The Almighty Ring

In no time, the entire merry party took off with Jiang Fei following quietly from behind. From the looks of it, Caylan was familiar with their destination seeing as how they moved at an excellent pace without losing precious time. The party arrived at the target location after three to four hours of trekking.

“See that island? The altar with the Primordial Weapon is right there,” Caylan pointed to the horizon where a small square-shaped island was located.

“Swimming is not a problem, but I think that it is the least of our worries here,” Bacca said as he licked his oversized jaws.

“Indeed. The lake surrounding the island is… peculiar. There is an invisible barrier and the only way to get to the island is by swimming across it. Flying is out of the option here. I should warn you that there are beasts inside the lake. You will be attacked as soon as your feet touch the water. One of my teammates was eliminated from the trials because of it,” Caylan informed the group. That was the reason why he needed help.

“0541, scan for a bit,” Jiang Fei asked through telepathy.

“Aye, captain,” 0541 replied. 0541 was able to wirelessly control the scope on Jiang Fei’s ear. This piece of equipment was invaluable to 0541 and he could not stop praising Theon the Plunderer for giving it to Jiang Fei.

While the two exchanged mental thoughts, Waxus twitched a little and turned to Jiang Fei abruptly. Noticing the sudden movement, Jiang Fei faced him too, pretending to acknowledge his action as a friendly gesture. After Waxus turned away, Jiang Fei started becoming more careful about his telepathic ability.

“Seems about right…” Jiang Fei murmured. He knew about Alderaanians’ telepathic abilities and regretted using his own mental ability that openly. It was fortunate that his mental strength was unparalleled or Waxus or his brother would have found out about 0541.

“So we swim…” Luna stated, dipping her furry fingers into the lake water.

“Yes. No other choice,” Caylan repeated the statement. He was not keen on returning to the waters but there was no other way to the island besides swimming.

“Jiang Fei… Should you just… ehrm, wait for us here?” Bacca asked awkwardly. As the rumors stated that Jiang Fei was only a 120,000 combat level fighter, it would be dangerous for him to follow them into the unknown depths. He would not want to lose such a precious V.I.P.

“Like I said, don’t mind me. I wouldn’t want to be exposed to danger as well. I’ll just sit here and see how things turn out,” said Jiang Fei as he found a spot to sit and relax. Based on his strength, he could never be hurt by the beast of the lake.

“You do you. As for us, let’s get ready for a dive. Remember to swim fast. Faster even!” said Caylan as he removed his boots and took the first dive.

The others followed quickly with Bacca’s team being the last to dive. Just like that, Jiang Fei was left alone on the side of the lake. In that instant, he could feel a wave of psychic energy emanating from the lake. Countless smaller beings were constantly emanating psychic energy, like sonar for bats, to detect those who had just entered the water.

“I understand now!” Jiang Fei exclaimed. With a little concentration, he could “see” the little beings that were chasing after the party. They were a kind of fish-like life form that relied not on its sight or smell but psychic readings to locate their targets.

“0541, have you anything about those fish?” Jiang Fei asked.

“Two seconds, Captain. I’m compiling the data from the scope… The fish in this lake is known as the Devil of the Lake, a type of carnivorous aquatic life form that is only as large as a regular human fist. Individually, they had only over 100,000 combat level. They hunt in large schools and prey on any kind of life form albeit being weaker. With sheer numbers, they are able to kill and consume even life forms stronger than them,” 0541 explained after he had gathered all related information from the scope. Such was the functionality of the scope. Not only was it able to measure combat level, it also carried information about anything in the universe.

Based on the information gathered, the Devil of the Lake had no auditory, visual, or olfactory sensory organs. It perceived the environment via powerful psychic energy. Once locked on, no one could escape its chase unless they left the water entirely.

“So they are like blind piranhas!” cried Jiang Fei as he continued to extend his perception in the water. Concurrently, the group of trainees were being chased by at least 100,000 Devils of the Lake.

To be honest, when Caylan had first entered the lake with his original teammates, the number of Devils of the Lake were only hovering around 10,000. Since this was their second entry, the Devils started moving in larger schools. With an even bigger number of people entering the lake, there was more meat for them!

“Leader, I have a bad feeling about all of this,” said Waxus all of the sudden.

“Got it. Everyone, watch your six!” Bacca yelled. If Waxus said something bad was going to happen, Bacca would take every word literally as Alderaanians had a knack for sensing danger.

“Swim faster! Do not stop to attack! There’s no way we can attack all of them!” Caylan roared as he parried a few incoming Devils that were aiming for his neck. Fortunately, these Devils were too weak to pierce through his armor. At the moment, he was still safe.

“Get together, everyone! Compact formation!” Bacca ordered and everyone followed his orders. They quickly swam to each other and made a small formation, reducing size.

“Looks like a good time for a swim! What do you think, 0541?” Jiang Fei asked rhetorically. He then entered the water whilst forming an invisible bubble of psychic energy around him. Once in, Jiang Fei swam at his own pace. Almost all of the Devils of the Lake were chasing after the previous team, leaving only a few behind that completely ignored him.

With the powerful psychic barrier released, the little fishes could not sense Jiang Fei’s presence. All they saw was calm water and a piece of wood floating across it. Not a single fish tried to attack even when they were literally brushing against him.

“Leader! I-I-I don’t think I’m going to make it!” Luna, the bunny girl shrieked in pain. Due to the difference in power, her armor was the first to go and her leg was bleeding all over from being bitten by the Devils.

“Dammit! Swim to her and center her around us!” Bacca ordered. The entire team swam around to let Luna position herself at the center of the group. That way, she would not be attacked.

“Is it just me, or is the island not getting any closer!” Caylan roared, frustrated. He was tired, scared, and frantic. His armor integrity was dropping fast and the others were already taking damage from being bitten. Worst of all, they had no idea how far they even were from the island!

“F*ck! What sort of hell did you drag us into, Caylan?! Think of something!” Bacca was panicking too.

“If I knew this would be smooth sailing, I wouldn’t have asked for your help!” Caylan barked back. Even though he knew everyone then was strong enough to survive the Devil’s attack, he could not see how they could reach the island without first being rescued by the trial organizers.

“Leader, let us try something…” said Waxus as he dragged his brother, Mingsk, to turn around. In that state, the two held hands and their eyes glowed radiantly. All of a sudden, the frontmost school of Devil of the Lakes stopped swimming. They turned around and started to attack the school of fishes behind!