The corrupted whale, which had just been spewing jets of seawater, suddenly went still. The ocean returned to an eerie calm, so quiet it was almost frightening. Then, patches of sea salt began seeping from the whale’s surface. From within these salty deposits, People of Salt emerged, wielding shovels and pickaxes, and began savagely dismantling the whale’s flesh. Suna witnessed the scene through her telescope… But this wasn’t limited to the surface of the corrupted whale. Inside its body, the closer it was to the centre, or rather, to Yang Yi, the more refined and intelligent the Salt People became. Their weapons and gear were intricate, their actions coordinated. By the time one reached the air chamber, it had become a perfectly ordered knightly phalanx. They awaited only a single command from Yang Yi, ready to transform into machines of war, annihilating all in their path. No speeches, no pre-battle ritual was needed. Yang Yi simply raised his long, withered finger and pointed.  Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on NovᴇlFir(e).nᴇt Immediately, the knights mounted their salt steeds, ignored gravity, and charged along the nearly vertical walls of blood and flesh, galloping straight towards the central white flesh orb. Under the thunder of hooves, the surrounding flesh shriveled and cracked, like death itself had descended. In no time, the Salt Knights reached the orb. Weightless, some even ran upside-down across the chamber ceiling as if on solid ground. The giant gasped in horror, he dared not take this lightly, as he had never seen Salt Knights like these. Judging by their armour styles and engraved totems, he recognised them: they were the elite knights of that ancient kingdom buried under salt. 120 in total, all once peerless warriors whose names had long been lost to history. But Yang Yi remembered them. His finger still hadn’t lowered. Only when the knights had reached their formation did he finally speak, giving his first command: "Pierce it, Starchaser Knights!" "By the King’s will!” The knights leapt, thrusting their massive, gleaming lances at the white flesh orb in unison. But the Child of Bounty would not go down so easily. The previous time, he had only just finished merging with the corrupted whale to ascend as the Child of Bounty and was immediately ambushed by the Salt King and his army, thrown into disarray. However, he was no longer inexperienced. After such a long integration, while his body remained bound, his mind had never stopped evolving. He had simulated the battle with the Salt King countless times and had thoroughly mastered the corrupted whale’s capabilities. At that moment, he was the whale, endowed with virtually infinite vitality and lifespan! The Fruit of Bounty suddenly contracted, and at the same time, a surge of unknown liquid was pumped back into the corrupted whale’s flesh. Like parched soil receiving rain, the withered tissue came back to life. From the flesh, countless fleshy buds sprouted, rapidly matured, and birthed naked human figures, all identical in face to the giant. As soon as they appeared, these figures launched assaults on the surrounding knights. Within the white orb, seven or eight infant-like limbs emerged, slapping away more than a dozen attacking knights. But the Salt Knights could not die. The soft, pale limbs that struck them withered instantly, then rapidly regenerated. They rose again from crumbling salt, ready to resume the attack, only to be swarmed and blocked by the wave of naked fleshborn warriors. "Victory by numbers." That was the giant’s answer to the Salt King. The corrupted whale's vitality was limitless. It could spawn endless suicide warriors to halt the knights’ advance. If the fight dragged on, he would win. In terms of mass and longevity, the corrupted whale could not be defeated. Just as the giant had anticipated, the endless tide of flesh-born creatures he summoned kept the 120 Salt Knights locked in battle, forcing a stalemate on the battlefield. If Yang Yi did nothing, the effect of Refuse to Die would eventually expire, and he would die, defeated… Several Salt Attendants clad in royal guard armour rushed to Yang Yi’s side, carrying the lost Penitent’s Armor. It had been buried in the salt and hard to retrieve, so having the salt itself delivered it had been the smart move. Yang Yi stored it in his ring, as forgetting it would be a huge loss. He had been keeping careful track of how much time remained for Refuse to Die: 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Slaying the corrupted whale would take only a few seconds, so time was more than sufficient. Yang Yi was in a strange state. His mind was filled with memories that shouldn’t be his, and he felt absolute confidence in his own strength. A king is a king either because of wisdom, power, or both. He didn’t consider himself a wise ruler, so as the Salt King, his personal combat power had grown to an extreme. There were many ways he could counter the endless tide of flesh-creatures, for example, by summoning more Salt Armies from the legions he was familiar with, to overwhelm with sheer numbers. He had only called the knight order simply because he wanted to see how powerful they really were. He opened his status screen: 【Salt King: Crowned as King. All stats +4 except Spirit. Grants multiple abilities, including Minor Authority of Salt.】 【Authority of Salt (Minor): Allows the manipulation of salt and the transformation of touched living beings into salt.】 【Body of Salt: Body is composed of salt, constantly shedding it. Constitution becomes infinite. Physical damage is nearly ineffective. Rapid regeneration.】 【Legion of Salt: Can summon Saltfolk.】 The stats were overwhelming. But Yang Yi knew it was just a temporary state, like a trial version. Once the Salt Wedge was removed, all these powers would vanish. He took a screenshot of the stats and saved them, then prepared to finish off the corrupted whale. Perhaps it was due to the lingering memories from the Salt King, but Yang Yi’s personality had become more aloof and prideful. Were it not for his strong will, he might have already been consumed by those memories. Back on the battlefield, flesh creatures continued pouring forth, but their forms were beginning to distort, as if the mould was wearing out, losing its precision. At first it was small errors, too many or too few fingers and toes. Then an extra arm, a missing leg, dislocated joints, elongated necks. Soon, every fleshborn began to look different. The mutations and deformities were worsening. The more the giant produced, the farther the creatures strayed from the original template, himself. Eventually, they no longer resembled humans at all and degenerated into nothing more than lumps of meat. And the giant himself was not spared. His once-massive head had melted, transforming into a small tumour, parasitically embedded in the white flesh orb. Thank you for reading! We hope you’re enjoying the story at: i novel translation(dot)com :) There’s now a , so feel free to check it out! You can read up to 12 chapters in advance!! :D Please give the novel a rating and a review on NovelHub (( novel updates(dot)com )). It will help the website and also help people find this novel!