Chapter 751 - 738: Deep Dive Squad
Chapter 751: Chapter 738: Deep Dive Squad
On the sea surface, dense fluorescent floating fungi draped a veil over the ocean that even the waves couldn’t scatter.
The sunlight in the entire sea area was absorbed completely by the fungal mat, all converted into magic power.
Underneath the sea surface, besides the faint fluorescence emitted by the floating fungi extending over ten meters, it was utter darkness.
In a way, the rapid spread of the floating fungi was partly due to Chis’s contribution.
If it were a normal sea, Lin Jun would surely leave some normal sea surface amidst the fungal mat to avoid large-scale species extinction.
The issue of fish eating the fungal mat, as long as it wasn’t too severe, Lin Jun would turn a blind eye.
However, now that Chis had almost emptied the sea, Lin Jun no longer had any concerns, spreading as much as possible.
Now, beneath the floating fungal mat, naval forces from the Tide Sanctuary, under Marshal Little Pig’s command, have embarked on a wide-ranging search of the seafloor.
...
A few fishmen and a large group of Puki swam past under the fluorescence of floating fungi.
In the middle of the group, a Puki suddenly twisted nimbly and sidestepped out of the dense formation.
Its four tentacles, compressed to the limit, suddenly shot out, piercing the side of a nearby reef.
Puchi—
In what seemed like an empty spot, purple blood spread, and the impaled body of a Chis slowly became visible.
The Chis’s [Refraction Invisibility], which was invincible against other races, was useless against Puki.
After taking down the first bug, the former Lizardman, now Mushroom Transformer Baroque, didn’t relax and used [Magic Perception] to observe his surroundings again.
Sure enough, there were more Chis nearby.
Upon realizing their exposure, the bugs decisively chose to flee, facing the approaching fishmen comrades and the large group of Puki behind Baroque.
Baroque smoothly flicked his tail and chased after them, every shot of his tentacles proving fruitful.
Thanks to his diligent underwater training recently, Baroque now moved like a true aquatic creature, even slightly more agile than the fishmen behind him.
The bugs were killed relentlessly, having no power to resist.
After eliminating two more strange bugs, Baroque was about to continue his pursuit when suddenly Marshal Little Pig’s orders came to his mind: "Fourth deep-sea exploration team, you have exceeded your stipulated activity range, cease pursuit and return to your designated target point, beware of Chis’s ambush."
Baroque paused, only then realizing he had unconsciously swum near the edge of the fungal mat’s coverage.
He abruptly stopped, retracted his tentacles, waved at his teammates behind, and the team turned around to swim back.
The bugs that were originally fleeing suddenly returned.
They swam at the edges of the team, even launching several provocative attacks, but were ignored by Baroque and the others.
One bug swam even closer, and a fishman suddenly reached out, controlling the water flow to ensnare the bug, while Baroque’s tentacles shot out again, killing the bug and causing the others to scatter once more.
Seeing this, Baroque and the others no longer chased but continued to return on their original path.
In the Fungus Castle army, orders are absolute.
With the Marshal’s personal commands, no one would defy them, even if it meant certain death.
Falling in battle could allow one to be reborn as a mushroom, but defying orders and making a mistake could be...
Outside Baroque’s team, some other teams encountered similar situations, but Chis couldn’t successfully lure any group.
Outside the Tide Sanctuary, Little Pig sat cross-legged on the giant fungus cap floating on the sea, with a three-dimensional model of the sea in her mind.
Over thirty deep-sea exploration teams’ real-time light dots moved slowly in this model, each light dot accessible anytime to view the specific status of the members.
As the teams explored, the originally hidden sea areas were outlined bit by bit, more accurate and intuitive than any map.
She watched as those bugs futilely tempted them, sneering coldly.
Pitiful bugs, they don’t even know how powerful the boss’s fungal network is.
Currently, the teams were still operating in the shallow water area, with the primary task of understanding Chis’s underwater deployment.
The bugs intended to lure the teams into ambush circles, essentially out of fear of confronting Puki directly, only wanting to gradually weaken their power.
Unfortunately, the scheme backfired, failing to lure and kill anyone, instead offering up a dozen bugs for nothing.
After successive failures, Chis finally seemed to realize this tactic was ineffective.
Those figures in the dark sank to the depths of the sea one by one, disappearing at the edge of perception.
Little Pig was unconcerned with the bugs’ temporary retreat, knowing they would devise new plans, but she was already well-prepared, ready to counter any strategy with equivalent measures.
After initial shallow water exploration, each team took their designated positions, and as planned, began their deep dives.
One by one, the Mushroom Transformers squeezed their bodies into sturdy containers connected by ropes with special communication abilities, leaving only the caps and tentacles exposed.
They then began to dive, gradually leaving the fungal mat’s range, entering the pitch-black deep sea.
Some Mushroom Transformers soon reached the bottom, resurfacing to reconnect with the fungal mat, naturally illuminating a small part of the sea map.
While some Mushroom Transformers dived deeper, even encountering Chis’s attacks below.
In such cases, the Puki controlled by the Mushroom Transformers would rush in to buy time, while teammates on the other end quickly reeled in the rope.
With luck, the Mushroom Transformer could be pulled up intact, without it, only a dead mushroom devoid of cap and tentacles, covered in bite marks, could be retrieved.
But it didn’t matter; the container’s sturdiness protected most of Puki’s body.
Once delivered to the fungal mat for decomposition, after a while, it would become a good mushroom again.
Chis knew Puki’s large force was above, and generally wouldn’t pursue... usually.
Thud—thud—
Muffled sounds of Puki’s self-destruction came from the darkness, as fishmen swiftly reeled in the rope, pulling up Baroque who had dived to extreme depths.
Once within the fungal network’s influence range, Baroque immediately shouted in the network: "Hit the jackpot, it’s full of bugs down there! Be careful! They’re chasing up!"
The fishmen looked back to find a dense swarm of bugs following Baroque.
Instantly, they dared not linger any longer, clinging to the rope and swimming desperately towards the surface.
On the other end of the fungal network, Little Pig showed an expression of delight.
She hadn’t expected to gain such results from exploring the first sea area.
Immediately ordered: "Area Four, encounter massive Chis attack, deploy swordfish."
On the sea, on a large floating fungus cap, massive magic power gathered, the brilliance of a temporary teleportation magic array flickering, teleporting in the two halves of Sword Saint.
Beside them, two Puki quickly pieced together the Sword Saint Puki with mycelium fish tails.
"Can’t I ever land whole?"
The resurrected Sword Saint, relying on [Fungal Filament Reassembly], complained while checking his swords—luck was good this time; none were broken.
Thinking about how this time he was only split into two halves, instead of three or four pieces like before, he wondered if this counted as an improvement in boss’s teleportation technology.
Whosh—
The fishmen, dragging Baroque with a cap partially gnawed off, burst through the sea surface, quickly scanning around.
Upon discovering only a few Puki on the sea, their expressions turned to horror.
"Get to work, get to work! Slaughtering the Chis, now that’s what a savior should do."
The Sword Saint drew four swords, elegantly twirled them, and then with a beautiful dive...
A streak of moonlight fell from the sea surface, illuminating the dark waters for a fleeting moment.
In that instant, the fishmen were left dumbfounded as they saw the Chis relentlessly pursuing them turn into countless drifting scraps of flesh in the sea, while the Sword Saint Puki’s figure had already delved into the depths, disappearing from view.