Chapter 776 Tide God (2)

A fierce wind howled, whipping up a blizzard that plunged heaven and earth into chaos.

Dusk settled heavy. Leaden clouds hung so low they seemed ready to plunge into the churning waves at any moment.

At the dim border where sky met sea, a colossal figure stood astride the waves.

The view drew closer.

It was a behemoth, a full ten meters tall.

Its upper half was the torso of a man, with muscles knotted and coiled. Its bronze skin was covered in a fine, scaly pattern that glinted with a cold, metallic light in the blizzard.

Veins bulged on its thick neck, and a sharp, angular face was half-hidden behind the swirling snowflakes.

Its amber, slitted pupils glinted dangerously in the gloom.

But what was truly bone-chilling was what lay below.

From his powerful waist down, a massive fishtail covered in grayish-blue scales extended.

The tail fin was as sharp as a blade. Each swish stirred monstrous waves on the ocean’s surface, and the resulting spray instantly froze into ice crystals that fell with a soft hiss into the black water below.

Three white orbs slowly revolved around him.

He stood at the crest of the raging tide, like a god emerged from the depths of the sea, radiating a suffocating pressure.

The blizzard swirled into a vortex around him. The waves bowed at his feet. The entire sea trembled with his every breath.

He looked down at Night Crow Harbor as it was rapidly submerged by the sea.

A smile touched his lips.

Suddenly.

A sudden change occurred within the Sea God Church at the city’s highest point.

The six-armed Divine Statue of the Sea God abruptly erupted in a brilliant holy light. Thousands of blue Light Silks streamed from the statue, weaving together in midair.

In an instant, the light converged into a towering pillar of azure that shot from the church’s dome into the heavens.

In a stunning turn of events, as this divine light descended, the raging tide seemed to slam into an invisible barrier.

The surging waves froze in midair. The curling whitecaps solidified, their rushing forms locked in place as if time itself had stopped for the entire sea.

"The Sea God’s Manifestation of the Saint! It’s a miracle!"

A drenched fisherman collapsed in the mud, kowtowing tremblingly toward the pillar of light.

The terrified survivors in the streets stopped in their tracks. Through their tear-blurred eyes, the pillar of blue light connecting heaven and earth became their only salvation in the midst of despair.

Some cried out, their voices torn with grief, while more began to stumble toward the church, their waterlogged clothes leaving winding trails on the ground behind them.

"To the church! Hurry! Only the Sea God can save us..."

A white-haired old woman shrieked, a feverish flush spreading across her wrinkled face.

However, before she could finish speaking, she was knocked to the ground by the fleeing crowd.

Then, she was trampled to death on the spot.

The chaotic sounds of their footsteps and prayers mingled with the salty sea breeze as the crowd surged forward, their eyes burning with a nearly fanatical hope.

"Hm?"

This scene was, of course, noticed by the mastermind behind it all.

The merman standing atop the waves paused.

Two beams of terrifying, dazzling white light suddenly erupted from his eyes.

He raised both arms high.

"If it were the Sea God himself, I’d turn and flee. But this? It’s just a dead thing imbued with a flicker of Spirituality, and it dares to stand in my way! Break!"

’To complete this ritual, I’ve spent years planning this.’

’I used the legend of the ’Mermaid King’s Treasure’ and the many believers of the Tide Church to lure the two Sequence Fives in Night Crow Harbor into a trap I’d prepared, holding them up for a time.’

’All for this very moment.’

As time passed and the ritual—the drowning of a city of one hundred thousand people—progressed...

He could clearly feel the Extraordinary Traits within him growing more and more active.

’Soon, so soon, I can take the next step. I’ll advance to become a legendary Sequence Four.’

’Anyone who dares to stand in my way will die. No exceptions.’

As his voice fell, the waves, which had been blocked and frozen in place, grew even more violent and surged forward once more, letting out a great RUMBLE.

It was visible to the naked eye.

Inside the Sea God Church, the statue trembled violently. Stone dust flew as terrifying cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.

...

「Inside the Governor’s Mansion, near the center of Night Crow Harbor.」

Hu Qi, who was in the middle of reaping the Professionals stationed there, paused.

He cleaved the last charging Silver Armored Knight in two with a single strike of his sword.

He bent his knees, then shot upward, crashing through the roof in a single leap.

He landed on the rooftop and gazed into the distance.

His gaze easily pierced the curtain of snow, revealing the terrifying, sky-blotting tsunami in the distance, and the figure riding atop it.

The moment he saw it, his expression changed.

He sensed an incredibly powerful Extraordinary Trait emanating from the figure.

This aura was just like that of the Priest he’d seen in the Sea God Church—a Priest whose power had reached Sequence Five. He’d encountered him when he was gathering intelligence earlier.

’If that’s the case, then there’s only one possibility.’

’The creature is a Lord who has reached Sequence Five.’

Considering its unusual merman appearance, Hu Qi couldn’t help but think of the so-called ’Mermaid King’s Treasure’.

’There must be a connection between the two.’

’Otherwise, this is all far too coincidental.’

’I knew it. This whole ruin exploration thing was a setup!’

’The mastermind is a Sequence Five. No wonder they could fool the Governor’s Mansion and the Sea God Church’s Priest.’

As he thought of this, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

The Professionals who had headed out to search for the Mermaid King’s Treasure when the tide receded... their chances of survival were now slim to none.

To him, every last one of them had been a potential Modification Point.

Just as Hu Qi was observing the creature...