Chapter 24: Sea Beast Wave
A massive stretch of the sea off in the distance began to froth and bubble violently.
Its body was incredibly massive, and its snow-white colored skin made it seem like an iceberg was charging towards them at high speed.
Countless Sea Beasts were following closely behind it. There were so many of them that they basically covered every square inch of exposed ocean. They were truly everywhere.
At the very front were four other massive Sea Beasts. From their auras, it was apparent that they were at the Demonic Emperor realm. In other words, the white killer whale’s strength was quite apparent.
Sovereign!
A Sovereign had charged out of the Abyss!
More specifically, a Sovereign who had reached the age requirement.
It was common for the Abyss to send out a Sovereign every once in a while.
This convention had become an ingrained rule in the Sovereigns at this point.
Yes, there were even rules for the more aged Sovereigns.
There were countless rules that the Deep Sea Sorrow imposed on the Sea Beasts when it accelerated their growth. This resulted in a Sovereign emerging roughly once every five years. There would be some small variations depending on the situation, but these differences were typically quite minimal, and the difference would only last a few months.
Before the fleet arrived at Long Clear Island, it had been four years since a Sovereign had attacked the Oceanids. As such, it was expected that a Sovereign would attack at some point this year – however, the exact date was unknown.
It appeared that the timeline was a little earlier this year, and significantly so at that.
Did it have anything to do with the arrival of the fleet?
Su Chen didn’t know.
He just knew that this day was bound to come sooner or later, which was why he had prepared for it.
Wu!!!
An alarm began to blare.
Forever Clear Island ground into motion. Countless individuals flew into the air from the island. When they saw the endless waves of Sea Beasts charging in their direction, their expressions all shifted drastically.
A Sea Beast Wave was imminent.
The fleet, which had dared to flirt around the region of the Abyss boldly, was suddenly put under quite a bit of stress by the sudden appearance of this Sea Beast Wave. As weird as the situation seemed, it was reality.
The reason was very simple – the gathering of a Sea Beast Wave would throw the surrounding waters into chaos.
Even though the Abyss was powerful, it was quite chaotic. The creatures living here would grow much more rapidly due to the influence of the Deep Sea Sorrow, but they would also lose their intelligence and rationality. They didn’t understand how to cooperate with one another and survived solely based on their instincts.
This was why the fleet dared to enter the region of the Abyss – as long as they treaded the fine line between life and death, they would be safe no matter how much danger it seemed they were in.
Once they retreated from the Abyss, the Sovereigns could howl and thrash all they liked but would not be able to do anything to the fleet. The border was their biggest protection. And as long as they didn’t create stir up too many waves while in the Abyss, the Beasts wouldn’t be as likely to attack them.
However, a Sea Beast Wave was an entirely different matter altogether.
When a Sovereign within the Abyss was given an order to attack the Intelligent Races, its remaining intelligence would also be activated.
Instead of attacking on its own, it would signal for all of the Sea Beasts not at the Sovereign level in the Abyss to attack with it.
This was both the command of a domineering Sovereign and the will of the Deep Sea Sorrow. No Beast dared to defy this order.
As such, once the Sovereign attacked, it took with it all of the Sea Beasts in the region. These Beasts were no longer scattered and moved as one.
As for the Abyss, Sea Beasts from other regions would come in to fill up the gap.
The Limitless Sea was extremely vast, and there were countless Sea Beasts living in it. Every time a Sea Beast Wave occurred, there would be an opportunity for the other Sea Beasts to be baptized by the Deep Sea Sorrow.
This was a cycle that perpetually repeated itself.
And every Sea Beast Wave would cause tremendous damage to the Intelligent Races.
This was why the attack of a single Sovereign was even more frightening than the combined attacks of many Sovereigns.
Just like how Floating Points that could move were more dangerous than an immobilized Sky City.
The same was true for the Sea Beast Waves.
These Sea Beast Waves were so powerful that the Oceanids would suffer great losses every time. Even though they had gotten somewhat used to it throughout the millennia, it was impossible for them to not feel some fear when they considered the endless wave of Sea Beasts about to slaughter them.
Frostpoint and Westminster were the first to respond to the alarm.
They shot into the sky. When they saw the scene before their very eyes, their expressions drastically shifted.
Westminster descended to Su Chen and said, “Sir Su, the Sea Beast Wave is here. We will retreat for now.”
Now that they had gotten to know each other a little better, Westminster felt comfortable addressing Su Chen much more casually.
“Retreat?” Su Chen glanced at Westminster.
Westminster nodded. “Yes, retreat! The Sovereign is being influenced by the Deep Sea Sorrow to target the Oceanids. If we retreat, the Sea Beast Wave won’t attack Forever Clear Island.”
Westminster was not retreating to escape, but to divert the attention of the Sovereign. This was extremely generous of her.
Su Chen, however, said indifferently, “Why did I choose this time to come? I wanted to see the might of a Sea Beast Wave for myself. If we can’t even defend ourselves against a Sea Beast Wave, how will we be able to carry out the latter stages of our plan anyways?”
Westminster grew agitated. “Sir Su, the Sea Beast Wave is far more powerful than you think. I know the Boundless Sect is strong, but there is no need to fight to the death with these Beasts here.”
“I know,” Su Chen replied. “Actually, I don’t need to know how strong the Sea Beast Wave is. I just need to know how many losses the Oceanids sustain with Neptune’s Fort, a million soldiers, and fifteen Ultimate Emperor Realm cultivators defending against the wave to get a feel for that.”
Westminster sighed, “As long as Sir Su understands. If we aren’t strong enough, we can retreat for now. Once we reach Neptune’s Fort, with the Boundless Sect’s additional strength, we should be able to defend ourselves with relative ease.”
“But I don’t want to do that,” Su Chen replied.
Hm?
Westminster didn’t understand.
Su Chen calmly said, “My target is the Abyss. If we cannot deal with the Sea Beast Wave on our own strength just yet, then what right do we have to claim that we can enter the Abyss?”
Westminster said bitterly, “The current strength we have on the island cannot compare to the strength of the whole Oceanid race.”
Frostpoint, Zhong Zhenjun, and the others also showed up.
Frostpoint glanced at Su Chen. “If you have such resolution, is there something you have in mind to stop the advance of the Sea Beast Wave?”
Unexpectedly, Su Chen replied, “Truth be told, I’m not really sure either.”
“Not sure?” Everyone was taken aback.
“Yes, not sure. There are a lot of things where the outcome can only be known after doing them,” Su Chen replied.
He had indeed made preparations for how to deal with the Sea Beast Wave, but he had no idea how effective these preparations would be.
As the Sea Beast Wave encroached, Su Chen said, “Prepare for battle. Just like last time, the Subdued Sea branch and the Blackwater Corps will pincer from the left and right. The Oceanids will attack from below, and the Boundless Sect will attack from above.
Frostpoint turned around and issued the command to his subordinates.
The low, mournful wail of a conch shell could be heard resounding through the air.
“What? We aren’t retreating?” The Oceanid soldiers, who had personally witnessed the might of a Sea Beast Wave before, were all surprised.
Even so, the training they had received helped them to get ready quickly.
The Boundless Sect and the Subdued Sea Branch also both sprang into action. The Boundless Sect had been prepared to fight against a Sea Beast Wave a long time ago, while the Subdued Sea Branch had never really had to deal with a Sea Beast Wave before. As such, they weren’t exactly clear about just how dangerous a Sea Beast Wave could be.
Only the Blackwater Corps was in disarray.
Because they were primarily a naval force, they were always affected by every Sea Beast Wave. Even though the Deep Sea Sorrow commanded the Sovereigns to attack Oceanids, that didn’t mean that the Sovereigns couldn’t attack anyone else.
As such, the Sovereigns would often take an interest in the Thousand Illusions Island on their way to attack the Oceanids. This was unquestionably a calamity for the Thousand Illusions Island.
For this reason, they knew exactly how frightening these Sea Beast Waves could be, and it was hard for them to muster up the courage to fight against one of these waves.
As such, when they heard this command, they all panicked.
Su Chen glanced at Zhong Zhenjun. “Commander Zhong, your men don’t seem to be very disciplined.”
Zhong Zhenjun’s face reddened. Just as he was about to discipline them, Fourth Head leapt into the air and barked, “Listen up! Heavenly Water Formations!”
The seventy thousand Blackwater Corps soldiers immediately sprang into motion.
Because they were all Origin Qi Scholars, they were far more mobile than traditional armies. Even though they feared the Sea Beast Wave, their training allowed them to quickly assemble and prepare for battle.
However, their hearts involuntarily trembled as they watched the Beasts roll in their direction.
There was nothing that Zhong Zhenjun could do now other than place his hopes on Su Chen.
He glanced at Su Chen. “What do you have planned?”
Su Chen smiled slightly. “Don’t be in such a hurry. Wait for them to get a bit closer.”
When everyone heard this, they could only gulp apprehensively.
Ji Hanyan was the bluntest when she spoke. As she stared at the oncoming wave, she said directly, “Su Chen, if you can’t handle the situation and cause the Subdued Sea Branch damage, I won’t go easy on you!”
Su Chen calmly replied, “I can’t promise you any outcome of the battle. The only thing I can promise you is that, no matter what the outcome is, the Boundless Sect will not retreat before the others do.”
When everyone heard this, they fell silent.
Did Su Chen truly have no confidence that he could win?
That might not be true either!
Su Chen had been preparing for this for five years. If he was really placing the lives of a few hundred thousand people at risk and hoping for good luck, that would be truly laughable.
Su Chen was probably ninety-nine percent confident that he could handle the situation.
But he would never say so aloud.
Battles were always vicious by nature, especially when they were being fought against Sovereigns. There was no room for wishful thinking; they would need to fight as if their lives were on the line.
What need was there for courage if you were assured of success? What need was there for faith?
There were always situations that would demand great sacrifice for success, or action when success was not guaranteed. If Su Chen wasn’t prepared to handle these kinds of situations, how could he call himself a soldier?
The Oceanids were prepared for this, the old Heavenly Might Battalion was prepared for this, but the Boundless Sect’s new disciples, the Subdued Sea Branch, and the Blackwater Corps were not as well-prepared in this regard.
That would take much tempering.
Tempering by blood and steel.
This was why Su Chen had said what he said.
He needed his allies to not only trust him but also be willing to take risks with him.
When they heard Su Chen’s words, everyone fell silent and waited apprehensively.
The Sea Beast Wave drew closer and closer. The Sovereign in the lead roared, demonstrating its desire to do battle, and massive waves began to form, looming over the island and casting a shadow on it.
The soldiers’ expressions turned slightly pale as the wave encroached on them.
It was almost instinctual that they would wonder what kind of strength would be necessary to destroy this limitless force of Sea Beasts?
Even a Desolate Beast probably wouldn’t be able to do so, right?
If a Desolate Beast couldn’t, then what about an Origin Beast?
Su Chen glanced at the wave, then turned to nod at Gu Qingluo. “It’s your time to shine.”
