What appeared before Li Chen now were more than fifty ancient guardians, all dressed similarly to the Sea Demon General from before and bearing much the same air.
They took various forms: Sharkmen, Merfolk, Shellfolk, Shrimp People, Crabmen, Naga, Sea Demons, Turtlemen, and more. There were also members of the rarer Sea-Tower Clan, Demonfish in partially humanoid form, standing some thirty feet tall and wielding two long-handled battle-axes with imposing majesty; there were even Half-Dragons, creatures found only in legends and long since extinct, who looked like graceful youths, dressed in white and holding precious fans, with a pair of short, antler-like horns on their foreheads and solemn expressions.
Among them, Li Chen even saw Sea Yakshas, rumored to be related to the Yaksha race of the Nine Nether Demon Realm. They had six arms like the Naga, but also two additional heads, each as hideous as an evil spirit.
Li Chen did not know how powerful they had been in life, nor how much of their divine abilities remained today. But it was best to overestimate an enemy: anyone the Last Sea Emperor had stationed in the various grotto-heaven worlds as tomb-guarding generals, tasked with stopping future intruders from entering the Water Realm and breaking the Sea Emperor's seal, could not possibly be a mediocrity.
Judging by the Sea Demon General's earlier performance, most of these guardians should possess strength equivalent to the middle or late stages of Core Formation, if not greater. Even Nascent Soul strength or above would be no surprise.
After a sigh, Li Chen slowly rose into the air and settled back into the Mechanized Flying Chair.
He lightly shifted his five fingers, and the White Bone Umbrella spun in his hand with a clattering sound. Amid the clicking of mechanisms, streak after streak of