191: Chapter 191 It Made Its Move

The black tide?

Li Taiping's gaze darkened.

This term was not unfamiliar to him.

Every time the Survivors were forced forward, every time the sea boundaries contracted, every time the world drove everyone deeper like herding livestock.

The shadow of the black tide was always behind it—that colossal black hand reaching out from the edge of the world.

Now, the "shadow" of that hand appeared before him.

On the Floating Island.

The Black Palace shook violently.

That giant vertical pupil slowly closed, then snapped open; the whites of the eye had vanished, leaving only a darkness so thick it wouldn't dissipate.

Crack.

The first chain snapped.

The broken chain slammed into the edge of the island, its links—dozens of meters thick—tumbling down and trailing massive arcs of violet-black lightning.

The surface of the sea beneath the fleet instantly caved in.

Several second-rank warships were pushed halfway into the water.

Screams echoed from the cabins.

Shen He lay flat on the deck, his hands clawing into the wooden planks so hard his fingernails peeled back.

He couldn't lift his head, but he still roared.

"Steady!"

"The Holy Father hasn't moved, so we cannot panic!"

Shen Xiu knelt nearby, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Brother, well said."

"But next time, could you not yell so loud? My ears are about to explode."

Shen He ignored him, because the thing in the sky had emerged.

In the center of the Black Palace, the vertical pupil split open to both sides.

Like a living being, the palace opened its chest cavity, and a pitch-black hand reached out from within.

The hand had no skin, only constantly flowing black water.

Five fingers hung down, their tips trailing misty tides.

Then came the shoulders.

The head.

The torso.

A black figure a thousand meters tall slowly rose from the palace.

It had no complete facial features, only a vertical pupil embedded in its chest.

As the vertical pupil stared at Li Taiping, the entire world went silent for a moment.

Then, the same words rang in everyone's ears.

"Return to the Tide."

Pfft!

Over a thousand people in the fleet spat out blood simultaneously.

Black Tide Mark appeared on their chests.

The patterns were like living insects, burrowing toward their hearts.

Su Mei's expression shifted.

"The pollution level is skyrocketing!"

"Ordinary protection is useless!"

He Yushui grabbed a handful of melon seeds, but just as she was about to crack one, her hand froze in mid-air.

Looking at the Crew Members twitching on the ground, her expression became uncharacteristically serious.

Yun Jinxin whispered, "This thing isn't just a mental attack."

Bing Yu wrapped all nine of her tails around herself.

"It's rewriting their allegiance."

"Anyone marked with the Tide Mark will be judged as People of the Black Tide."

Su Mei immediately asked, "The consequences?"

Bing Yu's lips turned pale.

"When the black tide comes, they will jump into it of their own accord."

The deck fell silent for a moment; Li Taiping's eyes turned cold.

He could use the fleet to scout the way, let them try and fail, and let them die facing the rules.

But that was his fleet.

His resources.

His blade.

Since when was it the black tide's turn to reach out?

Li Taiping raised his right hand.

The Dark-Gold Puppet took a step forward.

Boom!

The pressure surrounding the Many Children, Many Blessings was forcibly pushed back.

In the next second, the mecha structure on the puppet's back unfolded layer by layer.

Dark-gold armor plates slid into place.

The black greatsword hummed.

Runes lit up one by one along the blade's edge.

Space, Mecha, Transformation, Talismans, Swordsmanship Mastery...

All offensive Talents erupted simultaneously at this moment.

Li Taiping no longer restrained his own aura.

An epic grade pressure surged into the sky.

He stood on the balcony, his black clothes fluttering, an ancient Talismans appearing in his palm.

The Talismans burned.

The puppet's breastplate lit up in sync.

Man and puppet, their energies were connected.

Bing Yu watched, stunned.

"Is he crazy?"

"Using so many powers together... is that really okay?!"