The War That Ended Suddenly

With the Tiger-headed Monster Flood Dragon's sudden death, both the humans and the sea monsters abruptly stopped moving. The entire battlefield fell silent.

One side had no idea what had happened, while the other had lost its leader and did not know what to do next.

"Hello, may I ask...?"

Dong Nanbiao remained vigilant, but given what had just happened, he did not dare show too much emotion on his face.

"Instructor Dong, it's me!"

Just as Dong Nanbiao remained on guard, a familiar voice rang out in his mind.

"Lu... Yunhe!"

Dong Nanbiao was instantly speechless. No matter how hard he tried, he could not connect the egg-faced oddity before him with Lu Yunhe. They had absolutely nothing in common.

In his impression, no matter how monstrously talented Lu Yunhe was, he could only deal with Commander-level Monsters. Yet this strange figure had killed a high-level Lord in a single move.

"It's a Treasure from a civilization relic."

Having reached the War God level, Dong Nanbiao knew a little about the civilization relics on Earth.

The only thing that could allow an Advanced Warrior to achieve something like this was a Treasure from a civilization relic.

"Lu Yunhe probably stumbled upon some Treasure in the past, but his strength had limited his ability to use it. Only now has he reached the standard required to wield it."

Dong Nanbiao silently pondered this to himself. Other than that, he could not think of any explanation.

Once he accepted that the strange figure before him was Lu Yunhe, Dong Nanbiao breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he could not help recalling the promise he had made in Wolf King Valley.

"When Lu Yunhe can kill a Lord-level Monster, I'll become his subordinate."

Thinking of that, Dong Nanbiao's mouth twitched. It had only been a few days since he said those words, and Lu Yunhe had already achieved it.

"A civilization relic?"

Hearing Dong Nanbiao's thoughts, Lu Yunhe, who was using Ultraman's telepathic ability, also gave it some thought.

His Ultraman Avatar had now reached the Planetary Level. He could begin exploring Earth's major civilization relics.

Though the lifeforms on Earth were weak at the moment, there were still quite a few decent Treasures here.

Just as the two stood facing each other in silence, the sea monsters by the shore gradually began to roar.

"Huh? The Tiger-headed Monster Flood Dragon is dead. Shouldn't these Monsters retreat now? Why are they becoming even more agitated?"

The disturbance among the sea monsters caught Dong Nanbiao's attention. Under normal circumstances, after a Lord died, the remaining Monsters would automatically retreat.

After all, without the oppression of a Lord-level Monster, these Monsters were not the legendary Zerg Race. They would not insist on charging forward to their deaths.

"Something big is probably coming!"

Lu Yunhe sensed a powerful aura rising from the sea.

Unlike land Monsters, the Lord-level sea monsters attacking the land were driven by Monster Kings behind them. They were the true rulers of the ocean.

Hiss...

A serpent-like but not quite serpent-like hiss rose from the sea. Then, nine incomparably massive snake heads emerged from the water, and the surrounding sea monsters became wildly agitated.

"The Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King!"

Dong Nanbiao's entire body trembled slightly. "It's a Monster King beyond the Lord Level, and one of the culprits behind the destruction of the island nation."

"Did it decide to act personally because we killed its subordinate, the Tiger-headed Monster Flood Dragon?"

The Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King was one of the undisputed overlords of the ocean during the Great Cataclysm. It was a terrifying existence that even nuclear bombs could not kill—unless they carpet-bombed the area or detonated one point-blank.

First, explosions were weakened underwater. Second, sea monsters naturally possessed overwhelmingly superior size.

Its nine snake heads were dozens of meters long, while the latter half of its body exceeded a hundred meters. Its total length was nearly comparable to that of a small aircraft carrier.

This was no mere oversized beast. It was a demonic beast with strength beyond the War God Level.

With its powerful Realm and immense body, it was practically unbeatable in this era.

Even the commander-in-chief on the other side fell into despair after seeing the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King appear. This was not something their small base could handle.

"It's one of the culprits behind the destruction of the island nation!"

Dong Nanbiao had said quite a lot, but that was the only sentence Lu Yunhe remembered.

"Originally, I wanted to rough it up a little and get used to my current strength. But considering what it has done, I've decided to give it a dignified death."

The Ultraman Avatar had already broken through to the Planetary Level. He had been looking for a Planetary-level Monster to play with, but now he had changed his mind.

"Wait here. I'll take its heads and soak them in liquor."

Without waiting for Dong Nanbiao to stop him, Lu Yunhe leaped into the air and flew toward the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King.

Perhaps sensing the immense aura surrounding Lu Yunhe, the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King grew restless. It kept hissing, seemingly trying to drive the enemy away.

It acknowledged Lu Yunhe's strength. It did not want to fight an enemy of the same level over a mere Tiger-headed Monster Flood Dragon.

"So big!"

Floating before the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King, Lu Yunhe frowned as he looked at its incomparably massive body.

Although the Ultraman Avatar had broken through to the Planetary Level, its height had only increased to two meters. That left Lu Yunhe somewhat dissatisfied.

As a result, Lu Yunhe's transformation looked like he was merely wearing a suit of body-fitting armor.

"As expected of the Swallowed Star world. Even a minor Planetary-level demonic beast is much larger than the vast majority of Monsters in the Ultraman world."

Unfortunately, this was still the Swallowed Star world. Size could only determine how hard something was to kill, not how strong it was.

"As promised, I'll give you a dignified death!"

Lu Yunhe crossed his fists before his forehead, then sharply flung them apart.

A flash of light flickered. Under the light effects Lu Yunhe had created himself, the Ultraman body that had originally been three-colored transformed entirely into the red that symbolized power.

"Power Type!"

In an instant, the Ultraman Avatar's strength, which had originally been ten times that of a Planetary First Order, doubled once again.

"Photon Fluid Ray!"

Lu Yunhe crossed his arms into a T-shape. A thin stream of Photon Fluid instantly shot from his arms, striking the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King before it could react at all.

The instant the ray struck, the Photon Fluid spread throughout the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King's body at nearly the speed of light. The powerful photon energy frantically attacked the target's cells and even its molecular structure.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

The Photon Fluid Ray continued for ten seconds before stopping, having consumed half the energy within the Ultraman Avatar.

Once the flow of energy ceased, the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King's massive body, over a hundred meters long, suddenly froze. Then it exploded directly on the sea surface like a nuclear bomb.

The violent explosive energy blasted a deep vortex into the sea, sending wave after wave surging outward.

"That's it? We won?"

Standing on the shore, Dong Nanbiao stared blankly at the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King as it turned to ash. Waves crashed against his body, and it felt as though his desperate battle just moments ago had been nothing more than an illusion.

Just moments ago, he had been fighting the Tiger-headed Monster Flood Dragon for his life. How had the war been won in only a few instants?

After the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King died, the countless sea monsters that had been raging moments earlier all restrained their auras and frantically fled back into the ocean.

Their leader's leader had been killed outright. Were they supposed to stay behind and become someone's seafood feast?

"We won?"

The base's commander-in-chief watched the sea monsters retreat, unable to believe it. They had all prepared to die here, yet they had somehow won just like that.

"Oh no, I used too much force!"

Meanwhile, Lu Yunhe regretted his actions somewhat. It was his first time attacking, and he had completely misjudged the Ultraman Avatar's power.

One Photon Fluid Ray had directly used up half the energy in his body.

As a result, the enormous Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King had not merely failed to leave behind its tongues—not even a scrap of snake hide remained. Everything had turned to ash before the violent photon energy.

A Planetary-level Monster was incredibly valuable in this era. The Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King's hide alone could have been made into countless sets of powerful protective armor.

"Still, Ultraman's photon ray seems especially effective against huge Monsters like this."

Though the near-twentyfold strength advantage had contributed to killing a Monster of the same level in one move, the fact that it had been completely annihilated was undoubtedly due to the Photon Fluid energy.

"It just consumes too much energy. It's overkill."

Lu Yunhe withdrew from Power Type and returned to his normal state before flying toward Dong Nanbiao.

When he landed on the shore, Lu Yunhe also released his Ultraman form and returned to his human body.

"It really is Lu Yunhe!"

Dong Nanbiao stared blankly at Lu Yunhe as he walked toward him beneath the setting sun. Lu Yunhe even waved at him, as if to tell him this was not a dream.

"Thank you."

Dong Nanbiao and Lu Yunhe stood side by side on the shore, gazing at the sea glittering beneath the sunset.

"The Great Cataclysm is over."

Lu Yunhe spoke softly. The moment the Ultraman Avatar stepped into the Planetary Level, the Great Cataclysm that had lasted three years had already ended.

In the year 2056, inside a standard detached house, a boy lying sideways on the sofa held a reference book as he asked his older brother, "Brother, when did Humanity's Strongest first fight a Sea Beast King?"

Hearing his younger brother's question, the older brother's previously calm expression immediately became excited. "I grew up hearing Master Lu's legends. On June 18, 2018, Master Lu fought a Sea Beast King for the first time. The two battled by the Yangtze River for three days and three nights, and in the end, the invincible Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King was slain beneath the sea. He also protected the evacuation of over a million civilians."

"This was also the first time since the Great Cataclysm that a Sea Beast King had been independently slain by a human powerhouse. From then on, the offensive balance between humanity and Monsters was reversed."

"They say Master Lu was skilled in both literature and martial arts from a young age. When the Great Cataclysm first began, he displayed remarkable martial talent. Now, all of humanity's foundational martial arts were compiled by him. Throughout the Great Cataclysm, Master Lu rose from an ordinary person, killing countless Monsters step by step. In the end, he killed the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King in the sea, establishing his position as Humanity's Strongest..."

Lu Yunhe's deeds had always been an example for him to learn from, though there were always some unpleasant rumors circulating.

For example, people claimed Lu Yunhe's talent had actually been ordinary, and that he only became a martial artist after three years of the Great Cataclysm. Others claimed it had taken only ten seconds to kill the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent King rather than three days and three nights of battle.

The older brother was extremely disdainful whenever he saw such claims. The entire Great Cataclysm had only lasted three years. How could someone with poor talent become the strongest person in the world one or two months after becoming a martial artist? Wasn't that a contradiction?

And the claim that killing a Sea Beast King had taken only ten seconds was definitely malicious hype. Anyone saying such things had to be a Master Lu hater.

"Enough, enough!" Seeing his older brother ramble on endlessly, the younger brother on the sofa waved his hand with a wry smile. "Second question: when did the Great Cataclysm end?"

"This is a common trick question. The Great Cataclysm did not end at a specific point in time, but after Master Lu became the strongest person in the world..."