The Sword Emperor Transmigrates-Chapter 242

A sea serpent at the Chaos Demon Tier is a formidable creature, but the forces of Atlantis aren’t so weak as to fail to subdue it. The fact that it has survived for nearly a century and forced even the Rank A adventurers to give up trying to subdue it speaks more of its cunningness than its strength.

Leonard channeled this internal energy into his eyes.

The lightning storm threatened to destroy his optic and auditory nerves, yet his Dragon Eyes held firm, piercing through the harsh conditions. The creature, which had been held captive by the Phantom Ship fleet, had completely disappeared.

In the briefest of moments—less than a fraction of a second—the creature had slipped from Cruella’s control and retreated back into the depths of the sea, shifting the tide of the battle.

Unlike their opponent, who could move freely underwater, the expedition was bound to the surface. While the Aquamarine had some diving capabilities, an underwater confrontation against a Rank S sea monster was out of the question, especially against one whose power had surged past its limits due to an Outer God.

I have to predict the Leviathan’s next move. It’s no longer just a rampaging beast; it’s the apex predator of this sea, reigning for nearly a century and evading Atlantis’s top adventurers.

Even the fierce tiger revered as the Mountain Deity often defied human wisdom. If a mere beast could show such cunning, then this monstrous creature—having survived and accumulated decades of combat experience—would undoubtedly surpass even the most skilled hunters. It was certain to strike at the most vulnerable point, at the exact moment when the expedition’s defenses were at their weakest.

As a commander, Leonard racked his mind, looking down at the creature below, its deadly intent clear even from beneath the sea.

If he were the Leviathan, whom would he target first? The Zaratan, protected by the formation of the Golden Dragon knights, was hardly worth targeting. Demian and Leonard were valuable prey but fast and difficult to catch, so Cruella and Nicholas, slower but more menacing, were likely candidates.

Leonard was in deep thought when the Leviathan suddenly made a move.

“What the—!” He barely had time to react.

With terrifying speed, the creature shot upward like an arrow, aiming to crush a single target in its jaws—the Aquamarine.

It figured out Aquamarine’s role in an instant?!

Unlike the Zaratan, which served as the Golden Dragon Knights’ main platform, the Aquamarine had played a subtle role since the start of the battle. As a balanced Masterpiece vessel, the Aquamarine showed only middling prowess against a powerful foe. Even the magic arrays integrated into its hull, although formidable, would barely do anything to a monster that could withstand a Class 9 spell head-on and emerge with little more than a flesh wound.

Even so, the Aquamarine stood its ground, maintaining a precise distance behind the Zaratan. The reason for that lay in the words of the Spirit King Boreas, who had appeared from within the Aquamarine.

—I said to call me if you needed my strength, but I didn’t expect you to be so unreserved about it.

Boreas, who had regained his original form after the cleansing of Yggdrasil on the Spriggan Frontier, was indebted to Leonard and had made a temporary pact with Vivian.

Although Vivian was not yet skilled enough to command a Spirit King, Boreas could channel his power across the sea, carrying the weight of that responsibility himself. Thanks to his presence, the winds—a critical factor in naval warfare—had subtly shifted in the expedition’s favor.

The Leviathan had to have sensed Boreas’s influence, realizing what it was truly up against.

Whoosh—!

With Boreas’s wind, the Aquamarine managed to narrowly evade the Leviathan’s attack, spinning from the pressure and landing back on the water’s surface. In such a critical situation, the entire ship would be wiped out if they were even a little late to react.

Leonard, feeling a wave of relief, exhaled and slashed down with his sword. The single strike wasn’t enough, but the Leviathan’s massive body was now exposed, making it vulnerable to a cross-slash.

Western God Style

Cutter of All Things

Sky and Clouds Piercer

Second Strike: Sky Splitting Cross Slash

The already torn scales peeled away, exposing blood-soaked muscle and bone. Demian and the two Grand Magi did not miss the opportunity, unleashing several concentrated attacks that forced out a torrent of seawater as the Leviathan let out a scream of agony.

High-pressure streams of water slashed out like blades, capable of slicing through any defensive magic or augmented energy shield. Even the Demigod Tier knights had to pull back, as the Leviathan’s desperate counterattack just barely kept it alive.

Boom—!!!

Another bolt of lightning tore through the sky, illuminating everything in a blinding flash, and in that instant, the Leviathan retreated back to the water’s depths.

It’s getting more adept at wielding its powers. At this rate, the expedition will take casualties before we wear it down.

Leonard’s eyes narrowed as he peered into the depths of the sea.

If we can’t finish it off in one blow, it’ll likely escape, taking time to recover while launching sporadic attacks from the deep sea. The Leviathan won’t pursue victory—it’s not driven by such pride. If we can’t kill it in one go, it’ll retreat to the bottom of the ocean, recover its strength, and reemerge whenever it sees fit.

The Leviathan had regained control over its own body, and the creature had to be slayed before its survival instincts overshadowed its rage and bloodlust. But despite the combined strength of four Demigod Tier warriors and the Golden Dragon Knights, there was no guarantee of success.

With the world around them blinded and deafened by the storm, Leonard sent a few strands of his intent to his companions. In the raging winds, shouting to the others was futile—this was their only way to communicate.

—When it attacks again, coordinate your strike with mine.

Leonard, shielding himself from the relentless lightning with an augmented energy shield, shut his eyes and steadied his sword. Disregarding the turmoil around him, he shortened the gap between reality and his Mindscape. For a single strike, he could surpass his limits, relying on the world’s laws to elevate his prowess to a higher dimension.

Movement within stillness, stillness within movement—these paradoxical states resonated, bending the flow of space and time. Even his Dragon Heart struggled to sustain this state, as Leonard felt his body slowly breaking down, with each heartbeat setting off explosions inside his chest.

A piercing hum filled the air.

If it weren’t for Ancestor Cardenas’s teachings, it would have taken Leonard at least thirty years, perhaps longer, to reach this level of mastery. Yet now, that power was in his grasp, making him feel nearly omnipotent. Images of the Leviathan resurfaced in his mind, rising from the ocean’s depths once more.

This was the realm of foresight—the ability to turn a singular chance into absolute precision.

Leonard focused and channeled the energy within his body. The Qi of the Four Symbols surged through his meridians, spreading vibrant energies that channeled into his swordsmanship. This was the same strike that severed Vulcanus’s connection to Surtr and restored him to his original Spirit King form.

Leonard wielded a sword aligned with nature itself, rejecting the influence of other dimensional forces. Yet, unlike Vulcanus, Leviathan’s very core had been infused with Charybdis’s power, and as such, it was not enough to sever the connection between this creature and Charybdis.

Groooooarrrrr!!!!

With a thunderous roar, Leviathan split the sea in two, rushing directly at Leonard, no longer aiming for the weak links but for the commander himself. It was a total shift in strategy, displaying intelligence in its approach. Had he not glimpsed even a fraction of a second into the future, Leonard’s response might have been fatally delayed.

But Leonard’s sword met the Leviathan with perfect timing.

Dragon God Style

Execution of the Defiers of Heaven

Evil-Repelling Sword of Heaven

Vibrant sword energy burst forth from the radiant slash, swallowing the tainted maw entirely. Even Class 9 supreme magic or the conceptual martial arts of a Demigod Tier knight would have been rendered powerless if swallowed those jaws, but the Evil-Repelling Sword of Heaven was entirely different. It was an ultimate technique specifically designed to smite down anything connected to an Outer God.

To the Leviathan, this was akin to ingesting pure poison.

■■■■■■■■——?!!?

Its ascendant momentum faltered immediately as it thrashed, realizing the limitless power within itself was slipping away. The remaining Demigods seized the chance to strike.

Mirror Blade

Infinite Refraction Cage

Kaleidoscope

Though this technique could not fully trap a beast of the Leviathan’s size, it could restrict its movement. A cascade of sword light split into dozens, then hundreds of beams, weaving an intricate net that bound the Leviathan. In this confinement, Cruella and Nicholas prepared their assault after Demian’s.

“With steel forged in the heart of the earth, a blade to rend scales, a descending sun, mist rising from the netherworld, binding darkness that restrains all...!”

“The spear that pierces evil, judgement of the malevolent serpent, shining with the glory of saints, delivering with the final blow of the righteous...!”

The chants of the Class 9 Grand Magi echoed over the water as they raised their staffs, amplifying their supreme spells. Chains of darkness poured forth, accompanied by scrolls burning with stored magic, forming a radiant spear. Each strike was intended to bind or annihilate Demigod Tier creatures, so not even the Leviathan could walk away unscathed from this relentless assault of supreme magic.

“Tartarus!”

“Ascalon!”

The darkness of the abyss ensnared the giant sea serpent, while the dragon-slaying spear of Ascalon pierced it.

■■■■■■■!?!

Chunks of the beast’s body crumbled, peeling away like bark. As it thrashed, the beast broke free of Charybdis’s control, severing their connection. With that, the Outer God’s power supply was cut off, leaving it with barely any strength left.

If they could keep this up, the expedition force would manage to subjugate the Leviathan. Victory seemed within reach.

...■■■.

■■, ■■■...! ■■■■...!!

But the expedition, including the Demigod Tier warriors, had underestimated the Sea Dragon King’s survival instincts and its capacity to adapt to desperate circumstances. From the moment it was struck by the Evil-Repelling Sword of Heaven, the creature had quickly severed most of its body and redirected its last reserves to take on the two supreme spells in its nearly lifeless shell.

“What?!”

From its monstrous torso burst a new Leviathan, leaner and roughly three hundred meters long, reverting to its primal sea serpent form.

The Leviathan had shed its massive, kilometer-long frame for a more compact and durable one, gaining enhanced defenses and agility. The scales the expedition had struggled to strip away had fully regenerated, resetting the battle to square one—or worse. Should Leviathan flee, the expedition would be forced into a war of attrition.

However, just as the Demigods resolved to fight to the end, Leonard glimpsed a glimmer of hope. He had read and foresaw everything up to this point. Reaching a state of complete unity, he saw a future beyond even Leviathan’s adaptive instincts.

Heavenly Nature Sword Art

The Third Nature

Sword-Body Assimilation

Leonard merged with Mimong, unleashing the same technique he had used to pierce Yggdrasil’s bark—a force capable of penetrating even the defenses of a True God entity. Against Leviathan’s scales, there would be no contest.

As the expedition’s morale flagged and the Leviathan gloated over its successful ploy, Leonard, fused with his blade, surged like a ray of light and struck its brow.

■■■■...??!?

The Leviathan durability was indeed impressive, but it was nothing compared to Yggdrasil.

With repeated thrusts and rotations, Leonard drilled through the Leviathan’s skull, breaking open a path to its brain. If the Leviathan had still retained its connection to Charybdis, this would have been impossible.

The brain was where the consciousness resided, and the host of an Outer God was directly connected to the otherworldly dimension through the brain. Had Leonard forced his way through the skull while the Leviathan was still connected to Charybdis, the Outer God could have crushed him instantly.

But if its connection was severed by the Evil-Repelling Sword of Heaven...!

Now, the Leviathan’s brain was merely a vulnerable mass of grey matter.

Within its skull, Leonard undid the Sword-Body Assimilation, allowing the pulpy brain matter to cling to his body. Although the Leviathan’s desperation surged as it realized the danger, no living creature could move its own brain. Only the Mind Demoniacs ruling beyond the Hell Gate could do such a thing.

“It’s over.”

Even without the Outer God’s presence, this monster had spent nearly a century reveling in slaughter and gluttony. As such, mercy was out of the question.

Leonard’s sword glowed with a purifying flame, which effortlessly spread across Leviathan’s cerebral cortex.

Southern God Style

Single Swing Sweeping Annihilation

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

Calamity-Extinguishing Flame

This was a flame that consumed all, annihilating everything in its path regardless of the target’s vitality and regenerative abilities. The Leviathan’s frantic thrashing was too slow as the Vermillion Bird Qi’s Pure Flame burned through its madness and malice, extinguishing its life force completely.

With a final, sluggish groan, the three-hundred-meter beast slumped into the water, sinking beneath the waves without so much as a final twitch. Leonard, back in the air, watched it disappear in the depths of the ocean.

This was the end of the sea serpent that had terrorized Atlantis and nearly brought ruin as Charybdis’s host. But was the threat to the Sixth Sea District truly over?

“...No, far from it.”

With his foresight, Leonard had seen not only Leviathan’s last plan but also a terrible fate for the Golden Hind, now sailing in a different direction. Disaster would befall them in precisely five minutes. Even with his utmost speed, Leonard wouldn’t make it in time.

...Was this the only possible outcome?

The two Outer Gods, Scylla and Charybdis, had crafted a foolproof plan—if one failed, the other would succeed.

As the signs of calamity loomed beyond the horizon, Leonard bit his lip and gripped his sword tighter. The battle in the Sixth Sea District was far from over.