Chapter 5: Life and Death at High Speed

“Whoa ah ah ah ah ah！！！！”

Even though she had been informed of the general plan in advance, the sudden drop and intense feeling of weightlessness still made the curious Miss Thief instinctively scream out loud.

After all, the idea of “splitting the sea open and letting the ship drop directly down” sounded like a terrifying metaphor, yet that’s exactly what the Priestess did, without any exaggeration whatsoever.

The deck wasn’t equipped with many fixed items, and since Miss Le Qiao Qiao only had a level 30+ mastery of the “Summit” realm, it was impossible for her to maintain floatation or flight. As the ship tilted dramatically, she fell down like a rolling gourd.

Fortunately, this gal was clever enough. Seeing the precarious situation, she quickly threw out a special thief’s grappling hook, securely fastening it to the railing at the edge of Noah’s Ark’s deck to prevent herself from flying off and crashing awkwardly into the outer barriers.

As for the others, Miss Vilyric merely unfurled her white wings, easily stabilizing herself on the tilting deck. Ming Lan, being a Lingyin Ethnic akin to a myth, though not as powerful as Ming Xin who was at the demigod level, still boasted a level above 70 and had lived long enough to handle similar situations with ease, merely crouching slightly to stabilize her center of gravity.

Standing at the ship’s bow, Hong Yan, although lacking the extraordinary abilities of the previous two, was connected through the “Joint Combat Contract,” her stats nearing level 70. With just one hand on the railing, she easily adhered to her place.

She sheathed her sword but fixed her gaze unwaveringly on the abyss of water Noah’s Ark was plunging toward, seemingly observing something.

Likewise, the Priestess and the General Manager of External Affairs from Lingyin Fairy Island were doing the same thing.

“Whoooosh!!!”

The fierce winds generated by the fall and the roiling sounds of the cut sea crashed against the golden barrier of “Radiant Protection,” yet couldn’t shake it even a little.

Though Noah’s Ark was massive, it fell swiftly under gravity’s pull. Hong Yan’s strike extended at least a kilometer into the depths below the sea, and the waters on both sides of the great chasm seemed stymied by some unseen force, not rushing back in immediately.

That was the lingering sword intent.

A kilometer isn’t too long or too short, but as the ship dropped rapidly, the width of the split sea began to shrink. Floating on the deck and listening to the howling winds, Vilyric could even see the still-deep, swirling waves at the bottom.

Clearly, the trench here was far deeper than it appeared.

At just the right moment, Hong Yan slashed again with an indistinct yet earth-shattering sword!

“Zheng!!!!!!!”

This strike was even more powerful than the first, a full-force blow, living up to its “Ultimate Sword” name.

Normally, even if Hong Yan had grasped a bit of the “Void Essence” due to Vilyric’s teachings, after such a blow, she’d be exhausted or even unconscious.

But with the Priestess supporting her, her meager spiritual points would almost fill back up the moment they were spent, effectively giving her an “Infinite Power” buff. How much strength she could show depended solely on the girl’s realization of sword intent.

Her new slash opened up the deep sea again, tearing through to create yet another chasm reaching over a kilometer, preventing Noah’s Ark from diminishing its plunge within the forcibly opened underwater space. The sea surface that had been cleaved began to roll back in under natural forces, finally obscuring the sunlight pouring in from above, and even…

“Ugh… this is too intense… Wow! Boss! Boss, look above! The water is crashing down!!!”

Glancing at the Miss Thief who had finally “squirmed” her way over in the rapid fall, her face pale and ready to vomit, Vilyric slapped her plump little backside with irritation and gave her a look that screamed “how illiterate can you be?”

“Stop shrieking! You’ll deafen us both… Didn’t you ever hear of gravity acceleration? As long as we keep dropping in a straight line, the waves will never catch up! Learn some physics, you dummy.”

“Eh… is that how it is… Ugh…”

“Ugh, hold it back! If you dare vomit on my ship, you’re in serious trouble!”

“Zheng!!!!!!!”

While the two girls were still in a chaotic state, the Swordsman Girl at the bow struck again, slicing open the deep sea once more, carving a path through the near-black depths left around the golden shield.

They were now situated in a remarkable void beneath the deep sea. This continuous exertion of her limits followed by recuperation was indeed beneficial for Hong Yan; with each strike, the small boosts in power indicated her growing mastery over her strength.

Once this ordeal ended, her power should see a notable increase because such an absurd experience was something most people would never encounter even once in their lives.

Thus, Hong Yan continuously slashed the sea as they maintained the downward momentum of Noah’s Ark, while Vilyric used “Radiant Protection” as a barrier to fend off all external threats, resembling a rapidly sinking golden orb in the depths of the ocean, quickly descending almost ten thousand meters down.

However, even so, the waters below remained dark and deep. In the absolute depths where sunlight couldn’t reach, the pressure had already reached a staggering level.

That was the true might of nature. Despite Hong Yan going all out, her ability to cleave further began to diminish, and the oxygen inside “Radiant Protection” was slowly running low.

“Is it still not enough…?”

Noticing the worsening situation, the Priestess frowned slightly.

Even as a transcended being at the peak of biological evolution, at the pseudo-god level, it was impossible to fully contend with the forces of nature alone. Once they stopped their descent, Noah’s Ark would immediately be swallowed by the roaring waves that relentlessly pursued from above.

While she hadn’t truly tested it, Vilyric wouldn’t dare say she could block the terrifying pressures of a nearly ten-thousand-meter deep sea with just a level 6 spell. That power was terrifying not only for its strength but for its endless nature.

If she used a higher tier defensive magic, it would probably affect the rules of traversal, so unless absolutely necessary, it would be best to avoid that option.

“Zheng!!!”

Another blade of light burst forth, slicing through the water that was beginning to close in beneath them. Even with the Priestess’s support, the exhaustion on a spiritual level had caused Hong Yan’s face to pale, showing signs of being unable to continue.

In this ebb and flow, the effectiveness of her strikes had now reduced to about a third of the original, with the range barely allowing Noah’s Ark’s massive hull to fit through.

Although Vilyric’s strategy avoided a direct confrontation with the deep-sea pressure, allowing for faster descent, it also required bearing more risk and offered less room for error, making it wholly dependent on Hong Yan’s performance as the spearhead.

Was this little girl still a bit too inexperienced…

But she truly tried her best. Thankfully, Vilyric hadn’t neglected alternative options.

Having noticed the current situation herself, Ming Lan quietly approached the black-haired girl, tentatively suggesting, “Lady, should we go with a more primitive approach? I have both types of items with me, and it should still be in time to set them up…”

Turning to glance at the fox-eared youth, Vilyric responded noncommittally.

“Based on your experience, how much deeper do we still need to go?”

After a moment’s contemplation, the youth replied, “The conditions in the world’s fissures are constantly changing, and I can’t provide an absolute value, but on average, it should be around ten thousand meters deep. We shouldn’t be far off.”

“Hmm…”

Nodding, the Priestess turned to move forward.

“In that case, let me take this final leg.”

   

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