Mist Sea
(Sorry, it's still more than an hour late... I really need to adjust my sleep schedule. I didn't even have dinner, and I still didn't finish writing before midnight. I'm so hungry now...)
~~~
The Mist Sea is an ocean on the Hafist Star. It gets its name from the fact that it is perpetually shrouded in mist, never seeing sunlight. This ocean covers eighty percent of the planet's surface. Because of this, the planet once boasted a vast and diverse array of marine life. This also led to the emergence of numerous powerful, virus-infected entities in the ocean after the virus began to spread.
The Three-Headed Demon Dragon was the true overlord of the Mist Sea, Three-Star Mid-rank God, yet possessing Combat Strength far exceeding that of Four-Star Mid-rank God. Even against Mid-rank God newly entering the fifth star realm, it could put up a fight.
The Golden Eagle quickly transported Gu Ding and his group to the designated location on the map, and then, under Sea Emperor's control, rose high into the air, exiting the planet's atmosphere. Sea Emperor and Robert then left through a spatial portal.
Walking on water wasn't difficult for Gu Ding and his group. In fact, as long as their Source Power cultivation reached a certain level and their control reached a certain standard, they could stand on the water's surface without falling. The principle was actually quite simple: they enveloped their feet with energy while controlling the energy to vibrate continuously. That vibrational force would interact with the water's surface, generating buoyancy in return.
As soon as Gu Ding and his companions jumped off the spaceship, before they could even stand up, a giant beast suddenly sprang out from beneath their feet.
It was a mutated white shark at the Demigod Realm, over eighty meters long, leaping into the air with its gaping maw. Bigge's thumb twitched slightly, drawing his longsword a tenth of its length. A terrifying, semi-transparent blade light flashed, easily cleaving the behemoth in two from head to tail. Black blood instantly stained the entire sea surface.
"Bigge, Demigod Realm, at least let us have some fun!" Dokter immediately protested.
"That's right, neither you nor Gu Ding are allowed to make a move against those at the Demigod Realm!" Liliath raised her fist at the two of them.
"I'll have a good fight and test what I've learned lately!" Elsa had been fighting in her dreams these past few days. She wasn't quite sure what level her actual Combat Strength had reached, but she was eager to try it out.
The black blood quickly spread in the seawater, and soon attracted a huge school of white sharks, which devoured the slain white shark in an instant, without caring that they had devoured one of their own kind.
After devouring the carcass of the slain great white shark, the group of sharks began attacking Gu Ding and his companions.
Liliath and the other two also formed a pincer movement, each guarding one side, surrounding Gu Ding and Bigge in the middle.
Tagore, perched on Gu Ding's shoulder, licked his paws, seemingly uninterested in these Demigod Realm minions. Gu Ding and Bigge, meanwhile, watched the spectacle while keeping an eye out for any stronger figures approaching.
One after another, the white sharks lunged forward with their gaping jaws, only to fall back into the sea.
Among them, Dokter was the fastest killer. Under his control, the eighteen Demigod Flying Knife easily pierced through the bodies of the white sharks. Basically, when two or three throwing knives passed through at the same time, a white shark was completely destroyed.
Next was Liliath, who could kill a white shark with every shot. However, being only Thirteenth-Order Gene Body, each time she focused her energy on the inside of the gun, it took some time, resulting in a gap of about half a second between each shot.
The most ferocious of them all was Elsa, a close-quarters fighter. Each swing of her giant axe shredded the white sharks to shreds, splattering black flesh and blood everywhere. Their strange Viking Clan strength was indeed astonishing.
In less than three minutes, hundreds of great white sharks were slaughtered.
The entire sea surface was completely dyed black, and the air was filled with a foul, fishy stench, like that of dead fish that had been exposed to the sun, making people nauseous.
The energy shockwave from the fierce battle caused the surrounding fog to thin slightly. But it quickly thickened again, and the air became completely still.
Gu Ding was slightly distracted, because he discovered that these Demigod Realm white sharks were all flesh and blood beings. "Could it be that those who were infected by the virus and then advanced to the God-rank were all flesh and blood beings?"
Moreover, everyone else unleashed their full mental power, not daring to slack off in the slightest.
Just then, a sound came from the seabed not far away. It was the sound of a huge creature rapidly rising to the surface.
"This time it seems to be a big one, but the flesh and blood of a demigod can only attract some one-star or two-star Low-rank God at most. If you are careful, it shouldn't be too difficult to deal with," Gu Ding said to Liliath and the others.
Liliath and the others, however, looked somewhat solemn. They had never faced a god-level enemy before, Gu Ding's words clearly indicated he intended for them to practice, meaning they wouldn't be making a move for a while. However, with Gu Ding and Bigge beside them, the three of them weren't particularly afraid.
Elsa, however, showed no fear; in fact, she was somewhat eager to try, as she was already able to kill One-Star Low-rank God within the illusion. Liliath's illusion, at present, could only create One-Star Low-rank God, as her mental strength was still limited.
The enormous black shadow rose rapidly, its massive mouth wide open, emanating a powerful suction force that seemed to pull Gu Ding and his group inside.
Gu Ding and Bigge leaped high into the air, completely unaffected by the suction force.
Liliath and the other two plummeted rapidly, with Bigge's hand already gripping the hilt of his knife, ready to intervene at any moment.
Just as the three were about to fall into the giant beast's mouth, Liliath made the first move, aiming at one of the beast's eyes in mid-air, gathering her strength for a long time before unleashing the attack.
Seeing that Liliath reacted, before Dokter could pull the trigger, eighteen throwing knives shot out in a spiral, aiming straight for the giant beast's other eye.
Elsa's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and she gripped the giant axe with both hands, slashing fiercely at the tongue inside the beast's gaping maw.
A moment later, a mournful howl rang out, and the giant beast flipped over in the water, its huge flat tail lashing out at the group.
Just then, a phantom flashed by, and the enormous beast tail froze almost simultaneously. Then Liliath and the others witnessed an unbelievable scene: the massive tail snapped off and plunged into the water. Moments later, another phantom flashed by, this time hurtling towards Gu Ding.
Just as Liliath and the other two were starting to worry, they suddenly realized that the phantom had solidified on Gu Ding's shoulder—it was Tagore. At that moment, Tagore had a huge black crystal core in his mouth, the core being almost as large as him. But Tagore unceremoniously opened his mouth and sucked it into his stomach, without changing his size at all.
"Tagore is this strong now?" Gu Ding rubbed his head. He hadn't expected Tagore's strength to improve so dramatically after becoming a demigod.
The behemoth before them was actually Two-Star Low-rank God. Liliath and the others would likely find it difficult to deal with it, as its defense was stronger than that of an ordinary Two-Star Low-rank God. Even so, it was easily torn apart by Tagore's claw—something even Three-Star Low-rank God couldn't do. Tagore's Combat Strength was at least at the fourth-star level.
"Tagore, what is your strength now?" Liliath couldn't help but ask.
"Without transforming, I can annihilate ordinary Four-Star Low-rank God. If I transform, my Combat Strength is roughly comparable to a six-star god, but I wouldn't be able to defeat a peak seven-star Combat Strength." Tagore didn't hide his strength. "However, I'm already a demigod, while you're only at the thirteenth rank. It's normal that I'm stronger than you. Judging from the current situation, once you reach demigod status, annihilating two- or three-star Low-rank God shouldn't be difficult."
"Tagore was right. Currently, you can all be considered prodigies." Gu Ding nodded in agreement. "The fact that your attacks were able to injure that big guy whose defense was above that of Two-Star Low-rank God shows that your attack strength is already capable of inflicting fatal wounds on One-Star Low-rank God. Being able to inflict fatal wounds means that you have the strength to kill them."
On the sea, the mutated behemoth, of unknown species, was over two hundred meters long and looked like a large, dark fish. But its head was rather eerie, with a mouthful of sharp teeth like steel cones, and the five eyes on its head were arranged somewhat asymmetrically, as if it had been accidentally drawn crooked by an artist.
The fall of a Two-Star Low-rank God did indeed shock many who were not even Two-Star Low-rank God, but the pervasive bloody smell also attracted the attention of some stronger beings.
A Cyan Giant Python emerged from a cave on the seabed, its body swaying as it swiftly snaked towards the direction of Gu Ding and his group. This python was hundreds of meters long and nearly ten meters thick; its sheer size was terrifying. This python had already cultivated to the level of Four-Star Low-rank God, making it a formidable force in this sea area. Sensing the powerful scent of Two-Star Low-rank God's blood, it quickly awoke from its slumber, a hunger rising in its stomach, and began its trek towards the source of the bloody aroma.
Seeing a huge black shadow approaching from underwater, Gu Ding quickly pulled Liliath and the other two out of the battle and protected them behind him.
The terrifying giant python swallowed the corpse of the giant fish whole, and then, with undiminished momentum, continued to devour Bigge and Tagore.
But a fighting spirit flashed in Tagore's eyes, and his claws slashed wildly. This time, he was truly enraged. The cat's claws, which were only as thick as Gu Ding's fingers, rapidly expanded after being swung out, and the incomparably sharp claws slammed towards the gaping maw of the giant python.
The attack, imbued with spatial power, tore terrifying cracks in space, slamming into the giant python's maw with devastating force. The black beam of light paused only slightly, then with a soft "plop," the mighty python's jaws were instantly ripped in two. The python, whose massive body hadn't even stood upright, collapsed, creating a huge wave on the sea. Afterwards, its black blood quickly merged into the seawater, drifting away into the distance... (To be continued...)