Captain Blackeye tightly gripped his black blade, slowly dragging it across the cold ground.

Chen Qi's eyes were locked onto the captain ahead.

Just like with the bats earlier, he couldn't be sure whether "they" could be affected by Deep Sea Affinity.

Captain Blackeye was walking forward when he suddenly remembered something and turned to look back in Chen Qi's direction:

"Right, Little Crow, do you have a dose of Yellow Needle with you? I feel like I really need one right now..."

Bang!

Chen Qi's pupils shrank abruptly.

In the instant Captain Blackeye turned around, a toad-like blue monster burst out of the darkness, its massive, fang-filled mouth opening wide as it lunged straight for the captain’s unsteady hat!

"D**n it!"

Captain Blackeye twisted his blade in a backhand grip and spun around sharply, using the blade to forcibly block the toad’s bite.

Boom!

Under the immense force of the toad, Captain Blackeye was flung several dozen meters away, crashing right in front of Chen Qi.

A Deep Sea Toad, a towering beast nearly six meters tall, with two boulder-like blue eyes and a gigantic fanged mouth that looked like it could swallow everything!

The moment it appeared, the entire pirate crew instinctively backed up five meters.

It looked at the crowd like they were insects.

Even though they were several dozen meters apart, Chen Qi could faintly sense that it belonged to the “Deep Sea” type of monster.

Captain Blackeye wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and reached out toward Chen Qi, who was the closest:

"Got any healing potion?"

That impact had hit hard—this captain had clearly sustained some serious internal injuries.

"Yeah..."

Chen Qi pulled a bottle of healing potion from his pack and handed it to Captain Blackeye.

Captain Blackeye took the potion and drank it in one gulp. Then, with a deep breath, he assumed a combat stance, eyes locked on the toad ahead.

"D**n beast!"

He cursed harshly and shot forward like lightning, determined to slice open that Deep Sea Toad’s mouth with his black blade!

The Deep Sea Toad wasn’t backing down either—it opened its gaping maw and lunged at Captain Blackeye.

In a flash, the two clashed!

From the look of things, Captain Blackeye had the upper hand.

"You beast! Die!"

Captain Blackeye roared, muscles bulging, channeling every ounce of strength into his blade.

Slash!

In the next instant, the blade shattered the toad's teeth and tore its body into two blood-red halves!

"Captain! Our god!"

"Goddess above!"

Seeing the monster blocking their path get sliced clean in half, the crowd let out a sigh of relief.

No, this was only the beginning... Chen Qi muttered in his heart. He could feel the aura of the deep sea growing denser.

It was spreading like a fog.

"D**n—"

As a Transcendent, Captain Blackeye could also sense the overwhelming frenzy crashing down like a torrential storm.

A low rumble echoed throughout the cavern.

In the next second, a horrifying scene unfolded.

From the surrounding darkness, more and more Deep Sea Toads began to appear, baring their fangs as they slowly advanced step by step.

One, two, ten...

More than a hundred!

Chen Qi looked around—before he knew it, they were already surrounded by Deep Sea Toads!

Everyone's faces were now filled with terror.

Their strongest fighter, the captain, had to go all out just to defeat one Deep Sea Toad. What chance did the rest of them have?

Captain Blackeye gripped his blade tightly. As captain, he had to issue orders in such a dire situation.

There’s no retreat!

The only option is to carve a bloody path out!

"All combatants, if you've got the strength, follow me up front! If you don't, stick with the ship’s medic and cover our rear!"

The pirates pulled out their weapons—steam shotguns, Transcendent warhammers, massive blades...

The battle was about to explode. The entire cave instantly transformed into a battlefield between humans and monsters.

At the front were the two strongest fighters of the Sawshark, Captain Blackeye and the ship’s first mate. They charged ahead, trying to clear a path.

Some pirates and slaves stayed behind to cover the rear, preventing a two-sided ambush.

Chen Qi hurriedly opened his backpack and took out what he would need.

Just like Little Crow had told him—he was the medic’s assistant. He wasn’t supposed to fight monsters directly.

Chen Qi pulled out a healing potion and stared at the terrifying scene before him.

The Deep Sea Toads were extremely powerful—seasoned crew members often needed two people to bring down one.

As for the slaves holding weapons, they were basically human shields and bait.

Under the fearsome assault of the Deep Sea Toads, pirates were quickly piling up with injuries.

"Help me... Medic... Sis..."

A crew member with his left arm bitten off crawled over, the wound a shredded mess of bloody pulp, eyes weeping tears of blood.

Behind him, others who couldn’t hold out any longer huddled together in fear.

Little Crow adjusted her mask and took on a look of absolute seriousness:

"Stop the bleeding."

"Got it."

Chen Qi crouched down and pressed a bandage over the wound, while feeding the man painkillers and healing potion.

A green glow shimmered in Little Crow’s hands.

Healing Spell—Transcendent skill—consumes Spirituality Points, used to heal external injuries.

But this healing spell required time to cast, so bandages and potions were still essential.

Working together, the two quickly treated the wounded man.

Unlike Earth, with the aid of Transcendent power, once the healing spell and potion took effect, these injured pirates could return to battle almost immediately.

Even so, the pace of casualties was staggering…

In an instant, ten more injured had appeared around them!

And the number kept climbing—

Boom!

A loud noise erupted from the front!

At that moment, the Sawshark’s key figure, the ship’s first mate, staggered over with injuries.

His entire body was covered in blood. His right arm was filled with dark blue pulsing veins, as if a bunch of venomous snakes were writhing under the skin!

He collapsed and said with the last of his strength:

"Save me..."

"Deep Sea poison!"

Chen Qi’s heart jumped. He’d read about it in the Sea Beast Medicinal Guide—those dark blue veins were a clear sign of the Deep Sea Toad’s venom.

Little Crow’s brows furrowed. One of their key fighters being poisoned was terrible news.

Deep Sea poison contained Spirituality Points—a Transcendent-level toxin. Normal potions and healing spells wouldn’t work.

If the first mate didn’t have such a high constitution, he’d already be dead.

They’d have to use advanced healing spells and perform surgery…

That would take time. And she couldn’t be disturbed.

Little Crow looked at Chen Qi:

"You handle the rest of the wounded. If anyone tries to interrupt me—stop them!

I need absolute focus."

Little Crow took out her surgical tools, along with special materials Chen Qi had harvested from deep sea creatures.

"May the Sea Goddess and the Witch of Flowers watch over us. No surprises during this time, please…"

With that, Little Crow fully focused on the emergency surgery.

No surprises…

Chen Qi suddenly felt a sinking sense of dread.

Their rear had already been breached. And this makeshift medical station, full of “human meals,” was exactly where the monsters would want to go...

Chen Qi tightened a bandage and looked back.

From the breached opening, a Deep Sea monster ten meters tall let out a roar as it took one step after another toward them.