Werther did not stop after unleashing one Sword Aura slash.
As he kept swinging Intent Blood, more than a dozen Sword Aura slashes plunged into the sea.
The water churned again. Great swathes of dark green liquid rose to the surface, then diluted into the seawater and dyed the surrounding sea pale green.
Even so, the Leviathan beneath the waves did not surface.
Werther began to hesitate. Should he keep attacking? He seemed to have the upper hand, but that was not quite true.
Even Doffy was wary of the sea monster he had yet to lay eyes on. It had to be formidable.
His Sword Aura had probably only inflicted minor wounds. If this went on, the monster might escape.
Werther hesitated, then made up his mind. The sea was the creature's territory, but unless he entered it, Intent Blood could not absorb the Leviathan's vitality.
Intent Blood had to strike an enemy's body directly to absorb its vitality.
This was the real world, not a game. Attacking a monster from afar felt great, but it gained him nothing and only drained his strength.
What Werther feared most was wounding the Leviathan so badly that it fled.
He had noticed the Pirate ship in the distance earlier, but had paid it no mind.
Werther's arrival in the North Blue was like a nearly max-level character wandering into a beginner village.
Crushing weaklings might feel satisfying, but there was little fun in wiping out a whole group with one slash.
That newly formed Pirate crew was fairly strong by East Blue standards. But one Sword Aura slash from Werther would wipe them all out.
This was the world of Pirates, not a game. Even in a "beginner village," a Great Swordsman could appear without warning—someone like Werther.
Werther took a