Extraordinary Voyage

The blue-violet smoke emanating from the pottery jar instantly turned into a putrid, sticky cloud over the "St. Cruz Merchant".

It then quickly absorbed the endless water vapor from the sky and expanded.

Woo—!

With a sudden high-pitched whistle on the deck, it was like a snake charmer finally revealing the deadly snake from his basket.

Amidst the shared gaze of terror from the combatants on both sides.

A massive, flattened triangular snakehead suddenly lunged out of the cloud of toxic smoke and water vapor, casting a huge shadow while flicking its tongue and emitting a continuous, sharp hiss.

Hiss hiss hiss....

Then the winding body gradually absorbed the cloud, continuously elongating and taking shape, finally transforming into a colorful smoke serpent over forty meters long that swam through the air.

Its scales were clear and distinct, glancing coldly at the two warships below, showing that the combatants were no different to it.

Regardless of its strength, its mere appearance was already terrifying enough.

In the face of such a monster, not to mention the pirates who had only just joined, even the formerly steadfast Navy soldiers turned pale and dared not look directly.

The fear of such dangerous and cold-blooded creatures is evidently an instinct embedded in human blood, especially one of this size...

Aiven's brow slightly furrowed; he had already recognized it.

The smoke serpent's body was based on a highly venomous viper common in the southern New Continent, called "Yalalaka" by the locals. According to legend, 70% of snake-induced fatalities there were caused by them, deservedly infamous.

At this moment, this smoke serpent was clearly a spirit entity created by Black Witchcraft, manifested by water vapor and toxic smoke.

"A Black Wizard from the Chaotic Territory Kabral!"

Aiven's sharp eyes had already keenly identified the black-robed old man on the "St. Cruz Merchant" deck who was blowing the gourd-shaped snake flute.

Woo—woo—

The sound of the flute changed again.

The giant serpent comparable to a small Sea Monster lowered its head, like a heavenly ladder falling at the old man's feet. As he stepped onto it, the serpent, miraculously, raised its head again!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The massive body of the smoke serpent undulated through the air, seemingly disturbing even the low-hanging clouds in the sky.

Evidently, this Black Witchcraft creature was not just for show; it likely possessed power to match its immense size.

Under the old man's commanding, drum-like flute tones.

Boom—!

The smoke serpent lunged through the curtain of rain, bringing a stench-filled wind as it charged the "Venus" just fifty meters away!

Before that, its fierce killing intent had already hit like a wave, halting the roaring cannon fire on the warship for an instant.

"Hmph!"

Aiven let out a soft snort.

Though this snake-scaled creature resembled the last Inheritor from the Life Tree School, the Snake-man Heber Crete.

But in Mysticism, the snake itself symbolizes bodily regeneration and spiritual eternity, employed in many forms of Witchcraft.

Aiven didn't think this obviously Black Witchcraft-tainted, outwardly altered guy, essentially a Wild Mage, had any connection to his own school.

Moreover, such a vicious thing, akin to a weapon of mass destruction, must not land on his crew!

Clang!

His toe nudged up a steel fish spear used on board for hunting large fish.

As Aiven regulated his breathing, his muscles gently swelled, and the "Data Visualization" had already instinctively marked the firing parameters.

[Physical Liberation—Eighty Percent!]

Step forth! Swing arm!

Rumble—

Like a bolt from the blue.

The instantaneously accelerated steel fish spear tore through the air with speed akin to a bullet, thanks to Aiven's exceptional strength and technique.

It blitzed forward with the wind, arriving before the descending snake's maw in the blink of an eye.

Woo—

The smoke serpent only had time to raise its head, using its jaw to shield the old wizard perched there, before being directly pierced by the sharp spear.

Sizzle... sizzle...

Although in the next moment, the steel fish spear lodged in its head began to dissolve slowly in the Extraordinary level toxin, the momentum of the smoke serpent's charge was entirely disrupted, forcing it to fall onto the sea's surface.

"Hiss hiss! A Peak Level Knight?!"

Unscathed, the old man rose slowly from atop the serpent's head, a new hint of expression in his cold and indifferent gaze, recognizing the power that he had to take seriously.

He looked up at Aiven standing on the "Venus," raising his snake flute once more.

Woo—

The smoke serpent's upper body lifted high, poised for attack.

"Until I return, the Chief Navigator will take command, be mindful of the wizard's tricks during ship maneuvers.

Make the first battle of 'Venus' one with presence; the first heavy cruiser in the world needs a formidable opponent for its blood sacrifice!"

Aiven turned to instruct the pirate officers beside him.

Clang—

The dazzling Extraordinary Hand Half-Sword was already drawn.

Wearing his signature white mask, the White Knight had already transformed into a forceful arrow, shooting towards the Black Wizard.

And the "Venus" and "St. Cruz Merchant" continued their parallel bombardment posture, sailing forward.

When holding the dual advantage of mobility and firepower, it's obviously impossible to engage in a bloody close combat.

Swoosh!

Dozens of meters was a mere fleeting moment for Aiven.

Even before he could launch an attack on the old wizard who had already fallen into the sea, the fully recovered Witch Snake combination quickly launched a strong assault.

Evidently, the old wizard was also well aware that before dealing with this Peak Knight, he should not even think about attacking that Pirate Ship.

Snap!

In the surging waves, the thick snake tail flicked like a god's long whip, smashing Aiven's passing afterimage into pieces.

[Secret Technique: Instant Flash!]

Rumble—

A sound of thunder seemed to echo from within Aiven's body, and his figure instantly vanished.

The human eye's highest resolution capacity is 30 frames per second, but the Extraordinary, especially the sensory-sharp wizard, can surpass this limit.

Yet, even in the eyes of the Black Wizard, Rice, all he could see were stuttered afterimages of Aiven!

In fact, after activating this basic secret technique from [Desperate Thunder Swordsmanship], Aiven's movement, attack, and reaction speeds have undergone a comprehensive enhancement.

It was as if his previously lagging neural signal transmission system had been thoroughly upgraded.

Especially to him, the massive "creatures" were almost like stationary targets.

Constrained by the speed of neural signal transmission, even the human limit cannot surpass 0.1 second, let alone gigantic creatures?

Perhaps the spirit body Smoke Serpent created from black witchcraft is not included, but its commander, Black Wizard Rice, surely is not, at least not until he can achieve Tier 4 and become completely non-human.

Whish—

Easily dodging the snake tail attack, Aiven flashed beside the Black Wizard.

The longsword in his hand transformed into a silver thunderbolt slashing down swiftly.

Not to mention a Wild Mage whose body clearly lacks maintenance, even a Great Knight would not escape being severed in two if caught off guard!

Clang—

In the next moment, sparks flew.

Beside the Black Wizard, a series of fist-sized shriveled skulls suddenly emerged, exhaling foul air from their mouths and shooting out green evil spiritual light from their eyes.

They seemed to self-sense and together formed a dark green shield that firmly withstood Aiven's sword.

[Black Witchcraft: Skull of Evil Thoughts]

"As expected, I still dislike dealing with wizards the most."

As a fellow wizard himself, Aiven knows very well that you never know how many trump cards a wizard has against different enemies, even if he is just a Wild Mage.

Or, the more a Wild Mage has learned, the more unpredictable they are, unlike School Wizards whose techniques can be traced.

This old man in black robes clearly possesses "Black Witchcraft" from the Nimansite World, "Snake Control Technique" from the Eastern Peacock Islands, and a notable "Shrinking Head Technique" from Voodoo practice.

Yet none are benevolent arts.

However.

With Aiven's understanding of wizardry, how could he not be prepared for the opponent's possibility of raising shields?

Even at Extraordinary Tier 2, a knight possessing only physical strength obviously has many weaknesses when facing wizards capable of manipulating energy, spirit bodies, curses, and other extraordinary abilities.

But it seemed Aiven was about to defy this rule at this moment!

As the longsword got blocked, his next move was already brewing.

"Inhale..."

Taking a light breath that submerged into the body, as if every cell within him turned into a mini bioelectric station, injected with high-energy fuel using a special breathing technique.

Crackle...

Visible purple electric glow flickered on the skin, linking together forming a torrential energy stream.

Aiven swiftly sheathed then unsheathed his sword, pushed by this thunderous energy flow.

"Wha..."

BOOM—!!!

Like a thunder crack resounding in the sky, or the simultaneous roar of hundreds of heavy cannons.

Even with an automatic shield known as "Skull of Evil Thoughts."

The frail Black Wizard, whose half cry just escaped his mouth, was directly blasted off from the Smoke Serpent's head by explosive force.

Pop—Pop—Pop—

Like skipping a stone across water, midway the overstrained shield shattered with a bang, and the twisted, uncertain-life-status old wizard was subsequently swallowed by waves, disappearing without a trace.

Boom—

The unrestrained Smoke Serpent erupted on the spot...dispersing into thin air.

Only now did Aiven, with faint purple electric currents coursing over his body, take a gentle breath that quietly crackled.

This was the power belonging to [Secret Technique: Thunder Mercury]!

The Three-eyed People believe "Magnetic Field" is a special form of material existence.

All things in the universe, from basic particles to vast galaxies, have magnetic fields, only differing in intensity.

And the life magnetic field is a material form of biological existence, residing in the shape made of blood, flesh, bone, brain, marrow, and veins.

Each individual's life magnetic field has its unique essence and intensity.

[Desperate Thunder Swordsmanship] is about training and restraining the life magnetic field of the body, transforming it into fierce thunder, to crush the enemy with irresistible force.

Even reaching the extreme, it allows the manifestation of the power of the life magnetic field, turning it into another form of domineering extraordinary energy to slay spirit bodies!