Chapter 97—The Lord of the Tides.
Chapter 97—The Lord of the Tides.
The sunken marble plaza faded into the shadowy depths of the central oceanic trench. Descending thousands of feet beneath the seabed, the pressure grew immense enough to pulverize steel armor into flat sheets within seconds.
Nestled at the floor of the abyssal trench, illuminated by pulsating veins of blue cosmic ore, stood The Trench Citadel—a colossal palace crafted from white pearlescent coral and black titanium. Surrounding the citadel was a boiling vortex of compressed oceanic mana, swirling with massive serpentine leviathans that guarded the heart of Floor 12.
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[ZONE ENTERED: Trench Citadel — Throne of the Tide Lord]
HAZARD RATING: TIER-SSS (Crushing Abyssal Pressure)
FIELD EFFECT: [Oceanic Drag] — Non-Sovereign Entities Suffer 90% Reduction to Attack Speed & Movement!
STATUS: Boss Lair Reached
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Kaelen stepped calmly onto the pearlescent steps leading to the citadel’s grand archway. His dark coat rustled softly against the heavy underwater currents, his expression serene and unbothered.
Beside him, Lyra held his hand tightly, her golden staff radiating a brilliant dome of solar light that pushed back the crushing oceanic drag and illuminated the abyssal darkness around them.
Behind them, Ignis, Tsubaki, and Ren maintained a tight formation, their eyes sharp as they crossed into the citadel’s inner sanctum.
"The concentration of abyssal mana inside this trench is staggering," Ren reported quietly, her gauntlet projecting a series of blue holographic maps showing the palace layout. "Triton has hooked the entire citadel directly into Floor 12’s oceanic core. The pressure here is designed to crush even high-tier Overlords who enter without permission."
"Pressure is useless if it can’t touch us," Ignis grunted, a dark grin spreading across his face as sparks of black dragon fire sizzled harmlessly around his heavy claymore. "Let’s see if this tide lord has any real teeth or if he’s just another big fish.""My lord, the main hall is heavily guarded," Tsubaki whispered, stepping out from the shadow of a massive coral column.
"Triton’s royal pet, the Grand Leviathan abyssalis, is blocking the inner sanctuary along with the Royal Tide Guard."
"Then we clear them without delay," Kaelen purred smoothly, his low velvet voice carrying a cold, effortless authority that echoed softly off the pearlescent walls. He gently squeezed Lyra’s hand, his dark violet eyes gleaming with triple-ringed golden light. "Show them how brittle their ocean defenses truly are."
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[AMBUSH INITIATED!]
HOSTILE ENTITIES: Grand Leviathan Abyssalis (Level 186 Elite Overlord) & 2,000x Royal Tide Guards
OBJECTIVE: Halt the Sovereign Faction!
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As the squad reached the grand inner sanctuary, the black water above the coral pillars churned violently. A colossal, three-hundred-foot-long serpentine sea dragon with scales made of dark abyssal crystal and glowing blue eyes roared, descending from the upper vault! Surrounding the leviathan were two thousand elite Tide Guards armed with glowing plasma spears!
ROAAAAAAAAR!
The Grand Leviathan opened its massive jaws, channeling the entire trench’s water pressure into a colossal, three-hundred-meter beam of compressed anti-matter ocean fire, blasting it straight toward the Sovereign squad!
"A giant worm playing with water!" Ignis bellowed with a wild laugh, stepping in front of the group and slamming his claymore onto the pearlescent floor!
"Dragon Fire Art: Solar Eruption!"
A massive, hundred-meter pillar of black-and-gold dragon flames erupted from the floor, clashing directly against the abyssal beam! The divine heat of the dragon flames instantly flash-boiled the compressed water beam, sending clouds of superheated steam echoing through the sanctuary while incinerating eight hundred Tide Guards in a fraction of a second!
"Shadow Style: Abyssal Phantom Cut!" Tsubaki glided through the shadows cast by the steam, his black katana leaving hundreds of dark spatial cuts in the water. He glided along the massive body of the Grand Leviathan, severing its mana conduits and crystal scales with terrifying precision!
"System Override: Shockwave Array!" Ren deployed six heavy underwater acoustic pylons.
The pylons emitted a high-frequency shockwave that shattered the balance organs of the remaining twelve hundred Tide Guards, causing their mana cores to collapse instantly!
Within less than two minutes, the entire Royal Tide Guard was wiped out, and the Grand Leviathan Abyssalis slammed onto the sanctuary floor, dissolving into glowing experience particles!
Kaelen didn’t pause his stride for a second. He walked past the dissolving remains of the leviathan, leading Lyra straight toward the massive crystal doors at the rear of the sanctuary.
With a simple gesture of Kaelen’s dark-gloved hand, a shockwave of compressed void energy shattered the fifty-foot crystal doors into fine blue dust!
BOOOOOOM!
The Throne Room of the Sunken Realm opened before them.
The hall was staggering in scale, framed by soaring pillars of blue cosmic ore and lit by glowing sea spheres. Floating above a throne of pure white coral at the center of the hall was the supreme ruler of Floor 12—Tide Lord Triton (Level 188 Tier-OVERLORD).
Triton was an imposing figure standing twelve feet tall, featuring a lower body composed of swirling dark ocean currents and an upper body clad in radiant, dark-blue elemental armor. In his right hand, he held a legendary four-pronged trident forged from the floor’s core—the Ocean-Shattering Trident.
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[OVERLORD BOSS ENGAGED!]
TARGET: Tide Lord Triton—Ruler of the Abyssal Sunken Realm (Level 188 Tier-OVERLORD)
HP: 270,000,000 / 270,000,000
SPECIAL RULE: Tidal Regeneration—Restores 2% Max HP Every Second While Submerged in Oceanic Mana!
RELIQUE RESONANCE: Key of the Holy Grail (100% Operational)
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"Surface dwellers..." Triton spoke, his deep voice carrying a heavy, echoing resonance that caused the surrounding water to vibrate violently. "You slaughtered my general, erased my guard, and slew my leviathan. But here, at the lowest point of Floor 12, my control over the ocean is absolute."
Triton rose from his coral throne, his four-pronged trident surging with blinding blue-and-gold oceanic light that made the entire trench quake.
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[OVERLORD DOMAIN UNLEASHED!]
FIELD EFFECT: [Dominion of the Seven Seas]
EFFECT: Tide Lord Triton gains 300% Mana Defense! All enemy attacks suffer 80% spatial drag!
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"A domain built on stagnant water," Lyra said softly, her slender hand held warmly in Kaelen’s grip as her golden staff emitted a soothing, warm glow that completely neutralized the spatial drag effect for their squad. "Your authority ends where my sovereign steps."
"You speak of absolute control, Triton," Kaelen purred smoothly, taking a calm step forward as his dark coat billowed gently in the underwater draft. His dark violet eyes gleamed with triple-ringed golden authority. "Yet you fail to see that your entire ocean is trapped inside a box."
Triton’s four eyes burned with furious blue fire. He raised his four-pronged trident, stepping through space with light-speed momentum!
"Oceanic Overlord Art: Tsunami of Ten Thousand Abysses!"
BOOOOOOM!
A colossal wave of compressed black oceanic fire and spatial lightning erupted from his trident, converging on Kaelen’s position to crush his physical form and soul into dust!
Kaelen didn’t raise a shield or move to dodge.
He simply stood his ground, opening his slender left dark-gloved palm toward the incoming wave.
HUMMMMMMMM!
A pitch-black singularity of absolute void origin flared into existence before his palm. The colossal wave of black ocean fire and spatial lightning struck the dark sphere—and was instantly absorbed, vanishing into absolute non-existence!
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[PASSIVE EFFECT: Void Singular Absorption]
DAMAGE RECEIVED: 0!
Triton’s attack: erased!
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Triton froze mid-air, his four eyes widening in genuine, existential shock as he felt his ultimate Overlord technique completely erased upon contact with Kaelen’s palm.
"WHAT?! MY TSUNAMI OF ABYSSES... ERASED?!" Triton gasped, his deep voice cracking as his elemental aura flickered violently. "IMPOSSIBLE! NO SURFACE MORTAL CAN ABSORB THE COMPRESSED WEIGHT OF THE OCEAN!"
"Your ocean is merely a drop of rain," Kaelen purred softly, his low velvet voice carrying a cold, god-like condescension that sent a chill through Triton’s core. "My void is the dark abyss that swallows all creation."
Kaelen slowly reached down to his waist, his dark-gloved fingers wrapping firmly around the hilt of the Void Blade.
The completed Key of the Holy Grail inside his soul core resonated with the dark steel, igniting the blade with a mixture of pitch-black void energy and brilliant, blinding golden runic light.
He drew the blade completely from its sheath.
SHING!
The dark steel drank every bit of light and mana in the throne room, causing the blue cosmic pillars and coral floor to crack as the fundamental laws of Floor 12 bent to Kaelen’s supreme authority.
"Sovereign Secret Art: Spatial Erasure — Ocean Obliteration!"
Kaelen delivered a single, effortless horizontal slash through the air.
SKRRRRRRRAASH!
A razor-thin line of pitch-black spatial deletion expanded across the five-hundred-meter throne room, slicing through the water, the pillars, and space itself!
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[CRITICAL HIT!]
TARGET: Tide Lord Triton (Level 188 Overlord)
DAMAGE DEALT: 340,000,000 (Pure Spatial Eradication)
SPECIAL EFFECT: Tidal Regeneration Negated! Domain Erased!
DEFENSE NEGATED: 100%!
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"AAAAARRRRRRGH!"
Tide Lord Triton let out a soul-shattering shriek as his twelve-foot body, his dark-blue elemental armor, his four-pronged trident, and his surrounding coral throne were cleaved cleanly in two.
The pitch-black spatial line severed his elemental core instantly, preventing his [Tidal Regeneration] passive from triggering even once as his physical form dissolved.
BOOOM!
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[OVERLORD BOSS ELIMINATED!]
TARGET: Tide Lord Triton—Ruler of the Abyssal Sunken Realm
EXP RECEIVED: 55,000,000 Points!
WORLD SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: FACTION ’SOVEREIGN’ HAS CONQUERED FLOOR 12!
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As Triton’s body dissolved, the floating blue core above his throne stabilized, transforming into a brilliant, golden-blue crystal—the Floor 12 Oceanic Core.
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[FLOOR CONQUERED!]
ZONE CLEAR: The Sunken Realm of Atlantis
WAYSTONE UNLOCKED: Floor 13 Waygate Active!
REWARD: Sovereign Oceanic Crown & 2,000,000 Gold System Tokens!
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The golden-blue core drifted through the water, automatically absorbing into Kaelen’s palm and merging with his sovereign mark.
HUMMMMMMMM.
A massive wave of oceanic authority erupted from Kaelen’s body, illuminating his dark violet eyes with a brilliant golden light that permanently cleared the dark pressure from the trench.
Lyra stepped up to his side, gently wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest with a warm, triumphant smile. "Floor 12 is yours, Kaelen. The deep seas have bowed before you."
"An ocean floor is just another stepping stone, my light," Kaelen whispered smoothly, pulling her close against his chest as he turned his gaze toward the grand spatial portal opening behind the coral throne—the gateway to Floor 13.
Behind them, Ignis, Tsubaki, and Ren finished collecting the mythic drops left by Triton, their pride in their sovereign absolute.
Kaelen closed his hand, feeling the power of Floor 12 pulsing in his soul core, ready for the long journey toward Floor 500.
"Rest briefly," Kaelen commanded smoothly, his voice echoing through the quiet, purified hall. "Next, we take Floor 13."