Chapter 697
A crushing defeat, the entire army wiped out!
"The Pirate King! Yann Hughes!"
Greg's voice was hoarse and shrill with extreme anger. He took a sudden step forward and pointed at the figure holding Claire:
"How dare you trespass into the military restricted area of my Southern Region Empire!"
Don't think that just because you have the Eastern Empire backing you up, you can do whatever you want in the Endless Sea.
You're courting death. Do you think you can save her just by coming here?
Do you think you can still escape?
Faced with Greg's roar and threats, Cohen didn't even bother to look at him.
His attention seemed entirely focused on the unconscious Claire in his arms. He carefully adjusted his cloak, wrapping her up more tightly to shield her from the sea breeze and those malicious gazes.
Then, he glanced in the corner of his eye in Greg's direction, a cold smile curving his lips beneath the mask:
"escape?
Who said I was going to run away?
"Dare to touch my woman... Today, none of you will leave here alive."
"Insanity!"
Greg was trembling with rage. He had never been so scorned or so blatantly threatened.
He abruptly turned his head to look at Avreli, who stood silently in the void beside him, his voice trembling with excitement:
“Great-uncle, you heard it too. This madman not only plunders imperial merchant ships and disrupts maritime order, but now he is openly provoking us by kidnapping an imperial criminal.”
Please take immediate action and capture this lawless pirate king.
"Let Emperor Eberron of the Eastern Region personally come to demand the people from my Southern Region!"
Now that things had come to this, Yann Hughes's sudden appearance disrupted all his plans.
Greg no longer cared about the pretext of the Covenant of the Gods. He only wanted to capture the two of them immediately, especially the pirate king who was holding Claire. He wanted to see him kneel at his feet and beg for mercy!
A hint of surprise appeared on Avreli's face. From the moment Cohen appeared, his mind had been focused on this pirate king who was famous throughout the endless sea.
He hadn't even seen how this young man broke through the faint blockade of this space imposed by his demigod will and appeared directly next to Claire.
Hearing Greg's words, Avrelli frowned. Greg's loss of composure and urgency disappointed him.
But there is truly no room for maneuver in the current situation.
Having paid such a high price, this Pirate King must be brought under control, and Claire must be captured as well.
Avrelli raised his hand again and brought his fingers together towards where Cohen and Claire were.
The space groaned under the strain, as an even more terrifying force of confinement converged from all directions.
The area, along with the two people inside, must be completely sealed off.
However, just as Avrelli's fingers were about to close, a gentle voice slowly rang out:
"Lord Avreli, bullying the weak with your superior strength, and attacking two juniors with the dignity of a demigod... doesn't this seem to be in line with the spirit of the 'Covenant of the Gods'?"
The sound wasn't loud, but it strangely pierced through the solidifying space, clearly reaching the ears of every powerful person present, and interrupting Avreli's actions.
Avreli's hand froze in mid-air, a hint of seriousness appearing in his eyes. He slowly turned his head, looking in the direction from which the sound came.
A ripple appeared in the space not far from Cohen, and then an old man dressed in a simple white robe appeared.
The old man wore a warm smile and leaned on what appeared to be an ordinary wooden cane. He was none other than the president of the Holy Healing Order, Saint Buze.
Behind the Sage Buze, the space rippled again, and several more figures with profound auras appeared one after another.
They were dressed in various ways, some wearing the white robes that were the hallmark of the Healing Order, while others dressed as ascetics or scholars, but without exception, they all exuded a powerful and pure aura of life and holiness.
They were all saints from the Holy Healing Order, a total of six!
Saint Buze smiled as he looked at Avreli, whose expression had darkened slightly.
"The Covenant of the Gods has just been established, and all sides on the continent are watching."
"As a demigod, for you to personally confront a legend—if word gets out, it won't be good for the reputation of the Southern Empire or the prestige of the Damian family, will it?"
Avreli remained silent, his grey eyes sweeping over Buze and the saints behind him.
The Holy Healing Order is one of the oldest and most neutral organizations on the continent. Its president, Buze, is unfathomable, and even he is unwilling to offend him easily.
That wasn't all. Soon, deep and distant horn sounds rang out from all directions.
Immediately following was the cacophony of countless warships cutting through the waves, their sails billowing, and their magical engines roaring, rapidly converging into a chilling wave of sound.
The sea area that was originally blockaded by the Imperial fleet is now turbulent.
Huge shadows tore through the sea fog, revealing their ferocious forms.
The pale white ghost ship, with dark red ominous runes flowing across its hull, emanated a cold and deathly psionic energy.
Various pirate warships painted with scarlet and black stripes and flying the ferocious sea monster skull flag were filled with gun barrels and exuded a murderous aura.
There were even several large, hybrid medical and combat ships that clearly bore the style of the Healing Order...
The forces assembled by the Holy Healing Order, along with the elite main force under the Scarlet Raiders, finally rushed to the core battlefield after receiving the highest emergency signal from Cohen, breaking through the outer imperial cordon.
They quickly deployed, forming a reverse encirclement larger than the original encirclement of the Southern Empire fleet, trapping Greg and his entire imperial fleet in the center.
The situation reversed in an instant!
At this moment, the roles of hunter and prey are dramatically reversed.
Demigod Avreli frowned, glancing at the smiling yet resolute Saint Buze before him, and then at the massive fleet standing ready on the periphery.
Finally, their gaze fell upon Claire, who was being held in Cohen's arms, and the Poseidon Trident in her hand, which was temporarily silent but still unsettling.
Things have become complicated.
Avreli also became much more hesitant at this moment.
He was not afraid of battle; as a demigod, he had already reached a height that mortals could hardly attain.
But precisely because of this, he is more aware of the profound meaning and constraints behind the "Covenant of the Gods," and he also understands better the limitations imposed on demigod power under the continent's rules and the chain reactions that might be triggered by acting rashly.
At this moment, not only did several saints appear in the opposing camp, but the leader was also Buze, the president of the Holy Healing Order—a "hundred-star saint" who enjoyed a great reputation among saints and was hailed as the one closest to the threshold of demigod.
Its healing and purification abilities are unparalleled, and its combat methods are also quite unpredictable. Without being able to unfold the rudimentary form of its divine kingdom, Avreli is not confident that it can overwhelmingly defeat the combined forces of multiple saints in a short period of time.
More importantly, the Holy Healing Order is no ordinary force.
It stands apart from the major empires and is recognized as the continent’s premier medical and relief organization. Its influence extends to all races and social classes, and its network of connections is deeply entrenched.
The cost and potential consequences of openly breaking ties with the leader of such an organization are something that even the Southern Empire needs to carefully weigh.
Avrelli's primary objective on this trip was to ensure Greg's safety and achieve the objectives as much as possible, rather than to make a mortal enemy of a behemoth.
Just as Avrily was racking his brains, weighing the pros and cons, Cohen had already issued the kill order:
"Leave no one alive."
Although his tone was calm, the resolute killing intent contained within sent chills down the spines of everyone who heard it.
There were no warnings, no negotiations, and not even time for the other party to react or think.
The order was given, and the war reignited!
Moreover, it is in a much more intense, chaotic, and one-sided manner than before!
The roars of Barbos, Beckman, Will, and others rang out almost simultaneously with the solemn pronouncements of several saints from the Holy Healing Order.
The already poised Crimson Raiders ghost fleet and the Holy Healing Order's white warships, like a powder keg ignited, instantly unleashed their full power.
The ghost ship emitted a shrill, soul-piercing shriek, and its pale white psionic cannon fire, mixed with materialized resentment, rained down on the outer array of the Southern Empire's fleet.
The Imperial warships, already thrown into disarray by the sea monster legion summoned by Claire, were now in even worse shape. Under the saturation attack from all directions, their shields flickered violently, their hulls cracked, and explosions erupted one after another.
The Healing Order's warships, on the other hand, appeared much "gentler".
They do not emit destructive energy beams, but rather light waves with strong purifying and dispersing effects.
These light waves rapidly weakened the various protective spells and buffs cast on the Imperial warships, and even some devices that relied on darkness or negative energy to operate were rendered ineffective.
At the same time, these light waves also have a strange synergistic effect on the Crimson Raiders, slightly enhancing the ghost ship's psionic power and healing wounded pirates.
Even more lethal is the overwhelming superiority of high-end combat power.
Saint Buze did not directly attack Avreli. With a warm smile, he gently tapped his wooden staff, and a soft, milky-white halo spread out from him, quickly enveloping all his combat units.
The Crimson Raider pirates and members of the Holy Healing Order, enveloped in the halo, immediately felt a surge of energy, their injuries healed faster, and their magic recovery speed increased significantly.
Meanwhile, several accompanying Saints from the Holy Healing Order joined the battle against the Empire's legendary powerhouses and Saints without hesitation.
Originally, the Empire's superior numbers allowed them to hold their own against Claire's two legendary high-level water elemental behemoths, and even give them a slight advantage.
But at this moment, with the addition of several saints from the Holy Healing Order and the powerful overall support from Buze, the scales of victory instantly tipped.
The legendary powerhouses and saints on the Empire's side suddenly felt increased pressure. They not only had to face the two tireless water elemental behemoths, but also had to deal with the well-coordinated, integrated offensive and defensive attacks of the saints from the Holy Healing Cult.
In an instant, a legendary expert of the empire was injured in the siege.
Beneath the surface, the Empire's deep-sea submersibles and magical submarines were also under heavy attack from the Crimson Raider ghost ships and the Holy Healing Order's specially designed deep-sea units. The ghost ships ignored the psionic corruption of conventional defenses and thrived in the deep sea, with Empire's submersibles constantly losing contact without a trace.
Seeing the battle had become one-sided, Cohen carefully handed the still unconscious Claire in his arms to High Priestess Sharin of the Mermaid Clan, who had come with the Holy Healing Order, and then joined the battle.
When he faced the chaotic battlefield again, his demeanor was completely different.
Although he could not use his three iconic legendary domains in order to avoid revealing his true identity and full power.
However, with his combat skills accumulated over many years of battles, his understanding of the nature of power, and various enhancement runes, he is almost an unbeatable force at the legendary level.
With a slight sway, he vanished from the spot like a ghost.
The next moment, he appeared beside a legendary warrior from the Southern Empire who was locked in combat with a holy ascetic from the Holy Healing Order.
Cohen appeared without warning. The soldier didn't even have time to make a complete blocking motion. He only saw a seemingly ordinary fist rapidly enlarging in front of him.
"boom!"
With a dull, muffled impact, several enhancement runes on Cohen's fist lit up and then went out instantly. There were no dazzling lights or shadows, only a pure combination of power and skill, and the terrifying properties granted by the runes.
The legendary warrior's aura armor, strong enough to withstand the breath of a dragon, was torn apart like paper, and his greatsword, along with the arm that held it, twisted and deformed amidst a tooth-grinding sound of bones shattering.
The soldier's face was still frozen in shock and disbelief when he was sent flying like a cannonball, spitting out blood as he crashed heavily into the side of an imperial warship in the distance, creating a large hole. His fate was unknown.
One strike, and a legendary warrior is crippled!
Cohen didn't stop moving; his figure disappeared again.
This time, he appeared behind two imperial court mages who were fighting together against the tentacles of a water elemental behemoth.
The two mages reacted extremely quickly, immediately activating their triggered shields and displacement spells upon sensing the spatial fluctuations.
However, Cohen was even faster!
His two hand strikes to the back of their necks were perfectly controlled, instantly crippling the two legendary mages.
In the blink of an eye, three legendary imperial experts were caught in a whirlwind: one was seriously injured, and two were unconscious, completely losing their ability to fight.
The entire process was seamless, without a single unnecessary movement; it was precise, efficient, and chillingly ruthless.
Cohen didn't even glance at them, his figure flashing again as he searched for his next target.
This scene naturally caught the eye of Greg on the distant flagship.
"No...it's impossible...how could this be..."
Greg muttered to himself, looking utterly dejected, his face ashen, as if all the blood in his body had been drained in an instant.
He watched helplessly as his legendary warriors, whom he had nurtured with countless resources and relied upon as his pillars, were easily defeated like clay chickens and earthenware dogs in front of that pirate king wearing a demon mask.
His elite Imperial fleet, on which he had placed high hopes, was caught in a desperate situation, besieged from both inside and outside, and was rapidly descending into chaos and defeat. Under the eerie psionic attacks of the Crimson Raider ghost ships, the annoying purifying light waves of the Holy Healing Order warships, and the rampage of two legendary water elemental behemoths, it was collapsing into chaos and defeat at a visible speed.
On the sea, the flames from the explosion stretched out in a continuous line, turning the dim sky a fiery red.
The shields of the Imperial warships shattered one after another, and their thick armor was destroyed by the ghost ship's psionic energy and physical cannon fire.
Warships began to list, take on water, and slowly sink. Soldiers in Imperial uniforms fell into the icy sea like dumplings being dropped into boiling water. Amidst the frantic shouts of the Crimson Raiders boarding the ships, the solemn healing prayers and humming of punitive spells from the members of the Holy Healing Order, the sound of their spells was deafening.
Shouts of battle, explosions, wails, and the deafening roar of ships breaking apart... all intertwined to create a tragic lament for the Southern Empire's failed operation.
Greg was unable to accept that his meticulously planned and heavily manned operation to capture the enemy had failed at the last minute, and might even turn into a disastrous defeat.
The demigod Avreli's expression also darkened completely.
He had anticipated the variables, but the magnitude of the variables, the strength of the reinforcements, and the speed at which the battle situation reversed still exceeded his worst-case scenario.
Seeing his own legendary figures fall one after another, and his fleet suffer heavy losses, while the enemy pirate king displayed combat skills far exceeding those of ordinary legendary figures, made his heart sink slightly.
"Your Highness, this is impossible."
Avrelli's voice remained calm, but the solemnity and decisiveness it conveyed sent a jolt through Greg, who was on the verge of collapse.
The demigod's gaze swept across the ravaged battlefield. His own side was already showing signs of defeat. His high-end combat power was being restrained or even suppressed, and his fleet was surrounded. Continuing to fight head-on would only cause the losses to escalate to an unacceptable level.
"We must evacuate immediately. Otherwise, not only will the mission fail, but if our elite forces are wiped out here, it will also affect your future..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear—if they were to be completely wiped out here, Greg's chances of even retaining his current position, let alone vying for the throne, were uncertain.
Greg's lips trembled, and his face drained of color. He didn't want to back down, but his remaining rationality told him that Avreli was right.
He even saw Cohen's cold gaze sweeping over him from afar, seemingly across the chaotic battlefield, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
However, just as Greg was about to order a retreat, another loud bugle call rang out from the horizon further away.
The power of the Pale Wings and Princess Grace of the Eastern Empire in the Endless Sea!
Before his arrival, Cohen not only notified the Holy Healing Order and the Crimson Raiders headquarters, but also directly mobilized some of the elite forces of the Pale Wings who were lurking in the Endless Sea, and sent a distress signal to Grace.
However, to avoid suspicion, the power of the Pale Wings is currently hidden within Grace's power.
These two powerful forces finally arrived, like two deadly guillotines, one on the left and one on the right, completely blocking the Southern Empire's fleet's last possible escape route, and becoming the last straw that broke the camel's back.
There can be no more delays!
Seeing that the situation was beyond human control, Avreli gave a low shout and stopped trying to organize resistance or an orderly retreat.
With a sudden, forceful wave of his thin hand, a surge of immense demigod power broke through the chaotic energy field and spatial interference, transforming into a gray vortex that instantly enveloped Gregor and several core generals on the nearby flagship, as well as the court mage leader Deendreo and others.
As for the other imperial soldiers and legendary warriors who were still fighting hard, or even had begun to flee, he could no longer care about them.
After all, forcibly taking so many people away was a considerable burden even for him, not to mention having to deal with possible obstruction from Saint Buze and other powerful figures.
Although he still couldn't explain abandoning so many people after returning home, he had no other choice.
Greg is the Crown Prince of the Empire; he cannot be allowed to fall.
If Greg were to die or be captured here, it would not only be a failure of the mission, but would also cause a major upheaval in the empire, and could even lead to the collapse of his and the Queen's faction's power.
In comparison, sacrificing this fleet and the remaining strongmen, although a heavy loss, is still within an acceptable range.
The gray vortex spun violently, and the spatial distortion and fluctuations reached their extreme.
Saint Buze frowned slightly, raised his staff as if he wanted to do something, but after glancing at Avreli, whose face was filled with madness, he simply sighed softly and put the staff down.
The cost of stopping a demigod who is determined to leave is too high.
Cohen's cold gaze, hidden beneath his mask, fixed on the rapidly shrinking gray vortex and on Greg's pale, terrified face, filled with resentment and bitterness within it.
The next second, the gray vortex, along with the people inside, completely disappeared from the spot, leaving only some chaotic spatial ripples.
With the demigod Avreli leading the eldest prince Greg and a few core members in a hasty retreat, the last backbone and morale pillar of the Southern Empire completely collapsed.
"Surrender and you will not be killed! Those who resist will be killed without mercy!"
Cohen's icy voice echoed across the sea once more, bringing this battle to a final close.
Having lost their supreme commander and the protection of a demigod, the remaining Imperial fleet and its powerful warriors, surrounded by forces from all sides—the Pale Wings, the Crimson Raiders, the Holy Healing Order, and the forces sent by Princess Grace—completely lost the will and ability to resist.
Most warships chose to raise the white flag, and the legendary warriors were either seriously wounded and captured, or intercepted and captured when they tried to break through.
An imperial operation, which was originally a sure thing and boasted a powerful force, ended in a disastrous defeat with the planners fleeing in panic and the imperial fleet being almost completely wiped out.
Only a very few marginal ships and lucky ones who saw the opportunity early managed to escape this watery area that had become a battlefield amidst the chaos.
The sea breeze howled, dispersing the smoke of battle, but it could not dispel the heavy stench of blood and the lamentations of the defeated.
Cohen stood amidst the wreckage and blood and fire, his scarlet cloak fluttering in the wind. His gaze finally settled on the peacefully sleeping face in High Priestess Shalin's arms, and only then did the coldness in his eyes gradually melt away.
"Clean up the battlefield, treat the wounded, and take stock of the casualties and prisoners of war."
All Imperial warships: tow away any valuable ones, sink any damaged ones completely, and prepare to return to port!
……
Claire slowly awoke, the long and deep darkness receding like the tide, her consciousness seemingly rising gently from the most tranquil abyss at the bottom of the sea.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she felt was a long-lost sense of relaxation and peace.
Although the body is still weak, and there is still a faint stinging pain and emptiness deep in the blood vessels from overexertion, the extreme pain of being on the verge of collapse has disappeared.
She seemed to have slept so soundly and peacefully in a long time.
What comes into view is a magnificent canopy adorned with deep-sea pearls and coral patterns; this is her palace in the mermaid tribe.
The soft glow of the sea crystal filled the room, and the air was filled with the calming scent of deep-sea algae.
She tilted her head slightly and saw High Priestess Shalin standing guard by her bedside. (End of Chapter)