Chapter 265: Chapter 258: The Empress Still Has a Trump Card!? Leave the Ship Behind

A dazzling flower of ice explosion, five hundred meters wide, bloomed beneath the moonlight. Within the frozen sea, everything was pure white, making it impossible to see the Moon Shadow trapped within the ice with the naked eye.

Shi Ming exhaled a plume of frigid air, and a layer of frost instantly condensed on his eyebrows. Ice crystals formed in his hair before shattering and falling onto the frozen surface.

’Were all the enemies annihilated?’

With a tenfold power boost fueling his rank-29 Third Law attack, Shi Ming figured that even if the Empress survived, being a dual S-class Awakened, she would be so gravely wounded as to lose all combat ability, becoming a helpless captive.

Unless, like the captain, she possessed an attack-immune Overlord Body skill like Sovereign’s Dominion.

Great Cold Returns to the Sheath.

Now, it was time to reap the rewards.

...

[The Eye of the World has sensed the aura of a wondrous item. It is extremely well-hidden, but it cannot escape the scrutiny of the Eye of the World!]

[Every legendary figure of the sea inevitably has their own fortuitous encounters. Treasures abound in the Endless Ocean. How could the Snow Country Empress, who scorns the Ice Sea, not have a trump card or two?]

[Wondrous Item! Ivan Matryoshka!]

[Seven layers nested, one within the other. A shell breaks to ward off doom, a new face for a second life!]

[A Rank 31 Wondrous Item, capable of withstanding seven fatal attacks—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple. Activating the Matryoshka’s power can seal the user away, blocking one physical attack below Holy Hall-grade. Each use destroys one layer of the doll!]

[Warning, she’s about to break the shell!]

???

A powerful force erupted from beneath the epicenter of the ice explosion!

From the Moon Shadow, embedded tightly within the ice, a pale cyan shell cracked open. In an instant, the Moon Empress burst free. The heads of nearly a hundred Baikal Sea Serpents, like a hundred newly sprouted arms, lunged furiously at Shi Ming!

’So that’s why she dared to snatch a sea beast right from under the noses of Da Yu and Kunwu,’ he thought. ’She really did have a trump card!’

The Empress was incredibly fast!

But—Black Tortoise Shield!

Shi Ming brushed right past her, using the Black Tortoise Shield to block the Shadowy Snake Mother’s fatal strike. Fifty percent of the force rebounded, sending a flush of red across the Empress’s pale face. Behind her, the hundreds of snake heads drooped limply, like arms with broken bones.

Just then, the [Beidou Star] came speeding over from the distance, wreathed in the starlight of the celestial dippers.

The Empress had escaped death thanks to the matryoshka, but she wouldn’t get another chance.

She gritted her teeth so hard they nearly cracked.

Failure to act decisively only brings more trouble.

With only herself left, a comeback was impossible.

The countless Baikal Sea Serpents scattered as the Empress shot backward, dodging Shi Ming’s follow-up attack. Her body suddenly flattened from three-dimensional to two-dimensional, and a drawing fluttered down where she had stood. Then, she vanished. This was an ability from the 2D Girl; though the 2D Girl was dead, she had once made a portrait for this Empress, who carried it on her person for a critical escape.

The Empress was a decisive person.

However, the Moon Shadow, which had been completely shut down by the absolute-zero temperatures, could not be taken with her. She had no choice but to leave it behind!

In the two back-to-back battles, Shi Ming had used the Black Tortoise Shield three times, consuming 60% of his Physical Strength. Unleashing the Third Law at full power had also taken a significant toll. With less than ten or twenty percent of his Physical Strength remaining, he wasn’t confident in his ability to press his advantage and pursue a desperate foe.

’Unless I stab myself to activate Brink of Death,’ he thought.

’But there’s no need.’

’The Third Law can’t be used again today. After she used it, the wondrous matryoshka glowed cyan, which probably means it only has two uses left. Even if I did get it, its function overlaps too much with the Black Tortoise Shield. It’s not worth wasting a Brink of Death charge to seize it.’

The beached Moon Shadow was the best prize of all.

"Shi Ming..."

Rong Bing also crawled out from the ice.

The Captain of Kunwu was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

From the astrolabe of the celestial dippers, the Light of Shaking Light flared brightly. Healing starlight, along with Zhao Li Luo’s ability, descended upon Shi Ming and Rong Bing. A warm current of water slowly flowed over every inch of their bodies, mending their wounds and restoring their Physical Strength.

’The effect is truly remarkable; the amount of healing is astonishing!’

’No wonder the captain couldn’t stop talking about it!’

Standing beside the Beidou Star, Zhao Li Luo cast her Canglang Water ability. As she did, she stared out at the magnificent, endless expanse of white and the beached Moon Shadow, wondering for a moment if she’d somehow been transported to the Extreme North.

’Is this Shi Ming... really human?’

’Could he be some savage beast in human form?’

’I’ll have to use this opportunity to explore him thoroughly.’

...

The Moonlight Ripple Beast was dead, frozen solid within the ice. The sea beast, which resembled a legendary qilin and was covered in scales, was originally only about ten meters long. The form of several dozen meters it had displayed in battle was an illusion that naturally dissipated upon death, returning the creature to its original size. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Even so, transporting it would be extremely difficult.

To prevent anyone from stealing its abilities, Da Yu enforced strict no-contact monitoring and transportation standards for all sea beast transfers. Additionally, the personnel in charge were swapped out every 15 minutes to ensure no one could find a way to obtain its skills through some trick.

Of course, after this, whoever was assigned the qualification to "bathe" in it would have to pay a sufficient amount of contribution points.

Shi Ming would also receive the reward he was due.

This included not only the four rewards determined beforehand, but also the bonus acquisition of the "Moon Shadow."

The Moon Shadow was the base and headquarters of "Snow Country." Its crew had all perished in the extreme cold; their captain hadn’t used the Big Ivan Matryoshka’s ability on them. And so, this mysterious organization—whose infamy rivaled that of the Black Society that plagued the Endless Ice Sea and gave even [Katyusha] headaches—was wiped out in one fell swoop.

The ship would become Shi Ming’s personal spoil of war.

Its treasures and secrets were all waiting to be uncovered.

’Perhaps I can go to [Katyusha] later and claim the bounty money?’

As he felt the healing from the Canglang Water, Shi Ming began calculating how to make the most of everything.

The Bodhi Tree of Suffering was deep beneath the sea. Shi Ming decided to wait until his Physical Strength recovered before exploring it, lest more complications arise.

...

...

...

「Da Yu. Xirang Research Institute.」

"You’re saying... this canoe belongs to Shi Ming?"

Chongwen’s voice trembled, its pitch fluctuating wildly. It was no wonder. After more than twenty years, he had finally found a clue about his older brother, Shangwu, and the Gold-class drifter ship, the [Tun Nan]. How could he possibly remain calm?

The death report from the Celestial Net Chip Terminal could not be mistaken.

’But... perhaps there was a miracle?’

’If I just ask this young man, Shi Ming, where he got that canoe—the one so strikingly similar to the Tun Nan, serial number 360—perhaps I can solve the mystery of my brother’s disappearance. Even if the outcome can’t be changed, just seeing the [Tun Nan] would be a tremendous comfort.’

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years had passed.

’If he could go back,’ he thought, ’he would stop that expedition to find the Black Tortoise, no matter the cost.’

Li Jiuyuan entered the laboratory.

"Teacher..."

"The Beidou Star sent an encrypted message. The operation to slay the Moonlight Ripple Beast was a success. Once they collect the Purifying Marrow from the Bodhi Tree of Suffering, they will head back!"

...

"That’s wonderful!"