Chapter 977: Chapter 551: Deep Diver’s Byproduct

Amidst the waves crashing on the coast, he felt a sense of being watched. Aside from the retreating Fishmen who left spies behind, Lance couldn’t think of anything else.

No wonder Lance was so furious, did they truly think he was invisible?

They should be grateful for the ocean’s protection; if they were on land, Lance could tear them apart.

Feeling the dissipating gaze, Lance finally withdrew his cold eyes and turned to the newly interwoven defense lines on the coast and the still-awake Hamlet.

Unfortunately, tonight is destined to be uneasy. Grendel only brought news of victory and didn’t pass on the messy pressure that follows.

He’s not unaware, the war is only a momentary crisis; how to handle the aftermath of war is the real torment.

Many of the ships docked at the port were affected to varying degrees, and they, including Sela, were not ordinary people with tasks at hand.

Then there’s the Church, the Association of Healers... How to deal with these individuals with hidden motives?

How should the impact brought upon by the Aberrant Demon Deep Divers appearing in Hamlet be managed?

And how to explain the dead Baldwin and the hundred people to their families?

He should appear in town, but it’s not possible, at least not now.

Only by carrying the momentum of victory can he suppress the Mendicant Monk; it’s part of the plan.

Lance can only hope Grendel can withstand the pressure and buy him more time.

And now, what he needs to do is to eliminate the power brought to the ancestors by these dead Fishmen.

Sacrifice!

Raising his hand towards the pile of Deep Diver corpses, the Void devoured everything like a shadow.

This large-scale sacrifice brought a more intense shock; Lance felt nothing could resist the Void Might.

The bountiful fruits watered by the flesh of over a hundred Hamlet’s people were easily picked by Lance, showcasing the power of authority.

A surge of strong Spiritual Essence erupted—it’s been a long time since he had such a remarkable harvest, directly replenishing the Spiritual Essence consumed recently.

Not even the battle at the outpost earlier compared to it, even though Lance slashed over a hundred Heretics, including a Missionary.

Of course, the number of Fishmen here was greater, about three to four hundred, though many were swept away by the final surge, otherwise, there’d be more.

But the Void’s offering was far from over; evidently, the latent power in the Deep Divers was different from the Heretics, returning some good stuff amidst such a vast number.

Feeling it, Lance raised his hand to grab, and a fish scale emitting a faint glow fell into his hand.

The scale was small enough to hold, exhibiting a jade-like green, as lustrous as jade itself—even without knowing its purpose, its appearance was quite pleasing.

[Deep Sea Scale: A scale imbued with Deep Sea Force, can activate a shield to withstand one attack]

This item is a consumable, activating a shield to block damage.

For a monster like Lance who is hard to kill, it’s not valuable, but it’s very important for those fragile Spellcasters.

Or rather, it’s a crucial life-saving tool for everyone, since it can be activated regardless of one’s ability to cast spells.

The lack of negative effects makes it the strongest.

Undoubtedly, it’s a great item for traveling and dealing with adversities.

"Another power, Fishmen with specialties compared to these impoverished Heretics are much richer."

As Lance spoke, he counted and found as many as twelve pieces of this item.

But considering the three to four hundred corpses here, the tally will only be higher including incomplete ones, the probability doesn’t seem too high.

Unfortunately, that’s all there is because Lance ordered those special Fishmen corpses to be taken to the sanatorium, so it’s understandable why nothing else exploded out.

Clearing the corpses completed Lance’s task of returning without any extra moves and he headed towards the wilderness.

Returning to town now is pointless; only by completely taking the wilderness can the situation be opened.

......

At dawn, sunlight dispelled the darkness looming over the wilderness and poured warmth over the artillery positions of the number two target, revealing the gunners leaning on the cannon carts or ammunition boxes, unable to conceal their fatigue.

Last night, those Pigman monsters bursting out from the passage indeed startled these soldiers. At first, they fired a few shots, but later realized the ammunition issue made wasting it impossible.

So, they arranged the gunners to guard the breach blasted by the bombs.

Much like guarding a spawn point, they fired as soon as anything emerged from the passage, then waited for the next round.

Only when the position was undefendable, would they fire to repel the Pigman.

After a few rounds of this, it became quiet; the Pigmen learned and didn’t show themselves.

Fortunately, this wasn’t the Beast Lair’s core—the Pigmen emerging were low-quality products from the periphery, otherwise, a few Pigman Concealers slipping up under the night would likely result in fatalities.

The latter half of the night went without attacks, the quiet felt unsettling to them.

After all, they were prepared for Heretic night raids from the start, who knew it would turn out like this.

The quieter it became, the more uneasy they felt, for it was preparation before a storm.

Especially for the new recruits, the pressure was even greater—they couldn’t sleep, just hugging their weapons for brief naps.

This situation persisted until sunrise, marking an end to the tense night—light always brings a sense of safety to people.

And what made them feel even safer was the arrival of a person traversing the wilderness.

His appearance triggered vigilance among everyone here because of the battle-worn, tattered armor, the helmet face guard corroded in large patches vaguely revealed his face.