Chapter 540 - Don't Make Me Angry

"Here they come ..." On the island, the white-haired Ripple Master wearing a half-white half-red bone ring let a cold glint flash across his eyes.

It was exactly as the mother tree had foretold a few days earlier. A group of formidable uninvited guests had indeed arrived at Eternal Island. The Ripple Practitioners would never allow outsiders to set foot in their nest and holy land, so they intended to wipe the intruders out on the shoreline!

Eternal Island, the main island of the Eternal Archipelago, was quite large and its terrain was rather complicated. In the past, only some of the elite Ripple Practitioners had stayed to guard their source of power, the mother tree and the bone ring woods.

But now, since the mother tree had birthed three Supreme bone rings of differing mighty attributes, numerous powerful Ripple Practitioners who had been stationed abroad, and even several Ripple Masters, had all returned. The number of Ripple Practitioners on the main island had swelled dramatically. Their offensive and defensive strength was richer than ever before.

Thus the Ripple Practitioners feared no one. Besides, they were fighting at home, and the mother tree could inform them in advance of the enemy's direction and location. All they needed was to send a team to lie in wait.

Such a mission was welcomed by the stronger Ripple Practitioners, and even a few Ripple Masters joined in. Obviously, on the eve of vying for the three Supreme bone rings, they wanted some dazzling deeds to boost their odds. By accomplishing feats everyone could see, they would stake their own claim.

Ripple Master Gareon had thought this way and acted accordingly. He had once been the chief representative the Ripple Order sent to the United States of Yana. He had a lofty status and was rather strong. He had also brought a host of elite subordinates with him.

That made him highly competitive, with considerable influence. Thus, when these defensive tasks were allocated, Gareon seized first pick. He took charge of the Covert Martial Arts fleet that would arrive at Eternal Island first. He brought all his elites, determined to score an auspicious opener.

Gareon was ambitious and eager, yet cautious and ruthless by nature. Thus, the moment he saw the Covert Martial Arts fleet nearing the coast, he had everyone store power and resonate.

So they launched a perfect, full-force concentrated ripple strike!

The flame leviathan's heat was hotter than liquid magma and possessed terrifying destructive force. That blow carried the full output of seventy elite Ripple Practitioners, five Bloodthirsty Ripple Practitioners, and one Ripple Master—with resonance on top!

What could possibly block it?!

"Turn to ash! The whole lot of you will be fish bait!" Ripple Master Gareon clenched his fist, the bone ring on his middle finger shining fiercely. Flame-like markings spread across it.

Boom!!!

The fiery leviathan hurtled through the air like a rocket. Golden-red flame bloomed, propelling the serpent forward.

"Die!" On the shore, Gareon and his seventy-plus men locked onto the impact point.

Bang!!!

The two enormous heads slammed together. Gold-red flames scattered while violet scales rippled outward, and vast power exploded at once.

A gale was born from the collision, as the air pressure suddenly condensed and pressed down on the sea to form a vast bowl-shaped hollow.

Thoom-thoom-thoom-thoom-thoom...

A chain of explosions rang out as the flame leviathan unleashed tremendous might. One could clearly see mushroom-shaped fireballs, each the size of a house, spatter from the impact. The extreme heat vaporised the seawater, sending white steam surging madly upward. Their vision was instantly veiled in haze.

"Good... the first stage has been fully unleashed ..." A faint smile ghosted across Ripple Master Gareon’s face as he pressed his hands together.

Pa!

The gold-red pattern on the bone ring spread to cover his entire right hand.

"Second stage, chain martyr-burst!"

Ding!

The ring flared, and a response soon came from within the fog.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom...

A string of blasts followed, louder and faster each time. Spheres of gold-red light flashed with thunderous roars through the haze. A mighty shockwave rippled out, raising wide waves all along the coastal waters.

Dong!

The final blast ended as a ten-metre-wide fireball swallowed all the mist. The brilliance gradually dimmed.

"Hoo..."

Gareon exhaled, feeling the drain.

He looked ahead and spoke lightly. "It's over! You can be satisfied, to die under this mov-..."

Gareon's words were cut short as his eyes sharpened. His loosened fist clenched once more, veins bulging under the skin.

"You!"

"Quite a fighting style. Ripple Practitioner, is it? Interesting ..."

A figure walked slowly through the black smoke upon the sea. He had clearly endured the leviathan's chain explosions, yet bore not the slightest wound. He still looked immaculate and composed.

Only the trench-coat cuff on his left hand showed a small flame-burned nick. It was about the size of a thumb.

Cassius glanced at the nick, then actually shook his head and applauded Gareon. "Turning a hundred into one. Truly quite powerful... But have you thought about what you'll use to compensate me for this coat?"

He smiled faintly, a strangely feral curve at his lips.

"Again! Again! Burn the damned bastard to ashes!" Gareon gnashed his teeth, channeling ripples through his whole body. The ring on his middle finger blazed like the sun.

Behind him, the many Ripple Practitioners likewise began to channel energy segment by segment again.

Hiss!

A beastly roar rang out as flames erupted anew. Another colossal leviathan lunged toward Cassius. Since their prep was rushed, this strike was far weaker in concentration than the last.

Cassius strode across the sea, utterly unfazed by the approaching attack. The house-sized fiery head of the serpent rushed at him. Its gaping maw yawned, spewing hideous sparks of blistering heat.

Bang!

A fist smashed onto the leviathan's crown like lightning.

Whoosh!

The missile-straight fiery leviathan suddenly pitched downward, making an impossibly steep ninety-degree turn. Its nearly flattened skull dove straight into the sea!!!

Rumble, rumble! Rumble, rumble!

Its immense body was driven into the sea, raising layer upon layer of spray and steam. The seawater boiled at once, as magma-like gold-red gleams lit up the sea.

Dong!

A

thud

came from the seabed, followed by a fierce explosion. Obviously, the second flame leviathan was gone.

Back on the sea’s surface, Cassius flexed his fist and rolled his wrist. A crunching sound echoed from his joints. It sounded less like bones and more like interlocking gears.

"You!" Gareon was utterly stunned; he had never seen anyone punch a flame leviathan away bare-handed!

Wasn't this far too outrageous? When they saw Cassius then tap the water lightly and glide nearer as if nothing had happened, Gareon and his men panicked. The third leviathan, half-charged, was released early.

Then, they cut the resonance link in an instant and tried to retreat inland.

Whoosh! Bang!

The black figure glided along the sea, neither dodging nor evading, facing the third leviathan head-on. He swung his fist like an iron pestle, brutally boring through the scorching hot leviathan's skull.

He burrowed in, shattering it inch by inch. Gold-red flames scattered everywhere like fireworks. Cassius swooped down, fluid sparks rippling over his black coat. The coat flung the sparks away with a shake.

A blurry afterimage plummeted from the sky.

"Such a foe... So strong, I would have never imagined!" Gareon was sprinting for the woods, but he glanced back and felt his brain quake. He realised that fighting for this grand opener was the stupidest decision of his life!

Auspicious opener? He was more like a greeting gift! This shipload of foes was far beyond what he and his seventy elites could handle. Even all the Ripple Masters together might still struggle! Eternal Island was in trouble!

That realization struck Gareon's heart. But right now, the thing he most needed to worry about was keeping himself alive!

Two minutes later, a huge crash echoed from the forest. A mangled figure was flung out, smashing through a dozen trees before tumbling onto the beach. He was on the verge of death as he lay sprawled across the sand.

His right hand stretched forward, fingers clawing at the ground with desperate will to live. Blood pooled by his palm as life ebbed away. One could see the half-white half-red bone ring on his middle finger.

It was clearly Ripple Master Gareon.

Tap, tap, tap...

Cassius slowly walked out of the woods, expressionless. He did not spare Gareon a glance, instead turning his attention to the shoreline. The Covert Martial Arts fleet had finished docking, and combat artists were disembarking one after another.

Swoosh...

A black-clad figure with a sword at his waist swept silently yet swiftly to Cassius' side and asked in an icy voice, "The Ripple Order on Eternal Island is attacking us first. When we move inland, shall we wipe them out completely?"

The man's tone was equally cold, brimming with the chill of cold steel. Yenny, the current sect master of Soul-Breaking Sword Path in the eastern Covert Martial Arts community, was nearly fifty, though he looked only thirty.

He wore a black combat suit whose joint seams were razor-sharp, resembling the edge of a sword.

"For now, no. Let's locate the ruin's entrance first. Eternal Island isn't small; exterminating all the Ripple Practitioners would take effort. Find the entrance, then decide by circumstance ..." Cassius pondered a moment, then made his decision.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Originally, he had planned to lead the Covert Martial Arts side to sweep away all enemies and dangers first. Once they were free of worries, they would enter the ancient ruin to search for the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist.

However, Cassius had vaguely sensed a possible Ultimate Dark Form lurking in the Eternal Archipelago during the voyage. Though he knew nothing specific about it, such a being was of that realm after all. He felt that if they did not scout the ancient ruin first, accidents might arise midway. Therefore, this operation would proceed more cautiously.

He hoped the Ripple Practitioners of the archipelago would know their place. After losing a Ripple Master and a powerful team, they should see the gap between the sides and not foolishly provoke Cassius again.

Otherwise, he would really get mad...

Five minutes later, the combat artists entered the woods one by one. They did not form a single troop but spread out individually. At most, a few comrades of the same sect gathered in twos or threes.

There were two reasons. Firstly, fighters of this class were no grunts; each possessed formidable all-round strength, akin to superhumans. It was hard for anyone a tier lower to ambush and kill them.

Secondly, the Qi of fighters could clash. If they were too close, they would trigger intense crisis instincts and disrupt each other's flow when unleashing power. Thus, maintaining some distance was best.

Such spacing meant little to fighters with explosive speed. If anything happened, the target would be surrounded by over seventy fighters and beaten savagely within one breath. Hence, Cassius had no concern for their safety. He simply kept leading the way toward the ruin.

Several hours later, the Hellsing vessels landed on another beach of the Eternal Archipelago. Suddenly, a group of black-clad Ripple Practitioners burst from the trees. They attacked at once, clashing with the top knight-level Hellsings who leaped down. Cries, roars and clanging filled the air.

The beach became a battlefield in an instant.

On Eternal Island's west side, a fleet was anchored in another easy landing spot. If one counted closely, there was one extra ship among them.

"Ah!!!" "My hand! No, no!" "Run!"

Screams rose one after another on the shore as the black-clad Ripple Practitioners crumbled like rotten wood. Core members of the Gate Organisation rampaged through the battlefield, and the shamans of the Totem Temple unleashed their might. Unbeknownst to anyone, the two forces had merged!

Tap-tap-tap... tap-tap-tap...

At the beach's edge, four extraordinarily powerful figures strode toward the fray.

The Gate Organisation's current deputy leader, Holy Fist Demon Phoenix.

The foremost Covert Martial Arts figure of the United States of Yana, Whale King Arlington.

The resurrected, mutated corpse of the previous deputy leader, Armor Ghoul.

The Totem Temple's last Great Shaman, Lava Shaman.

"Cassius of the Golem Sect ... This time, how will you face us, eh?

Hehehehe... hahahaha...

"