Versatile Mage c1-2021, page 671
"That's strange, why isn't there anyone on it?" Cao Qinqin said with a confused look.
Mo Fan quickly searched the ship, but he did not see anyone on the deck, the cabins, not even the bridge...
"Are they all dead?" Jiang Shen who boarded the ship with his squad said.
"There are no corpses, no smell of blood; are we currently in the deep sea area?" Mo Fan turned around and asked Cao Qinqin.
"I believe so, the water is more than fifteen hundred meters deep," Tang Peng said.
"Did we come too late?"
"Damn it, these filthy Viscera Hunters!"
---
Mo Fan went to the deck and observed his surroundings. He could smell something fishy on the sea breeze.
Mo Fan's vision was limited, even though he normally had outstanding vision at night because of his Shadow Element. For some reason, he had an uneasy feeling.
"Fire Burst: Rupture!"
Mo Fan tossed a ball of fire into the air.
The fireball reached a hundred meters in the air. The flames of the Ardent Sunset exploded at Mo Fan's order. The fiery tongues surged wildly and scattered onto the surface of the pitch-black ocean like sparkling fireworks...
The blazing red light revealed countless eerie heads scattered across the surface of the ocean!
These heads had eyes, without the slightest shine to them. They were like eyes of the dead, belonging to a bunch of cunning carnivores that had been waiting for their prey for a long time!
Mo Fan was shocked!
A trap?
It's a trap!
These sea monsters were using the SOS signal to set up a trap by luring the humans away from the dam before surrounding them!
There were more than a thousand heads revealed by the light produced by the explosion, and there were a lot more of them outside of their range of vision. The light of the explosion had only revealed the tip of the iceberg!
Unlike demon creatures, humans were intelligent. Their wits had helped the human race not lose the prolonged battle against the demon creatures, despite being inferior physically. However, to Mo Fan's surprise, the sea monsters were smart enough to set up a trap to lure them to the deep sea...
They were currently in the deep sea area that put the sea monsters at an advantage!
"We have to go, now!" Captain Tang Peng yelled with an ugly expression.
"We have been surrounded..."
"My Heavens, why are there so many of them!?"
"Come up to the ship!" Mo Fan yelled at the rest of the rescue team when he sensed that something was not right.
These Viscera Hunters were tough creatures. Mo Fan had no problem fighting them on land, but he was currently in the middle of the ocean. Even Mo Fan would struggle against them, unless they jumped up to him one by one!
Chapter 1435 - Taking Advantage of a Weak Point
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
"AHHHHH!"
Hearing a cry of agony, Mo Fan vaguely saw something grabbing the ankle of a man in short-sleeves in the light of the flames...
The man was a Wind Mage. His Wind Element was quite powerful, and the Viscera Hunters were struggling to drag him into the water. If a Viscera Hunter managed to grab onto him, a bunch of them would immediately pounce at him.
The man would have no chance of breaking free from the sea monsters when that happened, regardless of how impressive his Wind Magic was!
"Da Tong!" Tang Peng yelled.
The other team leaders immediately stopped Tang Peng, who was trying to lend a hand. Jiang Shen said decisively, "You can't help him. They are going to drag you into the water too!"
"Damn it, how did we end up in these filthy creatures' trap!?" Tang Peng grunted.
Just as everyone was watching the man in short-sleeves being dragged into the water, Mo Fan's eyes suddenly flickered with a silver light. Telekinesis encapsulated the man and dragged him out of the water like a strong, silver hand.
The man hovered above the surface of the sea, no longer sinking into the water. Mo Fan grunted and f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y dragged the man into the air.
The pull of the monsters was so strong that they tore the man's lower leg apart. Fresh blood scattered in the air...
The Viscera Hunters only ended up with the man's lower leg. They were enraged, as they were ready to tear the man into pieces!
The man endured the pain. The people nearby quickly gave him blood serums to replenish the blood he had lost, and the others used medicines to stop the bleeding, barely keeping him alive.
"Thank...thank you!" the man retained consciousness, even though his face was extremely pale.
If help had come just a second later, his guts would have been torn apart by now. These savage Viscera Hunters enjoyed feasting on inner organs and intestines. Losing a leg was nothing compared to the gruesome death that had been within inches!
"Space Mage, thanks for your help!" Tang Peng had a whole new level of respect for Mo Fan after seeing how he had saved the man's life.
"Protect the ship at all costs, don't let it sink," Mo Fan replied.
"What should we do now… we are the ones that have to request backup from the city now!" Jiang Shen began to panic.
The Viscera Hunters had definitely prepared the trap to ambush them. The light of the flames eventually dissipated, and their surroundings fell into complete darkness once again. It was difficult to tell how many sea monsters were surrounding them. They were eight kilometers away from safety, and currently in the deep sea, too!
"It's my fault; I'm sorry, everyone," Tang Peng apologized.
"Enough talk, I'll bring you all out of here," Mo Fan said.
"How are we going to break through their surround? Didn't you see how many sea monsters there are around us..."
Mo Fan did not say a further word, just glancing at the sky. Dark lightning began to flicker among the thick clouds. In just a few seconds, lightning began to rumble restlessly!
"Protect the ship!" Mo Fan told the others again.
Mo Fan pointed his finger at the clouds. Endless lightning bolts surged wildly in the air, thick and powerful. The lightning bolts tore through the darkness of the ocean sky under Mo Fan's command and struck the water fiercely!
Each lightning bolt triggered a huge explosion. A dozen lightning bolts blasted the surface of the ocean simultaneously. The overwhelming energy spread rapidly across the water. The Viscera Hunters were immediately caught by Mo Fan's lightning with its twelvefold damage...
Cries of agony rose from all directions. The Viscera Hunters around the ship did not stand a chance against Mo Fan's destructive Lightning Tyrant. The lightning instantly disintegrated them, and their blood and flesh blended with the seawater.
The dazzling lightning and the burning smell of flesh left the rescue team in utter disbelief.
Countless Viscera Hunters had died to the lightning. It felt like the danger had been resolved!
"What are you waiting for? Let's get out of here!" Mo Fan yelled at the crew.
The others finally reacted, quickly driving the ship to flee from the area. The Water Mages manipulated the waves to speed the ship further.
The lightning bolts did not stop; a whole bunch more of them kept descending from the sky. The spells that some of the Intermediate Mages had cast were nothing compared to the lightning. They all looked at Mo Fan as if he was a monster...
Didn't this guy only draw a Lightning Star Pattern just now?
Why was his Intermediate Lightning Spell even crazier than an Advanced Spell? How was he killing those terrifying Viscera Hunters like if they were just a bunch of chickens?
"Mentor, it looks like they aren't Viscera Hunters," Cao Qinqin observed.
"I agree, the Viscera Hunters aren't that weak," Mo Fan agreed, looking at the remains of the sea monsters floating on the ocean.
Even though Mo Fan had never seen a real Viscera Hunter, he assumed the Viscera Hunters were as strong as the Brutal Sword Death Servants, a rather strong creature of the Warrior-level. They sounded deadly too, so if such a great number of Viscera Hunters had shown up, even Mo Fan would have struggled to take them all out.
The sea monsters surrounding them had claws, smooth skin, and similar appearances to the Viscera Hunters, but they were clearly weaker. They could not even endure his lightning...
Every creature below the Warrior-level was blown into bloodspray as soon as they were caught by the slightest arc of Mo Fan's lightning!
"We were panicking for nothing. We thought they were the Viscera Hunters. We were screwed if there were actually so many of them..." Tang Peng said.
It was too dark; the team had trouble getting a clear look at the sea monsters. They had panicked as soon as they had seen the overwhelming numbers of the sea monsters!
"Even though these Sea Hook Black Beasts aren't the Viscera Hunters, it doesn't change the fact that they were trying to lure us into a trap!" Jiang Shen spoke up.
The Sea Hook Black Beasts were like the Sea Monkeys, being another species with overwhelming numbers. It was possible to find Sea Hook Black Beasts everywhere, whether it was in the cold seas or a warm ocean. Their appearance was similar to the Viscera Hunters. It was very common to mistake the Sea Hook Black Beasts for the Viscera Hunters. Many people had died after they had mistaken the Viscera Hunters for the Sea Hook Black Beasts!
"Damn it, how dare they spook us! I'll kill them all!" a leader of the rescue team yelled furiously.
"Stop wasting your time on them. We must return at once..."
As the rest of the team was tossing their spells at the Sea Hook Black Beasts to vent their anger and frustration, a signal was suddenly fired into the sky above the new city. They could even hear the alarm from a great distance away!
"The city is under attack!" Tang Peng exclaimed, his face pale.
"Damn it, did the Viscera Hunters really invade the city while we were away?"
Chapter 1436 - The Concealed Viscera Hunters
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
---
---
A huge bunch of blue moths was circling the southernmost area of the Shuangdong Mountains. Not long after, a beautiful woman with moth wings appeared in the sky. She was staring down at the rising seawater...
"Trying to pull a sneak attack on us?" Yu Shishi grinned.
Several figures were moving restlessly in the water. Their savage eyes were hidden in the water, but Yu Shishi had seen through their trick right away.
"Go, alert the patrol squad!" Yu Shishi pinched her finger and Summoned a speedy moth out of nowhere like a magic trick. The moth had a special glow that was visible from a certain distance away.
A patrol squad showed up soon. The figures in the seawater revealed themselves by coming ashore at almost the same time. The patrol squad had arrived without alerting the intruders.
"It's the Viscera Hunters. These creatures are able to move freely on land without affecting their fighting capacity!" the captain of the patrol squad told everyone.
"Wait a little longer, let them walk into my Shadow Trap."
"My Sinister Spider Trap is ready, too."
The members of the patrol squad were whispering. It was a lot easier to take out the sea monsters after knowing where they were going to strike.
The moths were spread throughout the vicinity of the Shuangdong Mountains. The glowing moths were a sign that they had spotted intruders. Yu Shishi would relay the information to the patrolling squads so they could take out the intruders.
"There are so many of them!" Yu Shishi looked at the tiny glows in the darkness.
The construction of Fanxue New City had been going very smoothly. The Shuangdong Mountains had stopped the icy tide from reaching the vicinity of the new city when the sea level rose. However, the sea monsters seemed to have great scouting ability. They could even analyze the behavior of humans!
Feiniao Headquarters City was an important human base in the maritime battlefield of the South China Sea. A huge portion of the coastline, consisting of countless cities and villages, was drowned. The people desperately needed a new place to settle, so these detestable sea monsters would try everything to stop the construction of the Headquarters City. They had finally carried out their first wave of attacks!
The attacks were quite cunning, since five patrol squads had left for the sea to rescue a ship. If the moths were not on alert at all times, the raid would clearly inflict great losses on Fanxue New City...
The residents desperately needed a sense of security. If the Viscera Hunters managed to break through the line of defense and carry out a massacre in the new city, it would immediately fall to the bottom of the chasm, as no one would be willing to settle in a dangerous place where the sea monsters could invade so easily!
The Viscera Hunters were extremely cunning, too. It was like they knew killing the Mages would not really make any difference. Their goal was to disrupt the order along the east coastline and make the situation even more chaotic, since it would give them more opportunities to strike their enemy!
---
"What's the situation?" Mu Ningxue beat her Wind Wings and landed nimbly on the dam.
"It's the Viscera Hunters. The cunning creatures lured five of our squads out to the deep sea. We aren't really sure about their situation for now. Meanwhile, the sea monsters suddenly invaded us when we were short-handed..." Lu Jiang, who was in charge of the dam's defense, informed her.
Mu Ningxue was shocked after hearing Lu Jiang's report.
How were these sea monsters so cunning? It was like they were as intelligent as humans, judging from their approach!
Was there an intelligent existence leading the army of sea monsters? It would explain why the sea monsters, who used to be a sheet of loose sand, had become so cunning, and how they knew how to invade strategically.
Mu Ningxue had dealt with sea monsters on numerous occasions, and could not help but feel that something did not seem right after seeing how the Viscera Hunters were carrying out their attack.
"No wonder so many cities had fallen. These sea monsters aren't the same as the ones we've dealt with before. Something doesn't seem right at all."
"It's such a relief to have the moths keeping an eye out for us. Otherwise, a few of the Viscera Hunters would surely sneak past our defenses while we were short on hands. If there were any casualties, our enemies would spread the news blatantly. It would ruin our new city that we've put so much effort into!" Lu Jiang swore.
"Mm, let's be careful," Mu Ningxue let out a relieved sigh when she saw that the patrol squads had kept the situation under control.
She had spent a huge fortune setting up patrol squads recently to guarantee the safety of Fanxue New City. It was all thanks to Shao Yu, who did not stop scouting the ocean, and had recently discovered the Viscera Hunters were planning to make a move. It was unlikely they could have recruited so many Mages if they stuck to their initial plan.
"I wonder how the people that went out to the ocean are doing," Lu Jiang said worriedly.
"I'll check it out," Mu Ningxue stomped her foot on the dam, summoning a white gust of wind that circled around her like ribbons. They slowly formed six pairs of elegant wings behind her as she glided down the wall...
Mu Ningxue soared into the air rapidly after her foot briefly touched the surface of the ocean. She maintained her altitude while flying swiftly into the distance.
---
---
The deep sea area…
A lightning bolt descended amid the darkness, blasting a huge spray of blood into the air.
The deck of the ship had already split open. The Sea Hook Black Beasts kept boarding the ship from both sides. Their wriggling bodies were utterly disgusting to look at.
"Look out, that one over there is a Viscera Hunter!" Cao Qinqin screamed.
Captain Tang Peng turned around and noticed the creature's back was a lot different than the rest of the Sea Hook Black Beasts. It did not have the same dull expression, but a fierce look in the eyes. Even its claws were significantly sharper than the Sea Hook Black Beasts'!
Tang Peng was unable to dodge in time, and its claws left a huge cut on his stomach. The little hooks on the claws even pulled Tang Peng's intestines out as blood splattered across the floor!
Luckily, Tang Peng was an experienced fighter. He ignored the tremendous pain from his belly and swiftly ran toward the Water Curtain that Cao Qinqin had set up.
Tang Peng ran into the Water Curtain, which did not resist him. He was able to jump into it straight away, but the water stopped the Viscera Hunter that was aiming to take his life. The creature was extremely frustrated as it could not get any closer...
Tang Peng managed to save himself. His heart was pounding heavily.
They all thought the sea monsters surrounding the ship were only the weak Sea Hook Black Beasts. To their surprise, there were quite a few Viscera Hunters hiding among them. These creatures were trying to keep them here forever, by dragging them to the bottom of the ocean!
"Hang in there, we are almost at the intermediate area!"
Mo Fan glanced at the injured. He was struggling to come up with a better plan.
The seawater was too restricting to him. He was unable to utilize his Shadow Element, Fire Element, or even his Summoning Element. Otherwise, there was no way these Viscera Hunters could have ambushed them. Mo Fan could only eliminate the sea monsters that were blocking the ship's way as quickly as possible, and leave the sea monsters that were attacking from the sides and stern to the rest of the team!
Chapter 1437 - Danger Resolved
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
An icy wind brushed their faces. A chilling mist descended from the darkness and froze the seawater when it touched the surface of the ocean.
It was not just a thin layer of ice. It was as sturdy as rock, and too thick for the Sea Hook Black Beasts to break through!
