Facing all of this, Mark decisively used the Holy Light Incantation. The black energy mass, like ink, seemed to sense the power's terror and subtly retreated.
However, at this moment, an even more terrifying consciousness suddenly appeared above the energy. It was a blood-red eye. The instant Mark saw it, he felt as if his soul was about to freeze.
Endless killing intent and madness surged into Mark's consciousness, as if trying to drive him insane.
It seemed the real deal had arrived this time, but fortunately, the power only lingered for a moment before slowly dissipating, and Mark gradually recovered.
Then, the Holy Light Incantation erupted, directly obliterating the remnant consciousness of the Lady of the Waves. In a daze, Mark seemed to hear a "Thank you."
Ding! Congratulations, Host, on a glorious victory. You have gained experience...
The light continued to spread, directly dispelling the black mist gathered around Maeve, revealing the monstrous, terrifying form of the giant sea monster. Seeing its master gone, the giant sea monster plunged into a frenzy.
"Arooo..."
After a muffled roar, the sea monster charged towards the Snow Bear, seemingly preparing its final attack.
Maeve wouldn't let it have its way. With a powerful flap of her massive wings, she, wielding the Sword of Judgement, charged towards the sea monster. Targeting its giant left eye, she plunged the Sword of Judgement deep within.
"Awooo..."
Blue holy flames burned the sea monster's eye, causing it to roar in agony. But this excruciating pain only stoked its ferocity. Now, it disregarded everything, thrashing its tentacles desperately towards the Snow Bear.
Seeing that she couldn't stop the monster, Maeve unleashed a surge of powerful holy magic. She and her Sword of Judgement transformed into a golden tornado, hurtling forward like a drill.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted. The sea monster, now a bloody mess, was left with only half its head. The blue holy flames relentlessly burned its body, even the flesh submerged in the sea continued to burn.
Under the constant burning of the holy flames, the sea monster gradually lost its life, turning into a charred mass that sank into the sea. Seeing the sea monster dead, Maeve, exhausted, flapped her wings and returned to the Snow Bear.
Just then, a black object suddenly shot out from the slowly sinking, charred corpse of the giant sea monster in the sea. It swiftly swam towards the Snow Bear, just as Maeve landed on the deck.
A smaller, black sea monster suddenly leaped out of the sea, revealing a mouthful of fangs beneath its tentacles, and its target was Maeve.
Upon discovering this, Mark immediately charged forward, slamming the Flame Dragon's Tongue in his hand towards the attacking little sea monster. The Flame Dragon's Tongue sliced through the little monster's body as easily as cutting butter.
Mark also steadied Maeve, casting Vitality Regeneration on her. After recovering, Maeve quickly pulled away from Mark's embrace.
Ding! Congratulations, Host, on a glorious victory. You have gained experience...
Mark shook his head, finding her panic amusing, and then looked at the mermaid lying on the deck. At this point, her body had returned to normal, the black bone spurs that had grown out of her body retracting one by one.
Her fish tail had also reverted to its emerald green color, losing the initial dark green hue. Her skin had returned to its normal color, snow-white and smooth, as if it would drip water, looking many times more beautiful than before.
Mark took out an obsidian stone and shattered it directly in front of her. Golden Holy Light Incantation energy immediately acted upon her, healing her wounds.
This was Mark using the Holy Light Incantation "Vitality Regeneration" stored through "Enchantment." Ever since he successfully enchanted Thunderbolt, Mark had specifically studied "Enchantment" for other magical systems. In the game, only attack-type magic could originally use "Enchantment."
However, Mark never gave up on trying. After numerous experiments, Mark finally succeeded in enchanting other spells into obsidian. He also finally understood the pattern of the system's magic target locking.
Mark discovered that the obsidian that successfully underwent "Enchantment" would target the closest object. Basically, once the obsidian shattered, the magic would automatically lock onto the enemy, especially for attack-type magic. Mark would throw them directly at his opponents.
The successful enchantment of the "Vitality Regeneration" spell also gave Mark a new direction for development. In future wars, this would be a very effective strategic resource.
Later, Mark also conducted enchantment experiments on all Holy Light spells. When he succeeded for the first time, Mark fantasized that he could carry enchanted obsidian of Doomsday Judgement and bomb people everywhere.
It was just a pity that he later found out that the highest level of magic that could be enchanted was only level 3. Spells of level 4 and 5 could no longer be enchanted.
As the "Vitality Regeneration" spell took effect, the mermaid slowly woke up. She opened her blood-red eyes and looked around, somewhat confused. After seeing Mark and Maeve, she was frightened and flailed her tail, retreating several meters.
It seemed that the memories of the recent battle still lingered in her mind, making her very afraid of Mark and the others. Gradually, the mermaid's memories seemed to recover. She looked at Mark and the others, as if making a decision. Then, a faint blue light shone from her body.
After the light dissipated, a pair of "pink" tender jade feet gradually appeared. Shell-like objects covered her crucial areas, resembling an extremely short skirt. Her upper body was covered by something similar to a strapless top, barely concealing her "W"s!
The mermaid slowly got up, cleared her throat, and performed a noble bow, a gesture of humans, towards Mark. Then she said:
"Greetings! God who walks among humans, I am a Seaspeaker, a Nymph! May I ask which being's incarnation you are? In our tribe's memory, it seems that no gods have appeared on this continent for several millennia."
Before the First Men landed on the Westeros Continent, the old gods of that era would always manifest miracles. However, these gods lost their means of showing divine power due to the depletion of life energy and the destruction of weirwood trees.
The Three-Eyed Crow had told Mark that in his fragmented memories, there were indeed shadows of other races. But the time was too long ago, and he no longer remembered those brother races who once lived with them on the Westeros Continent. Their existence was even more unknown.
"I am not an incarnation of any god. I am just an ordinary person who knows magic. You... forgive my presumption! Are you the legendary Deep Ones?"
The mermaid's expression changed dramatically when she heard the word "Deep Ones." She looked at Mark with some fear and said:
"You... how did you know about them? According to human timekeeping, they have disappeared for tens of thousands of years. You... have you received any news?"
Mark shook his head and said, "I was just curious. Your race's legends have always circulated on this continent. I thought you were those guys!"
"No... no, you don't understand, sir. In our race's legends, they, like the Songweavers, are immortal beings. But at some point, they suddenly betrayed the life races and became the claws of some mysterious entity.
My people were once their slaves. But you're right, we are actually one of their descendants, a race created as a tool."
Nymph's words carried a hint of sadness, as if she was reminiscing about the past. It seemed she had experienced that terrible period.
But she quickly adjusted her emotions and said to Mark:
"Sir! Whispers of the Gods echo in my ears. You are the child of the future, the hope of this world. Please allow me to become your most loyal servant!"
"Ding! Diplomacy skill activated! Your powerful strength has made the mermaid admire you. She has decided to join your team. Do you agree?"
After Mark clicked yes, a burst of light suddenly erupted from his body. This light flashed in front of Mark and then instantly appeared on the mermaid Nymph. Following that, crackling sounds came from the light.
Subsequently, the mermaid's biological attribute panel appeared before Mark.
Creature: Mermaid (Special)
Creature Level: Level 6
Introduction: These beautiful creatures are the sea spirits of this world, the embodiments of luck and "lust."
Special Abilities: Soldier's Luck (Has a chance to increase the one-hit-kill rate of the hero's troops), Water Maiden (Has a chance to reduce damage by half when fighting at sea or in water), Siren's Song (Can control one enemy unit; cannot attack while in use; strength cannot exceed level 6), Sea Walker (Can grant Sea Walker status to friendly troops, 5 mana/person).
Caster: Can cast magic in battle, "Ice Bolt (Basic)" and "Winter's Ice Ring (Basic)"
Mana: 25
After the light dissipated, the mermaid, Nymph, appeared before everyone as if reborn. Waves of ethereal blue energy swirled around her, making her appear even more mysterious and noble. Her ruby-like eyes were filled with alluring charm, and her seductive, crimson hair made her look like a flame.
The Nymph, now devoid of her terrifying bone spurs and fish scales, looked even more human. Her entire being exuded an alluring beauty that would ensnare any ordinary person who gazed upon her.
Feeling the changes within her body, the Nymph trembled with excitement. She turned to Mark and thanked him:
"Thank you, Master! You have once again granted me new life. My life and soul will forever be bound to you, until the end of my days."
Suddenly, the Nymph seemed to remember something. She approached Mark slowly and whispered:
"Master! The Lady of the Waves' former palace lies deep beneath the sea. Would you like to see it? Although it's in ruins, my memories suggest there are some very interesting things inside."
Mark nodded. He told Henk and the others to wait, then beckoned Moonshadow and Maeve. He led them to the side of the ship, preparing to ask the Nymph how to activate the "Sea Walker" state.
Suddenly, the Nymph kissed him. Before Mark could react, a surge of warmth flowed down his esophagus and into his lungs. Two tube-like structures then extended from his lungs to behind his ears. Touching his ears, Mark realized he had grown gills.
Next came Moonshadow and Maeve. While Moonshadow was alright, Maeve's face flushed crimson. Being kissed for the first time, and by another woman, was a bit much for the usually dignified archangel to handle.
"Splash!"
Mark jumped into the sea. He didn't feel the cold he'd expected. Although he was only wearing a set of close-fitting clothes, he didn't feel cold at all.
Furthermore, Mark found that his senses seemed to have improved a lot. The fish around him scattered away after he entered the water, staring curiously at Mark, this strange creature. They seemed to sense a familiar scent on him.
Then, three more splashes were heard. Two large and one small "mermaids" appeared in front of Mark. After communicating with them through the soul link, the three, led by the Nymph, swam towards their destination deep in the ocean.
As the depth increased, everything around them gradually turned black. Just as it was about to become impossible to see the path ahead, the Nymph suddenly pointed to an area in front of them, seemingly wanting to express something. After Mark understood her meaning through the soul link, he nodded to her.
Then Mark embraced Moonshadow and Maeve, one on each side. Seeing that Mark was ready, the Nymph swam over, pushing Mark and the others forward with all her strength. After breaking through a cloud of black fog, Mark and the others arrived at a brand-new underwater world.
This was an inverted semi-circular area, which looked very spacious. The largest area was occupied by the ruins of a super-huge palace. The once magnificent palace was now reduced to broken walls. Gold and blue seemed to be the main colors here.
Hollow pillars, wave patterns, and shell-like decorations all revealed the palace's former glory.
Through the soul link with the Nymph, Mark learned that this palace was left behind by the Deep Ones. Later, it became the home of the mermaids. Because the mermaids didn't know how to build palaces deep underwater, the palace could only fall into disrepair day by day.
Until later, the Lady of the Waves, one of the Old Gods, responded to the mermaids' singing and came here, making this underwater ruin her home.
Later, for some unknown reason, the mermaids were all slaughtered and sacrificed to a terrifying god by the Lady of the Waves, while the Nymph was spared because she was her vessel.