Chapter 485 Cleanup and Incineration

Led by Gordon, the younger of the twin warriors, the crew members guarding the ship at the dock naturally heard the commotion echoing from deep within the gorge.

Human shouts, wolf howls, the high-frequency hum of magical energy, massive sounds of physical collision, the ferocious roars of a monster...

They could guess that their fleet's core adventurer squad was engaged in an intense battle with a monster, or perhaps a horde of monsters.

And judging by the duration of the noise and the fluctuations of the roars, the enemy's strength was definitely not low, appearing to have trapped Lorraine and the others in a bitter struggle.

It was precisely for this reason that Ryan, the older brother who had also been stationed at the dock, had gone alone to reinforce them.

By now, quite some time had passed since the commotion deep in the gorge had subsided.

Yet of the Class Holders who had ventured deep into the gorge to investigate, including Ryan who had rushed in after them, not a single one had returned.

This caused the crew members guarding the Blade of Vengeance Ship to feel deep anxiety, and hushed whispers could be heard across the deck.

Fortunately, as the only Class Holder left behind with the group, Gordon still stood steadily at the bow. No matter how anxious he felt inside, he deliberately maintained a calm expression on his face, giving the crew an anchor so they wouldn't fall into needless panic over the unknown situation.

"Patter... patter..."

Rushed footsteps echoed from deep within the gorge.

No longer able to maintain his calm facade, Gordon tensed up and peered ahead anxiously. Behind him, the crew gripped their weapons and held their breath.

Then, they suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

The figure that appeared before their eyes wasn't the terrifying beast that had defeated the squad in their worst nightmares, but Alton, the squad's skilled halfling angler.

Just as they exhaled, before they could even ask about the situation, they saw the little guy running toward them while vigorously waving his short arm, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Come help! Everyone, come help!"

...

...

The most dangerous enemy had already been beheaded by Xia Nan, thoroughly dead.

Only scattered Sahuagin corpses remained on the battlefield. With no need to fight, there was naturally no danger.

Led by Alton, the crew members who rushed deep into the gorge to help clean up the battlefield were astonished to see that every single one of the formidable Class Holders in their minds had suffered such severe injuries, and they were stunned by the massive four-meter-tall shark beast that resembled a small mountain.

Even as a corpse, it was enough to send a chill down the spines of these veteran sailors who had spent years at sea. It was hard to imagine the terrifying scene of such a brutal monster standing alive before them.

And so, after hearing Alton's explanation along the way—learning that the newly joined black-haired young man, "Xia Nan," had turned the tide at the very end and beheaded the shark beast—the way they looked at him shifted completely.

It was difficult to imagine how someone of his height, nearly 1.9 meters tall, could use the blade in his hands to sever the head of such a monstrous creature.

But with the battle having just concluded, the air thick with the pungent stench of blood, and several core adventurers heavily injured, this was clearly not the time to pry into details.

The crew members sensibly kept their mouths shut, lowering their heads to help clear the battlefield.

With this, the Blade of Vengeance fleet's mission could be considered successfully completed.

The harvest might not be extraordinarily lavish, but pieced together, it was certainly substantial.

First was the commission reward from the Adventurers' Association for investigating the suspected ancient ruins in the Twin Gorges.

The broken exotic-style structures fused between the rock walls and weed-choked brush within the gorge were sufficient proof, and they should be able to submit the commission with a relatively high completion rate.

In fact, due to the unexpected emergence of that powerful mutated shark beast deep in the gorge, they could even apply for extra mission rewards from the Association.

Of course, that was a matter for later.

Second was the battle spoils gathered along the way.

This included the weapons and equipment from the Sahuagin, as well as the two magical conches obtained from the Sahuagin priest encountered earlier on Wild Rabbit Island.

Finally, there were the artifacts inside the Twin Gorges ruins.

As the pioneers who were the first to arrive at this gorge, while the Blade of Vengeance squad had to face unknown dangers, they naturally also enjoyed the lion's share of the profits.

Within the ruins, anything inside those broken exotic buildings that seemed like it could fetch a price was carried onto the ship by the crew.

Even if most of it would end up being tossed into the sea, as long as a few items caught the eye of collectors in Barracuda Bay and sold for a good price, their trip wouldn't be in vain.

It was worth mentioning that the [Blood-Vessel Rock Comprehensive Operating Bed], which Xia Nan had previously discovered using his Attribute Panel, was not forgotten. Several burly sailors later hauled it back onto the ship and stuffed it into the storage hold, to be evaluated once they returned to Barracuda Bay.

And of all this, according to Xia Nan's prior agreement with Lorraine and the others, what he could claim a share of gold coins from was the Association's mission reward and the spoils gained before arriving at the Twin Gorges.

At most, it would probably amount to one or two hundred gold coins. Split among so many people, even if the total revenue was high, the average share per person was just ordinary.

Compared to what he had truly gained from this mission, however, these were indeed just incidental scraps.

On an unseen level, the several high-quality battles during this journey had significantly raised Xia Nan's combat technique proficiencies.

Not to mention [Heavy Tide], which he had trained intensely and had now reached Lv 2, even [Ember Echoes] had been dragged up a level by him, while [Gravity Control] had received substantial progress thanks to his flashes of inspiration in several battles, its upgrade progress now nearly halfway complete.

While these seemed like intangible gains, they were all tied directly to Xia Nan's actual combat prowess.

Furthermore, [Dream Weaving Corridor] had also received a six percent charge from his contact with the Secret Realm Core. All he needed was a key to start opening dreams to raise his combat technique levels.

And on the tangible, physical level, this was Xia Nan's most satisfying harvest from this mission.

Finally, in the nearly two years since he had transmigrated, he had finally obtained the spatial storage equipment he had longed for—the [White Flask] pocket watch.

Compared to the value of this item, relinquishing the other spoils from the Twin Gorges was nothing at all.

"Everyone lend a hand! Lift its arm!"

The shouts of the crew rang in his ears.

Glancing over, he saw several sailors working together to lift the shark beast corpse, its head severed by Xia Nan, now lying quietly in a pool of blood.

Speaking of which, shark beast monsters summoned by the Sahuagin were quite valuable, and materials from many parts of their bodies held decent utility.

Whether sold for coin or crafted into weapons and armor by skilled artisans, both were worthy options to consider.

The skin and sinews of the one he had slain earlier on Craggy Isle had become the materials for his new armor; considering the gold coins invested, it was estimated to be blue-quality equipment.

Calculating the time, by the time he returned to Barracuda Bay, it should already be forged and ready to wear.

The shark beast the sailors were currently trying to haul was not only larger in size, but its strength was also far greater than the one on Craggy Isle, so the materials on its body should theoretically be even more valuable.

But...

Xia Nan's gaze lingered on the side of the shark beast's chest. There was a massive bloody hole blasted open by his [Gravity Etch], which was also where the pale human torso had previously grown out.

In fact, those two pale human legs still hung stiffly along the shark beast's spine like deformed appendages.

His mind couldn't help but recall the human head that had shrieked like a spellcaster during the fight, unleashing mental attacks against them.

Earlier, while inside the Secret Realm, he hadn't noticed it much. But thinking carefully now, he realized that the facial features bore a seventy percent resemblance to that eerie "Old Mark" from the Secret Realm.

Factoring in the operating room on the altar, whose layout was identical to Mand's secret chamber...

Xia Nan made a bold deduction. Perhaps when the Secret Realm fell into the Twin Gorges, it coincided with a sacrificial ritual being held by the Sahuagin—or even earlier, before the gorge's inhabitants had all been rounded up to fill the pit, shortly after the shark beast had been summoned.

The operating room had merged into the altar, and Old Mark's corpse, which had originally been lying on the operating table, was forcibly fused with the shark beast in its normal state at an impossibly precise moment. This resulted in the shark beast taking on that "clipping-through-models" appearance, while allowing Old Mark, who was likely already dead, to regain a parasitic form of life.

The bizarre mental attacks from Old Mark had caused the villagers and Sahuagin to slaughter one another internally, and had also affected the Spiral-Toothed Sharks in the nearby waters, driving them to flee in schools.

Now, whether it was the shark beast or Old Mark's transmigrated corpse, both were as dead as could be, with zero chance of resurrection.

But that didn't mean the shark beast's corpse was completely free of concern and safe to harvest.

Feeling some misgivings, Xia Nan waved his hand, signaling the sailors to put the shark beast corpse down for now.

He then walked over to Lorraine. Drained from overusing her combat techniques, she was currently leaning against a nearby wall with one hand, barely managing to stand as she directed her crew in cleaning up the battlefield. Stepping close, he said:

"In my personal opinion, the handling and harvesting of this monster... requires second thought."

"Hm?" Lorraine looked puzzled. "Why do you say that?"

Xia Nan naturally wouldn't disclose the specifics of what he had experienced inside the Secret Realm. After all, to some extent, being able to contact and resonate with a Secret Realm Core was one of his golden fingers—a secret that needed to remain hidden.

Organizing his thoughts, he slowly spoke:

"You should be able to tell that this shark beast and the human body on it didn't originate from the same source. They were forcibly grafted together after the fact."

"The shark beast I encountered on Craggy Isle also proves this point. The normal form of such monsters shouldn't look like what we encountered."

"As for the reason, it might be the product of some spellcaster's biological experiments, or it might be foul play orchestrated by the fishmen. But you saw how that human torso performed during the fight—it possesses an extremely potent ability to erode a creature's mind."

Hearing this, Lorraine seemed to realize something, and her expression froze.

"You mean... the shark beast corpse might retain the lingering influence of that bizarre human body?"

Xia Nan nodded.

It wasn't that he was overthinking things; it was just that Old Mark's transformation in the Secret Realm had been far too bizarre, driving Dr. Mand, who had been in prolonged contact with him, into madness and extreme obsession.

Now that Old Mark's corpse had arrived on the Aifala Continent, he didn't want his teammates turning into another Dr. Mand.

Under these circumstances, the shark beast fused with Mark's corpse warranted extreme caution.

After a moment's consideration, Xia Nan proposed further examination to Lorraine.

Upon receiving her consent, he drew his [Ember Fall] straight sword and approached the shark beast corpse lying nearby.

Following the massive bloody hole blasted open by his force energy, the blade drove deep into the flesh. Tracing the outline where Old Mark would have fused into the shark beast's body, he held the sword and cut all the way to the pair of human legs on the side of its back.

Applying force with his wrist, he used the blade to pry the wound open.

Sure enough!

What met their eyes were the shark beast's internal organs, which had become just as deformed and twisted as its exterior.

The monster's thick intestines were connected to small human lungs and liver, while a human heart that had ceased beating was wedged beneath the shark beast's thoracic cavity.

Not just on the outside!

Even deep inside the shark beast's body, its flesh and blood had truly fused with Mark's!

Stumbling over to Xia Nan's side, Lorraine stared at the twisted, deformed organs on the ground, her brows tightly furrowed, thoughts racing in her mind.

After staring and weighing her options for a long time, a sudden look of resolve flashed across her face.

"Burn it!"

She spoke decisively to the sailors waiting nearby.

The harvested materials from the shark beast were indeed valuable, but if the equipment crafted from them posed a hidden danger of corrupting the wearer's mind, then no matter how fine they were, they were not a good choice.

Even if she didn't use them herself and merely sold the flesh and materials, if an issue arose with the buyer, the blame would ultimately fall back on the Blade of Vengeance fleet.

And anyone with the financial power to purchase materials of this caliber would certainly not be someone easy to deal with.

When that time came, not only would they offend the material merchants, but they would also invite unnecessary trouble, causing more harm than good.

Having ventured across the Southern Isles for so many years, taking the Blade of Vengeance fleet to its current scale, she couldn't afford to be as short-sighted as bottom-tier adventurers who lived day-to-day, drinking themselves into oblivion in taverns.

As a captain managing the affairs of dozens of crew members, she had a great deal to consider.

The potential profit this shark beast corpse could bring was simply not worth such immense risk.

"Crack."

Sparks flew.

With just a light wave of her [Scalefire Scimitar], wrapped in orange-red flames, the firewood collected by the sailors from around the gorge ignited into a raging blaze.

The massive, lifeless body of the shark beast, along with its severed head tossed into the pyre, could be seen slowly charring beneath the scorching flames.

High-grade flesh and bone materials worth a four-digit sum of gold coins drifted away into the air alongside the gradually spreading smell of burnt meat.