stonecrandall Chapter 102: Squad 1 arrives and confronts the Kraken head-on.
Chapter 102: Squad 1 arrives and confronts the Kraken head-on.
The sky over the Zhoushan section was half-swallowed by black fog.
Liu Guodong stood in the command post, watching the ever-expanding red area on the map. He had already extinguished his cigarette three times without even noticing.
"The gap has widened to 23 kilometers."
"The fourth reserve team requests a retreat; the equipment is corroding too quickly."
"The Kraken main body is moving towards Zhoushan Island, and the estimated contact time is—"
A voice suddenly cut through the communications channel, crisp and clear: "Attention all units in the Zhoushan section, the first squad has arrived over the combat zone and is about to enter the operational area. All ground troops, withdraw to the safety line. Repeat, withdraw to the safety line."
Liu Guodong looked up at the window.
Three heavy transport helicopters cut in from the western horizon at speeds far exceeding what one would expect from transport aircraft. The hatches sprang open at an altitude of 500 meters, and six figures filed out, free-falling.
Zhao Leiguang was the first to land. With his two shields crossed in front of him, he crashed into the rocky beach outside Zhoushan like a cannonball, sending up a spray of pebbles and waves tens of meters high. The wall of earth opened up around his landing point, blocking all the flying debris.
Following closely behind were Xiao Qianyu and Shen Xinglin, one on the left and one on the right, their gun tips pointing downwards, using the momentum of their descent to directly plunge into the ground to slow down.
Su Yunqing was supported by Wen Yue's waist as she landed, the therapist's toes touching the ground as lightly as a cat's.
Finally, there's Lin Chuxue.
She didn't rush to land.
A crimson robe unfurled high in the sky, and a phantom phoenix spread its wings behind her, lifting her three hundred meters above the ground. From the ground, it looked like a blazing sun suspended in the sky.
"Xiaoxue, you go first."
"receive."
Lin Chuxue raised her right hand, her five fingers spread open.
There was no chanting, no gathering of energy, and not even any superfluous movements.
Crimson magic surged from her body, amplified by [Starfire Phoenix Cry], transforming into countless golden-red meteors that rained down on the sea where Kraken was located.
One. Ten. One hundred.
Fireballs and meteors.
Each meteor was wrapped in golden flames of "undying karmic fire," leaving long trails as dense as a torrential rain.
The first wave of meteors fell into the sea.
The seawater didn't evaporate—it boiled directly.
Within five seconds, the sea area within a three-kilometer radius turned into a pot of boiling water, with columns of steam shooting into the sky, tearing a huge gap in the black mist that shrouded the battlefield.
Kraken's tentacles were scorched by karmic fire, and the eyeballs on those basin-sized suction cups spun wildly, emitting shrieks that did not belong to this world.
"Effective! Lin Chuxue's attack was effective against it!" The report from the frontline observation post was transmitted back to the command post.
Liu Guodong grabbed the communicator: "What happened? All the energy attacks were absorbed—"
Lin Chuxue's fiery rain did not stop.
When at 1 HP, Nirvana Shield is permanently activated, reducing mana consumption by 99%.
For her, this level of output is as natural as breathing, requiring no cost whatsoever.
Kraken was pushed to the limit.
The eight tentacles contracted simultaneously, curling the main body into a ball, and the mouth filled with even thicker abyssal ink, preparing for a large-scale spray.
Just then, Lu Yan walked to the rocks by the sea.
He stood at the highest point of the rocky beach, holding up the plate of nothingness in his right hand.
The spiral patterns on the surface of the stone disc began to flow, and the ancient seal script characters "Yu Xu" shone with a faint jade-colored luster.
Dragon vein resonance.
A very subtle tremor came from the ground beneath his feet. It wasn't an earthquake, but more like some sleeping behemoth turning over. The earth energy of the Chinese dragon vein, extending from the Kunlun Mountains, converged on this land beneath his feet along the veins deep within the earth's crust.
A blue light rose from the ground, enveloping Lu Yan entirely.
The abyssal ink spewed from the Kraken surged forth, overwhelming everything, the black mist touching the edge of that layer of blue light—
It has dissipated.
Like snowflakes falling on a scorching hot iron plate, without even a sound.
Invulnerable to all laws.
Zhao Leiguang, watching from behind, couldn't stop grinning: "Holy crap, their defense is higher than mine!"
But Lu Yan noticed a detail.
The azure light surrounding him was fading at a visible rate.
The reserves of dragon vein energy are not unlimited, or rather, its current carrying capacity is not sufficient to maintain this state for a long time.
It has to be quick.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a dark lotus flower swirled deep within his pupils, and the world was completely deconstructed in his vision.
The Kraken's flesh, tentacles, and carapace—physical entities terrifying to ordinary people—became transparent in the "Black Lotus's" vision. His gaze pierced through hundreds of meters of flesh and blood, through the illusion of the Abyss Ink, reaching the deepest part of this behemoth.
There is no heart, no brain, no core organ in any biological sense.
All that was there was was a ball of blue light.
A pure energy body hovered in the very center of the Kraken's body. Countless energy threads extended from this light, descending, passing through the seabed, and plunging into the depths of the ocean.
It is absorbing energy.
The energy of the entire ocean is continuously flowing into Kraken's body through these threads.
This is not a living creature. It is a straw that Poseidon has stuck into the sea, an energy transfer station. As long as the ocean exists, its energy will never run dry.
Lu Yan opened his eyes.
"Its core isn't a physical body," he said quickly into the communication channel. "It's an energy entity, hidden in the very center of its shell, connected to the entire ocean through countless energy channels. As long as this connection remains intact, destroying any number of tentacles won't help; it will regenerate infinitely."
Xiao Qianyu immediately followed up: "Can it be cut off?"
"The energy conduit itself is protected by divine rules, and ordinary attacks cannot touch it."
Lu Yan's fingers traced the edge of the Void Disc. "I'll strip away his divinity."
"How long will it take?"
"Not sure, this is my first time using this skill. I need to get close to its core area, at least within 500 meters to be safe!"
There was a two-second silence on the communication channel.
Zhao Leiguang was the first to speak: "Five hundred meters? Doesn't that mean we'd have to crawl inside those tentacles?"
"right."
"Alright." Zhao Lei pushed his double shields forward, the clanging of metal echoing across the rocky beach. "Same as always, I'll go first!"
"Lin Chuxue, use your ice-attribute skills to freeze the sea surface and clear a path for us."
"Okay, be careful!"
Lin Chuxue raised her hand, her crimson feather robe fluttering in the sea breeze. She was usually most skilled in fire magic, so switching to ice magic wasn't easy for her. However, the immense mana provided by [Starfire Phoenix Cry] was enough for her to forcefully stack low-level frost spells into paths.
"Frost tide, paving the way!"
With a flick of her fingertips, dozens of icy blue runes fell onto the churning sea.
The next moment, the scalding, boiling seawater was forcibly cooled down, the white mist exploded, and an ice bridge nearly ten meters wide stretched wildly from in front of the rocky beach, like a sharp blade, piercing straight into the depths of the black mist where Kraken was located.
As soon as the ice surface formed, the ink of the abyss rushed in from all directions, corroding the ice layer with a hissing sound.
Wen Yue raised her crossbow, and devastating thunderclaps boomed continuously. High-explosive grenades exploded on both sides of the ice bridge, briefly repelling the surging sea beasts and black mist.
"We can only hold out for thirty seconds!" Lin Chuxue shouted through gritted teeth. "Any longer and the ice will melt!"
"That's enough!"
Zhao Leiguang closed his two shields, transforming himself into a heavily armored dump truck, and was the first to rush onto the ice bridge.
The Earth Pulse suit roared beneath my feet, and my heavy footsteps forced the constantly cracking ice surface to become firm again.
Xiao Qianyu followed closely behind, her Red Lotus Goddess Spear pointing diagonally forward. Her figure flickered continuously at the edge of the black mist, and each time she appeared, the tip of the spear would shatter a tentacled tendril that reached out.
Shen Xinglin maneuvered his spear along the flanks, constantly shifting and extending it into a long lance, specifically targeting the sucker-like monsters that attacked from beneath the sea.
Su Yunqing's Gift of Yao Guang hovered in her palm, and layers of soft white shields fell on everyone, resisting the corrosive effects of the remaining black mist.
Lu Yan stood in the center of the group, the ethereal disc in his palm spinning silently.
500 meters.
Only five hundred meters remained between them and the blue divine core.