1532 Twenty Minutes II
A spear made of light suddenly manifested above the boat as it plunged towards it. The Followers of Apophis did not expect such an attack as they were more focused on the huge tree that they can see in the distance. The leader of the Followers of Apophis slit her wrist as she offered some of her blood to create a protective spell.
The blood of the leader of the Followers of Apophis dripped on the boat and it suddenly glowed with runes. The entire ship was actually an artifact, and it also explains why they were able to shake off a pursuing demigod. The ship is suddenly covered with a powerful barrier that has the crest of a snake.
The spear of light clashed with the shield, and it showed no signs of penetrating it. Seeing that they were getting attacked, one of the Followers of Apophis launched an item that looked like a signal flare into the sky. The signal flare snaked into the sky and released a silhouette of a snake after a few seconds.
As soon as the signal flare was released, all the Followers of Apophis that were waiting in the dock immediately started to move as well. Levin Cloud immediately gave the information to the group that they have found the boat. He also gave them the details of the Followers of Apophis using other boats to help the initial boat.
"I will help Big Bro Levin Cloud with the incoming enemies, but I will not be enough." Creepysoo stated.
"I will help the big bros then." Soleil stated as she flew towards the shore instead of going towards the boat carrying the vessel.
"I shall deal with the incoming enemies as well since they are greater in number. More blood for me would be good." Solstice stated as she flew towards the dock as well.
"I will take care of the boat. Make sure to destroy it." Adrian stated as he immediately called upon Kanlaon to return to his initial size.
Kanlaon dove towards the water and released his true size. Kanlaon then wrapped himself onto the boat as if he was a sea serpent, but it was still being protected by the barrier. Charon suddenly rose up from the depths of the water and summoned his chains around the boat as well which made it go into full stop.
Wisteria was swimming near Kanlaon as well and used her abilities to summon all the plant life below them. The sea weeds and other marine plant life started to stick onto the bottom of the boat. The paddles located beside the boat are also put to a halt by the marine life as well. Kimat summoned thunderclouds onto the sky as he charged it with lightning with the aim of destroying the barrier.
Peridot aided Adrian and Frey as well as she slammed an ice crystal onto the ocean to freeze the area where the boat carrying the vessel of Apophis is halted. She also started to chant spells that has barrier destruction capabilities. Frey also started to pour more mana into her spear as the thorns on it started getting sharper and sharper.
Adrian wanted to search the ship for the Vessel of Apophis which is why he has tasked Sirius and Dodu to infiltrate the ship. Sirius turned into a shadow as soon as Kanlaon wrapped around the boat and entered from the holes where the paddles are located. Dodu, on the other hand, altered its shape into a smaller slime and squeezed itself into the same holes as well.
When Sirius and Dodu entered the bottom of the ship where they rowers of the boat are located, they shared their vision with their master. Adrian saw the rowers of the ship completely exhausted and almost devoid of life, but they were still using all of their power to try and make the boat move.
All the people below the ship are being controlled against their wills and it is not an understatement to call them as puppets. Adrian could see that all the people there should have been dead but there is something that is making them unable to just stop and die. In the middle of the lower section of the boat, a small statue of the Distorted God Apophis could be seen radiating this type of energy.
The rowers were all avoiding their gazes as if the small statue itself was alive. Adrian could feel that the rowers were getting tormented by the small statue that contains some sort of connection towards the Distorted God Apophis.
"Destroy it!" Adrian commanded and Sirius immediately slashed at the small statue.
A small barrier suddenly sprouted which protected the small statue, but it was not enough to fully prevent Sirius. The barrier only held on for five seconds until it was slashed. The small statue of the Distorted God Apophis was cut into small slices as a result.
The rowers of the boat suddenly stopped from trying to make the boat move and cried. They were thanking the heavens that their prayers have been answered. It seems that they have been tortured and their life essence was also used as a way to power up the boat. They saw Sirius as their savior and bowed towards him in reverence.
"Thank you for finally granting us peace." One of the imprisoned people stated as he gave a smile.
Adrian was about to say something through Sirius when he saw the bodies of the rowers turning into dust. They were actually already dead but their connection with the small artifact and the boat kept their mortal bodies tied to the living realm. Adrian shuddered at learning of this fact because this is not something that should be possible unless multiple powerful gods cooperate.
The barrier covering the boat started to weaken as a result of losing some of the life force being used to power it. Adrian then told Sirius to go higher as there was still three tiers of paddles on the boat. Each of the boat levels had that same small statue of the Distorted God Apophis and all prisoners turned to dust upon destroying them.
Adrian could see the souls of the imprisoned people going to the afterlife with smiles on their faces as they would no longer need to be treated as something lesser than a human. Adrian immediately told Dodu to melt the boat into nothing as destroying the boat means a step in the right direction.
"Sirius search the boat for the Vessel of Apophis and immediately kill her." Adrian commanded as he told Kimat and Kanlaon to destroy the barrier.
Kimat roared and lighting came down from the skies. Kanlaon used his own dragon ball to amplify the skill that Kimat used as the lightning pillar became five times thicker. Peridot and Frey also released their skills as the barrier that was supported by the lives of prisoners broke. The sound of glass shattering and the roaring sound of lightning hitting the boat could be heard.
As soon as the barrier was destroyed, Frey immediately came down on the boat and searched for the Vessel of Apophis while killing those that get in the way. The Followers of Apophis could not let her do as she pleases which is why they prayed to their god and swallowed a black stone. Upon swallowing this black stone, the Followers of Apophis suddenly transformed into a humanoid snake hybrid that is similar to Nagas.
"Master, the vessel of Apophis is not here. There are traces of the Vessel of Apophis being here, but she has already gone." Sirius reported as he has already searched the entire ship with Yuki's help.
"Master, I can see a gigantic shadow that is like that of a serpent on the waters above my location. The serpent-like shadow is swimming past the Tree of Life and Death." Saena stated as she was keeping a lookout in the skies above.
"Levin Cloud, stop the being that is swimming past you!" Adrian immediately stated in their chat which alerted Levin Cloud as he used his connection with the Tree of Life and Death to sense the being he was told about.
Levin Cloud could not get a clear grasp of this monster, but he could feel the energy being a bit unnerving. Levin Cloud told Creepysoo to keep control of the situation as he fused with the Tree of Life and Death. Levin Cloud is now bonded with the tree he summoned as he used it like it was his own body.
The roots that were freely floating on the water suddenly stared to form a hand. Levin Cloud then used this hand to grasp at the shadow that he felt, and he suddenly felt some sort of resistance as soon as he did so. Parts of his roots started to get tainted with some sort of energy while a large black serpent screamed in pain from suddenly being grabbed.
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