https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-510-The-Origin-of-the-Black-Mist/13459128/
Chapter 511: Ambush and Provocation
Chapter 511: Ambush and Provocation
As Rayne burst out of the cabin, he saw the slightly panicked soldiers running back and forth in the corridors and along the deck, shouting orders.
This was the flagship of the Imperial Airship Fleet, and it was rare for the elite imperial soldiers to appear so flustered and fearful.
Following the direction many soldiers were pointing, Rayne's eyes widened in shock.
Below in the sea, a massive circular vortex had appeared, about two to three kilometers in diameter. The vortex seemed to be spinning faster and faster, and the seagulls and albatrosses that had been skimming the surface were all sucked into the vortex by its immense suction.
It was as if a hole had opened up in the ocean floor!
Even the Imperial Airship Fleet, cruising at a height of two kilometers, was affected by the rapid downward air currents. The massive dirigible's gas bags began to shift, causing the hangar where Rayne was to tilt.
At that moment, Menya and Reginald also hurried out of the cabin and onto the deck.
"Rayne, Reginald and I will go down to investigate. You stay here for now", Red Queen Menya said, immediately making arrangements as she saw the vortex below.
Suddenly, the vortex beneath them underwent a dramatic change!
It seemed the vortex had reached its limit in absorbing water. In the next instant, the vast amount of water it had drawn in suddenly surged upward, forming a towering, crystal-clear column several hundred meters high.
It was like throwing a stone into water; the surface first dented inward, and then immediately rebounded.
However, what caught the attention of Rayne and the two Epic-Level Warriors was not the massive and towering water column, but the enormous shadow within it.
It was a fish!
A massive whale!
A whale with a single horn!
The vortex just now was the ‘Leviathan Whale’ Jorgmund’s special ability—‘Tidal Surge’—which forms a vortex on the sea surface to draw in water, and then propels it upward to create a massive water column.
"Is this an ancient Leviathan Whale?! Weren't they supposed to be extinct?!" Recognizing the whale-like body and the unique single horn, Reginald recalled something and exclaimed in shock.
"Not good! Quickly, all dirigibles, jettison heavy cargo, raise your altitude, and proceed at full speed!" Reginald's face turned grave, and he shouted to the nearby officer.
The dirigibles had a limited ascent height because the air becomes thinner at higher altitudes, reducing the buoyancy provided by the gas bags. The dirigibles used by the Imperial Delegation had a maximum altitude of around 2,600 meters.
"Yes, sir!"
But before the officer could take a few steps, suddenly!
A deep, resonant roar echoed from the sea below, followed by a massive water column, several dozen meters in diameter, shooting up like a cannon from the Leviathan Whale's enormous mouth.
The whale's unique throat structure made the water column like a high-pressure water jet or a giant anti-aircraft gun, which immediately blasted apart one of the Empire Airships behind the flagship!
"Whale Spring!! It's definitely a Leviathan Whale!" Menya's face grew serious.
Seeing this signature ability, there was no doubt about the creature's identity!
"Let's go, Reginald. We need to draw its attention away."
"Raise the altitude of the dirigible formation and proceed at full speed toward the Empire!"
"Alright, I didn't expect we'd have to deal with an awakened ancient behemoth right after leaving the Federation's territory!" Reginald shook his head, sighing.
Although this was the first time he had encountered a Leviathan Whale, Reginald was confident that he and Menya could kill it, or at the very least, drive it away.
"Mei—" Rayne opened his mouth, about to say, "Why am I staying behind again?"
But before he could finish, two loud dragon roars echoed, and a red and a yellow dragon shot up from the sky below the flagship. Menya and Reginald quickly leaped onto their respective dragon backs.
"Alright~" Rayne watched this scene and shook his head helplessly.
At that moment, the situation in the sea changed once more.
Below the Leviathan Whale, numerous small black dots suddenly appeared in the water. These dots then burst out of the surface, charging toward the Imperial Dragon Knights and the dirigible formation in the sky.
Rayne squinted his eyes and quickly realized that these were black-robed cultivators riding transparent-winged flying fish or flying manta rays.
"Sea God Cult!"
"It seems the awakening of this Leviathan Whale wasn't a coincidence."
However, these Flying Fish Knights and Manta Ray Knights posed little threat to the two veteran Imperial Dragon Knights, Menya and Reginald. They were hit by scorching Flame Breath and sand-laden gusts, causing them to fall from the sky like black raindrops.
But due to their interference, Leviathan Whale had the opportunity to continuously release Whale Spring, destroying several Empire Airships!
The situation seemed to be at a stalemate.
Their opponent's Leviathan Whale was bombarding the Empire Airships, while their own Dragon Knights were annihilating the Sea God Cult's flying knights. However, Rayne had a nagging feeling that the enemy's attack wouldn't be so simple.
Just then, suddenly!
The Red Dragon Tasa, who was swiftly flying and killing Sea God Cult flying knights, was suddenly entangled by a mass of black water, significantly reducing its flight speed.
An old man holding a black crystal staff quickly rose from the sea, surrounded by multiple powerful Sea God Cult sorcerers.
It was none other than Sea God Cult Pope Egil!
"Her Highness Red Queen Menia, although this is our first meeting, I have long heard of your reputation. Unfortunately, this might be our last encounter", the old man said with a sly smile, glancing at Menia.
"Hmm? What about the young man named Rayne?" Egil then looked at Reginald in the sky, immediately realizing that he wasn't Rayne, and asked.
He then seemed to understand something and glanced at the flagship of the Empire Airships.
"Oh no!"
For some reason, from the look of triumph on the other's face, Rayne immediately felt that something bad was about to happen. Without hesitation, he leaped out of the dirigible and, in the next instant, transformed into his fifth form—a massive Dark Silver dragon with a metallic sheen, diving downward.
The battle below took another turn.
Upon seeing the appearance of the Sea God Cult Pope, Reginald tried to rescue Menia by controlling his mount, Ted.
But in an instant, a fist-thick Black Beam shot out from the sea at nearly the speed of light, piercing through Tasa's protective fire ring, then through Tasa's abdomen, and finally through the Red Dragon's back, almost grazing Menia's face less than a meter away before shooting into the sky!
"Her Highness Menia!" Reginald cried out.
Ted, his mount, accelerated toward Menia's position.
However, the high-ranking wizards and sorcerers of the Sea God Cult, led by Pope Egil, cast powerful dark spells and witchcraft, forcing the giant dragon Ted and Reginald to retreat.
"What!" On the Empire Airship, the elite soldiers exclaimed in shock.
They had never seen Her Highness Red Queen Menia suffer such a grievous defeat.
"Roar!!!"
The Red Dragon Tasa let out a mournful cry. In fact, if it hadn't endured the pain and slightly moved its body, the terrifying Black Beam would have likely injured Menia as well.
"Tsk tsk, how pitiful, impolite Dragonborn. This is your retribution for ambushing my avatar last time", a slender and alluring figure slowly rose from the water, revealing none other than the Sea Goddess Hela.
For a deity to ambush, it was naturally unexpected by everyone.
But from the tone of her voice, it seemed that 'Red Queen' Menia had also ambushed her before.
At this moment, Reginald, controlling Ted, withstood several attacks from the high-ranking sorcerers of the Sea God Cult and approached Menia and Tasa.
But the next second, Sea Goddess Hela raised her pale hand, and dozens of black water vortices surged toward Reginald, forcing him to change direction and dodge again.
Meanwhile, the 'Leviathan Whale' Jorgmund leaped toward the injured Red Dragon Tasa, opening its massive mouth, intending to swallow it whole!
For a moment, 'Red Queen' Menia faced a deadly encirclement by Sea Goddess Hela, 'Leviathan Whale' Jorgmund, and the Sea God Cult Pope!
But despite the dire situation, Menia made the best decision. She aimed a spiraling crimson beam, condensed with intense flames, directly at the approaching Leviathan Whale's head.
It was the dawn spell, 'Dawn Spell'!
"Thud!"
The highly penetrative spiral flame beam flashed through the Leviathan Whale's massive mouth, hitting its mark without a doubt. However, the Leviathan Whale merely paused briefly before continuing its charge toward Menia.
But Menia needed just that moment.
In an instant, her serene face turned serious, and her slender figure underwent a dramatic transformation. In the blink of an eye, a longer, fiery red dragon, even larger than the Red Dragon Tasa, appeared before everyone.
"Well, well, truly the offspring of Dragon. However, being forced to use your dragon lineage transformation so quickly suggests you have no other means of defense left."
Unlike the shocked onlookers, Sea Goddess Hela showed no surprise, instead laughing and speaking in a relaxed tone.
As Menya transformed into a dragon, her Dragon Claws grabbed the already trembling dragon companion, Tassa, and with a powerful flap of her wings, they narrowly avoided the deadly lunge of the Leviathan Whale's massive jaws!
But don't forget, the Sea Goddess Hela was already waiting on the sidelines.
A Black Beam shot from Hela's pale fingertips, aimed directly at Menya in her dragon form.
Not only was the casting speed almost instantaneous, but the timing was perfect, striking Menya right when her previous burst of energy had just dissipated and before she could muster a new one.
This was the terrifying aspect of a deity's incarnation. If the powers were evenly matched, once you lost the initiative, there was no chance of turning the tide.
"Whoosh!"
In a split second!
A massive Dark Silver figure dove from the sky, appearing instantly before Menya and Tassa. With a Dragon Claw glowing with Dark Silver radiance, it blocked the Black Beam, trapping it firmly in its palm.
Two energy fields clashed intensely at the Dragon Claw. When the last wisps of black smoke dissipated from the Dragon Claw's grip, Rayne had deflected the fatal blow.
However, although he had managed to block it, Rayne's expression was solemn.
Because the intensity of that strike indicated that this time, the Sea Goddess Hela's incarnation was far more powerful than the last.
This realization prompted Rayne to carefully examine the Sea Goddess Hela's current form.
"Blasphemer, I intended to crush that impolite Dragonborn first before dealing with you. I didn't expect you to have such audacity, daring to come down from the dirigible."
The Sea Goddess Hela glanced at Rayne's dragon form, her smile fading as if recalling some unpleasant memories.
"So even deities resort to ambushes. I always thought only despicable wanderers would do such things", Rayne sneered, quickly assessing the situation.
At the same time, he glanced at Menya and the Red Dragon Tassa in their dragon forms.
This was the first time he had seen Menya transform. To be precise, it was the first time he had seen a Dragon Empire royal offspring transform into a dragon.
Menya's Red Dragon form was more slender than Tassa's, with dragon horns that curved more gracefully.
Additionally, she had a beautiful gemstone pendant around her neck. If Rayne's senses were correct, it was a valuable witchcraft artifact that had grown in size along with her transformation.
No wonder, on several occasions, enemies had mistaken him for a direct descendant of the Dragon Empire's royal line.
Tassa, on the other hand, was in a dire state, looking listless. The wound that pierced its lower abdomen and back was now oozing highly corrosive black liquid.
Clearly, the Sea Goddess Hela's personal ambush had left the Red Dragon Tassa with a significant loss of fighting strength.
"Princess Menya, take Tassa and quickly return to the Federation. Leave this to me!" Rayne whispered.
He knew that with Menya carrying Tassa, they had no chance of crossing the vast Summer Sea and returning to the distant Dragon Empire under the continuous pursuit of the Sea God Cult.
The dirigible fleet had flown for about four hours, meaning they were currently around six to seven hundred kilometers from Zetaya, which wasn't far.
Only by quickly returning to the Federation could they hope to escape the pursuit and gain a breather.
However, this time, the Sea Goddess Hela did not get provoked by Rayne's words. She glanced at Rayne and Menya with a sly smile.
"Mortal, trying to provoke me? To give your Dragonborn a chance to escape?"
Rayne inwardly cursed, realizing that the Sea Goddess Hela had learned from her mistakes and was now much harder to deal with.
"Provoking you? You flatter yourself. I just don't want to harm my allies. You and your foul fish and shrimp aren't worth making me run", Rayne said coolly.
But seeing that Hela was immune to verbal taunts, Rayne decided to try a more aggressive approach.
"By the way, Sea Goddess Hela, as a deity, do you dare to face me in a one-on-one fight?" Rayne lifted his chin and glanced at Hela.
"What?!" Hela's smile froze as soon as she heard these words.
The others, especially the members of the Sea God Cult, including Pope Egil, stared at Rayne in shock, as if to say, "Boy, don't you know you're facing a deity, a deity!"
Even the 'Leviathan Whale' Jorgmund blinked its wheel-sized eyes, looking at Rayne.
"Mortal, you are courting your own death!"
Hela's previously calm demeanor had completely vanished. She was trembling with rage, her eyes twitching uncontrollably.
But Rayne felt a sense of satisfaction at this sight.
Yes, she wasn't immune to provocation; her threshold had just been raised.
Now things were more manageable.
(End of Chapter)
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