16 Rauk.

The Merfolk King plucked up the stranded bodies drifting among the blood-soaked waters in a rampage.

Crush! Crush! Crunch!

Severed pieces of limbs fell off from between the gap in its teeth.

It gave a bellowing roared opposing the moonless skies and approached the capsized hull of the ship.

The dragonfolk standing atop its crown shook the lustrous crystal rod; the Merfolk King foamed out of its mouth and roared out in pain. It then bent its body until its head was a few meters away from the hull of the ship.

"Gontas! Pass it over," the dragonfolk said in a deep voice.

"Rauk! Does your Empire want to start another war with us?" Gontas asked.

"What could you possibly mean? You are just fugitives running away from your own countrymen," Rauk laughed.

Gontas's face turned solemn; he commanded, "Irric! Faviana! DO IT!"

Irric and Faviana took out a blood-red vial; they downed out the contents through their throats in one fell swoop.

White scales grew all over their skin; their bones crackled and elongated until their bodies reached the other end of the hull. Next, their arms and legs receded inside their serpentine frames until they looked like four small underdeveloped limbs dangling on the sides. Then finally, their heads morphed into the crown of a giant snake.

"Bloodline ignition?! How dare you use that in front of me!" Rauk shouted in rage.

The two giant snakes hissed and lunged at the Merfolk King. One circled around its neck while the other wrapped itself around its arms. The Merfolk King foamed in its mouth as it felt the pressure building up around its body.

Rauk jumped off its head and landed on the hull of the ship.

"Your whole race was built upon the corpses of my kin," he sneered and once again moved the crystal rod. "Yet you people are just an imitation in the end."

The Merfolk King roared and dived into the depths. Hundreds of merfolks convened together and latched into the bodies of the giant snakes; they gnawed and ripped off their serpentine scales. The giant snakes twisted their bodies and drilled their way out of the swarm.

SPLASH! The giant snakes shot up into the air, tilted their bodies and dived down, slamming their colossal weight on the merfolk horde that just reached the surface.

SPLATTER! Hundreds of merfolk were pulverised in an instant.

"What should we do?" Selena whispered in Vincent's ears.

"Just enjoy the show," he wrapped an arm around her waist and sat down on the slippery hull. "Hertha! Celeste! Come here."

Celeste dashed towards him and jumped atop his shoulder while Hertha crouched beside him and looked around in unease.

"Will we be okay?" Hertha asked.

"It's not our battle," he said and pulled her to his side. "Just relax."

"Fia!" Celeste cried when she saw Nathaniel dragging out the drowning wyvern trapped inside the hull.

"It's still alive," Nathaniel reassured and stood guard next to them.

On the other side of the hull, Jabal climbed up and glared at Gontas, "You sure bought a calamity right at my doorstep!"

"Help me kill him if you want to survive!" Gontas pointed at Rauk.

"Not very convincing at this point," Jabal said.

"Heh, I might not be convincing, but," Gontas said in confidence, "what about the Arcane Empire?"

"Seems like I don't have much choice in this!" Jabal gritted his teeth. "My brothers must be avenged regardless!"

"A good decision," Gontas laughed.

Rauk took the great battleaxe strapped at his back and walked forward with leisure steps. Jabal pushed his feet off the hull and threw out a punch aiming at his chest; Rauk effortlessly tossed his punch away with the shaft of his axe.

"Where is your weapon?" Rauk asked.

Jabal sneered and rammed straight into his body. He grabbed him in a bear hug and flipped himself upside down.

Bam! Rauk's head was shoved into the hull of the ship. Gontas took this chance and plunged two daggers in between the gaps in Rauk's armour. Then Jabal grabbed his legs and tossed him up in the air.

"There goes my axe," Rauk said nonchalantly while he tumbled in midair.

"Hahaha," Jabal tore open his own robes.

The labyrinthian symbols ignited in his chest; he jumped into the air and threw a barrage of fists.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Rauk's armour shattered into pieces, revealing a body swathed in crimson scales.

"Armours are useless for us anyway," Rauk smiled; his muscles bulged and squirmed around his body. He grabbed into Jabal and fell straight on top of Gontas down below.

Boom! They broke through the hull and dived straight into the deep waters.

Rauk jumped back in through the hole, carrying a severed arm, "Gontas! An imitation will always be an imitation. So why don't you just ignite your bloodline and save us time."

Gontas crawled back on the surface with only a single arm attached to his body. He looked at the stump on his shoulder, took out a red vial and looked forth in resolve.

Two hands broke out from within the hull and grabbed into Rauk's legs.

"Stand still!" Jabal's voice could be heard from underneath.

"Oh dear me," Rauk said.

Gontas took this chance to throw the red vial right into his mouth and charged at the incapacitated Rauk.

Rauk sneered, slipped past his body and ran towards the other side while dragging Jabal along with his legs.

"What!!!" Jabal screamed; he was being towed along, but he still refused to release his hold onto Rauk's hind legs.

"Please don't mind us, haha," Rauk said; he looked over Vincent and dived underwater.

Gontas subsequently metamorphosed into a giant snake. He thrashed and levelled the entirety of the hull until nothing remained. Thus, their last remaining foothold in the crimson sea was destroyed.