"The intruders are here! Quick, seize them!" After all, the Undersea Temple was Poseidon's domain. In addition to the Seven Sea Generals, it also held thousands of sea‑realm grunts and a vast number of Mariners.
As one of the sea realm's Three Great Warriors—and the one closest to Poseidon among them—Sorrento naturally wielded tremendous authority.
With a single command from Sorrento, countless Mariners fanned out in all directions, searching for Meruem and the others.
Meruem's group wasn't large, but hiding under Poseidon's nose was basically impossible; it was better to appear openly.
Poseidon, Hades, and Athena each commanded massive forces in the human world. Strictly speaking, these three gods were the largest military powers, the biggest warlords in the mortal realm.
The rest—Abel, Lucifer, Venus, the Moon Goddess and her Heavenly Warriors and so on—were nothing more than a handful of strays.
At most they could field a dozen or so fighters, and that was nothing compared to the tens of thousands that the big three could summon with a single order.
Even if most of those were just grunts, the sheer numbers alone were enough to make anyone's scalp crawl.
An endless tide of sea‑realm soldiers surged in from every part of the temple, surrounding Meruem's group layer upon layer.
At first, the Mariners had planned to swarm them all at once—but after the Black Saints at Meruem's side casually took out dozens in a matter of moments, no one dared make the first move.
Even so, not a single person in the encircling ring was willing to step aside, hemming Meruem's group in tightly.
"This escalated fast. Who knew the sea realm had this many troops? Athena, it looks like even our Sanctuary can't field a force like this," Deathmask quipped, true to his irreverent nature even now.
"Watch your tongue! How dare you speak of Lady Athena that way?" Before Saori could respond, Shura had already bristled with indignation.
Deathmask only flipped his hands innocently at Shura's rebuke. He wasn't worried; worst case, he'd just drop a Sekishiki Meikaiha and flee to Yomotsu Hirasaka to lie low. It wasn't like these Mariners could chase him into the Underworld.
The complete lack of concern from these two Gold Saints really infuriated the surrounding Mariners, but none of them dared stick their necks out as the first sacrificial lamb.
"Move aside and let your lord here take a good look at these little rats who dared invade our sea realm!" A hoarse voice rang out from the dense crowd of soldiers, and then the mass of Mariners parted like cockroaches scattering, opening a path.
"Lord Cecil is here!" "And that's Lord Kategitu!" "And Lord Marley as well!"
Below the Seven Sea Generals stood the three strongest Mariners: Sea Lion Cecil, Sea Coral Kategitu, and Sea Elf Marley—the Three Great Mariners, all gathered.
"So you're the little rats who dared intrude into the sea realm? Quite a crowd. But too bad—by this time next year you'll all be dead. Let your lord Cecil show you what true despair is." Sea Lion Cecil bellowed as he strode step by step toward Meruem's group.
When the Sea Sorcerer had given his orders earlier, he hadn't bothered to mention that one of the intruders was Athena herself.
As for the Sanctuary's unmistakable Gold Cloths—sorry, but Mariners had always been at odds with Saints. They refused to believe these so‑called Saints were stronger than they were, even if the others were Gold Saints.
You only knew who was stronger after a fight.
"Wait, Cecil… I think we should report to Lord Sorrento first," a beautiful blonde woman with blue eyes said anxiously, clearly wanting to stop Cecil.
"It's Lady Thetis!" The well‑featured Mariner Mermaid had enjoyed quite a bit of presence in the original storyline. Among the Mariners, she was also very strong, her power ranking just below the Three Great Mariners.
But Cecil clearly didn't take her words seriously. Pointing at the Bronze boys in their Cloths, he snorted, "No need. They're just a few Saints from the Sanctuary. Or do you think we, the Three Great Mariners, can't handle a handful of Saints?"
"N‑no, that's not what I meant… it's just…" Thetis said uneasily.
"Enough talk. Allow your lord Cecil to show you firsthand. You little rats—coming one at a time, or all together?" Cecil looked at the Saints with open arrogance.
"Looks like they're underestimating us, Shura," Deathmask said, not angry in the slightest. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying Shura's misfortune as he patted him on the shoulder.
As if they were only looking down on Shura, not him. What a pair.
Shura calmly took Deathmask's hand off his shoulder, then wiped the spot where it had rested with undisguised distaste.
"Hey, Shura, what's that supposed to mean? You think I'm filthy?" Deathmask snapped.
"No. I just don't want my intelligence dragged down to your level," Shura replied.
"You looking to die?"
"You think you can manage it?"
Before Cecil could even make a move, the two Gold Saints were already bickering right in front of him like he didn't exist.
Truly ignorant of death, to dare ignore your lord Cecil like this.
He stepped forward, intending to grab the two of them and give them a lesson they'd never forget.
"Get lost!" the two of them snapped in unison.
But instead of him teaching them a lesson, the reverse happened.
Shura and Deathmask moved at the same time, golden light flaring from their arms.
The blasts struck Cecil head‑on, launching him into the air. In an instant, countless cracks spread across his Scale before it shattered into a rain of fragments.
By the time Cecil hit the ground again, he was unconscious.
Lightspeed Fists—the basic technique every Gold Saint could wield.
"Cecil!" The Mariners gasped, and the crowd erupted into an uproar.
They might not know exactly how strong a Gold or Silver Saint was, but they knew very well how powerful Cecil was.
He was one of the closest in strength to the Sea Generals themselves.
Yet even someone that strong had been one‑shotted by the enemy…
How could they not feel fear? If not for the sheer numerical advantage they still held, many would already have fled. Even so, more than a few Mariners had begun to think seriously about retreat.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
For every 50 Power Stones, one extra chapter will be released on Saturday.