Caldoon sped through the water using [Drill Jet], annihilating any ship he came across. He was on the warpath, actively seeking out ships within the fleet and tearing through them with all due efficiency. It wasn’t necessary to board any of these ships, so Caldoon put his all into ramming through them and putting them all out of commission.

  To his left, Caldoon spotted a schooner that had barbarians throwing themselves into the water. It looked like they wanted to start fighting him in his own territory, as if that were possible. The emperor quickly made a sharp turn left and plowed forward with all the speed he could muster.

  At the speed he was going and with the power of the spinning water around him, Caldoon tore through the waiting barbarians. He left a trail of blood in the water as he plowed through their forces with incredible ease. The emperor, however, wasn’t concerned with the barbarians as he continued through to the ship's keel.

  Just like the last dozen times today, he rammed into the ship and started tearing away at the wooden structure. This maneuver was something he practiced since he was a kid, back when his father still ruled the island. It took a lot of practice, but he eventually created an art that allowed him both mobility in water and a way to pierce through armored skin.

  After a few seconds, he already managed to drill through the wood to the interior. After jumping in, Caldoon extended his leg out and kicked the other wall, activating [Drill Jet] again and allowing him to push through the wooden hull. Another few seconds later, the hull burst apart, and Caldoon was launched back into the ocean.

  The rotational force continued to send him forward as Caldoon began winding his way around the ships. He was searching for his next target when he spotted something odd. Near the center of the fleet were several ships that didn’t have anyone attacking. Instead, the zaurians were standing there vigilantly, watching the obliteration of the ships but not reacting.

  The ships in question looked like cargo ships, with large hulls and twin masts. They had interiors designed for holding goods inside, which made Caldoon wonder: What could they be protecting if they weren’t attacking him? What could be so important that they were forced to hold back and watch him destroy their ships? These questions plagued Caldoon enough to force him to rethink his plan.

  Using [Whisper], he sent a message to Triton.

  “Do you see the cargo ships huddled around the flagship? I think we should aim to capture those. Keep destroying the schooners, and then we’ll take the flagship. After that we’ll clear out the guards on those cargo ships.”

  Shortly after delivering that message, he received a [Whisper] from Triton confirming the plan.

  [Whisper] was one of the arts devised by scholars, and an extremely useful one as well. It allows you to send a mental message to anyone within a certain range, so long as you’ve established a connection with them. It allowed Triton to update Caldoon on anything going on around the island and Caldoon to call Triton when he needed him.

  Lukey currently wasn’t at the point where he could learn it, though that would change if he reached level thirty.

  Speaking of which, Caldoon had to finish this up if he wanted to check up on the kid. Either Lukey was still stuck in the Labyrinth, or… Caldoon would rather not think about that. He knew rushing to the labyrinth right now would change nothing, despite Leah’s insistence. It would, however, alleviate the growing worry that was gnawing away at him.

  First came Leah with news that Lukey was gone for an entire day, then came the attack by the Zaurian Dominion and the Conquerors. All that came after another meeting with the elders of all the villages, each one complaining about how monsters were slowly infesting the island and demanding Caldoon do something about it.

  There was no money, no manpower, and no resources, but the elders didn’t care. They just wanted someone to take care of their problems. Problems that Triton and Caldoon have been trying to quash but unfortunately have been piling up as of late. This invasion was just one in a long list of things that needed to be solved, and Caldoon felt the pressure build up by the second.

  I could just use [Megajaws], wipe out all these ships, and be done with it. It would be so easy…

  Caldoon shook away the thought. [Megajaws] was far too destructive to use here. If he wanted to secure those cargo ships, he needed to avoid using the art. If only he had an art he could control with accuracy like Triton’s water formations; unfortunately, he had to make it as destructive as possible to fight in the abyssal depths.

  Maybe if I wasn’t so busy, I could focus on creating new art…

  Caldoon quickly brought himself back from his thoughts, then looked onward to his next target. He spun the water around him faster and charged fist-first towards another ship full of adversaries. Fueled by frustration, he pushed [Drill Jet] as fast as it could go and began rocketing through the water. He blitzed through the water, slamming into the ship and going right through it.

  It took no effort to destroy this ship like it did before, but Caldoon didn’t stop to think about that as he charged forward full of built-up frustration. He didn’t notice it, but his body had become burning hot, and the heat added to his speed as he glided through the water with far more ease than before. He aimed for another ship, and it only took a second before he appeared on the other side of another gaping hole.

  Caldoon was about to aim for another ship when he sensed something was off. He had a sensory art that told him where enemies were hidden, and his art told him that one of the barbarians was preparing for a massive attack. By their grasp on the earth element, Caldoon could feel that they were roughly a stage three sovereign. This worrying sign snapped him out of his fury, and he quickly ducked beneath the water to avoid whatever attack was coming his way.

  Caldoon stopped beneath the water and looked up at the ship he was aiming for. It was fine for a moment, until an energy wave went right through the ship and parted the sea. Shortly after that attack, the ship split into two halves and began sinking into the sea. The emperor looked up in worry, then began to consider what had just happened.

  If Caldoon kept charging, he would’ve probably ended up in the same condition as the ship. Fortunately, years of fighting and labyrinth delving made him an experienced warrior who knew when to stow his emotions. His emotions seemed to aid him more than hurt him in this situation, though, as they may have just accidentally led to the discovery of a new art.

  I felt my body get hot, and it propelled me forward along with the water. I felt the heat from my body and the pressure weighing me down… Maybe that’s what I’m missing.

  [Drill Jet] only used water to propel the emperor forward. In all his years, he never discovered a way to use earth to boost his movement; he knew about volcanoes and geysers but never figured out enough to replicate the practice. Yet, he had just figured it out seemingly by accident: heat and pressure. Heat makes things rise, and pressure pushes them down; combine them, and they could be used to propel anything forward.

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  First, Caldoon began heating up his body using his control over earth. His body began to run hot like a molten core, and his skin felt like hardened stone as his body began to change form. This would kill any ordinary person, but unlike most people, Caldoon had the vitality and strength to maintain this transformation.

  Next, Caldoon grasped the water around him and began applying pressure from all sides of his body except in the direction he was headed. It started to feel like he was once again swimming along the ocean floor, being crushed from above and below by earth and water alike. The water pressured his entire body, while his body pushed it back with the might of the earth. All this combined with an unbearable heat that sought to escape his body.

  And when the heat reached its peak, the emperor exploded.

  …

  “Did that last strike kill him?”

  On the deck of one ship, peering over the edge, was a group of Zaurians. After the most recent strike on the one drilling through their ships, they had begun scouting the water to look for a body. It cost them a ship, but the attack was disguised in a way that it would have been impossible to dodge once it was launched.

  However, although the attack was successful, nobody spotted a carcass in the water, besides those of their fellow guild members.

  “I don’t see a body. Do you think he dodged it?

  “How? That [Axe Wave] broke the speed of sound! There was no way he dodged it, unless he somehow knew the attack was coming.

  “He must’ve had some kind of powerful sensory art… But he doesn’t fight like a pugilist or a swordsman. What kind of class does this maniac have…

  “SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!”

  The individual that was currently giving them a death glare was none other than Guild Leader Donna. She had the same dominating nature as Dravus, but with several differences. She was just as tall as Dravus and similarly had yellow scaled skin but was far skinnier with more angular limbs and wiry muscles. Her face was far sharper as well, not unlike her axe.

  Donna had a skull that jutted outwards into one large rectangular horn behind her head. Hiding her face was a mask carved from a hawk skull. Around her upper and lower body, she wore the hides of beasts that were dried and poorly stitched together; the pieces of fur parted in the middle to display her midsection.

  The final item of note was Donna’s axe. Her weapon of choice was a hatchet with an arm-length rectangular blade and a handle that extended to the size of a staff. The barbarians scouting over the deck quickly abandoned their search and focused on the guild leader. The first thing they noticed was the steam still rising from the axe that annihilated a ship not a moment before.

  “Whoever we are dealing with will be extremely sorry they ever crossed the Conquerors.” Donna said. “Once we manage to secure them, we’ll torture them until they tell us everything about the island, including why no one has been successful in securing it yet. For now, SHUT UP AND KEEP SEARCHING!”

  The barbarians saluted their guild leader, then went right back to the railing to look at the water below. The roiling seas were littered with the broken pieces of their ships and people that were thrown overboard. Some of those people were already dead from trying to stop the drill’s rampage, and there were patches of crimson visible everywhere on the surface of the ocean.

  One patch stood out above the rest, glowing with a light that made it shine against the dark red backdrop. The barbarians focused on the light, attempting to discern whatever lurked in the ocean depths.

  The light within the ocean began to grow even brighter, boiling with red heat and fogging up the air with steam. The barbarians thought they could see a shadow in the depths but couldn’t make it out against the murky water. Fortunately, their guild leader was watching too, and she seemed to notice something as her eyes went wide with realization.

  “HIT THE DECK!”

  In that moment, everybody jumped back and ducked in response to the oncoming threat. Not a moment later, the ocean erupted with the force of a volcano, launching a figure into the sky. The individual glowed with a molten light as he flew through the salty air at full speed. The way he sailed through the sky made him look like a burning meteor as he descended back down to the sea, right towards their ship.

  The volcanic man threw himself right into the side of their ship, blasting through the hull in a molten explosion. The ship was thrown back in response to the blitz, rocking violently to the side and making all the people on board tumble down the deck of the ship. The guild leader, by contrast, was fine, as she had managed to grab hold of the railing before the impact.

  Everything seemed fine, but the attack wasn’t finished. Steam began to rise from the deck before the center exploded in a mess of splinters. Inside was the same red glow that slammed itself into the hull of the ship earlier. The volcanic man burst out of the hull through the freshly made opening and charged right at the guild leader.

  Donna’s eyes went wide with surprise before narrowing them, focused on her enemy. Before the man-made impact, she wedged her axe into the ground and threw herself to the side. She was forced to watch the man annihilate the area where she once stood as she braced for the landing. When she landed, she quickly donned a battle stance and aimed her axe toward the intruder. Her enemy did the same, quickly grabbing the spear tied to his back and aiming it at the guild leader.

  They both stood in place, and neither said anything to the other, as there was no point. Zaurians spoke with violence; there was no need for false chivalry or notions of mercy. If you want to say something, you say it through your actions, and their expedition group made their intentions very clear already. The man before Donna also had very clear intentions; he wanted to protect this island and destroy their fleet.

  They both stood on opposite sides with opposite beliefs; there wasn’t any room to negotiate, only death.

  …

  “One hundred and four, one hundred and five, one hundred and…”

  Lukey stood in front of the stalker, stabbing it with his spear and counting every thrust.

  Lukey had difficulty bringing it down, but eventually it did go down with all its limbs severed from its body. The stalker was rendered completely immobile and was forced to watch Lukey stab it to death in a terribly slow and painful manner.

  As it turned out, the way Lukey did it was in fact the easiest way to take down the stalker: by severing its limbs and bringing down the body. This came with one drawback, though: he still needed to kill the stalker itself, and that was easier said than done.

  The stalker had a hard onyx shell covering both the top and bottom of its body. While it would do nothing to protect it against an abyssal predator, it absolutely kept Lukey from stabbing right into the shell to get to the gut. This, combined with the fact that the stalker’s guts and brain were deep into its body, made the creature a pain to kill.

  Lukey could go to the stalker’s face and try to stab its brain like he did last time, but those jaws were still moving, and Lukey did not want to take any more risks than he already had. Instead, there were narrow gaps around the body where Lukey could thrust his spear into, and he settled to attack through them to try and end the stalker.

  Lukey was glad he didn’t try to fight this thing directly, since it seemed to be almost impossible to kill it with the spear he had. The fact was this was a level eighty monster, far above him and with a far larger pool of health than anything he had faced up to until now. Its vitality alone made the stalker too impossible for Lukey to kill, with all the damage he did only being skin deep.

  Lukey was forced to hurry too. The water that was only gently pushing him earlier was now rushing toward the exit with full force. The once clear sandy bottom of the floor now had water that reached Lukey’s knees in depth. It all rushed toward the exit of the room, telling Lukey, not so subtly, that it was time to leave.

  The only thing the fisherman could do right now was keep stabbing away at the stalker. Each stab was only superficial, but it did wear away at the stalker and brought it closer to death. This was how Lukey reached the point of stabbing the stalker a hundred times.

  Lukey was pretty sure it would take a hundred more stabs to end the stalker, but after a few more strikes he finally managed to hit something vital. Shortly after, however, a massive wave of aether crashed into his body and began working its way into his system. Every fiber of his body was in pain as it turned red and began tearing itself apart. He could no longer keep his body straight, so to avoid the water, he climbed on top of the stalker’s shell and flopped down.

  Eventually, Lukey was no longer able to stay conscious. He blacked out on top of the stalker’s corpse with his arms and legs spread out, racked with pain. His last conscious thought was that the water below him was still rising.