"Hmm?! That's..."
At that moment, the enemy forces on the other side had also drawn near. Hundreds of sea-clan behemoths came to a halt, their sheer mass alone radiating an overwhelming sense of oppression.
And Governor Iyas had even spotted several "acquaintances" among them!
"We meet again, Governor Iyas!" Belinda stepped forward, a trace of satisfaction coloring her tone. "I didn't expect it would come so soon, did you?"
"I only regret not catching you back then! If I had, I would have flayed your skin whole and turned it into a carpet!"
Iyas said through gritted teeth, then cast a venomous glance at Lei Lin beside Belinda. He clearly recognized the one who had rescued Belinda and ruined his plans — the very culprit behind his failure. If looks could kill, Lei Lin would have died countless times over. But they never could, so Lei Lin remained utterly unmoved. After all, the real mastermind hadn't spoken yet.
"Heh heh... So you're the governor of Iyas Port? I don't like the color of your eyes. As collectibles, I already have far too many of those..."
Elder Belcrack of the Evil Eye chuckled with a sinister laugh.
"You are... Elder of the Evil Eye, Fifth-Rank Ritualist! 'The Eye-Enucleating Butcher' — Belcrack!" Iyas called out the name with undisguised dread.
At the sound of those titles, even the several Dawn Star elders at Iyas's side took several steps back in succession, having clearly heard of this butcher's fearsome reputation.
"How could you possibly be here?! Could it be that a new round of the continental war is about to begin?"
It was obvious that Belcrack's appearance had dealt Iyas a tremendous shock.
"Heh heh! You worry far too much. This territory belongs to the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes, not the Power of Chaos. Even if I killed you right here, what could they do about it?"
Belcrack waved his white tentacles. "Attack!"
"Roar!" "Roar roar!" "ROAR ROAR ROAR!!!"
The colossal sea beasts roared, churning up massive tidal waves that crashed toward the port. The defenders could only stare in shock as the sea surged into towering walls of water over a dozen meters high — before being swallowed by the furious tide...
The sea-clan forces Belcrack had brought clearly possessed extraordinary combat strength, and with the support of those enormous sea beasts as well, they achieved an overwhelming advantage in the blink of an eye.
Iyas Port descended into instant chaos. Many pirates and even some of the original sea merchants began looting and seizing the opportunity to plunder, plunging the entire port into an even worse state.
"Heh heh! After today, Iyas Port will be nothing but history!"
But at this point, Governor Iyas and his forces could no longer concern themselves with the port — because even they now faced a dire crisis.
Led by the Fifth-Rank Ritualist Belcrack, they had been surrounded by a group of equally powerful Fourth-Rank experts.
"Nick! The time has come for you to prove yourself! Pick any opponent you like — and kill them!" Belcrack said with malicious intent.
"..." Lei Lin rolled his eyes. Iyas and the others were Dawn Star-level experts at the very least, and desperate ones at that. With the strength he had shown so far, even picking the weakest of them would be no match for him. And after fighting them to the death, Belcrack's underlings would likely swoop in to reap the benefits.
"Beast Soul Art — Summon Goodric!" Despite his private misgivings, Lei Lin still stepped forward and summoned Goodric's spectral phantom, which materialized like a colossal manta ray.
In the ocean, Goodric could receive an even greater boost. Although this Beast Soul originally only possessed third-tier power, a mature Goodric still had Dawn Star strength. With a solid foundation and Lei Lin's secret modifications, it had faintly reached the threshold of half-fourth-tier.
"Moooo..."
The massive Goodric spewed a torrent of blue water, engulfing one of the eagle-beaked alien races within a curtain of water.
"Kill!" "Go!" As if a signal had been triggered, brilliant flashes of light erupted on both sides as numerous powerhouses charged into battle. Belcrack, meanwhile, leisurely piloted the enormous golden octopus along the edges of the battlefield, as if searching for his opponents' weaknesses, putting immense pressure on Iyas and the others.
"Hold on! I'll come help you once I finish my opponent!" Lei Lin, standing on the Beast Soul's back, heard Belinda's voice transmission and couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
"However, the role I'm playing right now is at most a newly entered fourth-tier White Devil mixed-blood — there are certain things I must keep secret! Might as well test out the Beast Soul Art first!"
The Path of Sacrifice — due to a lack of suitable offerings and his own indecision about which direction to choose, Lei Lin had yet to venture into it. But the Beast Soul Art carried none of those troubles.