Chapter 500: Mysterious and Confusing

Creak!

Under the relentless tearing of the blackwater shark’s sharp, powerful fangs, the small boat was riddled with holes, its wooden planks shattered and crisscrossed with cracks.

Knight Haou’s heart sank to the bottom of a valley.

Raindrops the size of beans pounded his robe, then slid off quickly.

Standing in the downpour, he flicked his right hand, sending several glowing darts into the water.

[Magic Missile].

One blackwater shark was hit, emitting a sharp, childlike wail.

But apart from the unlucky fish that had just surfaced and been struck, the rest of the blackwater sharks sensed the danger in time and dove beneath the surface, avoiding the magic missiles.

And even if they’d all hit, what difference would it make?

Though the storm obscured vision, under the flickering orange light, Knight Haou could confirm that the number of blackwater sharks circling and attacking the boat was at least a thousand.

They surged like a black tide beneath the water, occasionally revealing their grotesque forms.

Even as he found it terrifying, he felt deep confusion.

The waters around Aoklan City had long been patrolled by Sea Sentinel mages.

Not that not a single water beast remained, but at least ordinary water beasts dared not approach lightly.

Water beasts were intelligent creatures.

In areas under long-term Sea Sentinel patrols, any water beast found was ruthlessly exterminated.

Over time, nearby water beasts learned that this region was a forbidden zone—approaching meant possible death.

Even if a whirlwind had caused chaos and allowed water beasts to roam freely, their location was still some distance from the open sea.

In such a short time, how could so many blackwater sharks have crossed the sea, entered the inland waterways, and advanced straight toward Yaxi Town?

Knight Haou frowned tightly, eyes locked on the water, his thoughts tangled—he sensed something suspicious, yet had no clue.

Boom!

At that moment, the trembling little boat finally gave way, completely destroyed.

Violent river water surged wildly through countless cracks; the hull sank rapidly, spraying up huge splashes, then slowly submerged, leaving only broken planks floating on the surface.

Knight Haou’s expression grew even graver.

Sweat on his forehead mixed with raindrops and slid down.

His mind raced, yet he could not conceive a solution to the current predicament.

If all else failed, they would have to abandon the boats and retreat to higher ground.

These blackwater sharks were unlikely to come ashore.

If they did, the situation would reverse completely.

On land, they had no fear of these blackwater sharks.

But abandoning the boats meant losing their vital means of transport and the only available vehicle.

The nature of floods is massive flow and prolonged duration.

With no food, the many civilians on the high ground—old, young, women, children—could not survive more than a few days.

Just as Knight Haou was at his wit’s end and ready to retreat, the fish monsters clinging to the fleet suddenly halted without warning, then dove down in perfect unison.

Immediately after, they turned as one, as if receiving some mysterious command, and swam away in the opposite direction from the fleet.

What was going on?

Knight Haou was momentarily stunned, eyes wide, his face showing a hint of relief but mostly shock.

He followed the direction in which the blackwater shark school had fled.

Even with [Darkvision], the violent rain curtain made distant scenes indistinct to Knight Haou.

He could only vaguely make out two distinct water lines splitting ahead of the shark school, as if sliced open by an invisible blade, forming a sharp arrowhead.

At the tip of the arrowhead, some creature was speeding forward, unaffected even by the raging current.

It moved with incredible speed, churning the water in its wake.

Behind it, the dense swarm of blackwater sharks, eyes red with frenzy, chased after it relentlessly, abandoning the fleet entirely.

“What the hell is that?” Knight Haou couldn’t help but wonder.

Blackwater sharks were violent water beasts, far less intelligent than ordinary first-tier water beasts, primarily active during daylight hours; though sometimes solitary, they preferred to travel in groups.

Small groups consisted of a few or dozens; larger ones could gather in hundreds or even thousands.

Their vision was poor, but their sense of smell was highly developed—tiny odors on living beings helped them locate targets.

Their swimming speed was relatively slow, but their burst speed during predation was extremely fast.

Their body shape resembled a iron disc—this was the root cause of their slow swimming, but also served as their visual identifier, preventing cannibalism among themselves.

Gao De crouched on Tuanzi’s back, holding a gemstone sweetberry obtained from [Divine Berry Shu +], while rapidly reviewing all he knew about blackwater sharks.

His “free borrowing” from the White Tower’s library in Haiyuan had given him basic knowledge of common water beasts in Bairo County, and he recognized blackwater sharks at a glance due to their distinct features.

Gao De could see the fleet wouldn’t hold much longer.

With these blackwater sharks present, he couldn’t easily reach the high ground to contact the refugees and learn the situation.

But with so many blackwater sharks, even the mages on the boats couldn’t stop them—what could a first-circle mage like him do?

This was Gao De’s instinctive thought.

His own strength was insignificant before such a massive swarm of water beasts.

But the next moment, he remembered something—the underwater whirlpool he’d barely escaped half a minute ago.

This instantly sparked a new idea in his mind.

His strength was small, but against the power of nature, even this swarm of blackwater sharks was equally insignificant.

Gao De quickly reviewed the basic traits of blackwater sharks and realized they could be exploited.

Poor vision, but heightened smell—so they’d be even more sensitive to the scent of gemstone sweetberries, yet less likely to detect the hidden whirlpool.

Relatively slow swimming speed meant he and Tuanzi could easily lead them on a chase.

Low intelligence meant they were unlikely to recognize a trap.

In a flash of thought, Gao De made his decision.

He immediately conjured gemstone sweetberries, using the [Divine Berry Shu +] trait to draw the blackwater sharks’ attention.

Everything unfolded exactly as he’d planned—smoothly.

The blackwater sharks had never imagined such an irresistible scent appearing at this moment; they simply followed instinct and chased after it.

But while he’d mentally prepared for such a massive swarm pursuing him, actually facing it was another matter entirely.

Looking back at the dense sea of red eyes, Gao De felt a chill.

If these blackwater sharks caught up, the outcome was obvious—those razor-sharp teeth wouldn’t leave him a single bone.

“Tuanzi, push harder—our lives depend on you,” Gao De urged, then cast [Heavy Load Shu +] on Tuanzi to reduce the extra physical strain caused by his own weight.

It had taken half a minute to travel from the whirlpool to here.

Returning now, with escape driving them, speed would be much faster—time could be cut by more than half, reaching the destination in at most three or four minutes.

But the distance had to be precisely controlled.

If he pulled too far, before the blackwater sharks entered the whirlpool’s suction range, they’d have to turn—and the sharks, noticing the turn, would follow suit and avoid the vortex.

If he pulled too close, risk increased.

Blackwater sharks were slow swimmers, but their burst speed was extremely fast.

If the distance was right, they could explode forward and catch Tuanzi.

Controlling this distance was already difficult.

Especially now, with such complex “road conditions,” sudden undercurrents constantly disrupting speed.

“Tuanzi, pick up speed—the crosscurrent is coming ahead,” Gao De sent a clear command through [Beast Link+].

While directing Tuanzi, he glanced back at the pursuing blackwater shark school.

At this moment, Gao De’s left eye glowed faintly.

Mandora’s Eye had activated its perception ability.

The distance between him and the blackwater shark school had become a precise, constantly changing number in Mandora’s Eye’s vision.

Similarly, Tuanzi’s speed was rendered as an exact value in his mind.

Though it seemed Tuanzi was doing all the work, Gao De was also exerting effort.

Like driving a car, Tuanzi was the vehicle, and he was the driver—responsible for controlling distance, adjusting speed, observing “road conditions,” and directing Tuanzi to “accelerate or turn.”

“Hold on, Tuanzi—I’ll give you extra rations when we get back,” Gao De noticed Tuanzi’s fatigue and offered encouragement despite his own mental strain.

Puff-puff-puff!

Behind them, nearly a thousand blackwater sharks thrashed through the water, their waves unmistakable even amid the downpour.

A black tide surged across the surface, countless fins undulating like a dense thicket of black thorns.

“We’re almost there,” Gao De’s gaze pierced the thick darkness.

Rain pounded his face, blurring his vision, yet he still precisely confirmed his position through Mandora’s Eye’s extraordinary perception.

Not far ahead, the hidden whirlpool in the darkness resembled an ancient beast lying in wait beneath the water, jaws wide open, ready to swallow its prey.

“Prepare—slow down first, then turn,” he warned Tuanzi.

If they charged in too fast, they’d be unable to stop once inside the vortex’s suction range and get pulled in directly.

He had no intention of dying alongside these blackwater sharks.

Tuanzi, receiving Gao De’s warning, struggled to adjust its rhythm; though every movement grew heavier, it still followed Gao De’s command and slightly slowed its pace.

In this intense chase, slowing even slightly reduced the already minimal safety distance to an unsafe level.

The frontmost blackwater shark seized its chance; its blood-red eyes glowed with greed and excitement as it lunged forward, jaws wide, aiming straight for Gao De.

But Gao De had already anticipated this when he ordered Tuanzi to slow down.

He gripped Tuanzi with one hand to stabilize himself, then swung his right arm through the air.

In an instant, powerful magic gathered in his palm, forming a blue energy spear entwined with shattering magical fragments.

The spear emitted a deep blue glow, its surface flickering with tiny shards of magic, like a bolt of lightning shooting backward through the dark rainy night, striking the charging blackwater shark directly.

Zizizizi!

The unlucky blackwater shark was instantly engulfed in lightning.

Deep blue currents surged wildly across its body, outlining its grotesque form.

Its body trembled violently under the electric shock; its once agile fins stiffened, and it was instantly stunned.

And it wasn’t over—another arc of lightning, like a branched rope, connected Gao De to the unlucky blackwater shark.

[Arcane Arrow].

Water conducts electricity extremely well.

Thus, the lightning arc spread rapidly; blue currents surged beneath the surface, forming an invisible electric net that briefly created a barrier between Gao De and the blackwater shark.

The blackwater sharks charging forward all fell victim.

The moment the current touched them, their bodies jolted, freezing in place, their once-fluid movements slowing as their muscles went briefly numb.

The spreading current wasn’t especially powerful, but it was enough to briefly disrupt the blackwater sharks’ momentum.

That was all Gao De needed.

Because now, he felt the suction coming from the waters ahead.

That suction was like an invisible hand, pulling everything around it.

Gao De ended the [Arcane Arrow] and pulled the gemberry he had tucked into his pocket, tossing it forward.

Under the vortex’s pull, the gemberry was instantly swept away.

The next moment,

Tuanzi surged forward, executing a perfect underwater drift—a wide, sweeping tail flick that churned up a murky spray, then executed a sharp 120-degree turn, skimming past the blackwater shark swarm.

It had planned this all along; the motion was seamless, fluid, and swift.

The blackwater sharks, however, were completely unprepared—and their strength paled beside Tuanzi’s.

So as they charged forward at full speed, caught off-guard by the sudden inward suction, they couldn’t stop; caught between inertia and the vortex’s pull, they plunged headfirst into the underwater vortex.

The immense funnel vortex hidden beneath the surface now revealed its full power.

The blackwater sharks struggled at the vortex’s edge, their bodies twisted by the torrent, fins flailing desperately, yet unable to resist the overwhelming suction.

As more and more blackwater sharks were dragged in, the vortex grew wilder, forming a massive black column spiraling through the water.

The sharks tumbled and twisted within, shrieking shrilly.

Their bodies were pulled deeper and deeper by the vortex, vanishing into the dark depths, leaving only chaotic ripples on the surface.

Only a dozen or so blackwater sharks lagging behind managed to halt their charge and were straining to escape the vortex’s pull, on the verge of survival.

But before they could celebrate, Gao De cast [Water Manipulation].

It was merely a trick—no real power.

But it could alter the flow of a small patch of water.

Gao De mimicked the effect of a water current to block those dozen blackwater sharks from advancing.

They had already exhausted themselves trying to escape the vortex’s pull.

Now, with the vortex still dragging them backward and a new current pushing them forward, it was the final straw—crushed from both sides, their disc-shaped bodies were helplessly swept backward and swallowed by the vortex.

Water beasts, born of water, die in water.

These blackwater sharks died as they should.

Gao De stared at the now-empty surface, his taut nerves finally relaxing.

This operation had been rushed—discovering the blackwater shark swarm, devising the plan to lure them into the vortex—all happened in the blink of an eye.

So he couldn’t be certain things would unfold exactly as he’d planned.

In such an unpredictable environment, too many variables existed.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

Taking such risks to accomplish such a feat filled Gao De with deep satisfaction.

But he didn’t bask in it long.

“Tuanzi, let’s go back,” he patted Tuanzi’s head, signaling toward the high ground where the refugees had taken shelter.

Though exhausted, the job wasn’t done.

The disaster was far from over; he couldn’t let his guard down.

And even from a purely pragmatic standpoint, Gao De had to keep going.

As the first to arrive at the disaster zone, merit lay scattered everywhere.

Every refugee saved, every unstable situation stabilized—each was a tangible achievement.

The more he did, the greater his merit.

He had already assembled a fleet, located the refugees, and eliminated the water beast threat—if he could now help relocate the refugees of Yaxi Town to safety, all these feats would be his alone.

This wasn’t just first merit—it was singular merit.

Combined, after the disaster passed and rewards were distributed, the military merit he would earn would be astonishing.

Considering his status as a First-Ring Mage, perhaps even a First-Class Merit?

It would be hard for only a few more days—let’s do it!

Gao De gritted his teeth, resolved to push forward.

(End of Chapter)