The Assassination Begins

【Skyrending Spear!】

A gale howled as ambient spiritual energy surged violently into the Overlord Spear.

The spear’s tip blazed with blinding silver light,the air compressing rapidly into spiraling currents that coiled around the shaft.

Black’s feet carved deep grooves into the deck,his entire body taut as a fully drawn bowstring.

“Little Jinzi! Dragon!”

The Imperial Wyvern understood instantly.

It swooped before the Hammerhead Sea Dragon and unleashed a thunderous roar.

The overwhelming draconic aura froze the beast once more—for three critical seconds.

And three seconds was more than enough to send it to hell.

“Die.”

The spear shot forth like a bolt of divine judgment.

Silver light tore through the battlefield—the spearhead violently impaling the Hammerhead’s chest.

With its scales already shredded by earlier attacks,the Overlord Spear met no resistance—plunging straight through the dragon’s heart.

The sounds of shattering scales, rending flesh, and snapping bone erupted simultaneously.

The spear pierced clean through the massive body—then the compressed air around it detonated,ripping a crater-sized wound in the dragon’s torso.

The Hammerhead let out a final, agonized wail,staggered backward,smashed through the ship’s railing,and collapsed with a thunderous crash.

“Hah…!”

Black yanked the Overlord Spear from the corpse,panting heavily.

That combo had drained more than half his spiritual energy.

After catching his breath,he stared down at the fallen beast.

Sure enough, faint blue motes began seeping from the corpse—coalescing into a miniature Hammerhead Sea Dragon.

Its soul.

Just like before, Black immediately cast 【Soulbind Seal】.

Arcane runes spiraled from his fingertips like chains,then shot forth with a resonant hum.

The blue soul writhed violently—

but gradually stilled under the binding magic.

Capture Success Rate: 10%
Capture Success Rate: 30%
Capture Success Rate: 50%
Capture Success Rate: 100%!

Hammerhead Sea Dragon successfully captured!
Summonable Unit: Hammerhead Sea Dragon
Racial Stat Total: 450
Level: Lv.19
Skills: Siege Ram, Ironhide Tail Whip, Raging Tide, Earthshaker Slam

Killing the Hammerhead had leveled Black up to Level 19,and the summoned dragon’s level was accordingly capped at 19.

Even so, this new ally significantly boosted his combat power.

As the earlier fight had shown,every additional friendly unit meant more enemy distraction—giving Black more time and space to unleash his own attacks.

After recalling the Sea Lion Dragon,

Black quickly assessed the scale of this Dragon Tide.

It wasn’t large—barely half the size of yesterday’s.

But its assault was ferocious and relentless,pouring out of the sea in a single, overwhelming wave.

The entire fleet was once again locked in brutal combat—just like the day before.

The Hodyr, as expected, was the primary target.

Sea dragons swarmed it in dense clusters.

Pascal and Lucy hovered high above,annihilating dozens of dragons with each strike.

Their vanguard ship fared no better.

Everywhere he looked—sea dragons, blood, corpses.

Not just dragons—humans too.

Some crewmen hadn’t reached the shelter cabins in time:some died from venomous spines,others were bitten clean in half by Sea Lion jaws,and a few were flattened into pulp by Hammerhead rams.

Each death was more gruesome than the last.

This grim reality hammered home one truth to Black:

This world wasn’t a game.

The captain and Dragon-Slaying Guards were all locked in desperate duels,unable to disengage.

“Though they’re tough, we still hold the upper hand.

Victory is only a matter of time.”

Alice kicked away a Hammerhead,

then leapt to Black’s side.

“Agreed.”

Black nodded.

The Dragon Tide was terrifying—but as long as Jörmungandr didn’t appear,this was just a minor skirmish.

“Same as before—you take the front, I’ll cover the rear.”

Once again, they stood back-to-back,with Little Jinzi circling protectively overhead.

Their formation was impenetrable.

Any sea dragon that approached was either repelled or cut down instantly.

But if sea dragons couldn’t break through…others might.

Black was deep in the frenzy of battle—when suddenly, through his spiritual link with Little Jinzi,he sensed a violent spike in the wyvern’s emotions.

“Chirp-chirp!”

Little Jinzi was warning him—danger from that direction!

Black instinctively glanced over—and in that instant, his blood turned to ice.

Six black-clad figures had appeared out of nowhere.

All wore identical masks, revealing only cold, merciless eyes.

Their weapons varied—but all gleamed with lethal intent.

And their spiritual energy…their levels were terrifyingly high.

In a flash, the six assassins moved—their speed monstrous!

Five of them charged straight at the Dragon-Slaying Guards on deck.

Blades flashed—and several unprepared guards collapsed instantly,their blood staining the wood.

The sixth assassin locked eyes on Alice—and like a phantom, darted toward her unprotected back.

Her target was unmistakable.

The Draconic Parliament?!

The name exploded in Black’s mind.

He never imagined they’d strike so brazenly—or deploy their entire squad!

And their goal wasn’t just Alice anymore.

This wasn’t an assassination.

It was a massacre.

The sudden turn of events stunned Black.

He realized it all now—

from the moment they boarded this vanguard ship,they’d been marked.

The Dragon Tide was the perfect cover.

Originally, they may have only wanted Alice.

But with the chaos of the tide,they’d decided to kill everyone on board—and blame it all on the sea dragons!

“Shit!”

Black’s pupils contracted.

The black-clad assassin was already upon them—

a blur of killing intent aimed at Alice’s back.

Alice, still battling sea dragons, noticed nothing.

No time to think.

Black activated 【Stalwart Body】—a golden aura flaring around him as his defense spiked.

He lunged behind Alice,swinging the Overlord Spear horizontally to block the assassin’s path.

“You’re courting death!”

The assassin snarled—shocked that Black had reacted in time.

But a mere Level 19 pirate?

She sneered at his audacity.

CLANG!

Her short dagger clashed against the Overlord Spear—a deafening metallic shriek tearing through the air.

A colossal force surged up the spear shaft!

Black’s arms went numb—and the Overlord Spear was knocked clean out of his hands,clattering onto the deck.