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

Chapter 45 Hell Difficulty
I don’t know when it started.

The sky turned gloomy, and the bright sunshine disappeared.

A dark mist shrouded the ink-black sea.

The wind and waves roared in, the undulating waves crashing against the hull of the Black Swan, the sails billowing incessantly, and even the ship itself shaking violently in the chaotic gale.

Meanwhile, on the deck, a bloody battle that no one knew about continued.

hum!
The iron sword thrust out at a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive.

In that instant, several afterimages split off and pierced the chests of several deep-sea fishmen.

【Shadow Swordsmanship】Sword Technique - Shadow Split!
These mermen, bleeding profusely from their chests, did not fall, emitting terrifying screams as their bulging eyes stared intently at the enemy before them.

There seemed to be a dark, writhing malice in those eyes.

That was a cold hatred directed at all living beings.

Just looking at them gives me a feeling of being polluted and eroded by some kind of force.

"What a weird thing."

Shaun shook his head, trying to dispel the strange feeling in his heart.

At his feet lay the corpses of countless deep-sea fish-men, their purplish-black blood soaking the deck, and broken and shattered limbs scattered everywhere.

The difficulty these fishmen were the most troublesome they had ever encountered since Xia En's transmigration.

Simply cutting their throats or severing their limbs won't render them incapacitated; only piercing their hearts and smashing their skulls can truly kill these monsters.

Even Xia En was drenched in sweat, breathing rapidly, and his stamina was greatly depleted from such an intense battle.

"This trial is so difficult, it's definitely bugged, isn't it?"

Even with his extraordinary abilities, he felt immense pressure at this moment.

If it were a Pathfinder who hadn't been promoted, they'd probably be defeated the very first Deep Sea Fishman they encountered.

No matter how you look at it, this level of difficulty is a bit too exaggerated.

"Goohoo!!!"

The fishman's corpse had just fallen on one side when a foul, stench-filled wind swept in from behind.

A fish-man of exceptionally large size jumped onto the deck.

Its skin is darker than other similar species, and its scales and mucous membranes are thicker. Its eyes are filled with countless scarlet blood vessels, giving it an extremely intimidating appearance.

Without a doubt, it is the mini-boss among the deep-sea fishmen.

In Shane's eyes, the black fishman slightly bent his knees.

The next moment, cracks appeared on the deck.

Its body leaped high into the air, transforming into a blurry black shadow, and pounced down from above.

clang!
Xia En raised his sword to parry.

When the longsword clashed with the fishman's hands, it produced a metallic scraping sound, demonstrating the strength of its scales.

Shaun twisted his wrist, using a technique from swordsmanship to deflect the force of the fishman's attack.

Even so, he couldn't help but take a few steps back, his tiger's mouth slightly sore.

This black fish-man's power far surpasses that of its kind!

Xia En glanced at the longsword in his hand and saw several fine cracks on the blade.

This is just an ordinary iron sword, not some extraordinary item. It's already quite remarkable that it has lasted this long.

"Time is running out for this sword."

Xia En's eyes were serious.

It's not hard to see that it was only a matter of time before the sword was destroyed.

Moreover, the black merman's attack just now caused several cracks to appear on the deck.

Other fishmen were climbing onto the deck and vandalizing the ship.

If the battle drags on, Shaen will be fine, but the projection of the Black Swan will suffer.

He hadn't forgotten that if the ship's durability dropped to 50, the trial would fail!
"We must fight quickly!"

Xia En made up his mind, took a deep breath, and slowly raised the longsword in his hand.

Immediately, he exerted force with both legs, his body moving like a ghost.

In the blink of an eye, he was behind the fishman.

Several swift sword lights suddenly burst forth, briefly illuminating the ship shrouded in darkness.

Faced with the sword light, the black merman let out a strange growl.

In an instant, countless pale white bone spurs suddenly emerged from its body, blocking the sword light.

The ear-piercing scraping sound continued incessantly, but the sword light was unable to sever all the bones.

A hint of human mockery flashed in the black fish-man's eyes. It was about to reach out and tear open the human's chest when its body suddenly stiffened, and a cold pain shot through its neck.

A line of blood gradually appeared on its neck.

Then, the entire ugly head slid backward and slammed onto the deck with a "bang," rolling around.

The eyes of the fish-man's head still held a trace of astonishment.

What took its life was a sharp shadow that had already disappeared into the air.

This is the true killing move of the Shadow Sword Technique—Shadow Sword!
Hidden beneath the gleam of the sword, they kill without a trace.

Strictly speaking, this move has transcended the realm of ordinary swordsmanship, drawing upon the extraordinary power of shadow.

If Xia En hadn't received swordsmanship insights from his attendant, it would have taken him at least several years to master this sword technique.

This was also the first time Shaen had used it in actual combat.

The effect is quite good.

However, although the black fishman is dead, the trial is not over yet.

Shaun looked at the mermen wreaking havoc on the deck, took a step forward, and reaped their lives like the Grim Reaper.

……

……

I don’t know how much time has passed.

There was a "click".

The iron sword in Xia En's hand broke in two.

"Old buddy, you've worked hard."

Xia En casually tossed the iron sword aside and looked around.

The deck was a mess, with fragments of the fishmen's corpses scattered in almost every corner, and two or three fish hanging from the rickety masts.

Xia En was also covered in wounds and blood.

Fortunately, the self-healing ability brought by [High-Speed ​​Regeneration] greatly enhanced his endurance, allowing him to fight for so long.

"I haven't felt this exhausted in a long time."

Xia En was filled with emotion.

Unlike the projected body during submersion, this body feels much more real.

Although dying in the [Secret Sea] does not necessarily mean you are truly dead.

However, according to rumors about those who follow secret paths at sea, failing to pass the advancement trial can have very serious aftereffects, and may even lead to the cessation of the secret path altogether.

The psychological pressure is naturally different from usual.

At this moment, the last fishman on the deck had its limbs cut off by Shane and was tied to the mast.

Xia En's purpose in doing this was very simple.

He wanted to use this time to collect the [Filthy Crystals] from the corpses, and also gather some information about this mysterious sea area.

Since we're already here, we can't leave empty-handed, can we?
[Filth Crystal +1!]

[Filth Crystal +1!]

[Filth Crystal +5!]

……

Xia En walked from the bow to the stern, watching the numbers in front of him constantly changing, feeling a sense of joy and accomplishment.

Although the specific effects of this material are unknown, they are unlikely to be too bad.

till the end……

[Filth Crystallization: 112!]

A normal fishman has 1 unit of filth crystal in his body, while a jet-black fishman has 5.

By that calculation, Shane just killed more than a hundred fishmen!
"Whose first advancement trial is this difficult?"

Xia En couldn't help but complain, "That's unfair! Let's have a rematch!"

That being said, Xia En also vaguely sensed that the hellish difficulty of this trial might be related to his own special characteristics.

"It's about time to get back to reality."

As Shane walked to the last merman, preparing to end its life, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.

"Wait, isn't the [Secret Sea] also a sea?"

"Perfect timing, I'm here, and the Black Swan is here too."

"Then, is it possible to conduct [submersible navigation]?"

(End of this chapter)