"That's a big guy..."

Gu Mo walked to the railing with mild interest, leaning over to look at the sea below. It was pitch black, reflecting the distant firelight, making it impossible to see what lurked beneath the oppressive deep sea.

Such a scene instilled fear.

"Very dense demon qi, might cause some trouble at sea..." Miss Saito frowned deeply, habitually scanning her surroundings, only to find the soldiers around her unfazed, dutifully sticking to their posts and doing what they were supposed to do without needing her encouragement.

She forgot they were a bunch of Paperman Puppets...

But they were indeed convenient, more trustworthy than real soldiers.

Individuals had better qualities and more combat power, completely unaffected by morale, without fear or hesitation, though their intelligence was much poorer, only able to follow simple and straightforward commands.

At this moment, arrows came whistling through the air, falling upon the sea like raindrops, though a small number struck the ship without causing casualties, easily blocked by the Paperman Puppets wielding swords.

This was because the warship bursting into the battlefield naturally attracted enemy attention.

Just as Gu Mo had picked the Minamoto family's sail warship, it now drew concentrated fire from the Taira family.

They didn't know it was a ghost ship in some sense, only attacking instinctively upon seeing enemy flags. The Paperman Puppets didn't hesitate, drawing bows and arrows to strike back, instantly causing blood to spurt on the opposing ship.

Screams echoed continuously, marking a new beginning for the battlefield here, as if a new signal—

The initial sense of panic passed, and soldiers from both sides once again clashed, red-eyed, while drums and shouts of war soared, seemingly invigorated by the demon qi sweeping the battlefield.

"Kill them all!"

"The lord has succeeded!"

Amidst the excited shouts, these words intermingled, suggesting the high-ranking officials of the Taira family knew something.

On the Minamoto side, soldiers were somewhat uncertain, but with arrows nocked, they had to fight. Viewing the leading commander from afar, they felt encouraged.

So both sides clashed fiercely again, reflecting burning light on the Seto Inland Sea, tinting it with threads of crimson.

However, at this moment—

The calm, dark sea suddenly boiled up, rising high as if forming a giant wave crest, or... some colossal creature was rapidly surfacing to break through!

With a rumbling sound!!

The sail warship was forcefully struck, thrown high by the massive floodwave! The sturdy hull inevitably cracked, with masts breaking and immense sails creaking painfully, tilting and collapsing!

Gu Mo held onto the railing, his black hair swirling, as he calmly glanced downward amid the turbulence. The sea's surface seemed to split open with a massive fissure, revealing a giant outline faintly amid the raging waves, from which the fierce demon qi emanated, creating a sweeping wind over the Seto Inland Sea.

—Sea Master!

Also called Sea Monk, a kind of demon dwelling in the sea according to Japanese legend.

Typically, a Sea Master is only about one or two meters tall, appearing during poor sea weather or at dusk, possibly capsizing small fishing boats and drowning fishermen, but limited to this. At this moment, the Sea Master emerging from the sea...

It's essentially a giant sea titan!

Amidst gusty winds and harsh weather, a massive wave ridge surged in the once calm sea center, revealing a large black figure! Even showing part of it had a height of twenty or thirty meters, like a super-sized giant from the deep sea emerging halfway!

This enormous silhouette, even from the distant mountain of Yashima, could be seen clearly.

"What a pity not filming 'Pacific Rim,' definitely different from what I imagined..."

Gu Mo murmured softly, extending a hand to gently hold it in place, as if supporting something in the air.

In the next instant, his hand slightly sank downward!

As if some invisible weight fell into his palm, he exerted force to hold it steadily.

The warship that had been thrown high suddenly stabilized, inexplicably levitating without crashing, as if supported by an invisible force.

While the other two warships met similar fates, they weren't so fortunate. Amid heart-wrenching screams, they plummeted from above, crashing into the sea and shattering, countless people perishing instantly.

—Boom!!

The giant black figure emerging from the deep sea seemed to make strange prolonged sounds, not a roar but like a furious bellow, swinging its massive appendages, like huge arms pounding the sea, sweeping the battlefield, and effortlessly crushing warships like paper.

It went berserk, morphing its form; its core a slime-like soft body, but with colossal size, able to stir storms, unleashing devastating tidal waves.

Not only the Minamoto side was terrified, but the Taira side also wailed in despair. Wasn't this supposed to be their trump card?

Why are they killing indiscriminately, attacking both friend and foe alike...

In reality, this is because Taira no Kiyomori was cornered by Minamoto no Yoshiie and, in desperation, he took a perilous gamble, descending from human to Demon. Using the immense power of the Large Spirit Stones collected by the Taira clan, he transformed into an unprecedentedly gigantic Sea Master, attempting to tip the scales of victory in the oceanic battlefield.

But the result is that he has completely turned into a Wild Soul, losing all past memories and emotions. This outcome is quite expected.

Rather than keeping the warship floating in the air, it settled steadily onto the sea surface, which consumed a considerable amount of Primordial Qi. Gu Mo stood slightly fatigued at the bow of the ship, watching as the two sisters seamlessly leapt, treading upon the extended body of the Sea Master amidst the wind and waves—

Stepping on the enormous arm that formed, they swiftly charged toward its head.

The Sea Master roared angrily, stirring up huge waves, attempting to squash these tiny insect-like enemies. Yet, though it had enough brute strength, it lacked agility. Even though its body movements could cause the surrounding sea to heave wildly, each swing carried a force of tens of thousands of pounds.

Not to mention the sailing warships of this era, even modern warships couldn't withstand a single blow, being crushed like a tin can underfoot.

But missing such agile, highly mobile targets is a different story.

It's not a problem for the sisters to take it down together, although it might take some effort. Indeed, they arrived too early. Had Ah Xiu spent sixty years gaining experience, leveling up before coming, there wouldn't be any issues... As expected, a little help from Gu Mo is needed.

Standing steadily on the shaking bow, Gu Mo gazed seriously into the distant trembling ocean battlefield. Pondering for a moment, he reached out for a Giant Bow handed over by a nearby Paperman Puppet.

This Giant Bow, originally fixed on the ship, was taller than a person, using extremely thick special Fire Arrows.

Currently being a clone shadow, Gu Mo had his basic abilities significantly reduced from his avatar, which naturally made him feel a strain. After using some Qi Power, he finally pulled the Giant Bow open, releasing it with a thundering explosive sound!

The Large Bow Fire Arrow instantly ripped through the sky for over a thousand meters, like a meteor tearing through the night atmosphere, transforming into a devastating strike!!

The air around it violently twisted, and the scarlet meteor-like glow precisely shot toward the Sea Master's body. At the moment of explosive impact, a massive shockwave swept in all directions, evaporating the seawater as raging flames burst out, spreading quickly.

This fierce arrow not only directly pierced the insane black Giant but also turned the surrounding stretch of sea into a purgatory-like sea of fire, with floating planks, flags, even the sinking giant ship, and cold corpses instantly turning into fuel!

Fire Arrows are meant to ignite, and under the intense reinforcement of Gu Mo's Qi Body, they seemed heavily enchanted, with the launched arrow almost resembling the release of a Treasure's power.

The black giant Slime was in pain, ejecting countless black slime from its body. Then it angrily turned its massive grotesque face, visible through its viscous liquid body, with the golden glow of Spirit Stone Essence shining from within.

That was the core of this Demon, likely formed from the overwhelming Spirit Stone Essence absorbed by Taira no Kiyomori, transforming him from human into such a gigantic Demon, with a lot of essence still not fully absorbed forming it.

Gu Mo intended to pierce its body, shattering the massive Spirit Stone Core within, aiming for a death blow on its weak point.

However, it wasn't that straightforward; his charged arrow hadn't entirely broken through the Sea Master's body defenses, let alone touched its core.

Now, the counterattack began...

A brilliantly golden line of light shot out from the "eyes" of this mimicry deep-sea giant, a massive beam formed by the burning and gathering of Spirit Stone Essence. Like a huge laser, in an instant, it turned the entire warship into powder, splitting it into left and right halves with a smooth cut several meters wide in between.

The laser-like ray swept across the ocean, instantly vaporizing the seawater wherever it passed, then forcefully sweeping back again the next moment!

The entire sailing warship was then dissected horizontally, effortlessly like a hot knife through butter, completely shattered, falling into the sea, with many Paperman Puppets evaporating on the spot. The rest struggled calmly and serenely on the water surface.

As for Gu Mo...

Long black hair flew wildly in the strong wind, tangling with the girl's silky strands in the breeze.

He blinked, then saw clearly the doll-like beautiful face of the dark-haired girl, intricately delicate, right in reach with a faint enchanting fragrance lingering. He recalled a moment from Lake Benqi, holding a Witch once.

The scene was almost a reenactment of history.

But... but...

"Isn't something a bit off here..."

Indeed, during the Sea Master's angry counterattack, Hidechika instantly and instinctively returned to rescue Gu Mo at the last crucial moment, just as the golden Spirit Stone ray swept by—

She critically whisked Gu Mo away from the original position.

Emmmmm... in a princess carry.

Gu Mo realized it, his expression stiffened.

He could have left the ship in time; he just didn't expect Hidechika to move so swiftly. He's just a shadow now, with his basic attributes heavily reduced, naturally unable to match the girl's reflexes. The result was being a step too slow, finding himself in this situation.

In mid-air, time seemed to stand still, and he sighed, looking around.

Since the Sea Master appeared, from the ship floating without landing to the moment they robustly clashed head-on, this direction had already become the center of the battlefield.

At this moment, naturally, it was drawing all the attention.

Even Minamoto no Yoshiie, approaching from afar, was taken aback, watching this peculiar scene in astonishment.