Chapter 4784 — Something Unusual

The view from the command room could not match that from the lookout platform, but it was already the second-best vantage point on the entire ship—and the sea beasts were now close at hand. At this distance there was no need for far-seeing; standing in the command room, one could see the horde ahead with perfect clarity.

What Wei Zhao saw struck him as rather odd. At the Yuan Ying and Xuan Sheng stages, sea beasts already possessed considerable intelligence. That the strong devoured the weak was nothing strange—but that they should charge in without a backward glance, launching suicide attacks, was simply too incredible.

"Boy, there's something unusual about today. I sense something big has its eye on you all." At that moment, the voice of the Ghost Thing suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Something big? How big?" Wei Zhao asked hastily. His first thought was of top-tier entities like the giant electric eel or the Five-Venom Flood Dragon. If their foe really was a fearsome sea beast of that kind, one that stood above even the Sea-Splitting stage, then today would be truly dire indeed—even the ancient warship might not be able to shield them.

"Not as big as you imagine—but not small either. With proper command, the odds are fifty-fifty, heh heh." The Ghost Thing gave a strange, intrigued chuckle.

Wei Zhao could not help looking toward Okuda Qi, hoping the man could hold out. Otherwise, if this ancient warship were truly broken apart or even sunk, everything would be utterly ruined.

Boom! The warship shuddered violently once more, and everyone including Okuda Qi turned pale. The first impact earlier had been merely a slight sway, but this one felt markedly different—not only was the force a hundred times greater, but the sea beasts seemed to have found a weak point!

Their earlier probing attack had come in a single wave, but this assault was relentless, and it carried an alarming momentum that only grew fiercer. The crowd could not help showing looks of dread—if this continued, the consequences would be unthinkable.

"Something's wrong! These beasts have someone commanding them—otherwise they could never find the seams so easily. Damn those bastards!" Okuda Qi's face turned ashen at once.

Given the grade of the ancient warship's defensive formations, it should easily withstand even the suicidal attacks of Kai Shan-stage sea beasts. But it was not truly without flaw: with a vessel of such enormous tonnage, no single defensive formation could cover it entirely. The only solution was to overlay multiple formations until they achieved complete coverage.

Yet this inevitably meant that the defensive strength across the ship would be uneven, and weakest of all at the seams. Though those points could still block a Kai Shan-stage sea beast's full-powered strike, a flaw was still a flaw—and if the horde were allowed to keep attacking this way, the possibility of capsizing in a ditch was not out of the question.

This discovery set every heart pounding. Such an immense horde was terrifying enough; add a hidden mastermind capable of spotting the seams at a glance, and the mere thought was enough to make one's hair stand on end.

"Prepare the attack formations!" Okuda Qi suddenly ordered in a low, grave voice. Shocked as they were, everyone's spirits lifted; they rubbed their palms in excitement and took their positions.

The attack formations consumed spiritual energy far beyond the sum of all the defensive formations combined, and the immense commotion they raised was likely to draw powerful sea beasts from every direction. Under ordinary circumstances they would never be lightly activated—unless it was a matter of life and death.

And though they had not yet reached the true brink of life and death, if the horde's assault could not be cut short soon, the defensive formations would sooner or later collapse. Rather than sit and wait for death, better to stake everything on one throw.

This one was decisive enough! Wei Zhao cast Okuda Qi a startled glance, then turned his eyes to the sea ahead. By now the various attack formations were already gathering their power, and the entire warship was like a peerless ancient beast of prey, radiating a terrifying pressure that could rend heaven and earth.

As if frightened by the menace of the attack formations, some of the Yuan Ying-stage sea beasts at the very front suddenly halted their assault. They seemed to have already conceived thoughts of retreat, and as though waking from a dream they scrambled backward with all their might—for fear of death was no less in sea beasts than in humans.

But before the crowd could raise a cheer of relief, a scene of utter savagery unfolded before their eyes. These frightened, retreating Yuan Ying-stage sea beasts were instantly torn to bloody shreds by the horde behind them, not one spared. A stench of blood rose to the heavens across the whole sea, dyeing even the night itself red.

The crowd was struck dumb for a long while. Because of that inexplicably savage reek of blood, the horde grew ever more frenzied, ever more hysterical. Far from showing the slightest inclination to retreat, they redoubled their ferocity—even the several Kai Shan-stage sea beasts mingling within the horde joined the assault!

What had just occurred was only the second wave, and Okuda Qi's well-drilled team could at least have handled it with composure. But now, in an instant, it had turned into a desperate, life-or-death struggle, and the whole situation slipped at once beyond control.

"Attack! Lock onto the Xuan Sheng-stage sea beasts—all squads, fire at will!" Okuda Qi ordered at once. The Yuan Ying-stage sea beasts could do no harm to the defensive formations; the enemy's main force was the Xuan Sheng-stage beasts, and if those could be wiped out, their own chances of victory would rise sharply!

"Received!" Hearing the unified replies from the transmission formation, Wei Zhao saw a blaze of splendor before his eyes—dozens of beams of every color, visible to the naked eye, vanishing instantly into the horde. They seemed silent and traceless, but the next moment Wei Zhao's eyes flew wide, unable to conceal his shock.

Wherever the beams passed, every sea beast was in an instant reduced to a mist of blood. Xuan Sheng-stage beasts of such renown had not the slightest power to resist—they could not even dodge in time. As for the Yuan Ying-stage beasts caught in the surrounding blast, they did not even count as cannon fodder; whatever the light touched died, whatever it brushed perished.

Gazing at the sea of blood before him, like a hell on earth, at the vast horde shrieking miserably within it, Wei Zhao could not help drawing a sharp breath, his heart filled with unparalleled shock. This was the invincible warship that galloped unchecked across the boundless sea!

With a single volley, half the Xuan Sheng-stage sea beasts—the very backbone of the horde—were wiped out. Now that this invincible warship had bared its savage claws and fangs, even the boundless sea was no longer so fearsome. Just as now, while the people here rejoiced, it had become a mad carnival.

"Well done! One more volley, and your captain will personally throw you a celebration!" Okuda Qi roared in excitement. One more volley would wipe out those Xuan Sheng-stage sea beasts entirely, leaving only the handful of Kai Shan-stage beasts and a pack of harmless Yuan Ying-stage fodder on the other side—victory was assured.