Chapter 040: Red Earth

As the god who rules the sea, Poseidon's blood inherently holds an irresistible allure for all life within the ocean.

Any creature of the sea that manages to devour a single drop of Poseidon's divine blood will undergo earth-shaking changes, even evolving to a terrifying degree.

Thus, the residents of Fish-Man Island harbored such a desire.

Because their bodies told them that by devouring the divine blood, they could evolve into higher-level beings.

Divine beings.

With a bit of luck, they might even evolve into demigod-level creatures.

Unfortunately, the residents of Fish-Man Island were trapped within the island by a divine barrier and had no way to come out and seize the divine blood.

In a moment of carelessness, Poseidon was struck by Athena's sneak attack and severely wounded.

He roared in fury, his golden divine blood instantly flowing back into his body. "Athena, I will kill you!"

But Wang Bo could not let Poseidon do that.

He poured a massive amount of magic into the trident, driving its divine power to quell the raging sea time and again.

Poseidon's power came not only from his trident, but it was undeniable that the trident's might was formidable, capable of doubling his strength.

Now, Wang Bo wielded the trident, repeatedly weakening the sea's fury.

Preventing Poseidon from fully unleashing his power.

Moreover, the severe injury he had just suffered had halved his strength. At this moment, Poseidon finally came to his senses, realizing he was at a decisive disadvantage.

Athena naturally would not let this opportunity slip, and together with Wang Bo, they attacked Poseidon from both sides.

Though it was their first time cooperating, they worked in close coordination.

Wang Bo controlled the trident, calming the sea's turmoil and restraining Poseidon.

Meanwhile, Athena launched a storm of attacks against Poseidon.

Poseidon was beaten back step by step. Several times he tried to rally, but could not break free from the predicament. At this point, he finally understood what it meant for the tide to turn against him.

Boom!

Poseidon swung his trident, deflecting Athena's spear, but was blasted thousands of meters away by the immense divine force. However, he did not charge forward again; instead, he retreated swiftly.

"Don't be smug, my dear niece."

His voice came from afar. "You have won this time, but our battle is not over. I will cede Fish-Man Island to you for now, but one day, I will reclaim it."

Athena did not pursue. She gazed at the spot where Poseidon had vanished, then withdrew her gaze, her eyes full of triumph.

Wang Bo put away the trident and came to Athena's side.

Athena smiled and said, "That trident just now—did you get it from another world too?"

"Sort of," Wang Bo nodded. In truth, he had obtained the trident through a lottery draw. But of course, he would not elaborate on that to Athena.

Fortunately, Athena did not press further. She understood the principle of not speaking too deeply with those of shallow acquaintance.

Though they had fought together against Poseidon and grown closer, they were not yet at the point of sharing confidences.

"Let's go back," Athena said.

Wang Bo nodded, and so the man and the goddess returned to Fish-Man Island.

Neptune immediately came to greet them, humbly leading Wang Bo and Athena to the palace. Having witnessed the battle, they had fully realized the power of the gods.

Now they held Athena in awe to the very core of their beings.

After entering the palace, Athena proposed to Neptune that she establish her faith on Fish-Man Island and have her statue erected as soon as possible. In exchange, she would protect the island.

Neptune dared not object to this. He nodded repeatedly and said, "I will summon the finest sculptors to cast a statue for you. Rest assured, Lady Athena, we will surely satisfy you."

Athena nodded in satisfaction.

Fish-Man Island had a population of millions, more than ancient Athens. Having such a territory, Athena was naturally very pleased.

But at that moment, Neptune said cautiously, "Lady Athena, though we live at the bottom of the sea, we yearn for life above the waves. We are willing to worship you, Lady Athena, but would you allow us to live under the true sun?"

Athena did not refuse. "That's easy."

She released her divine power, enveloping the entire Fish-Man Island.

The island trembled, then began to rise slowly at a rate of one meter per second, but gradually accelerated—three meters per second, ten meters per second...

Before long, Fish-Man Island burst out of the sea, fully exposed to the sunlight.

Neptune stared dumbfounded at the sun hanging in the sky.

He had not expected Fish-Man Island to break through the sea so effortlessly.

Though he had witnessed the gods' power earlier, he was still utterly stunned at this moment.

Meanwhile, the residents of Fish-Man Island had gone completely wild.

"The sun! It's the sun!"

"We've left the bottom of the sea!"

Most of Fish-Man Island's residents had never left the island in their lives and had never seen the real sun. Now, suddenly seeing it, they naturally erupted in excitement.

At the same time, Wang Bo noticed something.

After leaving the sea, Fish-Man Island did not arrive in the world of Pirates of the Caribbean but entered the world of One Piece.

He and Athena had ridden the island into the world of One Piece.

Because he did not see Port Royal; instead, he saw the Red Line.

Though Wang Bo had never been to the world of One Piece, he knew of the Red Line, as it was named for its red soil covering.

In the world of Pirates of the Caribbean, the land was either yellow or black.

Red soil was extremely scarce.

But the Red Line was different—the entire continent was covered in red soil. Wang Bo was no fool; he knew where this was.

Not to mention the Red Line's unique shape.

When Wang Bo told Athena about this, her eyes lit up. "So that's it. We've entered another world? Seems interesting."

Upon learning they had entered another world, Athena did not stay long on Fish-Man Island. She soon left to explore this world.

Of course, her goal was still to spread her faith.

After all, most of this world was an untouched, primitive land yet to be claimed by any god.

As for Wang Bo, he declined Athena's invitation and instead returned to the world of Pirates of the Caribbean via the sea, heading back to Port Royal.