The Sword Emperor Transmigrates-Chapter 239

Groarrrrr!!!

A howling roar, long and powerful, echoed as a colossal wave surged forward, and the wind slammed into the ship a split second before the wave itself struck. If they had been on a sailboat, the masts would have been ripped out. However, even the three Masterpiece ships struggled, momentarily slowed by the intense opposing wind—a sign of the forceful collision yet to come.

The wave, which had loomed as a faint, growing line on the horizon, had swelled to an incredible height now that it was upon them, large enough to consume the Zaratan whole. It must have been thirty, maybe forty meters high, powerful enough to level an entire city if it had crashed upon a shore. The sheer force was enough to blow all the way across the island, leaving utter devastation in its wake.

Yet, as Leonard surveyed the rushing wall of water with calm, steady eyes, he seemed more intrigued than intimidated.

It almost looks like a targeted attack... but I wonder if it’s actually something fleeing from an even greater threat.

His gaze pierced the chaotic waves within.

A sea of over a hundred thousand marine monsters, ranging from Rank C to Rank A, is frantically rushing toward us—fleeing from something even more terrifying.

Not even the Sea Dragon King, the notorious apex predator of these waters, could exert such influence. It was an infamous monster of unmatched strength, and even an Archmage would only be able to handle its wrath for some time, facing great difficulty against it. And yet, not even that creature could trigger a monster wave on this scale.

Whatever lay beyond the horizon had to be at least on par with a Demigod Tier entity.

“Shit! Brace for impact!” Samuel’s shout rang out just seconds before the Zaratan collided with the wave stirred by the Monster Wave.

Thanks to its turtle-like rounded hull, the Zaratan managed to deflect much of the impact, withstanding the first wave without being overturned. However, the assault didn’t end there—subsequent waves kept hammering at the ship, each strike shaking the vessel with intense shockwaves that penetrated the hull.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The adventurers aboard the Zaratan were skilled, well-trained fighters, but experience and cunningness meant little against the overwhelming force of nature itself. No matter how well an iron was hammered, the strength of the material itself would not change. This trial was no test of technique—it was a test of sheer physical resilience and aura strength. Their lives depended on it.

By the third impact, the strain on the crew became obvious.

“Cough! Ack! Guh!”

“Agh! Can’t... handle... another!”

“Huff! Ugh! Agh!” gasped one crewmember whose endurance and aura density were relatively weaker, blood trickling from his mouth.

Most of them could not withstand whole shockwaves, even though they were all capable warriors at the Tenth Degree of the External Force Tier. The level difference was too large to compare with Cardenas knights, who didn’t even move an inch, let alone cough up blood.

At this rate, disaster was inevitable—half the operating personnel being neutralized before the Zaratan’s hull was shattered.

Realizing that, Leonard reached to draw his sword, his movements controlled yet purposeful.

If I try to overpower the waves head-on, I’ll waste far too much energy. I’ll have to redirect the force.

With a resounding heartbeat, Leonard awakened the Black Tortoise. Sensing the familiar surge of energy, Nicholas’s eyes flashed as Leonard manifested his conceptual martial arts around his sword, and the space around him began to distort.

The state at which one began to engage directly in the world’s law, the Demigod Tier. In some ways, it was a release of power that might be superior to Class 9 magic.

Northern God Style

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As if complementing the Zaratan’s rounded form, the silhouette of the Black Tortoise Qi manifested around the ship, and the Divine Beast that commanded water exerted its influence.

The waves, which had intended to crush the Zaratan, split apart instead, allowing the entire fleet to pass through. On the other hand, Aquamarine cleared the path with their Shockwave Cannon, taking position behind the Zaratan, and the Golden Hind swiftly following behind them through the churning waters.

Others would have revered Leonard as a Sword Immortal in murim for this feat.

Having dealt with the waves with barely a flicker of effort, Leonard sheathed his sword and turned to Samuel.

“Captain Samuel.”

Realizing what Leonard had done, Samuel swallowed nervously and nodded, bowing instinctively. “Yes, sir?”

“The Zaratan was supposed to be the sturdiest of the Masterpieces. Is this all your ship’s defenses can handle? Or did I simply overestimate your worth?” Leonard asked, his tone calm but unyielding.

Samuel, pale with embarrassment, scrambled to explain, “N-No, sir! Zaratan is built with separate forms for navigation and combat. Until we reach the Sixth Sea District, we’ve been in navigation mode, which limits its defensive power to conserve energy. It’s simply a precaution!”

“Why did you not immediately activate combat mode? Ah, I see. It was to save power,” Leonard remarked.

“That’s correct, sir! With Zaratan’s size, if we don’t allocate power efficiently, we’ll risk exhausting it at the wrong time!”

Indeed, it was a plausible explanation. The Zaratan was over three times the size and weight of both the Aquamarine and the Golden Hind combined, making it difficult to adapt swiftly to incoming threats with its wide profile. Nevertheless, Zaratan’s role as the fleet’s shield had been accomplished.

So this is the Sixth Sea District, the Nameless Sea, Leonard thought, his gaze hardening as he surveyed the darkening waters.

The ocean felt... wrong. Even with his keen Dragon Eyes, Leonard couldn’t see through its depths, as if a vile, disturbing presence lurked within it. In normal circumstances, he would have been able to see through the water even if it was dark or muddy.

Compared to the Fifth Sea District, this sea was far more ominous. Without hesitation, he gave the order, “Captain Samuel, transform Zaratan into combat mode.”

It was reminiscent of the boundary zone near the Corroded Realm Nastrond, where the natural order had fractured and the world’s laws had grown thin. It was a space where the world’s law maintaining the natural order of all things were disturbed. Here, even the mighty Masterpiece ships were at risk of destruction in an instant.

Samuel moved quickly and initiated the transformation without a word of protest.

Rumble...!

As the Zaratan’s power core roared to life with a powerful hum, the ship’s metal hull shone, adorned with a complex web of magical inscriptions that began to glow. A colossal turtle head emerged from its hull, and the ship’s interior was isolated, sealed from the outside world by a formidable barrier.

Zaratan—named after a mythical beast rumored to have existed in the ancient world, often mistaken for an island, the name of the massive creature fit the ship well. Though it wasn’t a transcendental species like a dragon that could evolve to the Demigod Tier upon reaching maturity, the Zaratan was said to have survived for thousands of years, even gaining worship along the way.

With its colossal form and fortified defenses, the Zaratan was now fully prepared for whatever lay ahead in the depths of the Sixth Sea Region. The ship inspired by the legendary turtle monster did not disappoint.

Leonard, witnessing its increased resilience, couldn’t help but approve.

Impressive. This ship could take on even the Outer God’s sea monster, Moby Dick, with ease. My expectations had dropped after that last encounter, but it seems a Masterpiece does live up to its name after all.

Nicholas, standing nearby, appeared even more mesmerized than Leonard. As a mage, he was intrigued by the ship’s unique streaks of magic flowing from its power source throughout the hull, tracing them with his eyes and fingers. He seemed to be making some complex calculations in his head.

Then, a voice crackled over the comms.

—Zaratan, this is Golden Hind. Respond.

Hearing Drake’s voice, Leonard stepped forward to respond, with Samuel swiftly passing him the communicator.

“This is Zaratan. Go ahead.”

—The Golden Hind’s search artifact has completed a scan of the surrounding sea. We detected massive energy concentrations at two locations up ahead. Due to the interference field, precision is limited, but we’ll calculate and transmit the approximate distance and direction to Zaratan.

Merely entering the Sixth Sea District was not enough to resolve everything. After all, it wasn’t considered a vast, uncharted sea for nothing. Unlike land, the sea presented an unfathomable scope and level of difficulty for exploration. Even Class 9 Grand Magi found their reach limited within the Corroded Realm’s influence, making reconnaissance a formidable challenge.

Leonard, narrowing his eyes as he considered the two locations, glanced down at the crystal orb.

Commander Corbin has remained silent. Either the Golden Hind hasn’t found anything suspicious, or there’s not enough evidence to raise concerns yet. If I have to choose...

Leonard was faced with a choice: divide their forces to tackle both points simultaneously or concentrate all resources and target each site in turn. After a few minutes of careful thought, Leonard soon dabbed his lips. With that, it was all decided.

* * *

The cult of Charybdis, master of the open seas, boasted an ancient and complex history. Contrary to its reputation for boundless greed, Charybdis was cunning, weaving schemes beneath the waves for centuries. Many had tried to slow its long-awaited descent, but few had actually succeeded.

One such success was the Great Rift, Charybdis, sealed by the Aquamarine crew. Although Captain Njord and his comrades had prevented the descent itself, they had fallen into a trap laid within the Rift, ultimately giving their lives for the cause.

Before being defeated by Leonard, the cult had continued feeding sacrifices into the ritual for eight years with the help of those like Moby Dick and Pablo. Now, the ritual to summon Charybdis was almost complete.

In the dark recesses of the Sixth Sea District, under a statue of Charybdis, a congregation of cultists stared upward with bloodshot eyes.

“It has been too long a wait!”

The ritual priest, whose countenance was ghastly due to sacrificing his name, family, and even soul to the cause, held a tone of authority. The fanatics did not mock his appearance; it was proof of his devotion to their exalted, formidable god.

“The oceans, ruled for so long by false gods, have yet to return to their true master. We have dedicated our lives to reclaim that glory!"

Some wept with bulging eyes, others screamed as if to spew blood, each moving with violent conviction. The frenzied chorus of the cult, steeped for decades, perhaps even longer, in the eldritch influence of an Outer God, was composed of beings now more foreign than human. Were they to leave the Sixth Sea District, they might be destroyed by the laws of the world itself.

Several had scales and tentacles emerging from their bodies; others, slick with mucus, had cloudy, fish-like eyes. These were Deep Ones—humans warped by the presence of an Outer God.

“With our true lord’s return so close, will we allow the seeds of the false gods to trespass on our waters?! Oh, faithful and truthful children! Will we let them defile our sacred sea?”

“No!”

“No!”

“No!”

Their voices became increasingly inhuman as they shouted. Their tongues were elongated, their teeth sharpened, and their scales and mucus-covered tendrils quivered with hostility. Each of them had willingly offered their flesh to become sacrifices, filling themselves with vigor in anticipation of becoming offerings for Charybdis.

Brandishing his staff, crafted from otherworldly coral, the priest pointed in a single direction.

“Go forth! The great one awaits us. Let us journey to his embrace—to a sea filled with peace, free from pain!"

“■■■■■■■!!!”

“■■■■■■■!!!”

“■■■■■■■!!!”

With that final call, the Deep Ones lost all reason and surged forward, flinging themselves off the cliff in droves. The fall was easily dozens of meters, but such height was nothing to these creatures.

But despite that, none survived the plunge.

Smash! Crunch! Crack!

A colossal beast with pillar-like teeth lay in wait beneath the cliff, maw agape, devouring the Deep Ones as they fell.

Already possessing the strength of a Demigod, the creature swelled further as it consumed the bodies of its faithful. It was growing closer to an Outer God by devouring the Deep Ones, which had been raised as offerings for Charybdis.

The beast’s once-draconic skull had reshaped, leaving only its vast, circular maw exposed, a grotesque portal to its interior. Even veteran sailors of the Atlantis Maritime Alliance would barely recognize it.

“Gahaha, my lord apostle! Are you sated?”

The ritual priest laughed, gazing down at the monstrosity that had once been the famed Sea Dragon King. The serpent, once both feared and revered for its fierce beauty, had been fully consumed.

The beast, now host to Charybdis itself, was the Leviathan. After devouring the last of the Deep Ones, the Leviathan began swimming, its target already obvious.