The Chinese fleet encountered an attack of flames, immediately plagued by high temperatures and oxygen deprivation. The sustained high temperatures would cause heatstroke, leading to rapid organ failure, and within a day, a person would die from organ failure. If they continued to endure such high temperatures, it was undeniable that everyone in the fleet would be roasted alive.
In addition to the high temperatures, the soldiers faced another fatal problem: oxygen deprivation. The combustion of ammonia had consumed most of the oxygen in the air.
The soldiers felt dizzy standing on the ship, unable to stand steadily. Fortunately, someone found oxygen tanks on the ship, and everyone took turns inhaling oxygen, which finally alleviated the oxygen deprivation. However, the sea of fire still existed, and the problem of high temperatures had to be solved; otherwise, the threat of sea beasts could not be truly resolved.
The captain had long heard that some awakened individuals had the ability to control ammonia, but it was not very strong, as the offensive methods that ammonia could cause were limited to a few. Either ammonia would make people faint from the stench, or it would be ignited to cause fires. It was neither comparable to awakened individuals who directly released poisonous gas nor to those who directly controlled flames.
However, now, after the sea beasts displayed their abilities, they had conjured a sea of fire out of thin air on the vast ocean, directly surrounding the entire Chinese fleet. At this point, holding their ground was impossible. The sea beasts had not yet launched a formal charge, and with just one ability, the fleet was already overwhelmed. If they continued to stay here, everyone would die.
At this moment, the chief of staff suddenly received a notification. The content of the notification was: "There is no obstruction of flames to the west, and this is not within the domain of the Divine Realm. We have a chance to break through!"
Upon hearing this news, the captain said with great concern, "We can escape, but what about the awakened individuals in the Divine Realm? You know, without our support, they will surely die at sea."
The captain was unwilling at this moment. If they had waited just ten more days for the ships from Hainan to arrive and deliver the containers, the meteorite would have been within their grasp. But at this moment, the sea beasts suddenly surrounded them. The meteorite that was within sight might now be lost forever.
The chief of staff quickly said, "As long as we keep the green hills, we'll have firewood to burn. Let's break through for now. The awakened individuals all carry satellite phones. As long as they get out of the Divine Realm, we can discuss a meeting point. Anyway, the meteorite is already buried at the bottom of the sea, and no one else can find it!"
The captain could only nod helplessly at this moment, preparing to break through from the west.
The fleet changed its course, raised the anchors, and sailed straight through a gap in the sea of fire.
However, after the fleet left the sea of fire, they discovered that they had emerged from a small encirclement only to enter a larger one.
After leaving the sea of fire, the Chinese fleet encountered more sea beasts. Dark shadows appeared in the water, and many colossal creatures emerged on the sea surface. Any one of these sea beasts was large enough to rival a warship, and these sea beasts were preparing to continue their attack on the fleet.
The captain understood and said with a frown, "This is a tactic of surrounding three sides and leaving one open. The sea beasts deliberately left a gap for us to pass through. How did the sea beasts learn tactics? Is someone teaching them tactics?"
If zombies learned to encircle and penetrate, the captain would not find it strange at all, because the zombie kings had some human memories and their intelligence was online, so using stratagems could be considered reasonable. However, for the sea beasts to have learned tactics, it was not simple.
"Attack quickly, Captain! Only by forcibly tearing open a gap can we successfully break through!" the chief of staff suggested.
The captain remained silent. Although breaking through seemed like a good option, was their strength truly sufficient? With the presence of twenty-three giant sea beasts, could they really break through? Moreover, at this moment, facing sea beasts that had learned tactics, their intention to break through might be seen through.
"Hold your ground! Also, quickly contact the other four fleets. Facing the attack of sea beasts now, we are all humans and should not continue to guard against each other due to differences in power. It is best to cooperate, and at the very least, we can exchange information," the captain issued an order, choosing to hold their ground!
This time, almost everyone was stunned. Holding their ground? Facing the attack of sea beasts, they were going to continue to hold their ground at sea. Wasn't this suicidal?
The chief of staff also considered it seriously and gritted his teeth, saying, "I will immediately have people contact the fleets of the other four factions and get the information as soon as possible. However, if we continue to hold our ground, we might not even last a day!"
The captain sat in his seat, rubbing his temples forcefully, and said to himself, "The sea beasts' objective is very clear: to force us to break through, or to push us into the Divine Realm behind us. However, the sea beasts must have a conspiracy in doing this. Thinking carefully, thinking carefully, what other goals do the sea beasts have?"
To defeat an enemy, one must first understand the enemy. If one does not know the true situation of the enemy, then defeating the opponent is nothing but wishful thinking.
While the captain was carefully considering the sea beasts' thought process, the chief of staff had already led people to contact the remaining fleets. With disaster looming, only by working together could they succeed. If they could gather together, they would form a considerable force and could contend with the sea beasts. He believed that as long as the other fleet commanders had normal thinking, they would all agree.
The chief of staff successfully contacted the other fleets. However, as soon as he inquired, he received more information: "We are all surrounded. Except for a passage in the southern sea area that allows escape, there is no other way out. The European fleet has already withdrawn, and we are going to withdraw as well!"
"Withdraw?" Upon hearing this answer, the chief of staff felt incredulous. Did these people not want to fight back? "Don't you have any fighting spirit? At this time, your fleet must have suffered heavy losses, yet you don't even think about revenge!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the commander of the North American fleet immediately began to complain, "Oh, my God, are you confused? Do you know how desperate we were when we encountered the sea beasts? Why should we charge forward and die when facing an enemy we cannot defeat? Now that there is an escape route, let's hurry and run!"
The chief of staff was somewhat unwilling and continued to ask, "Then what about the awakened individuals in the Divine Realm? If you don't stay to pick them up, they might die at sea."
"Do you think I will ignore them? Let me tell you, these are our good brothers. We will pray for our brothers in the Sea of Silence in our hearts." After saying this, the North American fleet immediately hung up the phone, unwilling to say anything more.
Perhaps for the North American fleet, escaping and saving their own lives was the most important thing at the moment, and other matters did not need to be considered too much.
Hearing the dead air on the phone, the chief of staff couldn't help but put down the phone fiercely and said, "These cowardly fellows are good at scattering when disaster strikes. They even say they will pray. If praying were useful, then everyone in the world would worship gods."
However, at this moment, the captain, who had been silent, suddenly remembered: scattering when disaster strikes?
"I understand! I understand everything!" The captain slapped the table, having figured out all the matters. Why did so many sea beasts surround and attack them at this time, and even leave a gap in the southern sea area? It was entirely to separate the fleet from the awakened individuals in the Divine Realm!
"Captain, what do you understand?" the chief of staff asked, somewhat confused.
The captain said in a deep voice, "The sea beasts' objective is very simple: to use their abilities to force us all away. This way, once the fleet leaves the nearby sea area, these sea beasts can rush into the Divine Realm and slaughter the awakened individuals! We are not the main target of the sea beasts. The main target of the sea beasts is the awakened individuals in the Divine Realm!"
The chief of staff was stunned for a moment, then began to analyze the possibility of this matter. He then said, "It's not impossible. Sea beasts can also use abilities, so they can be considered another form of awakened individuals. They can also enter the Divine Realm. However, would the sea beasts really let us fleets leave so easily?"
The captain quickly said, "Don't you forget, this is the ocean. How can our speed compare to these sea beasts? So I can be sure that after the fleet temporarily escapes the encirclement of the sea beasts, they might not be attacked for a short period. But once the sea beasts have dealt with the awakened individuals in the Divine Realm, they will immediately charge up, and at that time, we will still be caught up and attacked!"
The chief of staff understood the current situation and felt a little worried. It seemed there were no good choices at the moment. Escaping was not an option, and staying would not last. What should they do?
The captain thought for a moment and said, "We will also prepare to retreat to the south, but our speed cannot be too fast. We will advance slowly, staying close to the edge of the Divine Realm. Also, immediately throw out message bottles, saying that we will wait for one hour at noon on the second day outside the southern Divine Realm. If no one comes out within an hour, we will immediately withdraw. Write it in Chinese! As for whether the awakened individuals inside can still see it, it will be up to fate!"
The captain's idea was very simple. It was impossible to fight the sea beasts head-on now. Therefore, the only option was to retreat. The only method he could think of at the moment was to delay time and retreat slowly to the south, taking two days to cover a short distance. If the sea beasts really thought this way, they would not launch a large-scale attack on the fleet. And if the awakened individuals did not come out after two days, then he could do nothing.
The soldiers received the order and immediately began their voyage, but their speed was very slow. A journey that would normally take an hour was now taking two days for the fleet to complete at its current speed.
As soon as the fleet left, ten sea beasts immediately entered the Divine Realm. The chief of staff's guess was correct; giant sea beasts could also enter and exit the Divine Realm.
The remaining ten sea beasts were monitoring the fleet's withdrawal. As long as the fleet was still sailing and the propellers were still turning, these sea beasts would not launch an attack.
The captain knew that his guess was correct, but he couldn't be happy at all. He knew that the fleet might still have a chance to successfully break through from the south, but the awakened individuals in the Divine Realm were mostly out of luck. They didn't even know that there were already hundreds of sea beasts outside the Divine Realm.
"Good luck to yourselves. We can't help you anymore, but since you are awakened individuals, you must be able to think of a way to escape?" the captain murmured.
The chief of staff still had a doubt in his heart. The sonar on the ship had always been on. Within a range of tens of kilometers, any situation underwater could be detected immediately. However, the appearance of these sea beasts was very sudden. Had the sonar malfunctioned?
As the fleets outside the Divine Realm retreated one after another, the battle within the Divine Realm continued. The awakened individuals from North America and Russia had already engaged in a fierce battle. North America used highly toxic attacks, while Russia immediately retaliated with hydrogen combustion. In battles at sea, accuracy was no longer important; what mattered was the large coverage area of the abilities. Even if the accuracy was sufficient and hit the opposing awakened individuals, these awakened individuals could withstand it with their strong physical fitness. However, area attacks were difficult to dodge and could disrupt formations.
Area attacks were not easily dodged. Although the damage caused might not be very large, as long as the target was hit, the accumulated damage would establish an advantage.
Tom stood on a small boat, continuously using his abilities, creating wave after wave of huge waves, causing the Russian battlefield opposite to shake unceasingly.
Silinovna was boosting morale, "Brothers, hold on. Victory will surely belong to us."