167: Chapter 167 Fifth-Order Limb Projection... It looked up!

The moment the sea surface exploded, Chen Chen had already raised his hand to press down on the auxiliary command console.

"Jiang Jiuyou, stabilize the vehicle."

"Received."

Jiang Jiuyou tapped her fingers rapidly, and the Ghost Fortress's suspension posture immediately dropped by half a meter, the electric arcs at the rear of the vehicle elongated, forcibly pushing back the rising waves.

That black-red tentacle was still rising.

It was twenty meters in diameter.

The human face patterns on its surface writhed along with it; it had barely exposed half its length before the Whale Bone Altar was sent flying with debris from the impact.

Shen Wanbing's voice came through the communication channel, pressed with urgency.

"It's a Tier 5 Limb Projection, not the main body. The source is in a deeper layer of the seabed, southeast and downwards, at least eight hundred meters."

Chen Chen scanned the panel.

"Keep scanning. Lock onto the position of the Tide Cage for me."

"Already pulling the data." Shen Wanbing paused, "That distress signal is fading. In two more minutes, the people inside won't be able to hold on."

There was not the slightest ripple in Chen Chen's eyes.

"That's enough."

On the five-story dome, Qin Hongye was already lying steady, her gun barrel aimed in advance at the thickest part of the tentacle.

"Give me ten seconds."

"Fire."

The gunshot exploded.

The Gauss projectile cut through the sea breeze and drilled directly into the area on the tentacle where the human face patterns were densest.

With a "pfft" sound, black-red plasma splashed high into the air.

The tentacle stiffened violently, then curled up entirely and lashed out toward the front of the Ghost Fortress.

Jiang Yanxue had already leaped down.

She landed on the edge of the Whale Bone Altar, flipped the Shadow Instant-Kill Blade, and first cut off the retreat of two Amaterasu Shrine warriors.

"Don't block the way."

With one slash, the white-robed warrior's chest split open, and he tumbled into the sea.

On the other side, Su Xiaoqi charged directly to the side of the altar pillar and slammed her fist down.

Boom!

The stone pillar broke into two, and she had forcibly smashed an empty zone on the edge of the altar.

She shook her fist and grinned at those white-robed believers.

"Don't stand so close; it's easy for me to cause collateral damage when I fight."

Blood Rose was already standing on the roof of the vehicle.

She took a deep breath, and pink poisonous mist spread out from between her lips, pressing toward the shrine's battle line along with the sea breeze.

The front row of white-robed believers had barely inhaled a little before their expressions changed.

Some clutched their throats and knelt down, while others began to tear at each other, their mouths still muttering messy prayers.

"Gods? I think they're just a bunch of unweaned trash."

Blood Rose chuckled and raised her hand to add another cloud of poison mist.

The reinforcement fleet on the north side of the altar charged over at this moment.

Jiang Jiuyou had long since maxed out the Fleet Link, and the cursor on the auxiliary command console danced rapidly beneath her fingertips.

"Abandoned gunboats number three, five, and seven, connect to the left-wing firepower."

"Number nine, number twelve, block the outer side of the bay."

"The rest of you, hold down the main shipping lane for me."

With each sentence she uttered, those few dilapidated ships actually raised their cannons on the sea surface again.

The next second, the damaged cannons roared.

Several Amaterasu Shrine speedboats had just emerged when they were hit, causing their hulls to capsize and everyone on the decks to fall into the sea.

Iron Wall couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

"You can even take over these?"

Jiang Jiuyou didn't turn her head.

"Don't waste things that can still be used."

The black-red tentacle had already lashed out to the front of the Ghost Fortress.

Chen Chen raised his hand and pressed the red button.

"Void Annihilation Matrix, area suppression."

The diamond-shaped prism on the roof stopped rotating, and a deep blue light curtain poured down with a boom, spreading directly across a 120-degree sector.

Within an eight-hundred-meter range, dozens of white-robed believers didn't even make a sound before half their bodies were erased.

A straight empty strip appeared on the sea surface.

Chen Chen stared at that tentacle, not firing a second shot.

He saw clearly that behind the tentacle, there was a thicker energy spine that hadn't fully formed yet.

"Shen Wanbing, are the people in the cage still alive?"

"They are still alive, but they won't last long. The signal source is at the bottom level of the Tide Cage, and the authorization is still there. As long as that shrine maiden doesn't die, the underwater shipyard will have doors that can be opened."

Chen Chen pointed with his hand.

"Shen Wanxing, come down and scavenge."

Shen Wanxing had just been dragged over from the edge of the altar by Qin Hongye and was still clutching her shawl; she was stunned for a moment upon hearing this.

"Now?"

"Now."

She crouched down, her fingertips touching the core fragment that had just been shattered.

The first time, a triple Lucky Critical.

A pile of Sea God pollution fragments rolled out.

The second time, a fivefold Lucky Critical.

Another small piece of dark red crystal fell to the ground.

When she touched the black-silver fragment in the very center, the entire sky lit up.

A golden-purple beam of light shot into the sky, directly dispersing the blood mist above the Whale Bone Altar.

The system notifications scrolled rapidly.

[Lucky Critical triggered!]

[Obtained: High-tier Undersea Chart Fragment x 1]

[Obtained: Black-Silver Key Seal x 1]

[Hint: Key Seal comes with "Tide Authorization"]

Shen Wanxing held the black-silver Key Seal, her hands trembling.

"This... can open the door?"

Shen Wanbing stared at the holographic panel, her speaking speed increasing.

"Yes. It is the underground authorization key for the Tide Cage. With this, we can also take over the underwater shipyard."

Chen Chen put the Key Seal into his ring.

"Worth it."

Just then, the group of Huaxia survivors hanging below the Whale Bone Altar finally came to their senses.

Someone shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Help! Save us!"

"I can pilot ships! I can repair cannons!"

"Take me with you! I can work for you!"

A group of people knelt on the deck, scrambling and crawling toward the Ghost Fortress.

Chen Chen glanced at them, not speaking immediately.

The Amaterasu Shrine side, however, moved first.

A circle of dark red sea formation rose behind the altar, and the sea surface seemed to be gripped by something, beginning to drag downwards.

This was to drag the entire altar, along with the Ghost Fortress, into the seabed.

"Trying to seal the sea?"

Chen Chen raised his hand and pressed down on the hilt of his blade, his voice low.

"Jiang Jiuyou, retreat the convoy thirty meters; don't get dragged in."

"Understood."

"Qin Hongye, keep your eyes on the main tower of the Amaterasu Shrine headquarters; shoot anyone who dares to show their head."

"Received."

"Jiang Yanxue, Su Xiaoqi, clear the field."

"Been waiting for this."

Jiang Yanxue flicked a white-robed warrior who rushed up into the air with one slash, and Su Xiaoqi stomped to break the second stone pillar; the entire front edge of the altar was torn open by the two of them.

But the sea formation was still turning.

In the deeper seabed, something suddenly moved.

Shen Wanbing's voice suddenly tightened.

"Chen Chen, that Tier 5 Limb Projection down below... is looking up."

Beneath the sea surface, black-red light pushed up bit by bit.

First, it was a patch of shadow.

Then, it was a gigantic blood-red eyeball.

It opened in the seabed, and through the surging seawater, it stared straight at Chen Chen.