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Chapter 388: The Sharkmen
🕑 Added 2024-10-24 07:10:49 +0000 UTC"What kind of magical beast could assemble such a large force in the sea? This is unheard of!"
"Quickly, all troops, gather! Archers, imbue your arrows with battle energy! Mages, prepare to strike back!"
"Wind mages, summon wind walls! Water mages, freeze the sea! Fire mages, conjure a rain of fire! Light mages, cast powerful flash spells and blind their eyes!"
The officers, sensing the hostile approach of the strange creatures from the sea, immediately issued commands to their respective units, ensuring high alert across the army.
Voices of command echoed throughout the ranks, with every soldier hastily preparing for battle. There was no time to select elite troops now; facing such a massive wave of creatures clearly meant they were not dealing with friendly beings. Surviving this crisis was their top priority.
"Uwha! Uwha!"
"Uwha! Uwha!"
The crashing of waves grew louder, but an even stranger sound soon overwhelmed it—the bizarre cries of the oncoming creatures. The sound was disorganized and chaotic, but in general, it seemed like these beings were shouting something akin to "Uwha, uwha."
Rhett was certain that he had never heard anything like this before, nor had he seen such creatures.
As they came closer, Rhett was able to make out their appearance:
Most of these strange beings were quite small—shorter and more frail than even Ming and Heisenberg, standing no more than a meter tall. Their skin was covered in colorful, unevenly-sized scales like that of fish, and their limbs were long and thin.
In addition to the scales, these creatures had fins sprouting from their heads, backs, wrists, and ankles. If one looked closely, their fingers and toes were long and webbed.
But what left the strongest impression on Rhett was their faces: small noses, ears that looked like hollow indentations on the sides of their heads, thick lips with faint tooth marks, and visible gills on the sides of their necks.
Were these fishmen?
Though he had never seen live ones before, based on their size and their similarity to the fishman skeletons he'd studied, along with their distinctive features, the word "fishmen" immediately came to mind.
These creatures had some human-like traits, combined with parts of a fish's anatomy—what else could they be but fishmen? Most of the fishmen were frail and nimble, while a few were tall and strong, or slim and graceful. Rhett speculated that these differences might hint at variations in their abilities or strength.
And not all fishmen looked the same. Some were ordinary in appearance, comprising the majority of the group, but others bore resemblances to swordfish, tuna, sharks, eels, and even fish species Rhett couldn’t identify.
Rhett raised his vigilance but didn’t feel overly anxious. He hadn’t sensed any overwhelmingly powerful auras from the approaching group—none that compared to the pressure a Saint-level entity would exert.
"Uwha!"
"Uwha!"
The fishmen’s cries grew closer, carrying an innate sense of aggression.
As they neared a certain distance, several water arrows shot out from the mass of fishmen, aimed at the harbor.
Simultaneously, the seawater itself began to rise, forming a massive hundred-meter-high wave, towering over the sky like a wall of water. The wave crashed toward the shore, obliterating several docked ships into splinters, scattering the wreckage across the water.
The shadow of the wave loomed over the shoreline, casting a dark pall over the soldiers' furious faces.
These fishmen had destroyed their ships—an unforgivable act.
Rhett’s eyes flashed with anger.
Yet, there was something that caught his attention—the fishmen could cast spells?
Upon closer inspection, Rhett realized that their method of casting spells differed fundamentally from human magic. The fishmen hadn’t harnessed the elemental forces of magic—there was no chaotic water element activity. The water arrows and the massive wave were impressive but lacked the precision and control of true magic.
It seemed that manipulating water was an innate ability for these creatures—a natural talent rather than learned magic. While effective, it posed little real threat compared to the intricacies of magic.
There was no need for Rhett to act personally. The water mages standing behind him quickly took control. A cold aura spread across the area as they manipulated the elements.
The temperature plummeted, and the massive wave froze into solid ice. Even the surface of the sea turned into a sheet of ice, stretching out toward the horizon.
"Uwha! Uwha!"
The fishmen’s cries became more frenzied as they stepped onto the ice, abandoning their wave-riding tactic. They rushed across the frozen surface, brandishing weapons made of fish bones or stone spears, their eyes filled with a strange mixture of clarity and dull rage.
But in the next instant, a storm of earthen energy swirled above.
The Spike Rain spell quickly took form in the sky, radiating a crushing sense of impending doom.
Most of the small fishmen remained oblivious, charging toward the shore without hesitation, but a few of the smarter ones stared up at the earthen storm with terror in their eyes.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Countless earthen spikes rained down like a torrential downpour, a scene of pure apocalypse that left both sides—human and fishman—stunned.
The spikes mercilessly pierced the fishmen, particularly targeting the smaller ones leading the charge. These frail creatures, many of whom had strength comparable only to low-level transcendents or even apprentices, stood no chance. In moments, they fell into pools of blood.
"Uwha! Uwha!"
Sensing the shift in battle, one of the fishmen, seemingly a leader and by far the strongest among them, stepped forward.
A massive figure—over three meters tall, with jagged, shark-like teeth, blue-violet skin, and a robust, shark-like body—let out a furious roar. It shot forward from the waves, heading directly for Rhett.
Meanwhile, the remaining fishmen, terrified, turned and fled in the opposite direction, as if their morale had completely shattered.
"Trying to run? Not a chance! All troops, wind mages and above, pursue the enemy! Everyone else, unleash your long-range attacks with full force!" Rhett's orders were sharp and decisive. He wasn’t interested in capturing any survivors just yet—their priority was to eliminate the immediate threat.
While the situation appeared to be in their favor, Rhett hadn't forgotten that the fishmen had seized the Arkama Kingdom’s flag.
These fishmen, with their meager strength, clearly couldn’t have wiped out the Arkama fleet. Rhett suspected that this might be a splinter group—fishmen who were too naive to understand the full extent of human power and had foolishly launched an invasion.
It was likely that the true force behind the destruction of Arkama’s fleet was still out there, which meant more powerful enemies could arrive at any moment.
This battle needed to end quickly.
Moreover, on a personal level, Rhett didn’t plan on showing mercy to these invaders. As the hulking shark-like fishman charged across the ice, its massive form darting like a shadow, it nimbly evaded colorful magic attacks—fire serpents, ice dragons, wind blades, and spears of light—all of which barely missed it.
Despite its massive frame, the creature moved with surprising agility.
Its voice rumbled like thunder, and when it roared, the sound was deafening. It leaped high into the air, a full thirty meters up, its fists clenched. In midair, it gathered some mysterious force, hardening its fists to the point where they resembled two giant hammers, ready to smash down with terrifying power.
Even the nearby Sky Knights and Grand Mages paled at the sight. The immense strength in that blow was enough to make space tremble—an attack few had ever witnessed outside of a Saint-level opponent.
No one dared face it head-on. Every soldier scattered, knowing this was an attack they could not afford to meet.
But as they cleared a path, leaving the center of the battlefield wide open, they noticed something alarming—Rhett remained standing in place, gazing up at the descending sharkman like a statue!
Peter's face flushed red with panic as he shouted, "Commander Dagula, retreat! Even the Earth Armor spell won’t be enough to fully withstand that attack! Don’t be reckless!"
"Damn it, Commander! I’m coming to save you!"
Some of the officers, who had witnessed this scene from the sidelines, rushed back, fearless in their determination. Many of them had been saved by the previous commander in battle and felt a deep bond of loyalty to Rhett, even if he didn’t fully understand their past.
However, these officers were in the minority. The majority of the troops continued to retreat, unable to understand why their commander wasn’t moving.
The enemy's attack, although powerful, was clearly clumsy. From such a height, without further acceleration, how could it hit anyone? Standing still seemed like the act of a fool in battle.
Why wasn’t their commander dodging?
This wasn’t a duel; in such a scenario, the correct tactic was to wait for the enemy to land and then surround and overwhelm them. Why take the hit head-on?
As confused and anxious eyes watched Rhett, his body suddenly glowed with a protective barrier, a translucent shield that enveloped him entirely.
"An Earthlight Shield? Casting that spell now won’t help much. He should at least cast Earth Armor for added security."
"What’s going on with Commander Dagula today?"
"Oh no!"
To those unaware of Rhett’s true abilities, his actions seemed reckless, and many felt a pang of sadness.
Some soldiers even became fearful—if their commander fell here, who would stop this monstrous fishman?
The truth of Rhett’s strength hadn’t spread through the army. He had intended to keep his abilities a secret for a while longer, planning to surprise his enemies when the time was right.
Only the two hundred or so survivors from the previous battle knew the full extent of his power. Unlike the others, they weren’t worried—they gazed at the sharkman with pity.
Even a Shadow Tiger couldn’t best Commander Dagula; what chance did you stand? Hah!
As the sharkman drew closer to the ground, its roar echoed again. Its eyes flashed with murderous intent as it glanced at the shattered bones of its comrades on the ice. With blood surging through its veins, its fists glowed faintly.
Boom!
The massive fists crashed down onto Rhett’s Earthlight Shield.
But the loudest noise came not from the impact itself but from the sharkman’s own body crashing into the ground, shattering the stone beneath it and leaving a crater.
Many soldiers couldn’t bear to watch. They shut their eyes, unwilling to witness their commander’s fate. Some even drew their swords, ready to charge in and avenge him.
But then they saw something strange.
The Earthlight Shield hadn’t shattered. Instead, it glowed even brighter, rippling with energy. The dirt within the shield began to hum with a powerful vibration, sending shockwaves through the sharkman’s body.
Snap!
There was the sound of bones breaking.
The sharkman’s once sturdy arms, now limp like rubber, quivered uncontrollably as the shockwaves from the shield coursed through them, dissolving both flesh and bone.
The massive fishman’s face twisted in agony, its gills swelling and contracting as it gasped for air, clearly in immense pain.
It seemed this sharkman, despite its imposing strength, lacked real combat experience. Like an overgrown brute, it had raw power but little skill or understanding.
Seeing this, Rhett wasted no more time.
He summoned four earthen spikes with his mental energy. They shot forward like spears, piercing the sharkman’s limbs from behind.
The spikes radiated the destructive power of his vibration mastery, sending violent tremors through the creature’s body. The sharkman let out one final, weakening cry before collapsing to the ground in a lifeless heap.
Boom!
The earth quaked as the massive body hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The soldiers who had initially hesitated to charge forward were now frozen in shock. Realizing what had just happened, a wave of cheers erupted from the troops.
"Woohoo! Commander Dagula is invincible!"
"That’s the power of vibration mastery!"
"Haha! A fat fish dares challenge Commander Dagula? Look at him now—he’s got nothing left!"
Cheers and shouts filled the air as Rhett smiled faintly. There was still work to be done, but he savored the moment briefly before issuing his next order:
"All troops, clean up the battlefield and pursue the fleeing enemies!"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers and officers responded enthusiastically, brimming with confidence as they leaped into the sea to chase the retreating fishmen.
Meanwhile, Rhett stood over the unconscious sharkman, who had collapsed at his feet, completely defeated.
Two minutes later, as the soldiers pursued the remaining fishmen, Rhett bent down to inspect the sharkman.
Aside from its obvious size, its most notable feature was the lack of scales covering its body. Unlike the other fishmen, the sharkman had almost no scales at all.
Its muscles, however, were dense and corded, like thick vines wrapping around its bones.
The sharkman’s teeth were particularly sharp. Rhett tested their hardness by stabbing one with his most powerful earthen spike, but the tooth remained undamaged. Instead, it was the spike’s tip that broke off, a testament to the sharkman’s incredible durability.
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