Second World

Viking continued to battle GraphicZ. He had drunk another recovery potion when he was towed by John's water tentacles, so he could still cope with another battle.

John faced Gridhacker. In theory, his class should be at a disadvantage since none of his summons aided his battle, but the bloodline gave him superb underwater movement. He was also more experienced than Gridhacker at underwater battles since he spent much time underwater hunting for aquatic monsters' essences. Gridhacker's spells had a hard time hitting him. With perfect timing, his standard attacks and basic spells instead caused Gridhacker troubles.

Additionally, John could use mana manipulation while Gridhacker couldn't. Even his standard attacks packed a punch. He could control the flight paths of his Repeating Mana Bullet and Energy Bolts. This gave him an additional edge. 

It just took a few clashes for Gridhacker to understand that his situation wasn't good. He finally decided it was not wise to remain in the water. He tried escaping to the surface. He sent a message to GraphicZ but didn't wait for him. John chased him while continuing his assaults.

GraphicZ and Viking were both inexperienced in underwater battle. Both also had little HP courtesy of their previous battle and Will's roaring ocean. When GraphicZ disengaged, Viking didn't give chase. He swam up to get to the surface. Despite his alias, he didn't exactly enjoy the sea.

John continued chasing Gridhacker and shooting at him. John dogged him with persistence.

Gridhacker was vexed. 'Did I kill your mother or something?' He thought. The thought immediately amused him because John's mother was actually on their side.

Although John harassed him non-stop, John couldn't stop him from nearing the surface. He saw the bottom of a small ship. The radar of his Godeye monocle told him eight people were on that ship. Five allies and three enemies. They were probably fighting for control of the ship.

'Good,' he thought. He would go up there, help the five to defeat the three enemies, and then secure the ship.

As soon as his head popped out of the water, multiple energy rings locked his body. He was extremely surprised by this. He looked up and saw the three enemies, who were all magic users, aiming their magic staffs at him. He then noticed the five allies detected by his radar were all bound by runic ropes.

"Hehe, got you," Gridhacker heard a voice from behind. It was John.

Gridhacker understood then that John hadn't been chasing him haphazardly. All the attacks John aimed were to direct him to this ship, where John had no doubt messaged the players on board to get ready. What he was confused about was how they could set this all up so fast.

The fact was John had been sending messages to the surface ever since Will blew a hole in the flagship. While they battled underwater, he instructed the player above to capture some enemy soldiers and then brought them on a ship to the coordinates he gave. All was to lure Gridhacker in.

John took out a runic rope and bound Gridhacker. The players on the ship then hauled him up.

"What are you doing? If you want to kill me, then just kill me!" Gridhacker struggled.

"That is what you want. Killing you will just reduce your level by one. Don't think I don't see your Amulet of Rebirth," John said. "You, World Maker people, are pretty rich. If my report is correct, you have died several times. You can still afford that amulet. Never mind, we will deal with you differently now, hehe."

Gridhacker shivered from John's grin. "Let go of me! Let go of me!" He struggled hard but to no avail.

"Take him to the Grey Jewel," John commanded. "Take care not to lose him. He is a valuable prisoner of war."

John then looked around him. Ships were still firing at each other. The battle was still far from over. But from the reports he received, their side was winning. Water Lily reported that the battle on Palgrost's flagship had shifted to Liguritudum's flagship. With the Liguritudum commander still missing, the enemy crews didn't steer the flagship away. The enemies just fought fiercely to prevent Water Lily's troops from taking control.

John believed they should win as long as they maintained the situation. What he needed to do now was keep the enemy commander from coming back up. He dove back into the sea.

The enemy commander, Kaghast, was still battling four opponents. He thought he could defeat these four in a short time, considering they were all rare elites, but he had overestimated himself. His beast form might have given him advantages underwater, but his four opponents were sea creatures. If it was an underwater battle, they were even more accustomed to it.

Nogg was the primary combatant. He had the most skills and battle experience. Despite most of his skills containing wind elements, they were more potent when used underwater. He also had several beastmaster skills that empowered his pet, the blood shark.

John's Seaspawn served as the main tank. On land, the Seaspawn was slow like any other standard tank-type combatant. But in the sea, it was fast. Its two large pincers counterattacked every time Kaghast delivered a hit. Due to its fast movement speed, it was able to provide cover to the other three combatants easily.

The dire alligator fought with the hit-and-run tactic. Its metallic scales gave it high defenses, but it was even faster than the Seaspawn. Its bite and tail strike delivered higher damage than the Seaspawn.

What troubled Kaghast the most was their coordination. Not that the four had experiences fighting together, but their coordination came from John's effort in adjusting the Seaspawn and Dire Alligator's actions to Nogg and his pet. John asserted full control over those two summons and guided their movements with expert precision.

The four might not be Kaghast's opponents but with good cooperation, they managed to keep him occupied long enough. Things became even easier when John joined the battle by sending ranged attacks for support.

Kaghast finally noticed that his beast form was coming to an end. He couldn't believe he failed to defeat these five weaker opponents. He finally decided it was pointless to continue the battle. He tried to swim up, but a large object blocked his path to the surface.

This large object was an enormous crab. The Sea Bastion had returned after delivering Thelgrun.

Kaghast was speechless. The Sea Bastion's massive frame was enough to keep him underwater, not to mention John and the others continued to harass him.

When he lost his beast form, it was over for him. He couldn't move fast underwater and not all his skills could be used underwater. He desperately tried to get back to the surface but John's meticulous control kept him from reaching the surface.

After some grinding, they finally defeated Kaghast.

Kaghast's lifeless eyes stared at John with unwillingness. His still body sank to the depths of the sea. John let the body sink but not the loot the high executor dropped upon his death.