Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

"This place is very likely a trap. I advise you not to act rashly, hunter."

He's a deep-sea titan, not a lava behemoth; he can figure this out without needing to connect to Murphy's shared brain.

"Am I just supposed to watch my own blood relatives perish in this trap?"

Skadi is indeed a bit simple-minded, but not to the same extent as Malphite. She is simply unwilling to abandon her blood relatives or her companions. For her companions, she is fearless even if hell lies ahead.

But those were Skadi's blood relatives, not his.

"I can come with you, but you'll have to pay extra."

Although Lotin said that, he didn't actually believe Skadi was capable of offering him satisfactory terms.

Chapter 5: Why did you provoke him?

"for you."

The other party kept saying that they looked down on those greedy Iberians, but then they turned around and told me to pay more.

Skadi pulled all the Iberian coins out of her pocket; these coins were in her pocket because of the effect of the "Relic Shield".

The total amount of these gold coins was not small; it took Lotin several months' salary as a salvage worker to barely match it—that was calculated based on the salary earned by salvage workers on the greatest Iberian ship, the "Fool," during the golden age of Iberia about 60 years ago.

But now, real money is basically meaningless to him. When Lotin was dormant and adrift at sea, he no longer needed to eat normally, and even aging had left him behind.

"This alone won't do."

The brass giant shook its head in disappointment, and Skadi felt for the first time how teeth-grinding the metallic scraping sound of the salvage worker turning his head was.

"Well then, I have nothing else to offer you."

Skadi shook her head somewhat dejectedly, then continued,

"Don't you want to find those who abandoned you and take revenge on them?"

This was Skadi's last straw.

"The fact that I am alive and standing here is the best revenge."

Lotin had thought it through very clearly. The guys on the Fool who abandoned him 60 years ago had either become nourishment for the Sea Siren or been executed by Alfonso, who maintained his last shred of rationality. Only he, only the salvage worker Lotin who was abandoned by them, had survived to this day.

He was an outcast on the edge of the world, and he came into this world like a passerby. His few months as a sailor gave him a rare sense of belonging in the shared rum.

He worked tirelessly as a salvage worker. Yet, in this familiar yet strange world, the only ship that accepted him, the Fool, abandoned him in the face of disaster, clearly for self-preservation—the evidence being the last radio communication sent by that cowardly and shameless cable operator before Hai Si's voice brought the ocean to silence.

The fact that he is alive and standing in this world is the best mockery of those cowards who betrayed him. Returning to the Fool is just icing on the cake for his revenge. It would be a loss if he were to lose his life for it.

It wasn't that Lotin felt he didn't have enough power to enter the fortress and deal with the dangers within; he simply thought it was unnecessary to take the risk. If Skadi could offer him a satisfactory upgrade, he might as well go with her.

"Have a good hunt, hunter."

Lotin bid farewell to the hunter decisively, turned around, and walked in the opposite direction.

"I hope you can stay true to yourself."

The bronze giant turned and left, leaving behind a final warning, leaving the hunter alone to face the fortress.

It's understandable that strangers who happened to be traveling together parted ways due to differing opinions.

"Right."

Skadi gripped the greatsword in her hand, her heart pounding with the sensation of another deep-sea hunter's blood, the warning left by the salvage crew still echoing in her ears.

"Stay true to yourself."

The warning was so pertinent, as if the other party knew perfectly well that Isamara's poisonous blood was inside his body. As a result, Skadi's interest in this mysterious salvager only grew.

As the hunters entered the deserted fortress, Lotin walked alone towards the fork in the stone path, a sense of envy rising within him. Skadi's blood relative was fortunate; she hadn't been abandoned by her companions even at this critical moment.

Lotin continued slowly along the stone path, occasionally crushing a few foolish dinosaurs with his giant anchor. He planned to continue deeper inland in search of a safer place to grow.

Suddenly, the scenery around him brightened up, and the white bricks of the Granfallo city walls appeared abruptly before his eyes. He could feel the cool sea breeze blowing from the harbor.

He could smell the exotic incense, hear the noise of the neighborhood, and hear the soft music playing during the celebrations for the hero Alfonso under the pomegranate tree.

An indescribable lightness spread through Loting. The heavy brass diving suit had disappeared, and he looked dashing in his sailor uniform. He relaxed in the sea breeze, his dark hair flowing in the wind.

Comrades raised their glasses to drink strong rum, and the brass medals gleamed on Loting's chest.

The Fool has returned in triumph, and the salvage crew member, Lotin, who has recovered countless treasures, is boasting to the feathered children about his exaggerated voyage. Everything is so perfect, so perfect that even he, before his transmigration, could not compare, so perfect that he felt as if he were not an alien from this world.

This is the deepest wish in the heart of salvage worker Luo Ting, so simple and unpretentious.

Someone came to toast Lottin, ah, it was his closest friend, the cable controller who held his life in his hands.

What kind of trust would make him willingly entrust his life to the other party?

Suddenly, a gray memory, like a storm, surfaced in Luo Ting's mind.

"Cut the cable! I don't want to get caught in it!"

"Cut the cable!"

"Cut off..."

Loting suddenly realized something was wrong. Deep anger and resentment urged him to take action. He grabbed a bottle of rum and smashed it with all his might at the smiling cable controller.

Blood and wine mingled and splattered together, and with the shattering of the bottle, the illusory dream vanished like a bubble.

The surrounding landscape returned to desolation, and Lotin remained the same brass giant, standing before the gates of the silent fortress. The dreadful chimes broke the silence, striking exactly thirteen times, no more, no less.

"They should be going in the opposite direction."

Loting checked the system interface and found that he had indeed been in an abnormal state. However, the system itself was unable to deal with the situation. He had only managed to extricate himself from the illusion because of his hatred for the operator.

"Is someone trying to prevent me from leaving here alive?"

"How dare you humiliate me with such a disgusting illusion!"

The furious salvage worker let out a low growl. The other party had deliberately led him back to the fortress and insulted him with that damned operator, clearly harboring hostility towards him.

Very well, the other party has successfully provoked him.

The fool who manipulated the illusion seemed to have missed one thing—this deep-sea titan wasn't lacking the power to enter the fortress and crush the insolent insects within, but simply because he felt it "wasn't worth it."

"They will get their comeuppance."

The degenerate charlatans seemed unaware of why the great group they worshipped was so afraid of this salvage worker; they had provoked a being they absolutely could not afford to offend.

Skadi was still not removed from the teammate list, so her approximate location was still displayed on the system interface. Thus, the bronze giant dragged the giant anchor and walked deeper into the fortress.

Chapter Six: Master, what do you do for a living?

As Lotin ventured deeper into the fortress, the passageways narrowed, and the air became thick and stifling. Because of the narrowness, Lotin, who was 4 meters tall and wearing a brass diving suit, had to forcefully rub against the ceiling to squeeze deeper inside.

The bell would ring every so often, thirteen times each time, and each time it would cause him a sharp pain in his brain. He suspected that it was a kind of harmful special sound wave.

The fortress's energy had long been exhausted, and it was pitch black all around. Fortunately, although the Deep Sea Titan's senses were not particularly sharp overall, its night vision was its strength. It had no problem finding its way in the dark, but it was still quite difficult to see through the enemy's carefully prepared disguise.

"bump!"

A deafening gunshot shattered the long silence. The damp, etched bullet struck the hard brass wetsuit head-on, producing a violent sound like metal clashing. The brass giant spun its towering body along the trajectory of the etched bullet, sparking as it scraped against the ceiling.

The damage he suffered was less than Lotin had initially anticipated; according to the system's numerical health display, he had only lost a tiny bit of health.

"Monster fish! Die!"

The gun belonged to a Liberian man dressed in Iberian punitive armor. One of his hands had turned into a deformed, writhing tentacle, while his other hand, with barely recognizable fingers, gripped the rusty gun tightly. His eyes were closed, and he appeared to be sleepwalking.

Given that he could still make out the syllables of his sleep-talking, it was fairly certain that this person was probably still immersed in the dream of fighting the Terrorfish, just like Lotin before entering the fortress, who had been subjected to some kind of mental attack and fallen into a dream, and began to sleepwalk uncontrollably.

As Lotin drew closer, he began to feel fear and retreat, cursing the "deep-sea monster" that was closing in on him.

"Hopeless."

The giant anchor sliced ​​through the air and crashed down, splashing out a pool of dirty blue blood. This poor punitive soldier was indeed no longer "human."

Just then, several flashes of fire appeared from the cavities created in the wall due to moisture erosion and battle damage. Lotin immediately channeled the energy within his body and activated "Titan's Wrath".

The brass cabin gates easily blocked all the etching bullets, while the giant anchor, imbued with the wrath of the ocean, pierced through the walls. The surging pale blue energy gathered on the ground in the shape of the anchor, from which burst forth a destructive wave of energy that completely shattered the already corrupted Punishment Army around them.

These Fallen Punishers provide more gold and experience points upon killing than the Terrorfish. Their gold drop rate has increased from 1 to 2 gold coins to 4 to 6 gold coins. The number of times the "Relic Shield" is charged has been consumed, which proves that Skadi is not far away. She cannot be anything other than the main target of these Fallen Cults. Finding Skadi will lead to finding the mastermind behind it all.

As Lotin advanced deeper into the fortress, Skadi, following the urge of her bloodline, drew closer and closer to her blood relatives.

The air in the fortress was quite humid for land dwellers, but it was still a bit dry for an Agor who was born in a great city. At some point, the feeling of dryness in his mucous membranes began to disappear without warning, and the dark concrete tunnels of the fortress gradually transformed into the vast dome of the Agor's underwater city.

Skadi, dressed in mechanic's clothes, squatted in front of a holographic projection device, looking at the flickering holographic image in front of her with a puzzled expression, while the voltage detection device in her hand issued a low voltage warning.

A debate is about to be held in the arena of wits, and Skadi, as the most skilled electrical engineer in the vicinity, will naturally be in charge of inspecting these holographic projection devices.

"Ishar-mla, your skills are still as adept as ever."

"Ishar-mla, thank you for your hard work this time too."

“Ishar-mla——”

The surrounding Agor citizens smiled and greeted Skadi; ​​she couldn't remember the last time she had seen an ordinary Agor person smile kindly at her.

Since she became—became what?

Who is she? She is—Ishar-mla?

Skadi stared at the voltage meter in her hand, then looked around at the pedestrians with a puzzled expression.

"Ishar-mla, are you tired?"

A young girl from Agor, who also had long, white hair, walked out of the crowd. Everyone said she was a future dancer and sculptor. She knelt down in front of Skadi and gave her a greeting that felt incredibly warm and familiar.

"Ding dong!"

A shiny Iberian coin fell to the ground with a crisp sound. Skadi bent down to pick it up, only to find that her pockets were already full of the same coins.

In an instant, Skadi felt a terrifying, electric shock-like pain in her nerves. The beautiful scene before her was gradually dissolving. The Agor girl who had greeted her was turning into bubbles and dissolving into the surrounding scenery. The terrifying brass monster was faintly visible in the melting landscape.

The city's dazzling lights vanished, leaving only an eerie glimmer in the endless darkness. The dome reverted to its moldy concrete ceiling, and Iberian gold coins lay scattered all around her. Undoubtedly, this was all due to the three-layer charge of the "Relic Shield" that had just been triggered.

Although Skadi herself didn't know how these Iberian coins appeared, she knew they were related to the salvager's strange "Originium Arts." These coins, which appeared out of nowhere, served as a bridge connecting her to reality, making her realize that the wonderful experience she had just had was nothing more than a terrifying and dangerous dream.

Isamara's poisonous blood was boiling and churning, trying to eradicate the existence of "Skadi" from her body.

"Ishar-mla, who exactly disturbed your return?"

Six eerie monks dressed in green robes stood around Skadi. Some were Liberians, some were Agorians, but they all emanated the nauseating stench of Haisi.

Skadi gripped the greatsword tightly, instinctively following the faint light until it landed on a huge incubation tank.

The girl from my dream, Agor, is in this culture tank. The only light in the room shines on her, making her seem like the star of a stage play.

Skadi was certain that this was the blood relative she had been searching for, the deep-sea hunter Laurentina.

The greatsword roared and stirred up a storm. She had always felt that talking to these cultists of the Deep Sea Church who worshipped the Sea God was a complete waste of breath. Two of the monks were instantly reduced to pieces.

The shattering of their physical forms was not enough to kill these more sinful fallen ones directly; the fragments of flesh proliferated, wriggled, and drained every drop of nutrients from every cell.

"Remember now, Ishar-mla!"

"Return here, my multitude of sisters of all races, Ishar-mla..."

The remaining monks convulsed, repeating blasphemous whispers, while Skadi's movements were slowed by her struggle against Isamara's poisonous blood.

Without warning, the bodies of those cultivators exploded, splitting into tentacles and limbs, like sea lilies swaying in the ocean current. The reconstructed cavities encased the incubation tank containing Laurentina, and the shaky Punishment Army also began to melt into writhing flesh and blood, gathering towards this place.

The building began to collapse, and the large bell that emitted the ominous noise fell from the crumbling clock tower, while the mountain of flesh that had been piled up became the bell frame made of blood and flesh, supporting the unclean bell.

This is not a clock at all. The white chitinous structure and the metal-rich membrane indicate that this clock is clearly a marine creature. It uses a principle similar to "Great Tranquility" to create special sound waves to lure creatures into the dream world it controls. Now, the blasphemous demonic sound is ringing out again.

A corner of the culture tank was visible through the twisted flesh, where Laurentina was suffering agonizing pain. With each step Skadi forced forward against the sound waves, Laurentina's agony intensified.

The sound waves seemed unable to lull her back into a dream, but they did activate the Isamara blood within her like never before. Scales were spreading across the back of her neck, and she bit her tongue tightly, desperately using the pain to keep herself awake.

"Swish!"

The massive iron anchor roared toward the base of the Flesh and Blood Bell. The channel had been cleared, and the brass giant, pulled by the chains, charged toward the pair of deformed flesh and blood, while the pile of rotten flesh was also being pulled apart by the immense force of the deep-sea Titan.

"Tear it!"

The sounds of flesh tearing apart, accompanied by the wailing of deformed flesh, echoed through the collapsed fortress. The anchor of the Fool dragged the culture tank encased in the cavity back to Loting's side, where Loting carried it on his shoulder.

The distance was close enough that Loting slammed down the massive anchor imbued with the power of surging waves. The overwhelming force of "Overwhelming Force" manifested at this moment, and turbulent energy was injected into the opponent's body. This was the immobilization effect brought about by the passive skill "Overwhelming Force," and the bell tolling briefly stopped.

"Now's the time, hunter!"