CHAPTER 464: CHAPTER 360: BEAR-STYLE COUNTER-TERRORISM: BANDITS AND HOSTAGES SHARE LIFE AND DEATH!_2

And the lower-ranking Kin, driven purely by instinct, had long since prostrated themselves on the ground under the pressure of their bloodline.

Indeed, this pair was the Bloodline Affiliated mentioned by Dagon a few days ago—the Laplace siblings, a brother and sister born to him after he achieved the Fifth Order by touching upon the Divine Domain.

According to normal human aesthetic standards, just as one cannot distinguish a male rabbit from a female one, it was impossible to tell which of these half-human, half-fish, half-frog creatures was male and which was female. All one could say was that they were equally ugly.

The siblings paid no mind to the other Kin; to them, both Transcendent Species and mortals were no different than fish in a pond.

Despite their youth, the formidable boost from their powerful bloodline, the depth of their research into the Forbidden Book ’Spiral City Manual,’ their Supernatural Rank, and their overall strength had already allowed them to catch up with the first generation of Bayfolk Descendants from centuries ago.

Naturally, they also developed a disdainful character.

Even during the sacred ritual, for which all Black Tide Town residents ceaselessly yearned—’Ascension’—the siblings were still leisurely chatting amongst themselves.

The one who spoke first had dark, bluish-green skin and a gruff voice, "It’s all Yemengade’s fault! If it hadn’t suddenly come and instigated us to set a trap to kill The Sea Hunter, who was ruining the plan for ’Clark’s Touch’ to descend. Because of that, we not only missed the chance to accompany our father to witness the most formidable Fifth Order Legendary Pirate King of the Old Continent, but in the end, after going to all the trouble of setting up a trap using the Black Tide Town festival, we didn’t even see a shadow of our target. A whole three days have passed. If it weren’t for the last shred of hope, I would have long lost my patience and devoured that so-called Third Order ’Hawkeye’ James."

The sister, whose skin was pale purple and whose voice was only slightly sharper than her brother’s, said, "’The Sea Hunter? Hmph! A mere human, daring to take such a Profane title. Only we, the Deep Sea Clan, can truly hunt in the vast sea. His Bayfolk bloodline makes him even more deserving of death. Before Yemengade left, it repeatedly warned us that The Sea Hunter had an excellent reputation. He was widely known as a Great Good Man and a Great Loyalist, someone who would never abandon his friends. If he dares to come, I must taste what a good man’s heart and liver are like, to see if they’re more delicious than a villain’s black heart.’"

According to the intelligence Yemengade provided, back when Royal Harbor gathered all its forces to ambush and kill the Octopus Warship May Wind and the Infinite Evolver Balboa, along with ’Hawkeye’ James Kent who had already transformed, there were only five Third Order individuals involved.

Now, just over a month has passed. After leaving behind sufficient defensive forces, what kind of lineup could The Sea Hunter, Byron Tudor, possibly bring for an adventure to the New Continent?

At most, including himself, he’d have three Third Order individuals.

Even without counting the Black Tide Town Kin, the two of them alone could completely crush enemies of that level.

Their words held no regard for Byron.

But while they waited for the enemy to show up and deliver themselves to death, they wouldn’t neglect the important matters.

As the Black Tide Town of the Dream Realm and the Black Tide Town of reality completely overlapped, it was as if they entered a special superimposed state, allowing the Dream Realm and reality to finally interact.

The Laplace siblings raised the Miraculous tridents in their hands, replicas of their father’s creation, and together they uttered a low shout, "’The ritual begins! Dagon’s blessing!’"

The Divine Statue before them suddenly trembled. Its body radiated with Divine Light, and from the tip of its raised trident, golden threads shot out.

One end of each thread connected to the trident’s tip, while the other end connected to every adult in Black Tide Town.

This looked similar to the Faith Anchor Chain of the Old Continent. However, while the things inside their bodies were called ’Anchors,’ they felt more like ’fishhooks.’

Indeed, as the threads slowly tightened, a townsperson, nearly forty years old, suddenly swayed. A small, dim orb of light was ’fished’ out of his body with a SWOOSH and fell into the mouth of the Divine Statue. Evidently, under Black Tide Town’s ’Social Clock,’ the townspeople, who were already being gradually consumed by the God, were this time devoured completely in one go. Judging by the orb’s texture, it wasn’t much different from a Mermaid’s Tear.It was clear that even these ’own people,’ including the already transformed Transcendent Species Deep Sea Clan members, were merely food or reserve rations. They were no different in status from the ’fish’ caught from outside.Sooner or later, all of them were destined to end up in the mouths of the ’God’ at the apex of the food chain.

"HOH... HOH... HOH..."

The townsperson’s body then rapidly transfigured. He soon collapsed to the ground, having become a half-human, half-fish, half-frog Kin. However, compared to the Laplace siblings, he retained very few human characteristics and more closely resembled a hybrid of a fish and a frog.

Then, one after another, more orbs of light were fished out. Every adult in Black Tide Town met their long-desired ’Ascension.’

"’Evil God! A God should not be like this!’"

Witnessing this absurd and tragic scene, Byron and Violet realized that under different Transcendent Systems, the rules could be completely different. Compared to these Old Gods, wild gods, and Evil Gods that systematically devoured humans, the Creator who established the Silver Law based solely on the believers’ Mind Wish Power was truly too benevolent.Even a being who, perhaps to evade something, had brazenly initiated the Dark Millennium that sealed away all knowledge and culture, could absolutely be considered a benevolent God.

As time went on, Niels, the young man they possessed, also couldn’t escape ’Ascension.’ The young lamplighter’s soul was merely suppressed, not extinguished. When an orb of light was similarly fished out from him, his body also began to transfigure.