Chapter 550 Golden Sea

Ten days later.

A black-sailed behemoth was sailing on the boundless sea.

In the captain's cabin, Suren was meditating when a flash of golden light outside the window startled him.

He opened his eyes, and looking at the bright sunlight outside the window, he walked to the window. Through the glass, he saw a golden, sparkling sea.

"So, we've reached the Golden Sea..."

Suren looked at the charming golden ocean outside the window and mentally calculated the voyage, guessing the Dawn Mercenary Group's current location.

This was an area marked as the "Golden Sea" on the Dragon Kingdom's nautical chart. Because the seawater contained a kind of golden seaweed, the sunlight reflected a golden glow, making it look like a sea paved with liquid gold.

It was a spectacular sight that couldn't be seen anywhere else.

The golden sunlight spilled into the cabin, making all the furniture seem as if it had been gilded.

Just then, Qian Tiao's lazy voice sounded in the room, "Oh, where are we?"

"Golden Sea."

Suren responded and added after a moment, "In about two or three days, we'll reach the Ancient Dragon Kingdom Ruins. That's a truly dangerous sea area."

These days, he and Mr. Black in the Little Void Realm had carefully studied all the books and documents they had plundered from the Silver Dragon Royal Family. Comparing them with Bartolo's account, they had almost confirmed a lot of information about the dangerous sea areas. They had encountered dangers frequently along the way.

That's right, they were about to arrive at the "Ancient Dragon Kingdom Ruins."

After hunting the Silver Dragon, Suren and the others didn't continue to follow the magic airship fortress.

Because there was no point in following.

After wiping out three ten-thousand-man legions, the next encounter would surely be met with preparation, making the battle very risky.

Without the external force of the Silver Dragon, the current Dawn Mercenary Group didn't have the strength to confront several ten-thousand-man magic legions head-on.

There was no benefit in following.

Therefore, diverting the course was the best choice.

Moreover, the goal of those guys from the Celestial God Plane in the Dragon Kingdom sea area was to find the Mimir Spring.

*

Suren knew where the spring was. He had the Dragon Kingdom's nautical chart, and Bartolo, a guide who had been to the ruins, plus Tani and his mother, Friedel, two perception-type members with absolute nautical assistance. The probability of finding the spring was very high.

If they could successfully intercept it, it would completely ruin the plans of those people in the Celestial God Plane, even better than wiping them out.

So, these days, the Dawn Mercenary Group had been sailing along the route taken by the Black Sam Pirate Group thirty years ago.

Qian Tiao's expression didn't change when she heard this.

She stretched lazily, her ample bosom, unrestrained by bandages, trembled slightly. She beckoned to Suren, "Let's go get some fresh air on the deck?"

Suren was slightly surprised and asked with a hint of anticipation, "Sister Qian Tiao, have you broken through?"

Qian Tiao had been in seclusion ever since they hunted the Silver Dragon last time.

She, who was so restless, hadn't even gone out. He didn't expect her to want to go out today.

She must have made a breakthrough in her cultivation.

Qian Tiao raised her eyebrows slightly, knowing that he was asking about the Sword God realm, but that description wasn't accurate. She also found it troublesome to explain, so she only replied, "It's still early. I just had some insights."

"Oh."

Suren shrugged. As expected, it wasn't that easy to break through.

Thinking that he hadn't been on deck for a few days, he said, "Let's go, let's go take a look."

Qian Tiao also got up, took off her swordsman robe, walked to the mirror, and picked up the bandages to wrap around her chest. She pouted, seeming to think that it was always troublesome to bind her breasts when going out.

While wrapping her chest, she looked at Suren in the mirror, who was watching with interest. Ignoring his gaze, she asked, "By the way, has Dr. Banks' 'Thunder Dragon Bloodline Potion' been successfully developed?"

"Not yet."

Suren shook his head and added, "But it should be soon. The laboratory said that they are already conducting sample experiments."

He knew that Qian Tiao was asking about the gene potion, naturally wanting to fuse a biomechanical armor.

The seventh-order Lightning Blue Dragon that the Dawn Mercenary Group had hunted before had been made into the biomechanical armor [Isaac's Dragon Tattoo Golden Body - Thunder Dragon].

However, because the main material was a pure-blooded Blue Dragon, the grade of the refined biomechanical armor was very high. Even though Qian Tiao herself had a high affinity for lightning, the possibility of mutation during fusion was still very high.

Under normal circumstances, she might have a certain chance of success only after she reached the eighth tier.

But fortunately, the Dawn Mercenary Group had the ceiling-level alchemist of the current Alchemy Plane. There was still a shortcut to this fusion.

Once the gene potion was successfully developed, she could equip this legendary biomechanical armor like she did with the [Void Hand] in the fifth tier.

This method of equipping a high-end biomechanical armor would give alchemists an irreplaceable advantage in combat power compared to those of the same tier.

Qian Tiao's expression in the mirror was slightly regretful when she heard this, and she muttered, "Oh, that's a pity. I was still thinking about fusing the seventh-order biomechanical armor to see what the eighth-order domineering body is all about. After the last battle with that Silver Dragon, I vaguely touched some deep insights into the domineering aura protecting the body. I've also had some clues during meditation these days, but my physical strength is not enough to support some of my ideas, and I don't know if they're right..."

"..."

Suren couldn't help but twitch the corner of his eye.

She had already grasped the insights of the eighth-order domineering body?

Just like when she thought there was no threshold to understanding the domain, these words always gave people a sense of pretending to be invisible.

However, Suren was also full of joy and anticipation.

Qian Tiao's strength didn't rely entirely on talent, but also came from her steady progress.

But Qian Tiao herself didn't seem to feel much about her exaggerated progress, and her expression remained calm. She had already wrapped her chest and hung her sword on her waist.

The two then walked out.

...

At this moment, the deck of the Eternal Night was bustling.

"Wow... I've caught three more golden shells! Haha, I'm the 'luckiest star' in the group!"

"You don't count, Miss Number Nineteen is our ship's 'luckiest angel'!"

"Oh, of course, how can I compare with Captain Number Nineteen."

"..."

This Golden Sea not only had golden seaweed, but the seabed also had many shellfish that fed on seaweed, which gave them very beautiful golden shells.

Although the gold content was not high, those golden shells and conches were natural works of art. If they were taken back to Luyin Marfa to be auctioned, they might not be cheaper than real gold.

The crew members were also enthusiastically fishing in the sea, which was a small pleasure during the voyage.

Suren and Qian Tiao had just come up when they happened to hear the first mate, Tani's, voice from the ship's loudspeaker: "Everyone be careful, we have already passed Elephant Island. Ahead is the territory of the Titan Sirens. There may be many large deep-sea monsters in the sea..."

Everyone looked back and saw Tani in the cockpit.

However, his warning not only didn't make the atmosphere on the ship become heavy, but the crew members all laughed at him.

"Hahaha, are we going to improve our meals tonight again? Captain Tani, it's up to you to find those sea monsters, and the rest will be left to our 'whaling team'!"

"Oh, our 'artillery team' has just launched new equipment and needs a big monster to test its firepower. If any short-sighted monster attacks the ship, just watch us..."

"We can't let your artillery group do it! The prey shot by the artillery last time tasted like gunpowder, what a waste..."

"Everyone, don't just think about eating, the partners in the laboratory said they need samples, it's best to catch a few alive!"

"..."

Everyone joked and laughed, and the ship was full of laughter.

These years of battles had made the Dawn Mercenary Group more and more cohesive, and the cooperation between the members had become more and more tacit. For them, who had already hunted two pure-blooded dragons, everything didn't seem so difficult anymore.

So much so that even when encountering powerful sea monsters, everyone only thought about adding a few kinds of rare ingredients that they had never eaten before to their dinner, rather than risks.

Everyone had a strange confidence that if they encountered difficulties, the Dawn Mercenary Group would unite and be able to solve them.

...

The fresh sea breeze blew on their faces, and both felt refreshed.

Suren and Qian Tiao walked to the deck and happened to hear their partners discussing what to hunt for food tonight.

At this time, Lolota, who was practicing wind-cutting on the mast, spotted Suren and Qian Tiao coming out. Her expression instantly brightened, and she landed lightly on the deck.

She originally wanted to scare Suren and the others, but both of them were expressionless.

Lolota's boring expression of not scaring anyone instantly became full of anticipation, and a sly look flashed in her pure eyes. She probed in a roundabout way, "Teacher, you've been in seclusion for so long, they all say that you're going to break through the Sword Saint and advance to the Sword God..."

Qian Tiao, hearing this, knocked her head with the scabbard in annoyance, "It's still early! You girl don't understand your own sword intent, and follow the crowd all day long..."

"Ouch, Teacher, why are you hitting my head again?"

Lolota touched her forehead and said resentfully with a pout, "Mr. Black said that hitting people's heads all the time will make them stupid."

Saying that, she glanced at Suren next to her, revealing a playful smile.

Suren couldn't help but laugh.

During the conversation, the crew members on the deck saw the two of them walking on the deck, and they greeted them enthusiastically, "Mr. Suren, Sister Qian Tiao!"

Everyone surrounded them, talking all at once. Of course, the most asked question was whether Qian Tiao had advanced to the Sword God realm.

Qian Tiao's explanation was also a bit helpless. It was difficult to describe anything above the Saint realm, and the so-called Sword God realm was too general. She did touch a bit of the threshold of cutting rules, but how could that little bit of understanding be described in words.

And coincidentally, probably because the noise was too loud, it alarmed the monster at the bottom of the sea.

At this time, with a "splash" of sea waves, a tentacle suddenly emerged from the sea in the distance.

Someone shouted excitedly, "Wow, we just said sea monster, and the sea monster came to our door!"

Everyone thought it was a big eel and had already thought about whether to grill it or make sashimi.

But upon closer inspection, countless tentacles emerged from the sea.

It turned out that it was not an eel, but an ugly tentacle monster like a sarcoma. It had the signature jagged teeth of hell creatures and giant compound eyes that made people's scalps tingle.

Compared to its bloated sarcoma body, the tentacles were very slender, like red threads.

No matter how you looked at it, it was not a normal creature, but an irregular monster after mutation.

Suren frowned as he identified it as a [Mutated Hell Titan Serpent (Sixth-Order Silver)].

The crew members who were still thinking about hunting sea beasts for food before all looked ugly.

"Ah... this sea monster is so ugly. Can this thing be eaten?"

"Is there some kind of mutation source nearby? Otherwise, how could there be mutated monsters? It looks like a legendary hell creature..."

"Yeah. Such a huge monster has been polluted and mutated, the source of pollution must not be simple. We have to be careful."

Many of the Dawn Mercenary Group came from Old London, and they were too familiar with mutation.

Seeing the strange-looking monster in front of them, they naturally immediately thought of the source of mutation.

Suren also frowned, and the first thing that came to his mind was this question.

He was not surprised that there would be mutated monsters of the Hell race in the sea.

Because Bartolo had said before that there were a large number of hell creatures and mutated creatures in the depths of the Ancient Dragon Kingdom Ruins.

However, that creature was located hundreds of nautical miles further west, why did it appear near the Golden Sea?

Before he could think too much, the tentacles of the tentacle monster danced like seaweed, looking like it wanted to cause trouble for the Dawn Mercenary Group?

Because it had Titan bloodline, the monster was very large, and there were many tentacles underwater.

The sea surface rolled with waves, looking like tentacles were probing over.

The Dawn Mercenary Group, who had been so enthusiastic about hunting sea monsters for meat before, looked disgusted and no one actively wanted to go into the sea. Instead, the artillerymen were ready to give the ugly monster two shots.

But at this time, Qian Tiao muttered, "So ugly!"

As soon as the words fell, a domineering sword energy soared into the sky from the deck.

Hearing the sharp sound of a long sword being unsheathed, it seemed like a flash of cold light passed by in an instant.

But upon closer inspection, all they could see was her slow movement of sheathing her sword.

At this time, a wave of air finally arrived late, blowing the clothes of the people on the deck.

Suren's pupil power keenly captured her movements, and he muttered in his heart: "As expected, she has become stronger again."

Looking again, a sword energy like a spatial crack quickly swept across the deck and rushed straight towards the monster.

If you looked at it from the side, you could see that it was a crescent moon sword energy. After the sword energy left the blade, it became bigger and bigger, and finally became dozens of meters long.

The sea monster hundreds of meters away had not yet had time to wreak havoc, and a blood line appeared on the compound eye on its head. Then, with a "唰" sound, blood splattered everywhere, and half of its head slid down, revealing a smooth cut wound.

It was cut in half with one blow, and scarlet exploded!

Seeing this, everyone on the deck was stunned for a moment, and then burst into fierce cheers.

"Wow, Sister Qian Tiao is so amazing!"

"This sword is too terrifying, she killed such a powerful monster without accumulating energy?"

"My God, Sister Qian Tiao, is this the realm above the Sword Saint?"

"..."

Everyone discussed excitedly.

Even Suren thought it was very strong.

Just a casual slash killed a sixth-order silver monster, which was truly amazing.

At least the previous Qian Tiao would never have been so relaxed.

Moreover, Suren saw something else. That sword energy was not just a physical slash, but seemed to be some kind of higher-level destruction.

Otherwise, the energy fluctuations measured by the eye were not enough to cut such a huge monster in two.

She hadn't drawn her sword for so many days, and Qian Tiao, with her personality, must have felt suffocated. She just casually slashed, but looking at the result, she frowned slightly, seemingly not too satisfied, as if something was missing.

...

The monster was killed before it could cause any trouble, and the Dawn Mercenary Group lost the excitement.

Some people on the ship took small boats to the sea to salvage some fragments of the corpse.

They couldn't eat it, but they could dismantle curse materials and leave some samples for the biological laboratory.

Suren and Qian Tiao were watching the crowd busy by the ship's rail when they heard slight footsteps.

Suren turned his head and looked over, greeting with a smile, "Senior Bartolo, you're here."

Bartolo nodded with a smile, then turned to look at Qian Tiao, whom he hadn't seen for ten days, and praised again, "That sword of yours just now was really good. Using intent to break the law, this path is very suitable for your sword way."

Qian Tiao also looked respectful when she heard this, "Thank you also for your previous guidance, Senior."

She also truthfully expressed her doubts to this sword way senior who had guided her many times, asking for advice, "Senior, when I slashed that sword just now, it seemed like there was some resistance, not allowing me to slash it down. Otherwise, the power of that sword should have been greater."

Bartolo smiled with a complicated expression when he heard this, and explained: "That is the backlash of the laws of heaven and earth. After your strength reaches a certain limit, you will find that the laws begin to reject you, because you have gradually glimpsed the true meaning of 'them'. Originally, it was impossible for you to understand and come into contact with this at your level, so it is normal for you to be confused. You will understand when you advance to the eighth level."

Qian Tiao didn't know if she understood, and looked thoughtful.

Anyway, Suren next to her didn't understand.

But he also understood that Qian Tiao's sword had the power of law beyond her own level.

However, after the two finished talking about the sword way, Suren also pointed to the distant mutated monster corpse and asked, "Senior, I remember you said that the monsters of the Hell race should be further west, is it normal for them to appear here?"

The Dragon Kingdom sea area was an extremely dangerous area, and Suren did not dare to be careless at all.

If there were any abnormalities, it was best to understand them.

"This is also what I find strange."

Hearing this, Bartolo also looked suspicious, and pondered for a moment before responding: "When we came more than twenty years ago, we would encounter mutated creatures of the Hell race at least several hundred nautical miles further west. And this boundary is very clear, because the mutated monsters of the Hell race only live in places where the hellish aura is strong, the higher the level, the more so. That range is a large circle, which is far less than the Golden Sea side."

Suren understood instantly when he heard this, and asked back: "You mean, that hellish aura has spread over?"

Bartolo nodded and said: "That is the only possibility. It is probably because the hell volcano in the depths of the ruins has erupted again, which has led to the spread of the hellish aura, and the territory of the monsters has also expanded outwards."

After a pause, a trace of solemnity appeared in his eyes, and he added: "That is to say... from now on, we have actually entered the most dangerous area."

"Mm."

Suren's gaze also became slightly solemn as he listened.

Although they were following the route of the Black Sam Group, nearly thirty years had passed, and many sea areas had changed. Just like this mutated monster that appeared on the periphery.

That is to say, even if they went in the same way, they would encounter many unpredictable dangers.

From now on, the real test has begun.