The silvery disc of the moon was reflected on the sea's surface, like a smooth prism, shimmering with a silver glow.
For the Demon Orca clan, with ten thousand years of cultivation, sleeping was merely a way to pass the time while on guard duty.
Given their fearsome reputation, no sea soul beast dared to provoke them.
What made the Demon Orca clan most proud was that even other overlords of the deep sea were reluctant to engage them in direct conflict. Furthermore, their territories were not adjacent. Except for the Demon Soul Great White Shark clan from the neighboring sea area, it had been thousands of years since any foolhardy sea soul beast had dared to confront them.
The cold, salty seawater was the favorite environment for all sea soul beasts. In this natural warm bed, the guard duty Demon Orcas also flipped onto their bellies, letting their huge, gray-black bodies float and sink in the sea, dozing with their eyes squinted in peculiar poses.
The holy war with the Demon Soul Great White Shark clan had only occurred a few years ago. Although there was no explicit agreement, both clans, by mutual unspoken understanding, would only clash again every few decades or centuries.
Even though they were assigned guard duty, the inherent rebelliousness ingrained in the Demon Orca clan's bones led them to be unrestrained and lax, completely disregarding other sea soul beasts.
Coupled with their innate destructive power, this further fueled their arrogance. If any unwelcome enemies happened to appear, it was merely a matter of one or two bites. They were, in short, exceedingly arrogant.
The moonlight was beautiful, and the bustle on the sea's surface was entirely unrelated to what was happening beneath it.
The Demon Orcas sleeping on their bellies floated lazily in the seawater, relaxing their minds. While doing so, they did not forget to use their clan's unique ripple detection method to sense any energy-bearing creatures within a ten-mile radius.
Of course, this was limited to within the sea.
However, today was also a peaceful day.
...
As the night deepened, a hazy mist slowly formed over the sea.
The moonlight cast from the night sky poured onto the ocean's surface. The serene light that landed on the water seemed as if it would illuminate the silent darkness sleeping beneath the deep sea.
Unfortunately, its radiance did not dispel the darkness at the bottom of the ocean.
The cold, damp sea breeze carried a chilling low hum. The moon, which had changed its shape, was as thin as a blade, hanging high in the sky, like an extremely thin sliver of a blade cutting open the sky, creating an eye that peered out with a strange, blood-red cold light.
The light projected into the seawater also began to twist, making the already hazy moonlight even more ethereal.
A Demon Orca with a cultivation of about twenty thousand years, with its eyes pleasantly squinted, its massive body swayed by the currents, swam towards a dimly lit sea area.
Without even opening its eyes, it knew that it had drifted away from its companions.
But considering their swimming speed of fifteen hundred meters per minute, and even faster with soul power augmentation, such a distance was negligible to it.
The profound darkness enveloped the Demon Orca's body. Silently, without even its unique ripple detection method being able to perceive it, the darkness revealed its fangs, ensnaring the Demon Orca, which was completely unaware it had stepped into a trap, within the darkness and disappearing into the undulating seawater.
The only slight ripple was the gentle splash of water as it lazily flicked its tail to adjust its direction.
Tang Sui's domain was activated, seizing this brief moment when the water rippled.
The silent disappearance of one of their clan members was insignificant to the seventeen Demon Orcas.
The other Demon Orcas, who sensed that the numbers seemed slightly off, opened their eyes. Finding it too crowded, they swam further away, their tails propelling them. In a short while, some clan members, having moved beyond the range of the ripple detection method, closed their eyes as if nothing had happened.
After all, their territory was vast, and their borderlines were long.
Abandoning their posts was impossible. Where they chose to patrol was up to personal preference.
...
"Roar—!"
A ferocious roar formed a new type of sonic attack in the pitch-black space.
However, it did not create any splashes.
The Demon Orca with twenty thousand years of cultivation, its dark red eyes glowing with a rich bloody light, its massive head covered with a faint blood-red glow. Its teeth, as sharp as swords, opened wide, ferociously tearing at the black, semi-transparent tentacles that extended from all directions.
It was evident that this Demon Orca had woken up and realized its predicament, attempting to save itself.
As these black, semi-transparent tentacles stretched out before the falling Demon Orca, their slippery tips suddenly split open, revealing their greedy, monstrous nature. Rows of sharp teeth bit into its hard, gray-black body.
The thick layer of fat and flesh, harder than steel and cement when reinforced by soul power, was torn apart as if it were tender slices of fish.
"Swish—!"
Blood-red wind blades were emitted from the Demon Orca's gaping maw and the swing of its sharp tail fin. They sliced off the tentacles that extended before it, each revealing sharp teeth, as if chopping vegetables. But soon, more tentacles swarmed forward, tearing more flesh from its body.
What caused the Demon Orca even greater fear was that every time these tentacled monsters bit off a piece of its flesh, a portion of its soul power inexplicably drained away.
At first, it might not have noticed. But as its body became not only pockmarked but also began to falter, this Demon Orca finally realized the strangeness of those tentacles.
But it was too late.
As fresh blood gushed from the wounds that crisscrossed its flesh, countless drops of blood rained down from the void. The malevolent thoughts dwelling within the domain became even more agitated, splitting into more tentacles, eager to tear the sacrificial orca, trapped in the net, into pieces.
One, two... until five Demon Orcas with cultivation of twenty thousand years or more had vanished silently, the other Demon Orcas finally sensed something was wrong. Using the unique sonar function of sea soul beasts, they unleashed a sharp warning roar from their mouths, which spread outwards instantly.
"Roar—!!"
Clan members within a ten-mile radius who heard the warning roar began to generate new sonic roars from their mouths, transmitting the information to those further away.
This was how information spread from one to ten, and then to a hundred.
"Hmm, I've been exposed. There's no other choice. Let's finish this quickly."
A blood-red halo lit up in the seawater, dyeing the dark sea area an even murkier color.
"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul True Body."
The immense pressure unique to the demon bloodline immediately enveloped this sea area.
The pressure from the hierarchical system caused the advancing Demon Orcas, who were about to launch their attack, to pause. They looked at the small human girl floating above the seawater, whose body was much more delicate than their own robust and massive forms. In her round, dark red eyes were reflected four black masks in various poses.
"I now understand why powerful beings prefer to fight directly with their seventh soul skill."
What lingered in the Demon Orcas' eyes was the sight of the human girl's raven-black hair, scattered behind her, being blown by the sea breeze as she raised her hand and controlled the four black masks to descend. They crashed onto their kin, instantly piercing their steel-and-flesh bodies, creating bloody holes.
"Roar—!"
The pained roars of their kin infected the other Demon Orcas.
Their dark red eyes were stained with the blood of hatred. They swung their sturdy bodies and charged towards the girl.
The girl's deep, dark black pupils were filled with coldness and bloodlust. Yet, a strange look of pleasure curved her lips in response to their fierce counterattack.
"Because it's really exhilarating."