Above the sea surface, giant waves surged into the sky.

It was as if the end of the world had arrived.

Faintly, a few disheveled figures could still be seen struggling endlessly amidst the churning waves.

Fairly speaking.

If it were in any other venue, Gandalf's 【Surging Giant Waves】 would never have reached such a terrifying power and effect.

But this was out at sea.

The natural oceanic terrain boosted the power of this skill by more than double out of nowhere.

Right at this moment.

Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, casually waved a hand toward that chaotic expanse of giant waves.

A figure was instantly supported by an invisible current of water, pulled away from those violent giant waves.

Finally, she landed lightly beside Gandalf.

It was none other than Polina, the SS-Rank Expert and captain from Great Bear Country.

At this moment, she looked miserable, her brilliant long golden hair clinging damply to her chest, outlining those breathtaking curves even more prominently.

"Pfft!"

She spat out a large mouthful of salty seawater and coughed violently a few times before barely catching her breath.

She raised her head, her azure beautiful eyes glaring fiercely at Gandalf.

"Bastard!"

"I almost thought you were planning to kill me along with them!"

Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, wore a just-right innocent smile on his face.

"I certainly don't believe an SS-Rank Expert like you would easily die under this skill."

"Didn't I see that the situation wasn't right and rescue you at the very first moment?"

Polina looked at the giant waves still churning madly in the distance, a trace of lingering fear appearing on her face.

"That's not necessarily true."

"The giant waves you controlled actually carried a magic-sealing effect as well."

"Even an SS-Rank Expert is very prone to capsizing under such circumstances."

Saying this, she suddenly seemed to think of something, and her azure beautiful eyes abruptly constricted.

"So you mean, that sudden undersea undercurrent back at the ruin entrance was also your doing?"

Zhou Huai shrugged noncommittally.

"Thor from the Freedom Federation made the move first."

"I was simply forced to retaliate."

Polina stood up, patting the already soaking wet sexy bikini on her body, her curvaceous figure fully exposed in the sea breeze.

Looking at the gradually subsiding giant waves in the distance, she reminded him with a solemn expression.

"Although the power of your skill is great, wanting to wipe out all three of them in one go is probably not very easy."

"Why don't we take advantage of now to leave quickly."

"Now that Thor has broken free from my control, once he recovers, I'm afraid we won't be able to leave."

However, Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf to calmly shake his head.

"No, we cannot leave."

An astonished expression appeared on Polina's face.

"Why?"

"My skill also has a cooldown; I cannot control Thor a second time in a short period."

Zhou Huai shook his head again, a trace of unfathomable brilliance flashing in his deep eyes.

"I am not planning to continue fighting them."

"Next, I plan to talk about cooperation with them."

Cooperation?

Polina was directly stunned, looking at Gandalf with the gaze of someone looking at a lunatic.

Cooperating with a person like Thor?

What difference was there between that and bargaining with a tiger?

While they were talking, those heaven-destroying towering giant waves finally completely subsided.

Just as Polina expected.

The moment the giant waves subsided, a shockingly thick blue lightning bolt violently broke through the sea surface and soared straight into the clouds!

Immediately following that, the two disheveled figures of Takatsukasa Arashi and Park In-maeng also drilled out of the sea at the first moment, landing heavily upon that already dilapidated island.

Compared to Thor, who was still imposing and majestic, the appearance of these two was much more miserable.

Their complexions were paler than each other.

They knelt on one knee on the ground, coughing violently, vomiting a large amount of seawater, and their entire bodies were trembling violently and uncontrollably.

Thor hovered in mid-air, the electric serpents dancing wildly around his body evaporating all the lingering moisture completely.

He slowly turned his head, her azure eyes locking firmly onto Gandalf on the sea surface. (Wait: his azure eyes)

On that handsome face, anger turned into laughter instead.

"So the person making trouble back at the ruin entrance was really you!"

"Very good, you're very good!"

"You have successfully angered me!"

"Next, I will personally deal with you!"

The moment his voice fell, the blue lightning radiance around his body flourished with a roar, and the terrifying coercion swept madly toward Gandalf's location like a breached flood!

However, facing this terrifying coercion that was enough to make any SS-Rank Expert change expression.

Gandalf's face still maintained that unperturbed calmness.

He merely raised his head calmly, gazing at the man in the sky who looked like the descent of the Thunder God, and calmly spat out a sentence.

"If you want to know the whereabouts of the true Divine Artifact, I advise you best not to make a move right now."

Sure enough.

Hearing this, the violent blue thunder around Thor instantly restrained a lot.

He frowned, his azure eyes filled with unconcealed suspicion.

"What do you mean?"

"You already know where the true Divine Artifact is located?"

Gandalf calmly shook his head.

"I do not know."

"To be precise, I have clues regarding the location of the Divine Artifact."

Hearing this, Polina's expression on the side drastically changed.

She rushed to Gandalf's side in a single stride and questioned him in a lowered voice.

"Gandalf! Are you crazy?!"

"Do you want to tell that secret out?!"

Zhou Huai indeed thought this way.

Just a short while ago, he suddenly figured out one point.

Since all the keys had to be gathered to obtain the next step of the clues.

Then, the key in Park In-maeng's hand was something that had to be obtained.

However, wanting to snatch that key from his hands meant that Thor, standing before him like a stumbling block, was also a hurdle that had to be crossed.

Honestly speaking, he still had some confidence in dealing with Takatsukasa Arashi and Park In-maeng.

But wanting to defeat this top prodigy from the Freedom Federation without using his final trump card was nearly impossible.

Taking ten thousand steps back, even if he truly played all his cards and fought the opponent to mutual destruction, barely obtaining the keys in their hands in the end...

Whether what awaited him afterward was the true Divine Artifact or an even more terrifying crisis was completely unknown.

After all, the current clues regarding the keys were merely speculations.

In case he labored for half a day only to end up doing all the work for someone else's benefit, that would really be a joke.

Since that was the case, why not share this secret out.

At the same time, spread the risks evenly.

To avoid ending up as the sucker who put in all the effort without getting any appreciation.

Hearing Gandalf's words, Thor indeed became interested.

He slowly descended from the air and stood steadily upon that patch of dilapidated ice surface.

With his arms crossed over his chest, he scrutinized Gandalf with a condescending posture, his tone filled with threat.

"I hope you can get to the point within three sentences."

"Right now, my patience is very limited."

Zhou Huai stopped chattering as well.

He calmly raised his hand and, amidst the astonished gazes of those two people, took out the huge bronze key that had always been hidden beneath his magic robe.

The moment that bronze key filled with a mysterious and ancient aura was taken out by Gandalf.

Polina's complexion turned completely ugly.

Thor's eyes narrowed slightly.

"This is the clue you spoke of?"

"You couldn't possibly have deliberately found some scrap metal to fool me just to buy time, could you?"

Zhou Huai shrugged noncommittally.

"This key is indeed a clue."

"Not only me, that Park In-maeng from Kimchi Country also has one on him."

"If you don't believe it, you can ask him."

Hearing this, Thor slowly turned his head and cast that oppressive gaze toward Park In-maeng, who was still recovering his state on the island.

Seeing this, Park In-maeng's complexion changed again and again.

In the end, under Thor's powerful coercion, he nodded unhappily.

From his Storage Ring, he fished out an identical bronze key.

Seeing this scene, Thor finally believed Gandalf's words by a few points.

He cast his gaze toward Gandalf once more and asked in a flat tone.

"Then what use does this bronze key have?"

Gandalf shook the bronze key in his hand, his tone flat.

"To be honest, I am also unclear about the specific function of this key."

Thor's brows knitted even deeper, and the blue electric serpents around his body let out a burst of zila cracking sounds, evidently having exhausted his patience. (Wait: zila with quotes)

"You are playing with me?"

"No."

Gandalf shook his head, his face still maintaining that unperturbed appearance.

"Because the quantity of keys we have currently obtained is still not enough."

"If you want to know the true secret, you need to find all the remaining keys in the ruins."

A trace of contemplation flashed through Thor's eyes.

He was no fool and could naturally hear the logic within Gandalf's words.

"You mean, as long as all the keys are gathered, we can know the correct location of the Pendulum of Life?"

"There is this possibility."

Gandalf's reply was ambiguous.

"But this is merely my speculation."

Thor nodded understandingly.

His azure eyes fell back upon the bronze key in Gandalf's hand, his gaze turning fervent and greedy.

He slowly extended a hand and spoke domineeringly in a commanding tone.

"Since that is the case, then I will give you a choice."

"Offer up the key in your hand."

"I can consider letting you leave alive."

Facing this naked threat.

Gandalf calmly shook his head instead, even a trace of playful smile appearing on his face.

"No."

"To be precise, it should be me giving you two choices."

Thor's movement abruptly stagnated, and an incredulous shock surfaced on his handsome face.

He even suspected whether he had heard wrong.

This mage from Great Xia Nation actually dared to turn around and negotiate terms with him?

Was he courting death?

However, Gandalf's next words forcefully choked back his violent rage.

"First, we cooperate."

Gandalf extended a single finger.

"We find all the keys together, and after finding the true Divine Artifact, we then rely on our respective abilities to decide the victory and defeat."

Immediately following that, he extended a second finger.

"Second, you refuse to cooperate with me."

"I will enter deep beneath the sea right now with this key."

"By then, none of us will even think about getting the Divine Artifact."

He paused for a moment, his deep eyes gazing calmly at Thor.

The voice was not loud, yet it was filled with absolute confidence.

"Trust me, although I am not your match, wanting to kill me is not an easy task for you either."

"Once I enter deep beneath the sea, even you will not be able to do anything to me."