Chapter 307. Black Tentacle
Smack!
Anna's tentacle flung 399's tail back to its transparent skull. Its gray body continued to wriggle as it tried to burrow within.
Just then, a silver spear materialized out of thin air beside the tentacle. However, as Anna's tentacle constantly writhed and its gray tendrils danced with a rhythm, the silver spear swiftly dissolved into a bubbling, muddy sludge and pooled on the ground.
399 let out a furious roar and shook his head in panic. The hint of terror underlying his cries was unmistakable. For the first time since his birth, he encountered something that could counteract his materialization powers.
Whenever he tried to focus on conjuring something, chaotic thoughts would cloud his mind and disrupt him. Due to the tentacle's interference, he couldn't manifest anything.
Thud!
Charles was flung off from the cannon barrel and landed on the ground. The giant metal construct then turned its mouth toward the tentacle that was trying to penetrate 399's head. A red laser dot appeared on the tentacle as the cannon took aim.
But before it could fire, an electric arc struck it. It trembled due to the high voltage coursing through it, and it let out sizzling noises.
The attack had come from Charles. Half of his body was paralyzed, but the other half could still move.
Just as the tentacle was about to successfully burrow itself into 399's gigantic brain, a white hand congealed from the white mist and grabbed the tentacle. In a swift motion, it pulled the tentacle out and flung it to the ground.
Despite being severely injured, Charles reached out and safely caught the gray tentacle in his hands.
The white hand belonged to one of 198's Whitebeasts. Under the relic's command, the beasts were circling like vultures overhead.
"AHHHHH!" 399 let out a screeching roar as his anger reached its peak. "I've had enough! Die!!" Various firearms of all sizes materialized around it; their dark barrels were all aimed directly at Charles' head.
How can I escape this? Thoughts raced through Charles' mind as he tried to come up with a strategy while dragging his half-crippled body away from the line of assault. However, he couldn't come up with anything.
Just as Charles was about to meet his creator from the bullets, a rapid chanting rose from behind 399.
"Ez, ... huul'wah!...Sk'woth'gl yu'ga!!"
The voice belonged to Bandages. Naked, he lay in the center of the filthy magical formation. As the undecipherable words left his lips, a chilling aura descended upon everyone present.
399 could no longer be hung up with Charles. For the first time, fear appeared in his lantern-sized eyes. White flames burst from his thrusters, propelling him rapidly toward the forest.
"Ph’nglui!" With a forceful point of his finger at 399, Bandage unleashed a pure black octopus tentacle. It burst forth from the bloody, muddled sacrificial formation and struck 399.
The moment the giant skull came into contact with the tentacle, it couldn't even put up a hint of struggle. Instantly, he was absorbed into the darkness. A face of utter despair was 399's final expression.
Clatter.
399's thrusters and the relics he was carrying fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, the black tentacle didn't stop even after devouring 399. It writhed through the throng of deformed flesh monsters; any living creature it touched would disintegrate into black ash and be absorbed to become part of it.
Charles watched in shock at Bandages standing at the center of the sacrificial formation. This seemed to be the first time he witnessed the true power of his First Mate. With enough sacrifices, Bandages could be considered the most powerful individual among the Narwhale's crew.
When all the deformed monsters had been devoured, the black tentacle retracted back into the formation.
Now that all the enemies had been eradicated, Charles' gaze shifted downward to the nearby 319—the Soul Printer. Struggling with his half-mangled body, he painstakingly crawled toward it.
Despite the overwhelming pain coursing through his body, a relieved smile surfaced on his countenance the moment he touched 319's bronze casing. He had achieved his objective for this expedition.
But he could hardly revel in his triumph when he saw the crew members rushing toward him. They hastily lifted him up and retreated into the forest.
"Why? What happened? Why are we running?" Charles asked in confusion, but he also didn't forget what was important to him. "Audric! Grab that stack of papers at your feet! It's important!"
Bandages didn't even have time to put on clothes. Running naked, he looked at Charles with a deep fear in his eyes.
"Not enough... sacrifices... Run..."
As soon as Bandages' words fell, the black tentacle emerged again from the formation. This time, it wasn't just one tentacle, but seven of them. And more were emerging from the sacrificial formation. They lashed around aimlessly, turning anything they touched into gray powder.
At the sight of the tentacles, the Narwhale crew wished they had more legs to run faster.
They finally made it into the forest and thought they would be safe. Yet, they realized that the black tentacles seemed to be expanding their reach as though they could duplicate themselves; the dense forest was effortlessly being destroyed.
Carried by his crew, Charles suddenly sensed something. He looked up and saw that a Whitebeast had 198 in its grasp, and they were also fleeing rapidly.
Recalling everything it had done, a cold glint flashed across Charles' eyes.
Bang!
A bone bullet tore through the Whitebeast's arm, leaving 198 to fall helplessly into the churning mass of black tentacles.
The moment 198 disappeared into the mass of darkness, the dozens of Whitebeasts overhead instantly evaporated.
Using up every ounce of their strength, the crew members managed to don their diving suits and pass through the barrier of the purple sphere and back into the sea just before the black tentacles reached them.
However, the black tentacles shattered their expectations. It was slowly devouring the purple barrier itself.
The area, also known as Ecological Zone 4, slowly collapsed inward, creating a vortex that devoured everything around it.
The Narwhale wasn't spared either. The immense suction force was drawing it in, and the vessel was inching closer to the purple sphere.
"Quick! Open the water discharge valves!" Charles commanded
As the water from the ballast tanks was rapidly ejected, the submarine's buoyancy swiftly increased. The crew's hearts pounded rapidly as the submarine gradually ascended and left the dark chasm.
Creeaaaakkkk.
Floating on the dark sea surface, the Narwhale struggled to retract its battered steel plates. Due to the now-mismatched joints, sparks would occasionally fly as the plates rubbed against each other.
The surviving crew members raised their arms and cheered loudly as they stood on the chilly deck and faced the dark waters around them. Joy painted their faces; they had survived yet another catastrophe.
Compared to the ominous depths of the sea they had just escaped, the dark sea surface suddenly felt incredibly safe to them.
However, Charles had no time to join the celebration cheers as Linda immediately wheeled him into the infirmary to undergo surgery. He was in critical condition with most of his left shoulder gone.
Fortunately, it was his left side; otherwise, he would need two prosthetic limbs.
"Though you have strong healing abilities to keep you conscious despite such severe injuries, you've lost too many organs and blood. I'll do my best to keep you alive," Linda said coldly to Charles on the operating table.
"Will this affect my strength?" Charles asked in a weak whisper; even that used up all of his remaining energy.
Linda didn't answer. Instead, she injected a syringe of black liquid into Charles.
Charles' head tilted, and his consciousness plunged into darkness.
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