We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 316 A Bountiful Harvest and an Unexpected Joy!

Seemingly stimulated by this scene, Sha Jingjing's eyes changed slightly.

Although she and Feiya were all under Xia En's command, their relationship was not very close; in fact, there was some distance between them.

It's like two factions within a company.

Sha Jingjing belongs to the [Rhine] faction, while Feiya and others are the legitimate direct descendants of the [Black Swan].

It's certainly not hostile, but the desire to "not be inferior to the other party" is inevitable, which can be considered a beneficial competitive model.

So, Sha Jingjing spoke up.

"Your Holiness, leave that fire fox to me."

Before she finished speaking, she drew her longbow.

A dark yellow, mysterious power gradually accumulated on the arrow, giving the impression that the arrow would hit its target no matter what.

This is an ancient technique mastered by Sha Jingjing, which gives the bow and arrow the effect of "always hitting the target".

At that moment, her target was the fire fox that was breathing fire at [Bloodthirsty Thorns].

Compared to the white elephant that stood still, this fire fox was extremely agile and nimble.

It was like a leaping fire sprite, darting and weaving at the forefront of the beast tide, its figure almost impossible to catch with the naked eye.

Because of its small size and swift speed, even Fei Ya and her companion had difficulty catching up with it in the beast tide.

suddenly.

As if sensing the danger lurking in the shadows, the fire fox's soft fur instantly bristled.

It took two strides, its speed increasing dramatically once more, frantically dodging and weaving through the beast horde, trying to escape the deadly threat.

However, all these efforts were in vain!
As Sha Jingjing released the bowstring, the dark yellow arrow flew out suddenly.

Its flight trajectory was completely different from that of ordinary arrows, as if it had directly traversed space.

One second it was near the city wall, the next it appeared beside the fire fox and shot into the beast king's body at a tricky angle.

With a "hiss," blood splattered.

The fox's body stiffened abruptly, then it let out a sharp cry of pain.

But this single arrow was clearly not enough to truly kill it.

then……

The second, the third... and even the fifth dark yellow arrows arrived in front of the fire fox one after another, as if chasing stars and the moon.

Piercing into the fire fox's body from all directions, it was riddled with quills.

Immediately, a surge of secret power erupted from the arrow, wantonly destroying the flesh and blood inside the fire fox.

The beast finally succumbed to the torment and died completely after spitting out a mouthful of blood.

After firing those five deadly arrows in one go, Sha Jingjing's face turned deathly pale, and she couldn't help but gasp for breath, her hands holding the bow trembling slightly.

Obviously, this output method also puts a considerable burden on Sha Jingjing.

However, even though Sha Jingjing was so tired, she still looked at Xia En with bright eyes.

The look in his eyes clearly said, "Praise me! Praise me!"

Xia En immediately saw through Sha Jingjing's thoughts, so he reached out and patted her head while praising her.

"Well done, you did a great job."

"hey-hey……"

Sha Jingjing smiled with obvious enjoyment, her tail swishing back and forth like a propeller.

Her loyal dog-like nature is becoming increasingly apparent.

However, Xia En's gesture of reaching out to touch his head was purely out of habit—just like petting his big dog at home, it had no special meaning.

At the same time, a slightly resentful gaze was cast upon Xia En from behind.

Who else could it be but Joey?
Xia En's arm stiffened instantly.

But then I thought, he hadn't done anything wrong. He was just petting his own big dog. What was there to panic about?
Even so, Xia En still withdrew his hand without making a sound.

Then, Joey spoke up.

"Captain, I'm going to make my move too."

After saying that, a serious look appeared on Joey's pretty face, and she began to chant a rather lengthy incantation.

Unlike the previous auxiliary spells, the incantation of this magic was particularly obscure and difficult to understand, and a vast amount of secret power gathered around the girl like a storm.

Her long, silvery-white hair moved without wind, and in the sunlight it had a mithril-like texture.

Those ruby-like pupils even flashed with a deep blue halo.

next moment.

Joey let out a soft shout.

A surge of secret power suddenly poured out.

The target was not the beast horde below, but the earth beneath the beasts' feet.

boom!
A large area of ​​soil collapsed with a loud crash, and the bodies of the ferocious beasts fell uncontrollably into the pit.

This single fall severely injured many wild animals, making it impossible for them to get up again.

Moreover, the soil in the pit quickly softened into something like a swamp.

The wild animals lost most of their mobility simply by stepping on it.

The more you struggle, the deeper you sink.

This is a chain spell combining [Earthfall] and [Swamp].

In terms of the spells themselves, these two spells are not particularly high-level magic.

However, when used in combination, especially on the battlefield where the beast tide is attacking, it has produced unexpected results.

Moreover, the scene was incredibly spectacular, with nearly a third of the beast tide being affected by these two spells.

The roars and howls of the ferocious beasts instantly resounded through the sky.

The speed of the entire beast tide slowed down instantly.

In fact, with Joey's current abilities, it's not impossible for him to unleash even more destructive magic.

The girl knew very well that, right now, more important than killing the ferocious beasts was controlling their advance to prevent them from impacting [Rhine City].

Clearly, Joey's strategy worked!
However, the wide range of these two spells also placed a great burden on her.

Therefore, after the spell ended, Joey's face immediately turned deathly pale, and she swayed as if about to fall backward.

Fortunately, Shane reacted quickly and immediately stepped forward to help Joey.

Joey leaned into Xia En's arms and rested her head on his shoulder, giving Sha Jingjing a defiant look.

Sha Jingjing was initially a little worried about her, but when she saw her provocative gaze, she immediately realized what was going on.

Well, so it turns out she had it all planned out!

She deliberately exhausted her magical power so that she could collapse weakly into the arms of the Holy Son!
'Damn it! You despicable stranger!!'

Sha Jingjing's eyes widened. She was just a little loyal, but not stupid!
However, Sha Jingjing couldn't think of a way to expose Joey for the time being.

Moreover, regardless of what Joey was thinking, in the end, she did exhaust her secret power, which restricted the movement of many beasts, thus indirectly protecting [Rhine City].

If you really want to say something, Sha Jingjing should thank her!
Because of this, Sha Jingjing could only glare angrily at Joey, unable to utter a single word.

Xia En, of course, was unaware of the potential scheming between the two women; he simply offered his sincere praise.

"Joey, you did a great job, thank you for your hard work."

But then, Joey whispered, "Um, I want some too..."

"What do you want?" Xia En was taken aback, not quite understanding the girl's intention.

But after Joey pointed to the top of his head, he suddenly realized.

Oh, it was a head pat!

Having figured this out, Xia En couldn't help but smile wryly.

You're not a big dog from the [Moon-Welcoming Clan], so why are you so obsessed with being petted on the head?
However, while Joey's demands may seem unreasonable, they are actually quite easy to fulfill.

While patting Joey's little head, Shane looked down at the city wall.

In fact, with the chain reaction of this [Earthfall Technique] and [Swamp Technique], the situation was basically already decided.

Although the beasts are still putting up a fierce fight, they are now like stranded whales or tigers locked in cages.

The threat has been greatly reduced.

By patiently removing their claws and fangs and eliminating their manpower bit by bit, [Rhine City] can completely swallow this beast tide.

From the very beginning, Xia En knew that this beast tide was not only a crisis, but also a tremendous opportunity.

The corpse of such a strange beast could yield countless pieces of flesh, bones, and scales.

The former is an important food reserve, while the latter are all good ingredients.

Whether used for personal purposes or sold on the Seven Seas, it can bring great profits to [Rhine City].

Surely, many wild beasts will survive the beast tide.

Shaen plans to exchange some of the mutants for merit points in the Federation, while the rest can be raised in [Rhine City].

Use contracts, magic, and other means to make them an asset to [Rhine City].

After that, whether it's giving them a formal position in [Rhine City] or domesticating them into livestock that lay eggs and produce milk, these are all things that can be considered.

It also happens to solve the problem of insufficient high-end combat power in [Rhine Secret Realm].

It can be said that as long as this wave of beasts is overcome, Rhine City will definitely usher in a period of rapid development.

To make an inappropriate analogy.

In fantasy novels, the beast tide is like a heavenly tribulation descending from the [Rhine Secret Realm].

If you can't overcome it, then everything will come to an end.

But if you can get through it, you can actually reap many benefits from it.

Meanwhile, the battle between Faia and An continues.

A ferocious beast covered in armor lowered its head and charged menacingly at the two of them.

Fei Ya rose with the wind, floating lightly into the air. The gauntlet in her hand transformed into a long knife, which she lightly thrust into the armored beast's vitals, penetrating deep enough to cover the hilt.

He ran alongside the armored beast for a while, then leaped towards another ferocious beast.

The armored beast ran wildly for hundreds of meters, then suddenly its legs gave way and it collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Feiya's fighting style is very different from before, and she is now much more agile and nimble.

Any ferocious beast that came into contact with him would collapse to the ground after a short while—this was yet another [Holy Bloodline] talent he had awakened.

Watching Feiya fight is like enjoying a song and dance performance; it's indescribably pleasing to the eye.

On the other side, An took a different route.

Bold and straightforward, simple and direct.

The greatsword swept across the horde of beasts, felling one swarm after another, then swung again, felling yet another...

Seeing the swamps covering the ground and the results of their battle, Xia En felt a mix of emotions, including pride and satisfaction.

Unbeknownst to them, their crew members had grown to such a level that each of them had become a capable and strong individual.

They don't even need to take action themselves; they can basically weather this beast tide crisis.

However, at this moment.

A deafening roar suddenly rang out from the beast tide.

"Roar!!!"

A giant creature that looked like a wild boar stepped forward amidst the chaotic beast tide.

Although this wild boar looks like a living creature, it is very different from other ferocious beasts.

Its body is silvery-white, and both its fur and flesh have a texture that is closer to stone than flesh and blood.

It looked like a strange creature pieced together from silvery-white stones.

Moreover, as the stone boar moved, the mud beneath its feet miraculously returned to normal.

It was as if an invisible area enveloped the silver-white stone pig, and it continued to expand as the pig moved.

It seems to be a special field!

The appearance of this stone boar restored some of the ferocious beasts trapped in the mud, and they showed signs of charging again.

Upon seeing this, Xia En's expression changed slightly.

"Wait...what is that?"

Although he had never seen a similar creature in the [Rhine Secret Realm], he sensed a very familiar aura of secret power emanating from the silver-white stone boar.

After carefully sensing it for a moment, Xia En showed a surprised expression.

"This aura, is it [Rhinestone]?"

To be more precise, that was the aura of [Rhinestone Essence]!

In other words, this entire silver-white stone pig is made of [Rhinestone Essence]?

Thinking of this, Xia En's eyes suddenly lit up, and a hint of fervor appeared in his gaze.

Good heavens, there's such a treasure in the [Rhine Realm]?
It's worth noting that the sales of Rhinestone in the Federation are so good that even Shaen is amazed.

In particular, the higher-quality [Rhinestone Essence] has become a hot commodity with supply falling short of demand, and it sells extremely well in both the Federal Navy and the [Merchant Alliance].

Ms. Sophie, who was in charge of the liaison, urged the company several times, asking if there was any more stock.

If Shane hadn't been blinded by greed, he might have even tried to sell the portion of stone essence intended for the construction of [Rhine City].

It can also be seen from this.

Even in the Rhine Realm, Rhinestone Essence is a relatively scarce resource.

And now, there is such a huge stone boar made entirely of [Rhinestone Essence], how could Shane not be excited?
Beside her, Sha Jingjing suddenly realized.

“I remember that some time ago, traces of animal activity were found in the rhinestone mine.”

"So this is the kind of naturally formed, miraculous creature called Rhinestone Essence?"

"【The Rhine Realm】is truly amazing..."

at the same time.

A line of text flashed across Xia En's panel.

[Exploration progress +0.8%!]

A realization dawned on Xia En: it was as if the discovery of some important and unique species had caused the change in the [Exploration Level].

With that thought, Xia En no longer hesitated. He stomped his foot on the ground and leaped high into the air, heading straight for the silver-white stone pig.

In mid-air, he activated the effect of the Giant's Bracelet.

Amidst the roaring of his qi and blood, Xia En's body continued to swell and expand.

boom--

With a deafening tremor, a colossal giant crashed down before the stone boar.

(End of this chapter)