Sea Demons. Again, it was Sea Demons!
From Bo City, to Japan's Ocean Battle City, and now to the Caribbean, countless signs all indicated that the Sea Demon Empire had entered another active period.
In truth, the invasion that would erupt two or three years later had already been foreshadowed long ago.
Now, even this small mountain village on the Caribbean coast was caught up in the disaster, with evil forces like the Red Ornament Society seizing the chaos to extort greater profit.
If Lu Jun was not mistaken, their leader Casso was already negotiating with the local mayor to be absorbed into the military under the guise of resisting the Sea Demons, thus "washing white" and establishing legitimacy.
Fortunately, the Liberty Temple had sensed this malignant tumor in time, dispatching the National Institute Team to uproot them in one stroke.
In a sense, each nation's team in the World College Tournament functioned much like squads of inspectors, cleaning up issues that local governments normally found too troublesome to handle. Bringing in outside power solved everything at once—fast, efficient, and cheap.
But the stubborn attitude of the villagers had enraged the small boss Xige. He reached out casually, a sinister dark-red web spreading from his wrist. The Curse Element's Evil Spider burst forth, swiftly entangling the burly middle-aged man.
Above his head, a great sinister spider appeared, greedily devouring the man's soul fragments in great gulps. Within moments, the villager's breath ceased, his body collapsing—stiff, cold, lifeless.
In an instant, the villagers of the mountain hamlet were stricken with horror, wailing and crying.
Mo Fan erupted with fury. Damn it, in broad daylight, a mage was butchering innocent civilians with impunity!
Jiang Shaoxu quickly turned toward Lu Jun, her voice urgent.
"What do we do now, Captain?"
Everyone's eyes fixed on him, awaiting his decision.
Lu Jun already knew the rulings of the International Committee, and the scene before him only fueled his anger. His expression turned cold as he said:
"If I remember correctly, the Red Ornament Society has bounties on them, doesn't it?"
The moment the words fell, the fearless young fighters around him lit up with joy.
Mo Fan burst out laughing.
"Good! Let's take down these bandits."
Rumble!
The National Institute Team, more than a dozen young mages, charged forth like tigers unleashed from their cage. They stormed into the plaza, crashing into the group of Red Ornament Society mages. In mere moments, seven or eight of them were already subdued.
"Damn it!" Xige was stunned by the sudden ambush, stumbling backward as he roared:
"Who the hell are you people? Don't you know we are of the Red Ornament Society?"
Zhao Manyan and Jiang Yu sneered coldly:
"Who cares who you are? Justice descends from the heavens."
The villagers, dumbstruck and terrified, retreated to the distance, clearing space for the two sides to clash.
Lu Jun did not move. These small fry could be easily handled by a few of his High-level teammates.
Soon, Xige could not hold on. Inwardly shocked, he thought: What kind of force is this? Such terrifying youths!
He had his subordinates stall for time while he secretly pulled out his communicator, shouting into it for backup:
"Oni! Where the hell are you? We're under attack here—get over here now!"
On the other end, a sultry female voice sounded startled.
"Wait a moment, I'll be right there!"
From the outskirts of the village, a woman soon came running.
Xige's heart leapt with ecstasy.
"Hahaha, you bastards are dead now!"
But halfway through her approach, Lu Jun suddenly moved.
He swiftly traced his Summoning Star Atlas. Moon-white runes radiated, and from the brilliant summoning array emerged a graceful figure, draped in a starlight-glimmering fishtail gown.
With a splash, the Mermaid Maiden appeared, immediately embracing her master from behind. In that instant, her body melted into rippling black-and-white starlight liquid, spreading inch by inch over him.
Rumble!!
Lu Jun's body erupted in divine radiance, his aura soaring higher and higher, as though he had been immersed into a boundless great sea. Water Elemental magic power surged endlessly, the moisture in the atmosphere for kilometers around falling entirely under his command.
Upon his head shimmered the Crown of Sun, Moon, and Stars. He was clad in the glorious Water Priest's Vestments, adorned with the totems of Northern Heavy Water and Three Lights Celestial Water, the twin Soul-seeds, his presence sovereign and divine.
Heavenly River Collapse!
Lu Jun's expression turned solemn and majestic. Behind him, the black-and-white astral glow illuminated half the sky. He struck with one mighty fist—tearing open the heavens above the village.
A colossal waterfall crashed down, spanning a hundred meters across the air!
Caught unprepared, Oni was struck head-on. The overwhelming Heavenly River swept her hundreds of meters away, slamming her brutally into a nearby hill.
The earth trembled, the mountains split apart, collapsing trees mixing with torrents of water into a massive mudslide that surged outward in all directions.
The surging Water Elemental force was so destructive it nearly razed the entire village, leaving both the National Team and the Red Ornament Society stunned.
The ordinary villagers were even more terrified, believing it to be the wrath of a Water God, that a flood had descended to wipe out their mountain settlement.
Such was the destructive nature of High-level mages—one spell could level hundreds of meters, their killing power unrivaled.
Even an ordinary Soul-seed combined with the 4th Level Intermediate Spell – Violent Wave already equaled half a High-level spell in might. Not to mention when reinforced with the Water Repelling Pearl and the blessing of the Water Elemental Spirit, even a casual Violent Wave surpassed the power of many High-level spells.
When the floodwaters receded from the shattered forest, a vast crater-lake remained where land had been blasted apart.
Oni's delicate figure, drenched and half-conscious, floated on the water's surface, breathing faintly, barely clinging to life.
"Old Lu, badass as always." Zhao Manyan raised a thumbs up, marveling:
"It's been a while since you last made a move. Your cultivation is getting more terrifying by the day."
Other members of the National Institute Team, like Mu Yingtian and the rest, couldn't help but feel a shade of gloom in their eyes. Though they knew Lu Jun, after obtaining the Water Elemental Spirit, would soar like a tiger given wings, seeing this battle only showed that the gap between them and him had grown even greater.
Xige's face twisted between colors, before at last he ground his teth, dropping to his knees on the spot.
"Mercy, great masters, mercy! I surrender, I surrender!"
With their small leader surrendering, the remaining Red Ornament Society mages instantly lost their will to resist, one after another abandoning the fight.
Mo Fan, weaving through the remnants of group spells, finally exhaled in relief.
Surrender was best.
Truth be told, these Red Ornament Society mages weren't easy to deal with. Every one of them was at least an Intermediate mage, elites among elites. United together, they had put considerable pressure on the National Team members.
At last, everyone tied up the captured Red Ornament Society pirates one by one. Xige bowed and scraped, grinning obsequiously:
"I was wrong, elder brothers and sisters, I was wrong."
"Hmph." Jiang Shaoxu sneered coldly:
"Don't think lowering your head means I'll let you off. We'll be handing you all over to the local authorities—you'll spend the rest of your lives in prison."
"Ah, yes, yes, of course, we'll turn over a new leaf!"
At her words, a glimmer of secret joy flickered in Xige's eyes. He immediately bowed his head deeper, feigning submission, pretending utterly beaten, not daring to show the slightest trace of his thoughts.
Meanwhile, Zhao Manyan picked up Oni with a mischievous grin, binding her into an elaborate tortoise-shell knot. Her voluptuous, supple body strained against the ropes.
She coughed lightly, spitting out a mouthful of water as she slowly regained consciousness. Seeing her humiliating condition, she was first consumed with anger. But then, overhearing the group's discussion about handing them over to the city government, the corners of her heart betrayed a glimmer of delight.
If that was the case… wouldn't the Red Ornament Society ultimately be spared?
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