To all humans and animals alike, the Firefly Coast seemed beyond saving.

Only Morr, perhaps, still held a sliver of hope,

as he watched Qi Ye flee in disgrace while the Sacred Lake's elite animal guards were forced into a defensive position.

The Tidal God grew even more smug. He split off an Avatar and arrived at the deep blue water prison where Sissel was confined.

As he extended a finger toward Sissel,

the water prison flared with light, and Sissel's agonizing roars echoed from within.

Sissel's body began to undergo an irreversible aberration.

His Forest People traits were rapidly replaced by slimy scales, twisted tentacles, and features of deep sea creatures... finally, he transformed completely into a hollow-eyed monster radiating a thick deep sea aura.

"No!" Fluorescent Spot's scream came from the distance.

Once Sissel turned into a Deep Sea Monster and transferred control of the dungeon to the Tidal God, the Firefly Coast Instance would fall under the control of the Deep Sea God's forces.

Albert lowered his head in despair.

The Tidal God's strength was far greater than that of the God of Pursuit.

He hadn't expected that even the Lord of Spirits would be unable to deal with him.

"Now, I command you: transfer the control of the Firefly Coast dungeon to me!"

The Tidal God reached out and pressed his hand against Sissel's forehead,

however—

one second passed, then two.

There was no reaction.

The Tidal God's smugness froze on his face, replaced by shock and disbelief: "What's happening? The Instance Guardian has clearly finished the transformation!"

The Tidal God's mind churned like stormy waves as an unbelievable possibility suddenly occurred to him.

That was, the actual Guardian of the Firefly Coast was not the Sissel standing before him at all.

Meanwhile, near the retreating Dogfish Squad, Fluorescent Spot sensed that Qi Ye's aura was extremely weak and was so anxious it was about to cry.

It cried out: "Lord, I will give you my Mental Energy!"

"Little insect, don't be in such a hurry."

As if out of curiosity, the Necromancer God Incarnation finally couldn't help but speak up,

"Pouring what little Mental Energy you have left into that bird won't do much good; it won't change the course of the battle.

"If you truly want to save the Firefly Coast, why not look over there—"

The Necromancer God Incarnation raised a nearly transparent finger and pointed to the edge of the battlefield,

where a newly awakened Forest People member was limping, walking silently among the corpses.

His entire body was shrouded in a heavy deep sea aura and necromantic aura.

"The Authority he carries is very interesting. If you use your Skill on him, it might produce unexpected changes."

Fluorescent Spot looked in the direction the Necromancer God pointed. Its eyes flickered with light, its expression showing clear hesitation and resistance.

After questioning several captains of the Atonement Knights, it already knew who this fellow was.

In the history of the Firefly Coast's schism, it was this very Forest People member who, wielding the Half-body Scythe, had ruthlessly slain their leader, the Firefly Demon Queen.

And now, this Necromancer God wanted it to pour its precious energy into the murderer of their Demon Queen?

Fluorescent Spot was instinctively distrustful.

At this moment, although Qi Ye was being carried away at high speed by the Dogfish Squad and his head throbbed painfully, he also noticed the changes in the Atonement Knight below.

Something was wrong...

The state of that Forest People member was not a simple case of erosion or corruption.

Upon seeing the other party move, Qi Ye suddenly had an intuition that perhaps he was the key to breaking the deadlock.

He immediately sent a mental message to Fluorescent Spot: "Fluorescent Spot, use your energy infusion to transmit Mental Energy to the Atonement Knight!"

The command was very direct and easy to understand.

Fluorescent Spot's loyalty to Qi Ye overrode its hostility. No longer hesitating, it turned into a streak of faint light under the protection of the necromantic army and flew toward the lonely, walking Atonement Knight.

The Atonement Knight seemed to sense something, and his movements paused slightly.

He did not attack or evade, but simply watched the tiny glowing insect with eye sockets filled with turbid deep sea blue and necromantic gray.

The incredibly cold gaze made Fluorescent Spot subconsciously shudder,

for the other was the enemy who had slain the Firefly Demon Queen, and how could it, a mere promoted Demon Insect Guard, be a match for him?

However, the Atonement Knight did not raise his scythe to attack Fluorescent Spot; he simply remained standing still, like a statue.

Fluorescent Spot hovered before him and, after a brief hesitation, lifted its soft abdomen to expose its light-emitting organ.

A soft and pure glow of Mental Energy radiated from the organ, shining upon the Atonement Knight.

The pure glow of Mental Energy was amplified tenfold as it left Fluorescent Spot's body and injected into the Atonement Knight's frame, which was saturated with deep sea and necromantic auras.

In an instant, the light in the Atonement Knight's eyes flickered, and the emerald-green pupil fires, previously masked by the deep sea aura, flared up.

A certain core that had been dormant within his body began to slowly awaken upon receiving the Mental Energy.

"Hum..."

A low metallic vibration echoed from his armor.

He slowly raised his hands, and his pupil fires instantly purged the erosion of the necromantic and deep sea auras.

His gait was no longer a limp; it suddenly became steady and precise, with every step covering a distance that seemed measured by a ruler.

Without saying another word,

the Atonement Knight suddenly accelerated, knocking Fluorescent Spot aside as he ran toward the main battlefield where the Tidal God and the elite animal guards were.

Following that, an invisible will centered on him began to spread across the entire Firefly Coast!

"What!" The Tidal God, who was already fuming with rage over his inability to gain control of the dungeon, immediately felt the impact of this will.

His control over this area was rapidly slipping away.

He immediately noticed the Atonement Knight approaching him and realized in the next moment that the other was the true Instance Guardian, the actual controller of the Firefly Coast Instance!

At the same time, there was another piece of information conveyed to the Tidal God upon seeing him.

That was, the opponent was a genuine Deep Sea Monster Lord.

"No, how could the true Guardian of the Firefly Coast be a Forest People member who had long since fallen into becoming a Deep Sea Monster?"

The Tidal God felt as if his head were about to explode.

There wasn't much time for the Tidal God to think; the opponent had directly locked onto his position.

He instinctively channeled his vast Divine Power, transforming it into deep blue chains.

There were five of these chains in total, stabbing out from the seawater and crashing down toward the Atonement Knight with a roar.

"Watch out!"

Morr's warning shout came from nearby.

Deep Sea Chains were the second ability of the Tidal God's Authority. Once activated, they could directly inject his deep sea aura—which possessed strong corrosive and assimilative properties—into the target's body while using the chains to manipulate the target's physical form.

Even Morr, facing this move without the aid of the Azure Flame Domain, would be hit by the chains and suffer their erosion.

However, facing an attack powerful enough to easily wound or even insta-kill an ordinary Ninth-Tier Expert, the Atonement Knight did not dodge; the pupil fires in his eyes flickered steadily.