Chapter 365: Solar Flare

In the coastal waters near Bayam, a massive whale-like sea creature suppressed its unease and moved toward the shore.

Even as an ordinary sea creature of limited intelligence, it could sense the utterly terrifying danger above the surface; had it not been for the Sea God's command, it would have fled to the deep sea long ago.

Within its body, Klein sensed the sea creature's fear, and coupled with the faint unease welling up in his own heart, he decided to make another trip above the gray fog.

Aboard the Black Death, Katarina Pell's expression turned solemn. She turned her head to look at Tracy sitting beside her and said in a low voice:

"Move the ship away from these waters."

"What happened?" Tracy asked, somewhat puzzled.

Katarina Pell rose from her chair and walked to the porthole, gazing with a rather grave expression at the sky already dyed a vast expanse of gold and red.

Her gaze was deep and unfathomable, impossible to tell what she was thinking. After a moment, she spoke in a measured tone: "Their upcoming battle will very likely affect this entire stretch of sea."

"Near Bayam, this level of destruction could very well draw that person's attention. I hope our plan won't encounter too many complications."

High in the sky, Reckton, who was constraining the surrounding light and heat, paused slightly in his movements. He noticed that the storm he had created was beginning to grow unstable.

"Did the 'Sea King' intervene... then so be it."

As the thought turned, the humanoid figure formed from converging pure white points of light rapidly disintegrated, becoming a tiny incandescent white orb.

Around it, streams of incandescent white light continuously spiraled toward the center. The radiance they emitted interwove with the outer storm, forming a pale golden vortex of extreme heat.

With the intervention of the "Sea King" Ian Cottman, the surrounding storm grew unstable, and the pale gold that had been surging together rapidly spread outward.

The next moment, a curtain of golden-red light descended from the sky. Like an enormous, wind-swayed skirt hem, it rippled gently over the sea surface, blanketing the entire stretch of ocean and bringing with it blazing light and heat.

Aside from the surging, pervasive aura of the sun across the entire sea, this light curtain was more of an attack in a physical sense—the extreme light and heat caused the sea surface to drop a layer without even going through the process of boiling.

Wherever the light curtain passed, whether rocks or fish in the sea, everything was directly melted.

A fiery red figure repeatedly shattered and reappeared in midair. As if dancing in the air, her constantly shifting silhouette appeared bewitching and alluring. Gradually, this figure grew thin and frail, as though being slowly roasted away.

The barrier of wind and water that enveloped all of Bayam began to teeter on the verge of collapse. The extreme heat caused the gale to rapidly evaporate the seawater it carried, and even the wind was dyed gold and red. At this moment, Bayam was like a steamer sitting atop a boiler.

In the dock district, Daniz, who had just returned to his inn not long ago and finished packing his luggage, preparing to head back to the Golden Dream tomorrow, stared blankly out the window.

He watched the gale that carried seawater and cloud layers and enveloped all of Bayam get dyed gold and red, feeling the dense sweat breaking out all over his body, his face turning deathly pale.

"Bullshit! When did Bayam get this dangerous? Demigods fighting here every few days... It's all that damned Gehrman Sparrow's fault. If he hadn't stopped me, I'd already be back on the Golden Dream by now. I wouldn't have to be here scared out of my wits."

Daniz pressed his lips tightly together, able only to ease the pressure by constantly grumbling to himself in his heart.

For the first time, he felt how fragile his own life was—just the aftershocks of those high-Sequence powerhouses' battle could effortlessly destroy him.

No, this terrifying might could even effortlessly destroy all of Bayam.

Above the gray fog, within that magnificent ancient palace, Klein held the Sea God's Scepter, feeling the prayers of the Sea God's believers, filled with panic and fear, and his grip on the scepter unconsciously tightened.

Through the Sea God's Scepter, he strove to maintain stability beneath the sea surface, keeping the sea creature carrying his body from encountering danger. As for the Sea God believers' prayers, he was truly powerless—at that temperature, he had no ability to change the weather at all.

After some time, through the connection between the Sea God's Scepter and the believers, he sensed that the terrifying light and heat had finally subsided.

He let out a long breath of relief and swiftly channeled spirituality into the scepter, causing the seawater to rapidly evaporate. Carrying away vast amounts of heat, it transformed into heavy cloud layers, attempting to bring rain to the surrounding area.

Whoosh! The wind exploded in a roar. Centered on Bayam, a gale swiftly whipped up, carrying the water vapor that had just risen from the sea surface up into the high altitude.

Ian Cottman's figure rose accordingly, disappearing into the sky. After a moment, heavy cloud layers began to form.

With a crack of silver-white thunder, warm rain began to patter down.

The rain struck the parched ground and fell onto the shallower sea surface, raising a thin mist.

Falling along with the rain were flakes of dark red, desiccated flesh. In the warm rainwater, they turned vivid red once more, became fresh again, and began to writhe like liquid, twisting and gathering together.

In a brief moment, this writhing flesh became a beautiful figure. Her hair was fiery red, draped casually, writhing, strands of hair intertwining with one another like crimson vipers, coiling freely around her body, just barely concealing her critical areas.

On the index finger of her left hand, she wore a ring set with a black, multi-faceted gemstone. The gemstone set in this ring had already developed many cracks, and the pure silver setting rapidly corroded, crumbling quickly and scattering across the ground.

Her gaze swept over the ring that had fallen to the ground, her eyes darkening slightly. Then she raised her head, as if confiding in someone, yet also as if talking to herself, and said:

"What a terrifying method—light and heat as horrifying as facing the sun itself... If I hadn't known beforehand, I'd even have thought he was a Light-Seeker."

"What a pity. Though this was only a replica, I didn't expect it to break so quickly, and it consumed the resurrection method I had prepared in advance."

Responding to her words were streaks of silver-white falling from high above, carrying an intensely violent aura of destruction so potent it seemed almost tangible, raining down densely.

On the distant sea surface, specks of pure white starlight suddenly appeared. They rapidly converged in midair, revealing Reckton's figure.

He reached forward, drew an illusory hat from the void, and placed it on his head.

His figure vanished accordingly, concealing all traces.

The next moment, the pattering sound of rain around him abruptly vanished. Reckton's body suddenly stiffened. A serene, tranquil darkness had enveloped him without his knowing, and even his emotions and desires were gradually fading away.

"The solar flare I just simulated didn't manage to drive out the Witch hidden in the dark either? There's more than one mystical item that can conceal oneself? The prophecy was completely... countered... by the night... peace..." His thoughts suddenly became incoherent. An irresistible, overwhelming drowsiness swept through every cell of his body.

Every command issued by his brain was rejected by his body. It was as if his body had developed its own will—it was tired and wanted a long, peaceful slumber.

The power behind this intense drowsiness was of an extremely high level. He hadn't been able to resist for long before inevitably falling into slumber.

The power maintaining his concealment vanished, and the pattering sound of rain resumed around him—except this rain was tinged with faint green and black, as though what fell was not rainwater but foul, venomous liquid.

Reckton's body plummeted from midair. Just before it could touch the sea surface, an invisible spiderweb bound him.

Mystical viruses and bacteria swiftly merged through the invisible web into this body that had fallen into slumber, directly affecting Reckton's spirituality and body, bringing paralysis, poisoning, disease, and various other negative conditions, making it even harder for him, already in deep slumber, to awaken.

(End of this chapter)