Badge in Azure

The fish’s intestines were longer than Saleen expected them to be. A level seven Water Shield was able to last for about two miles of the journey before collapsing. In contrast, level ten would last over 20 miles. Things were hellish and chaotic in the fish’s intestines.

The walls kept expanding and contracting. Any matter that entered the intestines turned into weapons against Saleen and his people.

Even if Saleen’s calculative abilities were very bad, he knew it was a matter of time before things would take a turn for the worse. He said to others around him, “I don’t think I’d be able to keep doing this till the end of the journey. If you guys have anything else to bring to the table, work with me and get things in order. We can only protect everyone here by doing so.”

Sul answered immediately, “my liege, the golden sword aura would work, but it would only work with you, and I have no idea how long it would last.”

“Doesn’t matter. Leave the calculations to me.” Saleen had ample mental powers at the moment; it was running out of magic chords that concerned him. If his scrolls and magic staffs were depleted in such a predicament, he would only have himself to rely on.

Nailisi said, “Master, my shield could cast Demonic Protection, but I can’t hold it for long.”

Saleen nodded in acknowledgment. He looked into Nailisi’s shield before. If Nailisi was capable of using it to cast demon skills, it would possibly work better than his Water Shield.

Eleanor then said, “I’m not quite sure of my defensive skills. It could protect everyone here but the duration…”

“I’ll do the calculations. Relax.”

Sika then said, “I’d be able to keep everyone safe for about a hundred miles. But if restoration is to be taken into consideration, I’d probably only be able to use it once.”

Cuisi felt rather sorry for himself. “Your highness, I’d only be able to protect myself. If any of you run out, feel free to leave me out. I’d be able to survive for some time.”

Saleen smiled. “We won’t need to do that. We have Nailisi to blame for not giving you a set of powerful gear. If we survive this, I’ll have her see to it.”

Nailisi stuck out her tongue and ground her teeth secretly. Cuisi was the most powerful of the four demons directly under her, and the most loyal. It was entirely within reason to get him a decent set of equipment. However, her failure to do so in time meant that it was entirely within reason to have her master chastise her for it.

Saleen thought for a bit. “Sika is able to hold on for the longest duration. We’ll have her use her skills last. Eleanor’s duration is the one that’s most difficult to pinpoint, but she is able to stay in Sensory Sharing with me for quite a long period. She’d be the second to use hers. Cuisi, no need to fret. If Sika were longer be able to last, I’d keep you out of the loop. You’d need to only focus on protecting yourself. I’d be able to last for another hour by taking care of one person less.”

Cuisi nodded, and Saleen continued, “Sul, you’re up first. You’re able to recover golden sword aura quickest. Nailisi will be next. She can share senses with me, so nothing will go wrong. If Nailisi’s strength fails and you’ve recovered enough, you’ll take the helm again.”

Sul understood. While his powers paled in comparison to everyone around him, he was able to regenerate the most quickly. A golden grand swordmaster’s regeneration rate was far above a mage’s.

It was his edge over everyone else. When Sul was so tired that he was no longer able to regenerate in time, others would take his place. When everyone was worn out, he would be able to help Saleen hold on for the next few rounds.

After Saleen got the plan in place, he cast his last Water Shield. The level seven shield simply served as a buffer before the plan began. When the Water Shield burst, Sul unleashed thick golden sword aura under Saleen’s command, keeping everyone wrapped in it.

Saleen had considered using the 12 Notes of First Purgatory. But if he did that, the resulting massive spatial fluctuations would alert the big fish. If a person knew that something dangerous lurked within their stomach, they would take some magic pharmaceuticals to kill it. The big fish’s powers might not have exceeded level 12, but it would be at the pinnacle of level 12 at all times.

Its powers had been limited by the rules of their plane, but if it were a human being and its powers likened to a level 12 sorcerer, it would be capable of casting more than 10 thousand level 12 spells continuously.

Such was the difference between their powers and that of the fish. As such, Saleen had no intentions whatsoever to fight the fish. He was, after all, so insignificant to the fish that they would make it through safely so long as they did not alert it.

If he had a death wish and summoned his elemental creatures, demons, and ancient figures to fight the fish, then the fish would digest them, reducing them to nutrients.

When Sul’s golden sword aura was unleashed, Saleen was able to tell the difference between Sul then and now. Sul’s powers had reached the pinnacle of golden grand swordmaster after training for a hundred years.

The golden sword aura stuck close to everyone’s bodies, causing no discomfort at all. In the fish’s perspective, the golden sword aura was completely devoid of offensive capacities. It was a pure defensive measure.

Sul had developed such precise control of his sword aura, but he was still unable to advance to level ten. It was a testament of how potent the powers of a level ten True Might would be.

Saleen had developed quite a deep understanding of what combat capacities of swordmasters were like relative to their levels. Sul did not disappoint. His golden sword aura protected six people and lasted for more than 30 miles before dissipating.

Saleen had Nailisi take his place immediately. She took out her shield, getting ready for the moment the golden sword aura was no longer around, before casting black energies and enveloping everyone within.

It was apparent that Nailisi was unfamiliar with the skills needed to do so. Saleen maintained a sensory connection with her, allowing him to assess her skills. She relied on the shield’s inherent power to protect everyone around her.

Nailisi lasted a very long time. Her energies were only exhausted after about a hundred miles. All skills had their limits. Nailisi was able to maintain combat readiness, but she was no longer able to activate the shield. It was the shield, rather than her, that lacked the ability to continue doing so.

It was satisfactory to Saleen. He deemed it fortunate that he had discussed with everyone beforehand. He had expected the fish’s intestines to be little more than a hundred miles long, but they were still unable to see the end even after moving over 200 miles.

Saleen shifted his Sensory Sharing to Eleanor after sensing that Nailisi was about to give. The longbow in Eleanor’s hand shone with brilliant green light, shrouding everyone. The black energies from before dispelled without a trace.

Nailisi smirked. She was able to see that Eleanor’s longbow had grown in power, which meant that her master had worked on it again.

Nailisi speculated if there was something going on between her master and the elf. However, as Sika was around, she dared not ask about it, and it bothered her immensely.

Saleen was able to feel Nailisi’s emotional fluctuations. However, it was his utmost priority to take care of everyone, which meant that he had no time to spare to analyze Nailisi’s thoughts.

Eleanor was humble about her abilities. Saleen had initially prepared to keep Sensory Sharing activated between them, but there was no sign of her skills giving in after over ten miles.

Saleen was at ease enough to temporarily cut his connection with her. He knew that the Seven Nights that he had re-crafted would be over ten times more powerful in the hands of an elf than it would in the hands of a human.

While Eleanor did not hide any of the elf’s skills to Saleen, but he was unable to train in most of them to begin with. Such all-encompassing defensive skills used at the moment was something that would see limited use in battle, so he had never seen Eleanor use.

He quickly found, in surprise, that it had worked better than his level ten Water Shield when she did come to use it.

That was that level ten spells was inferior; it was just that Saleen still lacked the mastery of his Water Shield spells. He was concerned about lightning patterns on the shields shocking the fish, so he rubbed it all off for the moment.

That, unfortunately, meant that his Water Shields suffered a sharp drop in performance. If there were lightning patterns on the surface of the Water Shield, electrical currents would jump when it came into contact with the fish’s body, which would definitely alert the fish.

Other creatures were incapable of attacking things inside their bodies, but Saleen was sure that something of that size would have means to do so.

Eleanor lasted for over a hundred miles before her skill collapsed. Half of the power of faith within the Seven Nights was exhausted. Saleen cast a level seven Water Shield to cover for her, then gestured for Sika to get ready.

Sika took out her triangular bone piece, which expanded to the size of a small boat in Sika’s hands, the hollow parts spacious enough to hold all of them. Everyone bent and wiggled into the bone. Green energy then seeped out of the bone’s crevices, sealing it altogether.

Sika’s work was not done. She kept her focus and steered the bone. The sharpness of the bone’s edges exceeded any blade. However, Sika dared not try and see for herself if the fish intestines were able to withstand the bone’s attacks.

If the bone truly cut up the intestine, it would be the end for them all.

Saleen, however, was at ease. He conjured Water Flame. “It seems like everyone is doing fine. Restore your mental powers as quick as you can. We have no idea what awaits outside.”

A tornado was conjured out of the Water Flame as he spoke, which flew outside the bone and wrapped its edges. the tornado was incapable of damaging the bone piece.

The tornado was hardly a threat to the fish intestines. It was enough for Sika to simply maintain the energies at the crevices of the bone.

Sika sighed in exasperation. “I’ve underestimated a priest’s skill. I would have crafted a totem if I knew sooner. It would have saved me a lot of trouble.”

Everyone calmed down, finding themselves safe in the fish intestine. Other than Saleen and his people, there were also some small magic beasts to be found in the fish intestine.

The magic beasts were all caught by surprise. Most were absorbed into the fish’s body and died. There were, however, some fish that were enveloped in energy balls, which kept them safe.

Saleen’s Elemental Eye peered out to analyze and record the energy balls conjured by the small fish, keeping the records forcefully etched in his mind using magic.

The way the energy balls worked differed considerably with magic, and only the Water Shield shared some similarities with them. Saleen knew that it was his chance at improving the Water Shield. The fish had probably spent years inside the big fish’s body, and had developed self-preservation instincts as a result.

The small fish’s energy balls were formed through trial and error. They were flawless as defensive measures, and only absolute, overwhelming power would be able to crush them.

All of them were moving forward and around the fish’s intestines for over 1700 miles. Saleen helped Sika seal the bone’s crevices several times throughout the journey. They alternated in keeping everyone safe, and did not run into further dangers.

The fish’s stomach felt a sting within and decided to flush the pain-inducing pharmaceuticals and other small impurities out of its body. It never intended to kill any parasitic life forms inside its body.

The life forms were not entirely useless to the fish, as they helped the fish clean the insides of its body. They were even some fish that were so small, that they were capable of entering the fish’s bloodstream and help clear any true parasites and impurities within.

It was due precisely to such an environment and special attributes of the big fish that Saleen and his people were able to stay safe. Any single part of the big fish could unleashing powerful attacks. If the fish’s intestines contracted earnestly, everyone would be crushed to death.

“The exit is near. Everyone, brace yourselves!” Saleen’s Elemental Eye caught sight of that exit that continued contracting and expanding, and he felt rather disgusted…