Chapter 42: True Form

The first things to break the surface of the water were a pair of dazzling yellow spherical objects, long mistaken by many as ship lights.

But now, up close, they realized those were not ship lights at all, but a pair of eyes—the eyes of a colossal beast.

The gigantic monster approached the shore, and through the thick sea fog, Lucas finally saw its true form clearly.

It was a huge creature with a fish-shaped head, its entire body covered in dark green-black scales.

Its massive mouth was filled with jagged, unevenly arranged sharp teeth, some protruding grotesquely beyond its lips.

At this moment, the creature gaped its blood-red maw, exhaling thick sea mist.

The surrounding environment grew even more blurred, leaving only the gleaming eyes of the monster visible.

“What… what exactly is that thing?”

With just one glance, Eloma collapsed to the ground, retreating backward in terror.

She wanted to run, but her legs trembled uncontrollably, and she completely lost the strength to stand.

Lina also stared at the monstrous creature in shock.

She had never imagined something like this could exist within the kingdom’s borders. What kind of devilish thing was this?

Compared to them, Lucas was much calmer.

For some reason, fear seemed completely absent from his mind.

Perhaps from the moment he became a Knight of the Divine, the feeling of fear had simply vanished.

“Lina, Eloma, fall back.”

Lucas gripped his saw spear tightly.

“I’m going to kill this thing.”

“Are you kidding?”

Nori blocked Lucas’s path.

“How could you possibly fight that beast in this dense fog?”

To be honest, Lucas didn’t know what to do either.

His body was far too small compared to this monster; it was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

But he couldn’t just leave it here.

As long as that thing remained, more victims would appear every day.

From within the sea fog, the voices of fishmen echoed endlessly.

A large group of them surged through the mist and appeared before them.

Lucas had killed so many fishmen this afternoon, yet it hadn’t cleared them out completely.

And now, here was another massive group.

How many fishmen were there, really?

“Again…”

Nori muttered, watching the swarm of fishmen.

The Blizzard swirling around her grew fiercer, causing the temperature around them to drop significantly.

Though Lucas wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, it seemed that under Nori’s Blizzard influence, the surrounding sea fog was thinning considerably.

So that’s how it is…

“Nori, I’ll leave the fog to you.”

Lucas placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Blizzard—don’t stop.”

Nori didn’t fully understand Lucas’s meaning but nodded and did her best to maintain the Blizzard.

“I’ll go deal with the big guy. You take care of these fishmen.”

“Got it. Leave it to me.”

“Take me with you.”

Lina stepped beside Nori, gripping her sword.

“It’ll be tough handling so many alone.”

Eloma hesitated at the back but then came forward to stand with them.

In a situation like this, she couldn’t just run off alone.

“I-I-I… I can only offer a little help. I’m not good at fighting.”

Lucas smiled.

It was enough to leave the rest to them.

He turned to face the giant monster and, without hesitation, lifted his saw spear and strode toward it.

“Although I don’t know what you are,” Lucas said as he approached the creature, “you don’t belong in this world. You must die here.”

The monster finally stopped spewing sea mist.

One of its hands emerged from beneath the waves and rose beside its body.

What about the other hand?

For some reason, Lucas felt a terrible premonition.

Two iron chains snaked out from both sides.

Lucas had been so focused on the monster that he completely ignored the sunken shipwrecks nearby.

At the last moment, Lucas raised his saw spear and blocked the chains, slicing them apart.

This situation was truly tricky.

On top of the unequal size difference, he had to face three opponents at once.

This was going to be a tough battle…

As Lucas fended off the chains, the monster raised its hand and slammed it toward him.

Lucas knew he couldn’t block this blow.

He had no choice but to dodge by stepping across the water’s surface to one side.

The strike sent a splash towering several meters high, blinding Lucas’s vision.

From within the spray, the monster’s claw burst through the waves, reaching to grab him.

Lucas’s saw spear blocked the massive claw.

He pulled and slashed, trying to cut through it.

But the scales were incredibly tough.

After a long stalemate, Lucas felt his saw spear’s edge dulling without making the slightest impression on the claw.

“This thing…”

Lucas cursed silently.

“How can its skin be this tough?”

The chains came again.

Locked in battle with the giant claw, Lucas noticed the chains’ attack but had no time to dodge.

If he did, the claw would surely hit him.

If that happened, there would be no chance to fight back.

Two sparks flew as the incoming chains were deflected by something else.

The surrounding air grew colder.

Even though Lucas couldn’t see who had come, he already guessed.

“Nori?”

Wasn’t she supposed to be holding off the fishmen on the shore?

How did she get here?

Looking behind Nori, Lucas saw her ice powers had partially frozen the sea surface. She was literally stepping on the frozen water, arriving at his side.

“Sorry, I took the initiative.”

Nori stood beside Lucas.

“Lina agreed—she said she can handle things over there.”

With that, Nori used her ice magic to coat the giant hand with a thin layer of ice.

“I can’t just watch you fight that thing alone. After all, you saved me twice. It’s time I returned the favor.”

The Blizzard seemed to intensify further.

Even the surrounding seawater began to freeze, locking the monster’s massive claw in place.

Finally, Lucas could catch his breath.

Incredible—Lucas had been slashing at this creature’s skin for so long without dulling his saw spear.

The golden metal coating on the weapon must have an incredibly strong protective effect.

“Lucas, deal with those two piles first.”

Nori formed a huge ice block in front of her.

“If that happens again, it’ll be dangerous.”

“Nori, don’t waste your strength.”

Lucas stopped her from gathering more ice.

“Save your energy for this guy. We’ll handle those two piles in another way.”

“You mean…”

“This beast is more interested in you. Let’s use that. Make it destroy those two piles by itself.”