"She couldn't even protect herself and let a Gold Saint usurp her for thirteen years, then drove Saints to slaughter each other just to return to the Sanctuary—only to forgive the usurper in the end… Why should I worship such a weak, useless goddess? Ever since Lord Poseidon saved my life, I swore to serve him. Hyoga, show me what you truly learned from our master." Ezdra finished speaking and shifted into a fighting stance.
"Senior… I don't want to fight you." For once, a rare flicker of emotion crossed Hyoga's usually expressionless face.
He owed his senior his life.
"You're still as weak as ever. Diamond Dust!" A wave of frigid cold swept out, the temperature around them plummeting by countless degrees. Even the hardy Mariners shuddered.
The sea‑realm grunts were worse off. If not for the presence of several Sea Generals on their side, they might have been huddling together for warmth.
"Senior!" Hyoga did not fight back, letting the deadly chill wash over him.
"What are these Sea Generals playing at, lining up for one‑on‑one duels? What's taking Kanon so long? It's about time to move. With Poseidon still not fully awakened, the Sea Generals' strength is limited. Kanon, Deathmask, and Shura together, plus the Bronze punks, are more than enough to take down the remaining five Sea Generals.
"As for the grunts, the Black Saints can handle them. Poseidon should be left to Saori and me… This Ezdra is actually quite talented, to be able to wield cold this strong. With proper cultivation, he could easily reach Gold Saint‑class," Meruem thought to himself as his gaze swept over the gathered Sea Generals.
"Deathmask, Shura—get ready. This has gone on long enough."
"Your lord here has been bored out of his mind. A Sea Horse and a Devil Fish, with about Silver‑Saint‑level power… and those so‑called Three Great Mariners… Let your lord Deathmask show you what absolute strength looks like!" At Meruem's words, Deathmask was the first to raise his hand in support.
He'd been itching for action for a while.
"Understood." Compared to Deathmask's chatterbox energy, Shura's answer was terse.
"What are you Saints planning?" Io and Sorrento were the first to sense the two Gold Saints' intent. They moved at once to block them.
Sorrento went for Deathmask, while Shura faced Io.
Meruem's Black Saints and the remaining Bronze boys also sprang into action, immediately mowing down a swath of Mariners.
"Damned Gold Saints… they're this powerful?" After just a brief exchange, Io realized he and his opponent weren't on the same level at all.
The man in front of him was at least on par with the Sea Sorcerer.
Saints might be forbidden from using the same move twice, but Io had six different, equally potent techniques to cycle through. Yet no matter what he used, the Gold Saint countered with a single hand‑blade strike. From that gleaming Gold Cloth, an astonishing sword aura erupted.
In an instant, all of Io's techniques were shattered.
No matter how many ways you changed your moves, brute force cut through them all.
This was the perfect embodiment of one force overwhelming ten techniques. Against Shura, Io was being pushed back step by step.
It was only a matter of time before he lost.
Fortunately, the situation on Sorrento's side let Io secretly breathe a little easier. Although Deathmask also used a special technique and, ever since Saori reclaimed the Sanctuary, the Gold Saints had all received special training and grown far stronger—
He still took serious damage from Sorrento's flute. Mental‑type attacks… If he hadn't been Cancer, specializing in soul‑targeting techniques like Sekishiki, he might have been completely overwhelmed. If it had been Taurus Aldebaran in his place, he'd already have fallen.
Luckily, Deathmask had recently learned a new move: Will‑o‑Wisp. Countless blue flames danced before him.
These soul‑burning flames could partially blunt the flute's psychic assault.
Nearby sea‑realm grunts who were merely brushed by the flames crumbled into ash. That alone proved how deadly the Will‑o‑Wisps were.
Even so, all Deathmask could do was hold the line—he had no room to counterattack.
Unfortunately, he hadn't fully mastered the technique. Otherwise he might have been able to turn defense into offense.
He very much wanted to throw out a Sekishiki Meikaiha and drag Sorrento into Yomotsu Hirasaka—there, with home‑field advantage, he wouldn't have feared the flute at all. But Sorrento simply never gave him the opening.
The Black Saints had all been personally trained by Musashi, and were vastly stronger than these sea‑realm grunts and ordinary Mariners. Even the former Dark Four and the Dark Phoenix were there, so the cleanup went very quickly.
The remaining two members of the Three Great Mariners were tightly entangled by the Bronze boys. Their defeat was likewise only a matter of time.
Hyoga's duel with his senior Ezdra was also nearing its conclusion.
Ezdra's talent was undeniable. After leaving their master Camus, he had developed another freezing technique of his own—Aurora Borealis—with fearsome power.
But his opponent was Hyoga, and Camus had survived the Twelve Temples battle. Since then, he had devoted great effort to teaching Hyoga the cold.
When Hyoga got serious now, he could reach the early Seventh Sense without Saori's Cosmo.
Against Hyoga's Aurora Execution, Ezdra's Aurora Borealis stood no chance. It was completely overwhelmed and smashed apart. In the end, Ezdra lost.
But because Hyoga had reached the Seventh Sense through his own growth, his control over his power was smooth and precise. Though Ezdra was badly injured, he did not die, and Hyoga eventually brought him before Meruem and Saori.
"Ezdra is my senior brother and also a disciple of Aquarius Camus. If he became a Sea General, he must have been misled by the Sea Emperor. I hope you will forgive him and allow him to return to the ranks of Athena's Saints."
For Meruem and Saori, this was no problem at all. Adding another high‑level combatant to their side was something Meruem could only welcome with open arms.
"Am I late?" A fiercely aggressive Cosmo swept across the battlefield, instantly wiping out all the surrounding sea‑realm grunts.
A clear space opened up in an instant.
"Sea Dragon… You're finally here."
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
For every 50 Power Stones, one extra chapter will be released on Saturday.