Chapter 371: Tide Channel, Terrifying Formidable Enemy

As the moon began its transformation into a shade of blood, the flotilla of sea-vessels set forth, advancing toward the Tidal Barrier. Within the timeframes chronicled by the Merfolk, a passage known to but a few would slowly unseal, widening just enough to allow those within to traverse the barrier safely.

With their vast experience in the Endless Sea and the protection of the Lord of Oceans and Storms, the Merfolk had successfully navigated this hidden conduit many times; for them, this journey was a familiar path.

Driven by arcane arrays, the alchemical ships moved with impressive speed. After several days of sailing, Wang Yu and his companions reached the foot of the Tidal Barrier. To stand before this wall was a sensation entirely different from viewing it from afar; the colossal rampart of seawater, rising into the clouds and reaching the dissociation layer, exerted a terrifying, indescribable pressure at such close range.

At a depth of ten thousand meters, sunlight struggled to penetrate the water layers to reach what should have been the sea level. The interior of the wall was pitch black, with light and visibility extending only a few hundred meters into the outer shell; beyond that, nothing could be discerned within the barrier.

Who could say what dwelt inside? One thing was certain: numerous extreme ecosystems and deep-sea behemoths inhabited those depths, and anyone attempting to cross the Tidal Barrier risked being set upon by these entities.

The fleet lingered beneath the barrier for a day. As night fell and the magic moon, now fully saturated in deep crimson, ascended into the heavens, Wang Yu and his companions watched as a cavern slowly opened in the lower reaches of the Tidal Barrier, moved by some unknown force.

The deep, dense wall of the Tidal Barrier was breached by an invisible power, creating a hole almost imperceptible in scale to the whole. It deepened inward, forming a natural passage that continued to expand as they moved.

"Lord Wang Yu, this is the other passage known to our people. Its existence is fleeting; we must follow the wake of the unknown force as it widens the path, and return as quickly as possible once we reach the other side."

"Otherwise, we risk being sealed outside the barrier, and to return, we would be forced to use the breach known to all the world."

Hai Wei leaped from his vessel, swimming swiftly to Wang Yu’s ship to relay the requirements for the crossing.

"Understood. We rely on your guidance; our knowledge of the Endless Sea and this barrier is perhaps less than that of an ordinary Merfolk citizen."

Wang Yu offered no further words. Their ignorance of the Endless Sea was as profound as their lack of understanding regarding the barrier; it was best to leave such professional matters to the Merfolk, who possessed a natural affinity for navigation and a lifetime of experience upon these waters.

"Leave it to us."

Hai Wei agreed without hesitation. It was no difficult task; he had traversed this passage two or three times before, though his destinations had always differed.

The passage was remarkably safe, devoid of lurking leviathans or the violent environmental upheavals of the outer ocean. Aside from its narrow confines and limited duration, the route was nearly flawless.

The Merfolk ships led the way, entering the passage that had manifested upon the Tidal Barrier, while Wang Yu’s vessel followed in their wake. They left the handling of contingencies to the Merfolk; after all, this was the vast, open sea, not land, and no matter how powerful Wang Yu and his companions were, they often found themselves helpless against the elements.

Standing on the deck, Wang Yu watched the ships slip one by one into the darkness of the barrier. Previously, the Merfolk had navigated these depths with their own bodies, but this time, they had chosen to sail to accommodate their guests.

Footsteps echoed from the cabin as Avia emerged, approaching Wang Yu to share the news she had just received.

"The Lady of Night tells me through the prayer network that there is an invisible barrier before this Tidal Barrier that isolates her power. Her perception can no longer follow us forward; for the rest of the journey, we will likely be disconnected from her."

As the ships moved forward, entering the passage carved out during the blood moon, Wang Yu’s expression remained unchanged; he had anticipated this.

"That is to be expected. The nature of the power that constitutes the Tidal Barrier remains unknown, and no deity has ever spoken of how it affects divine influence. If it can isolate the Lady of Night, it likely has the same effect on the powers of other gods."

Wang Yu spoke, his gaze fixed on the upper reaches of the passage within the barrier—the ten-thousand-meter-deep foundation of the wall above sea level. It was absolute darkness, impenetrable and heavy, casting a suffocating weight over the entire fleet.

Seen from the outside, the passage had appeared minuscule against the scale of the barrier, but upon entering, Wang Yu realized it was vast—at least several hundred meters high and over a kilometer wide. The ships sailed through with ample room.

Compared to the turbulent currents of the outer sea, the waters within the passage were eerily calm. No terrifying deep-sea monsters appeared; the interior was so tranquil it felt alien to the treacherous, ever-changing Endless Sea.

Bright alchemical magic lamps were raised atop the ships, their brilliant glow illuminating the surrounding area.

Though they could not probe the darkness of the barrier itself, the lights successfully rendered the immediate vicinity of the fleet visible, the thick, dark seawater outlining the contours of the passage.

"I will keep watch here. You handle the detection arrays and sorcery runes we set up inside the ship. The Professor is preparing for potential combat once we emerge; notify him if necessary—he is our greatest strength."

Wang Yu assigned the tasks while observing the environment. It was monotonous, with no discernible differences. The energy in the surrounding space was unremarkable: mana was stable, water elements were concentrated, and the void’s power pulsed normally.

He did not know what had isolated the Lady of Night, but within the passage, his own abilities and Avia’s powers should function normally.

Although the Merfolk claimed the passage was safe and had never failed them, Wang Yu did not intend to lower his guard.

The passage was being carved forward at a steady pace. The lead ships followed the invisible force deeper into the barrier, with the others trailing in close succession.

The interior was a realm of eternal darkness; the state of the outside world was unknowable. It would take three to four days for the passage to fully pierce the barrier—the time Wang Yu and his companions would spend within.

Wang Yu stood silently on the deck, his keen eyes scanning the unchanging scenery while he activated his Chariot-force perception in all directions, alert for any fluctuations in mana or void energy.

The journey continued in silence. The Merfolk did not engage in unnecessary conversation. Travel on the sea was always lonely and dull, but everyone possessed the endurance for such a grueling voyage.

They remained silent out of reverence; none knew what existed within this unknown realm. Even having crossed it before, the Merfolk could not fully comprehend why this passage existed or how it came to be.

Thus, they kept their peace, avoiding unnecessary noise lest it trigger some unforeseen catastrophe within the unknown depths.

Time passed. By Wang Yu’s estimation, two and a half days had elapsed. They had traversed more than half of the Tidal Barrier, and the journey had been as stable as the Merfolk promised.

Nothing of note occurred. The passage was unnervingly calm—no creatures, no weather changes, no energy disturbances. They simply moved forward, approaching their destination: the other side of the Tidal Barrier.

Wang Yu’s extraordinary constitution allowed him to stand on the deck without rest, observing the surroundings while mentally calculating simple mathematical problems to keep his mind from wandering during the long vigil.

Suddenly, within his perception, a subtle change occurred in the repetitive environment. His brow furrowed. He focused, trying to sense the anomaly. It was no illusion; it was real. As he probed deeper, Wang Yu realized what was wrong: sound!

Throughout the journey, the surrounding sounds had been monotonous and repetitive, the thick barrier isolating all external noise, save for the faint, echoing rhythm of the waves.

But now, in the sensitivity of his hearing, those wave sounds were mixed with something entirely different—the sound of water being cleaved, and it was growing more distinct.

No external sound should have been able to penetrate this far, meaning something was nearby. Wang Yu focused his perception, extending it toward the source of the sound. Ahead, in the dark water of the passage, something was approaching rapidly.

The sound grew louder. The speed of the object was astonishing. Wang Yu dared not gamble on whether it posed a threat, so he immediately retrieved the magic communication device and signaled the Merfolk fleet ahead.

"Be careful! There are strange noises nearby. It may be a deep-sea behemoth within the barrier, approaching rapidly. I do not know if it poses a threat!"

After sending the message, Wang Yu called out to the girl in the cabin.

"Avia, something is wrong. Prepare the arrays and sorcery runes."

The sound grew louder still. Wang Yu assumed the Merfolk had sensed it too, but within the barrier, nothing could be seen, and no energy fluctuations were detected; it seemed the passage’s boundaries masked everything but the sound.

"Understood, we will—"

Merfolk girl Diana responded to Wang Yu’s notification, but before she could finish, the communication device fell silent, replaced by a harsh, grating static.

Wang Yu’s pupils contracted. He realized instantly that something had gone wrong—something far beyond the scenarios the Merfolk had described.

"Bang!"

The sound of water being cleaved vanished in the instant the interference began, replaced by the explosive crack of something breaking. The lead Merfolk ship was torn apart by a colossal force, ripped clean in two.

"Boom!"

The alchemical devices were destroyed, the trapped energy detonating instantly. The rising flames illuminated the area, and a wave of power reached Wang Yu, which he immediately sensed.

"How could it be the Dragon-Worshiping Cult!?"

Wang Yu was intimately familiar with that power; he had felt this aura in every encounter with the Cult, whether in the Plane of Undead or during his battle with the Dracolich Varma. This power seemed unique to them.

He had never imagined the Cult would charge into this passage to launch an attack. How had they known of this route, and how had they managed to force their way through the Tidal Barrier?

Near the shattered ship, a dragon with gray-black, faded scales beat its strange, feather-covered wings, turning its head toward them.

A pure black sphere of energy gathered in its jaws. The next instant, the dragon bit down, shattering the sphere into a sweeping, dark wave of energy that surged across the fleet.

The black wave swept past, erasing the seawater it touched. When it struck the Merfolk ships, the carnage was horrific.

The Merfolk were given no chance to react. The defensive arrays on their ships were useless, instantly engulfed by the black energy. The materials of the ships were as fragile as air; as the dragon’s breath passed, they simply ceased to exist.

The fleet was arranged in a single file, and the dragon’s breath, unleashed with almost no delay, swept through them in a perfectly straight line, cleaving the vessels in two and reducing their inner structures and crews to nothingness.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"

A series of explosions erupted; some ships, whose power cores were not centered, were only partially grazed by the blast, causing their internal energies to rupture instantly and transforming the crippled hulls into blinding, searing fireballs upon the water.

With this single breath, the entire vanguard of the Merfolk fleet was annihilated, leaving only Wang Yu and the girl as survivors, having narrowly escaped by smashing through a wall and plunging into the water just as the flames descended.

The defensive arrays and sorcerous runes the girl had inscribed upon their vessel proved utterly futile; though far superior to those etched onto the Merfolk ships, they were no more durable than parchment against a dragon of the Cult of the Dragon.

Wang Yu’s expression tightened; one blast was enough for him to gauge the creature’s power. This was the most formidable entity he had ever encountered from the Cult—a being beyond the legendary tier, and one far surpassing a mere novice in that realm.

A legend; this was not an adversary Wang Yu could overcome. Trapped within the Tide Barrier, there was nowhere to run. Combat was inevitable, and while death was but one possible outcome, there was nothing left to discuss: he would fight!

A nameless flame of fury ignited within him, devoid of fear, fueled only by a fierce resolve. The Cult had hunted them time and again, and he had been forced to watch helplessly as his Merfolk friends were reduced to ash by that breath.

Philemon cast his gaze upon the two survivors, the Arch-Bishop of the Cult who had come following the decree of "Him," never suspecting that a passage unknown to him existed within the Tide Barrier.

Having effortlessly obliterated the fragile ships, Philemon felt no further inclination; he simply began to gather the power for another breath. He had slaughtered too many of these weak insects to feel anything for the death of a few more.

Yet, in the next instant, he was met by a blinding beam of energy that tore through the void, and a crimson dragon, appearing from nowhere, its mana boiling like a tempestuous tide.