Kui's voice, empowered by his Core Formation cultivation, was a righteous thunderclap that rolled across the stormy sea, piercing the shimmering defensive arrays of the Maelstrom's Eye. It was a declaration of war disguised as an offer of mercy, a final piece of political theater before the inevitable slaughter.
Inside the main citadel, a withered old man, the Riptide Legion's Ancestor, scoffed at the challenge. Rallying his remaining elders, he moved to the heart of the fortress. "This upstart 'Golden Shell Guild' has insulted our Legion and murdered my descendants," his rasping voice boomed out from the fortress. "Your righteous posturing is amusing, but it is the squeak of a mouse before an eagle. Defy me… and this storm will be your tomb."
From the highest spire of the Maelstrom's Eye, the Ancestor raised his hands. "Power to the Maelstrom Cannon! Full convergence! FIRE!"
The defensive arrays around the island flared with blinding intensity. The raging storm clouds overhead were drawn into a massive vortex as an unimaginable amount of elemental energy was siphoned down into the fortress. A great, black-coral dish atop the central spire began to glow, and with a sound that tore reality itself, a colossal beam of pure, destructive lightning shot out, aimed directly at Khaos and Kui.
Kui watched the approaching apocalypse with a cheerful, confident smile. Khaos, looking utterly bored, simply raised one hand. A small, shimmering circle of darkness, no larger than a dinner plate, appeared before them. The Maelstrom Cannon's blast, a torrent of power that could reshape coastlines, struck the tiny portal and vanished without a sound.
Inside the command chamber, the Ancestor stared, his ancient face a mask of pure, uncomprehending horror. "Impossible…" he breathed.
"A fine firework," Khaos commented, his voice flat. He then looked at Kui. "Is my pretext sufficient?"
"Abundantly so, Grand Elder!" Kui beamed. "They have fired upon us with lethal intent. Any response is now justified self-defense!"
"Good," Khaos said. His judgment would now be delivered. He pointed a single, elegant finger at the central spire. "Collapse," he commanded.
Inside the command chamber, the Ancestor screamed. An invisible, absolute pressure of void energy materialized around him and his five remaining elders. Their protective auras and spiritual treasures shattered like glass. The five elders were squeezed, compressed, and reduced to dust, their storage rings and robes clattering to the floor in a neat pile.
But the Ancestor was different. As the void pressure crushed him, he let out an inhuman roar. His withered human form tore apart, not from the pressure, but from an explosive transformation within. His body swelled, his bones cracking and reforming as he reverted to his true form: a Gargantuan Spined Sea-Dragon.
It was a terrifying beast over a hundred meters long, covered in thick, stone-like scales, with a frill of venomous-looking spines around its ancient, draconic head. A Rank 10 Abyssal Beast, its 7th-level Core Formation aura erupted with desperate fury.
The newly transformed Sea-Dragon roared, its own power pushing back against the void, trying to create a space to survive. It was a magnificent display of primal power.
It was also completely useless.
"Oh, a little lizard," Khaos said, a flicker of interest in his nebular eyes. He simply made a fist. The void pressure intensified a hundredfold. The Gargantuan Spined Sea-Dragon's defiant roar was cut short, replaced by a gurgle of agony. Its stone-like scales cracked, its massive bones groaned, and it was slammed to the floor of its own command chamber, pinned and helpless, its immense power utterly negated.
Khaos was about to clench his fist a final time and extinguish the beast, but Kui's voice cut in. "Grand Elder, a moment!"
Khaos turned, an eyebrow raised in annoyance.
"Such a powerful beast no less!" Kui gushed, his eyes gleaming with a merchant's avarice. "To simply kill it would be a waste of a high-quality resource! Perhaps… it could be persuaded to see the error of its ways and contribute to our glorious new enterprise?"
Khaos looked at the pinned, terrified Sea-Dragon, then back at the greedy turtle. A slow, smug smile touched his lips. The idea was cruel, and he found it deeply amusing. He sent a single, crushing thought directly into the mind of the Legion's Ancestor. "Serve. Or cease to exist. Choose."
The ancient Sea-Dragon, facing the absolute, undeniable finality of its own oblivion, felt its centuries of pride crumble into dust. After a long, agonizing moment, a single, broken thought of submission was projected back.
"Excellent!" Kui declared. He zipped down to the command chamber, landing before the immense, pinned dragon. "A wise choice! From this day forward, you shall serve my Wise Host. We will call you… 'Spine.'
Now, be a good lizard and revert to your human form. You will not be able to betray us." Kui then placed a small, complex seal on the old man's forehead—a master-servant contract that would ensure absolute loyalty. Kui was not so easily trusting of others and to someone like this, it was fitting.
With the leadership dealt with, Khaos turned to Kui. "The nest is yours to clean, little turtle. I will watch the perimeter. Do not take too long. And try not to destroy the merchandise this time."
"Understood, Grand Elder!" Kui said with a cheerful salute.
For the next hour, the Maelstrom's Eye became Kui's personal abattoir and treasure chest. The remaining Legion disciples, their leaders gone and their spirits broken, offered little resistance. Kui moved through the fortress like a whirlwind of cheerful, deadly efficiency, his own Core Formation aura suppressing any who dared to fight back.
Those who surrendered were knocked unconscious; those who fought were dealt with permanently. Khaos, hovering outside, simply pointed a finger at the few ships that tried to flee, and they were silently crushed and sunk beneath the waves.
It was in the deepest levels of the fortress that Kui made his most horrifying discovery. In a vast, foul-smelling cavern, he found hundreds of cages. They were filled with people—men, women, and children—and a host of demonic beasts of all shapes and sizes, all bearing the brands and collars of slaves. The Riptide Legion were not just pirates; they were slavers, preying on the smaller coastal villages and capturing valuable beasts for sale on the black market.
Kui's cheerful demeanor vanished, replaced by a cold, reptilian fury. He immediately sent a message to Li Yu, detailing the discovery. The reply was instantaneous and absolute: 'Free them. Free all of them.'
Kui broke the locks on every cage, his voice booming with authority. "You are free! The Riptide Legion is no more! Stay here for now. We will see you to safety!"
His looting continued with a renewed, righteous vigor. He finally reached the Legion's treasury, a massive vault sealed with an array so powerful it hummed in the air. Kui, for all his cunning, could not bypass it.
"Grand Elder!" he called out. "A little assistance, if you please!"
Khaos appeared beside him in his divine human form. He looked at the complex array, then reached out and simply… pushed. The space around the vault door distorted, and the powerful array tore apart with a sound like ripping silk. The massive, meter-thick adamantine door swung open.
The vault was filled with mountains of spirit stones, rare ores, and countless artifacts. But what drew Khaos's eye was a single object on a pedestal in the center. It was another Deep Sea Abyssal Crystal, even larger and purer than the one Jing had gifted him.
A slow, genuinely pleased smile spread across Khaos's perfect face. "Well now," he said, his voice a low, satisfied rumble. "Perhaps it is a good thing these insects decided to attack us after all." He plucked the Void Core fragment from its pedestal, the rest of the treasure holding no interest for him. "This is mine. The rest is yours."
"A thousand thanks, Grand Elder!" Kui said, his eyes practically sparkling as he began to empty the vault into his storage rings with practiced speed.
Once the fortress was thoroughly looted and cleared, they stood outside on the highest hill. The perpetual storm had completely dissipated, revealing a beautiful, sun-drenched island.
"This place is a cesspool of evil," Khaos stated, raising a hand, preparing to wipe the fortress from existence.
"Wait, Grand Elder!" Kui interjected again. "Evil, yes, but the location is magnificent! It is a naturally defensible fortress, a perfect deep-water port, and an unparalleled staging ground for hunting the powerful beasts of the outer sea. Why destroy a perfectly good asset? Let us claim it! We shall cleanse it of its filth and rebuild it in the name of the Golden Shell Guild and the White Paw Company!"
Khaos lowered his hand, considering this. The turtle's logic was, once again, annoyingly practical. "Very well. It is your Guild's property now."
Their final task was the hundreds of freed slaves, now gathered on the island's main beach. Moving them all would require a fleet of ships and weeks of travel.
"This will be tedious," Kui muttered.
Khaos simply scoffed at the mortal limitation. He floated down towards the beach, his divine form a beacon of authority. He raised a single, elegant hand.
The very ground beneath the hundreds of freed people and beasts began to hum. A vast, shimmering platform of translucent void energy materialized an inch beneath them, lifting the entire section of the beach—people, and all—into the air. The crowd cried out in alarm and confusion, but the platform was perfectly stable, a floating island held aloft by an invisible, absolute power.
They flew through the air without any issues at all, everyone was overwhelmed with emotions, they were finally leaving that place. They had the two ahead of them to thank for it.