But before he could enter, the sea suddenly surged, and a huge pincer shot out from the cave, aiming directly at Feeld's waist.
Feeld quickly kicked back, narrowly avoiding it.
Wow, it turned out to be a platinum-level Giant Claw Crab. Its pincers were about three meters long, and its shell was several meters wide. Compared to the one Eve cooked before, this one was like a baby.
The Giant Claw Crab waved its pincers to defend its cave and did not chase after Feeld.
Feeld didn't bother it either, but started searching around the nearby caves.
Some of the caves around were inhabited by other fish monsters, some were inhabited by various crab monsters, and there was even a one-meter-long shrimp girl, who was not to be trifled with. The golden-level shrimp girl was even more fierce than the platinum-level Giant Claw Crab.
After wandering around on the seabed for twenty minutes, Feeld felt a bit suffocated.
He could hold on for another ten minutes at most before he had to surface.
But just then, he suddenly saw a big fish swimming past a cave below, and a long red figure suddenly shot out from below, biting the big fish and dragging it into the cave.
Feeld's lips curled up.
Found you!
Is this what you want?
When he arrived at the cave, Feeld saw a red Crimson Sea Eel rolling around, tearing at the body of a large fish.
The Crimson Sea Eel was quite large, over a meter thick and estimated to be over ten meters long. It was not easy to pull it out of the cave.
But Feeld was straightforward. He swam in directly and, while the Crimson Sea Eel was tearing off a piece of meat, he grabbed its food—a large fish that was almost cut in half—and snatched it away, then swiftly swam out of the cave.
The Crimson Sea Eel was immediately furious.
It was enjoying its meal when this guy came and stole it. Did he think it was easy to mess with?
The Crimson Sea Eel rushed out like a red lightning bolt, heading straight for Feeld.
Its big mouth opened, revealing four rows of teeth on both its upper and lower jaws, each tooth curved backward like a barb, reminding Feeld of a snake's mouth.
Getting bitten by this thing would definitely not be pleasant.
And although the Crimson Sea Eel wasn't venomous, it relied on its size and strength to win. At over a meter thick and over ten meters long, it had terrifying strength. Once it caught its prey, it would either suffocate it or tear it apart in a frenzy, which was quite brutal.
Seeing the Crimson Sea Eel approaching, Feeld immediately raised the harpoon in his hand and thrust it out like a spear.
With a "pu chi" sound, the harpoon pierced into the eel's lower jaw.
Originally, Feeld had aimed for the head, hoping to kill it in one blow, but the eel turned its head just in time, avoiding a fatal strike.
However, the barbs on the harpoon were firmly lodged in the muscles of its lower jaw. The Crimson Sea Eel thrashed wildly, causing the surrounding seawater to surge due to its immense strength and innate magic.
Several strong currents directly hit Feeld, with enough force to knock out a regular golden-level individual, but Feeld's physique was incredibly strong. The currents only caused him some pain, at most leaving bruises, and didn't pose much of a threat.
Feeld held onto the harpoon tightly. After confirming that it was secure, he let go.
The eel immediately turned and swam downward, with the rope continuously unreeling until it reached its limit of three hundred meters and suddenly tightened.
The sailors waiting above felt a jolt in the ship's hull.
"Start working!" the captain ordered as he activated the magic ship. With the power of magic, the ship accelerated to a speed of thirty to forty knots on the sea's surface.
Below, the eel was also being pulled by the magic ship.
It struggled continuously, but how could a ten-meter-long Crimson Sea Eel contend with a dozens-of-meters-long magic ship? Magic technology was quite powerful, leaving the eel no chance to resist.
Meanwhile, Feeld clung tightly to the rope, making sure the eel didn't try to bite through it.
Indeed, that was what the Crimson Sea Eel intended to do. Every time it managed to endure the force of the magic ship and the rush of the water and got closer to the rope, Feeld would give it a punch.
After repeating this several times, the Crimson Sea Eel finally ran out of strength.
Feeld climbed up the rope and onto the ship along with the others, tightened the rope, and pulled the Crimson Sea Eel up.
It struggled a few times when it came up, but after Feeld smacked it on the head, it quieted down.
Then the sailors watched as Feeld lifted the ten-meter-long creature effortlessly, as if he were catching a tadpole.
That strength was truly not in vain for such a big guy!
"Mission accomplished!" Feeld grinned.
The experience this time wasn't bad at all. It felt really refreshing underwater. If he had the chance, he would consider venturing into the open sea for adventure, perhaps as a pirate or a marine.
It mainly depended on his mood; he could switch between the two roles at any time, as he pleased.
Next, the sailors had to catch seafood, so Feeld had to wait for them to finish before he could return.
In the end, when they returned to Seatown, it was already ten o'clock at night.
After bidding farewell to the Wild Wolf Gang, Feeld went to the Seaflower Tavern to complete the task, earning a commission of thirty thousand gold coins. Deducting the eight thousand gold coins for the helper fee, he netted twenty-two thousand.
After finishing the hearty dinner prepared by Eve, Feeld asked Chi Chi to rest and then set off with his Angelic Heavy Hammer towards the rendezvous point with the mysterious client.
It took about twenty kilometers, and after a while, he arrived.
Arriving at the Little Red Fruit Forest, Feeld leaned against a tree and waited.
The meeting point was at the intersection west of the forest, but Feeld waited and waited until one o'clock in the morning, and the other party still hadn't shown up.
Feeld's lips twitched.
Was he stood up?
For this, he repeatedly checked the time requirements on the mission sheet—tonight at twelve o'clock, exactly. Where the hell was the guy?!
Feeld was getting irritated. He had waited for two hours, and the person still hadn't shown up. What kind of business was this?
The most important thing in a transaction was punctuality and trustworthiness. Did this person understand that?!
Feeld spat out the cigarette butt he had been chewing on, crushed it a few times, and prepared to leave.
But just as he took a couple of steps, Feeld stopped in his tracks, then slowly turned his head to look at a tree.
There, next to the tree, was a figure cloaked in black.
Feeld furrowed his brow.
The tree was less than three or four meters away from where he had just been waiting. This guy...
"When did you arrive?" Feeld asked.
"Just as you arrived," the person in black replied calmly.
Judging by the voice, he seemed to be an older man, with a bit of a hoarse tone, but his aura was very stable, definitely a strong individual.
Feeld immediately smiled: "Oh, so you were here already. Why didn't you say anything? But it's okay, let's talk about what you want me to do!"
"I'm full of enthusiasm and energy when it comes to work!"
That enthusiastic demeanor made it seem like he wasn't the one who had just been fuming with anger and crushing cigarette butts.
The person in black seemed taken aback as well. He thought Feeld would explode in anger and question him.
How was he supposed to find a reason to beat him up now?
After a moment of silence, the person in black said, "The task is simple."
"Be my punching bag and spar until dawn."
Feeld raised an eyebrow, then chuckled.
This time, his laughter wasn't enthusiastic but mocking.
"Be your punching bag? That's not within my scope of work," Feeld said with a smile, simultaneously taking out his Angelic Heavy Hammer while lighting another cigarette. With one hand holding the cigarette, he wielded the hammer with the other.
"Or are you here to pick a fight?" Fe
eld asked, looking at the person in black.
The person in black replied, "One hundred thousand gold coins."
Feeld immediately stubbed out the cigarette, put away the hammer, and spread his arms.
"Come on, hit me head-on!"
"Boom!!!" Feeld flew backward for over a hundred meters, tumbling out another hundred meters after hitting the ground, and finally crashed onto a grassy slope before coming to a stop.
"Damn... that punch... packs a punch!" Feeld's mouth was bleeding, but he still smiled as he looked at the black-clad figure slowly approaching him.
This black-clad person was at least a Mithril-level fighter.
However, he had held back in that punch just now, so Feeld was able to withstand it with his body, only sustaining minor injuries.
This further confirmed Feeld's belief that the other party wasn't here to kill him.
But if not for that, then why?
Feeld's mind raced as he quickly analyzed the situation, while his body slowly climbed to its feet, smiling, he said, "Old man, do you cover medical expenses? That punch was brutal; I might need some extra cash for it."
"Covered," the black-clad person replied succinctly, then raised his fist.
Feeld could see that the pinky finger of his right fist was missing a piece, whether it was a natural occurrence or due to some other reason was unclear.
"Good," Feeld nodded, spreading his arms once again.
In the next moment, the black-clad person appeared in front of him.
That speed!
Feeld's pupils contracted; he couldn't even see how the black-clad person had come in front of him.
With no magical fluctuations, the other party must have relied on an explosive burst of physical speed, yet it was silent, without the loud noises usually associated with such a powerful burst.
Before Feeld could think, the punch landed squarely on his chin.
In that moment, Feeld felt his vision darken, almost losing consciousness.
He was sent soaring into the sky, and then the black-clad person appeared above him, bringing down a leg.
Feeld could only block with both hands instinctively, but he was still sent crashing down to the ground.
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Feeld shook his head, wincing as he moved his jaw, teeth clashing and making his gums bleed. Thankfully, he hadn't bitten his tongue; otherwise, it would have been certain to be bitten off.
He didn't know if his self-healing abilities could regenerate a bitten-off tongue, but he didn't want to experiment voluntarily.
"Wait a minute, no hitting the face!" Seeing the black-clad person raising his fist again, Feeld quickly raised his hand.
"My handsome face is worth a billion; let's agree, no hitting the face!" Feeld said earnestly.
The black-clad person: "..."
A billion for that ugly face?!
Then my missus must be worth ten trillion!!
Seeing Feeld's face, the black-clad person became irritated and once again flashed in front of Feeld.
A combination of punches came towards Feeld's chest, and Feeld raised both hands to block, but he couldn't keep up with the speed of the punches.
A dull boom rang out continuously as Feeld was repeatedly hit, but every time he stopped, he could stand up again, then smile and say, "Pay up!"
Satisfied, the black-clad person said, "Add fifty thousand gold coins."