“Mongrel”—the word was like an awl, stabbing deep into the Mad Shark King's heart.
His face, which had been set in a grin of feigned elegance, instantly darkened. The shark flesh on his cheeks contorted.
Within the merman tribes, social classes were divided by species. The ruling class was naturally the whale mermen of the Merman Court.
Next came the shark, squid, and crocodile mermen, among others.
Though Gareth O'Connell was known as the Mad Shark King and indeed possessed shark merman blood, he was a hybrid of shark and conch merman.
Other shark mermen were massive and possessed overwhelming strength, but the Mad Shark King was thin and short.
This was clearly because the conch merman blood dominated his constitution.
This stature and lineage had subjected him to endless bullying within his tribe during his youth; it was the pain of his life.
Once he grew powerful, he returned to his tribe and slaughtered everyone who had dared to mock his heritage.
He even killed his shark father and conch mother, retaliating against them for giving him such lowly blood.
Since then, no merman dared mention the matter of lineage in front of him.
And yet!
And yet!
The Mad Shark King's feigned elegance vanished, replaced by a world-shaking rage.
“Leon Douglas!”
His eyes overflowed with fury. As one of the Five Kings of the Dusk Sea, he had intended to end these humans' lives with grace, granting them a dignified exit.
But this human named Leon had crossed the ultimate line by mocking his blood!
“A mere Silver priest dares to disrespect a Gold mage! Die!”
The wand in the Mad Shark King's hand lit up with a brilliant radiance. A tiny but incredibly complex magic model formed within the magic crystal, and the surrounding water elements surged toward its tip.
Swoosh!
In the next second, a jet of water, swifter than a cannonball, shot out. It crossed dozens of meters in less than half a breath, hurtling toward Leon.
However, just before the high-pressure stream could touch him, a shield shimmering with golden light appeared, blocking the attack for him.
Miles stepped forward, raising his priest's scepter. “Bullying a Silver rank with a Gold rank... is this the grace of the Mad Shark King, one of the Five Kings?”
At the same time, Viscount Finn let out a grin. “Disrespectful? Oh, and what of it?”
The Mad Shark King did not follow up with another attack immediately. Instead, he stared coldly at Miles and Viscount Finn.
“A mid-stage Gold priest and an injured Gold bloodline warrior... You think you two can handle me?”
Miles's priest robes fluttered despite the lack of wind. He drew a rusted shortsword with his left hand. “You're welcome to find out if we can kill you.”
Viscount Finn did not back down either. Red Battle Qi, as fierce as fire, erupted from him, radiating the aura of a man in his prime. “Injured? Are you talking about me?”
Sensing the peak aura coming from Viscount Finn, the Mad Shark King's expression shifted. Had that damned Baron given him the wrong information?
But a moment later, he reacted.
No, the intelligence wasn't wrong.
Viscount Finn's injury was long-standing. Even a Diamond priest would be helpless to cure it.
He couldn't have suddenly recovered just as the crusade began.
Besides, if he really had recovered, he certainly wouldn't show it now.
If it were Gareth himself, he would use the information gap to ambush the enemy. Why would he release his aura now to warn them?
The Mad Shark King gave a cold smile, revealing his triangular teeth. “A method to fake your aura? You play it well; you almost fooled me.”
“Fake my aura? If you really think that, then give it a try!” Viscount Finn sneered back, showing no sign of concern.
But the more he acted this way, the more certain the Mad Shark King became of his theory.
“You say try? Then—try it!”
Before the word “Then” had even left his mouth, the Mad Shark King suddenly mobilized the mana in his body, channeling it into the wand's crystal like a surging tide.
The moment the words “try it” fell, four bolts of lightning condensed on the crystal and shot out with incredible speed.
“Gold Magic: Thunderbolt Stream!”
Two of the four streams shot toward Miles and Viscount Finn, while the remaining two went straight for Leon!
Moreover, the power of the two streams aimed at Leon was even greater than the others!
Launching a sneak attack while talking and focusing on a specific target showed just how much the Mad Shark King loathed Leon for the insult to his bloodline.
Facing the sudden Thunderbolt Streams, Leon showed no panic. With great composure, he released a Sacred Light Shield in front of him.
A harsh sizzling sound erupted.
The Thunderbolt Streams slammed violently into the surface of the Sacred Light Shield, sending arcs of electricity flying and plasma churning.
However, this Sacred Light Shield—already at the Gold rank and upgraded to Lv2—was extremely sturdy. It blocked the attack completely, not letting the lightning penetrate an inch.
“As expected, it's quite taxing...”
Leon felt the mental power consumption from blocking those two streams. It had actually drained half of his mental power!
He truly was a peak Gold mage; even a casual spell possessed such power.
Any other Silver mage facing those Thunderbolt Streams would likely have been killed in a single hit.
Fortunately.
“Since I dared to step onto a Gold-rank battlefield, I naturally came prepared!”
Leon reached for his waist and grabbed a grape-flavored potion. He popped the cork and downed the 【Silver-rank Mental Power Recovery Potion】, rapidly restoring his mental energy.
This single potion was worth 300 gold coins. It could quickly restore nearly 70% of a Silver priest's mental power and would continue to provide restoration afterward.
Gulping down a 300-gold potion in one go... Not just Miles and Viscount Finn, but even the Mad Shark King's face twitched at such extravagance.
To Leon, 300 gold coins certainly weren't cheap, but as a cost for battle, it wasn't too high a price to pay.
After drinking the potion, Leon used Miles's cover to flip open a book with a red cover.
He flipped through the pages at high speed. In the next second, one formidable divine art after another manifested from the book, swirling around him.
【Gold Divine Art: Bemis’s Protection】
【Gold Divine Art: Moonlight Cloak】
【Gold Divine Art: Wind-Whisper Heavy Cannon】
【Gold Divine Art: I Name This the Mental Power Boost Divine Art】
【Gold Divine Art: Petrification Curse】
【Gold Divine Art: Grating Binding】
【Gold Divine Art: Triple Speed Debuff】
Sensing the power of the divine arts radiating from that red fairy tale book, the Mad Shark King's previously calm expression froze, and his eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
Seven Gold divine arts! Two to protect himself, one for attack, one for buffing, and three for binding and debuffing!
He had cast them all in a damn heartbeat!
The sudden feeling of restriction and discomfort caused the Mad Shark King's heart to sink.
Part of it was because Leon's strength exceeded his expectations—and the other part was because Leon's financial power exceeded his expectations by a mile!
Rate on N.U.
