaret could clearly feel the excruciating pain of her muscles tearing. She plunged her lance into the ground, forcing herself to stop from the impact and the resulting slide.

The excruciating pain didn't last long; a familiar warmth miraculously flowed through Margaret's body.

"Near Light, watch out!"

"I'll help you deal with him."

Quessina healed Margaret with her magic, and when the merciful doctor drew her sword, even the White Horned Demon King dared not confront her directly.

"Tide Hunter Knight, come on, round two."

Margaret regrouped and, in perfect unison with her former comrades, launched a second attack on the Tidehunter Knights.

Chapter 264: Margaret, with this you can defeat any enemy.

Having fought the sea for years, the Tide Hunter Knights have developed an extremely strong body. The transformation into a sea creature has allowed his body to break through the growth limit of his original race. Through years of bloody battles, he has grown to a level that the Terrans on land can only dream of.

"Rosinante, charge! Charge!"

The warhorses, transformed by the sea, roamed the pale sand sea, cutting through the wind and crushing the grains of sand.

"Young knight, are you the current king of Kazimir?"

The Tidehunter Knights easily broke through the ranks of the Silver Spear Pegasus, knocking these elite warriors of Kazimierz away like roly-poly toys. This disrupted Margaret's coordination with the Silver Spear Pegasus in an instant, and the soaking wet knights charged towards Margaret once again.

Quessina's sword turned into light in an instant, but the warhorse named Rosinant was incredibly agile and immediately dodged.

Blue, foul blood spurted out in an instant. While Margaret was using her power to withstand the onslaught of the Tidehunters, Quessina's sword still touched the warhorse's body, severing its forelegs. But in the next second, it regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Unfortunately, you have long been swallowed by the ocean, and Casimir no longer exists."

The large group distorted the Hunter Rider's perception, leading him to believe that Kazimierz had been assimilated by the abominations.

"Otherwise, you would have been a great king..."

The Tidehunter's muscles unleashed tremendous power, and coupled with his combat skills far superior to those of the sea beasts, he directly shattered the light emanating from Margaret's spear. The resulting violent shock even sent Margaret and Quessina flying.

"Cough, cough..."

Both of them coughed up a pool of foul blood, a result of severe internal bleeding, which was the result of their best efforts to withstand the damage even with the protective spells of the Silver Spear and Heavenly Horse.

"A madman, a complete madman. He can no longer distinguish between the ocean and the land. This monster's power is simply unreasonable."

As Margaret was forced to catch her breath, those silver-speared steeds were being chased, scattered, and pierced by her.

She understood that if she didn't stop the Tide Hunters here, the consequences would be devastating.

"His skills are superior to ours, without the slightest flaw. Is he really a madman?"

Because their opponent's skills were superior, they were forced into a highly passive confrontation with him.

Quessina wanted to use healing Originium Arts, but the Tidehunter didn't give her a chance to recover. Rosinant's short limbs regenerated rapidly. Although the newly grown limbs were more fragile, they could barely support the warhorse's gallop.

"boom!"

Just then, a powerful explosion suddenly occurred in the path of the Tidehunter's charge, and the huge crater caused Rosinant, whose limbs had regenerated, to lose his balance as he staggered.

The explosion itself did not significantly injure the Tidehunter Knights and their warhorses, but it forcibly halted their charge.

As the smoke cleared, Quessina used the time to treat Margaret and herself as quickly as possible. When the smoke cleared, she saw a battle flag fluttering in the raging sea wind.

"It's His Highness's standard-bearer!"

Quessina didn't know much about this Sarkaz mercenary who had submitted to the Demon King, only that she was originally Theresia's follower and was now the Conqueror's standard-bearer.

"Radiant Knight, here you go, Shipbreaker!"

"With this, you can defeat any sea monster!"

The flag bearer was none other than W, who had been tamed by Lotin, the Demon King, and she threw out the shipbreaker in her hand.

A gray-blue hammer-axe arced through the air and landed in Margaret's hands. For a seasoned grenadier like W, such precise throwing was no problem at all.

"This is?!"

The moment Margaret touched the shipbreaker, she felt a surge of raging, turbulent power within it, and her heart was deeply shaken, as if the bronze giant was standing on the edge of the waves watching her.

"This is His Highness Nautilus's divine weapon. I have learned of the terrible state of the enemy from the defeated soldiers. Faced with such an extraordinary enemy, I believe you will need to use this to knock him into the sky."

W noticed that the Tidehunter had recovered from his fall, so she cleverly ran to a safer high ground.

Her caution was justified; it's uncertain whether her specially made high-explosive bomb would have worked if Quessina hadn't severed Rosinant's foot, forcing it to run on a more fragile regenerated limb.

"It is our great fortune to have Your Highness's help."

Having witnessed the entire "Great Trial" in Kazimierz, Quessina naturally knew about the relationship between Lottin and Margaret, so she was not surprised. Moreover, having seen the power of Lottin's rare treasures, she was well aware of them.

In fact, among the several agents who replaced Lottin in governing the tax-generating areas, Margaret was the one Lottin valued and trusted the most. If she were to sacrifice herself, Lottin would feel quite regretful. Lottin was very curious about what kind of future such a capable idealist could create.

"Again! Until the sea is calm!"

The Tidehunter launched his third charge. This time, Rosinante's legs had fully recovered. He cleaved through the massive explosion caused by W, undeterred by the Originium dust and high-temperature jets, and charged forward with unstoppable momentum, crushing everything in his path.

This is what it means to ride the wind and break the waves.

"The Knights of Light have granted us great power!"

To use the reconstructed, materialized weapons of Lotin, one must at least be recognized by the system as a formal ally, and Margaret clearly falls into that category.

Margaret attempted to channel the energy contained within the Shipbreaker, just as Lotin had used it with the [Light Knight] skin in the Great Wilderness. The warhammer burst forth with dazzling golden light, granting nearby allies additional buffs.

The Silver Spear Pegasus's defensive array emitted an even brighter silver flash, as their own dual resistances were increased by the Shipbreaker, making the protective capabilities they could provide to Margaret even stronger.

This time, the Last Pardoner and the Radiant Knight clashed head-on with the Tide Hunter Knights once again.

Quessina continued to feint attacks on the horse's legs, while Margaret, whose resistance had been enhanced, slammed the Shipbreaker into the Tidehunter Knight's armor.

Margaret's lance was broken off by the Tidehunter, along with her arm, and blood seeped from the crack in her armor.

But the shipbreaker slammed into the Tidehunter Knight again, and this blow caused the Tidehunter Knight's armor, which was fused with flesh and blood, to begin to shatter.

Rosinant was a powerful sea-transformed warhorse, but it was still just a warhorse. When a Sarkaz swordsman personally engaged it in a full-force battle, it was naturally unable to withstand the attack, which affected its master.

Another heavy hammer blow slammed into the Tidehunter Knight, knocking his weapon away.

But the Tidehunter's fighting instincts allowed him to react in an instant. He was met with a fist encased in chitinous bone plates that came hurtling towards him. This time, despite Margaret's armor and the protective spells of the Silver Spear Pegasus, it shattered her ribs.

Margaret, enduring excruciating pain, continued to wield the Shipbreaker. Rosinant's dodge to avoid Quessana's slash greatly reduced the Tidehunter's control over Rosinant, and another hammer blow landed on the Tidehunter.

From this point on, Rosinante stopped dodging and preferred to take fatal damage herself in order to give her owner a chance to attack.

The fist and hammer were thrown out almost simultaneously, and this fifth hammer blow from the Shipbreaker was wrapped in an unprecedented burst of energy—[Shipbreaker]: Passive: Captain: Every fifth basic attack against champions and epic monsters deals additional physical damage.

This energy propelled the hammer and axe [Shipbreaker] deep into the Tidehunter Knight's resilient flesh, and the burst of golden death light caused damage to the Tidehunter Knight's body that was difficult for him to recover on his own.

The Tidehunter fell like a puppet with its strings cut. He plummeted from Rosinant, yet miraculously managed to keep his upper body upright. He still had a breath left, but Margaret no longer had the strength to continue attacking.

There is an insurmountable gap between the physical capabilities of the Tide Hunter Knight and himself.

Quessina had conserved more of her strength. All she did was feign an attack on the knight's horse. She raised her sword, and the pale sunlight shone from its blade. In an instant, her sword pierced the chest of the Tidehunter.

He looked completely dead.

"No, this isn't the sea, this is...?"

"The sea has not yet been killed, I cannot fall..."

The Tidehunter seemed to regain his senses for a moment, and seeing this, Quessina did not hesitate to draw her sword and launch another attack. She could not let such a monster, who had single-handedly broken through the front line, return to the mountains.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't touch the sword at all.

Hai Si's body's hemostatic instinct caused her muscles to stiffen and contract, embedding her sword tightly inside, making it impossible for Quesasina to pull it out.

The Tide Hunter's biosignal receiving organs were severely damaged, but his mind gained a little more freedom.