True Apocalypse Game

Saint Body!

The moment Ivanka spoke, Hezi and the others nearby trembled, their faces filled with disbelief.

Even Chris hesitated, asking in a grave voice:

"Ivanka, do we really have to do this? The Saint Body hasn’t been brought out for decades. The last time was during the war against the tide of Sea Beasts... Besides, the Saint Body is fragile. If anything were to happen to it, we would be condemned. The others would tear us to shreds..."

Ivanka’s expression was frosty. Without turning back, she stared in the direction of the Sail Warship and said slowly:

"The Saint Body... is just a corpse. That warship is far too important to us, worth more than the Saint Body itself. If the Saint Body were still alive, he would agree with our decision. If any problems arise, I will take full responsibility... Present the Saint Body!"

Ivanka’s words reached the ears of several nearby sailors, causing their expressions to change drastically. To them, the Saint Body was a spiritual totem, its significance far surpassing what it literally was. If any ordinary person were to say the Saint Body was just a corpse, they would likely be dismembered by the devout followers.

Only a Minstrel would dare to say such things.

"Present the Saint Body!"

Several guards by Ivanka’s side shouted in unison. Below, the Guard Soldiers attacking the Sail Warship also roared as one. At this cry, all the sailors present grew fanatical, their heads all turning to look toward a cave at the top of the Super Giant War Armor.

It was a resplendent place, decorated with all sorts of gorgeous shells and covered with blankets woven from seaweed and soft, beautiful fish skins.

That place was once the left eye of the Super Giant War Armor, Steel Glory.

"DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG..." A booming drumbeat rang out. A large drum made from the hide of a Sea Beast had been set up on the top of the Super Giant War Armor, and four brawny men were beating it rhythmically with drumsticks made of fish bones.

Then, four men covered in ornate tattoos emerged from the lavish cave in the head. On their shoulders, they carried a platform adorned with pearls and coral, upon which sat an upright, mummified corpse.

The corpse was fairly well-preserved, dressed in the faded uniform of an Eagle Country Navy rear admiral. One could vaguely make out that he had been a man with handsome, sharp features in life.

The moment they saw the man, the entire populace of the Holy Corpse Market erupted in a frenzied cheer. Many dropped to their knees, stretching out their hands as if hoping to touch the corpse from across the distance. Tears streamed down many faces, and some nearly fainted.

Even on the Sail Warship, Old Bill and the others were trembling, as if all the strength had been drained from their bodies.

"It’s... it’s... the Glorious Saint Body... Heavens, they actually presented the Saint Body... It’s really a Glorious... the one and only Glorious, Alek..." Old Bill stammered, clutching the ship’s rail as he struggled to stay on his feet.

Beside him, some of the sailors had already fallen to their knees on the deck, their faces full of reverence as they gazed at the corpse.

That corpse was none other than Alek, the former pilot of the Super Giant War Armor, Steel Glory!

As the pilots of the Super Giant War Armors, which were said in ancient legends to be able to contend with the World Beast, they were each considered the best of humanity. They were heroes who could fight the World Beast, and they held an extremely revered status in the Water World Apocalypse.

To worship the Saint Body, or even just to touch it, was to connect with humanity’s glorious ancient civilization. For many, it was the dream of a lifetime.

It could be said that this represented the glory and dreams of all humanity in these waters, enough to strip one of their will to resist.

When fighting Sea Beasts, presenting this Saint Body would bolster everyone’s morale, inspiring them to fight to the death with abandon.

When used in battle against other human forces, presenting this Saint Body was enough to shatter the enemy warriors’ morale, compelling them to surrender on the spot.

The sailors on the Sail Warship all hailed from the AN-13 Floating Island Market and had grown up on the legends of Steel Glory. Even with the encouragement of Witch Tower the Minstrel, upon seeing the Glorious Saint Body, most of them lost all will to resist.

After all, this reverence for human heroes was ingrained in their very bones, almost an instinctive reaction.

With this, the morale on Ivanka’s side soared. In contrast, most of the sailors on the Sail Warship lost all their fighting spirit and began to drop their weapons. The tide of battle had turned in an instant!

Without the suppressive fire from the machine guns and Close Defense Cannons, the smaller warships latched their rams and boarding planks onto the Sail Warship’s hull. Sailors began swarming up them like ants, climbing toward the deck.

Once they climbed aboard, a brutal slaughter would ensue!

"Get up, all of you! If the Saint Body were alive, he would want you to fight! To defend the human dignity that he himself defended! Get up and fight!" Witch Tower’s brow was deeply furrowed. She nocked an Arrow to her bow as she shouted, trying to rouse the sailors around her.

But aside from Old Bill and the few pirates who had followed Shen Feng from the very beginning, the other sailors recruited at the AN-13 Floating Island Market had completely lost their will to fight and ceased all resistance.

Watching the scene unfold, the corners of Ivanka’s mouth lifted into a cold sneer as she muttered to herself:

’Very good... you poor little girl. I hope you learn a great deal from this... A proper Minstrel must be willing to do whatever it takes... As for your foolish underlings, they have forfeited their right to live...’

Soon, the first boarder reached the ship’s rail and pulled himself over!

With a glint of his Long Saber, a brutal slaughter was about to begin!

Witch Tower’s eyes widened, her hair flying wildly as she drew the dagger from her waist!

"Hello... Hello! Sound check... Hey everyone, can you hear me?" A massive wave of sound suddenly blasted up from the sea below, instantly spreading through the entire Holy Corpse Market and making everyone’s ears ring.

The combatants, stunned by the sudden voice, all turned to find its source.

Not far from the Sail Warship, a strange, one-man metal craft had surfaced at some point. Its hatch was open, and a young man, clearly of Eastern descent, was fiddling with a cylindrical object, occasionally giving it a tap.

Seeing that all eyes were on him, the young man smiled faintly, tapped the megaphone in his hand again, and continued:

"I’ve come for my ship. I can see you all have taken a real liking to my warship, since you’re climbing right up on it. It’s a bit rude to do that without the owner’s permission, so I’m going to have to ask you to... get... OFF—"

As he got to the last word, the young man’s expression changed. He let out a furious roar into the megaphone, and a massive sonic wave immediately blasted out in all directions around the Sail Warship. Many of the sailors climbing the warship were caught off guard. The sound wave left them dizzy and weak, their limbs turning to jelly. Their hands went limp, and they slipped from the ropes and ladders, falling into the sea one after another like dumplings. PLOP! PLOP!

Even many of the sailors standing on the ships and the docks were overcome with dizziness and nausea, some even vomiting. The sonic wave was so powerful it nearly knocked them to the ground, and it even sent ripples spreading across the surface of the sea.

Shen Feng couldn’t help but smile. ’The sonic emitter in my chest, combined with the Submersible’s underwater sonic projector... The power of that blast was definitely up to snuff,’ he thought.

Seeing this, Ivanka and her followers’ expressions changed. She understood at once: this person who had appeared out of nowhere was very likely the owner of the warship Witch Tower had mentioned!

’He’s not dead?’

’He actually made it back alive from the Fog Sea, from the back of the World Beast!?’

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

’What is that thing he’s in?’

’An artifact from the ancient era!? Was that what saved him?’

Meanwhile, atop the head of the distant Steel Glory, the mummified Saint Body, held aloft by its four bearers, was rattled by the violent sonic wave. Slowly, a web of cracks began to appear across it.

Then, with a resounding CRACKLE and CRUNCH, the Glorious Saint Body was shattered into a pile of fragments by the sound wave.