Chapter 525: Hunted
"Alright!" A chorus of cheers erupted across the deck.
According to Silas’s map, Twin Wing Island was unlike anywhere else in the world, a breathtaking tropical paradise overflowing with magic and natural beauty. Ever since setting sail, everyone had been looking forward to seeing it with their own eyes.
After everything they’d endured, finally reaching their destination almost felt unreal. The tension that had been hanging over the crew for days finally began to melt away.
Then, just as the celebration reached its peak, Lily suddenly frowned. "Marcus... something’s on the line." She tightened her grip on the South Sea Jade Rod as it bent sharply toward the water. "It feels... different." No matter how hard she pulled, the rod refused to budge.
Marcus immediately looked over. Judging from Lily’s expression, whatever she’d hooked wasn’t ordinary. She adjusted her footing and activated Dream Angler, carefully controlling the line instead of forcing it. Watching her work had become strangely mesmerizing. Every movement was smooth, precise, and graceful, as though she had spent her whole life fishing.
Marcus couldn’t help smiling. ’My girl’s incredible.’
He slowed the ship and walked over. ’Could it be another Divine Artifact? If Lily kept catching treasures like this, Dream Angler would probably level up before long.’
With a graceful flick of the rod, something burst out of the sea and landed neatly on the deck, still firmly hooked. It was roughly the size of a housecat, with brilliant blue wings and a thick, serpentine body that vaguely resembled a tiny snake.
"What is that?" Everyone gathered around curiously.
Lily carefully set the fishing rod aside before letting out a relieved breath. "I almost lost it. It nearly escaped." Then she looked at the system notification, and the color immediately drained from her face.
"Marcus..." Her voice trembled. "It’s... it’s a juvenile Mythic Beast." She swallowed hard. "A Twin-Winged Thunder Wyrm."
Before anyone had time to react, another system notification appeared before every member of Monarch Squad.
[Attention, Monarch Squad members!
Your squad member, Lily of the Wind, has successfully captured a juvenile Twin-Winged Thunder Wyrm. The adult Twin-Winged Thunder Wyrm has entered a state of extreme rage and will pursue your squad for the next twenty minutes.
If Lily of the Wind dies during this period, the juvenile Twin-Winged Thunder Wyrm will disappear. If Lily of the Wind survives for twenty minutes, the juvenile Twin-Winged Thunder Wyrm will become her pet.]
Silence fell over the deck.
Lily instinctively moved closer to Marcus, gripping his sleeve. "What do we do?" she asked anxiously. "Should... should I leave the squad?"
Marcus already knew how hopeless their situation was. Unless this Mythic Beast was somehow below level fifty, they had virtually no chance of winning. And considering they were still inside the Storm Seal, where even ordinary monsters started at level eighty, the odds of an adult Mythic Beast being weak were exactly zero. This was a disaster.
Marcus firmly took Lily’s hand. "Don’t say something so foolish." His grip tightened reassuringly. "The system didn’t mark just you. The entire squad is flagged, so it’ll hunt all of us no matter what." He met her frightened eyes and smiled, trying to ease her guilt. "And even if that weren’t true, I still wouldn’t let you face it alone. Not if it meant abandoning you."
"Exactly!" The others immediately gathered around Lily.
"We’re staying together."
"No one’s getting left behind."
"We’ll figure something out."
Their unwavering support eased the panic in Lily’s eyes, if only a little.
At that moment, the sea beneath the ship began to tremble. The calm surface rippled violently before erupting into massive waves. The adult Twin-Winged Thunder Wyrm had arrived.
"Everyone, hold on!" Marcus shoved the throttle forward, pushing the luxury vessel to its maximum speed as he steered toward the final stretch leading out of the Storm Seal. They had to run.
Unfortunately, outrunning a Mythic Beast was easier imagined than done. This wasn’t some lumbering sea monster confined to the water. It possessed wings and moved effortlessly through both sea and sky.
Twenty minutes. The system expected them to survive being hunted for twenty whole minutes. Marcus almost laughed. Two minutes might have been barely possible. Twenty? That was practically a death sentence.
Of course... nothing this valuable would ever come without a price. A Mythic Beast as a pet would never be handed over for free.
His thoughts raced desperately. With every defensive buff active and the Adamant Aegis equipped, he might barely survive one or two direct attacks. Maybe. But the others? One wide-area attack would wipe them out instantly.
Running remained the only realistic choice. Marcus could eventually escape combat himself with Run for Your Life, but his companions couldn’t. They couldn’t activate Town Portal Scrolls while in combat, and abandoning them had never even crossed his mind. So he did the only thing he could. He pushed the ship even harder.
Meanwhile... His companions reacted in a completely different way. The moment they heard a Mythic Beast was coming, Amber, Jade, and the others rushed to the rear deck with cameras already in hand.
"Quick! It’s coming!"
"Don’t block my shot!"
"I want the first picture!" Marcus could only shake his head with a helpless smile. Even now, they were treating this like sightseeing.
Then the sea exploded. BOOM! A towering pillar of water shot hundreds of meters into the air as an enormous creature burst from beneath the waves. It wasn’t quite a dragon, nor was it simply a giant snake. It resembled something between the two. The Twin-Winged Thunder Wyrm.
"So huge..." Everyone stared upward in amazement. The beast’s shadow swallowed the entire ship. Its body alone was more than twice the length of their vessel, while its enormous blue wings stretched across the sky, crackling continuously with arcs of brilliant blue lightning. The ocean truly produced monsters beyond imagination.
Its head resembled that of a sea dragon, but the rest of its body twisted like an enormous serpent. Sections of its scales looked almost lizard-like, yet it had no visible limbs. To Marcus, it looked less like an eastern dragon and more like an impossibly massive winged python.
It hovered effortlessly above the sea, its glowing eyes fixed on the ship. Its child was aboard. Mercy was never going to be an option.
Marcus had no intention of waiting for the first attack. Since the system warning appeared, Pebble had already mounted Blackie and taken position above the sea with every available buff active. The instant the Thunder Wyrm emerged, Marcus gave the command. "The Ascendant’s Domain!"
Pebble raised the Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Hoe. At that moment, a wave of golden light spread outward, washing directly over the enormous beast. Its attributes instantly dropped by ten percent. At the same time, its health bar shrank by a full tenth.
A massive damage number flashed overhead: -140,000. Marcus’s expression froze. One hundred and forty thousand damage... and that was only ten percent of its health. The Thunder Wyrm had approximately 1.4 million HP, terrifyingly close to the durability of a true Divine Beast. It wasn’t merely a Mythic Beast; it was a high-tier Mythic Beast.
Marcus’s heart sank. ’We’re in serious trouble.’
Still, there was no time to despair. Immediately after using The Ascendant’s Domain, Pebble activated Desperate Strike. The Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Hoe spun through the air like a giant boomerang before crashing squarely into the Thunder Wyrm. BANG! Blue sparks exploded across its scales, and a golden Critical Hit appeared. Even with ten times normal damage... the attack dealt barely over a thousand damage.
Marcus almost sighed. At this rate, they couldn’t even overcome its natural regeneration.
His eyes drifted toward the juvenile Thunder Wyrm wobbling awkwardly around the deck. It couldn’t even fly yet. The tiny creature stumbled clumsily after everyone, looking almost harmless. It was difficult to believe something so small would eventually become the monster filling the sky above them.
"Retreat." Marcus immediately changed tactics. Pebble abandoned the attack and fled in the opposite direction aboard Blackie while Marcus steered the ship toward the exit. The eruption caused by the Thunder Wyrm had created a powerful wave, and Marcus skillfully rode its momentum through the next bend.
His plan was simple. If they could escape the Storm Seal and find even a small island, rocky outcrop, or sea cave, the Thunder Wyrm’s enormous body might struggle to pursue them. Unfortunately... The sea ahead was completely empty. Nothing. No islands, no reefs, and no rocks. Only endless open water. And they were still about ten minutes from reaching the exit.
Ten minutes. More than enough time for the Thunder Wyrm to kill Pebble and destroy them all. They might not even survive long enough to leave the storm.
Behind him, however, Amber was practically bouncing with excitement. "Marcus, slow down a little! The footage will look better!" Marcus didn’t even bother answering.
The Thunder Wyrm, meanwhile, had completely lost its mind with rage. Its child had been stolen. The instant it surfaced, someone had ambushed it, stripping away a tenth of its health before it could even retaliate. Then a flying hoe had smashed into its face.
Its furious roar echoed across the sea like thunder. Lightning burst from its wings as it shot forward like a living missile. Its target wasn’t the ship. It was Pebble.
Blackie was incredibly fast, but the Thunder Wyrm was still faster. Fortunately, the difference wasn’t overwhelming. Pebble managed to stay just ahead while firing arrows from the Twin-Winged Ice Owl Bow, deliberately provoking the enraged beast every chance he got. The strategy worked. The Thunder Wyrm ignored the ship entirely. It wanted Pebble dead first.
Marcus allowed himself the smallest glimmer of hope. ’Maybe... maybe this thing was driven entirely by instinct. If Pebble could keep baiting it away, perhaps they really could survive twenty minutes.’ That hope lasted only a few seconds.
Unable to close the distance, the Thunder Wyrm suddenly stopped chasing. Its tail whipped through the air. CRACK! Dozens of lightning spears burst from the crackling scales, streaking toward Pebble faster than arrows. Three seconds later... they struck.
Pebble’s body convulsed violently as his health disappeared almost instantly. Without the Adamant Shield equipped, he couldn’t withstand the barrage. Within moments, he was completely obliterated.
The Thunder Wyrm slowly turned. This time... Its glowing eyes locked onto the ship.
"Sea Demon Souls! Go!" Marcus immediately summoned both Sea Demon Souls, activating their Taunting Light to draw the Thunder Wyrm’s attention. At the same time, he resummoned Pebble and released the entire Red Locust Bee hive. Fifty level forty Red Locust Bees swarmed into the sky. Everything he had. Every summon and every distraction. Every second mattered.
The Sea Demon Souls successfully pulled the Thunder Wyrm’s attention away from the ship. Unfortunately, against a high-tier Mythic Beast, that success lasted only moments. The enraged beast attacked without hesitation. Its tail unleashed another barrage of lightning spears toward one Sea Demon Soul, while its dragon-like jaws opened wide, releasing a devastating torrent of compressed seawater toward the other. Different attacks, identical results.
CRASH! Both Sea Demon Souls survived barely four seconds before being annihilated.
The Thunder Wyrm immediately shifted its attention back toward the ship. Marcus summoned two more Sea Demon Souls. Before they could even clear the deck, the newly summoned Pebble had already been killed, and the Thunder Wyrm was tearing through the swarm of Red Locust Bees as though they didn’t exist. It was getting closer. Far too quickly.
Marcus summoned Pebble again. Then again. Then again. Pebble and the Sea Demon Souls took turns sacrificing themselves, buying precious seconds with every death. Three minutes passed. Then Marcus hit his limit. He had exhausted his daily Sea Demon Soul summons. Pebble fell one final time. There was nothing left to throw in the Thunder Wyrm’s path.
The enormous beast closed to within thirty meters of the ship. One lightning attack would be enough to erase every person on board. But the Thunder Wyrm no longer wanted such a quick end. After being delayed over and over, its fury had reached its limit. It didn’t simply want them dead. It wanted revenge.
With another deafening roar, the gigantic beast folded its wings and hurled itself forward like a living battering ram. It wasn’t planning to destroy them with lightning. It was going to smash the ship into splinters, throw every one of them into the sea... and then tear them apart one by one. Only then would its rage finally be satisfied.