Blood Nemesis-Chapter 138: Turtle

Yesterday was a whirlwind.

Oliver and Root never imagined they would be fighting a flood dragon. Crab Island was supposed to be a sanctuary, far from the lake’s dangerous zones, so the creature’s sudden appearance had shocked them.

However, their shock quickly turned to pleasant surprise the moment they killed it. The benefits they reaped far outweighed any drawbacks.

The dragon’s entire body was a treasure.

By slaying it with Oliver’s help, they earned the right to a portion, quickly accumulating significant wealth.

Though Root didn’t know the full story, he was thrilled to receive 100,000 creds for practically doing nothing.

Oliver, on the other hand, was ecstatic to get his hands on the dragon meat.

The fresh, mana-infused, tough meat he stowed in the boat’s cargo hold could very likely help him capture the mythical creature he was searching for.

He was thrilled beyond words, his eyes occasionally glancing at the hundred or so chunks of meat, perfectly packed in plastic bags, a smile playing on his lips.

Dragon meat inherently contained a lot of mana, meaning it wouldn’t decay even if left exposed for a month.

Oliver smiled, contemplating its potential use.

Still, he didn’t rush into action.

Yesterday had been a roller coaster.

He had almost died multiple times and expended most of his blood and mana. So, he decided to rest for a day. With his current blood reserves, he was in no condition to face a similar battle, which meant he wouldn’t be able to protect Root if something went wrong.

With that thought, Oliver took the day off.

Instead of hurrying to create bait with the meat he had, he slowly steered the boat into the depths of the lake, towards the giant turtle carcass he had previously seen. frёewebηovel.cѳm

The flood dragon had killed the Ironshell Turtle and feasted on its flesh before climbing onto Crab Island to recover. It must have attacked Root because it believed he was with the Lin family, who were pursuing it.

But that no longer mattered; the dragon was dead, and the Ironshell Turtle’s carcass remained in the deep waters of the lake.

Oliver navigated the boat into the lake, knowing the carcass was too large for the crabs to consume in a single day. The murky waters of the lake had a reddish tinge.

Oliver submerged his vehicle, which had looked like a boat but now, instead of functioning as neither, dove to the depths like a submarine. Its bright lights were activated, illuminating the lake.

Due to high algae content, the light didn’t penetrate far, yet the vessel continued to descend.

Root’s curious eyes darted around, observing the various fish flashing into view.

Most were small mana beasts, unremarkable in appearance, similar to freshwater fish on Earth but larger and stronger. Occasionally, however, he caught a glimpse of a giant fish with razor-sharp teeth darting around. Its tiger-like stripes made it instantly identifiable.

Root smiled. Although he had seen similar fish in the market, he had never seen one alive.

"Maybe coming on this trip was a good idea after all," he muttered.

"Of course it was," Oliver replied, having overheard him.

Second Earth was a fascinating place—unimaginably vast, teeming with all kinds of strange monsters and mana beasts. Add to that the sightings of occasional specters, abandoned temples, and ancient ruins; the mystique of the place only deepened.

Truth be told, despite being a formidable villain in his past life, Oliver knew very little about Second Earth. Even in the future, humanity as a whole would likely fail to grasp the scale and scope of this land.

Oliver wasn’t even sure if it was a planet like Earth. The only reason it was called "Second Earth" was because of its giant, yet Earth-like, moon. If that didn’t exist, they would have named it something else.

As Oliver pondered this, his lips curled into a smile. Like Root, he was also captivated by its deep mysteries. If possible, he wanted to slowly peel away the layers and unravel the truth behind this mysterious land’s origin.

"Root, take over the controls," he suddenly said when he noticed the water’s red color intensifying.

"Hm? Why?"

"I have to take a closer look."

Oliver had already told Root about the turtle, so he understood what was happening.

But what did Oliver mean by "taking a closer look"?

Before his thoughts could fully process, Oliver shed his slippers and shirt and walked to a tubular hatch at the boat’s stern.

He entered it without any diving gear, then pressed a sequence of numbers and was ejected. A burst of bubbles escaped the ship below as his body was propelled out.

Oliver suddenly felt the crushing weight of the water.

He quickly released all the air in his lungs, but his ears still popped.

The injury was something he could heal instantly; he didn’t care about it at all. Without delay, his body swam into the murky waters, ignoring the fish and tall aquatic plants floating around.

Meanwhile, inside the ship, Root watched everything and sighed. Oliver never ceased to surprise him. Root had imagined Oliver would scout the area with the ship before entering the water, but he had dived without hesitation, wearing no safety gear. It was as if he had thrown caution to the wind.

"Guild leader, can you hear me?" Root asked, pressing the mic he was wearing.

Oliver paused, turned around, and waved.

’At least he took the communication device,’ Root thought in relief.

The murky water was growing thick, filled with a red hue and dust clouds. Visibility was low, and he could no longer easily see Oliver. In case he lost sight, he wanted to ask Oliver to stop and return to the boat.

"Then, proceed with caution. I’m following you closely. If you see danger, please alert me," Root added, looking at the front monitors.

His ability activated, merging with the boat’s system, directly viewing everything happening around the ship in his mind.

This special ability was the source of his confidence.

When active, it was like he was one with the ship. He could peer into all computers and systems and control them directly with his mind. The ship’s controls became an extension of his body, while information flowed into his brain’s sensory cortex.

This allowed him to get a good grasp of his position in space and make tight maneuvers to follow Oliver.

This exact ability was what he had used to flash lights into the flood dragon’s eyes the previous day.

As Oliver swam further down, he felt the thick bloom surrounding him. It was the Ironshell Turtle’s blood.

Oliver could smell its familiar scent. He smiled and released a thin tendril of blood from his body, connecting to the massive blood cloud. Immediately, he began to filter and absorb it.

As Oliver swam deeper, the blood around him cleared, being absorbed into his body. He was creating a tunnel-like path through the blood cloud. Root saw this but couldn’t understand the cause behind the phenomenon.

He assumed mana was being used to push away the blood to improve visibility.

Finally, after a few seconds, they reached the deepest area, where the dust cloud was rising from.

Immediately, a large shadow came into view. Many orange, green, and blue crabs, the size of elephants, were crawling on the back of this dark shadow.

Oliver paused, turned around, and signaled that this was the place. His actions looked nonsensical, but Root was used to the eccentricities by now and understood him perfectly. He was being asked to stop the boat and hover there.

Once Oliver saw him stop, he dove closer towards the turtle.

As the crab mana beasts drove their claws into the cracks between the turtle’s shell, clouds of blood rose.

Their nearby movements also stirred up mud, reducing visibility. Oliver still swam forward. His senses were enhanced because of the blood cloud; he could feel everything around him without actually seeing.

’The crabs are C-rank or below. They pose no immediate danger.’

Oliver drew in the nearby blood. Now, he had about 15,000 liters at hand.

Just by moving through the blood cloud, he had absorbed about 8,000 liters. From his estimation, the turtle must have had close to 70,000 liters of blood when it was alive. Now, the majority of it must be lost. Still, Oliver believed there would be close to thirty thousand liters remaining in its body and nearby regions. If he could absorb all of that, he could immediately return to his peak state.

He smiled and gently swam around the thirty-meter-wide body of the turtle, absorbing as much blood as he could from the surroundings.

Soon, the murky water became a little clearer. Although mud and other particles were still present, visibility slowly improved. Oliver had absorbed another eight thousand liters of blood from the surroundings, increasing his stored amount to 23,000 liters.

A joyous smile bloomed.

Maybe there was more blood than he expected.