On the seabed, Lu Xuan carefully sensed the flow of the surrounding seawater. He was certain that the Drowning God had also tampered with the water. Every move he made was accompanied by abnormal pressure. Even with the water-repelling spell, that pressure remained.
Boom... A muffled sound rang out. A gigantic tentacle attacked from behind. As if signaling an attack, dozens of tentacles moved simultaneously, covering the sky like a vast web of flesh and blood, engulfing every angle of Lu Xuan's body.
A ring of ripples appeared around Lu Xuan's body. This was a manifestation of the intense activation of his internal energy. The steel longsword in his hand pushed aside a large amount of seawater. A brief vacuum crack even appeared in front of him.
The four attacking tentacles were severed on the spot by Lu Xuan. This allowed Lu Xuan to break out of the encirclement, his body moving through the water, his long sword aimed straight at the largest sea monster's body. These sea monsters were all soft-bodied creatures, their movements in the seawater were astonishingly agile. Lu Xuan's movements, however, were constantly restricted by the seawater.
Before he could get close to the sea monster's body, more than a dozen tentacles wrapped around him.
Lu Xuan frowned, then abandoned the attack. It wasn't just because of the surrounding tentacles; more importantly, he could feel that as he got closer to the giant sea monster, the binding force of the seawater on him was rapidly increasing.
It's unknown how much divine power the Drowned God unleashed for this attack, but the attackers clearly came with a kill-or-die mentality. Thinking about it carefully, it's understandable that Euron's need for the Drowned God is almost unimaginable. This is because he might be the last Ironborn capable of restoring the Ancient Way (a code of conduct that includes burning, killing, looting, and all sorts of evil).
The other old fogies, though they also reminisced about the 'glory' of the ancient path, were too weak in both ambition and ability. It was virtually impossible for them to recreate that glory. Finally, Euron emerged. The Drowned God had bestowed countless favors upon Euron, nurturing this great demon king single-handedly. They were just waiting for him to restore the ancient path and rekindle his faith in the Drowned God.
Just as they were nearly fully cultivated, Lu Xuan casually slaughtered them. How could the Drowning God not go mad...? The surrounding sea was shrouded in the Drowning God's divine power, greatly restricting Lu Xuan's strength. The opponent intended to use these three sea monsters to drag Lu Xuan to his death in the sea.
With a loud thud, Lu Xuan's body leaped directly out of the sea. But what met him head-on was a violent storm and towering waves. It felt as if everything in the ocean was against Lu Xuan. He even saw countless sea fish leaping from the surface and crashing towards him.
A giant wave, tens of meters high, carrying the surrounding warships, pressed down on Lu Xuan.
This may be the first time since the Valyrian Freehold era that the gods of this world have displayed their divine power on such a large scale.
With a loud bang, Lu Xuan's body pierced through a warship, his body treading on fragments as he ran wildly across the sea. He didn't try to return to the sea to kill the three sea monsters. That wouldn't be easy. Killing the messenger of the Drowning God in the sea was simply too presumptuous. What he needed to do now was try to escape the domain created by the Drowning God.
………………
Outside the city, the chaotic battle had entered a new phase. Daenerys, manipulating her dragons, routed the allied cavalry and freed her own cavalry regiment. This eliminated the last vestige of suspense in the advance.
Some soldiers managed to maneuver several ballistae; even with their armor, the giants and mammoths couldn't withstand their attacks. But before they could operate them, a large number of cavalry charged out from the flanks.
An even more complete collapse ensued; the allied commander had already mounted his horse and fled back without looking back. The remaining soldiers had utterly lost the will to fight.
The supervisory team was still trying, but the fleeing mercenaries didn't hesitate to draw their swords and slash at them. After all, these supervisory teams seemed easier to deal with than the mammoths and giants.
Once this breach was opened, it couldn't be stopped. Almost everyone started drawing their swords. Anyone who stood in their way was slashed at without a word.
Of course, many mercenaries realized that the situation was hopeless and threw down their swords, squatting on the ground.
Grey Worm led his team past the surrendered mercenaries. Despite his high-ranking military background and considerable mathematical training, he couldn't count the prisoners; a rough estimate suggested they numbered as many as several dozen acres. And more and more were laying down their weapons. He quickly gave up on counting the prisoners and instead found a messenger, telling him to hurry back and gather reinforcements. "We need a lot of ropes and shackles..."
From afar, Daenerys, seeing that the situation was under control, turned to look out to sea. There, she saw a raging storm raging, as if it were the end of the world.
Just as Dani was about to go to provide support, she received a telepathic message from Lu Xuan. She immediately nodded and rode Zhuo Geng straight into the sky.
The other two dragons followed closely behind, breaking through the clouds and spewing flames to scorch the clouds in the sky.
The torrential rain and strong winds from the Drowned God clearly affected the clouds, keeping Lu Xuan's head perpetually shrouded in dark clouds, obscuring the sunlight. Meanwhile, Dani and the three demonic dragons forcibly destroyed a section of the clouds.
A ray of sunlight descended from the sky, piercing through the raging wind and rain, and illuminating the sea. Lu Xuan's lips curled slightly, and with a few leaps, he jumped into the sunlight's reach.
Braving the violent wind and rain, Lu Xuan's body soared into the sky.
The sunlight in the sky, as if attracted by something, visibly tilted and shone entirely on Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan's body froze in mid-air, the surrounding storm raging on, yet his body remained as steady as a rock. The stillness and movement, the dark and oppressive background highlighting his sun-drenched form, created a breathtakingly magnificent oil painting in that instant, where the sky, the ocean, the sunlight, the storm, and Lu Xuan together formed a colossal and exquisitely beautiful scene.
Ape Strike Technique, Sun Refinement. This was the first time Lu Xuan had ever used Sun Refinement at its maximum level. He felt a vast, scorching, terrifying power surging within his body, as if it would turn him to ashes in the next second.
The next second, Lu Xuan suddenly opened his eyes. His body fell naturally.
The speed of his descent increased rapidly. In just two or three seconds, his entire body transformed into a shimmering ball of light, descending from the sky. Behind him, endless sunlight gathered on his body like a magnificent tail.
Countless tentacles lunged forward to intercept, but before they could get close, they were scorched by the light emanating from Lu Xuan and retreated with howls.
The dark, murky seawater was illuminated by a beam of light.
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Chapter 316 Post-War Claims
Along the coast, the storm had gradually subsided. Dani, with a squad of soldiers, waited anxiously on the shore. Lu Xuan had been at sea for quite some time, but Dani couldn't venture deep into the water like him. She could only wait anxiously on the shore.
Suddenly, the seawater began to churn again, and numerous tentacles emerged from the surface once more. Dani instinctively reached for her sword, but then saw Lu Xuan standing on one of the tentacles, slowly rising above the water.
"Teacher!!!" Dani exclaimed in surprise.
Lu Xuan looked somewhat tired, but overall he wasn't seriously injured. He had used the Ape Strike Technique to penetrate the sea monster's defenses and wound its main body. Afterwards, Lu Xuan felt his consciousness undergo some kind of violent shock.
Using the bodies of the three sea monsters as a base, Lu Xuan engages in a new round of battle with the Drowned God.
Lu Xuan was initially at a significant disadvantage, given the circumstances at the time; the Drowned God had genuinely unleashed a considerable amount of power. Lu Xuan was unable to directly confront a deity with a divine position.
However, Lu Xuan also had his own advantages. Having lived several lifetimes, his soul had been tempered to an unparalleled resilience. The Drowning God could suppress him, but not kill him. As time passed, the three sea monsters they had been using as a backdrop couldn't hold on any longer. Compared to Rahlo, that silver coin, the Drowning God was practically a fool, stubbornly fighting Lu Xuan head-on. But the consciousness of the sea monsters bearing the power of the Drowning God simply couldn't withstand this level of combat. As a result, the largest sea monster died first, and the two smaller sea monsters even began to resist the Drowning God's possession. This gave Lu Xuan an opportunity to counterattack. In terms of possession, the Three-Eyed Raven was the expert.
Lu Xuan also couldn't directly kill the Drowning God, unlike the Three-Eyed Raven. The Drowning God was closer to a primordial ancient god. Chaos, tyranny, and slaughter were its divine duties. Plundering this divinity was somewhat unacceptable to Lu Xuan.
In the end, he merely forcibly banished the will of the Drowning God, causing it to lose its vessel in the human world and be forced to leave.
After getting ashore, Lu Xuan said to Daenerys.
"The carcass of that colossal sea monster is right below the harbor. Mobilize the citizens, get that thing out, drag it to the square, and let your dragon devour it in public."
Lu Xuan would naturally not let go of this opportunity to boost his reputation.
The great battle had come to an end at this point. The most difficult problem in the main war was the sheer number of prisoners. According to rough estimates by statisticians, the final number of prisoners was at least 100,000. To put that into perspective, the entire garrison of Daenerys' three cities combined only numbered around 70,000…