Chapter 171: Subjugation, Progress, and Seven Days

The Kraken had made up its mind to wait it out with Ciel. No matter how he made a fuss, it wouldn't come out. His gaze fell on the deep sea surface. His Platinum-tier night vision penetrated the sea surface, seeing the Kraken holed up in the trench. He raised an eyebrow. In his past life, he'd heard of a method for taming eagles called "breaking the eagle". Hunters would stay sleepless and without food or drink alongside eagles, engaging in a battle of wills. When the eagle couldn't hold on and surrendered first, it could be trained into an obedient hunting falcon. At this moment, he also planned to "break" the Kraken. Coincidentally, patience was something he never lacked. Let's see who could outlast whom. Then he continued playing his whistle. "Great Funeral March", "Thousand Paper Money", "Crying Seven Gates"... one after another, songs he'd heard in the countryside in his past life were played by him, echoing in the wind. Accompanied by Eugene's crying, even the sea breeze became increasingly desolate. Soon, the sky darkened, then brightened again. Eugene's voice became hoarse from crying. He let it return to rest while he continued playing the whistle. Deep beneath the sea, in the trench, the Kraken listened to the continuous flute sounds and the particularly sensitive magical power within them. It was extremely irritated. It truly hadn't expected him to play for an entire day! What? This young wizard didn't need rest, water, or food?! The Kraken species was naturally sensitive to sounds. There had been records of them actively attacking human ships, often because the ships' noise was too loud for them. After being subjected to his "Great Funeral March" for an entire day, the Kraken's mind was now echoing with that melody, making it feel like a worker forced to listen to renovation noise all day while tired and sleepy. Furious and irritated! But remembering his difficulty, the Kraken still had no intention of surfacing. Bear with it a little longer. It didn't believe he could continue playing after already playing for a day. The Kraken wrapped itself tighter with its tentacles, trying to block out more of the flute's interference. It continued waiting him out. Another day, two days... Until three days later, the flute sound on the sea surface suddenly stopped. The Kraken didn't dare believe it at first but soon felt genuine joy welling up in its heart. It probably never dreamed that one day its happiness wouldn't come from eating a dragon or a humpback whale but from outlasting a young human wizard. But at this moment, the quiet sea was extraordinarily beautiful to the Kraken. Over these days, every nerve was stretched taut. Its eyes were all bloodshot. It was truly reaching its limit in the noise. Fortunately, he gave up first. With its nerves suddenly relaxed, the Kraken's tentacles loosened their grip on itself. Drowsiness immediately struck. The Kraken prepared to have a good sleep in the trench. However, just as its consciousness was becoming hazy, mournful flute sounds accompanied by crying echoed again on the sea surface. Like red-hot steel needles, they stabbed harshly into the Kraken's nerves. The Kraken, which had just been about to fall asleep, suddenly began rolling in pain, its eyes glaring at him who had reappeared on the sea surface. His lips also curved into a smile. "When the enemy is tired, I harass them. Striking when the enemy is most relaxed often has devastating effects on enemy morale. Seems these guerrilla tactics still work." His gaze fixed on the Kraken below. He'd already spent three full days on the Kraken, using this most precious time on it. If the Kraken didn't surrender soon, he couldn't accept it. "Need to add more pressure." Looking at the painfully rolling Kraken, he took out several test tubes. His brief pause in playing was to prepare these vials of Giant Killer. Gurgle. Gurgle. As he threw them with a gesture, several test tubes sank toward the seabed. When water pressure increased to a certain level, the tubes shattered, and the blood containing vigorous vitality spread, tinting the trench where the Kraken resided with a thin bloody colour. Sensing the tempting smell filling the seawater, the Kraken instinctively wanted to inhale the seawater. But the next moment, it realised what was happening. Last time it had suffered greatly this way. There was something in the blood... couldn't absorb it at all! But this was adding another layer of torment for the Kraken. Already tortured by noise, now it had to suppress its instinctual craving for blood while being careful not to inhale blood-contaminated seawater. The key was that he seemed to have no intention of stopping. This torment could seemingly continue forever. The Kraken had never endured such grievance or humiliation in its entire existence. But rather than face an unknown duration of torment, it released a low, rumbling roar, swiftly abandoned the trench, and rose to the surface. BOOM. The sea surface exploded like muffled thunder, with water columns splashing everywhere. The Kraken's massive body, like a small mountain, hovered above the sea surface. Bloodshot eyes glared viciously at him. Simultaneously, a deep voice vibrated through the air... crude, ancient pronunciation, but definitely human language. The Kraken could actually speak! "Human. What exactly do you want?" The Kraken stared intently at him. He felt somewhat surprised, but thinking about it, Acromantulas could speak human language, and Quintapeds probably could too. Among all animals, octopi were quite intelligent. So among magical creatures, the Kraken's IQ shouldn't be low either. Speaking human language wasn't too strange. This made communication convenient. He said quietly, "Nothing much. Just want you to pay the price for attacking me before." The Kraken's tentacles angrily slapped the sea surface, creating huge splashes. "Last time someone summoned me. And you also caused me harm! I lost many tentacles!" He sneered. "The one who summoned you is dead. So do you want to join him? If that's what you want, I can fulfil that wish." Fury blazed in the Kraken's eyes. Just as it was about to rage and show him it wasn't to be trifled with, before it could act, it saw him directly cut his artery and squeeze hard. Instantly spurting a fountain of blood toward the sea area where it was located. He grinned. "Did the toxin feel good last time? I can keep following you, keep making that toxin. Don't worry, spreading my blood within a five-nautical-mile radius shouldn't be a problem." The Kraken seemed to suffer a heavy blow. The fury in its eyes dissipated, replaced by helplessness. "Wait! You're a Hogwarts student, right? Which house are you from? Are you Gryffindor? I'm quite familiar with Godric Gryffindor. His Animagus form was a giant squid... we're distant relatives. Or are you Slytherin? I know Salazar Slytherin too. For the sake of your house founders, young man... don't be so extreme." To this, he grinned. "How unfortunate. I'm from Hufflepuff. You probably don't have any relationship with our house founder, right?" As soon as he finished speaking, the Kraken let out a terrified scream. "Hufflepuff? Damn it! I knew it... any craziness must be you people! After all these years, does Lady Hufflepuff's magical cookbook still require a North Sea Kraken sashimi dish?! I'm old now, my meat isn't as tender as before... can't you spare me?!" This time it was him who was stunned. "Ah? What did you say?" Then the Kraken, with eyes full of terror, recounted the events of the past. It turned out Lady Hufflepuff was not only at the pinnacle of Herbology but also extremely passionate about culinary magic. She was particularly enthusiastic about seeking various rare ingredients everywhere to create her own magical recipes. Unfortunately, when the Kraken was still a young creature, it was targeted by Lady Hufflepuff. Several times it nearly got dragged into the Black Lake to become Lady Hufflepuff's sashimi source. If it hadn't decisively offered several tentacles for Lady Hufflepuff to taste and then escaped while she was still savouring the flavour, it would probably have become a signature dish in Hufflepuff's kitchen by now. Hearing him identify himself now, after a thousand years, that fear still made the Kraken completely lose its courage to resist. It said with some humility, "What exactly do you want me to do? As long as it's not using me for cooking, anything can be discussed." That his house founder was so "notoriously fierce" was something he hadn't expected. He tentatively asked, "What if I asked you to help me fight a powerful wizard at sea at a specific time?" The Kraken paused. That's it? For this, it had been harassed for three whole days? "Young wizard, you should have said so earlier!" The Kraken sounded resentful. "As long as it's not the Hogwarts Big Four. Oh right, they must all be dead by now. Then no other wizard is my match." He tentatively asked, "Do you know the Dark Lord?" The Kraken confusedly waved a tentacle. "Who? What Dark Lord?" He said seriously, "The Dark Lord, also called You-Know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The most terrible dark wizard in the magical world. Powerful magic, ruthless methods. His various ideas are extremely twisted and horrifying." Especially his strange hobby. The Kraken suddenly had an ominous premonition. "What's his strange hobby?" He swallowed. "He particularly likes those slimy, shapeshifting creatures covered in mucus. He skins them and drains their blood. He makes them into pets, imprisoning them on his body as accessories. Takes a bite when hungry..." The Kraken suddenly shuddered. Slimy, shapeshifting, mucus-covered creatures... It looked at its own tentacles. The tentacles began trembling. He continued, "Soon, he's coming to the North Sea. Coming to the North Sea to find something. What do you think he's looking for?" The Kraken's eyes widened. "He's coming to find me?! Evil. Too evil. Even more insane than Lady Hufflepuff back then! At least Lady Hufflepuff upheld sustainable development principles! This Dark Lord is too terrifying. Absolutely cannot let him live in this world." He nodded seriously. "So when the time comes, will you act? I'll create a good opportunity for you." The Kraken also looked completely serious, tentacles constantly swaying. "Act. Must act. Helping you deal with the Dark Lord is helping myself." He showed a satisfied expression. "Good. Then we've reached cooperation?" The Kraken repeatedly waved its tentacles in agreement. At this time, he added, "Before dealing with the Dark Lord. You need to help me with one more favour." The Kraken looked at him confusedly, then heard a request it couldn't quite understand. "Use your full strength. Attack me." The Kraken had never heard such a strange request. But immediately after, his explanation made the Kraken perhaps feel moved for the first time in its life. "To defeat the Dark Lord. I must seize every opportunity to become stronger." After a moment's hesitation, the Kraken said, "Alright. Young wizard, you're truly a warm-hearted, good person. Just don't die. Otherwise I wouldn't know where to find the Dark Lord." At this time, he had landed on a reef. The Kraken's tentacle rose high, then slammed down toward him with a whoosh. He also let out a low roar. On the system panel, Legendary Vitality and Legendary Strength blazed with intense light. Arms raised, he firmly blocked the Kraken's tentacle. But the overwhelming force still made his arms emit cracking sounds. Flesh burst, blood flowed, and pale bone was faintly visible. Intense pain spread from both hands. His internal organs also felt waves of nausea, making him couldn't help but spit out blood. But the next moment, he paid no attention to his body's pain. His gaze fixed intently on the light of Legendary Vitality and Legendary Strength. After this strike, both legendary abilities' progress increased by a trace! Though just a trace, it was hope he had worked years to see without success. At this moment, he cast aside everything, roaring at the Kraken. "Again! Again!" The Kraken's tentacles then struck down in succession. Strike after strike. Thunder exploded on the sea. His entire body was battered and torn, yet under his powerful vitality, he healed quickly. Then, before fully recovering, flesh was torn again under repeated collisions. The reef beneath his feet and the seawater were stained red with blood. But what followed was the system panel showing Legendary Vitality and Legendary Strength... both legendary abilities progressing trace by trace. Until... seven days later.