Above the sea, gigantic waves surged, as if the apocalypse had arrived.

A few disheveled figures could still be vaguely seen struggling in the churning waves.

To be fair, if they were in any other location, Gandalf's 【Surging Giant Waves】 would not have achieved such terrifying power and effect.

But this was the sea. The natural ocean environment more than doubled the power of this skill.

Just then, Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, casually waved his hand towards the chaotic giant waves.

A figure was immediately lifted by an invisible current, pulled out of the violent waves, and gently landed beside Gandalf.

It was Polina, the SS-rank captain from the Great Bear Country.

At this moment, she looked miserable, her brilliant golden hair wetly clinging to her chest, accentuating her breathtaking curves.

"Pfft!" She spat out a large mouthful of salty seawater, coughing violently a few times before finally catching her breath.

She looked up, her beautiful azure eyes glaring fiercely at Gandalf.

"You bastard! I almost thought you were going to kill me too!"

Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, displayed a perfectly innocent smile.

"I don't believe an SS-rank like you would easily die from this skill. Didn't I rescue you immediately when things looked bad?"

Polina looked at the still wildly surging waves in the distance, a hint of lingering fear on her face.

"That's not necessarily true. Your surging waves even had a magic-sealing effect. Even an SS-rank expert could easily be in trouble under those circumstances."

As she spoke, she suddenly seemed to remember something, and her beautiful azure eyes narrowed sharply.

"So, the sudden underwater current at the relic entrance earlier was also your doing?"

Zhou Huai shrugged noncommittally.

"The Free Federation's Thor made the first move. I was just forced to retaliate."

Polina stood up and patted her already soaked, sexy bikini. Her curvaceous figure was fully revealed in the sea breeze.

She looked at the gradually calming giant waves in the distance and warned with a solemn expression.

"Although this skill of yours is very powerful, it might not be easy to deal with all three of them at once. How about we leave now while we still can?"

"Now that Thor has broken free from my control, we probably won't be able to leave once he recovers."

However, Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, calmly shook his head.

"No, we cannot leave."

Polina's face showed a surprised expression.

"Why? My skill also has a cooldown. I can't control Thor a second time within a short period."

Zhou Huai shook his head again, a mysterious glint flickering in his deep eyes.

"I wasn't planning on continuing to fight them. Next, I'm going to talk to them about cooperation."

Cooperation?

Polina was stunned. She looked at Gandalf as if he were a madman.

Cooperate with someone like Thor? How was that different from playing with fire?

As they spoke, the world-destroying giant waves finally completely subsided.

Just as Polina had expected, the moment the giant waves subsided, a terrifyingly thick blue lightning bolt suddenly burst through the sea surface, soaring into the sky!

Immediately after, the disheveled figures of Yingsi Lan and Park In-maeng also emerged from the sea at the first opportunity, heavily landing on the already dilapidated island.

Compared to the still imposing Thor, these two looked much more miserable.

Their faces were paler than the other's.

They knelt on the ground, coughing violently, spewing out large amounts of seawater, and their entire bodies trembled uncontrollably.

Thor floated in mid-air, the electric snakes wildly dancing around him, evaporating all the remaining water vapor.

He slowly turned his head, his azure eyes fixed on Gandalf on the sea surface.

On his handsome face, anger turned into a mocking smile.

"So, it really was you who caused trouble at the relic entrance earlier! Very good, you are very good! You have successfully enraged me! Next, I will personally deal with you!"

The moment his voice fell, the blue electric glow around him erupted, and terrifying pressure, like a breached dam, surged madly towards Gandalf's position!

However, facing this terrifying pressure that would make any SS-rank expert change color, Gandalf's face remained calm and unperturbed.

He simply looked up calmly, staring at the man in the sky who resembled a thunder god descending, and uttered a faint sentence.

"If you want to know the whereabouts of the true Divine Artifact, I advise you not to make a move now."

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the violent blue lightning around ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Thor instantly subsided a lot.

He frowned, his azure eyes filled with unconcealed suspicion.

"What do you mean? You already know where the true Divine Artifact is?"

Gandalf calmly shook his head.

"I don't know. To be precise, I have clues about the Divine Artifact's location."

Upon hearing this, Polina's face immediately changed drastically.

She rushed to Gandalf's side in one stride, lowering her voice to question him.

"Gandalf! Are you crazy?! Are you going to reveal that secret?!"

Zhou Huai was indeed thinking that.

Just a short while ago, he suddenly realized something. Since all the keys needed to be gathered to obtain the next clue, the key in Park In-maeng's hand was something that had to be obtained.

However, to snatch that key from him, Thor, who was like a tiger blocking the road, was also an obstacle that had to be overcome.

Honestly, he was somewhat confident in dealing with Yingsi Lan and Park In-maeng. But wanting to defeat this top Prodigy from the Free Federation was almost impossible without using his final trump card.

Even if he used all his trump cards and fought to a bitter end, and then luckily obtained the keys in their hands, it was unknown whether what awaited him next was the true Divine Artifact or an even more terrifying crisis.

After all, the current clues about the keys were only speculation. If he worked hard for nothing and ended up just benefiting others, that would truly be ridiculous.

Since that was the case, it would be better to share this secret and also spread out the risk, lest he end up being the thankless fool.

Thor, upon hearing Gandalf's words, indeed became interested.

He slowly descended from the air, steadily standing on the broken ice surface.

He crossed his arms over his chest, scrutinizing Gandalf with a condescending posture, his tone full of menace.

"I hope you can get to the point within three sentences. My patience is very limited right now."

Zhou Huai no longer procrastinated.

He calmly raised his hand, and under their stunned gazes, took out the huge bronze key that had been hidden under his robe.

The moment that bronze key, filled with mystery and ancient aura, was taken out by Gandalf, Polina's face completely darkened.

Thor's eyes, on the other hand, narrowed slightly.

"Is this the clue you're talking about? You wouldn't be deliberately trying to stall for time by finding some scrap metal to fool me, would you?"

Zhou Huai shrugged noncommittally.

"This key is indeed a clue. Not only me, but Park In-maeng from the Kimchi Country also has one. If you don't believe me, you can ask him."

Upon hearing this, Thor slowly turned his head and cast his oppressive gaze towards Park In-maeng, who was still recovering on the island.

Park In-maeng's face changed several times upon seeing this. In the end, under Thor's powerful pressure, he reluctantly nodded.

He took out an identical bronze key from his Storage Ring.

Seeing this, Thor finally believed Gandalf's words somewhat.

He looked at Gandalf again and asked in a flat tone, "Then what is the use of this bronze key?"

Gandalf shook the bronze key in his hand, his tone calm.

"To be honest, I don't know the specific function of this key."

Thor's brows furrowed deeper, and the blue electric snakes around him crackled, clearly indicating his patience had run out.

"Are you messing with me?"

"No."

Gandalf shook his head, his expression still unperturbed.

"Because we don't have enough keys yet. To know the true secret, we need to find all the remaining keys in the relic."

A trace of thought flashed in Thor's eyes. He wasn't a fool; he naturally understood the logic in Gandalf's words.

"You mean, once all the keys are gathered, we'll know the exact location of the pendulum of life?"

"It's possible."

Gandalf's answer was ambiguous.

"But this is just my speculation."

Thor nodded understandingly. His azure eyes fell back on the bronze key in Gandalf's hand, his gaze becoming fervent and greedy.

He slowly extended his hand and spoke domineeringly in a commanding tone.

"Since that's the case, I'll give you a choice. Hand over the key in your possession. I might consider letting you leave alive."

Facing this blatant threat, Gandalf calmly shook his head, even showing a playful smile on his face.

"No. To be precise, I should be giving you two choices."

Thor's movement suddenly stiffened, and an incredulous look of shock appeared on his handsome face.

He even wondered if he had misheard. This Great Xia Country mage actually dared to negotiate with him? Was he looking for death?

However, Gandalf's next words forced his violent anger back down.

"First, we cooperate." Gandalf extended one finger. "We find all the keys together, and after finding the true Divine Artifact, we'll each rely on our own abilities to decide the victor."

Then, he extended a second finger.

"Second, you refuse to cooperate with me. I will take this key and go deep into the sea right now. At that point, neither of us will be able to get the Divine Artifact."

He paused, his deep eyes calmly watching Thor. His voice was not loud, but it was full of absolute confidence.

"Believe me, while I may not be your match, killing me won't be easy for you either. Once I enter the deep sea, even you won't be able to do anything to me."