Chapter 146: Chapter 139: The Living Coral Island
Su Ze’s pupils shrank. He recognized the two people being hunted by the "island." One was Ning Yushen, and the other, surprisingly, was Ye Muni!
Ye Muni was a General from Luofan Country, so his appearance here wasn’t strange.
’But for that island to be able to hunt two Saint-level Overlords... what kind of monster is it?’
’Are those Marine Beasts fleeing from that island, too? Is that why they’re rushing onto the land?’
The mont the island appeared, all the Marine Beasts went into a frenzy, frantically charging the Dongli soldiers’ defensive line as if being a single step too slow ant being devoured.
Jia Yuan made a swift decision and ordered, "All units, fall back! Retreat behind the city wall!"
A wall had been constructed inside Lihai City, one kiloter from the coastline. It was the city’s final line of defense against the Marine Beasts.
Seeing even the Saint-level Overlords fleeing for their lives, Jia Yuan knew it was impossible to hold their position. The number of beasts was increasing, and then there was that bizarre island. Who knew what horrors would unfold when it reached the shore? Retreating now was the safest choice.
The Dongli soldiers fought as they fell back. Su Ze, Jia Yuan, and a few other exceptionally strong individuals remained behind to cover the retreat.
Su Ze unleashed his full power. His two major area-of-effect skills, Gravity Dust Sand and Furious Waves, allowed him to slaughter countless beasts within the massive horde.
As the Dongli soldiers retreated further into the distance, Su Ze and the others breathed a sigh of relief. With the tactical advantage of the wall behind them, they should be able to hold out for a while.
anwhile, the island drew ever closer. Ning Yushen was about to reach the shore, and Su Ze’s group could now see the bizarre island in greater detail.
The "stones" on the island were multicolored, and countless small tentacles covered its entire surface. Periodically, chunks of this stone would launch out, trailing tentacles behind them. These projectiles would strike the fleeing beasts, swiftly entangling and capturing them.
Occasionally, a "stone" that had finished its hunt would fly back to the island. After devouring its prey, the stone’s volu would increase ever so slightly.
’It seems the entire island is made up of these "stones"!’
"That’s... coral!" Ye Jin exclaid.
As a graduate with a degree in evolutionary studies who had also grown up by the sea, Ye Jin was quite knowledgeable. She recognized it as a Coral Island at a single glance!
A Coral Island made up of countless Coral Insects.
Those segnted "stones" were actually the outer shells secreted by the Coral Insects. The creatures living inside the shells, extending their constantly writhing tentacles, were the Coral Insects!
Of course, these weren’t ordinary Coral Insects, but evolved ones. And their level was clearly high, or they wouldn’t be capable of hunting two Saint-level Overlords.
"So you’re saying that island is a living, conscious Coral Island made up of countless Coral Insects?" Su Ze asked.
Ye Jin nodded, her expression grave. "Yes. And from the looks of it, they can freely separate and combine. Each Coral Insect can detach from the main body to hunt on its own, or they can group together to hunt cooperatively."
"No wonder these Marine Beasts are fleeing. If a Coral Island that large were to disperse to hunt, who knows how many it would devour in a single day."
Jia Yuan cut in, "You two, retreat with . It’s too dangerous here!"
Su Ze and Ye Jin obediently followed Jia Yuan, retreating toward the city wall in the rear.
A short while later, the pursuit forced Ning Yushen and Ye Muni to the coastline. Ning Yushen headed straight for the Dongli Kingdom, while Ye Muni, naturally, ran toward the Luofan Country.
The Coral Island stopped at the edge of the shallows, advancing no further.
Ning Yushen had just breathed a sigh of relief when the Coral Island suddenly began to disassemble. The entire island broke apart into countless, densely packed Coral Insects. Like a plague of locusts blotting out the sky, they split into two swarms and shot after Ning Yushen and Ye Muni.
The color drained from Ye Muni’s and Ning Yushen’s faces. They were trapped; they could neither advance nor retreat.
If they retreated, they would lead the danger into the city, where ordinary civilians would be utterly defenseless against these mutated Coral Insects.
But if they didn’t retreat, they couldn’t possibly withstand the swarm.
Gritting his teeth, Ning Yushen stopped in his tracks and turned to fight back. He clearly had no intention of leading the Coral Insects into the city.
Countless Coral Insects converged, combining to form a mountain-sized Coral Monster that engaged Ning Yushen in a ferocious battle.
anwhile, so of the Coral Insects bypassed Ning Yushen, streaking toward the city wall where Su Ze and the others were positioned.
A massive number of Marine Beasts were now amassed outside the wall, and the Dongli soldiers were locked in a bitter struggle. The incoming Coral Insects flew over them and coalesced into several human-sized Coral Monsters, which began attacking both the other Marine Beasts and the Dongli soldiers.
These Coral Monsters ca in all sorts of shapes, as if haphazardly sculpted from modeling clay, with no rhy or reason to their forms. They had two thods of attack: one was a physical attack, bludgeoning targets with their hard coral exoskeletons; the other was extending their tentacles to ensnare prey.
The Coral Insects’ tentacles were covered in stinging cells that could pierce a victim’s body. The nematocysts inside these cells stored venom that would be injected into the prey, capable of paralyzing or even killing it.
Su Ze and the others had no choice but to prioritize dealing with these Coral Monsters. The other beasts were just trying to flee and weren’t particularly aggressive, but these Coral Monsters attacked any living thing on sight.
BANG!
Su Ze activated "Ant Power" and used "Needle Strike," chiseling open a Coral Monster’s hard shell with a single finger. He imdiately followed up with a second Needle Strike, piercing a hole straight through the Coral Insect within.
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