Chapter 569: Defeating the Legend
"Roar...!"
The deafening roar sent nearby Wokou pirates and barbarian soldiers retreating in fear.
A grayish-brown massive head slowly emerged from the water's surface.
A horrifying shark head, with a pair of blood-red giant eyes perched atop it.
Those eyes were terrifying—anyone who looked into them felt their entire focus being sucked in, along with their attention and spirit.
They knew something was wrong, but their bodies wouldn't respond, leaving them frozen in place.
Their consciousness began to blur, inner screams echoing with no one to save them.
That dreadful figure drew closer with every step.
The entire world seemed to shake—the ground quaked, tearing apart their thoughts.
Just as they were about to fall completely into darkness, the pain and fear began to fade, their consciousness nearing oblivion.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thunderous cannon fire suddenly tore through their vision.
Snapping back to reality, they saw the legendary sea monster Kraken being struck by shells and fire.
Feeling limp and drained, fear and terror filled everyone's eyes.
They had no idea what had just happened, but they were drenched in sweat as if they had returned from hell's gate.
"-3!"
"-2!"
"-6!"
"-1!"
"-2!"
"-3!"
"-25!"
"Ding, you dealt 100 lightning damage to the legendary sea monster Kraken, actual damage dealt: 25 HP."
Tiny damage numbers floated above Kraken's head.
Matthew clicked his tongue, feeling a mix of awe and anticipation at this giant's damage resistance.
From what just happened to everyone, Matthew deduced it was one of Kraken's fearsome abilities.
"Fear Tide!"
"Fear Tide, legendary skill: releases a Willpower check to all targets within a 500-meter radius. Those with less than 10 Willpower enter the Fear Devour state."
"Fear Devour state cannot be self-resolved and results in eternal nightmare within five minutes."
"Legendary skill is sustained—each kill adds 10 seconds to its duration."
Such a powerful skill—it was practically a full-screen attack!
Imagine Kraken launching Fear Tide from hundreds of meters below sea level at a fleet on the surface—
Unless a Professional's perception exceeded 20 points—
Only a tiny few could even resist it with Willpower above 10.
An entire fleet would fall, with perhaps only one or two able to resist. How could they stand against Kraken?
Most wouldn't even know how they died. Escaping would be pure luck.
Lowering his hand, feeling the emptiness of drained lightning energy, Matthew looked to the recovering crowd and commanded coolly:
"Take recovery potions!"
Snapping out of it, Bay Territory soldiers gulped down their potions with lingering dread.
As their strength returned, they locked eyes on the massive monster slowly reaching the shore.
A heavy glint flickered in Leon's eyes. The lingering fear in his body slowly faded.
He had seen many legendary opponents, but none as overwhelming as Kraken.
The Willpower struggle earlier made him feel powerless.
Finally, Leon understood.
Why the lord had all modified warriors start learning mind-based skills and feats.
If they couldn't resist such terrifying pressure—
Then all the strength and combat skills in the world would make them nothing more than lambs to the slaughter.
No matter how strong their bodies, without defense against such abilities, they'd be doomed.
Leon resolved—after this battle, he would personally apply to join the lord's experiments.
That feeling of helplessness must never return.
The other Bay Territory soldiers didn't think that far.
Once their strength returned, at Matthew's command, they opened fire on the Kraken now reaching the dock!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A volley of shells soared toward Kraken's shark head.
Having recovered from lightning paralysis, Kraken stared fixedly at Matthew in his gray-black cloak.
It raised one hand to block the incoming cannonballs.
Matthew saw the spinning projectiles slam into Kraken's gray-green skin.
The iron balls merely deformed its skin slightly before bouncing off and falling.
This cannon barrage hadn't hurt Kraken at all.
Seeing this, Matthew was both concerned and intrigued by its monstrous resilience.
Gazing at Kraken's thick legs as it advanced, he raised a brow and said:
"Aim for its legs!"
Though not afraid, Matthew hoped to gather more intel before engaging.
Bay Territory soldiers wasted no time—reloading with practiced speed.
Fire!
This time, Kraken showed no abnormal reaction.
Its thick legs took the hit—the tough hide again resisted penetration or tearing.
But the impact disrupted Kraken's advance.
For the first time—it stopped!
Only now did the terrifying aura surrounding Kraken begin to dissipate.
The twisted, monstrous form was fully visible.
A massive shark head atop a horrifying humanoid body.
It hadn't yet reached 10 meters tall—clearly not at full power.
Its massive muscles looked like thick armor.
Its gray-green hide was so tough even direct cannon hits failed to break it.
Just these two defenses placed it above 20 defense points.
Anything below high-tier strength couldn't even harm it.
What puzzled Matthew—Kraken's iconic tentacles weren't visible.
And this terrifying creature hadn't attacked after stopping—instead, it just kept staring.
Staring directly at Matthew!
Hoooh!
Kraken exhaled a mist of white gas, eyes locked on Matthew, raising one hand slowly.
A giant rusted pickaxe rose with it, elemental energy surging across its surface.
"Another big move?"
Matthew narrowed his eyes, unclasping his gray cloak.
Bathed in sunlight, his silver-white magical armor glowed with crackling lightning.
A powerful aura surged—Kraken's eyes gleamed with greed. Matthew stepped onto the wall and leapt.
But instead of crashing down, he landed gently like a leaf.
Then, under the stunned stares of Bay Territory soldiers, he strode step by step toward Kraken.
To most soldiers, this mysterious, powerful Arcanist was revered.
He had appeared on many battlefields, bringing Bay Territory victory time and again.
Only now did they realize—his true strength might be melee combat?
Was his ranged spellcasting just because enemies were too weak?
Countless thoughts raced through their minds.
Nervously watching his back, hope and anticipation filled their eyes.
They desperately wished for the Arcanist to win again!
Unlike the average soldier, the modified warriors stared at Matthew's back with glowing eyes.
His large, bright silver magical armor resembled polished ceremonial plate.
Enchanted patterns shimmered in the sunlight.
Standing about 2.5 meters tall, it was both heavy and agile, radiating strength.
Compared to the magical armor of other enhanced warriors, Matthew's thunder armor was even more advanced.
It combined the best of thunder armor and magic armor—top-tier defense and lightning amplification.
Lightning crackled and danced across his body.
Even Kraken was momentarily stunned at Matthew's calm advance.
It hadn't expected prey this bold.
Not only did he not flee inland—he was openly approaching, seemingly ready to challenge it!
Such a foolish prey!
Kraken didn't feel anger—weakling Matthew wasn't worthy of altering its mood.
Kraken casually swung its massive iron pick, causing the sea behind it to surge.
As the pick came crashing down toward Matthew, three-to-four-meter-high waves came roaring in.
The docked warships were tossed about chaotically.
Several heavily damaged ships were torn apart completely.
The gathered water element formed a binding prison, trying to trap Matthew in place.
This terrifying monster not only had a monstrous body, but also terrifying combat skills.
Reflected in Matthew's eyes was the rust-covered pickaxe—blinding arcs of lightning suddenly lit up.
"Ding, Strength contest in progress…"
"Your Strength: 35, Opponent's Strength: 25, Contest succeeded!"
Matthew burst through the bind like lightning, dodged the swing, and drew a black demon blade, slashing at Kraken's knee.
Boom!
The pick smashed into the sand, instantly blowing open a large crater.
The exploding sand whistled through the air.
The tremor sent waves rippling through the beach.
Kraken staggered slightly after the missed strike.
It hadn't expected its fatal blow to miss!
"Impossible. How could a shrimp-sized human escape water-elemental bindings?"
Before it could react, the swing of Matthew's demon blade gave it a deep sense of danger.
Its other hand, which had been idle midair—
At that instant, it darted down like lightning to block the blade.
Clang!
The jagged demon blade vibrated as Matthew pulled it sideways, its serrated edge chewing into flesh like a gnashing mouth.
Even Kraken's calloused hand couldn't withstand the vicious bite from the Katcha Demon—it bled profusely.
The searing pain filled Kraken's eyes with blood.
Shocked by the injury, it let out a harsh scream and instinctively pulled its hand back.
Not expecting Kraken's poor close-combat sense, Matthew took advantage of its retreat to slash its calf.
Slash!
Blood sprayed out!
Matthew didn't retreat—
Seeing Kraken backpedal, he advanced quickly.
The massive demon blade, over a hundred kilograms, swung again at Kraken's leg.
Boom!
This time, the blade landed solidly, tearing open a wide gash.
As Kraken staggered in pain, Matthew darted forward, dodging a sweeping hand.
With agile movement, he stayed outside Kraken's sight and attacks, carving wound after wound into its legs.
Though the damage was minor—
The Katcha Demon's toxin halted regeneration, making the wounds bleed continuously.
Matthew aimed to wear Kraken down, leg first.
A terrible roar suddenly came from above.
Massive waves, six or seven meters high, surged forward with Kraken's scream.
Matthew only managed one last slash at its ankle before the tides swallowed him.
Thankfully, he quickly cast Water Breathing and Swim Acceleration to stay agile.
But Kraken, now submerged, was far more nimble.
It dropped low and rolled backward with the retreating tide.
Matthew gave chase without hesitation.
But in Kraken's bloodshot eyes gleamed cunning and cruelty.
It turned swiftly, and the water around it surged to trap Matthew.