Among the group guarding the ship's hatch, four individuals stood out due to their remarkable strength.
One of them, naturally, was the legendary knight Baron. At this moment, he stood bare-chested, his muscular, dark skin gleaming under the dim light, as he swung an axe with ferocity, slaughtering the sea monsters attempting to breach the ship's interior. Another was the bosun, a man who, despite having been seen many times before, revealed himself as a formidable warrior. Wielding a massive sword, his strength rivaled that of Baron, leaving onlookers in awe.
As for the other two, they were the apprentices of the wizards residing in the ship's quarters. Green had already learned their names— the male apprentice was named Yunli, and the female apprentice was called Bibilyona.
However, to the astonishment of Green and his companions, the two wizard apprentices not only performed the legendary art of sorcery, but their magic was so potent and bizarrely powerful that it defied belief.
The female apprentice, Bibilyona, appeared nervous when faced with the colossal sea monsters, but with the protection of the sailors around her, none of the monsters came close. Hidden behind the sailors, her golden hair billowed as a golden binding gaze appeared on her forehead, its piercing authority directed at the approaching creatures. This golden gaze seemed to be an energy form crafted from a mysterious elemental power, and the surrounding air rippled with its force.
With a soft cry, "Hah!" every sea monster that fell under the gaze of the golden binding screamed in agony, their bodies drying up as if all the water had been sucked from them, leaving them in a grotesque, mummified state.
In the span of only a few moments, no less than five sea monsters perished under the eerie golden stare. However, Bibilyona appeared unable to sustain the use of this magic for long, as she took a few shallow breaths, and the golden gaze faded.
Meanwhile, Yunli seemed utterly unfazed by the surrounding danger. His signature white mouse perched on his shoulder, oblivious to the threats around him. As for Yunli himself, his indifference toward the sea monsters was palpable, not out of arrogance, but rather an aloof disdain for everything outside of himself. His eyes, cold and detached, observed the strange oceanic creatures, a playful smile curling at the corners of his lips.
Yet, what truly set Yunli apart was his inscrutable sorcery.
Without any warning or mystical phenomenon, sea monsters began to inexplicably lose limbs or even heads, and one creature entirely vanished before their eyes, leaving only a snake-like tail no longer than twenty centimeters, its severed edge as smooth as a mirror, confirming that what they had witnessed was no illusion.
Green, Lafi, Yorkris, and Yorkliana stared in shock, their mouths agape in disbelief. With such bizarre and overwhelming power, it was no wonder that these two were lodged in the wizard's quarters!
Considering their capabilities, even Lafi, who had already learned sorcery, was no match for them. She, more than anyone, knew the extent of her own limitations. Her "magic" relied entirely on the magical artifacts her father had prepared for her, and without them, she couldn't even cast the simplest spell.
Although she had another powerful artifact prepared by her father, her magical energy was insufficient to wield it, and even if she could, facing these two sorcerous apprentices would still be hopeless.
Lafi realized the vast gulf between herself and the two apprentices, whose power was said to be unparalleled in the wizarding world. However, based on her knowledge of wizard secrets, she also understood that their extraordinary magic was beyond what their mental strength alone could achieve— it was most likely a manifestation of the legendary inherent talents attributed to them.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ship, the formidable wizard Dira hovered five meters above the deck. His wide grey robes fluttered as if battered by a hurricane. His face, flushed with unnatural redness, and the intricate gear spinning rapidly in his eyes indicated he was preparing to cast a powerful, destructive spell.
Above, two black tentacles, each over thirty meters long, slammed repeatedly into the deck, creating massive holes. From below, the terrified screams of apprentice wizards who had narrowly escaped echoed faintly.
Suddenly, everyone on the deck felt an involuntary tremor ripple through their bodies. Their gaze instinctively turned upwards, where, after an eerie silence, the oppressive air grew thick. In the next instant, a grey flame ignited in Dira's hand. The flame was silent, inconspicuous, and seemingly powerless, yet it sent waves of tremors through their bodies, as though it could consume all their gazes.
Even Yunli and Bibilyona, usually so composed, couldn't help but change their expressions, their eyes locked onto the grey flame in Dira's grasp.
"The Flame of Death Souls..." Dira's weakened voice seemed to carry an odd power, as though it reached into each person's mind, whispering in their ears. The moment the grey flame made contact with one of the octopus tentacles, the water beneath the ship erupted with agonizing, earth-shattering shrieks.
This new scream was far more intense than the previous one. The massive octopus, writhing in pain, sent waves crashing across the entire sea. In the next moment, as though burned by the flame, all the octopus's tentacles recoiled, and its head plunged into the depths, vanishing from sight.
"Master Wizard!" "Master!" The sailors and apprentices shouted with relief as the monstrous sea creature fled. Yet Dira raised his hand, forcibly suppressing his condition and halting the cheers. With a malevolent glare, his eyes swept over the sea monsters on the deck, and his grey robe shuddered as his body descended from the sky.
Wizards were known for their cruelty, and even the gentlest of them could not help but extinguish countless lives in their relentless pursuit of ultimate knowledge.
Dira glanced at the frozen corpse of a sea monster beneath his feet, seemingly studying something. His expression brightened, and he grinned maliciously. "Heh, just as I thought. These Uraldo sea monsters dared to break the treaty with the Human-Wizard Alliance, now they will face their annihilation!"
At his words, the scales of the frozen monster trembled, and to the horror of the onlookers, the once massive creature collapsed into a pile of skin. From it, countless purple-black centipedes emerged, each no larger than a palm, and what was more terrifying was that each centipede had four transparent wings...
"Finally, they're ready! Heh heh heh... Uraldo sea monsters, enjoy the nightmare that ancient wizards designed specifically to devour you. After so many years of peace, it seems you've forgotten the terror of human wizards! Heh heh heh, tremble in fear!" Dira roared madly.
The sea monsters, unable to comprehend human speech, felt an inexplicable terror emanating from the purple-black creatures. They instinctively leaped off the deck into the sea, desperate to escape.
The moment the centipedes emerged, their wings were soft and pliable, but within moments, they began to fly, charging toward the remaining sea monsters on the deck, ignoring the humans entirely, intent only on the octopus limbs scattered on the ground.
The sea monsters shrieked in terror, realizing that their once-proud scales were useless against the creatures, which burrowed into their bodies with reckless abandon. Even when some monsters grabbed the tails of the centipedes, tearing them off, the creatures continued to crawl into their bodies.
It was as if the sole purpose of these centipedes was to burrow into the deepest parts of the sea monsters.
Dira, watching the agonizing sea monsters, chuckled darkly. "Heh, if these parasites, created from the wisdom of ancient wizards, could be so easily killed, they would not be worthy of being called the Uraldo's nemeses. Nor would wizards deserve to be known as the masters of many worlds! Though their lives are but a day long, their sole purpose is to lay their eggs inside every Uraldo. And in just fifteen minutes, those eggs will hatch…"