The players aboard the transport ship grew increasingly tense at the sight of such an imposing formation.
Players who spent their time around Dragon Heart Island experienced all manner of battles day in and day out — fights against sea beasts, clashes with other players, and who knew how many naval engagements. But right now, over twenty speedboats had surrounded their transport ship, eight of which were Bronze Rank, and among them was a single Iron Rank speedboat — the kind you rarely ever laid eyes on.
The commotion had not only alarmed the players aboard the transport ship; the other factions on Dark Ore Island had also been drawn by the Nine Serpents' grand display, and they all hurried over to see what was going on.
"This is it... we're done for..."
Longyou Tianxia's expression had turned grave as well, and he had no idea what to do. He hadn't expected Iron Hand to be this ruthless.
An ordinary adventure team would consider themselves lucky to get their hands on even a single high-grade speedboat. His Dragon Rider Adventure Team had only obtained two Bronze Rank speedboats through sheer luck, which had given them a measure of standing and confidence on Dragon Heart Island.
But now, surrounded by this many speedboats — eight Bronze Rank ones were bad enough — he never imagined the Nine Serpents would actually dispatch an Iron Rank speedboat to hunt them down. There was truly no escape now.
The open sea was nothing like land. On land, players could flee in any direction, but at sea there was nowhere to run. Especially when you were boxed in like this — even with a speedboat of your own, escape was impossible.
"Brother Longyou, is the situation really that bad?" Qingzhu knew little about affairs at sea, and seeing how tense everyone had become, she couldn't help but ask.
"It's worse than bad..." Longyou Tianxia said with a bitter smile, pointing toward a figure in the crowd of Nine Serpents — an elementalist clad in pitch-black robes, wearing a silver mask. "If it were just Iron Hand, I might be able to handle it. But that man is the Nine Serpents Adventure Team's vice-captain, Undefeatable Celestial Star. He used to be the vice president of the ultra-first-rate guild Nine Star House, but for reasons unknown he left them a few years ago and became the Nine Serpents' vice-captain. On top of that, he himself is one of the rare Maritime Legacy holders in the Sea of Death."
A Maritime Legacy was the dream of countless seafaring players.
Perhaps such a legacy meant little to players who developed on land — it might not even be of any help at all. But at sea, it made one a ruler among kings. Fighting a player who possessed a Maritime Legacy on the open ocean was nothing short of suicide.
While Longyou Tianxia was explaining, the other players aboard the transport ship had also turned their gazes toward Shi Feng.
"You really shouldn't mess with the Nine Serpents. It felt good for a moment, and now look what happened."
"I never thought the Nine Serpents would be this vicious. Even Undefeatable Wanderer showed up."
"Friend, the Nine Serpents aren't people you want to cross. That Undefeatable Celestial Star is a ruthless one. You'd better go down and apologize properly. Otherwise, being hunted back to level zero isn't out of the question."
"I heard Undefeatable Celestial Star has a special item that doubles death penalties, and the Nine Serpents have quite a few tracking specialists in their ranks. There was an adventure team captain who provoked Undefeatable Celestial Star before, and his level had already dropped to around fifty. In the end, he had no choice but to leave the Sea of Death entirely."
Many regarded Shi Feng with sympathy. If he hadn't been so impulsive back then, things wouldn't have come to this. A few well-meaning players couldn't help but try to counsel him.
Being able to make a living on Dragon Heart Island was proof of one's strength in its own right, and everyone knew how difficult it was to reach this point. Never mind being hunted back to level zero — simply losing a dozen or so levels was enough to drive a person to despair.
"Kid, come down here and accept your death like a good boy. Hand over all your equipment, and maybe we'll call this whole thing even!" Iron Hand bellowed.
"Iron Hand, this is just over a ship ticket. Did it really have to come to this?" Longyou Tianxia stepped forward through gritted teeth. "How about I apologize on behalf of my friend?"
"Your apology is worthless!" Iron Hand sneered. "Do you have any idea what it took for me to get to Dark Ore Island ahead of schedule? I even mobilized our Nine Serpents' Iron Rank speedboat. You think a sorry is going to fix that?"