A Formidable Beastmaster Special Type Talent!

Witnessing this scene, the Salt Rock Shelter Leader hastened his chase after them. 

Zuriel looked behind him, and his expression fell as he observed as he summoned another magical beast—a large white crane with a purple crown of feathers on its head. 

As the crane flew into the sky, the Salt Rock Shelter Leader immediately grabbed onto one of its legs and twisted his body midair, manoeuvring with the crane to land on its back. 

Then, they sped towards them at breakneck speed. 

"Amazing!" Poison Philip gasped under his breath, observing the school of fish on the sea's surface surrounding their ship and guiding it forward. But his expression swiftly fell, seeing as the Salt Rock Shelter closed the distance between them from the air. 

Poison Philip asked, "Captain, what do we do?" He was unknowingly awaiting Zuriel's response about how they would escape their current dilemma. He would never have done this previously, but it was only possible after witnessing Zuriel manoeuvring and smoothly escaping the Salt Rock Shelter Leader. 

Zuriel gritted his teeth as frustration surged within him. He didn't know that the Salt Rock Shelter leader possessed a tamed magical beast that could fly because there was little focus on him in the novel.

Regardless, Zuriel didn't feel defeated; he still had a plan. Rather than responding, he shifted his focus to Stormshell. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Although Stormshell had now been inflicted with madness, it wasn't as powerful, and it affected only those beasts who were neither his allies nor his enemies. So Zuriel knew Stormshell understood his words.

Stormshell nodded firmly.

Without hesitation, Zuriel activated his Beastmaster Talent.

Stormshell instantly transformed into countless specks of light that flowed into him.

Zuriel felt a sudden surge of power as his body transformed. On his back and abdomen, a streamlined shell adorned with glowing wave-like patterns and blue lightning bolt designs emerged. A blue, armour-like attire formed over his body, covering him from his legs to his neck and exposing only his head. A small blue jewel appeared at the centre of his forehead.

There are two main types of talents: Strengthening Type Talents and Special Type Talents. For example, those with Water Strengthening Type Talent work best with beasts that have water-related abilities because, in battle, the Beastmaster's talent enhances the beast's water-related skills. Similarly, those with Wood-Strengthening Talent enhance the abilities of beasts with nature-related skills.

On the other hand, Special Type Talents are more complex and bizarre. For instance, Zuriel's Beastmaster Talent, 'Transfer,' allows him to merge with his beast and access all its traits. 

Another Special Talent Zuriel read about in the novel was 'Share,' a weaker version of his own talent. It allowed Beastmasters to temporarily gain one of their beasts' skills, giving them an edge in battle.

This was one of the main reasons Zuriel constantly survived against the main character and could hold his own against other Beastmasters early in the novel. He could have grown even stronger if he had let go of his obsession with revenge against the main character—but now, things had changed. The main character was the one doing the chasing.

'So powerful,' Poison Philip gasped as he watched Zuriel's shocking transformation with an astounded expression. 

He had heard that Zuriel possessed a special type talent, but this was his first time witnessing it. Due to his transformation, he could feel the chaotic mana radiating from him. He was told Zuriel beast was only at the Bronze rank, but this was obviously above it.

Poison Philip's eyes widened even further as he swallowed hard. The transformed Zuriel was exuding mana pressure far above the Bronze rank, meaning he was likely at the Black Iron rank. However, that also implied that his magical beasts were also at the Black Iron rank. 

Their Captain, the third child of the Head of the Zahara Household, a top-tier clan from Salt Rock Shelter—one of the strongest shelters in the eastern region was a Novice beastmaster with a Black Iron rank beast.

However, considering that he had been sent on a mission alone at sea, it made sense that he was strong enough to handle himself.

But since that was the case, had he been pretending during his battle with Malik? 

Zuriel had also been visiting Malik daily in the cell while learning how to handle the ship, seemingly unconcerned about the Salt Rock Shelter Leader's ship pursuing them.

Could the Captain have been plotting this from the very beginning?

Poison Philip's perception of Zuriel shifted yet again. He now saw him as a cunning strategist. Despite this, Philip felt a sense of relief as he pieced everything together. After all, this meant the Captain had a plan to get them out of their current predicament.

Zuriel sensed that Stormshell had entered a hibernation state in this merged form. He could still feel their connection, but he was in complete control. Indeed, it was a formidable special type talent!

Without hesitation, Zuriel activated one of Stormshell's skills, Thunder Wave Barrier. Instantly, bluish lightning gathered around his body and exploded outward in a brilliant spark, quickly enveloping the entire ship.

BOOOMMM!! BOOOMMM!!

Due to the effects of the Thunder wave barrier, which repels anything it touches and absorbs 420% of the power from enemy attacks before releasing a devastating area-of-effect strike within a 15-meter radius once the aquatic beasts who were in a frenzy struck the barrier, they were electrocuted until they burst into a pile of charred meat

Countless fish and other aquatic magical beasts exploded, scattering blood, bones, and chunks of meat that bathed the surroundings in blood.

At this moment, Zuriel's ship finally reached the jagged rock spires. When the Thunder Wave Barrier slammed into the rocks, it registered the impact as an attack, triggering the same devastating effects.

BOOMM!! BOOMM!!

Due to the Death Flag Banner continuously attracting magical beasts toward the ship, creatures maddened to the point where they couldn't sense the dangers to their lives; the ship left behind a bloody trail of flesh and shattered rocks as it sailed forward. 

The stun effect greatly weakened the beasts' resistance to electric-based attacks. Furthermore, with the power of the Thunder Wave Barrier additional effect that amplified by 40% every five seconds, reaching its full potential after twelve seconds, every magical beast ranked Black Iron and above was relentlessly injured, ultimately succumbing to their injuries or becoming too wounded to continue pursuing the ship, which pressed forward through the raging sea.

In the distance, the giant fish that the Salt Rock Shelter Leader had been riding kept its distance from the ship. Its body was scorched with burn marks, though none seemed severe enough to hinder it. However, its large eyes remained fixed on the lightning-shrouded ship with a wary gaze as though it was too afraid to draw any closer.

Even the Salt Rock Shelter Leader, mounted on his purple-crowned crane and advancing toward the ship, halted in midair, keeping his distance. He glanced at his giant fish in the distance. Although the electrical discharge wasn't powerful enough to injure it, it was strong enough to intimidate the creature.

He refocused on the ship, its 15-meter dome of blue lightning continuously releasing attacks against the frenzied aquatic beasts, and the jagged rocks surrounding them. 

A deep frown formed on his face. 

His heart raced with uncertainty as he knew that Zuriel had contracted the rare beast, a Thunder Reef Tortoise, but even with that, he was sure it didn't possess a skill similar to this or of such magnitude. If it did, he would have secured the beast for his adopted son instead of allowing the Zahara Household to claim it.

Still, doubt clouded the Salt Rock Shelter Leader's mind. From his vantage point, he could see that Zuriel had activated his Beastmaster Talent, merging with his beast to gain its traits. 

The mana flow from the skill clearly indicated that it was Zuriel who had cast this formidable attack in his transformed state.

'No, this is likely due to a powerful Beastmaster aboard the ship,' the Salt Rock Shelter Leader concluded, shaking the previous thought from his mind and swiftly devising a more believable explanation.

Yes, it was possible! After all, the Head of the Zahara Household wouldn't dare send his third child with their clan's sacred magic tool without protection. 

If that was the case, it meant that everything was being orchestrated by the formidable expert onboard the ship, likely sending them a warning.

Regardless, he wanted to charge forward but quickly suspected this could also be a trap to lure them in before unleashing an even more powerful attack. Zuriel was probably attempting to draw his attention away from the trap.

He also suspected that the reason his adopted son had been able to communicate so easily might be because this formidable Beastmaster had allowed it, using the opportunity to set up a finishing blow as part of his plan.

This made him hesitate.