Chapter 78: Sea Kings
The weather was clear, with no storms in sight. The crew seemed incredibly excited, feeling blessed and cheering enthusiastically.
Yet no one noticed.
In the waters surrounding the ship, a shadow grew larger and larger.
Faintly, it felt like the presence of an apex predator quietly rising from the depths, its aura enveloping heaven and earth.
"Something's wrong!"
"Danger!"
The two black-suited bodyguards finally reacted and turned to look.
Almost instantly,
an immense, towering figure suddenly burst through the ocean's surface, roaring toward the heavens.
The tremendous sound, almost tangible in its force, swept in all directions, threatening to shatter everyone's eardrums.
Simultaneously, the rising waves pounded against the massive sailing vessel, nearly capsizing it entirely.
A chorus of screams erupted
from the ship as panic descended. In this world's oceans, Sea Kings have virtually no natural predators. Their immense size grants them irresistible power. A single movement could easily capsize any ship.
Without a sufficiently powerful warrior standing guard, encountering these creatures would practically spell certain doom.
The Sea King's mountainous body blocked out the sky, completely obscuring the sunlight.
Soros and the others instantly broke into cold sweats, their faces pale as if defenseless civilians had encountered a tiger, the king of beasts, deep in the mountains.
The sky was darkened, and their hearts filled with dread.
"Don't attack! You're no match for it. Now we can only hope it doesn't bother dealing with us," Soros said, trembling as he restrained the black-suited bodyguards.
The two bodyguards, upon hearing this, broke into cold sweats. They had only instinctively wanted to fight back, but now, reminded of reality, they realized their own helplessness and quickly lowered their heads, trembling like frightened birds.
"This size doesn't qualify as a large Sea King. It's probably a medium-sized one, and a relatively small specimen at that."
Rhodes had studied the texts in the Revolutionary Army headquarters and understood the classification of these extraordinary creatures.
From small, medium, large, to colossal Sea Kings, their sizes spanned an incredible range.
Small Sea Kings measured only dozens of meters in length, while colossal Sea Kings could reach over five kilometers.
What was the concept of five kilometers?!
The average height of the Red Line was only ten thousand meters!
Two colossal Sea Kings linked together could theoretically reach the Celestial Dragons' holy land, potentially crushing Mariejois with a single blow.
Though even at such size, achieving such a feat would likely be impossible.
The Sea King before them, with its exposed portion above water, stood about forty to fifty meters tall. Including the submerged parts, it was estimated to be over a hundred meters long—making it relatively small for a medium-sized Sea King.
"Judging from its shape and characteristics, it's probably just a common cephalopod, relying on brute force rather than being a specialized Sea King like an electric eel."
Looking up at the Sea King, Rhodes observed it for a moment before breathing a sigh of relief.
Given a Sea King's size, if it were an electric eel, its electrical output would likely be far more terrifying than Enel's Goro Goro no Mi. It could instantly vaporize a small section of ocean—truly unstoppable.
Sea Kings were known as one of the three ancient weapons, and their reputation was well-deserved.
With a slight sigh,
Rhodes suddenly leaped upward, his figure treading through mid-air as if climbing invisible steps, ascending skyward step by step. In a flash, he stood above the Sea King.
Confronting it directly, Rhodes—a normal-sized human—appeared no larger than an ant. The creature's eyeball alone dwarfed Rhodes entirely.
A ferocious, terrifying aura, like that of an apex predator, mixed with the stench of the deep sea, assaulted his senses.
Rhodes remained expressionless, though he did wrinkle his nose slightly.
"Feel the power of thunder,"
he said indifferently, gazing into pupils that reflected his image like dark mirrors.
Crackle, crackle...
Brilliant lightning roared to life, piercing the sky like silver serpents. Sensing danger, the Sea King extended a tentacle dozens of meters long and thick as a massive pillar, slamming it down toward Rhodes.
Before the tentacle even struck, the resulting wind pressure nearly capsized the ship below, causing the very air to seem frozen.
It was this gust of wind that finally prompted Soros, the bodyguards, and others to look up.
Then they witnessed a scene they would never forget.
A distant figure in white, sword in hand, stood proudly dozens of meters in the air, bathed in a radiant aura of crackling electricity. Suddenly, he unleashed a single devastating slash.
"Ittōryū: Tenraikiri!" (One Sword Style: Heaven's Thunder Slash!)
Nothing could describe the sheer brilliance of this strike!
It seemed as if the very world had been severed. In the eyes of countless observers, only the radiant sword energy—a convergence of boundless lightning—appeared to pierce through heaven and earth.
This sword energy swept forward like a hurricane, effortlessly severing the Sea King's tentacles before piercing through the void, instantly striking the creature's head, which was larger than their entire sailing vessel.
"ROAAAAAR!"
The Sea King released a heart-wrenching cry of agony.
The sword had cleaved halfway through its massive head, and endless thunder erupted, instantly enveloping most of its colossal body.
The aroma of cooked meat wafted through the air.
Crackle, crackle...
The terrifyingly powerful electrical current, even from dozens or hundreds of meters away, gave Soros and the others the sensation of being electrocuted.
But the Sea King, true to its status as ruler of the seas, possessed incredibly tenacious vitality. Even as blood gushed out like a river, it remained very much alive.
How it managed this was beyond comprehension.
As Rhodes watched in amazement, the Sea King's eyes closed with surprising agility, and its entire body plunged into the sea with lightning speed. Within moments, it had completely vanished from sight.
"Damn..."
Rhodes couldn't help but mutter under his breath, feeling like his dramatic moment had been completely ruined—an incredibly uncomfortable sensation!
Fortunately, he was positioned quite high at the moment, and Soros and the others were so overwhelmed by the waves raised by the Sea King that they couldn't possibly notice his reaction.
Rhodes enjoyed the sea breeze for a while, then with a clang, sheathed his sword and slowly descended back to the ship. He glanced around and soon spotted the severed tentacle.
Although he'd "cut" it off, the piece was still longer than their entire ship.
"This should be edible, right? Does it taste good? How should we prepare it?"
A trio of foodie thoughts crossed his mind, and Rhodes found himself momentarily stumped because the tentacle was simply too large, too thick, and too long.
It was even longer than the giant snake Rhodes had killed during his combat assessment, and the thickness was incomparable.
Rhodes estimated that if he cut off just a small section, it would provide a satisfying meal.
"Well, let me ask Soros and the others."
End of Chapter 78
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