Chapter 695
He will definitely come to save me!
"Ugh—!"
Barmos let out a short, piercing scream, his hands clutching his throat as if something invisible was being ripped from him.
The once surging legendary-level magic power around him leaked out wildly like a punctured balloon.
Even more terrifying is that his pure and powerful bloodline aura, belonging to the royal family of the merfolk, is also declining at an alarming rate.
An ominous blue light burst forth from within his body. Under the shroud of this blue light, Barmos's robust physique began to visibly hunch over, and his smooth skin quickly lost its luster, turning a dead fish-like gray.
His strong muscles became loose, and even the deep blue scales on his forehead, belonging to the Lan clan nobles, began to lose their luster rapidly, as if they would fall off at any moment.
His aura plummeted like an avalanche.
The legendary high-level pressure vanished in the blink of an eye, followed by gold, silver... and finally, it plummeted all the way down to a level only equivalent to a human bronze-level professional, and it continued to weaken.
Greg's expression changed drastically. Barmos was a crucial pawn in his future control of the merfolk, and he couldn't let him die here in vain.
"Stop her!" Greg shouted.
De Endero had already made his move; the sapphire staff in his hand burst forth with dazzling light, and powerful protective spells surged toward Barmos like a tidal wave, interrupting the bizarre process of stripping away his power.
However, it was all in vain. In those few short seconds, Barmos's screams had already faded away.
He collapsed to the ground, his once tall and imposing figure curled up into a ball, his skin covered with unsightly wrinkles and dull spots, his deep blue hair turned dry and sparse, and the awe-inspiring demeanor of a legendary powerhouse was gone, leaving only the appearance of an old man on the verge of death.
He couldn't even maintain a complete human form anymore; his legs began to tremble uncontrollably, showing a faint tendency to re-merge and transform back into a fish tail.
The dignified patriarch of the Lan Clan, a legendary high-level deep-sea powerhouse, was reduced to dust in just a few breaths, becoming even less powerful than the weakest sea clan warrior.
Claire stood at the center of the golden net of light, holding a trident that shimmered with light. Her body radiated a cold and majestic azure divine light, as if she were the embodiment of the will of the sea itself.
Barmos, slumped on the ground and emaciated, struggled to lift his head. His eyes, which once held ambition and power, were now dim and cloudy.
He stared intently at Claire, his voice hoarse and shrill, filled with grief and pain:
"What...what did you do to me?"
He tried to roar, but only a faint moan escaped his lips. The excruciating pain in his body and the feeling of his strength rapidly draining away made it impossible for him to even maintain basic dignity.
Claire looked down at him, her blue eyes filled with no pity, only a cold indifference.
The light of the trident of Poseidon in his hand gradually stabilized, yet it exuded a pressure that made the souls of all sea creatures tremble.
Indifferent voice:
"Do you think the favor of Poseidon from the Trident of Poseidon is something you can accept so easily?"
Barmos shuddered violently as a detail he had overlooked suddenly exploded from the depths of his memory.
Back then, after obtaining the Trident of Poseidon, Claire used her overwhelming strength and the power of the artifact to quickly unite the Tide Clan and, with undisputed authority, unified the three royal families of the Merfolk.
In order to reduce bloodshed, appease the people, and especially to win over the Lan and Bitao tribes, who are equally profound and proud, she offered a sincere and tempting condition—the favor of the Sea God.
She promised that the patriarchs of the three royal families could voluntarily imprint a wisp of their soul mark onto the Trident of the Sea God, a divine artifact symbolizing the highest authority over the endless sea.
From then on, they will receive the "protection of the sea god," and when they encounter a fatal crisis, they will receive protection from the artifact and be immune to that damage.
This is not only a guarantee of safety, but also a symbol of status and honor, meaning that they have gained the approval of the sea god and are the darlings of the entire endless sea.
At that time, Barmos was immersed in the complex emotions of Claire's return, the prospect of the merfolk's revival, and the secret love and ambition intertwined within him.
He handed over a wisp of his soul imprint almost without hesitation, watching it merge into the radiant trident.
He never delved into the workings of this "favor," nor did he ever consider what would happen when the "god" who bestowed the favor withdrew it.
Subconsciously, he may have only seen it as a medal of honor, a bond that strengthens his connection with the Queen, or even a romantic symbol.
Barmos was struck dumb, collapsing to the ground, barely able to tremble.
It turns out that the so-called "favor" and the so-called bond of glory were, from the very beginning, invisible shackles around the neck.
With his last ounce of strength, Barmos trembled as he raised his withered, twig-like finger and pointed it at Claire, his voice filled with the madness and venom of someone utterly fooled:
"A trap... Hahaha... So, it turns out you were plotting against us from the very beginning, setting this trap for us."
And you still keep saying I betrayed you?
You are the most insidious traitor! You betrayed our trust in you, and you betrayed the alliance between the three royal families!
Faced with this hysterical accusation, Claire's expression remained unwavering, a hint of almost pitying irony flashing in her eyes:
"Calculation?"
No, Barmos, when he first proposed this 'favor of the sea god,' he did not mean it that way.
That protection was real.
I never imagined that one day I would need to resort to this method.
She paused for a moment, her gaze seemingly piercing through the golden cage and the ferocious enemy before her, landing on some distant place, on some figure that did not exist here.
A rare, captivating tenderness flickered across her usually icy and stunning face. Though fleeting, it was like the first crack in a thawing glacier, breathtaking and awe-inspiring.
"However, someone once told me not to trust anyone easily and to always leave yourself a way out."
He helped me add a little... small protection to this divine spell contract of 'Sea God's Blessing'.
He said, "I hope I'll never need this, but I never expected..."
She withdrew her gaze and looked back at the crazed Barmos on the ground, her eyes regaining their previous coldness:
"He was right again."
These words, though spoken softly, were like a red-hot knife, stabbing deeply into Barmos's already shattered heart, and then twisting it violently.
That person! It's that person again! That lowly, damned pirate! Yann Hughes!
Barmos went completely insane.
It wasn't because his power was taken away, nor because his conspiracy was exposed, nor even because he couldn't have Claire's love.
It was because of the fleeting look in Claire's eyes when she mentioned that person—a tenderness he had longed for but never received!
Extreme jealousy, frustration, humiliation, pain, and anger at one's own foolishness blended into a destructive madness.
His cloudy eyes were fixed on Claire, and a strange "hoarse" sound came from his throat as he used the last of his life force to howl like a curse:
"Yan... Hughes... Claire...you...you will not have a good end!"
Your Highness, kill me, kill me, and then kill her!
Take that damned artifact! I'll make them... I'll make them all pay the price!
I'll be waiting for you in hell!!!
The shrill curses of Barmos echoed within the confined space. Greg frowned, glanced with disgust at Barmos, who was now utterly useless on the ground, and then gave Deandre a hint.
The latter nodded slowly, and with a slight movement of his staff, Barmos's body gradually disappeared from the spot.
Having dealt with his unfortunate ally, Greg turned his gaze back to Claire, who was trapped in the golden net of light, his face regaining that hunting excitement and fascination:
"A magnificent house-cleansing performance, Your Majesty."
However, this doesn't change anything.
"Surrender! Such a beautiful woman, I can't bear to damage her!"
Claire sneered and directly responded to Greg's attempt to persuade her to surrender with her actions.
He gripped the trident of Poseidon tightly and swung it forward with a mighty swing.
The movements, though seemingly simple, seemed to stir the very nerves of the entire sea area.
The ancient sea patterns engraved on the halberd suddenly lit up, as if a sleeping deep-sea monster had opened its eyes.
"boom--!!!"
Centered on her, the calm seawater instantly erupted into fury.
It was no longer the gentle azure, but had transformed into a roaring, inky abyss.
The once calm ocean suddenly became turbulent, with giant waves rising into the sky without warning—not just one, but dozens, even hundreds.
Like mountains stirred by an invisible giant hand, they spun and collided wildly, forming a raging water hell with a diameter of several kilometers.
The seawater was no longer a liquid, but became the most deadly weapon, carrying immense force and bone-chilling cold as it crashed towards the surrounding golden imprisoning light net.
In an instant, the rivers and seas churned, and the world lost its color.
In the center of this devastating scene, Claire stood holding a halberd, her long, azure hair flying in the raging torrents, her exquisite face like an ice sculpture.
Towering waves and tornadoes formed her backdrop and armor, while the light of Poseidon's trident was the only stable source of light in this chaotic realm and an unquestionable symbol of authority.
Her voice pierced through the roar of the waves, remaining calm, but beneath that calm lay an unwavering conviction:
"No matter how many traps you have set here today, or how much power you have used... you are destined to fail."
She slightly raised her chin, her azure eyes sweeping over Greg, whose expression had subtly changed, and De Endero, whose expression was solemn, as well as the imperial powerhouses whose auras were astonishing, emerging from the gaps in the waves:
"Because...he will definitely come to save me!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the great battle broke out!
The Southern Empire had clearly placed a heavy bet on this "hunt." With Gregor's command, the powerful auras that had been hidden in the shadows of the fleet and lurking in the depths of the sea were unleashed without restraint.
More than ten auras belonging to legendary-level powerhouses clashed violently with the power of the Sea God summoned by Claire.
Among them were a grand mage of the court, clad in magnificent magical armor and shrouded in elemental aura; an imperial admiral, his physique as imposing as an iron tower, his magic manifesting as the phantom of a ferocious sea beast; a royal shadow guard commander, his figure elusive, wielding a dagger; and even two ascetics from the Imperial Hall of Worship.
This is only the legendary tier!
Even more unsettling was the sight of several figures looming in the distance, high above, beneath the leaden clouds.
They did not fully descend, but the oppressive will they exuded caused all the legends below to feel a heavy pressure on their souls.
Saint!
Even though they are limited by the rules of the continent and cannot summon the temple, the power of the rules and combat experience they can mobilize are still far beyond what ordinary legends can compare to.
A breathtakingly luxurious lineup of extraordinary individuals!
A hunt they were determined to carry out, with only one target—Claire, the Deep Sea Queen who wielded a divine weapon.
With such power surrounding one person, even though Claire possessed the Trident of Poseidon and could draw upon some of the ocean's power, the situation instantly took a sharp turn for the worse, becoming extremely precarious.
The golden net of confinement light, empowered by the saint's power, stubbornly resisted the impact of the divine artifact and began to contract and squeeze inward, attempting to restrict Claire's space to move.
Legendary powerhouses launched a relentless offensive from all directions, unleashing magic, battle aura, arrows, and curses like a torrential downpour upon the azure figure.
Claire wielded her trident, and the azure divine light transformed into countless sharp water blades, sturdy ice shields, and roaring water dragons, forming a deathly domain around her and blocking most of the attacks.
However, the number of enemies was too large, their level too high, and their coordination too perfect. Her defensive perimeter was being compressed little by little, and her magic power was being consumed extremely rapidly.
Each time the trident clashed with the saint from a distance, the surrounding space groaned under the strain, and Claire's figure would sway slightly.
Not far away, on the outskirts of Blackrock Island, lies a hidden body of water shrouded in magical disguise.
Barbos, Beckman, Will, and hundreds of the most elite Scarlet Raiders they brought are lurking here.
They were there to meet Claire on her orders.
When the once calm sea in the distance suddenly erupted with towering waves and terrifying energy fluctuations, everyone's hearts sank.
Without a doubt, this is a trap!
Everyone understood what the energy level erupting in that sea area meant—it was no small-scale conflict, but rather the Empire using its true core strength to wage a high-intensity encirclement and annihilation war.
The three deputy regimental commanders exchanged glances, and a suffocating sense of oppression filled the air.
“Ahead…” Will finally spoke, his voice hoarse, “is a dead end. The Southern Empire has brought out all its resources.”
We ultimately underestimated the Southern Empire's resolve. If we charged in, we'd probably be nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
Barbos took a deep breath: "Then what do we do..."
Beckman, acting as the strategist among the three, said something ambiguous:
"Gentlemen, don't forget, the one being besieged by the Empire's elite forces inside isn't just the Queen of the Merfolk!"
A chill ran through them, and Beckman continued:
"She is the person whom our Emperor personally ordered Commander Fan Ze to lead all of us to support and protect at all costs."
I don't need to say it, everyone knows in their hearts that she is very likely to be our future imperial concubine!
Now, our Imperial Concubine has been trapped by the people of the Southern Empire, surrounded and on the verge of death.
Are we, the few of us, sitting here with His Majesty's most elite ghost ships, just going to watch helplessly?
What do you think we should say when His Majesty asks, "Where were you at the time?" after this matter is over?
Could it be that we saw through the trap, thought charging in would be suicide, and wisely chose to preserve our strength, watching a spectacular show from the outside?
Barbos's fists clenched so tightly they cracked, finally culminating in a low growl:
"Damn it, I'm going to die either way. It's better to die here than to be remembered by His Majesty and suffer a fate worse than death."
"Done!"
Will took a deep breath and slowly nodded.
The three deputy commanders reached a consensus and, without further hesitation, Barbos began to issue orders:
"All ghost ships, release the highest level of silence."
The Crimson Fang, the Deathspeaker, and the Deep Freeze Nightmare, in a triangular assault formation, tear open the outer defenses of the Imperial fleet from the front.
The remaining fast ships followed the assault, attacking freely and creating chaos.
Tell the brothers not to be afraid of death, His Majesty is watching.
"Rescue Her Majesty the Queen, and everyone will be rewarded!"
After the order was passed down, the ghost ships that had been lying on the seabed or hidden in the magical mist quickly revealed their presence.
They suddenly accelerated from their lurking state, like vengeful ghosts bursting from a deep-sea tomb, and crashed into the escort ships of the Imperial fleet that were maintaining the encirclement without hesitation, bringing with them a cold and deathly psionic storm.
At the same time, more high-speed assault ships belonging to the Crimson Raiders rushed out from their hiding places, like sharks smelling blood, launching a fearless attack on the relatively weak points of the Imperial fleet from the flanks and underwater.
Artillery fire, magic, and boarding action instantly ignited around the massive imperial fleet.
Although their strength was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot compared to the Empire's carefully prepared encirclement and suppression force.
But their sudden appearance, their fearless and reckless fighting style, and especially the ghost ship's bizarre attack that ignores conventional defenses and directly erodes the soul and the ship's structure.
Indeed, it tore a brief opening in the Empire's tight encirclement, successfully attracting the attention of part of the Imperial fleet and the superhumans on the periphery, greatly relieving Claire's pressure.
……
Inside the encirclement, the battle between the two sides has entered a fierce and grueling phase.
The collision of energies made the space in this sea area unstable, the light distorted, the seawater boiled and then froze, and ice crystals and flames, holy light and shadow, torrents and rock spears intertwined wildly, forming a destructive scene.
Crown Prince Greg stood on the command platform of the flagship "Abyss Overlord," his face extremely gloomy.
Although he had overestimated Claire's strength as much as possible when devising this capture plan, especially the legendary Trident of Poseidon.
Not only did they mobilize nearly half of the Empire's high-end combat power in the South China Sea, but they even invited several saints to provide support.
But the unexpectedly fierce and exhausting war before him still sent a chill down his spine and a barely perceptible sense of defeat through him.
He realized he had completely underestimated the mermaid queen’s resilience and fighting skills, and even more seriously underestimated the divine weapon forged by the first sea god Poseidon.
At this moment, the Trident of Poseidon is not merely a powerful weapon, but rather a manifestation of the authority of the sea, an extension of power at the level of rules. (See "Chapter 58 Legendary Helper +1 (×), Harem +1 (√)")
In the heart of the battlefield, Claire, engulfed by various terrifying attacks, shines like a lighthouse in the eye of a storm, her radiance becoming ever more dazzling.
Each swing of the trident in his hand draws upon the vast power of the ocean, enabling him to make astonishing responses.
First, at the top of the trident, there is the "Heart of the Tide," which resembles a pure aquamarine.
At this moment, it exudes an omnipresent azure halo, containing the rhythmic power of the ocean.
Under Claire's precise control, the Heart of the Tide unfolded a huge and complex translucent blue magic circle.
Saint Deendro, the leader of the Royal Mage Corps, a great mage renowned for his profound knowledge and powerful control over the battlefield, is attempting to forcefully tear through Claire's defenses with his immense sacred magical power.
However, as soon as he stepped into the blue magic circle, he immediately felt that his connection with the magic power of the outside world became unusually sluggish.
The tidal array does not attack directly, but rather forms a powerful "tidal force field" that disrupts all energy flow and spatial stability within its range, as if one were trapped in an invisible deep-sea turbulence.
For a time, even a dignified Saint-level mage was trapped by the magic array set up by the "Heart of the Tide".
Secondly, there is that black gem, as deep as a bottomless abyss—"Wrath of the Abyss".
When Claire infused it with magic, the gem suddenly emitted a silent yet soul-stirring wave.
This fluctuation was not a physical impact, but a call and command to forcibly establish a mental link.
The wave, centered on Claire, swept across a vast area of sea with a radius of hundreds of nautical miles in an instant.
The next moment, a scene that sent chills down the spines of the Imperial Navy officers and soldiers appeared.
The marine creatures that had already scattered or panicked in the aftermath of the fierce battle—whether they were ferocious sharks, cunning giant octopuses, schools of bioluminescent jellyfish, enormous sea monsters lurking in the deep sea trenches, or even those seemingly docile but numerous schools of fish—were all caught in the chaos.
Their eyes were instantly shrouded in an eerie black light.
Then, these marine creatures of various shapes and sizes emerged from the sea from all directions, like an army that had received the highest command.
They converged into terrifying torrents, ignoring racial barriers and the instinct for survival, and frantically rushed towards the Southern Empire's fleet.
They rammed into the hull, tore at the oars and rudders, blocked the muzzles of cannons with their bodies, and some of the larger sea monsters even rammed their bodies directly into the weak points of the warships.
In an instant, the outer formation of the Imperial Fleet was thrown into chaos by this sudden "sea monster legion," and the sailors frantically dealt with the frenzied attacks from underwater.
Although these marine creatures are of limited individual strength, there are almost none of them above the legendary rank.
However, their numbers were too great, and they were completely reckless, causing enormous trouble for the Southern Empire's navy and severely disrupting their support for the core battlefield and the maintenance of the encirclement.
This is precisely the terrifying aspect of "Wrath of the Abyss"—it forcibly conscripts all living beings from the entire sea, transforming them into Claire's fearless puppet army. (End of Chapter)