At the transcendent stage, the sea nymph's core ability is "The God of Horses," which features two primary functions: "Charge" and "Human-Horse Unity." As the God of Horses, the sea nymph mounts her steed and charges toward enemies, gaining enhanced strength and speed that deal significant damage. Should she face an insurmountable foe, the charge also serves as a vital escape maneuver. The Human-Horse Unity ability functions as her life-saving skill: when the steed is summoned, if the sea nymph is struck by a fatal blow, the impact is transferred to the horse, which takes the place of the rider and perishes. The majestic horse, formed from condensed seawater, glides past the enemy, while Paki, transformed into a monster, turns her head and surveys the surroundings with amber eyes, emitting a low, resonant roar. The very next moment, Zhang Yuanqing appears beside her, raising his fist and delivering a powerful blow to Paki's head, causing both Paki and her steed to dissolve into white foam. The Human-Horse Unity ability is activated. Amid the surging foam, Paki reformed as her tentacles twisted, emitting a hissing sound from her throat, as if startled by the sudden death that had befallen her. She rushed toward the deck's edge, leaping into the sea with panic. The ocean was the sea monster's true domain. "Plunged!" Paki tumbled from the deck, over ten meters high, into the dark waters below. As she plunged into the cool sea, she moved with the grace of a fish, swiftly diving deeper, while emitting a series of sound waves inaudible to humans, summoning creatures from the ocean depths. Simultaneously, she manipulated the water, preparing to generate a tsunami to confront the enemies on deck. Suddenly, something constricted her throat. The sound waves ceased, and the swirling currents around her vanished. She once again saw the deck and the ship's cabins, realizing she had not yet fallen into the sea. "Crack!" Zhang Yuanqing swiftly snapped her neck, then with the other hand gathered the power of the Sun God, forming a blazing, pale golden sword that plunged into Paki's chest. Pakee emitted a sharp hissing sound, her limbs convulsing as her eight trailing tentacles wildly slapped the deck. A few seconds later, the brilliance in her eyes faded, her tentacles grew soft and lifeless, twisting aimlessly. Zhang Yuanqing casually tossed the body aside, exhaled a stream of cold qi, and transformed into a ghost bride dressed in a wedding gown, veiled in red. "Kill all the crew members in the dormitory," he ordered coldly. The battle had already begun, and the crisis of the S-rank quest would now be fully activated—every possible畸变者 must be eliminated before the enemy could react. While ordinary monsters posed little threat, with a boss present, even the smaller foes might become the final straw. "Yes, my lord!" the ghost bride dissolved into a mist. Zhang Yuanqing bent down to pick up an automatic rifle, tapped his fingers once, and vanished from the deck. The next moment, he stood in the second-floor captain's sea-view bedroom, which was quiet and dimly lit, with a soft, yellow-green lamp glowing gently on the nightstand beside the bed. On the soft, spacious bed, the bedding was neatly folded, and the captain was not in the room. "James wasn't in the bedroom?" Zhang Yuanqing immediately recalled what the navy officer had said on deck—the captain had summoned him to the lower deck! Now that the captain was not in the bedroom, he must be down in the hold. A strong, cool aura surged forth, and the ghost bride—dressed in a red wedding gown, veiled in golden embroidery—returned to the master's side. "Lord, the tasks you entrusted me with have been completed," she bowed respectfully. "None of the crew survived?" "None." Zhang Yuanqing nodded in satisfaction, then swallowed the ghost bride whole. These crew members were ordinary monsters from the current storyline, and a level-six ghost bride could easily dispatch the entire ship with ease. At such a moment, the advantage of the Night Wanderer often became evident—had she been any other class, she would have had to personally engage each one, cutting them down one by one. Zhang Yuanqing walked to the window of the bedroom and looked down at the rippling sea. He quickly thought: "There's a wind mage stationed at the bottom of the ship. She can sense my presence through air currents—once I move stealthily, she'll definitely detect me. It's better to push through forcefully." From his reconnaissance yesterday, he knew the cathedral's team consisted of five members: two knights, two nuns, and one red cardinal. The sea spirit had already been defeated, leaving only four. If the captain is a high-level enemy, then the opposing force totals no more than five. "I have three Level 6 shadow corpses, one Level 6 spirit servant, and my lucky mascot, Little Bubbly. I can handle this!" Don't hesitate. So, Zhang Yuanqing settled into a meditative posture, exhaling one of his Level 4 spirit servants. Then, his consciousness split in two through the imprint in his mind's sea—one half remained in his physical body, the other took control of the spirit servant. Guiding the spirit servant, he passed through the floor of the second and first floors, reaching the bottom dormitory, and then descended further to the lowest level. Since the spirit servant was int On the ceiling of the lower deck, an elderly woman with hollow eyes, her black blood seeping steadily, slowly extended her head silently, gazing down upon the lower level. The lower deck was vast, filled with supplies, ship components, and backup yachts. The glow of the gas lamps seemed dimmed by some mysterious force, casting a faint, barely sufficient light. The hollow eyes of the woman slowly swept across the deck, then suddenly fixed. Zhang Yuanqing spotted three figures standing before a low wall made of stacked loaves of bread: Captain James, the Wind Mage Isabella, and an elderly man dressed in a crimson robe embroidered with golden patterns. Isabella and the Red-robe Archbishop sat side by side on a circular matrix, their hands clasped in quiet prayer. Beneath their robes, slender, tentacle-like contours rose and pulsed, appearing eerie and somber. Captain James, wearing a naval cap and a double-breasted uniform, stood upright beside them, observing the two archbishops in prayer. At that moment, the cardinal, with silvering hair and a red robe, opened his eyes, his voice deep and weathered. "Has the lieutenant arrived?" James, the captain, turned toward the entrance and shook his head. "Wait a moment. We've already sent the soldiers to fetch him." The battle on deck concluded swiftly; the aberrations managed only a few shots. The three crew members stationed at the lower deck heard the gunfire, but as regular patrols often encountered monster attacks on the ship, firing upon them, they had grown accustomed to it and paid no special attention. "A swift resolution is the right course," Zhang Yuanqing murmured, focusing intently on the blood-red formation. The pattern of the array consisted of layered hexagonal stars, creating a geometric texture. Simply gazing at it with concentrated attention, Zhang Yuanqing felt dizzy, experiencing a strong physiological response—his strength waning and his innate aversion to the formation deepening. "Take one knight up there and have him examine it." "The cardinal's throat felt as though something were lodged there, his voice thick and hoarse: 'With three days' voyage remaining to Surly Port, we must bring the magical seed back and allow the divine power to touch the world.' Zhang Yuanqing, eavesdropping from above, raised an eyebrow instantly and grasped the畸变ers' true intent. They wished to carry the source of contamination—the magical seed—back into the real world, thereby polluting the real society. This was likely the seed's own desire; the people aboard had become mere puppets under its influence. 'This is a replica world, and the grand mission to save the world—I shall leave that to the higher powers. My task is simply to survive five days. First, I'll eliminate all the mutated ones on board. Then, I'll practice the 'Pure Yang Immersion Manual' to counteract the seed's contamination. I'll endure the three days. If all else fails, I can always jump into the sea and distance myself from this ship...' At that moment, the cardinal suddenly lifted his gaze toward the ceiling, his voice steady: 'Who is up there!' Two lightning bolts, each as thick as a finger, surged from his pale gray eyes and struck the The Level 4 spiritual servant was instantly consumed by lightning, and Zhang Yuanqing's spirit returned to his physical body, his soul torn as if ripped, causing his face to convulse in pain. He took a deep breath to calm the wounds in his soul, donned the Wind-Bringer gloves, and snapped his fingers with a crisp sound, dissolving into starlight. At that very moment, the starlight surged upward from the base of the chamber housing the magical seeds. Zhang Yuanqing materialized before the three distorted beings. "Hass?" James the captain was stunned. Not only by his arrival, but by the manner of his appearance. Zhang Yuanqing said nothing, instead launching two gusts of wind blades toward the circular array—by instinct, he believed that disrupting the array was his foremost task. The array posed an immense threat to him.