The Great Shell qas a massive, iron-plated tortoise ship that sat low in the water, its oars churning the sea into a white froth.
It was a masterpiece of Han-Guk engineering, but right now, it looked like a dying whale. Three Sun-Zhen Leach-Boats had latched onto its sides, their rusted iron hooks digging into the hull like parasites.
"The boarding party is already on the main deck!" He-Ran shouted, appearing out of a blur of green wind right beside me. She was covered in black ichor, her daggers dripping.
"But that's not the problem. Look at the mast!"
I looked up. High atop the central tower of the ship, a woman was tied to the spirit-core.
She was dressed in flowing white and azure robes that whipped violently in the gale. This was the Sea-Priestess, Yeon-Ji. Her hair was a river of midnight, and even from here, I could see the glow of her soul-core.
She was the one singing to the ship's engines, keeping the spirit-iron hull from collapsing under the Sun-Zhen's Void-cannons.
But she was fading. A Sun-Zhen Void-Reaper a towering monstrosity in tattered black silks was hovering over her, its skeletal hand hovering inches from her heart and was draining her essence.
"If she dies, the ship sinks," Min-Ah said, her grip tightening on her sword until her knuckles turned white. "And every soul on board goes to the bottom of the strait."
[Notice: High-Tier 'Ancient Yin' detected.]
[Subject: Priestess Yeon-Ji.]
[Status: Soul-Drain at 92%.]
[Warning: If Subject reaches 100% drain, the 'Great Shell' Core will detonate. Casualty estimate: 12,000.]
"Stay here and hold the pier!" I commanded. "I'm going up."
"Alone?" He-Ran barked, her amber eyes flashing. "That Reaper is a Dread-tier beast! You'll be dust before you touch the deck!"
"I have a plan," I said, though my 'plan' was mostly relying on the fact that I was currently buzzing with the combined residues of both their energies. "Trust me."
I didn't wait for an answer. I activated Wind-Flash.
The world turned into a smear of grey and orange. I leaped from the edge of the stone pier, my boots hitting the surface of the water. Usually, I'd sink like a stone, but the Wind essence from He-Ran made me light as a feather. I literally ran across the surface of the ocean, the waves hissing under my feet.
I reached the hull of the Great Shell, planted a foot on a protruding iron rivet, and launched myself upward.
I cleared the railing, landing in the middle of a slaughter. Sun-Zhen soldiers were hacking through the sailors, but I didn't stop. I was a golden-green streak of death. I didn't even use my sword...
I just bowled through them, the sheer pressure of my aura shattering their ribs as I sprinted for the central mast.
I reached the top of the tower just as the Void-Reaper raised its scythe.
"Get away from her!"
I swung my dao with every ounce of Heaven-Splitting power I had. The clash was like a thunderclap. The Reaper's scythe hissed, its dark energy trying to eat my blade, but my War-Qi was reinforced by the Resonance I'd built today.
It was purer. Stronger.
The Reaper screeched and backed off, its hollow eyes flickering with surprise.
I didn't give it a second chance. I ignored the monster and grabbed Yeon-Ji.
She was cold. Not the Ice-Queen cold of Min-Ah, but the cold of a deep, sunless trench. Her skin was clammy, her pulse almost gone. The ship groaned beneath us, the iron plates beginning to buckle as her song faltered.
"Priestess," I rasped, pulling her into my lap. "I need you to wake up."
Her eyes opened. They were the color of the deep ocean, swirling with a faint, dying bioluminescence. "The ship... it must... reach the strait..."
[Notice: Subject Yeon-Ji is in 'Vessel Mode'. Her body is a conduit for the ship's engine. To save her and the ship you must provide a Primal Spark.]
[Required: Immediate High-Frequency Dual Cultivation.]
I looked at the Void-Reaper. It was recovering, its dark aura billowing out like smoke, preparing for a final lunge. Below us, I could hear the Sun-Zhen boarding party's boots hitting the stairs of the tower.
"This is going to be the craziest thing I've ever done," I muttered.
I didn't have time for a slow build. I ripped the silk sash from her waist, exposing her midriff. Her skin was shimmering with a faint blue light.
I felt a surge of pure, unadulterated lust not just from my own body, but from the System itself. This was the Ancient Yin it had been salivating for.
I pulled her robe down, her heavy, salt-dusted breasts spilling into my hands. She let out a soft, melodic gasp, her fingers curling into my forearms.
"What... are you...?"
"Saving the fleet," I said.
I entered her with a raw, desperate urgency.
The moment we connected, I didn't just feel her body, I felt the entire ship. I felt the vibration of the engines, the strain of the iron, and the terror of the thousands of souls huddled in the lower decks.
Our union became the new Core.
[Ancient Yin Synchronizing...]
[Resonance: 40%... 70%... 95%!]
The Void-Reaper lunged, its scythe coming down in a killing arc.
I didn't move. I couldn't. I was too busy thrusting into the Priestess, my hands gripping her hips as she threw her head back, her voice finally finding its song again.
But this time, it was a song of ecstasy.
A dome of pure, blinding sapphire light erupted from us.
The Reaper's scythe hit the dome and shattered into a thousand black shards. The monster itself was vaporized instantly, its scream cut short by the sheer purity of the energy we were generating.
[Resonance 100%! Peak Achieved!]
[Reward Unlocked: 'Sovereign's Command' (Passive) – All allies within 100 yards gain 20% increased power.]
[Engine Overclocked: The Great Shell is now 'Indestructible' for 300 seconds.]
Yeon-Ji's legs locked around my waist, her body vibrating as she hit a climax that felt like a tidal wave. I followed her, my seed feeling like liquid gold as it poured into her, jump-starting her soul-core with a roar that echoed through the entire ship.
Below us, the Great Shell surged. The iron hooks of the Sun-Zhen boats were snapped like toothpicks. The oars moved with a supernatural speed, the ship's tortoise-head prow glowing with a fierce, sapphire flame.
I collapsed against her, our sweat-slicked bodies still joined as the ship tore away from the pier, leaving the Sun-Zhen in its wake.
Yeon-Ji looked at me, her ocean-blue eyes now burning with a terrifying power.
She reached up, her wet fingers tracing the line of my jaw.
"You are no junior commander," she whispered, her voice like the shifting tide. "You are the Sea-King's fire."
[System Notice: Third Partner Synchronized.]
[Level Up: 15.]
[New Feature Unlocked: The Harem Map (Track your Generals across the continent).]
I looked back at the receding shore. We had escaped Busan-Guk, but the war was just beginning. And with three powerful women now bound to my essence, I wasn't just a survivor anymore.
I was a threat.