"Serpent!" A crew mate shouted.

All the sailors rushed to the deck and pulled up the sail. Wind carried them away and they glided faster on the water surface.

But they could never be as fast as a water monster.

The long shadow followed the ship again and slammed the ship body once more.

The wooden ship shook and leaned toward one side. The passengers felt like they were going to flip but the ship managed to regain its balance.

"We can’t deal with this no more. Another attack and our ship would flip!" The captain said.

"What can we do, sir?" A sailor said.

The captain looked at the passengers.

"This is the Sea Serpent of the Enko River. It has lived for hundred of years. It killed many people and it will kill us all. Unless we give it a sacrifice." The captain said.

"What kind of sacrifice?" A passenger asked.

"A human sacrifice. A virgin girl." The captain bit his lip in sorrow. "It’s the only way."

Everyone turned over to the blind maiden standing on the side of the deck. The white-haired girl was still looking at the water surface.

"I am not a virgin." Carter said. Delilah and Isabella would like a word if someone objected.

The captain pulled his hair in frustration. "What should we do now?!"

"Don’t worry. I might not be a good sacrifice. But I can handle this beast." Carter said softly.

He removed his shoes and climbed on the edge of the ship.

"What are you doing, blind girl?! Get down from there!" An old woman said.

"This is what Destiny has planned for me."

Carter jumped down. A thick red aura wrapped around him. He breathed in deeply just before entering the water surface.

Metabolism Manipulation held the oxygen in his blood and extended the time he could stay in water.

The water serpent hid within the darkness of the water. But that was futile. Sound traveled even quicker in water, enhancing Carter’s sense of hearing and his Sonar Echolocation.

He could see everything clearly within the river.

The Serpent dashed around before stopping just right in front of him.

A green serpent. Not a dragon. It had two little fins on either side of its face that looked like a pair of ears.

"Why did you jump down?" The Serpent’s voice echoed.

Carter smirked. This thing couldn’t be convince to make a link with him. But he never intended to use words.

This serpent, despite how large it was, was purely an Awaken being. He had Elite Adrenaline. This thing couldn’t do anything to him.

The thick red aura blasted out, causing unrest in the water.

The green serpent jerked back in fear, "You are..."

Carter placed his feet and launched himself forward using Evaporative Decompression. He found another creative use of this ability.

He dashed in the water, no slower on land, even a little bit quicker.

The Serpent didn’t react quick enough. Carter caught its neck and sat on top of it.

"Get off me!" The Serpent shook furiously. Then it dashed away.

Carter held on with one hand while the other clenched into a fist. Thick red aura blasted out, blood flowed quicker in his veins.

He punched ’gently’. Not using all of his power but enough to make the Serpent feel it.

The Serpent wailed in pain. It tried to shake Carter off. That was also futile.

The Serpent dashed away again. This time it slammed its back onto a reef, trying to hurt Carter.

That was its fatal mistake. Carter grabbed onto the reef. He had a place to explode his force now.

The white-haired girl used the reef as an anchor point while slamming the Serpent repeated into it. Their silhouettes reflected onto the water surface.

The passengers were standing at the edge of the ship, watching everything. They couldn’t help but sweat profusely. That soft tiny girl was actually a brutish Fighter.

"We really shouldn’t judge people based on how they look." The captain said.

The sailors and the passengers nodded repeatedly.

The Serpent was violated so much that it fainted mid torture. Carter carried it back to the water surface and pulled it onto the ship.

"Woah! This thing must be at least 20 or 30 feet." The captain observed the wet beast on his deck.

The white-haired girl was also wet. The water made her clothes clung to her body, revealing the sweet curves that made the men on board feel funny.

White smoke came out of Carter, blowing him dry and also to release the excess energy in his blood. He noticed the men and glanced at them. All of them looked away in fear.

The flower might be pretty but you need to live to enjoy it. That brutish girl would smack them all of Yuuki if they showed a little bit of disrespect.

Carter approached the Serpent again and slapped at its face. The captain’s face paled.

"Hey! Wake up!" Carter slapped it again.

"Who dare disturb me?!" The Serpent opened its eyes. Its voice dimmed down as it saw Carter.

It fainted again.

"I will skin you if you keep faking."

The Serpent woke up immediately. "I’m awake! I’m awake!"

Its long body shrank into a small green snake that was less than a meter long.

"You can transform?" Carter said.

"No, my lady. I meant yes, my lady! I can only shrink and enlarge though." The Serpent wrapped around her feet like a good little pet.

Carter grabbed the snake. "I heard that you want a virgin anytime a boat passed this river. What did you do to them?"

The Serpent opened its mouth wide. "What?! Who said that?! I never demanded such vulgar request."

Carter squeezed tighter.

"I’m telling the truth, my lady! I swear!"

The eyes of the Serpent popped up and were about to burst then Carter relaxed his hands.

"The next time you say something, it’d better be the truth."

"As God above as my witness! I have never eaten any human! What you heard is complete fabrication!"

Carter then looked over to the captain.

The captain shrank his head back. "It’s a rumor that all the ships tell each other! A giant serpent would attack all the ships on Enko River unless the ships offer a virgin to it."

The captain raised his hand, "As God above as my witness, I also told the truth!"

"Wait! What is the color of the serpent in question?" The Serpent said.

The captain scratched his chin, "There was a painting circling around. The painting depicted a light blue serpent."

"Like cyan?" The Serpent said.

"That’s it!"

The Serpent turned toward Carter, "I know that guy. That’s the one that made the demand."