On the deck, the figure restrained by the Lightning Shackles was curled up, residual dark water light flickering intermittently around him, like the gills of a dying fish.

The pink mist had long since dispersed in the aftermath of the battle, but a faint sense of erosion still lingered in the sea breeze.

Bai Cheng squatted down, carefully examining the captive.

The person's face was hidden in shadow, their skin a grayish-blue color from long-term exposure to water elements and mist, and hard, coral-like protrusions grew on their limbs and joints. They were clearly a member of some exotic race.

Furthermore, they were very different from the Pisces assassins Bai Cheng and the others had killed previously.

This suggests that the organization encompasses many races, or that they hold different positions within it.

The captive's eyes were tightly shut, their breath weak but carrying a stubborn ferocity.

"Did you set up the array?" Leng Ningxue's voice was cold, and a wisp of frost condensed on her fingertip, hovering above his forehead. "Is the corrosive effect of the pink mist also part of the array?"

The captive let out a rattling chuckle from his throat, offering no reply.

Yu Nian frowned, looking at the mist that hadn't fully dispersed in the distance: "The source of the mist isn't on these islands... the array is just a trigger device. The real 'poison' comes from deeper within. He might just be an executor."

Qingniao folded his Thunder Wings and landed on the edge of the deck: "His energy circulation method is very strange."

As he spoke, a flash of lightning from his fingertip tore the clothing on the captive's shoulder, revealing the skin underneath, where a complex, dark red rune was embedded, pulsing faintly with his breathing.

Zi Yuan's long blade remained unsheathed, as she vigilantly scanned the surrounding sea: "Ask quickly. There won't be just one ambush in this [N O V E L I G H T] sea area."

Bai Cheng nodded and reached out, pressing her hand lightly on the rune.

Her perception seeped in like a thin stream, and the rune suddenly resisted violently, bursting into a cloud of blood mist!

The captive let out a painful roar, his body convulsing violently.

But Bai Cheng did not flinch, and a faint golden light appeared in her eyes.

A few breaths later, the rune had dimmed and shattered.

Bai Cheng withdrew her hand, and the faint golden light in her eyes slowly receded.

She looked toward the depths of the mist and, in a steady tone, shared the intelligence she had gathered with everyone:

"The organization in this person's memory is called 'Abyssal Echo', and he is only one of over a hundred modified assassins in the group.

These assassins have already dispersed and infiltrated various islands and regions throughout the Emerald Sea. Their core mission is to secretly collect the 'Emotional Energy' contained within the island creatures to feed something at the core of the mist source ahead."

She paused briefly, then continued: "Although the memory fragments were encrypted, some remain. I saw the hiding place of their leader, located in a hidden stronghold near the mist source core ahead."

Qingniao lifted the unconscious captive, lightning flashing faintly at his fingertips: "A hundred King-level assassins operating separately, yet they only sent one person to cooperate with the array to ambush the train... it seems they don't want to alert the enemy."

Leng Ningxue's fingertip condensed frost: "But since we've found the leader's location, we might as well go straight for the core. The enemy probably wouldn't expect us to track them in reverse."

Zi Yuan sheathed her long blade, but the fighting spirit in her eyes was undiminished: "Although there are many King-level assassins, they are scattered. If we move together and strike the stronghold directly, we can disrupt their rhythm."

Bai Cheng nodded: "That is precisely my intention. The enemy uses arrays and mist erosion to weaken fighting strength, clearly not favoring direct confrontation.

Since all of us are King-level, and we have the train as a mobile base, instead of passively dealing with scattered ambushes, we should take the initiative and eliminate the command core."

She turned and walked toward the control panel. The train slowly changed direction, heading toward the coordinates indicated in the memory fragments.

"The mist source core is both the place where energy converges and their greatest weakness."

Yu Nian looked at the increasingly dense pink mist outside the window and added softly,

"The collection of Emotional Energy requires a stable environment. The place where the leader is stationed must be the most heavily fortified with arrays and defenses—but it is also the place they cannot easily evacuate."

Qingniao spread his wings and hovered in front of the train, lightning tearing through the mist, ready to act at any moment.

The train sped through the mist like a silver arrow, rushing toward the hidden stronghold where the enemy leader was located.

Shadows beneath the sea surface seemed to sense the threat and began to squirm restlessly. And in the deeper reaches, a pair of cold, massive eyes slowly opened.

At the same time, the leader hidden in the darkness had already learned of the intrusion of these "outsiders" through the destruction of Pisces.

But to ensure his plan proceeded smoothly, he did not act directly, choosing instead to cleverly spread the news.

Hidden in the shadows deep within the dense mist, the leader used a wisp of dark red energy swirling around his fingertip to quietly inject the information—"Foreign invaders with a bizarre train are rampaging through the Emerald Sea, sequentially eliminating strongholds"—into the spreading pink mist.

He sneered: "A bunch of outsiders trying to uphold justice? Let them go meet the Enforcement Officers of this region first!"

The news quickly spread through the peripheral islands of the Emerald Sea along with the mist and ocean currents.

The races that had been secretly oppressed by the Abyssal Echo organization, or had witnessed the tragedy of Chao Yin Island—such as the Phosphor Clan residing in coral reefs, the Wave-Riding Lan People skilled in controlling waves, and the Stone Skin Tribe living in rock caves.

When they learned that outsiders dared to openly challenge the Constellation Forces, they were first stunned, then showed unconcealed panic.

"They... they killed people from Pisces? And broke into the mist array zone?"

"Are they crazy! Those constellation assassins are spread throughout the sea. If they're angered, our entire island will suffer!"

"What do these outsiders want? The balance of the Emerald Sea has been broken..."

Whispers and fear spread among the islands.

Although most races suffered from the Abyssal Echo organization's secret exploitation, they feared their retaliation more, and were highly wary of the unknown outsiders.

They huddled within their territories, reinforcing defenses and secretly observing the sea, both hoping someone could end the oppression and deeply fearing being dragged into a greater storm.

Only on Elder Moto's Island, where the Chao Yin Island refugees resided, was the atmosphere completely different.

Elder Moto stood by the cliff edge, looking toward the southeast where the mist was churning. There was no panic in his aged eyes, but rather a hint of complex understanding.

He should have guessed it long ago—ever since the Silver Train departed and Chao Yin Island was liberated, he knew these people wouldn't stop.

In their eyes, there was none of the usual timidity and calculation common among the races of the Emerald Sea, only a sharpness capable of severing shackles.

The Elder slowly stroked the inherited Bone Staff in his hand and whispered to the gathered clansmen: "They are heading into the depths of the mist... where the root of the Emerald Sea's pain is hidden."

Although the islanders were still tense, no one panicked. Instead, they silently gathered their meager strength and prayed for the travelers.

They chose to trust the people in the train, just as they had trusted the hands that could sever the darkness before.

Soon, the news that "outsiders had intruded and angered the Abyssal Forces," like an undercurrent before a tsunami, spread toward the nominal Order Maintainers in this sea region.

A Enforcement City located in the "Coral Ridge" area in the center of the Emerald Sea.