"I'm sorry!" said the commander.

The soldier stayed silent with a sword piercing through his chest. Blood kept flowing. His vision was getting blurry, yet there was no sign of regret in his eyes.

He looked up at his own commander. "I know you're doing this because of duty, but..." the soldier smiled faintly. "Ughk..." he coughed. "But I never thought you would sell your pride as a human just for money. You told me when you first recruited me that a soldier must walk the path of honor, but you didn't."

The commander fell silent for a moment. He even turned his head away, unable to look his subordinate in the eyes.

"What's wrong? Feeling guilty?" The soldier laughed but coughed up blood again. Then he smiled wider, as if he had won.

Slowly, his body grew weaker. He could no longer stand on his feet. Gradually, he collapsed.

"Ah, this is the end for me." He closed his eyes. "I hope you realize that what you're doing is wrong. Live in..."

The soldier stopped breathing. He was dead. At that moment, the commander turned to look at him. His eyes were heavy, unable to utter another word.

"I'll take care of your wife and child. I promise," said the commander softly.

**

Baaamm!

The tentacle of the King Kraken was repelled by Crowne. He raised his hand, and a sphere of water magic formed in front of his palm.

Wooosh!

Booom!

A massive water magic blast shot toward the King Kraken. However, just before it hit the Kraken's head, a wall of water appeared and blocked the attack.

[Wind Stap Slash!]

In a single second, Crowne moved with incredible speed, appearing right in front of the King Kraken. He swung his weapon down in a slash.

But just as he did that, a tentacle moved fast toward him. Crowne quickly blocked the attack, yet the force sent his body flying backward.

He plunged into the sea, but a second later, he emerged again with wings sprouting from his back.

"You are strong," Crowne praised.

[Taming failed!]

[Your level is not enough!]

Crowne clicked his tongue in irritation. He snapped his fingers, and in that instant, dozens of water spears appeared. He was ready to strike again.

"Help me!" whispered Crowne.

"Very well," replied Sylvera.

Crowne's movements became extremely fast. His current form was that of a half-human, half-dragon being. He had the body of a man but wings, horns, and scales covering parts of his body.

Those scales acted like an impenetrable shield, strong enough to withstand the Kraken's attacks without a scratch—at least for now.

Crowne had fused with Velrisa using his Devour Bond skill, making him incredibly powerful and granting him the abilities of his beast companion.

**

Meanwhile, Daisy, Evans, and the two other adventurers stood frozen. They were in shock watching Crowne battle the King Kraken.

The fight was so fierce that they could barely follow Crowne's movements. Even Evans, the guild master himself, was astonished.

"Who is this young man?" asked Evans.

Daisy glanced at him but said nothing. She didn't know either. She thought Crowne was just an ordinary strong adventurer. But it turned out he was far beyond that.

Daisy was convinced that the Crowne before her was equal to, or perhaps even stronger than, an S-rank adventurer. It was something unbelievable.

"Why is he still rank E? Isn't it absurd for someone like him to be just rank E?"

Evans shook his head. "He came from Stromhall City. We weren't the ones who set his rank. I don't know either."

Daisy frowned. She knew the guild master of Stromhall. There was no way he would assign a rank carelessly. The man was strict and fair. There shouldn't have been any mistake.

"I don't understand. What happened there? Did their testing device break?"

"No idea," Evans replied.

Woosh!

A blast of magic shot toward them. They immediately braced themselves, ready to defend, but just before the attack could hit, it was suddenly deflected upward and exploded in the air. Crowne had saved them once again.

Crowne turned toward Daisy and the others. "Can you move away? I can't fight while protecting you," he said.

Evans was stunned. It was the first time anyone had ever said that to him. Usually, he was the one who said it. The words pierced his pride. His chest felt tight.

"Yes, we can," Evans replied.

Crowne nodded and immediately flew back toward the King Kraken. The fierce battle continued.

Daisy, Evans, and the other two adventurers looked at each other. They nodded in agreement and decided to leave, but their ship was already half destroyed, no longer usable.

Daisy lifted her shoulders. "We have no other choice."

Evans clicked his tongue in frustration. He jumped into the sea, swimming away from the wrecked ship. The four of them began swimming toward the shore.

Of course, it was a terrible idea since they were already exhausted. There was a high chance they would drown before reaching land.

But moments later, something emerged near them. Their eyes widened as they prepared to fight.

"We are Master Crowne's beasts," said the creature.

Daisy and Evans exchanged glances. Both of them shrugged. A second later, they climbed onto the back of the approaching Siren.

They held tightly to the Siren's body as it carried them swiftly away from the battlefield.

"What else does he have?" Daisy whispered.

**

The King Kraken roared furiously, its voice shaking the entire surface of the sea. Waves rose as high as houses when its tentacles slammed toward Crowne from all directions.

Crowne stared sharply, the air around him trembling. "Again!" he muttered.

He raised both hands to the sky, and in the next second, a massive water spear formed—spinning like a drill.

"Let's try this!" shouted Crowne.

BOOOM!

When Crowne's attack collided with the King Kraken's strike, a massive explosion erupted. Waves surged violently, and the remnants of the ship were thrown far away.

Crowne's entire body was soaked. His eyes darted around, constantly on guard, for the Kraken's tentacles could strike from anywhere.

"You didn't even flinch after all that," Crowne complained.

The King Kraken remained unmoved, its enormous eyes fixed on Crowne. To the beast, Crowne's size was no more than a grain of sand.

The difference in size between them was overwhelming.

"Master, do you have a plan?" Velrisa whispered.

Crowne stayed silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "I don't know if this will work, but I think it's worth trying."

"Then let's do it!" said Velrisa.

Crowne nodded. "Of course."

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