As The Northern Gale sailed into the calmer waters of the World Sea, a sense of collective relief washed over the crew.
Captain Jorvik gazed out at the horizon with a veteran's eye. The sea was a fickle mistress, and he knew better than to let his guard down. He turned to Mira and her companions, and with a hint of respect in his gruff voice, he said, "You handled yourselves well back there. Not many could stand against the fury of the Straits like that."
Mira simply nodded but didn't think much of it. "Forget about that. Tell me about the World Sea."
"What'd ya want to know?"
Mira shrugged, "Whatever you have to tell."
Jorvik gave Mira a skeptical look but nodded nonetheless. "The World Sea, as the name suggests, spans the entire world. However, that's 'cause humans haven't explored it enough. In reality, the World Sea is made up of countless different 'pockets' that are different compared to the rest of the ocean, but we just lump them all together for convenience's sake."
"What makes it different from the continents then? Aside from all the water."
"The danger levels, the strength of the creatures, and the number of catastrophic events," Jorvik answered without hesitation. "The ocean is a melting pot of death. The beasts breed and mature fast, gain strength quickly, and die just as easily. The average lifespan of a normal Rank 8 beast and below may not be longer than a few years."
Turning his gaze beneath the water, he continued. "It may look peaceful now, but not a hundred meters underwater is an eternal battleground. Even Rank 10 beasts aren't spared from this."
"Then, how come they haven't conquered the rest of the continents? Surely just a few dozen Rank 10 beasts should be able to sweep away all the powerhouses, save for the Central Continent." Mira asked, but she already had a few guesses.
"Well, oceanic beasts are rather… weak on land. Not to mention, I heard they can't transform into a human form."
"I see." Mira nodded. Although she found that last part odd, it somewhat made sense.
Humans were significantly less proficient in the water compared to fish and other sea creatures. It was wholly useless for oceanic beasts to have such a form; they'd get killed instantly.
Thus, if they didn't have access to a human form, it would be quite hard to conquer the land without legs or wings.
'What a peculiar place.' Mira thought as she closed her eyes and sent her Soul Sense deep into the water.
Jorvik was right. A hundred meters below them, she a school of fish ripping each other to pieces before a whale came by and swallowed them all. However, that wasn't the end, as a swordfish stabbed its 'horn' into the whale's brain, killing it before eating chunks of its flesh.
Suddenly, it seemed to sense something and turned its attention to the boat.
Mira sighed and raised her hand under Jorvik's weird gaze. She conjured a long, thin ice needle, gave it an intense rotational spin, and made it hydrophobic with her Wind and Water elements, then shot it at the fish.
The swordfish was about to reach the boat before the ice needle shot through it, killing it instantly.
"They're quite sensitive, huh?" Mira muttered, causing Jorvik's eyes to widen.
"Did'ya just use your Soul Sense?" He asked in astonishment before he got angry and reprimanded her. "What're you thinkin' woman?! Do you want to kill us all?!"
However, Mira looked unconcerned and narrowed her eyes. "What's with all the fuss? I just wanted a better look. Anyways, I already took care of the problem."
"You… You took care of the problem?! Nonsense! This is just the start!"
Turning away from her, he amplified his voice with Qi and shouted to his crew, "All hands on deck! Prepare for a tide!"
"Aye, Captain!"
The crew immediately moved and began preparing. Each person took up a ballista, Qi canon, and the other defenses, waiting for what was to come.
Meanwhile, Mira was confused.
"What's going on? What do you mean, tide?"
"Ignorant fool!" Captain Jorvik shouted, forcing himself to hold back from giving Mira a good slap. "Oceanic beasts are incredibly sensitive, the water even more so. You sending your Soul Sense into the water is no different than lighting a beacon, yelling to the world that easy prey has come. You've essentially challenged the entire nearby underwater ecosystem."
"Oh?" Mira cocked her head as she expectantly looked at the water. "There was such a method?"
"..."
Captain Jorvik couldn't be bothered to deal with Mira anymore and turned to leave.
…If only he knew that Mira could get strong by killing, he would've never brought her onto his boat, even if he had to put his life on the line.
Soon, oceanic beasts surged toward the ship in a frenzied tide of teeth, scales, and fury.
Mira watched the approaching swarm with a mix of curiosity and anticipation. Her scythe appeared in her hand, ready for the impending battle.
Meanwhile, Captain Jorvik barked orders left and right. "Aim for their eyes and gills! Keep them at bay!" he yelled.
The crew did as he said and started shooting the ballistae, saving the Qi canons for stronger beasts.
Large metal bolts drilled through the water and into the bodies of the incoming fish. They quickly reloaded and shot another volley, repeating this action over and over again.
The sea around The Northern Gale rose as creatures of all shapes and sizes breached the surface. Massive sharks, sleek and deadly, leaped towards the ship, their jaws wide open. Eel-like creatures, charged with electricity, slithered across the deck, discharging sparks.
Mira leaped into action, swinging her scythe in wide, graceful arcs. Each swing cleaved through scales and flesh, sending severed parts of beasts tumbling into the water. Yet, for every beast she felled, two more took its place.
Her black tail glowed and a string of Qi linked to all the bodies she killed, passively absorbing their Qi and vitality.
Mira immediately felt a surge of power flow through her, causing her eyes to widen.
'Oh? What's this? Are these beasts that strong and full of energy?'
She loaded her scythe with the leftover Qi she absorbed, dropping the surrounding temperature significantly.
Floating in the air, she swung her scythe, unleashing it all and sending a 100-meter-long ice arc toward the water. It cleaved through the surface, splitting the ocean in two and obliterating all the weaker beasts.
Her black tail glowed again and linked itself to the scattered bits of flesh, sending even more power to her.
Smiling wickedly, she appeared over the water and began to indiscriminately unleash catastrophic amounts of Qi.
Massive explosions rang throughout the area, wiping out large areas of water and inadvertently causing small tsunamis.
Due to her actions, the battlefield became even more chaotic as time went on, attracting more and more beasts, but Mira just laughed and continued to recklessly unleash all her excess Qi.
However, after having a bit of fun, she figured she should probably use her energy a bit more efficiently and began to improvise. She wasn't the only one on the ship, after all.
She conjured a series of ice walls around the ship, creating a barrier that impeded the creatures' advance. But the walls were soon battered by the relentless assault, cracks forming under the pressure.
With a deep breath, Mira channeled her Qi and unleashed a new technique. She called it the "Frostbite Vortex." Her hands moved in a fluid, circular motion, and a swirling tornado of freezing air and ice shards formed, engulfing a group of attacking beasts. The vortex tore through scales and flesh, leaving nothing but frozen fragments in its wake.
A positive feedback loop was thus created.
But the tide of beasts was unending, each wave more aggressive than the last.
On the deck, the crew fought bravely, firing the Qi cannons and ballistae. But the sheer number of attackers was overwhelming. Several crew members were injured, but the boat's defenses wouldn't fall to this.
Captain Jorvik, seeing that Mira was the cause of the extra chaos yet was killing beasts faster than his men, made a decision. "Retreat below deck! We'll seal the hatches and ride it out!"
The crew hesitated, unwilling to abandon the deck, but Jorvik's commanding presence left no room for argument. They retreated, dragging their injured comrades with them.
Mira, now alone on the deck, faced the horde with a light smile.
She unleashed another technique, the "Glacial Lance." With a thrust of her hand, she sent a spear of solid ice hurtling into the maw of an approaching whale-like beast, piercing through it and emerging from the other side.
Yet, even as she fought with all her might, the creatures kept coming, unrelenting in their assault.
Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind immediately crossed her mind, one that caused her bloody smile to widen.
'I wonder… Can I make a Cultivation Generator?'
Raising her hand, she created a gravity sphere around the size of her head, then forced a tremendous amount of Yin Lightning into it. Crackles of lightning spread out and covered the ship, snaking their way into the water.
With a chuckle, Mira tossed it into the ocean. Her efforts paid off immediately.
The gravity sphere sunk, yet the rotational forces created a whirlpool that only grew in size over time. All the nearby beasts were sucked in, crushed under the water, and electrocuted to death.
Feeling a tremendous surge of energy enter her body, Mira's lips curled up. 'This journey might be more interesting than I thought.'
