"Last time you mentioned wanting this broken blade, so I disguised myself as a craftsman and stole it from the training grounds."
In truth, after Bai Luo drew the True Reverse-Blade Sword, the system automatically unbound this broken blade, reducing it to its original form. It was only by chance that he remembered it and brought it out.
First the dragon-bone hairpin, then the broken blade of a dear friend—these acts, reminiscent of entrusting an orphan to someone's care, nearly broke Kazuha's composure.
"Mr. Himura, we've found some sunsettias!"
Finally, with the help of the other two ships, the sailors managed to gather a good number of sunsettias.
Bai Luo didn't hesitate and stuffed them all into his pocket.
Before boarding the small boat, he glanced at Kazuha, who had been standing there for a long time, and took out one of the sunsettias.
"Sunsettia. Sweet. Want one?"
No one knew what Bai Luo said to Kazuha before leaving. All they knew was that after Bai Luo departed, Kazuha wept for a long time.
...
"Mo... ra... xus..."
Just as Bai Luo had anticipated, the moment she sensed him leaving the Alcor, Beisht's attention immediately shifted to him.
"Morax!"
The impassioned female voice carried a hint of anger and a trace of sorrow.
Storms, waves, and lightning ravaged the surrounding space. The small boat Bai Luo rode rocked violently on the water, as if it might capsize at any moment.
Yet, under Bai Luo's control, the boat remained steady, steadily moving away from the Alcor.
The serpentine heads that had surrounded the Alcor now turned and swam toward the small boat.
"Now! Full speed ahead!"
Beidou, who had been keeping a close eye on the serpent heads, immediately gave the order to retreat.
The three warships, led by the Alcor, sped out of the encirclement at top speed, chasing after the direction the fleet had gone.
Until... the serpent heads were completely out of sight.
"Stop here!"
Once they reached a safe distance, Beidou could no longer hold on. She collapsed into a chair brought by the first mate, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
The ship's doctor quickly prepared to treat her injuries.
"Send the signal. We'll wait here. If the dark clouds approach, we flee. If they disperse, we go back to search for him."
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Beidou refused the doctor's suggestion to rest inside and chose to keep watch personally.
Meanwhile, after confirming that the Alcor could no longer see what was happening, Bai Luo's attire changed.
A black robe replaced the red one, enveloping his entire body.
A pale mask covered his face, its crimson smile sending chills down the spine.
"White."
Bai Luo bent down, quantum-like features appearing on his body.
At the same time, the space above Beisht's head twisted, and a black line, as if slicing through reality, appeared above her.
"Gurgle..."
The black line expanded, revealing a grotesque eyeball hovering above her.
The bloodshot eye, sinister and unsettling, fixed its gaze on Beisht below before narrowing into a vertical pupil.
"Whoosh—"
The moment the pupil locked onto Beisht, Bai Luo's figure abruptly materialized above her head.
The dagger in his hand plunged straight into Beisht's eye.
"Zap—"
Bai Luo's strike triggered another critical hit. A surge of electricity coursed through Baal, freezing her violently thrashing head in place.
Truth be told, given Bai Luo's personality, he'd much prefer stabbing someone in the kidney.
But Beisht was so massive that he couldn't even locate her kidneys. So, he had to settle for her relatively more vulnerable eyes.
"Roar—"
Once Beisht recovered from the paralysis, she reacted immediately.
She frantically shook her head, trying to fling Bai Luo off.
But Bai Luo had already secured himself to her horn with wire, making it impossible for her to shake him loose no matter how hard she tried.
"Is this all you've got? Sneak attacks? Pathetic, Morax!"
Beisht's voice dripped with indignation. She never imagined the legendary Morax would resort to jumping around on a lady's face like this.
But Bai Luo, adhering to his principle of "never take the blame if you can avoid it," silently pulled out his dagger and went straight for Beisht's other eye.
If Morax wanted to embarrass himself, that was his business. What did it have to do with Bai Luo?
The tiny dagger might not be enough to blind her, but it would definitely make her miserable—especially with that weird electric effect.
Seeing that her taunts had no effect, Beisht let out a furious roar and plunged into the sea.
The raging water roared in his ears. If not for the wire anchoring him, the sudden dive would have thrown him off.
Faced with Beisht's underhanded tactics, Bai Luo didn't hold back either.
A deep-red bracelet glowed on his wrist. After steadying himself, he placed it beneath Beisht's.
A crimson circle appeared beneath her, completely obscured by her massive body.
But even if she had noticed it, she likely wouldn't have cared.
After all, it was just a two-meter-wide ring. What harm could it possibly—
"BOOM—"
Scalding magma erupted from the circle. What Beisht had dismissed as a insignificant spark unleashed an unimaginable force, launching her high into the air.
Her massive body soared upward before crashing back into the sea.
The impact sent waves towering hundreds of meters into the air.
The Alcor, watching from afar, was about to have a very bad time.
Ignoring Beisht's pained shrieks, Bai Luo used the wire to swing between her four heads, his dagger leaving countless wounds across her body.
Baal looked miserable, but in reality, only the Heart of the Earth's blast had truly hurt her. Bai Luo's subsequent attacks were little more than annoyances.
Especially that paralyzing effect from critical hits—it left her tingling and furious.
So once her four heads regained their senses, they began snapping at him like a dog trying to catch a flea.
To better deal with him, she even shrank her mountainous body down to a smaller size.
Though still enormous, she was no longer as terrifying as before.
But her defenses hadn't weakened—if anything, her scaled hide had become even tougher to pierce. Soon, Bai Luo's dagger could barely leave a scratch.
Seeing this, Bai Luo raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, you wanna play like that?"
His black coat shifted back into a red robe. Releasing the wire, he backflipped off Beisht's head and landed on her back.
Beisht's body was covered in a thick layer of slippery mucus, making it hard to stand while also dampening attacks.
But this was nothing to Bai Luo.
All he needed was a foothold to unleash his next move.
"Nine-Headed Dragon Flash!"