Chapter 264
Chapter 264: Just Got Out of Isolation, Resuming Updates
Under a sky blanketed in dark clouds, heavy rain pierced through the thin, churning surface of the sea and crashed down upon a colossal blue palace.
The towering palace was constructed entirely of pale-blue cold-iron steel, stretching for hundreds of miles through the deep sea.
Across its glowing cerulean body, countless translucent, glittering gemstones were embedded throughout.
They resembled azure gems nourished by rainwater—like eyes peering from the ocean's depths, flowing with mysterious and crystalline light.
At the far end of the grand palace, blue gemstones trailed like stars across a night sky, an unbroken line of them, like a brilliant fissure carved open across the deep sea.
The entire palace stood silently beneath the ocean, letting the surging tides sweep across its unyielding cold-iron frame.
Burly guards stood in a row gripping long spears, submerged beneath the sea.
Their eyes were resolute, and the slender streams of water flowing along their arms gradually merged with the glow of their spear shafts.
The patterns on their bodies appeared especially mysterious beneath the dim blue ocean, as though they had come alive, endlessly shifting and flowing.
And within the interior of that palace.
The blue crystal stones seemed to illuminate everything around them.
Even here, deep beneath the sea, every room within the palace was as bright as midday.
Directly above the shining palace, a massive opening had been carved out, with sandy glass sealing off the ocean outside.
The ceiling was ringed with embedded blue crystals, their lustrous glow cast down across the entire palace floor.
Inside the wide chamber, everything was likewise bathed in the blue of the ocean.
And above that enormous bed, streams of bubbles floated upward from time to time.
Blub blub blub. Quite charming.
A Sea Folk guard walked in and knelt on one knee beside the large bed:
"City Lord, someone is here to see you."
The bubbles that had been rising steadily from the bed suddenly stopped, as though a delicate slumber had been interrupted.
A small fish lay sprawled across that enormous bed. It opened its eyes, still a little dazed.
In an underwater kingdom teeming with Sea Folk, the appearance of a creature like this—something resembling a small fish—would genuinely catch anyone off guard.
The little fish was still blowing bubbles in a half-awake stupor, rubbing its eyes with its fins.
"What's going on?"
The guard raised a badge, stretched out a hand, and offered it up respectfully.
The fish blinked at the badge before it, its throat pulsing as it blew a bubble, enveloping that small badge inside it.
It gave its fin a light flick, letting the bubble drift slowly toward its face.
Upon seeing it, the fish blinked.
A strangely familiar feeling.
So the little fish opened its mouth and asked:
"When that person arrived—did he say anything?"
The guard responded at once:
"He said he is Council Member Clavena."
"And that you are to come out and receive him immediately."
The little fish let out a sharp cry, eyes going wide, staring at the badge before it in disbelief:
"What? A Council Member!?"
It began darting frantically around the entire room in agitation. Within just a few seconds, the small fish had already circled the chamber several times.
"When did he arrive?"
The guard, witnessing the City Lord's frantic state, grew even more respectful than before.
"Last night."
It was over.
The little fish froze in place, its tiny head spinning at full speed.
Then, as though realizing something, it whipped around and shouted at the guard:
"Quick! Take me to him, now!"
***
Above the sea's surface, a wave of scorching heat hit like a wall.
Flames broke free from the grip of the moisture, dancing and singing across the surface of the sea—like a reveler who had lost all reason.
Roaring fire churned together with thick white mist, rolling and tumbling, swallowing every living thing upon the sea's surface whole.
The boundless, terrifying flames sent the Sea Folk scattering in a frenzied panic. Caught between the smothering fire and the suffocating hot fog, a few unfortunate souls ultimately fell into the inferno.
Viktor stood at the center of the flames, like a war god commanding fire demons.
Both hands tucked in his pockets, he walked at a leisurely pace, guiding the Lava Arm at his back as it hurled out great sweeping showers of flame through the air.
Heni stayed close behind Viktor.
Around her, a flame-lined path had formed.
Viktor had deliberately created it to shield her.
By now, Heni had gone completely numb.
Viktor had brought her along and spent the entire night slaughtering Sea Folk.
But what was strange was that these Sea Folk were just like before.
No matter how many times they were killed, they would always revive again after some time had passed.
This made Heni understand that something was definitely wrong with these Sea Folk.
The 5 criminal stars—a mark like a brand of guilt—burned ceaselessly on Viktor's chest, flickering with light amid the flames.
Over the course of one full night, Viktor had seized control of 5 zones.
Zones A-1 through A-5, respectively.
And still the city-wide alarm continued to blare without pause.
【5-Star offender detected in Zone A-6.】
Within the City of the Sea, a Player's criminal star rating would climb from 1 star to 6 stars, increasing step by step.
Each increase required control over the corresponding zone.
The higher the criminal star rating, the stronger the Guard Units encountered.
Once all 6 stars were obtained, it meant the Player had seized control of every zone in the upper city.
At that point, no further enemies would appear.
And so Viktor, now carrying 5 criminal stars, had already reached the threshold of maximum difficulty.
Before Viktor stood a colossal water creature.
Its entire body was coiled in swirling currents, resembling a ferocious bear forged entirely from water.
It faced Viktor and let out a thunderous, savage roar.
ROOAAR—!!
Viktor, however, didn't so much as change his expression. He simply shifted his gaze toward the enormous bear.
LV46.
The same level as Viktor.
Its body took the shape of a bloated blue sphere, its limbs equally massive.
Between the spherical masses, an overwhelming surge of energy seemed to churn and circulate.
The enormous giant hurled punch after punch down at Viktor. Viktor shifted his stance with a simple step and easily evaded the titan's heavy strikes.
In the blink of an eye, Heni found herself placed far from the battlefield.
From a distance, she could see Professor Viktor locked in combat with that sky-reaching torrent of a giant.
The water bear threw fists and kicks freely across the sea's surface, each heavy blow crashing into surrounding structures and the ocean itself, sending 30-foot waves surging upward.
Viktor watched the rampaging water bear, still completely composed.
The creature's thick limbs drove deep into the sea.
It stood planted between the waves like an impregnable fortress of water.
The raging tide surged up, taking the shape of a savage, fang-filled predator as it lunged straight at Viktor with deadly force.
Viktor raised his palm. Several crimson-red Formations rapidly materialized and drifted into position around his body.
Countless Runes converged at a single point, and an inverted hexagram manifested at his back.
The Lava Arm clenched tight into a fist. Then, a massive sword of roaring flame grew from its palm, as though piercing through the heavy cloud cover above.
The towering scarlet blaze came crashing down with the Lava Arm, cleaving apart the already-sparse clouds as it collided violently with the water bear.
【4th-Tier Magic: Blazing Colossus Blade】
The next instant, a white torrent of scalding steam erupted outward and engulfed the entire world.
As the billowing mist gradually faded, the entire sea surface returned to a dead, absolute silence.
The clouds cleaved apart by the great blade began to stir.
The sparse clouds, as though guided by some unseen force, started gathering over the entire City of the Sea.
The next moment……
Drip. When the first raindrop struck the sea's surface, the downpour grew heavier and heavier.
The raindrops hammered down into the ocean with a relentless pitter-patter, the clamorous sound spreading across the entire city.
Yet the dead stillness did not recede by even a fraction—if anything, it deepened.
The water bear that had stood there moments before was gone without a trace.
In its place was a single star-shaped badge.
It lay quietly on the sea's surface, drifting along with the current until it floated to Viktor's feet.
Viktor bent down to pick it up and pinned it to his chest.
At this point, 6 stars now hung on Viktor's person.
Every Sea Folk in Zone A-6 vanished entirely, and a city-wide broadcast rang out:
【Zone A-6 has been seized.】
Viktor looked down at the criminal stars pinned to his chest.
He was now a 6-star upstanding citizen.
The alarm continued to echo, but this time, no one came.
Viktor had seized all 6 zones of the upper city, so no more Sea Folk would appear on the surface.
In his mind, 6 fragments of the zone map surfaced, piecing themselves together seamlessly into a whole.
The City of the Sea, encased in a massive bubble, was a circular city—and so each of the 6 zones occupied a different direction around it.
The central zone, however, remained a hazy gray circle, shrouded in fog, with no way to peer inside or enter.
At this point, the flames surrounding Viktor gradually dissipated.
The City of the Sea before him had been reduced to near-total ruin. The entire city had been completely devastated by the flames.
Heni stood in the rain, letting it soak her hair, looking out at her surroundings.
Taking in the desolation around her, she couldn't help but feel a creeping melancholy.
When she had first arrived, this city built upon the surface of the sea had genuinely left her in awe.
And yet now.
Only a single night had passed, and the entire City of the Sea looked as though it had been through some enormous battle.
Unrecognizable.
Heni felt as though she finally understood just how Viktor had earned the title of Council Member.
At that moment, Viktor reached out a hand and removed all the stars, then held them out to Heni.
"Your turn to wear them."
Heni paused, then obediently extended her hand and accepted the 6 stars.
With the 6 criminal stars pinned to her chest, the next instant Heni suddenly felt a sense of control rise from somewhere within her.
As though, if she wished, she could restore everything here to what it once was.
So Heni tried doing exactly that.
She pressed her palms together, closed her eyes, and attempted to draw on the power.
Transparent streams of water rapidly gathered. Droplet after droplet burst apart and scattered.
The waves surged, carrying with them a vast and sweeping spray—like great mountains pouring downward in a cascade.
Amid the spray, countless Sea Folk began to solidify once more, their forms condensing out of the rushing water.
As though awakened, their figures were gradually taking shape.
Transparent as water, flickering with faint light, crystalline and pure as gemstone.
Heni stood beside the pillars of water, watching the spectacle unfold.
She could feel the power flowing through her body—a power drawn from the ocean.
At the same time, the currents swept through.
One great column of water after another surged upward, churning like dragons leaping into the sky.
The water columns began to take shape, as though adorned with azure droplets, shimmering intermittently in a riot of color.
At last, they formed buildings of flowing water. Structures of liquid architecture took shape anew, rising to stand upon the sea's surface.
Streets were restored. Passersby moved among each other once more.
Watching this, Heni felt an indescribable sense of wonder.
Then Viktor's voice rose, quiet and even:
"You're the City Lord of this upper city now."
Heni blinked.
Huh?