Chapter 1450: Sea Demons (Part 2)
These sea demons were all massive, but not entirely identical; there were still differences in size, and their appearances also varied. This was, in fact, nothing to be surprised by. Just as humans come in all shapes and sizes, with distinctions of height, weight, and beauty, so too do demons.
Green light burst forth, and Demon Qi soared into the heavens. Dozens of sea demons, floating suspended in the air, rapidly shrank under the shroud of green light. In the end, all of them transformed into human forms, encompassing men, women, old, and young, each dressed differently. Though their true forms were massive, once they transformed into human shapes, they appeared no different from ordinary people.
These sea demons all possessed the ability to transform into human forms. The reason they hadn't done so immediately, choosing instead to reveal themselves in their true forms, was because their massive bodies exerted an incredibly strong sense of oppression. After all, their colossal true forms delivered a truly powerful visual impact.
To put it bluntly, their appearance in their true forms was a display of power, a means to intimidate Yang Haoran and the other two, to instill fear in their hearts, thereby making it easier to achieve their goals. Now that they had taken human form, it was partly for convenience of movement, and partly because they believed that to deal with Yang Haoran and his companions, not everyone needed to revert to their true forms; in human form, they could still handle the three perfectly well.
As the sea demons transformed into human shapes, sunlight returned to the isolated island. Before, their enormous bodies had surrounded the entire island impenetrably, blocking even the sun's rays and plunging the whole island into darkness.
Colossal beings often exuded a unique sense of oppression. Although the transformed human-form demons could still subtly give off a feeling of pressure, it was no longer as intense as before.
Of Yang Haoran's three, only Ma Ling felt the oppression emanating from the sea demons. Especially before the sea demons reverted to human form, the overwhelming pressure had nearly suffocated her. However, for Yang Haoran and Zhong Siyu, the sea demons were merely grandstanding; they felt not the slightest oppression, for the sea demons' strength was utterly insignificant in their eyes.
After transforming into human forms, the sea demons did not converge. Instead, they maintained their encircling formation as before. The difference was that previously they had surrounded the entire isolated island; now, with their reduced size, they had also shrunk their encirclement, no longer encompassing the whole island, but merely surrounding Yang Haoran and his two companions.
Yang Haoran and his two companions' gazes were also fixed on the burly man, for all three of them could discern that this imposing figure was the leader of these dozens of sea demons. This was evident, on the one hand, from the power fluctuations he emitted, which were far greater than those of the other sea demons, and on the other, from his distinct positioning.
“Heh heh, two humans and one ghost. What an interesting combination, indeed. ”
The burly man looked at Yang Haoran and his companions, chuckling coldly. Although he could tell that Yang Haoran and Ma Ling were human and Zhong Siyu was a ghost, he failed to perceive the terrifying strength of Yang Haoran and Zhong Siyu. Thus, he appeared completely at ease, as if he had already devoured the three of them.
Earlier, when Zhong Siyu had intended to attack Yang Haoran, she had indeed unleashed powerful energy fluctuations. However, that was not Zhong Siyu's full power; the strength she displayed was merely the tip of the iceberg of her true capabilities. Now, with her power restrained, there was a considerable difference compared to before, and the burly man naturally assumed that the power Zhong Siyu had just unleashed was her entire strength.
In the burly man's opinion, the power fluctuations Zhong Siyu had just unleashed were indeed not weak, but he believed devouring Zhong Siyu would be no great challenge, and thus he felt no fear.
“Heh heh, indeed quite interesting. Your true forms are equally amusing. ”
Yang Haoran responded with a smile. His words not only caused the burly leader's expression to stiffen but also made the other sea demons present momentarily bewildered. Upon realizing what he meant, the sea demons erupted in fury, all turning their gazes towards their burly leader, as if they would tear this detestable human to shreds the moment he gave the command. The burly leader was equally enraged, but he did not immediately order an attack. The water cyclone earlier had merely been a show of dominance for Yang Haoran and his companions; he had other objectives. Until that other objective was achieved, he temporarily did not wish to kill Yang Haoran. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered transforming into human form; he would have simply led the sea demons in their true forms to assault the three, rendering this extra step unnecessary.
“Human, your mouth is certainly hard. I wonder if your body is as hard as your mouth. ”
The burly man spoke coldly, looking as if he wished to devour Yang Haoran whole. Yang Haoran merely smiled, remaining silent, his face utterly devoid of fear. The reason for his silence was his desire to see what schemes the burly man was hatching. Seeing Yang Haoran remain quiet, the burly man snorted coldly and continued speaking.
“Hmph, it's rare to see outsiders in our Eastern Sunrise Ocean. As everyone knows, this is the territory of our sea demon race. Any outsider with a bit of sense wouldn't dare step into the Eastern Sunrise Ocean. They know that doing so is asking for death, so they wouldn't come here to their doom. But some outsiders are just brainless, knowing full well that entering the territory of my sea demon race will cost them their lives, yet they still stubbornly force their way into my Eastern Sunrise Ocean. Don't you think these outsiders are tired of living? ”
The "outsiders" the burly man referred to didn't just mean humans, but all other races apart from sea demons, including even land-dwelling demons.
Yang Haoran looked at the burly man, still smiling and silent. Zhong Siyu and Ma Ling likewise watched the burly man; the former's eyes were filled with disdain, as if she were looking at a dead man, while the latter's gaze was full of vigilance.
Ma Ling's reaction was acceptable in the burly man's eyes; though he wasn't satisfied, it wasn't intolerable. However, Yang Haoran and Zhong Siyu's reactions left the burly man extremely displeased. What he wanted to see was a look of panic and disarray on the faces of Yang Haoran and his companions—and if it were outright terror, that would be even better. But aside from Ma Ling's vigilant expression, Yang Haoran and Zhong Siyu's responses were simply too infuriating; to him, it was a blatant provocation. He truly wished he could slap both the human and the ghost to death immediately.
Such thoughts ran through his mind, but the burly man did not act on them immediately. Instead, he forcibly suppressed the rage in his heart, gritting his teeth as he spoke to Yang Haoran and his companions,
“I now give you two choices. The first is to hand over your ransom. If the value of what you offer is sufficient, I can spare your three lives. The second choice is to leave your lives here and become our food! ”
The burly man's words made Yang Haoran understand his objective. The burly man had first put on a grand display to intimidate them, then transformed into human form to encircle them without attacking. His goal was to extract as many benefits as possible from the three of them. Because if he simply killed them outright, the items in their independent spaces might not appear—to be precise, it would be extremely difficult for them to appear, the probability being unusually low. However, if the three of them willingly took out the items from their independent spaces while still alive, that would be different.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Siyu couldn't help but let out a disdainful cold snort. This snort drew the burly man's attention, and his eyes glinted ferociously, filled with icy killing intent. From this, it was easy to see that even if Zhong Siyu obediently took out all the treasures from her independent space and handed them over to the burly man, he would not necessarily honor his promise and spare Zhong Siyu's life.
Not only did Yang Haoran not emit a cold snort like Zhong Siyu, but the smile on his face deepened a few shades. It was then that he spoke.
“Heh heh, since you’ve been so generous as to give me two choices, I, too, cannot be stingy. I shall likewise give you two choices: one is to submit to me, and the other is death. ”
Yang Haoran smiled very gently, his tone utterly calm, showing not the slightest hint of ferocity, as if he were simply chatting with a close friend. No trace of killing intent could be felt from him, yet the meaning of his words was as sharp as a blade.
The burly man was stunned. He had suppressed the rage in his heart and refrained from attacking precisely because he wanted to extract more benefits from Yang Haoran and his companions, to squeeze out every ounce of their value. But he never expected Yang Haoran to be so arrogant, reversing their roles and giving him two choices instead. For a moment, he couldn't help but wonder if he had misheard.
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