NOVEL NEXT Chapter 131: Finally
The squad pushed deeper into the basin, their formation tightening instinctively as the ambient mana thickened around them.
The towering trees stretched hundreds of meters overhead, their thick canopies blocking out the sun, casting everything below into oppressive shadow. Strange mana plants thrived in the dark, twisting roots and vines glowing softly, as if guiding the team deeper into danger.
Damien's senses sharpened, acutely aware of every sound and movement.
He and Jiang Xiao Yu moved carefully, eyes scanning constantly, while the two elite students from War God College stayed close in their imposing mechas.
Leading the formation, Captain Lin Zhong maneuvered Titan Mourn carefully, the hulking sixth-generation heavyweight moving steadily with heavy steps.
The peace and quiet did not last long.
As they ventured deeper, beasts surged from the shadows.
Waves of furious, mana-infused insects swarmed them, each attack increasingly violent.
Titan Mourn opened fire, its railgun punching through clusters of advancing creatures, while Verdant Razor and Red Hunter methodically executed precise, rapid maneuvers and dispatched their targets swiftly.
The mana specialists conserved energy, delivering accurate, decisive strikes, killing without waste.
But as they advanced further, the intensity and power of the beasts grew dramatically.
Soon, the weaker C-ranked beasts vanished entirely, replaced by waves of aggressive B-ranked creatures, giant armored beetles, venomous centipedes, and flying wasps the size of cars.
The combat tempo increased sharply, tension thickening alongside their mounting fatigue.
"Stay sharp!" Captain Lin commanded, voice calm yet firm. "Conserve your mana. Use just enough force to kill."
Then the ground shuddered violently and a relatively small pack of snarling A-ranked wolves burst from the darkness. Behind them soared enormous bats with razor-sharp wings, each creature pulsing with dense, powerful mana.
The team snapped into fierce action.
Above, Lieutenant Chen Liru spun agilely, wind blades slicing through enemy ranks, as Lieutenant Zhou Feng unleashed searing flames that incinerated swathes of attacking creatures. Lieutenant Han Jie raised walls of earth, strategically isolating enemy groups for easy pickings.
Damien didn't even get to do much before the group killed them all efficiently. But he did not lose focus. He could feel danger closing in from all sides.
Shadows gathered rapidly, and from the darkness emerged an overwhelming horde of A-ranked beasts, massive wolves, serpentine creatures crackling with lightning, and armored bears whose steps shook the very earth.
"Brace yourselves!" Captain Lin shouted, his voice suddenly hard and urgent.
Chaos erupted.
Titan Mourn stood its ground, firing relentlessly as its shockwave cannons scattered foes. Verdant Razor appeared and disappeared swiftly, executing brutal ambushes, while Red Hunter's rifles overheated from continuous fire.
Zhao Tianlei's Tempest Fang dashed rapidly, slicing through lightning serpents before they could strike. Xu Meilin's Storm Widow unleashed beams in controlled arcs, cutting down beasts in a disciplined frenzy.
Damien fought calmly, his death energy blooming outwards, each strike precise and lethal.
"These beasts may have awakened intelligence and elemental power, but they definitely hadn't learnt tactics and positioning." Damien mused as his death bombs exploded again and again amid thick clusters of beasts, easily killing small groups at once while maintaining a respectable distance from the thick of the killing.
But still, the enemy surged relentlessly, sheer numbers pressing closer
Within minutes, the beasts had completely surrounded the group and wounds began to mount quickly among the squad members.
Damien began to get slightly serious as he saw Jiang Xiao Yu barely dodge a slash from a particularly nasty looking wolf.
Shua!
Damien sent out a thin blade of death energy to slice up a pair of wolves near Jiang Xiao Yu's position, quickly easing her burden.
But the same couldn't be done for the rest of the squad.
There were 8 others, and Damien simply couldn't be bothered to act as their guardian angel.
It was the Captain's job.
And apparently, Captain Lin Zhong was a good captain who knew what he had to do.
Captain Lin Zhong's voice turned sharply authoritative. "Everyone, defensive positions. I'll handle their leaders!"
Titan Mourn's core surged dramatically, mana flooding simultaneously into its weapons and armor, as Captain Lin engaged its reactor at maximum output. With a defiant roar, he charged directly into the heart of the beast swarm.
Railgun blasts tore through ranks of advancing creatures, and shockwave cannons carved open massive spaces around him, throwing mangled bodies into the air.
An oppressive aura radiated outward as Captain Lin's mana reached its peak.
Titan Mourn lunged at the two immense A-ranked bear beasts, meeting their ferocious charge head-on. Armored claws screeched across Titan Mourn's reinforced plating, sparks scattering through the chaotic air.
Undeterred, Lin Zhong grappled with the first beast, exerting colossal strength to rip it apart with a resounding crack.
Then, spinning fluidly in the same motion, he brought his railgun around and fired point-blank into the second beast, instantly vaporizing its massive form into a cloud of smoke and ash.
But instead of breaking, the beast horde roared in furious defiance, their bloodlust ignited rather than diminished.
Captain Lin Zhong realized his mistake too late: these bears were no commanders, merely powerful shock troops.
"Form up immediately! Defensive perimeter, now!" Captain Lin roared urgently, recalibrating Titan Mourn's systems as the horde surged forward with intensified aggression.
They regrouped hastily, battered and bleeding, forming a desperate circle. The five mechas stood close to each other, forming an iron wall bristling with flickering mana shields.
Above them, the awakened soldiers unleashed what remained of their dwindling reserves, pushing their elemental mastery beyond the limits of safety in a desperate stand against the overwhelming tide.
"Hold your positions! Just a bit longer!" Lin Zhong commanded, desperation edging his voice.
A giant vampire bat lunged through their defenses, talons slicing toward Xu Meilin's cockpit.
Damien reacted instantly, his blade flashing to decapitate the beast moments before impact, blood splattering across his armor.
Jiang Xiao Yu swayed, nearly collapsing from mana exhaustion as she summoned a final barrier of ice, skewering several beasts in a last desperate move.
Zhao Tianlei's mecha sparked from numerous wounds, armor shredded, but he stood firm, protecting her from a charging serpent.
Then, with a final surge, Captain Lin Zhong activated Titan Mourn's ultimate ability.
Brilliant white mana erupted outward in a radiant pulse, vaporizing scores of beasts instantly and forcing the remaining creatures into panicked retreat.
As the smoke cleared, the battlefield finally fell silent again. Beasts lay scattered everywhere, defeated and destroyed. Captain Lin Zhong turned Titan Mourn back towards the group, heavy breaths echoing through comms.
"We press forward," he said firmly. "This was only the beginning."
Damien stood quietly, breathing deep as he devoured all of the available A ranked beasts.
Each breath spiked his strength higher and higher to inconceivable levels, and unlocked more and more powerful spells.
He had so many spells at that moment that he didn't even have the time to read through all of their effects.
Finally after he devoured the two massive bears, the notification he had been waiting for finally appeared.
[Target level too low]
[Maximum stat enhancement reached using low level targets]
[Please find higher level targets]