Chapter 559, Chapter 17: Frozen Ocean
As Verafia’s voice fell, the oppressive black clouds in the iron-gray sky seemed to tear apart, and a bolt of silver lightning struck heavily near the ship.
Amidst the deafening thunder, a gale erupted, blowing so fiercely that Verafia couldn’t open her eyes, the wind stinging her face like ice shards. Her hair, previously tied up, was blown about and fluttered in the wind, while the sails on the mast behind her made a terrifying noise.
The massive storm stirred up huge waves on the sea surface. Wave after wave surged, causing the entire ship to rock violently. Verafia felt the world lurch and struggled to remain standing, gripping the railing in front of her with all her might.
“Veer!”
Igctor managed to steady himself and, through the howling wind, shouted, “What did you say? That there are sleeping deities beneath this ocean?”
In the storm, a tempest of seawater and ice fragments, Verafia found it difficult to even lift her face, let alone speak.
However, the raging sea needed no explanation.
As if in response to the wrath of the immortal and magnificent existence beneath the ocean, waves more than ten meters high rose, blotting out the sky, and crashed heavily onto the right side of the ship, causing it to tilt sharply, nearly overturning.
In the sudden impact, Verafia’s fingers slipped from the railing, and she slid down the tilting deck. Igctor swiftly grabbed the young girl by the waist as the overwhelming, frigid waves plummeted down, drenching her long dress and wetting her long hair.
“Veer!”
Igctor quickly turned his head and cried out, seeing the girl bite her lip and shake her head, her normally rosy cheeks visibly paling in the icy rain.
An urgent bell rang from the ship, and a few idle sailors hastily cast out ropes. The Ice Dragon’s young girl, among them, anxiously looked around, spotted Verafia and Igctor, and ran towards them.
At this point, the captain also emerged and stood at the bow, shouting at the top of his lungs against the fierce wind:
“Distinguished guests, lords, do not be alarmed. The ‘Adventurer’ is the best ship in Langreat, and it is protected by a Mage! Such a storm cannot harm it!”
Before the captain’s voice had faded, the ship suddenly lurched as if it had hit a mountain. A tremendous, terrifying sound echoed from the bottom of the hull. The mast, as thick as two men, broke under the violent impact and began to fall towards the golden-haired girl below!
Igctor quickly pulled the girl he held closer, shielding her beneath him. The broken mast struck his shoulder, forcing him to his knees, his shoulder bone bearing the heavy impact. His clothes were torn, and the mast dug into his flesh.
“Igctor, Verafia!”
Ophilia arrived and quickly took the girl from beneath the young man.
“How could this happen… The nautical charts clearly indicate deep sea with no reefs. How could we have struck one…?”
The captain, who had regained his footing by gripping the railing, was now as pale as paper, muttering blankly, “And the ship’s hull is fitted with alchemical armor. Even if we did hit a reef, it shouldn’t have been breached like this…”
The sound of seawater pouring in, mingling with the roaring wind and crashing waves, was clearly audible to Verafia.
This was the deep sea, a freezing ocean, with no land in sight. With the hull damaged and seawater flooding in, everyone knew the inevitable outcome.
Supported by Ophilia, she struggled to stand, one hand gripping the tilted railing. What she saw was the sea surface rapidly freezing into a solid ice layer, as if the entire ocean were being frozen.
What kind of power could freeze an entire sea?
Just as Igctor had said, the answer was self-evident.
Verafia gripped the railing tightly, turning her head. Waves upon waves crashed against the ship’s side. Even the Mages on board, doing their utmost, could not halt the sinking speed of the “Adventurer.”
The violent impacts caused countless sailors to fall, sliding off the deck and smashing into railings, their terrified screams swallowed by the sea.
No, not just falling into the sea… Verafia could see that the moment they entered the oceanwaters, their body heat was devoured by the cold sea, their blood and internal organs freezing into ice, bursting outwards before being swallowed by the roaring depths.
Like the ship itself, constantly falling, they were being shattered and torn apart by the ever-expanding frost, then consumed by the mouth of this sea… no, by the mouth of that magnificent existence!
For ordinary powerful individuals, falling into the ocean, if they could hold onto floating debris, their strength far surpassing mortals might allow them to find land… but in the furious tempest of this oceanic titan, even Saints would have no chance of survival!
Verafia bit her lip gently, then suddenly turned her face forcefully and said, “Igctor, Little Fei, the deity in the sea might want to devour me… We must leave here quickly!”
The entity beneath the sea was undoubtedly a God-level being… Even if its will was still dormant, the power it released was enough to freeze the ocean and destroy worlds!
Devouring a deity, even one as incomplete as herself, would greatly benefit most God-level beings in perfecting their own incomplete laws. Even more so, Verafia’s body carried the will of the resurrected Blazing Flame God King Herafir, and even her Divine Spark!
The will of a deity does not awaken from dormancy in just a few years. For years, Langreat had found calm seas, but now, since their arrival, the waves had become tumultuous. The only explanation was that the sleeping deity had sensed her arrival and wished to devour her.
“Leave?”
Unimaginable frost spread across the sea surface. Igctor’s gaze flickered towards the collapsing ship, the panicked and fearful faces of hundreds of people. The entire ship and its inhabitants were being consumed by the sea and the frost…
However, he was not so foolish as to remain on the ship for these people, hoping for a miracle or to meet death together. But on this vast ocean, how could they escape?
Even if this ocean was under the will of the magnificent oceanic entity, and they were in a vast ice ocean, even if Ophilia transformed into a Dragon, would her strength be enough to cross the entire sea?
At this very moment, a colossal wave crashed, shattering the ship, which was capable of withstanding a Saint-level attack. Suddenly, a dragon’s roar echoed, and the Frost Dragon flapped its frosted wings, stirring the waves, and soared into the sky!
However, a giant wave hundreds of meters high rose from the sea surface, as if the entire ocean had fallen into a fit of rage, mirroring the boundless fury of the entity within. It blotted out the sky, rendering even a dragon as insignificant as an ant!
Even Ophilia, as a Dragon Princess, was utterly incapable of resisting this divine wrath and the sky-shattering waves. Tens of thousands of tons of seawater froze into a deep, chilling frost in mid-air, threatening to claim their lives!
