"ROOOARRR!!!"
A profoundly muffled roar erupted from the ocean depths, followed by a terrifying dark shadow that surged upward, carrying with it powerful waves of life force.
The sheer oppressive pressure from its colossal form sent the sea surface into a frenzy resembling a tenth-grade tsunami, and the sailing vessel carrying Raylin rocked violently back and forth.
"Levitate!" Gilbert's shrill voice rang out as he immediately issued the command.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Powerful updrafts, brimming with seemingly infinite force, lifted the entire sailing vessel into the air, suspending it aloft.
But the other sea-dwellings were not so fortunate. Large numbers of sharks, sea turtles, and even various other marine creatures were swept along helplessly in the catastrophe, torn into mere flesh and blood, tainting the surrounding waters with streaks of crimson.
The dark shadow grew ever more massive, vast enough to resemble an entire continent. At last, a mountain ridge as sharp as a blade burst through the ocean surface, revealing a huge expanse of dark spine.
"Th-this... is that a Dragon Whale?!" Emma's mouth hung half open.
"More precisely, it's the sovereign among Dragon Whales — possibly even the totem of the sea-dwellers!" Raylin chuckled, then his expression turned cold. "Quiet down!!!"
The enormous sea surface fell silent in an instant. Two eyes as vast as planets emerged from the ocean's depths, radiating brilliant light.
A projection materialized directly, taking the form of a middle-aged man with sea-dweller features.
"Uraz greets my lord!"
"A sixth-rank Dragon Whale Sovereign! That body is already comparable to a small continent, isn't it? Thank goodness it didn't appear during our earlier migration — only those fourth-rank or so Dragon Whales from the Dragon Whale waters..."
Gilbert's pupils contracted sharply, only for him to feel as though he must be hallucinating.
"What? He called Raylin 'my lord'? Aren't they both sixth-rank Throne-level existences? A Dragon Whale of such enormous size, in the deep ocean territory — this is practically its home ground. Why is it being so subservient?"
"Is this Dragon Whale waters under your jurisdiction, Uraz?"
Raylin asked casually.
"Yes, my lord! And the sea-dwellers of several surrounding island continents as well!" the soul projection called Uraz replied in an obedient tone.
In the past, even the lowest-ranked Dragon Whales could have stirred up tremendous storms along the South Coast, causing devastating losses — Raylin had even heard occasional accounts when he was only a first- or second-rank Warlock.
But now, even the most terrifying Dragon Whale Sovereign was, in his eyes, nothing worth mentioning.
"This body size, and such abundant bloodline power — devouring it at most would increase my constitution by 0.003!" A flicker of blue light flashed through Raylin's eyes as he instantly arrived at his conclusion, while the true body of the Dragon Whale Sovereign on the ocean floor felt a sudden chill run through it.
"Too little. Besides, I still have use for it!"
Raylin silently shook his head, abandoning the notion of devouring it outright.
"Uraz! I have a task for you!" The power he possessed granted Raylin the authority over life and death, and so he spoke directly without hesitation.
"Please give your orders, my lord — your servant will not refuse!" Likewise, the Dragon Whale King, having sensed the unfathomable power within Raylin and knowing that its very life was in the other's hands, agreed with the utmost deference.
"Very good! I am an elder of the Ouroboros Ring. From now on, whenever you see any vessel flying the Ouroboros Ring's banner, you are not to attack it — in fact, you are to protect it. Understood?"
"At once, great and mighty one! I will also send my descendants to escort your ships!"
Uraz agreed without the slightest hesitation.
"Good!" Raylin nodded. Once he made it clear that the audience was over, the Dragon Whale King's massive true body vanished from the ocean's surface in an instant, as though some nightmarish monster were chasing it from behind.
"A sixth-level Dragon Whale King! For the South Coast, it would be an utterly invincible existence…"
Raylin stroked his chin. "Fortunately, the creature never paid much attention to the South Coast before — or perhaps it was slumbering the whole time. Otherwise, the entire South Coast might not have survived its wrath…"
Its mere offspring, gathered in one place, were already enough to cut the South Coast off from the outside world. If the Dragon Whale King itself had intervened personally, destroying the entire continent would have been trivially easy given its size.
After all, the South Coast liked to call itself a continent, but in the eyes of the Wizards of the Central Region, it was really nothing more than a rather large island.
"Did you hear that? Begin the evacuation as soon as possible! There shouldn't be any more danger this time!"
After watching the Dragon Whale King depart, Raylin turned to the two Komoyan warlocks behind him.
"U-Understood!"
Gilbert wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Just locking eyes with Uraz a moment ago had been enough to fill him with a terror that seeped from the very depths of his soul.
And Raylin had made such a terrifyingly powerful creature bow and scrape — just what level had he actually reached?
"L-Lord Raylin! Might I ask what rank you are currently?"
No less shaken was Geoffrey, who had been standing off to the side the entire time. He was stronger than Gilbert and the others — already a fifth-level Radiant Moon Warlock — which meant he understood the Dragon Whale King's terror all the more clearly.