The Ootachi rat crawled quickly along the seabed, its two-horned head overturning fishing boats and freighters docked in the harbor.
*Splash*—
With a surge of seawater, the deep-sea behemoth braced its forelimbs on the harbor's land.
Over three thousand tons of weight concentrated at a single point, crushing and flattening the solid reinforced concrete.
"Fire, fire!"
On the ring island wall behind the harbor, PPDc soldiers roared in the rain.
Machine guns, artillery shells,
All sorts of man-made weapons struck the Ootachi rat's body, only to be blocked by the A.T. Field, turning into metallic chains, falling to the ground, accumulating a pile of spent cartridges.
It's no wonder some consider A.T. Field to be an abbreviation for Absolute Terror Field.
That layer of golden shield, like a cheap special effect, was like a membrane isolating two worlds.
All of humanity's rationality and science collapsed and disintegrated before the shield.
Thump, thump, thump.
The Ootachi rat ignored the rain of bullets flying toward it, crawling straight ahead.
From time to time, PPDc mechs of 5, 10, or 20 meters in size charged forward,
All of them intercepted by the Tier 1 and 2 deep-sea creatures that appeared with the Ootachi rat.
Soldiers against soldiers,
Medium-sized mechs and Tier 1 and 2 deep-sea creatures engaged in a fierce battle in front of the ring island wall.
Human mechs had the advantage in numbers, but the newly emerged deep-sea creatures, like the Trespasser and Ootachi, had an A.T. Field strength far surpassing their predecessors.
The two sides fought in a chaotic melee in the rain.
Human pilots could only watch helplessly as the Ootachi rat slowly but surely approached the ring island wall, raising its head with seeming slowness but actual speed.
*Tzzz*—
The deep-sea behemoth wriggled the sac-like organs in its throat, spewing out a massive amount of light blue corrosive liquid, bombarding the ring island wall like a water column.
Wherever the corrosive liquid touched, the special alloy wall melted and decomposed, dripping and falling to the ground like wax.
Soon, the entire wall was corroded into a gap large enough for the deep-sea behemoth to pass through.
The Ootachi rat strode into the gap and suddenly stopped.
The city... why is it all white?
In the Ootachi rat's view, almost every part of the New Port City was covered in a layer of white.
The towering skyscrapers,
City roads,
Green plants,
Even the bare construction sites and aqueducts,
Were all covered in a layer of pale lichen.
Only a limited number of the city's main thoroughfares were spared.
The Ootachi rat briefly pondered for a few seconds. Although it didn't know exactly what had happened, the program already set in its brain still directed it to take action.
Destruction.
It waved its forelimbs and swung its tail.
Its massive body rampaged through the steel jungle, smashing and destroying buildings as easily as knocking over building blocks.
"Waaah..."
Children's cries rang out in the underground shelter.
The New Port City residents, huddled in the underground air-raid shelter, listened with pale faces to the deafening sounds from above, watching the dust constantly falling from the ceiling.
They once again recalled the fear of being kept in a cage by the behemoths.
The lights flickered on and off.
Cracks appeared on the walls with cracking sounds.
Mothers comforted their children.
Couples tearfully embraced and kissed.
Teenagers in school uniforms hid in corners with pale faces, completely unaware that their hands were tightly clasped together.
An old man calmly asked others for paper and pen and, leaning against the wall, wrote a rambling will, or rather, a family letter.
Soldiers and police officers in uniform silently guarded the metal door of the air-raid shelter, clutching the guns in their hands, even though they themselves knew that such fire sticks were useless against the behemoth.
Everyone, whether male or female, old or young, rich or poor,
All were below the surface,
Praying to their gods, heroes, or fate.
Bang!
A loud gunshot rang out above the surface,
Clearly audible even through the thick reinforced concrete.
What's going on?
The citizens in the underground air-raid shelter were filled with doubt. At the same time, the footsteps of the deep-sea behemoth stopped.
————
Li Ang's figure appeared in the circular crater.
He had already changed into his usual white coat and looked up at the huge deep-sea behemoth, unable to help but click his tongue in admiration.
The rough, thick hide,
The solid, strong muscles,
The sharp claws and teeth that could demolish cities as easily as crushing tofu,
And the glowing organs in that eerie blue color, so out of place in a human city.
It must be said that giant monsters do possess a breathtaking magnificence,
Perfectly in line with the human genes' fear of nature, the unknown, and death.
"63 meters tall, 3400 tons..."
Li Ang sighed softly. The Zerg's creation sequence wasn't without bio-weapons even larger than the deep-sea behemoth,
But whether it was the Leviathan or the Nydus Worm, they were all countermeasure-type bio-weapons,
Far less agile than the Ootachi rat,
Able to move nimbly despite its massive weight, and even stand upright for high-intensity combat on the same level.
"If a regular animal grew this big, its bones would have been crushed and its muscles snapped by its own weight. From the outside, the deep-sea behemoth doesn't seem to have any organs capable of absorbing large amounts of oxygen.
As expected, it's because of the A.T. Field.
Turning the impossible into the possible, distorting the world with personal will.
Completely unreasonable."
Li Ang stood in place, stepping on the soft, carpet-like white lichen, muttering to himself.
The Ootachi rat, looking down at him, briefly considered and then chose to raise its arm high, slapping down at Li Ang.
"Not good!"
Cai Tiantong, the chief technician of Shattered Dome, let out a cry of alarm in the command center.
Ever since the Kaiju War broke out, humans had always wanted to know where the deep-sea behemoths came from, what their purpose was, and whether there was any way for the two sides to coexist peacefully.
However, whether humans fought or negotiated, no matter what means they used to try to communicate with the deep-sea behemoths,
The other side gave no response.
Destroy, eliminate, erase all traces of human civilization.
The deep-sea behemoths seemed to have only this one command.
They used the ocean as their center, attacking the land again and again, destroying cities, demolishing infrastructure, until they were killed.
They were so contemptuous of humans that they didn't even bother to use tactics of appeasement or division.
Those who, in despair, chose to worship the deep-sea behemoths, regarding the monsters as messengers of God, running to the behemoths' feet to chant the "Deep-Sea Sanctuary" were all treated equally, stomped to death with one foot.
Mortal flesh,
Or steel vehicles,
Were all vulnerable before the trampling of the deep-sea behemoths.
"Why doesn't he, why doesn't he..."
Cai Tiantong, watching Li Ang standing still, quietly waiting for the behemoth to clap its hands, felt his hands and feet turn cold, his mind in a mess.
Why doesn't he dodge?
If he dies, will that so-called pale world lichen that can destroy human civilization go out of control?
Cai Tiantong felt a surge of blood, his brain having no time to think about his own safety. He subconsciously turned to look at Li Risheng's "companion," only to find that the Black Mamba was just as shocked and错愕.
A gust of wind howled.
Li Ang looked up at the giant beast's palm getting closer and closer in the sky. A cold light flashed on his monocle.
The Xin Yuan Staff was slowly drawn out from the void.
"Enlarge!"
With his low shout,
The Xin Yuan Staff, inlaid with glittering golden patterns on both ends, grew rapidly as it met the wind.
Instantly stretching and expanding,
Like a sharp needle, like a beam,
It thrust upwards from below at the approaching behemoth's palm.