With over eighty percent of the fleet's ships already lost to the Trenchfolk, only Bai Qi's vessel and two others nearby were still struggling to hold their ground.
Watching ship after ship sink into the sea, Savage grew restless. He walked to his desk, pulled open a drawer, and retrieved an irregular crystal the size of a fist. As he was about to dash out with it, Bai Qi stopped him.
"That's a Barius crystal, isn't it?" Bai Qi said, looking at the crystal in Savage's hand. "Give it to me, and I guarantee I can deal with the Trenchfolk outside in three minutes. How about it?"
"Not a good deal."
Despite his words, Savage honestly handed the crystal to Bai Qi.
Barius crystals were special, highly energetic yet extremely unstable. If mishandled or subjected to excessive external force, they would explode with a power capable of engulfing the entire sea area.
However, even with such destructive power, Savage wouldn't have used it so readily unless forced by the Trenchfolk.
Firstly, the crystals were rare and difficult to mine, and Savage didn't have many. Secondly, given the sheer number of Trenchfolk, Savage wasn't confident they could completely resolve the predicament. Lastly, and most importantly, a crystal explosion would inevitably cause significant energy fluctuations, which the Justice League's Watchtower would surely detect, thus complicating matters.
Since Bai Qi guaranteed a smooth resolution, trading the crystal for his assurance wasn't out of the question.
What followed next made Savage feel utterly deceived.
Bai Qi emerged from the ship's cabin, procured a cleaver from somewhere, and joined the fray on deck against the monstrous fish. After dispatching several, he was even bitten on the arm by a surprise attack from behind.
Imagine that, a Primordial Demon being wounded by a mere monstrous fish. It was as if the entire Pacific Ocean had been let loose.
Just as Savage was about to unleash his fury, the Trenchfolk monsters surrounding the ship seemed to sense something and quickly dove into the sea. Those on deck also abandoned their opponents, leaping into the water and fleeing as if encountering their natural predators.
"Are you alright?"
Two men leaped from the side of the ship. One held a metal trident, while the other had two sword hilts strapped to his back.
"Atlanteans?"
Seeing the gills on their necks, Savage immediately recognized their identity.
"Thank goodness, those monstrous fish are finally gone."
"Ah, we're saved, we're saved."
With the battle over, the surviving crew members collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted, celebrating their narrow escape.
Calder scanned the prostrate crew members, about to act, when Gas grabbed him.
"Hey, how did you do that?" Gas asked, looking at Calder curiously.
Calder smiled without answering, directly placing his hand on the multi-functional belt at his waist. He opened a compartment, and a green-glowing crystal caught Gas's eye.
"This is..."
Gas gasped upon seeing the crystal.
"I didn't expect His Majesty to give you this."
"Not give, just borrow."
Seeing Gas about to speak, Calder interrupted, "Instead of talking, why don't you go save more people?"
"Alright, I'll handle the underwater rescues, and you take care of the surface."
With that, Gas leaped into the water. Calder, meanwhile, approached an injured crewman and knelt down.
Initially, the crewman harbored a hint of wariness toward this stranger, but as he demonstrated his miraculous magic, the last bit of suspicion vanished. He could heal wounds rapidly with just a ball of water, a feat so incredible it defied belief.
"Is this... magic?"
Calder merely smiled in response to the crewman's question.
As Calder approached Bai Qi to heal him, he suddenly sensed something amiss. Though it was only for an instant, why did he feel such a strong magical fluctuation from the man? Could he be a human mage?
Bai Qi was also taken aback. He had been somewhat pleased to see Calder, as he was merely an Atlantean warrior whose magical prowess was focused on combat, making him somewhat careless. He hadn't expected the other party to be so perceptive. If not for his quick reflexes, his cover would have been blown.
Facing Calder's scrutiny, Bai Qi quickly changed the subject, speaking first, "So cool! You guys are Atlanteans, right?"
He then looked at Calder from all sides with an adoring gaze, as if inspecting a rare specimen.
Calder felt uncomfortable under Bai Qi's gaze, his brow furrowing slightly. "It seems your injuries don't hurt at all."
Bai Qi glanced at the bleeding wound on his back and waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing, it's nothing. My name is Zhao Hongtian, and I'm an expert in ancient civilization research. I'm also extremely interested in Atlantean civilization. Can you tell me about your history? Do all you Atlanteans use this amazing magic? What are your families like, and... and..."
Calder was overwhelmed by Bai Qi's barrage of questions. However, he was somewhat reassured. At least, the other party's attitude suggested he was a historian, a passionate enthusiast of ancient civilizations. This also explained the magical fluctuations he felt earlier.
After all, many ancient civilizations had some connection to magic. It was normal for someone conducting research to carry some trace of it.
"Alright, alright, I'll answer your questions when I have time. For now, let me heal your wounds."
Saying this, he forcibly turned Bai Qi around, ignoring his protests, and began healing him with magic.
Meanwhile, Gas had brought all the surviving Trenchfolk from the sea onto the ship. He then produced a blue magic orb, activated it, and a blue light emanated, causing wounds to gradually heal wherever the light touched.
Although Gas wasn't as proficient in Atlantean magic as Calder, he possessed a magic orb capable of healing others, achieving the same effect.
On the other side, Calder, having finished healing the crew members, had begun conversing with Savage and Bai Qi.
Inside the ship's cabin, Calder, seated on a sofa, looked at Savage and Bai Qi, whose eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Humans, why did you venture into Trenchfolk territory? And I noticed your ship is equipped with weapons of mass destruction. Can you tell me why?"
"Of course," Savage replied. "We came here because..."
Before Savage could finish, Bai Qi interrupted.
"Exploration. We're exploring."
"Exploration?" Calder raised an eyebrow. "I don't think there's much worth exploring in a place like the Trenchfolk's territory."