ASER - Chapter 121
Chapter 121: Two Clans
A'Diao was the fastest among them. Her lightning strike was also the strongest and quickest, landing on the water surface first. Then, one end of her elemental staff touched the water.
It was a point of perfect harmony between hardness and softness.
If frozen in an instant, then erupting in the next, waves would splash, every droplet carrying terrifying electrical sparks... It was the brilliance of a thousand, ten thousand pear trees blossoming, and also the ferocity of an electric flower tree blooming in the darkness.
Unleashing a lightning attack at the peak of the upper-rank Transcendent realm, an electric root, like a wildly growing profusion of purples and reds, used the water surface as a dividing line. Above, it blossomed into a flower tree; below, electric roots spread madly over a three-hundred-meter diameter. After the direct piercing attack, due to the water's conductivity, over a hundred Three-headed Sharks struck by the electric sparks were instantly killed. The conductivity also paralyzed the other sharks, though it wasn't fatal for them.
With their resistance, and not being the primary targets, they were merely paralyzed.
But one second was enough.
What was needed was for them to be paralyzed and unable to move.
Behind her, the collective lightning strikes from the three hundred A-rank cultivators and the remaining ten Forbidden Masters descended...
Magnified and replicated electric flower trees and electric roots.
The white glare of lightning from the sky was mirrored on the water surface. These collective lightning strikes bombarded the eight to nine thousand sharks. Under the combined group attack, this wave comprehensively knocked out two thousand sharks. Adding A'Diao's kills, it was about 2,500 in total.
But there were still over six thousand remaining.
These paralyzed sharks were frantically using the water to discharge the electricity from their bodies. Seizing this moment, A'Diao leaped into the air.
"Up!"
Everyone swiftly followed her, taking flight as a group. Below, the waves surged violently. The surviving sharks had recovered and were once again manipulating the water from behind the group...
Swish, swish, swish!
Tens of thousands of densely packed water arrows pursued them. If they had been a step slower in taking off, the weakest few hundred among them might have been killed.
Land!
After everyone landed on the island, the station garrison reinforced the protective shield...
Bang, bang, bang!
Myriad water arrows densely pierced the protective shield.
After just a few hits, the protective shield shattered with a bang... But the piercing power of these water arrows remained, threatening to directly destroy all defensive structures.
"Second echelon, advance!"
"Shields, form!!"
The Commander of a Thousand gave the order! The remaining six to seven hundred B-rank cultivators all began casting spells and forming seals.
Buzz... Densely packed shields materialized, taking over the defense from the protective shield... Bang, bang, bang!
It held, it really held.
The piercing power of the water arrows was consumed and neutralized, finally shattering into droplets.
Done!
Indeed, after eliminating over two thousand sharks, the maximum damage output of the shark swarm decreased exponentially, making the disparity in group attack damage between the two sides less enormous.
Their pressure also lessened.
A B-rank cultivator said excitedly, "A few more waves, and we'll wipe them out!"
He was thinking of it like a math problem, but others weren't so optimistic. "They won't fall for it again. They're definitely being cautious now."
Their guess was correct.
Next, both sides entered a stalemate. The B-ranks were responsible for defensive output, while those A-rank and above focused on offensive damage. One side occupied the high ground of the island, the other lurked underwater. Back and forth they went, and the once fine island was battered into a devastated state, with a large section of the station's buildings destroyed...
Soon, everyone realized that in terms of killing power, the 10 Forbidden Masters and Commander of Ten Thousand Big Brother were the most formidable. They mostly employed hit-and-run tactics, striking once and then retreating, never getting close enough to the water surface to be entangled and dragged down, sneakily taking out a wave of sharks.
As time went on, the shark kill count accumulated to over a thousand. Occasionally, some A-rank cultivators with strong aptitude, agility, speed, and stealth, who were both daring and meticulous, would follow the Forbidden Masters, darting around and reaping some kills as well.
But this kind of effort couldn't last.
"The consumption is too high, we can't keep up. Their attack frequency is too fast."
"Damn it, we really can't compete with Demonic Spirits in endurance. Their power in the ocean is inexhaustible, their spiritual power consumption for attacks is low, and they recover quickly, unlike us humans. I'm almost out of medicine!"
"I still have some here, take it."
"Keep it up! I estimate that once we get them below five thousand, they won't dare to attack anymore."
"That's assuming the station's energy shield can still be used."
This person probably jinxed it. Just as he finished speaking, the station's energy frequency became unstable. It was estimated that the energy tower's power supply was about to run out. However, because the energy was unstable, its position seemed to have been exposed.
Underwater, the new shark king decisively led the shark swarm to dive deeper.
Most cultivators got a moment's rest, but they felt uneasy. What were these sharks up to?
Boom!! As the island trembled, all the equipment in the military command camp blared red alerts.
"Report!! They are attacking the island's foundation, trying to break through from the bottom and destroy the energy tower."
A'Diao frowned, but her gaze wasn't directed at the island's base where the energy tower was. Instead, she looked into the distance.
As if waiting for something.
At this moment, at the island's base, the new shark king, having indeed suffered the loss of 2,500 subordinates in the previous wave, quickly changed tactics. It led the remaining six thousand-plus sharks to the island's bottom, attempting to undermine the station's foundation. Moreover, it was certain that these human cultivators wouldn't dare to enter the water and fight them head-on, so it ordered the sharks to launch a fierce assault on the island's foundation, especially targeting the location where the energy tower was rooted...
But just after the first wave of powerful attacks, the earth and rocks at the island's base indeed cracked, and the island shook. However, something buried within was also released.
What was it?
A large wave of venom was released. Was it venom?
No, it was blood. A type of highly potent, high-energy blood.
Blood that drove them mad.
At that time, the shark king felt something was amiss. It prided itself on its intelligence and believed it had seen through the truth, forcibly ordering its subordinates to retreat. But it soon realized there was still a gap between itself and a Level 6. A Level 6 had natural ruling authority over Level 5s, but it didn't. Once these sharks were attracted by greater benefits and temptations, its command system became ineffective.
What were these temptations that held such a terrifying attraction for them?
The blood of a Level 7 Reef Whale.
For Level 5 Demonic Spirits, it was supreme nourishment, more attractive than even a Level 6 spirit core.
Such a massive amount of fresh blood gushed out like a fountain, dyeing a large area of water. These sharks frantically absorbed the blood... Eventually, even the shark king couldn't control its instincts. It wanted to advance to Level 6, desperately so. This was a craving from the depths of its genes.
Thus, while they were frantically devouring the blood.
Above the island, the Commander of a Thousand still wanted to ask A'Diao about the specific plan. Why had the island suddenly stopped trembling? Had the sharks stopped attacking the island's base? Were they resting? Or had they fled?
While they were puzzled, a Forbidden Master suddenly frowned. "What's that sound?! What's over there?!"
They saw dark clouds gathering overhead... but those dark clouds were moving.
Everyone present was a bit stunned, a collective, instinctive panic setting in.
In the sea region, such moving masses of dark clouds usually signified a swarm of Demonic Spirits. Wasn't this making things worse?!!!!
However, they noticed their own Commander of Ten Thousand Big Brother had a look of ecstasy, as if his wife had just given birth to a ten-jin chubby baby boy. She excitedly shouted, "It's the Bloodvine Barnacle swarm! Follow me and retreat into the shelter!"
The others hadn't yet figured out what was happening, but they followed A'Diao into the underground shelter, obeying their instincts for self-preservation and fear.
As they retreated, some belatedly realized: no wonder when she had previously gathered their information, the first thing she asked about was those skilled in earth-element Daoist arts. It was to have them dig the shelter in advance.
At the time, they thought it was in case they couldn't defeat the shark swarm and needed to retreat and hide. Now, it seemed they were hiding from the Bloodvine Barnacle swarm.
So, she knew all along that the Bloodvine Barnacle swarm would come?
Some equipment was set up in the shelter, including optical computers, monitoring devices, and so on. A thousand people were densely packed into the vast underground space. Because it had just been dug, it still carried a strong earthy smell, which everyone found a bit uncomfortable. But soon, their attention was drawn to the images on the screen.
"It really is the Bloodvine Barnacle swarm... There must be over fifty thousand of them."
"More than that, there are at least a hundred thousand, and many newly born small barnacles."
"Where did they come from? This is terrifying."
"Are we doomed?"
"Commander?"
Someone asked A'Diao, only to see her sitting cross-legged, pulling out a bag of potato chips.
The Commander of a Thousand: "?"
A'Diao: "What's the rush? Bloodvine Barnacles dislike earthy smells and wood attributes. This shelter was prepared long ago; they won't come over here."
Someone realized, "So... they will enter the water? Commander, did you set up something down there, simultaneously controlling the shark swarm and luring these Bloodvine Barnacles, for example..."
Someone else speculated further: "For example, the corpse of a Level 7 Demonic Spirit?"
So, the shark swarm attacking the foundation downwards was also her scheme? Otherwise, why deliberately have the technical department expose the energy tower's location?
Pop. A'Diao tore open the bag and started eating chips. "It's blood. Lots of blood."
The blood she had specially extracted from the Reef Whale's corpse could fill ten swimming pools.
After she had put some distance between herself and these barnacles, they weren't actually too far away. And ever since she shook them off and then found the shark swarm still relentlessly pursuing her, she had hatched a plan, deliberately keeping these Bloodvine Barnacles on a leash.
In fact, with her speed, once she shook off the Bloodvine Barnacle swarm, they would never have been able to catch up, let alone track her location. It was only because she was luring them that they remained in the vicinity.
Because they had long been parasitic on the Reef Whale, they were most familiar with its flesh and blood, so they were quickly attracted by the released blood.
However, if the Bloodvine Barnacles weren't a low-intelligence, low-level Demonic Spirit species, and if the shark swarm wasn't in the special situation of having lost its Level 6 king, this vicious plan would not have succeeded.
Anyway, she had weighed all the conditions and deemed it feasible before proceeding. Although it was a bit risky, it at least had a certain chance of success. If it failed and the Bloodvine Barnacle swarm didn't come, she could have taken advantage of the sharks being attracted by the blood to escape with the others.
Able to attack if advancing and defend if retreating, it was worth a shot.
Fortunately, the result was acceptable. It should be known that she had been very nervous before, even thinking it had failed.
Wiping them out root and stem is the right way to make a killing, ah.
A'Diao ate her chips, coldly watching as the hundred thousand Bloodvine Barnacles swarmed madly into the water, coming face to face with the shark swarm that was obsessed with the Reef Whale's blood. And then... they would slaughter each other, of course.
Slaughtering each other to the point where the human side could easily clean up the mess.
However, she was also somewhat dissatisfied, glaring at the others: "Are you just going to watch? Not recovering your spiritual power? When they're done fighting, who's going to finish off the critically injured and collect the bodies? Are you expecting me, the dignified Commander of Ten Thousand, to do it personally?"
"Weaker than me, not as smart as me, and still not working hard. This is too much."
The crowd, who had just been stunned by her insidious ruthlessness: "..."
"Alright, Big Brother, you're right! We'll recover immediately and wait to collect the bodies and finish off the critically injured!"
Facts proved that the more closely related the species, the more brutal their infighting.
Among humans, the tragic intensity of infighting between different factions and groups is often absent from history books, because it is erased by the victors, leaving later generations with no way to know the details. But kin slaying kin is often for supreme self-interest, related to greed.
Whereas inter-species killing is for self-preservation; once survival is no longer at stake, it's easy to slack off.
Humans have human history, and Demonic Spirits have Demonic Spirit history. Look, this shark swarm and the Bloodvine Barnacles have engaged in a brutal slaughter.
Because both sides inherently had a high attack frequency and were relatively ferocious, bloodthirsty Demonic Spirit species, in less than five minutes, they had decimated 90% of each other's numbers. Corpses continuously floated to the surface, and those that survived were all critically injured...
A'Diao finished her potato chips, the wrapper burning in her palm.
"Down!"
This time, the thousand cultivators swooped down without hesitation... entering the sea like dragons crossing a river, easily reaping the spoils of the aftermath!
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