Chapter 565.5: Body of a Demigod
Genius talent is merely the foundation of many legends' success!
Their experiences are often impossible to replicate.
Now, thanks to his Divinity, Matthew has successfully caught up.
With the Body of a Demigod, he can easily step into the Legendary tier.
The greatest barrier between mortals and legends no longer applies to Matthew.
The reason Matthew hasn't rushed to level up his class is because he has bigger "ambitions!"
To master and enhance every spell and combat skill he can.
Matthew knows very well that future enemies will be terrifying, and magic damage often falls short of expectations.
Though Legendary spells are devastating, they consume tremendous energy.
What Matthew now seeks to improve is his synergy between melee and spellcasting.
This is how he'll maximize his combat potential.
His obsession with surgical enhancements—
Not only boosts the power of Bay Territory's modified warriors—
It also explores a new path for Bay Territory Professionals to raise their power ceiling.
After all, everyone's talent is limited. Even after experiencing the baptism of Force Tides, 70–80% of the populace can only reach High-level with stacked resources at best.
Surgical enhancement bridges the gap, significantly raising the strength of the whole force.
Matthew slowly shook his head, setting aside his worries for now, and glanced at Yaya, who was carefully recording data.
Yaya's attribute panel had yet to fully stabilize.
She was digesting her Divinity and Divine Power rather slowly.
Although her strength was growing quickly, the way she absorbed Divinity and Divine Power remained mysterious.
Perhaps once Yaya's class level broke into the advanced tier, the situation would begin to change.
At the same time, Matthew himself needed to spend a significant amount of time studying how to use Divinity and Divine Power.
Now, it was time to step out of the lab again.
Time to let both himself and Yaya relax.
And also begin tackling some of Bay Territory's current development issues.
Growing closer to Matthew, Yaya sensed his intentions and her face lit up with joy. Her eyes swirled playfully as she eagerly said:
"Perfect timing! I just taught Orianna how to use Illusory Clone. I can take her to play at sea now."
Matthew had no objections to Yaya taking Orianna around to have fun and allowed her to act freely.
This, too, was part of Yaya's growth, and a way to experience the fruits of the territory's development.
Once they left, the underground lab returned to calm.
February 28.
Netheril Empire.
Eastern Province, coastal region.
Overcast and rainy.
Dense black clouds churned violently under the onslaught of fierce winds, shifting into shapes like clawed monsters.
Brilliant blue lightning surged across the sky, followed by thunderous roars.
Raindrops the size of beans splashed on the raging sea, barely leaving ripples before vanishing into the crashing waves.
The wet, salty sea wind blew toward the gray-brown city walls.
Pirate flags stained with blood flapped noisily.
Hundreds of emaciated, short figures busied themselves in the trenches outside the city walls.
Their occasional shrill complaints were quickly silenced by whips and beatings.
The charred remains of their burned companions left them helpless and hopeless, yet under the Wokou's cruelty, they had no choice but to keep working.
These gray-skinned, green-nosed creatures had large curved noses and pointy ears.
Their legs were stubby and arms long, most of them gaunt and starving.
They were goblins, common in the wild lands of many kingdoms and territories.
Weaker than kobolds, less fertile than murlocs, but at least somewhat clever, capable of using basic tools.
Originally, 30,000 goblins had been brought here.
Forced by the Wokou, they built this port city. Now, less than 10,000 remained.
Beneath the rough city walls lay the charred bones of goblins.
Supervising them were other goblins as well.
These had submitted to the Wokou's cruelty, becoming willing dogs that inflicted exploitation and violence on their own kind.
Some even relished it—grinning maliciously at the cries of their fellows, hoping to earn a few bones from their masters.
The numb goblins, feeling the icy rain on their backs, buried their hatred deep in their hearts.
On the low city walls, patrolling Wokou looked on with satisfaction, cruelly chatting among themselves:
"Did you hear? There are too many goblins on North Pirate Island. The generals plan to thin them out..."
"Yeah, I heard. Another twenty or thirty thousand new goblin slaves will be sent in."
"Then we can clear out all the old, weak, sick, and crippled. No point wasting food on them."
"Hey, I heard General Kuromoku is living it up in the New World. Why didn't he bring us along?"
"Don't listen to that nonsense. The New World is dangerous. Just the monsters of the Sea of Death and Caribbean are enough to give you nightmares. They're super vengeful."
"Yeah, that's true. Less than half of the last expedition survived. Of nine warships, only five made it back..."
"It's safer here on North Pirate Island. Food's a bit scarce, but better than risking your neck out there."
"Can't say that. If we don't bring back enough loot, our families go hungry."
"Exactly! This land is ripe for the taking. Once we grow stronger, we can go north and capture some barbarian slaves."
"Then maybe we can raise a slave army and start conquering the west..."
"Hahaha..."
"Well said..."
"..."
As they chatted eagerly, several massive shadows slowly approached from 300 meters out at sea.
The patrolling Wokou pirates immediately looked over and, upon seeing the warship flags, shouted excitedly:
"Haha! The Warano is back! Moving this slow, they must be loaded with loot!"
"Don't just stand there—open the gates and head to the docks! If we're late, we'll get nothing!"
"Wonder where they plundered this time—maybe that turtle Bay Territory?"
"Probably. The weather's bad lately, no way they sailed far."
"Hurry up, stop dawdling!"
Hundreds of Wokou pirates swarmed out.
Each one short and ratlike, eyes gleaming with greed and lust, staring up at the approaching warships, eager for slaves and spoils.
But soon, they noticed something was wrong.
Though the ships were approaching, their hulls were riddled with damage.
Below the waterline, the Warano had several large holes, with bolts as thick as wrists still quivering.
The sails were charred, and the pirates aboard were shouting frantically.
Their anxious looks didn't match the joy of a victorious return.
Before the docked Wokou pirates could react, a blinding fireball pierced the clouds and mist.
Thunder roared as a spinning cannonball whistled through the air and slammed into the Warano's stern.
Under their horrified gazes, the once-invincible Warano was blasted full of massive holes.
It struggled toward the dock and then came to a desperate halt on the sea.
Slowly, it began to sink!
"Enemy attack...!"
Sharp screams echoed across the dock.
The panicking Wokou pirates rushed toward the dock's cannons in chaos.
But before they could even locate the enemy, blazing fireballs tore through the distant darkness and smashed into the artillery positions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amid the earth-shaking chaos, the Wokou pirates, reeling from the shockwaves, witnessed a terrifying scene.
Ten fire-spewing warships burst through the gray waves, cutting through the tides, surrounding the three returning ships led by the Warano.
A storm of flaming cannonballs rained down on the three ships.
They were doomed!
In panic, the Wokou pirates rushed out of the city toward the docked ships.
Those in the artillery posts scrambled to their feet and screamed:
"Fire! Fire the cannons now!"
The three warships launched scattered counterattacks, but they failed to harm the oncoming fleet.
Matthew watched the incoming bolts wobble into the sea under the storm wind and murmured thoughtfully:
"In the rain, they've lost their ability to fire back?"
Beside him, Annie watched several young spellcasters retrieve dry magic powder from storage and said with schadenfreude:
"They lack proper protection and hardly ever have spellcasters fight alongside their pirates."
She looked enviously at the busy low-tier spellcasters aboard the ships.
Even the Ail Elves didn't have conditions this good.
And Bay Territory only rose in the last two years...
Leon saw the pirates board the warships but held off the attack, allowing them to raise their sails.
The warriors aboard stood ready—prepared to baptize themselves in the blood of these Wokou pirates.
To squeeze out every last drop of value from them!
The Lord had already said: "Leave not a single one alive!"