Chapter 572: Chapter 572

"Insane... by Lu Solar..."

A dumbfounded gasp escaped Sanford’s lips.

The deck was tilted diagonally toward the stern and rocking from side to side, but he clung to the starboard railing, his upper body leaning out, refusing to look away from the scene behind them.

In his single upturned eye, violet lightning flickered without pause.

It was the light created by the shower of lightning bolts pouring down upon the snowstorm that covered the sea far in the distance. This was one of the reasons why he, who usually only watched the front and sides when cresting a wave, had turned to look behind. Of course, the main reason was that the wind pushing the ship had died down, but that was of no importance now.

The lightning bolts, upon striking the snowstorm, split into countless purple strands and scattered. It looked as if the lightning was taking root, or as if the snowstorm was absorbing the flashing purple electricity.

Sanford had no way of knowing that this phenomenon was created by the lightning colliding, splitting, and refracting against the countless magic-infused ice crystals. He could only stare at the joint creation of the silver-haired witch’s spell and the Transcendent’s power with a mixture of awe and fear.

Screams that sent shivers down his spine echoed faintly amidst the explosions. Convulsing shapes writhed through the snowstorm, which now contained streaks of purple lightning. That place was now a living hell of raging cold and lightning. Sanford’s gaze swept over the edges of the battle line, where the ships and sea beasts were trying to create distance from the snowstorm.

"Great Warrior of the Thunder..."

A dazed cry of astonishment rang out from behind him. Only then did Sanford, startled, blink and turn his head. Hashim, who had approached him at some point, was also staring at the battle line far beyond the stern.

"My goodness... to think that rumor was also true!"

Surprise spread across his murmuring face. Sanford’s brow furrowed slightly, even though he had been wearing a similar expression just moments before. The reality he had momentarily forgotten came crashing back.

"What are you doing here instead of with the rowers?"

"They can’t hear me over the thunder anyway, Captain. More importantly, look! The rumors were true! The Superhuman of the North truly was a demigod! We’re carrying someone who will become a new god on our ship!" Hashim said, his eyes filled with elation as he looked at the battle line.

"That doesn’t mean we’ll be able to cross the sea alive."

"Have you already forgotten the Black Sea? When sea beasts clash, even whales are torn apart. Keep your wits about you!" Sanford shouted, raising his right arm and pointing to the front starboard. "What you should be looking at right now isn’t what’s behind us, but that!"

Only then did Hashim’s head turn back. As the ship shot up over a wave, a wide expanse of rough, dark sea, as if in a storm, was revealed. A small, blazing light was also clearly visible in the distance. Hashim’s thick lips moved.

"The strait lighthouse!"

"That’s right! If you don’t want to be buried at sea with a demigod, then just think about getting near there! That is the mission the Superhuman has given us. Understand?"

At Sanford’s added words, Hashim nodded. "Yes!"

"Then go down and command the rowers! Whether you have to pour beer down their throats or whip their backs, don’t let them stop for a second!"

Sanford swung the arm he had extended and slapped Hashim’s arm with a resounding smack, his one eye glaring with all its might. "I’ll take responsibility for everything that happens after, so move! Now!"

"Y-Yes, Captain!" Hashim shouted, his head snapping up as if an old memory had been revived, and he whipped around. He ran across the deck, which shimmered with the light of the brazier.

A spray of water shot over the railing, and the bow lurched and tilted forward just then.

"Are you alright, Priestess?" Sanford shouted, lowering his posture and turning his back to the railing.

In the middle of the deck, the brazier, containing the blazing sacred fire, hadn’t collapsed or slid in the slightest.

"Don’t worry, Captain."

The same was true for Lucia, who was kneeling in front of it. Mukapa, who had come to stand beside her at some point, was stooping to arrange the collapsed pile of firewood, one hand gripping the hilt of the battle hammer he had propped up on the deck like a staff.

Looking at Lucia’s masked face, which was sitting upright beyond him, Sanford held up his index and middle fingers. "Two hours! We just have to hold out for two more hours at most! Please maintain the Blazing Goddess’s blessing until then!"

"I can do three hours, or even more, even if a battle breaks out. So, don’t worry about me." Lucia replied, tossing the firewood in her hand into the brazier and picking up another fragment from the side.

"Understood. Please call me at any time if you need me!" Sanford shouted, straightened his posture, and strode away, all the while turning his gaze to look up at the diagonally raised aft deck.

Amidst the fading purple light that had been flashing between the dark clouds, the back of the figure imbued with a blazing red divinity became clear. Having already retracted his sacred golden shield, he was landing on the deck, his cloak fluttering. The same was true for the silver-haired fairy next to him.

"I’m doing everything I’m told to do, so just let me live, please. Then I’ll be like Hashim..." The wind swept across Sanford’s desperate face.

He looked up at the sails, which had caught the wind again, and finally stopped in front of the stairs. Gripping the stair railing with his right hand, he bent over and raised his voice once more.

"Port side! No slacking! Row like you’re dying! This is your chance to ascend to the heavens, not the underworld! If you die at the oar, the Blazing Goddess herself will come to collect your soul!"

It’d be a relief if she doesn’t toss them into the brazier.

Ian, who was sitting on the deck, slowly caught his breath. A throbbing headache and dizziness were washing over him, the aftereffects of expending a large amount of magic in a short period. Of course, it was likely nothing compared to what Thesaya was feeling.

"You okay?" Ian asked, sheathing his True Silver Steelsword at his waist.

The silver-haired fairy, who had been lying flat on the wet deck, gave a thumbs-up and replied, "Not all right, but I’ll live."

The Blizzard spell had drained her immensely. Not only was it a high-level magic, but its area of effect was enormous. The fact that the distance was also great meant that the amount of magic she had expended in that single spell was likely beyond imagination.

Of course, she had received significant help from the magic stone fixed to her orb, but that didn't change the fact that she had expended a large amount of her own magic.

"A scholastic answer, befitting a capable spellcaster," Ian replied with a soft laugh.

In any case, the result had been impressive even to his eyes. He, too, hadn't expected that the lightning bolts falling on the snowstorm would split like chain lightning.

"It feels good to be acknowledged by Ian directly," Thesaya said with a grin, turning her head to look at him.

The veins that had been pulsing around her eyes, as well as in them, had disappeared without a trace.

"You showed a result that couldn’t be ignored." Ian readily shrugged.

The snowstorm, containing ice crystals and cold, had swept through the fleet, tearing the sailors’ bodies to shreds. It had also frozen them. The streaks of lightning that had poured down had literally blown them to pieces. The sight of them turning into a spray of blood and then scattering as red ice crystals was cruel but powerful.

—It was quite a sight. Especially the way the minions of that half-baked thing went berserk.

Yog’s languid, chuckling whisper lingered in the air, and Ian gave a small nod in agreement. The snowstorm hadn’t done much to the sea beasts, but the lightning had left them writhing in agony. It wasn’t unexpected. After all, the spell had been amplified with chaos energy. Some of them must have died; the sharp rise in his experience points was proof enough of that.

"And you, Ian, are you okay?" Thesaya added then.

Still lying on the floor, she looked at Ian and gestured with her chin. "The gods must be watching right now... that wasn't a spell completed with just magic."

"Well, if they don’t want to lose the apostle they just got back, they’ll probably be generous and understanding. Besides, they all already know," Ian said nonchalantly, then shrugged.

After all, they had seen him half-fused with chaos on the northern front. Lu Entre, through Lucia’s eyes, must have witnessed that scene. The fact that the goddess had bestowed a blessing even so meant that she clearly didn’t consider him a corrupted one.

So maybe I’ve been overly cautious all this time.

It was then that Ian’s brow twitched slightly. The thought that the gods all already knew he possessed chaos, and yet didn’t care, belatedly crossed his mind. He possessed chaos, but in any case, his body and soul had been neither tainted by madness nor corrupted.

Thesaya, unaware of his inner thoughts, nodded and murmured, "Is that so? Well, of course. You would never act without reason."

She then pushed herself up. Ian, roused from his thoughts, looked up beyond the stern and added, "Can you do it again? If we repeat it a few times, we should be able to get out of here safely."

And rack up a ton of experience in the process.

Thesaya nodded. "Of course. As they say, the first time is always the hardest, and there’s no better practice than a real battle. I’m confident I can complete the spell much more easily and quickly next time."

"I’m not asking about the spell, I’m asking about your remaining magic. You must have used a huge amount of magic already." Ian said, shaking his head.

"You were worried I’d collapse from mana exhaustion? How sweet of you. But don’t worry, Ian, I am an Elder fairy. I might have even more accumulated magic than you." Thesaya, with a sweet smile, spread her left palm to reveal the orb.

"Not might, you probably do," Ian replied with a faint, bitter smile.

Thesaya shot him a light glare, as if telling him not to be so self-deprecating, while pulling out a leather pouch containing spare magic stones from her coat. She was likely planning to replace the magic stone in the orb before it broke.

As she took out a new magic stone, she added, "Anyway, don’t worry about me. Besides this, I also have the Sap of the Tree of Life. If I feel like I’m about to fall into exhaustion, I can just drink that."

"That’s true... shame to use it so soon, though." Smacking his lips, Ian nodded. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⟡fire.net

In any case, it was better than dying here. He, too, was ready to drink the sap if it came to that.

"Now then, let’s wait for the right moment again."

Thesaya, having replaced the magic stone in her orb, stuffed the pouch into her coat and shot to her feet. The headache and dizziness seemed to have completely vanished, likely thanks to the blessing of Lu Entre warming her from the inside. The headache had subsided for Ian as well.

—Before we get busy again, I think I need to visit Moro, my friend.

Yog’s whisper came just as Ian followed suit and stood up.

His brow furrowed slightly. "You need to go already?"

—I’m going to share my power with it in advance. It will be too late to move when it’s at its limit. It would be less of a problem if it were in its true form, but right now, it’s twice as hard for it.

The creature let out a sound that was somewhere between a hum and a laugh.

—It’s being roasted alive in this disgusting heat, and it has to maintain its disguised form on top of that.

Ian snorted and nodded, the memory of the northern front flashing through his mind. When he had been half-transformed, surrounded by divinity, he had been engulfed in the pain of his burning. Though it might not be as severe as what he had felt, Yog and Moro were likely feeling a similar sensation.

The bead of chaos essence powerfully spewed out chaos energy. Subsequently, a sharp sting pricked his neck. The creature, having drunk more blood than usual, crawled out and slid down his armor. The middle of its body was bulging as if it had swallowed a quail egg.

—If it’s alright, could I stick to our pointy-eared friend after I get back? Being with you feels like my consciousness is melting.

Ian, with a low snort, turned and said, "Do as you please."

Ian’s gaze shifted beyond the stern railing. The ship, which had crested several rough waves, was climbing another large one. The angry roars of the sea beasts were mixed in with the sound of the waves.

"They seem to have gotten quite worked up," Thesaya murmured, having climbed onto the stern railing at some point. She was gripping the wooden frame with her right hand, an amused smile on her lips.

Ian, walking to the other side of the railing, smiled back. "So it seems."

The surviving ships of the archipelago’s fleet were now glowing with a brighter blue light as they sped forward, no longer spewing mist in all directions but wrapping it around their ships like a shroud. The flickering blue will-o'-the-wisps looked as if they were floating on the sea. On top of that, they were even gathering together as if to form a large arrowhead.

"They’ve spotted us, haven’t they?"

At the tip of that formation lay the Black Wave, the vessel carrying Ian and his companions.