CHAPTER 185: 097 JIAOREN (PLEASE FAVORITE)

Endless Sea Domain.

Two Kirk Ships were floating on the surface of the water. They were single-decked vessels with square sails and sturdy hulls, designed with an emphasis on stability and cargo capacity, and usually used for maritime trade or exploration activities.

SWOOSH!

Ripples appeared on the water’s surface in the distance as several rundown galley ships skimmed swiftly across it. Galley ships primarily relied on oars for propulsion and excelled in speed and maneuverability. They were often utilized for sea battles or piracy. Merchant ships venturing out to sea typically did not act alone, often being accompanied by various types of vessels. This was clearly a group of experienced maritime merchants.

"Captain!"

Someone on the galley ship shouted, "We’ve found some ruins ahead on the water, possibly a merchant ship that encountered pirates. Should we take a detour?"

The dangers of the Endless Sea Domain not only included various strange sea beasts and Legendary Creatures but also pirates. The threat of pirates often exceeded the former two.

"Pirates usually don’t take the same route twice in a short period." The captain pondered briefly and gestured, "Go have a look."

"Yes!"

With the oars moving, the heavy ship, propelled by some strange force, headed towards the area in front.

「Before long.」

The calm water revealed broken planks, floating boxes, and numerous corpses bobbing in the sea.

"There’s a live one!"

The lookout, with the power of the Eagle Eye Dharma Seal, had astonishing vision and spotted a figure moving slowly among the many floating bodies.

"Go."

The captain spoke, "Bring him aboard, see if you can wake him up, and ask what happened."

A small sailing boat was immediately deployed and dashed towards the floating bodies. A sailor reached out and prodded the body with an oar.

"He’s dead!"

He turned back, looking in the direction of the lookout, "Mate, it’s a cold corpse. You might have seen it wrong?"

"Be careful!"

The cry, carried by the sea wind, jolted the sailor. He abruptly turned to see a dark shadow with a harpoon lunging at him.

SQUELCH!

The sharp harpoon pierced through his forehead, cracked open his skull, and with a brutal jerk, brain matter and blood splattered. The sailor’s body shook and he slowly collapsed. In his eyes, which had yet to lose all life, a figure was reflected.

The one who killed him was a monster with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish.

The monster’s skin was dark blue, covered with a layer of scales as if it had been eroded by the dark forces of the deep sea, exuding a cold and ruthless aura. Its eyes were like cold blades, flickering with ferocity, madness, and a bloodlust devoid of any rationality.

HISS... HISS!

As the monster opened its mouth, its tongue, resembling that of a venomous snake, was long and forked, hissing sharply.

"What is that creature?"

"A Sharkman?"

The sudden emergence of the monster was strikingly similar to the legendary Sharkmen, but those were said to be intelligent creatures. This one, however, clearly did not.

The captain’s brow furrowed. Encountering a previously unseen creature in the Endless Sea Domain was a common occurrence, but an inexplicable sense of alarm made him subconsciously wave his hand.

"Gunners, prepare!"

"Yes!"

"Fire!"

BOOM!

The scorching cannonball shot out, streaking across more than a hundred meters and slamming into the Sharkman. In an instant, the explosive power directly blasted the Sharkman into a mass of flesh.

PHEW...

The captain’s expression relaxed slightly. "Their strength isn’t too strong, and they’re foolish enough not to dodge."

"HM?"

His words had barely faded when his complexion suddenly changed drastically. He saw multiple ripples suddenly break the calm water surface ahead, as if countless fish in a basin were frantically writhing.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH, SWOOSH!

One after another, Sharkmen burst out of the water, leaping meters into the air, arcing straight toward the ship. With their leaps and dives, they agitated the water, and a bone-chilling killing intent surged ahead of them, sending shivers down one’s spine.

Their numbers... were they merely a hundred? No, there had to be at least a thousand!

Over a thousand frenzied monsters rapidly closed in on the ship, and in an instant, the crew’s faces turned deathly pale.

"Turn around!"

The captain roared hoarsely, "Quick, turn the ship around!"

A large ship is slow to turn. By the time their vessel changed course, Sharkmen had already reached it and begun climbing the hull.

"Drive them off!"

"Quick!"

The sailors rushed to the deck, wielding various weapons, and began stabbing at the Sharkmen below, roaring furiously.

SWOOSH!

Leaping several meters, a Sharkman boarded the deck and thrust a steel trident at the sailor before him. Where there was one, a second soon followed, and more and more Sharkmen surged onto the deck.

It was not until then that everyone got a clear view of their appearance.

The upright Sharkmen were over two meters tall. Their upper bodies were as hard as ironstone, each movement filled with a sense of power. Their fish scales were comparable to armor, capable of ignoring most stabs from sharp weapons. Their facial features looked as if they were forcibly pieced together from melted wax, their eyes, noses, and mouths twisted and grotesque.

Even more terrifying, they exuded an oppressive, suffocating aura filled with madness, bloodlust, and chaos.

Massacre seemed to be their instinct.

SPLAT! AAAH!

Screams of agony and cries of alarm sounded incessantly. Each of these Sharkmen possessed the strength of Knights and Attendants and was fearlessly brutal and ruthless. Ordinary sailors fell like straw the moment they came into contact with them.

The captain, the first mate, the second mate, and other Knights joined the battle, wielding weapons to charge the Sharkmen.

The situation was temporarily at a stalemate, but as more and more Sharkmen climbed aboard, it was bound to change.

"Start the ship!"

"Set sail!"

The captain shouted, a dangerous premonition making his heart pound wildly.

BOOM!

The surface of the sea exploded, and a terrifying dark shadow leaped out of the water, its unfolding body almost obscuring the sky.