novelraw Chapter 219: You Are Undergoing the Blade Witch’s Trial
Chapter 219: You Are Undergoing the Blade Witch’s Trial
The moonlight, as red as blood, barely pierced through the thick clouds, casting a sinister crimson veil over the old and weathered dock, a place soon to be swallowed by darkness.
The sea breeze carried a hint of saltiness and unease, howling as it weaved through the tangled ropes and abandoned fishing boats, producing mournful wails like whispers of a maritime disaster.
The Black Lantern Dragon—
The overlord of this sea domain!
The Blood Mage's body trembled uncontrollably. Bracing against the sea wind, he forced out a voice to command:
“All fleets! Return immediately! At top speed! Open fire!”
“Activate all dock defenses!”
The Blood Mage shouted hoarsely, his gaze fixed on the distance.
He never expected that the Black Lantern Dragon, who had just savored a feast, would suddenly appear at their base.
In his earlier imagination, the dragon should have been leisurely sipping wine, enjoying the wreckage of the Blood Blade Pirates, and watching the Flower Witch and Black Hunter in their cage put on some magic tricks.But now, the base of their Blackfin Crew had suffered the same fate.
The sea dragon suddenly sank, its scales opening and closing like an unstoppable tidal wave, engulfing the Black Shark One and Black Shark Two warships.
Crack! Crack!
The sounds of steel and scales clashed!
The Black Shark was forged from steel by several third-tier Hammer Transcendents, but before the sea dragon’s power, it was as fragile as paper. Amid deafening collapse and crew screams, debris and wreckage scattered everywhere.
Even from thousands of meters away, the Blood Mage’s hands trembled.
Two warships were utterly crushed just for crossing the path of the Black Lantern Dragon’s massive body.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A blood-stained steel fragment, under immense pressure, flew toward the Blood Mage from afar.
Along with the massive fragment, the colossal body of the Black Lantern Dragon loomed.
“Wait, its target is—”
The Blood Mage forced himself to stay calm.
He had found a blind spot!
The Black Lantern Dragon was not here to feed but to keep moving forward!
Turning his head back, he realized from the current trajectory that the dragon’s target was the Blade Witch’s Trial Grounds beneath the navy, the ‘artificial rift’ that had yet to be safely entered due to the absence of witches!
The trial grounds he had long dreamed of entering!
“Why, why? Why would the Black Lantern Dragon’s target be the rift? Could it also want to train?”
His mind instantly went blank.
“Calm down, calm down, this is good news. At least our Blackfin Crew won’t suffer huge losses…”
The Blood Mage let out a long breath.
However, the next moment, hundreds of bullets rushed toward his temple!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets deformed on impact, as if hitting an extremely hard blood mass.
“Powerful bullets, enough to make my neck twist…”
The flesh at his temple twisted into a spiral. Then he looked toward the direction of the bullets.
He was stunned!
Within the massive wave stirred by the Black Lantern Dragon, a crimson warship charged forward against the sea waves!
And the flag fluttering in the sea breeze bore a blood blade, piercing straight into their hearts!
The Dagger of the Blood Blade Pirates!
On the warship, Mad Wolf Fenrir bared his white teeth through the towering waves and smiled knowingly at him.
“Open fire! Open fire! Finish off these Blackfin Cowards!”
“Open fire! Open fire!”
The Blood Mage looked up at the sky filled with cannonballs, utterly bewildered.
A tiny warship had actually penetrated deep into the Blackfin Crew’s base under the Black Lantern Dragon’s waves, bypassing layer upon layer of their defenses.
The defenses they set up were utterly useless, torn apart and crushed like fragile paper!
Under the torrent of cannon fire, the Blood Mage crouched and pulled out a radio device, dialing their last rescue plan.
All their plans were completely ruined at this moment…
With his strength, he could not stop the Blood Blade Pirates’ warship. His only hope now was to capture the Black Hunter and Flower Witch.
Soon, a flaming cannonball struck his ship, igniting it rapidly.
“Team in danger, the witch and hunter have reached the base, requesting backup…”
The Blood Mage sent out the last message through the device, then slowly lifted his head.
Then, he slowly raised his finger and concentrated his blood.
The crew around, preparing to fire, panicked:
“Sir! Sir, what are you doing?”
“Sir, what was that wine you gave us earlier?!”
As the Blood Mage’s finger moved, blood slowly drained from their bodies.
The crew clutched their necks, looking at their captain in terror, as if wanting to curse his entire family.
Yet, the rapid loss of their blood and the roar of artillery left them speechless.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
The Blood Mage snapped his fingers repeatedly.
Soon, countless blood snakes formed from the crew’s drained blood, converging onto him and shaping a garment dyed in fresh blood.
“Underestimated me, huh?”
The Blood Mage adjusted his round glasses, exhaling a breath like a hungry wolf as he fixed his gaze on Chen Qi aboard the Dagger.
The mission had failed. If he wanted to avoid Big Mom’s punishment, he had to deliver results.
In his eyes, Chen Qi was the easiest prize.
As long as he captured him, he would be spared all punishment!
There was no better achievement to make.
“No way to salvage, I’ll have to hide in the shadows of the forest and hunt instead…”
Boom!
With a cannonball striking his ship fiercely, causing a massive explosion, the Blood Mage’s figure vanished from the sea, leaving behind dozens of blood-drained corpses and a battered ship.
…
…
Mad Wolf Fenrir stood at the bow, wielding a great blade and commanding the gunners of the Dagger, firing wildly.
“Fire! Fire! Fire!”
Flashes of fire tore through the sky, accompanied by deafening explosions. Cannonballs streaked like furious meteors, crashing toward enemy ships.
The sea surface was instantly shrouded in smoke and fire. Enemy ships trembled under heavy fire, and shouts and chaos echoed from the decks.
“Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!”
Mad Wolf Fenrir hadn’t felt this exhilarated in a long time, almost wanting to howl like a wolf on the spot.
The thrill of a small scout ship taking on more than a dozen large ships was just so powerful and satisfying!
“Indeed! Sniping! So satisfying!”
Chen Qi took out the Magic Bullet Company’s sniper rifle, Giant Slayer, and shot down three panicked Blackfin pirates.
[You successfully assassinated a second-tier warrior, gaining 600 Spirit Points!]
Chen Qi exhaled.
After all, his profession was Traveling Assassin. Assassinations could also grant experience.
However, the assassination criteria for this profession were very strict: the kill had to be made without the enemy seeing him, which was extremely difficult.
Chen Qi slowly raised his sniper scope and looked toward the Blood Mage in the distance.
But soon, the Blood Mage vanished from his sight.
“Did he escape? No, that guy…”
As a third-tier profession, the Blood Mage’s massive casualties would produce abundant fresh blood, granting him strong abilities for a short time.
If I were the Blood Mage, I wouldn’t leave a battlefield where I could create blood giants… Chen Qi thought and reminded:
“Fen, Mad Wolf, be careful. That Blood Mage disappeared! You two must pay attention to the scent of blood. Compared to spiritual energy, the smell of blood is easier to detect a Blood Mage’s trail.”
“Understood, Captain…”
Mad Wolf Fenrir instinctively replied.
Wait!
Fenrir suddenly realized that as captain, he had just called out to the Black Hunter as captain!
Was that reasonable? Did that make sense?
As an old pirate raised in the Blood Blade Pirates, he was the undisputed captain of the Dagger!
Previously, when following the Black Lantern Dragon, all navigation orders were issued by Chen Qi.
That’s why Fenrir called wrong.
Though Black Hunter indeed qualified to be captain, my other brothers wouldn’t agree… Fenrir coughed twice, preparing to explain.
Then he heard the helmsman flatteringly say:
“Captain Black Hunter, Mr. Hunter… What should we do next? Should we continue the pursuit?”
Let me think… Chen Qi looked around and continued:
“Although we have severely wounded the Blackfin Crew, this was a surprise attack. After all, this is their base. We should give them some face.
Besides, the Blackfin Crew will soon recover. Let’s keep following the Black Lantern Dragon. For now, it shows no hostility toward humans.”
Chen Qi grew more curious about the Black Lantern Dragon’s ‘treasure.’
The helmsman eagerly replied to the order:
“Understood, Captain!”
But I’m the real captain, I am… Mad Wolf Fenrir silently grumbled.
After bombarding the Blackfin Crew, the Dagger sped up, heading deep into the abandoned Black Navy base.
The terrain of the entire navy’s abandoned base resembled two islands separated by a river, and this river was just wide enough to fit the Black Lantern Dragon’s massive body.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Under Chen Qi’s command, the helmsman cautiously followed the Black Lantern Dragon to a special area.
Boom!
The enormous body of the Black Lantern Dragon slowly stopped, coiling around an abandoned tall tower before roaring toward a huge rift underground.
“This rift…”
Chen Qi’s eyes widened.
On both sides of the rift, countless interlaced blades formed complex and twisted patterns. These blades were not still; they trembled as if alive, emitting faint yet piercing friction sounds, like countless souls wailing softly, telling tales of eternal suffering and torment.
The entire rift resembled a path of bloody blades leading deep into hell, chilling to the bone.
The Black Lantern Dragon let out a tremendous roar toward the rift:
“Roar!”
Chen Qi’s ears shattered under the intense ringing.
“So this is the Black Lantern Dragon, your ‘good thing’?”
Chen Qi observed carefully.
This place was clearly the entrance to a rift, and the strong Blade affinity aura radiating from it…
Wasn’t this the Blade Witch’s Trial Grounds mentioned in the Blood Lady’s intelligence?
Chen Qi looked at Fenrir.
According to the Blood Lady’s information, Fenrir had entered this rift before.
Mad Wolf Fenrir frowned:
“Mr. Black Hunter, this rift is extremely dangerous and unlike ordinary rifts. The moment a human steps into it, countless blades attack. The deeper you go, the fiercer the blades become—”
“Unless your body can withstand thousands of blade strikes, you can’t enter this rift. My elder brother, the true man Blood Emperor, was—”
Is that so… Chen Qi smiled at the Black Lantern Dragon.
Black Lantern Dragon, is this the treasure you gave me?
Roar!
Unexpectedly, the Black Lantern Dragon seemed to understand his words and suddenly charged toward the giant rift.
Crack! Crack!
The moment it entered, countless blades snapped shut, shaking the island and clamping down hard on the dragon’s head!
The Black Lantern Dragon was trying to force its way into the rift for Chen Qi!
“Roar!”
The dragon wanted to help me force entry? Chen Qi was momentarily stunned.
However, this was an ancient forbidden ground. Soon, the Black Lantern Dragon’s strength waned as thousands of blades pierced its flesh.
“Roar!”
In pain, the dragon had to withdraw its bloodied head, shaking it and letting out a faint roar of anger before furiously smashing an abandoned navy base tower.
The sound resembled a child’s apology, roughly meaning:
“Wuwu, sorry, I can’t let you into this cave—”
What is the Black Lantern Dragon doing? Does it like burrowing?
The Blood Blade Pirates’ crew couldn’t understand the dragon’s behavior but roughly knew it wouldn’t attack them.
At this moment, Fen, who had been silent for a long time, stepped before Chen Qi and took a deep breath:
“Qi, don’t worry. As long as I’m here, this rift won’t kill us.”
“Oh?”
Chen Qi smiled, watching Fen’s display.
At this moment, Fen’s lips curled into a faint smile.
The Flower Witch Fen slowly replied:
“In fact, every witch’s trial ground is meant for trial, not slaughter. So, in the witch’s domain, there is no adventure, only trial.”
“Trial?”
Chen Qi prompted.
Fen raised her head slightly:
“Yes, trial. In the trial grounds, you won’t truly die. Of course, this requires having the right key. Otherwise, to outsiders, this trial ground is a terrifying B-grade, or even higher-level rift!”
“For those who have the key, this is a treasure, a treasure easily obtained! A rich treasure trove!”
“Oh? So where is the key?”
Chen Qi and Fen asked in unison.
The Flower Witch Fen confidently patted her chest:
“For a witch’s trial ground, the witch—me—is the key!”
The witch is the key… Chen Qi smiled slightly. Following the Flower Witch really means a feast!
“By the way, Flower Witch, can I enter?”
Chen Qi swallowed nervously. He also very much wanted to enter the rift created by the Blade Witch.
“Of course!” Fen smiled:
“Qi, I can definitely take you in. But like the rift, the trial ground’s capacity is limited. The Blade Witch’s rift should hold no more than ten people. Mad Wolf Fenrir, pick eight more people…”
“Got it!”
Mad Wolf Fenrir nodded excitedly and looked around:
“Everyone, if possible, we should hurry inside. I have a faint feeling that ‘that guy’ is targeting us…”
“That guy?”
Chen Qi asked.
Fenrir said urgently:
“The Azure Beast. But maybe because of the Black Lantern Dragon, it hasn’t approached us.”
Azure Beast… Chen Qi felt a chill down his neck.
“I understand.”
Fen took out her staff and lightly jumped off the ship, landing at the rift’s entrance, then gently descended the steep steps.
Led by Fen, their group steadily descended along the steps.
Everything was exactly as Fen said: the rift didn’t attack him.
Chen Qi carefully stepped onto the blade-filled underground path, walking step by step.
“Do these blades really not attack me?”
Chen Qi had an ominous premonition.
As he went deeper, the blades around grew more numerous and dense, slowly closing in on him.
With his footsteps echoing softly, a blade pierced his facial skin, and fresh red blood flowed out.
At the same time, a long-unseen prompt quickly appeared before Chen Qi’s eyes.
[Great Spirit Inspection in Progress—]
[You are currently undergoing the Blade Witch’s trial…]