Deep in the ocean, Jack gazed into the distance. At the end of his vision, a mighty Sea People army was on the march. It was a legion composed of hundreds of strangely shaped Sea People—these aquatic Monsters were generally huge, with the smallest being five to ten meters tall. As the entire army advanced, the ocean currents they stirred up were like tidal waves, creating an exceptionally grand display.
At the very front of the army was a black-and-white Orca King, over twenty meters tall, with a fierce aura. Its massive body was smooth and slick, its thick limbs bulging with muscle. This was the second-generation Deep Sea King personally appointed by Jack—the former "Deep Sea Drifter," now the Orca King.
At the rear of the army, a large number of Sea People captives—missing arms and legs—were being escorted. These captives were all dejected, their eyes filled with despair and numbness, clearly having just suffered a crushing defeat.
"Oh—it's you, Deep Sea Drifter."
Jack's figure silently halted, suspended in the water in front of the army, observing the Sea People army with interest.
This sudden human voice was no less than a piercing whistle in a silent, dark haunted house, causing the entire army to instantly erupt into chaos. All Sea People soldiers stopped their movements, vigilantly looking toward the source of the sound, only then realizing with surprise that a tiny human had appeared in their path at some unknown point.
The Orca King's small eyes suddenly narrowed, its sharp gaze instantly locking onto Jack. When it saw that the opponent was just a handsome, tall human youth, a flicker of doubt crossed its eyes, but it was immediately replaced by vigilance. In its perception as a Demon-level Monster, this human before it was unremarkable—clearly just an ordinary person.
But here came the problem. They were in a deep-sea trench over ten thousand meters below the surface—how could an ordinary human appear here with such ease?
Out of the Orca King's instinctive goodwill toward its own kind, it did not attack rashly, but instead raised its strong, finned arm, motioning for its subordinates to be quiet, and asked in a deep voice, "Human… who are you? Why are you here?"
Jack just realized this problem and muttered to himself in realization, "Oh—I forgot I'm in my frail human form right now."
Before he finished speaking, the ordinary casual clothes on his body seemed to come alive, instantly transforming into flowing liquid black light matter. These substances, like tentacles born from the abyss, surged wildly and reorganized on his body. The next second, the black light matter—shimmering with a matte metallic luster—suddenly solidified, transforming into a ferocious, jet-black carapace that completely covered Jack from head to toe. The shoulder plates were like blades, the patterns on the chest plate resembled the head of a vicious beast, and the dagger-like narrow claws emitted a chilling gleam that threatened to devour anyone.
The faint aura of a human vanished without a trace, replaced by the profound, abyssal pressure of a monarch.
Having reverted to his Monster form, Jack's burning eyes looked down at the dumbfounded Orca King.
"So—how about now?"
"!!!"
The familiar aura, the familiar voice, the familiar oppressive feeling. The Orca King's massive body trembled violently, its huge tail fin instinctively swished, causing it to retreat several steps in the water, nearly bumping into its personal guard behind it.
"I apologize, Insect God! Your subordinate didn't recognize you just now!"
It quickly prostrated its massive body, its head—larger than a car—almost touching the mud and sand at the bottom of the sea, its voice filled with regret. The other Sea People soldiers, seeing this, were even more terrified, and one after another, they followed their new King, kneeling down in unison, not even daring to breathe loudly.
"Alright—get up."
Jack didn't care about such trivial matters. He casually waved his hand, and his gaze passed over the Orca King and fell upon the group of Sea People captives.
"These are?"
Upon hearing this, the Orca King quickly lifted its head from the mud and sand, stood up, and respectfully reported, "Reporting, Insect God! These are all remnants of the Sea People in the nearby waters who refused to submit to our rule! Your subordinate, following your orders, has annihilated all of their nests. These are the captives we've captured, and we were preparing to escort them back to the royal city to await your judgment!"
"Hmm—well done." Jack nodded with satisfaction.
Looking at this group of rather well-preserved seafood—each one plump and robust—he couldn't help but think of his Pochi-chan, who was still in her developmental stage. Though Lord Pochi had evolved into Pochi-chan, he had, after all, risen to prominence thanks to his dog. As a Monster, he couldn't forget his roots.
After numerous previous experiments, Jack's newly acquired storage-space ability, Imagination Domain, could not store living creatures, but the corpses of slaughtered Monsters could be perfectly stored in an information state while also maintaining absolute freshness.
Thinking of this, Jack instructed the Orca King, "Good—I'll take a batch of these captives first."
As he spoke, he raised a claw covered in black carapace and remotely grabbed at the group of captives. Green Psychokinesis silently churned a large amount of seawater, instantly engulfing nearly one-third of the Sea People captives like an underwater storm. In their terrified and desperate eyes, an invisible force field wrapped around their hearts, heads, necks, and other vital points, then suddenly exerted force—crushing them all at once.
*PUFF, PUFF, PUFF—! *
Amidst a series of muffled explosions, the previously clear seawater instantly became turbid. The captive Monsters enveloped by the force field didn't even have time to scream before they instantly lost all signs of life.
Nearly a thousand Origin Points were credited, indicating that these dozens of Sea People were considered mid-to-upper tier among Tiger-level Monsters—their flesh surely delicious and energy abundant. Pochi would definitely be very satisfied.
Under the astonished gaze of the Orca King and the other Monsters, the Monster corpses—faintly glowing with a pale green light—seemed to be erased from reality by an invisible eraser, vanishing into thin air without a trace.
The Orca King naturally had no objection to this. After all, these spoils of war were originally meant to be offered to Insect God, so taking them now made no difference.
"You can take the rest back."
After dealing with Pochi-chan's rations, Jack—in a very good mood—walked up to the Orca King, extended his sharp claw, and patted its massive Orca King head, which was both elastic and tough.
Hmm—the texture was good. Bouncy and smooth.
He mused to himself that once the House of Evolution's Evolution Cell research was successful, it would be time to give a batch to this obedient and sensible sea husky for a good strengthening.
Feeling the affectionate pat on its head, the Orca King was flattered, its huge body trembling slightly with excitement, wishing it could wag its tail into a blur.
"Yes! Your subordinate obeys!"
The moment he burst out of the sea, he stirred up a hundred-meter-high giant wave. Jack, having transformed back into his frail human body, turned into a pale green streak of light, speeding along like the wind.
Just as he was about to accelerate back to Z City, an anomaly suddenly occurred. At the corner of the city silhouette at the edge of the horizon, a blinding flash of fire—like a falling sun—suddenly erupted. Immediately after, a massive mushroom cloud, mixed with black smoke and red flames, shot skyward.