216: Chapter 216 Darkness Presses In, Divine Halberd Pierces the Sea!

Darkness was spreading.

It surged from the rift, slowly and unstoppably devouring everything in its vicinity.

Then, it sensed an aura rapidly approaching.

There was no fear.

Nor could it feel any anger.

It was something more primal, more intense.

Killing intent.

Pure killing intent!

The mass of darkness stopped.

It churned and shifted in the seawater, and the black substance at its edges condensed into a multitude of tentacles.

Just as the tentacles were preparing to launch an indiscriminate attack, dozens of dazzling points of light suddenly illuminated on the distant Astral Express.

Subsequently, thick beams of light shot directly from the Astral Express, carrying powerful energy projectiles that collided violently with the newly formed tentacles.

Golden radiance bloomed repeatedly in the seawater, causing the black substance to recoil slightly.

At the same time, a tiny figure, carried along by the beams of light, charged over at high speed.

The ship's cannon attacks seemed not to cause much damage, as the black substance quickly filled back in.

Immediately following this, a massive, grayish-white face emerged from the darkness.

Layers of wrinkles piled up to form five sets of facial features twisted together.

Their expressions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness were inconsistent.

Only the face in the middle was expressionless.

Its hollow eye sockets stared straight ahead, like two bottomless tunnels.

"Hoo! Hah!"

A sound emanated from that face.

It was not a language.

As the sound rang out, a powerful pressure could be felt, rushing forward with the force of crushing everything in its path.

Just two simple syllables, yet they formed layers upon layers of sonic booms.

With that face as the center, the seawater was pushed outward by an invisible force.

A vacuum area with a diameter of several hundred meters formed instantly.

Inside it, there was no seawater, no air, no matter of any kind; there was only pure emptiness.

The doomsday train was also within the range of the attack.

The immense pressure difference shoved the entire train violently backward, its wheels plowing deep furrows into the sediment layer.

The passengers in the carriages were tossed about by inertia; many hadn't reacted in time and were all thrown into a disoriented heap.

The Astral Express retreated more than a hundred meters.

Then the vacuum area vanished.

The seawater pressed back in from all directions, as if an invisible giant hand were clapping from both sides simultaneously.

The Astral Express was pushed forward again by the seawater, even rolling twice on the seabed.

Everything inside the carriages flew up; all items that weren't secured were tumbling, colliding, and shattering within the carriages.

Screams erupted one after another.

The tempered glass on one side of the corridor shattered instantly.

If not for the Coating still holding strong, the carriages would likely have been instantly submerged by the seawater.

On the roof of the Astral Express.

Jiang Wanwan, Tian Xiwei, and several team captains had no time to retreat back into the carriages.

The moment the sonic boom appeared, their bodies were thrown from the roof by the massive impact, like fallen leaves caught in a gale, flying toward the outside of the Coating.

And once they flew out of the Coating, they would be devoured by the surrounding darkness.

At this critical juncture.

Tough, blue-gray vines rapidly coiled from the roof of the Astral Express.

Like living creatures, they precisely wrapped around everyone who had been thrown up, firmly securing them to the roof.

"Everyone, hold on!"

Zhou Jun's voice came from the connection between the carriages.

He was half-kneeling on the ground, with thick, gnarled vines coiled beneath his feet.

A blue halo surged from his body, conducting along those vines to everyone.

Veins bulged on his forehead, his teeth were clenched, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Wood-element control skill [Vine Cage].

This was originally a skill meant to bind enemies.

At this moment, however, it had become a lifeline.

On the other side, taking advantage of the momentum of the receding seawater, Lin Xiao charged over at high speed from above the plain.

The sonic boom area had no effect on him.

When the seawater was pushed away by the shockwave, he had already ascended in advance.

When the seawater pressed back in, he used that immense receding force to swing his battle axe and attack, his speed more than doubled compared to normal.

Red light flashed explosively.

The Maximum Output Mode of [Siphoning Strike] had long been activated.

Dark red energy, almost overflowing, condensed on the blade of the battle axe, carving a blinding arc in the deep sea.

The axe blade cut into the very center of that massive face, forcibly tearing open a gap.

Black substance surged from the gap, looking like blood, yet also like something even more viscous.

They diffused in the seawater, wanting to re-aggregate, but under the effect of the [Rend] trait, the healing speed of the wound became extremely slow.

After being attacked, a furious roar came from the depths of the rift.

Having succeeded with one strike, Lin Xiao immediately shifted his position.

The red light on the battle axe in his hand flashed continuously, leaving deep scars on other parts of the face.

Compared to such a massive bulk, these few wounds seemed to count for little.

However, the insulting nature was extremely strong.

Those five faces began to split and reorganize frantically.

The faces of men, women, young, and old flashed by one after another, with all kinds of expressions, skin tones, and even races.

Hundreds of faces appeared alternately in the darkness.

Subsequently, the hollow eye sockets on those faces all looked toward the position where Lin Xiao was.

Lin Xiao felt the hairs all over his body stand on end.

Danger!

His body reacted faster than his consciousness.

He flicked his left hand violently.

[Death Grip].

Shadow energy shot from his palm, grabbing a piece of floating ice dozens of meters away.

With his left hand gripping the void, he swung violently to the side.

Just the moment he left his original spot.

A strong light suddenly illuminated at the intersection of the gazes of countless faces.

It was a more pure form of energy, bursting out from the eye sockets.

The seawater in front instantly evaporated.

And the seabed below was melted into a bottomless pit, from which a large amount of gray gas could be seen spewing, and faintly, flowing dark red lava could also be seen.

If he had still been standing in that position just now, he would likely have evaporated, just like that rock layer.

Having dodged the attack, Lin Xiao did not pause for a moment.

He used the pulling force of [Death Grip] to swing himself toward another rock layer.

He kicked off the rock layer with both feet, changing his direction of travel once again.

Shadow energy was constantly shot out and retracted, allowing him to maneuver at high speed across this deep-sea plain.

At the same time, the ship's cannons on the Astral Express fired in three continuous rounds, interfering with the movements of the black substance.

Under the bombardment, those edges located on the black substance began to change.

They detached from the main body, transforming into countless long, thin tentacles that lashed out frantically.

Not dozens.

It was hundreds, thousands.

They pierced in simultaneously from all directions, sealing off all of Lin Xiao's possible evasion routes.

The tentacles lashed against the seabed, smashing deep furrows into the sediment layer.

The tentacles whipped against the rock layers, causing the rocks to crack and debris to scatter.

Lin Xiao dodged and maneuvered through the gaps between the tentacles.

[Wither Domain] expanded, and the speed of all tentacles entering the domain plummeted.

The shield from [Walking on Waves Without a Trace] continuously stacked and refreshed; occasionally grazed by the tips of the tentacles, the shield would flicker violently, but it never broke.

Lin Xiao also seized the opportunity to swing his axe.

Severing all those annoying tentacles.

The main body of that face was constantly shrinking, but the surrounding tentacles were becoming denser and more frantic.

Just as Lin Xiao was entangled in the fight with the tentacles.

He suddenly felt someone pat his left shoulder.

He turned his head sharply, his battle axe sweeping horizontally behind him at the same time.

But there was nothing behind him.

Just as he was surprised, he suddenly felt the palm of his left hand, which was gripping the void, sink heavily.

Looking down, there was actually a strange... weapon in his hand?

Lin Xiao's pupils constricted slightly.

It was a trident forged entirely from some kind of cyan-gold metal.

The shaft of the halberd was slender, its surface engraved with intricate and ancient runes.

The three prongs were arranged side by side, the middle one slightly longer, the two on the sides slightly shorter, with the edges gleaming with a faint, cold light.

[Sea God's Trident]

[Type: Weapon · Legendary]

[Level: 5 (Growth-type)]

[Attack: ?]

[Trait · Legendary - ?: ???]

[Trait ?: ???]

[Trait ?: ???]

[Durability: ∞]

[The abyss is calling, and the ocean has responded]