Chapter Seven: The Hidden Powerhouse
Amidst the vast sea of nebulous fog, ten large Metal Lives encircled a single small one. Thousands of figures poured out from within the larger vessels. These pirates all stared at the pitiful group of Lin Lei and the others. Clearly, they did not take these twenty-odd people seriously.
"It's over, it's all over!" Ai Qi trembled all over, his face deathly pale.
The other Midgod demons, upon seeing thousands of powerful figures surrounding them, felt their hearts plunge into icy despair, as if doused with freezing water. The Midgod demons' eyes were filled with hopelessness. Encircled by thousands of Midgods, they had no illusions of a chance to resist.
"Boss, we're in trouble," Bei Bei said, his expression grim.
Lin Lei nodded slightly. Trouble was an understatement. Group attacks grew more terrifying the greater the numbers, and these were thousands of Midgods.
"Even the water below is full of them," Linlei observed with a glance, spotting hundreds of pirates lurking beneath the waves. It seemed they feared an escape attempt through the seabed.
"Now we're really done for." Someone had already given up hope.
The big-bearded Bates looked equally grave, his voice low and heavy. "There are thousands of Midgods, and it looks like there are Highgods among them too. Far too many. Everyone will have to rely on themselves now. I hope everyone has good luck, like we did when we survived the Fog Sea Turmoil!"
"Good luck, everyone," agreed the bald youth Bo Fei. His voice was equally somber. Even as a Highgod, in a situation like this, there was no way for him to protect everyone else.
A deathly silence fell over the Metal Life.
"Everyone."
All heads turned. The speaker was Ai Qi.
The hireling Ai Qi spoke solemnly. "I brought you all here this time, never imagining I would be leading you into a near-certain death disaster. I'm sorry!" Ai Qi bowed slightly.
"Damn it! Even if we're going to die, I'm taking some of them with me!" someone roared hysterically.
"That's right! They want to kill us, but it won't be easy. I survived the Fog Sea Turmoil; I won't die so easily!"
The entire Metal Life erupted in shouts and curses.
Lin Lei and his three companions remained silent.
"Something's strange," Lin Lei murmured, looking outside at the dense masses of Midgods hovering over the foggy sea. "So many Midgods have gathered, yet they haven't attacked. What are they hesitating for?"
"Boss, what do we do?" Bei Bei looked at Lin Lei.
"At a time like this, there's no point in holding back," Lin Lei replied helplessly via divine sense transmission. At this juncture, any further concealment of their strength would likely get them killed.
Suddenly—
A colossal, raging lightning dragon erupted violently from beneath the water, roaring as it slammed into the Metal Life Lin Lei and the others occupied. With a deafening boom, the entire vessel disintegrated into fragments, and the group of over twenty instantly found themselves hovering above the sea's surface.
Lin Lei and his companions, suspended over the ocean, looked as vulnerable as sheep surrounded by a wolf pack.
"Hahaha..." Derisive laughter immediately rose from the ranks of the thousands of pirates. At that moment, the Blade Isle's second-in-command, Dai Man, flew to the front of the formation, accompanied by thirty-six Highgods. The ordinary Midgod pirates quickly made way with respectful gestures.
Dai Man raised a hand slightly, and instantly, the thousands of pirates fell silent.
Lin Lei and his group immediately focused their attention on Dai Man.
"This man is probably the pirate leader," Lin Lei thought, sizing up Dai Man. "And he's followed by thirty-six Highgods. This leader likely possesses the strength of a Five-Star Demon, or perhaps even Six-Star." Lin Lei grew more cautious. He did not yet have full confidence in his ability to fight a Six-Star Demon.
"Whoosh, whoosh~~~" The waves churned.
Dai Man stood at the very front of the Highgod contingent, treading upon the wave crests, his eyes glowing with a faint, unsettling red light.
"Haha, didn't expect to find two Highgods here," Dai Man laughed with arrogant bravado, his gaze fixed on the bald youth Bo Fei, occasionally sweeping over Di Liya. "Do you know who I am? Let me tell you—I'm the second-in-command of Blade Isle!"
A wicked grin spread across Dai Man's face, yet his reddened eyes held a strange, unnerving quality.
The pirates all knew that when Second-in-Command Dai Man wore that particular smile, it usually heralded his most frantic, most deranged moments!
"Masters of Blade Isle," Ai Qi hastily called out, his tone earnest and respectful. "We are merely ordinary travelers. Please, could you spare us? We are willing to offer up all our wealth."
"Wealth?"
At the mention of wealth, Dai Man's mind immediately flashed back to Arkatz's death and the spatial ring taken by that black-haired man—a ring containing Blade Isle's immense fortune. His lingering frustration stemmed from this very fact. Dai Man glared at Ai Qi. "Wealth? How much could you possibly have? You think something like that would interest me? Since fleeing Blade Isle, I've already encountered three groups along the way. I killed them all."
He then pointed a finger at Lin Lei and his companions. "And you all are the fourth!"
Hearing this, Lin Lei and the others furrowed their brows.
"So these people are fugitives from Blade Isle?" A vague understanding dawned on Lin Lei.
"That bald one, and that stinking woman—they're both Highgods. You four go deal with them," Dai Man said flatly, glancing back over his shoulder. Four Highgods immediately flew forward. Dai Man then bellowed loudly, "Brothers from the Second Mountain! It's your turn this time! Kill them all!"
Instantly, the Midgod pirates who had been waiting nearby surged forward. It hadn't been their turn in the previous three encounters, and they were itching for action.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
Their eyes shone with excitement as roughly seven to eight hundred Midgods, led by the four Highgods, charged forward in a single wave. The other pirates watched from a distance. Sending over eight hundred to deal with just twenty-odd people showed they considered the opposition a significant threat.