“Why has it been disconnected? It was fine just a moment ago, then Golden Lion King’s live broadcast stream suddenly just vanished!”
“F*ck, I’ve even taken off my damn trousers, and you’re now just letting me watch this?”
“Why is it back to the Thunder Monkey King’s stream? Fuck, I wanted to watch the big battle! I wanted to watch the Oreo Clan fight the foreign races!”
“There must be something shady going on. Why won’t the Golden Lion King let us watch the battle?!”
“Maybe the Golden Lion King was making it up. Maybe they pretended that they were about to fight, and then just as it was about to get good, they turned off the stream to mess around with us!”
“Let me tell you, Simba’s Storm and Waves move was way too awesome. It’s right up there with the Royal Clans’ strength.”
“I can’t believe it either. That display was even more powerful than a royal clan!”
“It might seem like they’re showing off, but let me tell you, Simba and Connie were able to face off against 10,000 creatures so calmly… they must be really strong!”
“They must be!”
“…”
After Connie turned off the live broadcast stream, everyone left on the channel could only move over to the Thunder Monkey King’s stream — previously ranked second — to kill time and complain.
As the initiator of the whole thing, not only was the Thunder Monkey King himself stunned, the other four royal clans were shocked as well. Just from that brief glimpse, they could already tell that the mysterious Oreo Clan was immensely strong. After catching a glimpse of what they were capable of, the royal clans decided that if the Oreo Clan could pass the test, they would set a new precedent and sincerely welcome this powerful foreign clan into the royal clans’ fold.
However, at this moment…
The Thunder Monkey King shut off his own stream immediately, and the other four royal clans scrambled to leave the channel. They had one common goal… to establish a friendly connection! They wanted to reach out to the foreign races that had just been in battle and get their hands on the latest information.
It was fine even without the live broadcast stream. They could video call the foreign races and obtain the latest update about the battle situation. As they rushed to contact the foreign races, they suddenly received a notification from the game.
[The players you are trying to contact are currently engaged in combat. Please try contacting them when they have left combat!]
This was the method in which the game protected players in combat, keeping them from being distracted by chat messages at crucial points of the fight. It wasn’t just the video call function that was blocked either; other messages wouldn’t trigger notifications. One had to wait until the player either left combat, or pro-actively checked their messages.
Usually, this feature garnered praise not just from the ordinary foreign races, but the royal clans as well. It made them feel like the game’s creators were both magnanimous and thoughtful. However, receiving such a notification now made them feel like vomiting blood.
“Crap, our first squad was affected by the wave, and are now in combat mode!”
“We can only wait for combat to end, and then contact them!”
For some reason, seeing the message from Cursed Tiger made the hearts of the four other clans skip a beat. With over 23,000 foreign clans poised to attack, the defeat of two players should have been a done deal but, for some reason, the Five Royal Clans were now feeling stabs of panic.
That white wave like a mountain, that massive whirlwind… it all got pushed to the back of their minds; replaced with the image of Su Mo’s first appearance on the stream and the “rage” in his eyes!
Why was he so angry? What else did he have up his sleeve? What was he planning?
The Five Royal Clans had no idea, so they could only wait.
…
[Warning! South 87, enemy is 4.9km away from Hope One on the south side. Estimated time of arrival: 7 minutes 35 seconds!]
[Warning! South 99, enemy is 3.6km away from Hope One on the south side. Estimated time of arrival: 5 minutes 12 seconds!]
[Warning…]
[The life signs North 92 of Hope One have begun to disperse. Do you want to activate the tracking algorithm?]
[Tracking algorithm activated. Enemy trajectories will be tracked and predicted in real time…]
[Warning! Warning! Hull damage detected on Hope One. Impact by unknown enemies detected. Do you want to accelerate and retreat?]
[Warning! Warning! Damage detected on Hope One’s starboard side. Impact by unknown enemies detected. Request to engage emergency retreat mode!]
[Current speed: 4.5 knots. If this speed is maintained, the probability of being surrounded is 98%. If cruising speed is activated, the probability of being surrounded is 0.006%. If Hope One reaches maximum speed, the probability of being surrounded is 0%. Do you want to accelerate and retreat?]
[…]
With the enemy just ahead, the OS’s notification system had gone into overdrive, with pings and prompts coming one after another.
Su Mo took his time and put away his majestic three-pointed two-edged sword. The whirlwind and waves seemed incredibly powerful over the stream just three minutes ago, but they actually didn’t do as much damage as people would have expected. Instead, after the stream ended, the terrible wave immediately announced its own “demise”.
It was very easy to use the horn. One only had to use the so-called “authority of the God of the Ocean”, spend Disaster Points, and make a request. This mysterious old horn would then, within limits, make its owner’s wishes come true.
While using it, Su Mo’s wish was to create a wave that would have an impact on the surrounding 10km radius. However, the horn got it wrong and created a “beautiful misunderstanding” instead. Of course, that misunderstanding came at a cost.
If it was only required to make the sea churn a little more violently, 1,000 Disaster Points would naturally be sufficient, but to create this terrifying wave, the horn had to initiate a much more complex process. To create a wave that would surge, crash, and roll into the distance… more than 10,000 Disaster Points were needed. Therefore, what all the foreign races present at the battle witnessed instead was the wave seemingly dissolve in mid-air, before gently returning to the surface of the sea.
In addition to the various self-inflicted accidents caused by the mad panic induced by the wave, of the 8,500 foreign races, the wave’s kill count didn’t even cross the 100 mark! With this, the previously stunned squad seemed to come to their senses, and began taunting Su Mo and Connie loudly.
The whirlwind was still active, so the flying foreign races were unable to draw near, but some of the foreign races had cleverly hidden themselves underwater and swam toward Hope One. Seeing Hope One’s seemingly flimsy outer facade, and imagining that it would be as simple as destroying a raft, they excitedly launched their first wave of attacks.
“Leader, should we retaliate? I don’t think I can hold on much longer!”
Connie, who had been expending energy this whole time, stood behind Su Mo, her face already pale. As a lion priestess whose actual strength was actually extremely low, five minutes of expending energy had already pushed her to her limit.
Given Hope One’s blessing level, the strength of the whirlwind would swiftly decline to nothingness if Connie halted her energy output. The flying foreign races would immediately press their advantage and break through, launching “suicide attacks” on those on deck.
“Wait. Just hold on for two more minutes until they come over!”
“Operating System, move back! Allow the enemies on both fronts to converge together!”
[Captain Su Mo, your order has been received. Hope One will activate Tank Mode to funnel the enemies to the target location of South 90!]
As an intelligent system that would run indefinitely as long as there was a power source, the OS’s voice remained expressionless even during this desperate situation. No one found this lack of emotion frightening. It actually provided people a sense of comfort on the edge of a big battle.
Yes, it had reached this stage.
Su Mo had already taken all the factors into consideration, and had perfected his plan. Pushing his own abilities to the limit, he had also weakened the enemy — who had no hope of winning — as much as he could. He executed every step perfectly.
Seeing Hope One move southwards, some stray combatants thought that it was retreating and began to chase after it. Su Mo’s right hand was still controlling the whirlwind, but he raised his left hand slowly, pressing down on the Bluetooth headset on his left ear.
Upon receiving the order, the combat agents hiding below deck sprang into action, leaping into position on the turrets where the machine guns were mounted. According to their battle arrangements, each combat agent had been paired with one bionic mechanic.
While the combat agent quickly fixed itself into position using a few large screws, a mechanic brought over a case of ammunition. The combat agent handled itself like a seasoned warrior, loading the gun with such familiarity that it would send a chill up the spines of those observing.
From the moment Su Mo gave the order, to the moment the guns were loaded, and to the moment the bionic mechanic brought over the second case of ammunition, the entire process had only taken… one minute and 25 seconds!
There were eight combat agents distributed evenly from the bow to the stern, port and starboard, covering every possible attack angle, except for directly below Hope One.
Sitting next to the Annihilator, Su Mo put on a good show, pulling down the periscope, calmly watching the progress of the battle outside.
[Real-time report: South 86, South 92, South 115, South 70, South 98… In 12 directions, the closest distance between the foreign races and Hope One is 0.8km, with the furthest being 1.69km away. Estimated time to contact: 42 seconds!]
[North 95, North 112, North 80, North 103, North 44, North 168, North 12… In 16 directions, the closest distance between the foreign races and Hope One is 0.2km, with the furthest being 1.13km away. Estimated time to contact: 36 seconds!]
[Detected: The current situation has triggered the conditions of the special combat readiness state. Do you want to activate the fire-control auxiliary system?]
Finally! The moment had finally come! After 25 days of waiting, and a whole month of lying dormant.
Hearing that the impending battle was only 40 seconds away, he looked towards Connie, who seemed to be on the verge of passing out.
Su Mo efficiently dispersed the whirlwind and picked up Connie, before running toward the bridge with great strides.
A disguise? There was no need for that anymore!
Forty seconds later, in this part of the sea, Hope One burst to life with terrifying firepower. It would make every foreign race member forever remember what rage looked like..
