Chapter 520: The Bewildered Sea God Cult

Chapter 520: The Bewildered Sea God Cult

Chapter 520: The Bewildered Sea God Cult

In the depths of the Summer Sea, a certain area of the ocean floor.

A grand temple and several dozen subsidiary buildings were enveloped in a massive, semi-spherical shield that emitted a black glow.

This place was the main base of the Sea God Cult.

"Great Goddess of the Depths, hear the prayers of your devoted followers."

Inside the spacious prayer hall.

Before the Prayer Array where the Statue of the Goddess of the Depths stood, Pope Egil, who had just returned to the main base, led a group of High Warlocks in devout prayer. Using the Prayer Array and the collective faith of the followers, it was much easier to contact their goddess compared to individual prayers.

Sure enough, the Goddess of the Depths, Hela, responded.

Suddenly, a transparent projection of a black-robed girl appeared above the array. Her figure was curvaceous, her face stunningly beautiful, but her expression was cold.

"Egil, I know what you want to ask." Before Egil could even speak, the Goddess of the Depths, Hela, spoke preemptively.

"That detestable mortal, Rayne, did not die, and he even rescued the Dragon Empire's offspring."

"What!" Egil's expression faltered at the news, clearly taken aback.

The news was far from what he had expected.

The High Warlocks of the Sea God Cult around him also exchanged bewildered and puzzled looks, clearly unable to comprehend the situation.

Rayne being alive was not unexpected, but the fact that Menya, the Red Queen, had also survived?

"Great and wise Mistress, what should we do?" Egil bowed respectfully.

The black-robed girl's beautiful eyes flickered, as if she was casting a high-level divination spell. Then, she coldly snorted and said, "They are hiding there, no wonder you couldn't find them."

"Their current location is by the Lava Lake, deep beneath Reef Island. Although the Dragon Empire's offspring has been rescued, their strength is greatly diminished. This is a perfect opportunity. Egil, you must go personally!"

"As you command, my Mistress!" Egil replied immediately, though his furrowed brow betrayed his concerns.

He could not refuse his goddess's orders, but the task was fraught with difficulties.

"Please note, Mistress, the Federation has dispatched a heavy force to guard Reef Island. There are at least three Epic-Level Warriors from the Federation on the island. If we attack head-on, their presence will likely ensure our failure."

"Furthermore, I have seen that three Dragon Knights from the Dragon Empire are also heading to Reef Island and will arrive in a day", the Goddess of the Depths, Hela, said, her eyes shimmering with starlight, as if she had just glimpsed something more.

"This..." Even Pope Egil's face showed a hint of difficulty, and the High Warlocks behind him would have likely started whispering if not for the presence of their goddess's projection.

After all, three Dragon Knights plus three Epic-Level Warriors from the Federation was a force they could not hope to contend with.

"How is Glastris's strength recovering?"

"Mistress, after consuming blood during the previous battle, Glastris has recovered to about sixty percent of its full strength."

"Take me to Glastris."

"As you command, Mistress!"

Soon, a group led by the semi-transparent black-robed girl arrived at a gladiatorial arena-like area outside the temple. There, the terrifying ancient sea beast, the Smoldering Electric Eel Glastris, with a length of over a hundred meters, lay coiled with its eyes closed.

However, the purple lines on its back, especially, had become even more vivid and bright, and even a layman could sense the immense electrical energy stored within.

From the bulge in its belly, it was clear that it had just finished a meal.

"Mistress, Glastris has just consumed three gray whales and is resting."

Seemingly sensing the presence of the Goddess of the Depths's projection, Glastris slowly opened its massive eyes and lowered its head, emitting a low, rumbling sound that conveyed submission and joy.

"Glastris, I will expend divine power to further restore your strength. In return, you must help Egil eliminate a despicable heretic."

As the Goddess of the Depths, Hela, spoke crisply, she lifted her slender, pale finger, and a Black Beam shot into the body of the Smoldering Electric Eel, Glastris.

Immediately, Glastris's expression became abnormally joyful, and the purple lines on its back glowed even more brightly, almost blindingly so.

"Egil, provide more blood for Glastris. In half a day, it will recover to ninety percent of its full strength. Additionally, Glastris will lead you directly through the seabed rock layers to the Lava Lake", the Goddess of the Depths, Hela, said coolly.

Her projection, which had grown increasingly dim after casting the spell, clearly indicated that this was the limit of what she could achieve with just a projection.

But with Glastris at ninety percent strength, it would reach Peak Epic, and combined with the Sea God Cult's followers, they would have enough power to eliminate the detestable heretic.

In Hela's view, if it weren't for the Dragonborn's use of 'Dragon Blood Sacrifice' last time, she would have already eliminated this despicable and vile mortal long ago.

Now, with that extremely impolite Dragonborn severely injured and unable to perform 'Dragon Blood Sacrifice' or any similar secret techniques again, Glastris would undoubtedly have the upper hand in strength and crush the opponent effortlessly.

"Furthermore, I will condense the last bit of energy from this projection into a Divine Power Crystal. After we eliminate that blasphemer, you can cast the Divine Power Crystal into the Lava Lake. Then, the underwater volcano will erupt again, completely destroying the island and all the federation ships nearby."

"By your command, great and wise lord!"

Upon hearing the words of the Goddess of the Depths, all the Sea God Cult's high-ranking members, including Pope Egil, wore smiles of joy and bowed deeply to the goddess's projection.

Because setting out half a day later would conveniently allow them to avoid the three Dragon Knights the empire was sending.

Moreover, they would follow Glastris as he burrowed directly into the Lava Lake, eliminating the need to enter from beneath the island and avoiding any conflict with the federation over Reef Island.

Most importantly, with the 'Smoldering Electric Eel' Glastris, who had regained his peak epic strength after being empowered by their goddess, the Sea God Cult believed that they wouldn't even need to lift a finger. They could simply follow behind and crush Rayne and the severely injured Menya.

"Don't disappoint me again, Egil!"

With that, the shadow of the Goddess of the Depths, Hela, flashed with dark light and vanished from the air, leaving behind a rhombus-shaped crystal pulsing with powerful energy, gently floating in mid-air.

Half a day later.

A terrifying snake-like behemoth, the 'Smoldering Electric Eel' Glastris, emerged slowly from the deep sea, accompanied by a group of high-ranking Sea God Cult wizards and warlocks, heading toward Reef Island.

Since eels are naturally adept at burrowing, for Glastris, piercing through the seabed mud and hard rock layers was no challenge at all.

Glastris writhed his massive, purple-glowing body, causing large clouds of mud to rise and the seawater to become murky. Soon, the majority of his hundred-meter-long body had submerged.

"Your Holiness, with the 'Smoldering Electric Eel' Glastris, this mission will be far too easy."

"Thanks to our lord's power, Glastris has finally regained the might of an ancient terror of the sea."

"Yes, Rayne is surely doomed this time! I wonder what his face will look like when he suddenly sees Glastris appear."

The group of High Warlocks, witnessing this scene, smiled broadly, their initially tense expressions relaxing.

Pope Egil also felt a sense of relief, though he maintained a stern demeanor, waving his hand and saying:

"Alright, everyone, stay alert, don't be complacent, and follow closely. Prepare for battle!"

Meanwhile, at the edge of the Lava Lake.

Rayne was still working on goblin engineering constructs, but this time, it wasn't Mechanical Land Birds.

In front of him stood the prototype of a Mechanical Raptor, taller than the Mechanical Land Birds, with a pair of short, delicate front claws that were over thirty centimeters long and razor-sharp, each resembling a scythe.

This was the standard combat machine of the ancient goblin empire—the Mechanical Raptor.

Rayne still remembered seeing one from a distance when he left Sky City Gate 3. Now, he was using the goblin engineering knowledge from the two Memory Crystals to create one himself.

While it used a small furnace core like the Mechanical Land Birds, the Mechanical Raptor was naturally more complex to construct. The key was in the creation of the hook-shaped claws, which required a special alloy composition for hardness, and the powerful mechanical hind legs, which had a sophisticated transmission system with high precision requirements.

Of course, this was only a challenge for ordinary goblin engineers. For Rayne, solving these issues wasn't particularly difficult.

As Rayne installed the last component of the Transmission Device, the System Prompt sounded:

[You have created the Mechanical Raptor, and your understanding has improved!]

[You have learned a new skill—Mechanical Raptor Construction]

[Your skill in Mechanical Raptor Construction has improved, +35 experience]

[You have focused on Mechanical Raptor Construction, +85 experience for your Legendary Goblin Engineer class]

At the same time, Rayne's Legendary Goblin Engineer class level smoothly advanced to level 7. By now, the legendary goblin engineer class had contributed 6 attribute points and 6 skill points to Rayne.

The attribute panel now displayed 7 remaining attribute points, 19 remaining skill points, and 594 Golden Skill Points, nearing an all-time high.

"Good, at least enough to support a moderately intense battle", Rayne thought to himself, feeling a surge of joy.

Just as he was about to continue working on the Mechanical Raptor, he suddenly heard a faint noise coming from Menya's direction.

Rayne quickly turned his head and saw that Menya had awakened again. Her beautiful face seemed somewhat weary. Rayne immediately put down the metal in his hands and walked over quickly.

"Princess Menya, your strength—"

To Rayne's great shock, as soon as he approached, he sensed that although Menya's aura had stabilized, her power had drastically diminished compared to before!

"The Dragon Blood Sacrifice is a desperate secret technique. It's already a miracle that I survived. Especially now, I can barely maintain my strength as a Dawn Wizard, which is all thanks to your quick actions at the time."

Menya, however, didn't seem to mind and instead offered Rayne a reassuring smile.

However, this comforting smile only made Rayne feel even more guilty. He knew all too well how much time and effort this beautiful woman had invested in her strength. After all, she had fallen from the late stage of a Dawn Wizard to the early stage, a drop of more than half in actual combat power!

Moreover, Menya had lost her long-time dragon companion, Red Dragon Tassa.

This made Rayne frown deeply, his expression turning serious.

"Really, I'm fine, Rayne. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have been able to recover to this extent."

As Menya tried to reassure Rayne, she suddenly noticed him looking up toward the far end of the Lava Lake.

"Bang!!"

Suddenly!

A large mass of rocks exploded, and a snake-like creature with a pointed head, its body shimmering with terrifying purple arcs of electricity, burst into the underground space.

Its presence was so formidable that dozens of lava sail dragons, which had been leisurely swimming in the nearby lava, immediately fled in panic.

But in the next second, a series of purple lightning bolts flashed around the creature, electrocuting and instantly killing at least twenty to thirty lava sail dragons that hadn't managed to escape in time!

"Such incredible power!" Rayne's pupils dilated as he whispered.

"This—this is an ancient sea beast, the 'Smoldering Electric Eel' Glastris." Menya's eyes widened, her voice tinged with disbelief.

The black-robed figures that followed the creature made it clear to both of them that this terrifying ancient sea beast wasn't a random encounter but had come specifically for them.

"Princess Menya, you go up first. I'll handle this." Rayne stepped forward, placing himself in front of Menya, his voice firm.

However, at that moment, an unexpected change occurred!

"Who dares to disturb the great 'Inferno Wings' Fermond's slumber! (Dragon language)"

With a deep, rumbling roar!

Dark red lava surged into the air, and a massive Red Dragon, over eighty meters long, emerged from the lava. Its dragon eyes were fixed intently on the 'Smoldering Electric Eel' Glastris!

As for Rayne, it didn't even spare him a glance.

The ancient Red Dragon Fermond had sensed a severe threat, which had jolted it from its millennia-long deep slumber.

It was no wonder; Glastris's current strength was enough to cause fatal damage. Fermond couldn't possibly continue sleeping in the face of such a threat, a natural alertness rooted deep in its dragon bloodline.

Rayne, on the other hand, had only killed a few lava sail dragons and had never transformed or deliberately released his aura, so he hadn't disturbed Fermond.

This sudden turn of events left everyone present speechless.

Rayne and Menya exchanged a glance, the same thought crossing both their minds: 'We didn't expect to find a Jiulao Dragon-level Red Dragon deep in the Lava Lake!'

As for the Sea God Cult members, including Pope Egil, they all looked as if they had seen a ghost, their hearts feeling as if a thousand horses were galloping through them!

What was the situation with this powerful Red Dragon that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere?

Before anyone could fully recover from the shock, after its massive vertical pupils scanned the circle of dead lava sail dragons, the ancient Red Dragon Fermond erupted in fury, roaring:

"Who dares to kill my descendants and invade the territory of the great Fermond! No matter who you are, you shall die! (Dragon language)"

Instantly, a massive torrent of dragon fire, accompanied by a lava surge, engulfed the 'Smoldering Electric Eel' Glastris and the Sea God Cult's High Warlocks!

"This—"

The events unfolded so quickly that Pope Egil didn't even have a chance to explain before he was hit by a wave of 'Flame Breath' and 'Lava Burst'!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end