Chapter 307: Enemy? Ally?

A shield instantly activates, and fire is seen.

Immediately, Ta Ke raised his destiny revolver, aiming at the Flying Fish Assassin Leader that had intruded into the first mate's cabin.

This female fifth‑rank Flying Fish Assassin Leader has already condensed a highly anthropomorphic form, resembling a naked woman clad in scale armor.

The deep‑blue fish‑scale armor fits perfectly onto the transcendent body, giving the whole form a streamlined, graceful beauty.

Its two ears are fish fins, and even its back bears semi‑transparent dorsal fin wings.

The moment Ta Ke aims at the opponent,

the Flying Fish Assassin Leader's fin wings behind it suddenly spread.

Buzz…

The fin wings flap at high speed, and its body instantly enters a hazy, peculiar transcendent state, taking on a semi‑transparent quality.

High‑velocity wind and wave currents surge throughout the room.

Within the gusts, water‑type waves intermingle with oceanic ripples, surging and blooming.

Water Rune Secret Technique!

Wind Rune Secret Technique!

Both rune secret techniques are perfectly manifested upon the Flying Fish Assassin Leader's peculiar transcendent state.

"A certain activated transcendent state?"

That peculiar method makes Ta Ke raise an eyebrow.

At the same time, the alert Flying Fish Assassin Leader snatches with both hands from behind its waist.

Clatter…

Water waves converge, and two deep‑blue Water Rune transcendent shortblades materialize, held in the Flying Fish Assassin Leader's hands.

On the blade edges, emerald ripples undulate.

"It possesses a powerful Wind Rune secret technique; its Water Rune secret technique is no weaker either."

"This Flying Fish Assassin Leader's talent is indeed strong."

"Its talent surpasses even that of the Shadow Demon Spider Leader by a considerable margin."

Ta Ke examines the peculiar form of this leader‑level transcendent being, swiftly extracting relevant information.

Ta Ke's own "Lord Body" remains in an undeveloped state.

Ta Ke has not yet chosen a specific development path, so he needs to study these leader‑level sea races more.

"Wizard!"

The Flying Fish Assassin Leader, body slightly crouched, gazes coldly at Ta Ke, voice ethereal.

"What?"

Ta Ke, holding his destiny revolver and aiming at the Flying Fish Assassin Leader, raises an eyebrow.

"You seem confident in your shooting ability; interested in a knightly duel?"

The Flying Fish Assassin Leader says softly.

It is still Ta Ke's first time meeting an enemy who dares to challenge his shooting skill.

Ta Ke smiles lightly.

"\"Wizard\" versus \"Assassin\" using the \"Knight\" format for a duel—now that's scientific!"

"How shall we duel?"

"If you can hit me, I'll count it as my loss!"

As they speak, the Flying Fish Assassin Leader's body becomes increasingly dreamlike and illusory—a peculiar transcendent state generated by high‑frequency vibrations.

"Is that so?"

Ta Ke's eyes narrow slightly, one pupil feeding a raven, the other nurturing fire.

The world's precise threads radiate from Ta Ke's destiny revolver, intersecting perfectly with the Flying Fish Assassin Leader.

"Bang!"

Ta Ke pulls the trigger outright.

The moment Ta Ke acts, the Flying Fish Assassin Leader instantly unfurls three hazy water‑veil silhouettes.

However, in a hidden corner where the wind swirls,

a "Snap!" rings out.

A afterimage falls out of the wind‑wave.

A small bullet crater on its forehead becomes clearly visible.

"Impossible."

The Flying Fish Assassin Leader's face is full of astonishment.

Her water‑wind transmuted transcendent state can use water veils to conceal wind traces.

Then she aligns with the Wind Rune secret technique, swiftly moving close to the enemy.

In the past, employing this method was always advantageous, having slain many formidable human masters.

She even escaped from a bishop‑level strongman using this powerful technique.

But today, this mere fourth‑rank wizard got outmatched.

Not only did he see through her powerful method, he also hit her with a single shot.

This instantly sparked a flare of anger in him.

"Die!"

The Flying Fish Assassin Leader lets out a low roar.

Gripping two water‑wave shortblades, she steps on the swift wind and attacks Ta Ke.

Clang! Clang!

Two streaks of sharp short blades surged like massive waves.

And Ta Ke's earth shield stood steady like a coastline, blocking it.

At the same time, Ta Ke fired his gun in an orderly fashion.

Bang bang bang…

Harvesting even a little of the life essence is just a little.

In the midst of attack and defense, Ta Ke couldn't help but tease.

"You don't say any reason at all!"

"I thought I had beaten you, and you'd have to strip! To be fair, you don't have much to strip, not to mention shedding all your fish scales."

"When I catch you later, would you prefer steamed, braised, or… sashimi?"

Ta Ke's provocative words made the Flying Fish Assassin leader's anger flare even more intensely.

The pair of short blades also carried a trace of oceanic ecology; each strike was like a surging wave, and in the arc of the blade's edge one could see the marks of the tide's sweep.

One person and one fish were locked in a chaotic melee inside the room.

Although the Flying Fish Assassin leader Hai Yisha took about twenty to thirty gunshots.

But her cultivated transcendent scale armor blocked many attacks, preventing serious injury.

And her rune twin blades, imbued with water and wind elements and bearing the sea's power, together with various techniques, were about to shatter the wizard's earth shield.

【Twin Sea·Counterwind Heavy Wave】

Sensing the moment, Hai Yisha suddenly activated her four‑star rune Wind‑Sea Sword Technique.

Two short swords: one 【Whirlwind】, one 【Sea Assault】.

【Sea Assault】 struck with a weight as heavy as the ocean, smashing into Ta Ke's earth shield.

Clack clack clack…

The earth shield, bearing countless blows, suddenly shattered.

At the same instant the earth shield broke.

【Whirlwind】 swung with a screeching blade sound, sweeping forward.

"Sss"—the blade sliced across Ta Ke's head.

Ta Ke's head separated from his body.

Riding the wind and waves, Hai Yisha in the air easily grasped the fourth‑rank wizard's head in her hand.

"You can hit me countless times, but I need only one slash to kill you, you fragile human wizard."

Having fought humans many times, Hai Yisha knows that spellcasters who only hold shields and cast from afar have a fatal weakness: their bodies are too fragile.

Even this fourth‑rank wizard, who has condensed a transcendent state,

but with his head cut off, his life framework suffers severe damage, and his soul falls into a tearing blackout.

She only needs to destroy that transcendent wizard's body before he can recover.

And that is very easy for her.

Just as Hai Yisha prepared to destroy the headless transcendent body of this fourth‑rank wizard,

a hoarse voice rang out.

"You finally broke the shield; if you don't break it soon, I'm getting anxious for you."

"My shield really can resist like this? I haven't even replenished my source energy."

The voice came from the wizard's head that Hai Yisha held in her hand.

She lifted the wizard's head to her chest, listening to its hoarse, coarse voice and its wooden, blunt expression.

For a moment, a sense of weirdness and absurdity spread through her mind.

"Shouldn't this fourth‑rank wizard be dying in a desperate struggle?"

"A fourth‑rank transcendent state can hardly sustain a bodiless existence."

At that moment,

"Gagaga…"

Wah la la…

Hai Yisha looked up and saw the headless corpse rapidly disintegrate into large black crows.

When it reassembled, the fourth‑rank wizard's body restored to its original form, even the head she had cut off regrew.

"Even a sixth‑rank master takes a long time to condense a head."

"How… the wizard… did he manage that?"

When she looked again at the wizard's head she was holding,

Hai Yisha's heart jolted.

What she held in her hand was not a wizard's head at all, but a blood‑colored crow, a bizarre crow ablaze with blood flames.

Just as she tried to toss the strange crow away, Hai Yisha's heart pounded violently, her face turned deathly pale, and endless terror surged from all directions, engulfing her.

She could not move, having completely lost control of her body.

All this was because the head she had painstakingly seized… should not even be called a crow.

That fourth‑rank wizard had long calculated his attack objective and set a trap accordingly.

When she finally managed to cut off his head, proclaiming victory,

she had already fallen into the tomb the opponent had dug for her, and she had willingly leapt in.

Watching the blood‑colored crow plunge into her own body,

"It's over!"

As Wu Ya and the Blood Demon Hand completely vanished from his hand.

Hai Yisha was already utterly desperate.

Now he could only hope that the teacher's sea beast could destroy that damned Blood Demon Hand.

"Seeing the Blood Demon Hand, not only did they not flee, they even dared to charge forward."

"You... really don't take the Blood Demon Hand seriously!"

Ta Ke fumbled at the demonic ring staff on his wrist, already beginning to devise his Fifth-Stage Soul Curtain.

"The Soul Curtain ritual imposes no restrictions on species form; this Fifth-Stage ocean leader should also be permissible."

Ta Ke was pondering.

But he heard the furious curse of the flying fish leader assassin.

"Damned Dark Sun lackeys, you will be cursed by the great sea, buried in a fish's belly, and meet a terrible death!"

Dark Sun lackey?

"Hm?" Ta Ke was startled.

"Did I hear wrong, or is she dazed from the beating and spouting nonsense?"

Nevertheless, to confirm he hadn't erred, Ta Ke slowly spoke.

"Can you... say it again?"

Hai Yisha was taken aback.

Such an excessive request she had never encountered in her life.

"Damned Dark Sun lackeys, you will be cursed by the great sea, buried in a fish's belly, and meet a terrible death!"

"Hm..."

This time, Ta Ke was sure he hadn't misheard, and the other side hadn't misspoken either.

"Me!"

Ta Ke pointed at himself.

"The first mate of the Blood Demon Hand, Mr. Wu Ya, is a Dark Sun lackey?"

Hai Yisha gritted her teeth and roared angrily.

"What does it matter to me whether you're a crow or a first mate? General Bloodfall pledged to the Dark Sun Church and destroyed my home."

"Your Bloodfall Pirate Crew, aren't you the Dark Sun Church's lackeys?"

Ta Ke felt a slight stir in his mind, then gently asked.

"Um... do you know who the captain of the Blood Demon Hand is?"

Hai Yisha gave Ta Ke a cold stare, clearly disdainful of answering the trivial question.

"The former captain of the Blood Demon Hand, 'Landon Gree', died a year ago."

"Moreover... we killed him, and we seized the Blood Demon Hand from the Boiling Blood Pirate Crew."

"Do you think I would believe your petty trick?"

Hai Yisha merely examined Ta Ke coldly.

Ta Ke sensed the increasingly fierce battle outside.

If true, this is a completely unnecessary slaughter.

Moreover... Ta Ke and his companions could even forge some ocean allies.

"My next move may be somewhat impolite."

"But I hope you'll understand, after all, you don't seem very cooperative."

【Sears True Word】

Sears Wu Ya's ability activated instantly.

Even as a Fifth-Stage leader-level transcendental being, it was still controlled by Ta Ke's Sears True Word.

After all! This is a Terror-Class forbidden seal.

"Did you really think we were members of the Dark Sun Evil God Church, which is why you attacked us?"

"Yes!" the flying fish leader assassin Hai Yisha replied coldly and stiffly.

"You despise the Dark Sun Church and wish to eliminate its members, right?"

"Yes!"

After the two simple questions were answered, Ta Ke immediately deactivated the Sears True Word.

"Bastard, I'm going to kill you."

Hai Yisha's face twisted as she angrily roared at Ta Ke.

Such a grip on the soul level is uncomfortable for anyone.

"I think there's a huge misunderstanding between us, if your information from the outside isn't so sealed off."

"Then you should know that nowadays the Blood Demon Hand belongs to our Boiling Blood Pirates... um... the Boiling Blood Adventurer Group."

"And our Boiling Blood Pirate Crew has a blood feud with the Bloodfall Pirate Crew."

"We not only eliminated the Blood Demon Hand's captain Landon Gree and his many Fifth-Stage subordinates."

"At the same time... we also blew up the Black Eclipse, and Jerome Mc died at our hands."

"So the 【Bloodfall General】 you despise is my enemy."

"Moreover... if you know the location of that 【Bloodfall General】 of the Bloodfall Sky Island Group."

"I wouldn't mind going back to kill that guy."

Ta Ke's exposition gradually calmed the flying fish leader assassin Hai Yisha before him.

"Also... you should quickly inform that lord-level bishop strongman on the distant sea surface to stop summoning that approaching ocean giant beast."

"If that oceanic behemoth truly attacks my sea demon ship, I will intervene."

"And once I actually act, the scene will be hard to handle; trust me, you absolutely won't want to see that kind of spectacle."

Hai Yisha felt a sudden thump in her heart.

"Did he know that the oceanic behemoth was approaching?"

At that moment.

"Caw caw caw…"

Accompanied by the low, hoarse croak of a raven.

The blood‑colored raven broke free from its shoulder, then leapt, arcing through the air before landing on Ta Ke's shoulder.

"Caw!"

Then the forbidden raven called out twice at Hai Yisha.

"Um… this fellow likes you."

"Because… you also have wings!"

"That's a rather strange reason."

Ta Ke, serving as the interpreter of the raven's speech.

Examining the blood‑colored raven, Hai Yisha saw clearly this time.

It was a terrifying forbidden seal.

This fourth‑rank wizard was using his own life to nurture the terrifying "forbidden creature."

Suddenly, Hai Yisha felt a shiver of dread.

After examining the fourth‑rank human wizard for a moment, Hai Yisha turned, leapt out the window, and, amid the high‑speed vibration of fish‑fin wings, quickly vanished into the darkness.

Hai Yisha felt, for a moment, the darkness interlaced with the crashing of waves, and after a moment, the crew's melee battles below.

Ta Ke took a step and went straight to the outside of the captain's cabin in the fore‑cabin.

"Bang bang bang…"

Ta Ke knocked on the door.

Soon, Dr. Stan Lee opened the door.

"What's the matter?"

Dr. Stan Lee asked.

"Where's the captain?"

Ta Ke did not answer, but asked back.

"Inside they're preparing to release the 【Sequential Undead】; the enemy numbers are growing, so we need to deploy the Sequential Undead in battle."

As he spoke, Dr. Stan Lee glanced twice toward the shore outside.

Beneath the surging sea surface, the extraordinary beings were indeed increasing.

"Hold off on releasing them; there may be a misunderstanding… these guys might not be our enemies."

"What?"

Abraham stepped out of the darkness in the room, looking at Ta Ke with a hint of puzzlement.

"Just now…"

Ta Ke quickly began to explain.

He was only halfway through.

The numerous formidable extraordinary sea beasts, which had been charging forward, seemed to have received some command.

They immediately began to withdraw from the sea demon ship.

The three of them all noticed this scene.

When Ta Ke finished recounting the events in full,

the extraordinary sea beasts still alive on the Blood‑Demon Hand sea demon ship had basically all withdrawn.

"Splash…"

"Splash…"

Across the entire sea area, aside from the waves lashing the sea demon ship, there was an unusually deep silence for a moment.

"How can I believe what you say is true!"

Soon, an aged voice sounded from the depths of darkness.

"I have a handwritten letter from Elder Magg, the clan chief."

The one speaking was Dr. Stan Lee.

"I once met the leader of the Flying Fish tribe years ago; how is Chief 'Filian' doing now?"

In the darkness, after a brief pause, the voice sounded again.

"Chief Filian died in battle while protecting his people fleeing the assault of General Bloodfall on our territory."

The aged voice carried a hint of sorrow, and the night fell silent for a moment.

At the same time, a second‑rank undead seagull perched on a wooden railing near where the three stood.

Dr. Stan Lee produced a magical letter; the undead seagull, clutching it, swiftly vanished into the darkness.

Soon, that aged voice echoed again from the darkness.

"It is indeed the handwritten letter of Elder Magg, and there are no signs of it being passed on."

"Our Flying Fish tribe suffered a calamity; Elder Magg took in many of our kin; she is a respected oceanic prophet!"

"You came to aid Elder Magg; we truly are not in an antagonistic relationship."

"This… is a misunderstanding!"

Wait until they finish speaking.

Captain Abraham slowly began to speak.

"Then how are we supposed to trust you?"

An old veteran is still an old veteran; his actions are flawless.

He won't trust the other side merely because of their one-sided words.

From the darkness, the hoary voice slowly sounded: "I also have a handwritten letter from Magg the Clan Chief; you can verify it."

Captain Abraham and Dr. Stan Lee both turned to look at Taku.

"Gagaa!"

The Forbidden Raven on Taku's shoulder immediately flew out.

Soon after, the Forbidden Raven returned, clutching the magical letter.

After Dr. Stan Lee's verification, he nodded at the captain.

Immediately, Captain Abraham declared loudly: "Senior Valentin Wude of the Flying Fish Tribe from the sea, it seems we truly misunderstood."

"Your magical letter mentions that the Bloodfall Pirate Crew pledged allegiance to the Dark Sun Church."

"And that Bloodfall Pirate Crew holds a blood feud with us."

"Perhaps, seniors, you may board; we can discuss the matter in detail."

"I was just thinking the same!"

The hoary voice in the darkness sounded again.