Gospel of Blood

It was a scene that defied norms.

The terrifying sea beast wrapped its tentacles around the warship, as if it would tear the entire vessel apart in the next second. Yet, despite having the ship at its mercy, the beast did not advance any further.

Its enormous eyes were fixed on the tiny figure of the girl on the deck. Its slick body leaned back slightly, and the tentacles that had been clinging everywhere slowly retracted to one side of its body.

It almost seemed like the beast was behaving like a giant octopus encountering its natural enemy.

Wait…

An enemy?

Count Stafford looked at the scene in disbelief, feeling ridiculous for the thoughts that crossed his mind.

As a citizen of Starfall, he had grown up hearing terrifying legends about Kraken. This monstrous sea creature, which held a reputation akin to that of a Demonic God in stories, could it truly be afraid?

What was it afraid of?

Could it possibly be the Queen?

Count Stafford couldn’t help but glance at the girl facing off against the beast, finding his thoughts increasingly absurd and incredible.

The young queen, whose background and information he had thoroughly investigated, suddenly seemed shrouded in mystery.

Then, he witnessed an even more unbelievable sight.

The young queen gently lifted her head and gave the monstrous beast a casual glance. In her clear blue eyes, reminiscent of the sky, there seemed to be a flash of golden-red light.

An indescribable aura emanated from Charlotte.

In a trance, Count Stafford felt that the figure standing on the deck was not a slender girl, but an unshakeable mountain.

Wherever the girl’s gaze landed, the beast’s tentacles recoiled as if electrified.

A low whimper emanated from Kraken, its previous raging aura diminishing significantly. Though it maintained its standoff with the girl, its overwhelming pressure had notably dissipated.

This time, even the most obtuse soldiers realized something was wrong.

The beast was afraid…

This legendary monstrous sea creature was actually afraid!

Indeed, the beast was terrified.

Unlike humans, as an ancient terror that had survived since ancient times, Kraken had a keen sense of danger.

Though it had not become a God due to limited intelligence, its vast years had endowed it with formidable magic, with powers nearing those of Gods.

Similarly, its sense of danger was as acute as that of a God walking the earth.

To Kraken, the Starfall Kingdom’s warship was insignificant, and the ants aboard it were of no concern.

But the girl on the deck was different.

Though she appeared frail and small, in Kraken’s “vision”, her slender body harbored a blinding brilliance.

That twisted, eerie glow filled with crimson starlight and moonlight was akin to an eternal blood moon in the endless darkness.

Under this blood moon’s radiance, the monstrous beast felt its entire being tremble, with a primordial fear surging within its heart from its very blood and soul.

It was truly afraid.

Lacking the intelligence to comprehend the entity before it, Kraken’s sharp instincts told it that the being before it was both familiar and dangerous!

Charlotte calmly observed the beast.

She, too, sensed the beast’s fear.

As she confronted this legendary deep-sea monster, she felt the Gospel of Blood in her consciousness glowing brightly, as if it had been stimulated.

The beast was afraid of her.

No… more precisely, it was afraid of the Gospel of Blood within her!

This realization astonished Charlotte.

Honestly, the current situation was beyond her expectations. She had certainly heard of Kraken’s infamous reputation, and upon seeing it, she keenly perceived its power through her Demigod senses.

This creature had a colossal amount of magic, was tough-skinned, and filled with toxins, making it inedible, foul-smelling, and fishy.

Given her combat abilities, Charlotte didn’t fear Kraken, but fighting it would be unwise.

She had intended to showcase her divine might to scare off the creature with its limited intelligence.

But who would have thought that even before she displayed her power, the beast had already become terrified.

Charlotte had a feeling.

At this moment, the beast had lost all will to fight.

Not only that, under her “gaze”, Kraken seemed unwilling to act recklessly, as if paralyzed with indecision.

The deep-sea Kraken seemed to be intimidated.

Charlotte watched the retreating tentacles with contemplation.

She still had no intention of engaging it.

The Gospel of Blood seemed to be able to restrain the beast before her, but… since the Gospel was still incomplete, Charlotte felt it was best to remain cautious.

Another reason was that the beast was simply too “dirty.”

The foul-smelling magic would make her vomit if she tried to absorb it, and the beast was, after all, a subordinate of Oceanus, the Sea King.

Oceanus was a major God on par with the Moon Goddess Artemis, the True Ancestor of Blood, and the Creator God, ruling over the seas of the Myria world.

Charlotte did not wish to become enemies with him, which would align with the wishes of certain people.

She calmly regarded the beast and, after a brief hesitation, tentatively commanded.

“Within three breaths, return the sailors and soldiers who fell into the sea. Then… get out of my sight.”

Count Stafford and the crew were stunned.

However, their astonishment didn’t last long.

What happened next left them utterly speechless.

At the young queen’s command, the terrifying beast slowly retracted its tentacles from the warship. The monstrous appendages retreated into the sea and, to everyone’s amazement, began returning the sailors who had fallen overboard or been swept into the water, terrified out of their wits.

Even more shocking, the grotesque octopus head opened its mouth and spat out several sailors it had swallowed. These sailors, while covered in foul, corrosive slime and with their bodies showing deep wounds, were still miraculously alive.

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed, and she gave a look to Nice, who had leisurely come up to the deck to watch the spectacle.

Understanding her gaze, nice quickly called a few sailors over to assist. After a burst of healing magic, he said,

“Don’t worry, Lady Charlotte. They’ll be fine. They can be saved.”

Upon hearing this, Charlotte looked at the beast once more.

“Get out of my sight.”

She commanded.

The terrifying sea beast swiftly retracted its tentacles and slowly sank back into the ocean.

Its speed suggested it feared Charlotte might change her mind.

The terrifying aura quickly dissipated, vanishing entirely.

The tumultuous sea gradually calmed, and the swaying warship regained its balance.

On the deck, the sailors and soldiers, still in shock, began to realize they had survived, feeling as though they had narrowly escaped death.

At this moment, they finally grasped the surreal nature of what they had just experienced.

The Sea Behemoth Kraken… the nightmare of sailors, the ocean’s specter, and the destroyer of all it encountered.

Yet… they had survived an encounter with such a legendary beast.

Recalling the beast’s retreat and the queen’s command, the crew couldn’t help but cast awestruck glances at the slender figure still standing on the deck.

Their respect for her turned into reverence.

They didn’t know how this not-yet-crowned young queen had managed it, but it didn’t stop them from speculating.

“No wonder she is the Saintess of the Holy Court, Her Majesty the Queen… she can even command Kraken!”

“Long live the Starfall Kingdom! Long live Her Majesty the Queen!”

The sailors, feeling as though they had been given a second chance at life, cheered loudly.

Charlotte withdrew her gaze from the direction where the beast had disappeared and nodded slightly to the crowd before returning to her cabin.

As she passed the still-stunned Count Stafford, she paused briefly and said,

“Investigate why Kraken attacked our ship.”

Hearing her words, Count Stafford was momentarily stunned, then his face darkened.

He respectfully complied and hurriedly gathered some soldiers to begin the investigation.

Charlotte returned to her cabin, waiting for Count Stafford’s report.

Not long after, he came to see her again.

“Your Majesty, it’s the ship! Someone smeared the hull with deep-sea devil squid ichor! Someone wanted us to die at the bottom of the sea, becoming Kraken’s food!”

Count Stafford gritted his teeth as he spoke.

“Deep-sea devil squid ichor?”

Charlotte asked, puzzled.

“It’s from the offspring of Kraken! Killing deep-sea devil squids is taboo in the Star-Moon Sea, as it often leads to Kraken’s vengeance!”

Count Stafford explained.

Charlotte nodded slightly in realization.

“So that’s it.”

Seeing her unsurprised expression, Count Stafford couldn’t help but ask.

“Your Majesty, you don’t seem surprised?”

Charlotte glanced at him, not hiding anything.

“Count Stafford, someone has been targeting us since we set sail.”

“I was curious about their plans, and now I see they intended to use sea monsters.”

She then looked at Count Stafford again.

“Oh, by the way, the ones targeting us are not bloodbornes, at least not those monitoring us. Do you know who they are?”

Hearing this, Count Stafford’s face darkened further.

“I’m afraid… it’s the Lilac family, but they might not be the only ones involved.”

“After King Edward revealed their crimes, they allied with the bloodbornes!”

He said through gritted teeth.

“The Lilac family…”

Charlotte mused.

She clicked her tongue.

“It seems someone in the Nez Clan doesn’t want me to reach Starfall either.”