Threats, Secrets

Saliva dripped from the Whale-Man's mouth as its enormous eyes fixed on Naimus and the others' bellies. It was clearly craving their organs.

Its massive body charged forward, its tremendous weight making the cave tremble slightly.

The Shadow Hound pounced fiercely, clamping its jaws around the Whale-Man's neck.

Downs also gathered his courage and rammed straight into it.

At that moment, Kurog, sealed within his body, drove his power to its limit. Black demonic aura flooded through Downs's entire body, pushing his attributes to their maximum. At the same time, the trait of Immortality was temporarily bestowed upon Downs.

The instant they collided, Downs was forced back several steps.

In terms of pure physical strength, he was no match for the Whale-Man.

Clearly, although it had not Whale-Transformed, it had already reached the limit of the Black Stone Breed and had thus acquired extraordinary traits ahead of time, such as its enormous size.

The Whale-Man's charging steps were halted by the impact. Its fat, inflexible hands kept grabbing at its own neck, trying to tear the Shadow Hound clinging to it away.

But the Shadow Hound's agility completely overwhelmed the Whale-Man.

Its body would turn shadowy from time to time, evading the hands reaching for it.

At the same time, its four limbs constantly leaped across the Whale-Man's broad shoulders, its front claws and fangs repeatedly striking at the Whale-Man's face, neck, and other vulnerable spots.

Naimus's demon form, as a Variant Demon, was considered a special kind of Demon Seed.

A Lesser Demon was equivalent to a Black Stone Breed at its limit that had gained extraordinary traits in advance.

A Demon was equivalent to a Steel Breed.

A Variant Demon was a type of Demon, yet to some extent surpassed ordinary Demons, falling only slightly below high-level Demons equivalent to the Golden Breed.

The Shadow Hound Naimus had summoned with the power of his true form was a magical beast from the Abyssal hells, distinct from Demons.

Unlike Demons, these magical beasts could not evolve through devouring souls and slaughter. Yet any creature capable of surviving in the Abyss naturally had its own abilities.

Its nimble body continuously harassed the Whale-Man. The Whale-Man did not even dare open its eyes, or claws would come stabbing in the next instant and gouge its eyeballs out.

"Aaaahhh!" Faced with this situation, the Whale-Man had no choice but to open its mouth and roar.

Amid its thunderous roar came waves of Whale Call.

Ripples trembled across the Shadow Hound's body as the force of the sound waves made its form unstable.

Though the Whale-Man's reason had diminished, its animalistic combat instincts had strengthened.

It sharply seized that opportunity. Its slightly opened eyes locked onto the Shadow Hound's position, and one hand grabbed it in a single motion.

At the same time, its other hand swung out and collided with Downs, who had charged in again.

But at that very moment, an arrow flew over and struck the Whale-Man squarely in its slightly opened eye.

Pur, hiding at the cave entrance, was an excellent archer.

The Whale-Man twisted its head in pain, only to feel the Shadow Hound in its hand flowing like liquid through the gaps between its fingers.

Meanwhile, Downs, who had taken a punch, seemed completely unharmed as he lunged forward again and seized the Whale-Man's thick leg.

Demonic power surged. Downs strained to lift the Whale-Man's leg, throwing its center of gravity off balance.

"You beasts!!!" the Village Guardian screamed hoarsely, instinctively trying to turn and help his daughter.

But countless ropes rapidly moved, quickly winding around the Village Guardian's body.

His ability to move, his strength, and even his voice were sealed in an instant.

"Save your strength. You'll need it later to explain a few things." Seeing that the Village Guardian was still struggling, Naimus tightened the ropes further.

"Both you and your daughter are in my hands now!" As his words fell, a muffled crash came from the other side. The Whale-Man had finally toppled over after losing its balance.

The Rope of Oath wriggled and swiftly bound the Whale-Man.

Only then did Naimus turn his attention to the Village Guardian.

Comparatively speaking, the Whale-Man was wealth, and the Village Guardian was wealth as well.

Whale-ification Disease might be rare, but it could still be found with enough effort.

But a case of Whale-ification Disease that could be controlled voluntarily had, so far, appeared only once.

Naimus had no interest in the little combat power provided by Whale-ification Disease. Its value lay not in combat strength, but in "Whale-ification."

The White Whale Church was a cult.

They believed Sky Whales were miracles of the world unrelated to The Gods, and they fanatically worshipped everything connected to Sky Whales.

They were spread throughout the major Sky Whale cities. They had conducted deep research into Whale-ification Disease, and most of their members gained power and elevated their breeds by transplanting whale flesh, organs, tissues, and the like.

If they learned that Controlled Whale-ification existed, they would absolutely be willing to pay any price for it.

If used well, this church could become his ally.

So...

"If you do not want your daughter to suffer inhuman treatment, then cooperate obediently. Whatever I tell you to say, you will say!" Naimus spoke calmly, but his words struck like iron. The resolve within them was conveyed clearly to the Village Guardian.

Naimus then gave the Village Guardian time to think before releasing his Silence Control.

"Speak. You have at least three sentences to say!"

"You beasts, lackeys of Demons, I'll definitely kill you... Aaaah!!!"

"Aaaahhh!!"

Naimus tilted his head slightly to one side, revealing more of the Whale-Man behind him.

The ropes twisted violently, making the Whale-Man howl in agony, only for it to be silenced again by Silence Control.

Thus, the cave was soon filled only with the Village Guardian's anguished cries for his daughter.

Snap! Naimus snapped his fingers, and the Village Guardian, bound like a hunched shrimp, became a silent screamer.

His mouth hung wide open, his face flushed red, and saliva ran down from his shouting, yet he could not make the slightest sound.

"Not that sentence!" Naimus remained perfectly calm, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

He merely continued, "I can control the perception of pain. If you keep talking nonsense, I will make your daughter suffer pain ten times worse than this."

The Village Guardian glared at Naimus, his bloodshot eyes filled with hatred.

But Naimus treated it like a breeze brushing his face and paid it no mind. He simply waited a few more minutes for the Village Guardian to calm down and regain his reason.

Only then did Naimus release the Silence Control and wait once more for the Village Guardian's answer.

"I summoned the Demon..." With his reason restored, the Village Guardian could only yield to reality and confess.

And once he had opened his mouth, everything became easy.

Very quickly, Naimus learned everything he wanted from the Village Guardian.

Information about Controlled Whale-ification, Otto's secret, and the Village Guardian's understanding of the Old Priest.

The information on Whale-ification involved too many intertwined factors and would require experiments later.

The Village Guardian did not know much about the Old Priest either, but he had opened up a breakthrough regarding Otto.

"You're saying he is mining Whale Skin Mine?"

Thank you for your support.