Chapter 327. Aboard Swann
Rumble!
A beam of light converged on Swann's ventral side once more, and it split three ships into two in the proverbial blink of an eye. The three ships exploded like fireworks, and the sea in their vicinity seemed to boil beneath the beam of light.
"Hit his legs! Tear his legs off!" Charles roared. He stood behind a colossal deck cannon and frantically shelled toward Swann's massive pillar-like leg.
Propelled by gunpowder, the colossal deck cannons of the nearby ships roared to life. They managed to inflict wounds on Swann's massive leg, but his leg was so huge that the wounds looked as though they were mere scratches to him.
To make matters worse, deformed, hideous-looking creatures made out of the intermingling of flesh and blood fell like rain from Swann's wounds. Standing at a height of five meters, they landed in the waters and began to attack the nearby ships.
Charles was about to continue his indiscriminate firing toward Swann's leg, but a giant humanoid monster wearing a mask made out of intricate flat gears appeared in front of Charles. It raised its massive brass broadsword and slashed out.
Clang!
A dull, resonant noise echoed as the one-hundred-ton deck cannon collapsed to the ground. The giant humanoid monster raised its broadsword once more to cleave the gunner it had seen earlier into two, but it was stupefied to find no one.
It looked and just as it had chosen a new target, Charles emerged from his invisibility and slashed out at the giant humanoid monster's mask.
The Dark Blade easily tore apart the mask made out of intricate flat gears, and a huge spurt of blood burst out of the wound.
However, Charles' pupils constricted at what was beneath the mask—a face with no features; the orifices had been replaced by hideous tumors packed to the brim with pus that they were on the verge of popping.
Clearly, the giant humanoid monster had been one of Swann's soldiers; he was fortunate enough to receive the Feaster's rewards after surviving Swann's onslaught.
"Fucking disgusting!" Charles unknowingly cursed. He hurled the Dark Blade at the giant humanoid monster's head, and a transparent tentacle wrapped around the Dark Blade before swinging it toward the giant humanoid monster's head.
A grotesque noise echoed as the head riddled with tumors exploded into a firework of flesh, blood, and pus.
Charles landed steadily on the deck and watched as the giant humanoid monster staggered before plunging into the pitch-black sea. Charles had successfully dealt with one of the monsters that had fallen from Swann's leg, but he was not happy.
After all, he had just handled one of the hundreds of monsters Swann had unleashed upon the navy fleet. The monsters' strength demanded full attention from the navy, and they had successfully obstructed the fleet.
Charles looked up at Swann and saw that Swann didn't seem to care about the commotion around him; his gaze was unwittingly transfixed on Hope Island before him.
A massive wave stirred as Swann lifted his towering leg and stepped forward, crossing a mile of distance in just one step.
"Charles, I don't think what we're doing is pretty effective against that thing," Elizabeth said to Charles while gripping the short rod in her hand tightly.
The cogs in Charles' brain turned, and he soon made up his mind. A deafening noise echoed not too far away from him. He turned and found Aliya. She had just blasted an enemy's eye socket into a bloody mist with one shot.
"We have to get close to his legs! Maneuver this ship to the closest leg! We're climbing up Swann's leg!" Charles shouted.
The ship's smokestack belched out thick, black smoke as the speedboat rushed toward the nearest pillar-like leg. The leg had uneven bone spurs that provided a foothold for those daring enough to climb up the leg.
Charles decisively took to the air and grabbed one of the bone spurs.
"Wait!" Elizabeth shouted and jumped into the air. Charles' invisible tentacles snatched her from out of mid-air.
"What was that?! Is it your ability? When did you get it? I don't remember seeing this ability of yours the last time we met," Elizabeth said as she gave the invisible tentacle a curious squeeze with her right hand.
"Hold on tight! it's about to move!" Charles shouted while staring at Aliya and her group down below. They responded to Charles' roar by jumping toward the pillar and grabbing onto the bone spurs.
Before everyone from the speedboat could find a bone spur to use as a foothold, the pillar stirred and began to move. It moved upward, carrying Charles and the others before going back down. They moved so quickly that the air seemed to shriek as they moved, and Charles felt like he was on a rollercoaster.
The step was completed, and the pillar finally stabilized. Charles swept his gaze across the people beneath him and shouted, "Follow me and climb up! Remember not to drop any explosives you've brought here with you!"
Everyone climbed up steadily under Charles' lead. The towering pillar was extremely difficult to climb, and it took them ten minutes to climb up Swann's dorsal side.
Meanwhile, Swann had gotten close enough to Hope Island that the island's artillery could finally join the bombardment on one of Swann's legs.
"Hurry up! There's no time to rest! Follow me!" Charles roared. His breathing had become ragged pants, and he felt pain all over out of exhaustion. However, he didn't stop and led everyone to move along the edge of Swann.
Charles' goal was Swann's colossal purple eye.
Rumble!
A beam of white light converged once more before transforming into a sharp light that sliced across Hope Island, setting ablaze every inch of canopy and land on its way.
Charles gnashed his teeth at the scorched line that had been carved on Hope Island. The desire to grow even stronger burned even fiercer in his heart. Charles lamented that if he had just been strong enough, this attack wouldn't have happened in the first place.
Setting aside his grievances, Charles and his group continued on their journey.
Just then, the cabin door made out of writhing flesh and blood swung open. A large group of deformed giant humanoid monsters poured out of the cabin door while wearing masks made out of intricate flat gears.
Clearly, Swann had noticed their arrival on his back.
Aliya roared and led her men to clash against the humanoid monsters. Grotesque noises echoed incessantly, along with deafening gunshots. The uneven steel plates on the floor were soon drenched in crimson blood.
However, it seemed as though there were an endless number of monsters. Charles knew that he had to make a decision soon. Standing in the midst of the chaotic battlefield, Charles closed his eyes and began to gather every single particle of lightning in his body.
Charles felt sore; something was swelling up inside of him, and it grew larger and larger as the seconds went on. In just three seconds, Charles felt like he was about to explode.
However, Charles knew that the power he had gathered in a mere three seconds wasn't enough to deal with the enemies before them.
He had to gather more particles of lightning. It had worked with the Lightning Rod, so surely he could do the same when he had already assimilated the latter.
Charles gnashed his teeth and decided to endure the pain. The white glow around him grew brighter and brighter.
Elizabeth took out a short rod and thrust it toward the giant humanoid monster before her. The giant humanoid monster exploded into a bloody mist and pus once its flesh made contact with the short rod.
Elizabeth glanced at Charles, and she tacitly stood next to him to protect him.
More and more hideous monsters poured out of the cabin. Aliya and her group were starting to falter in the face of the incessant assault. The monsters were slowly cornering them, forcing them to stick together to defend in all directions.
Aliya looked around, and her expression flickered in hesitation. Eventually, she took out a crystal skull. She glanced at Charles once more and decided to put away the crystal skull.
Just as their formation was about to shatter, Charles pushed his palm forward, sending a wave of white lightning arcs toward the giant humanoid monsters before him. The white lightning arcs began hopping onto monster after monster.
Charles' palm spat more and more white lightning arcs. Every single monster would collapse upon getting hit by a white lightning arc, and the onslaught continued until a strong, scorched smell pervaded the air aboard Swann.
Soon, the white lightning arcs fizzled out and disappeared. Charles felt utterly exhausted as he staggered backward. Elizabeth rushed to support Charles before the latter could fall to the ground.
"Are you okay, Charles?" Elizabeth asked with a face full of worry at the exhausted Charles.
"I-I'm fine... It's just that... it hasn't been that long since I got this ability, so I still need more practice," Charles said. He struggled to stand up with Elizabeth's help.
Charles looked around and saw that every single monster around them had been electrocuted and scorched black. A satisfied smile hung on his lips; he was glad that his efforts hadn't been in vain.
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