Chapter 82
At the sudden clash between Lee Shin and the opponent on the other ship, everyone froze for a moment. Terrifying, blinding flashes and sparks shot out in all directions, causing the already rough waves to surge even higher.
The thunderbolt spell that was displayed was one that was several levels higher than Gordon, who was the original maker of this spell. Besides, this spell used even more powerful thunder energy than that of Gordon’s. Therefore, its power was beyond measure.
The opponent’s narrow eyes became even narrower. Despite his distorted expression, the opponent appeared to have suffered no damage. As the opponent’s robe fluttered back, his arm, which was covered in thick scales, came into view.
The opponent’s appearance, his arrogant look, and the mana that was emanating from him were reminiscent of those dragons that Lee Shin had known.
‘Is he a hybrid of a dragon and a human…? So a dragonian?’
Lee Shin never expected he would already encounter such a creature on the 20th floor. Besides, Lee Shin’s divinity did not even take effect, which meant that the creature had at least divinity stat 2. The probability of the opponent being of divine blood seemed higher now.
“Is he an apostle of the gods?” Lee Shin wondered, looking at the creature.
Lee Shin thought the probability was not high, but he could not completely rule that out. Normally, Lee Shin would by now have made the next move as planned, but considering the mana wave that he could feel in the distance, Lee Shin could not do that.
Woong— Wooong—!
Lee Shin wondered whether the dragonian was thinking the same thing. The uncomfortable look that the dragonian had been giving Lee Shin was now gone, and the dragonian’s eyes were now turned toward the silhouettes beyond the mist.
“The pirates are coming!”
“Prepare for a battle everyone!”
Lee Shin stopped examining the dragonian because now was the time to come up with a workable plan to deal with this enormous energy that was ahead of him. As the mist cleared, an intangible burst cannon flew towards Lee Shin and other challengers, emitting a powerful energy.
The rippling of the space and the tumultuous waves of the sea as the burst cannon flew past demonstrated its incredible power. It was clear that with just one blast, this large ship could easily be sunk.
It had also been clear to the pirates that if they were to fire the blast cannon as a sudden attack, they could easily cause chaos and confusion among their rivals.
The damage that one could make from a single blow while their enemies were in disarray and could not respond properly could do a lot more damage.
“Vuela!” Lee Shin shouted.
“I got it,” Vuela replied, looking at Lee Shin.
There were a total of three large ships on Lee Shin’s side. If the pirates were thinking of incapacitating the enemy with a sudden attack, they would not just aim for this one large ship. They would go after all three ships at once.
The remaining one large ship was a ship of the opponent alliance. However, with the presence of the dragonian, they should be able to defend themselves adequately.
[Steel Plate Shield]
Earlier, Lee Shin, who had greatly expanded his sensory range due to the confrontation with the dragonian, set up the shield as far away as possible.
Kaboom!
The shield vibrated and made a loud noise, and at the same time, a deafening roar could be heard coming from the middle of the sea. Lee Shin’s magic level was too high to be affected by a burst cannon of that level.
The smoke cleared to reveal hundreds of ships floating on the sea in the background.
The next moment, a massive warship appeared from the north. A big man could be seen, screaming from the bow of the ship. He was the one who fired the burst cannon just a while ago, probably upset that their burst cannon had been easily blocked.
It was a 180mm Twaid burst cannon. It was a type of cannon that Lee Shin was familiar with. This cannon was a major cause of headaches for the challengers of the 20th floor, as it was made based on the essence of hextech.
It was a type of weapon that could allow the pirates to sail the seas like outlaws. The actual combat force of the pirates would have played a part, but it was clear that the burst cannon was the main reason why the pirates could dominate the seas.
Since that burst cannon had been blocked so easily, the pirates would now have to make their next move.
‘So, what are you going to show us now?’
Lee Shin had no time to be relieved. He was aware that it was inevitable for that many people here to face death or suffer extensive damages. Lee Shin could not predict for sure that there would be deaths, but he could not shake the feeling that death would come knocking any moment.
So far, there was no evidence that the gods had by now depleted the causality for them to intervene. At the very least, the gods must have leaked information to the pirates so that the navy appeared and divine blood challengers were sent here. One might think that these two alone might be enough to deal with Lee Shin.
However, Lee Shin’s heightened senses told him that these were not all.
Thud—! Baaam!
Turning his head to the sound of the waves rising up, Lee Shin saw the dragonian confronting the pirate ship.
A bright sphere of energy was fired toward the pirates’ massive ship, crushing the space and stirring up the sea.
A soaring tornado, as if defying gravity, merged with the thunderbolt and struck the ship. When Lee Shin saw that, he thought that the pirate ships on the southern part of the sea would have been destroyed with that magic, until Lee Shin suddenly felt the distortion of the mana.
“Keugh!” Lee Shin gasped.
Lee Shin, who was activating his mana, let out a small groan as his control over mana was cut off.
Most wizards generally avoided going to the sea, which is sometimes even called the Wizard’s Grave. Unlike the static atmosphere on the land, the sea was turbulent and rough. Even spells that a wizard usually found easy to cast could fail on the sea. That was why there were wizards who eventually chose to only focus their efforts on operating on the sea.
“Now is the time! Fire! Kill all those navy bastards!” Someone from the pirate ship shouted.
“Their wizards have been neutralized! Sink their ships!” Another person from the pirate ship shouted.
Hundreds of challengers who entered this stage were unable to demonstrate their true abilities and skills in this unexpected situation.
Bang! Boom! Bam!
Under the barrage of cannon firing, ships began to sink one after another.
“Stop them! Block them all!”
“Move over to that other ship!”
“Which one is the ship that Mr. Lee Shin is on? Where do we have to go?!”
“You damn bastards! Stop thinking about running away and try to deal with the situation!”
No matter how talented each individual was, the challengers could not win without joining forces. Yet, the more exceptional an individual’s power was, the harder it became to work together as a group. That was because these people ultimately trusted their own abilities, not others.
“My mana is not working properly!”
“Darn it! Even though we’re on the sea, why isn’t my mana control working properly!”
In an instant, the sea turned into chaos. Lee Shin clenched his teeth and looked up to the sky, which was looming with dark clouds. Faint wisps of energy flowed through the pouring rain and the clusters of clouds.
‘Was that why he was so confident?’
It was not just the simple environment of the sea that made it difficult for the challengers to control their mana. Something that was floating in the sky above them was making mana control extremely difficult for the challengers.
Lee Shin quickly investigated this phenomenon by letting his mana flow into the atmosphere. His mana kept scattering and gathering. Fortunately, the mana did not inflict a major impact within his body, but as soon as his mana extended outward, the control over his mana had decreased drastically.
In the face of the enemy’s careful preparation, Lee Shin laughed and brushed away his hair. Sometimes, when one got past the shocked phase, they could only laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
Lee Shin suppressed the urge to laugh and spun the mana inside his body vigorously, although he could not figure out what was between those clouds.
Crunch—
The pirates did not know what kind of people their opponents were. Lee Shin, who had clenched his teeth so strongly, gathered his mana and shot it toward the sky. The rapidly shaking mana began to slip away from his control.
Lee Shin thought that it was still manageable for now. However, he could tell that the external interference with his mana control had been increasing gradually. Perhaps there was a reason why one could not use their full power. However, it was also to hide their presence.
Lee Shin thought that even if he had to pour out all his mana, he had to stop whatever was in the sky, because once its power was full, there was no way for Lee Shin’s group to win this battle.
“Keugh…!” Lee Shin gasped.
The stream of mana soared up. At the same time, an intangible force attached to Lee Shin’s mana and tried to pull it down like a zombie.
From now on, it was a battle of mental power and willpower. Lee Shin’s head felt like it was about to explode. And his breathing became labored.
Nevertheless, Lee Shin was confident in himself.
Besides, who could doubt Lee Shin’s mental power and willpower? In his past life, Lee Shin eventually climbed to the top of the tower, even in the worst situation, and he never gave up despite experiencing countless deaths.
‘I think I got it.’
Lee Shin’s mana became his eyes and ears, his hands and feet. Lee Shin felt the presence of a large mana circle among the clouds. In the center, a sphere that contained enormous energy was slowly releasing its power.
‘I knew it…’
The energy contained within that sphere was highly unstable, enough to spread its instability to its surroundings. Lee Shin’s hand that was holding his wand trembled slightly. As Lee Shin approached the sphere, it became increasingly difficult to control his mana.
‘Would I be able to break that mana circle with my current power?’
Even at a glance, the power of the mana circle that surrounded the sphere was great. At the moment, Lee Shin was in a state where it was difficult for him to handle his mana properly. Besides, Lee Shin knew that, to break through such a mana circle, he would have to exert a considerable amount of effort.
“I guess I was looked down on…” Lee Shin muttered.
Lee Shin was not pleased with getting this kind of a battlefield as a thundermancer. Although the gods must have acknowledged him as a worthy challenger, Lee Shin could sense the disdain they had for him as a human being.
Lee Shin had no intention of complaining to the gods. Lee Shin wanted to simply show them what he had got. Continuing to extend his mana, Lee Shin sent it out in all directions toward the thick, dark clouds. The clouds surrounded the mana circle and bright white thunderbolts discharged its energy in various places.
Pizz— pizz!
Lee Shin could not believe that the gods were trying to defeat him in a place such as this—filled with dark clouds—and by hiding the most important attack in this place.
The mana of Lee Shin had turned into a light moisture and spread out to the clouds. The moisture ruptured in the atmosphere and created thunderbolts. The clouds that were chock full of thunderbolts released them, and it sounded as if the clouds were roaring with pain.
Rumble— Crack!
As the thunder grew louder, Lee Shin engraved a strong force in that space once again.
[Lightning Rod]
The magic that drew the thunderbolt was engraved on the mana circle.
Bababababam!
The thick dark clouds that were formed in all directions could not withstand the amount, and all the thunderbolts inside the clouds began to be discharged onto the mana circle. Those on the sea were too busy to pay attention to the repetitive sound of thunder. However, as the sound grew louder and louder, the people on the sea began to raise their heads one by one.
“What… is that?”
“What kind of a lightning bolt is like that…”
The dragonian who sank a ship with his magic while everyone was struggling to control the mana, looked up at the sky with a frown and soon lowered his gaze to the bow of the large ship. Since he was also a wizard of the thunderbolt field, the dragonian could tell how absurd the events that were happening in those clouds were.
Besides, the dragonian also knew what would happen if those thunderbolts fell down.
‘How can a human…’
Half of the dragonian’s body was a dragon, while the other half was human, which was considered the weakest among all the species. Because the great blood of the dragon had been mixed with the human blood, the dragonian had been a target for contempt and humiliation. As a result, he had lived resenting humans all his life.
‘He’s only a human though…’
In a single moment, the dragonian felt as if all the experiences, emotions and thoughts he had experienced were being invalidated. His face was distorted like that of a demon.
***
The mana circle could not withstand the waves of thunderbolt and was destroyed. The sphere inside was just a source of power for the mana circle, so when the mana circle disappeared, the unstable magic power that had surrounded it instantly vanished. It felt like people were being released from a suffocating restraint.
Due to the excessive thunderbolts, Lightning Rod could no longer withstand it and burst. Then, Lee Shin immediately reached out with his mana toward the sphere.
[Psychokinesis]
An intangible hand made of mana grabbed the sphere as Lee Shin willed.
[Hidden Stage - Abaim Monstre]
[The sea monster Abaim Monstre who was sealed in the deep sea, lost its second heart due to an unknown force. Abaim Monstre is looking for its heart. Take away Abaim Monstre’s remaining heart and defeat it.]
Lee Shin narrowed his eyes at the sudden message that popped up.
‘This is the monster’s heart?’
Rumble— Crack!
There was no time to think about it for long, as the thunderbolts were still full of energy and could not be controlled. Lee Shin pulled Abaim’s heart out and put it in his Subspace Pocket. Lee Shin then looked around.
Rumble—! Crack!
At the thunderbolts that struck downward mercilessly not sparing anyone, both the challengers and pirates started to panic.
“Ahhh! It’s collapsing!”
“Lower the sail! No, just break the mast!”
“Are you crazy? Why would you break the mast!”
“Then do you want to get hit by that thunderbolt? Can’t you see that? A ship was split in two by a single lightning strike!”
“Damn it… What kind of force is…”
“If you’re not going to do it, then move aside! Try to at least block it!”
Lee Shin knew that this kind of chaos would happen.
“I guess I should be the one fixing what I did...” Lee Shin muttered as he watched the chaotic scene.
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