The black sun hangs high

Chapter 328 From Beneath the Waves
When the "community" from the deep sea brought a great shock to these visitors from the land with its extremely strange life forms, the land life that was once so weak and humble in the eyes of the "community" also retaliated in its own special and violent way.

A barrage of shelling inflicted severe damage on the shrinking encirclement. The figures that had previously exuded immense pressure disintegrated in the violent explosions, and the eerie circle composed of psychedelic colors also developed several startling gaps amidst the intense magical shockwaves.

At that moment, the mages responsible for monitoring the status of the ship's occult instruments were pleasantly surprised to find that the ship's occult instruments, which had been severely interfered with and were on the verge of collapse, had become much more stable, and some of the smaller instruments even successfully resumed operation at this moment.

This important discovery was quickly reported to the commanders on board, and the large naval guns mounted on the two armored ships immediately began to turn, seemingly preparing to unleash their firepower on the front of the fleet and further clear away any obstacles that might interfere with the magical rituals and the fleet's progress.

It seems that the problems that were troubling the fleet are now beginning to be resolved.

However, Hugh, who was on the deck of the Windless, did not cheer with joy like the others. He quickly walked to the edge of the deck, the deep mist in his eyes becoming even thicker, and his gaze was directed directly at the sea below.

Do you think they'll approach from underwater?

The officer standing nearby noticed Hugh's actions and immediately came over to ask him a question.

The officer had a very good impression of Hugh, not because of Hugh's reputation or deeds, but because of the military aura he exuded and the series of accurate and calm judgments he made.

As professional soldiers, officers are very clear about which kind of people are more trustworthy in such situations.

Hugh glanced to his side, the strange darkness surging in his eyes making the officer somewhat uneasy, but then Hugh spoke up: "It's just a suspicion, I can't be sure of their next move... but I guess these guys probably won't give up easily."

As he spoke, Hugh's magical vision was already operating at its limit, causing black mist to occasionally surge from his body, and his gaze successfully reached even more distant locations.

He saw that beneath the surface of the sea, large swaths of shadows, difficult to detect with his magical vision, were moving. This was a common characteristic of “community” life, and now their target was none other than the armored ships and gunboats that were firing.

"Send a signal to warn other vessels to be careful underwater!"

Hughes called out a warning, then took a few quick steps to the side and came to the side of two sailors who were installing and adjusting weapons.

The weapon they were setting up was neither a small crystal cannon nor a giant machine gun with a base, but a large firearm that gleamed with a metallic sheen and had several huge magic crystals embedded in its body.

It appears to be a crystal gun magnified several times, with a special long-range sight even mounted on it.

Through the complex memories that had settled in his mental world, Hugh easily found the name of this special weapon.

It is called "Yuanmu Gun," a very simple and ancient name.

The "Far-Seeing Gun" appeared very early, its origins even dating back to the early days of naval warfare and large-scale siege warfare. This special firearm was originally actually an extremely crude magic page catapult, and its principle was more like a giant crossbow with magic pages bound to it.

As time went on, the use of crossbows and special ammunition to load pages of magic books rapidly decreased, and artisans who were passionate about the art of war endowed these weapons with richer forms and functions.

Their appearance quickly resembled that of the newly formed crystal gun, and in the scenarios where they were deployed, warships and city walls became the most suitable choices.

In the era before crystal cannons were miniaturized and their stability issues were resolved, these huge crystal guns capable of firing high-powered crystal ammunition were among the most suitable weapons on old warships. A marksman who could accurately hit enemy warships with heavy bullets, or even directly destroy important targets, was an indispensable crew member on a qualified warship.

With the continuous development of warships, magical rituals, and other heavy weapons, the long-range gun gradually lost its place. However, interestingly, with the steam and metal wave that originated from the Lovi Plateau, this special old weapon finally ushered in its own rebirth.

More accurate long-range sights, faster reloading speed, and fewer operators...

If needed, a magic-wielding shooter can largely avoid the hassle of reloading bullets and directly use magic such as "magical arrows" to perform more frequent and accurate shots.

And this perfectly meets all of Hugh's current needs.

After receiving permission from the officer beside him and confirming that the shipborne "far-seeing gun" had been installed, Hugh immediately went to the back of it and sat on the fixed, simple metal chair.

The operation of the "far-seeing gun" is not complicated. In fact, anyone who has ever used a crystal gun can easily master it. The difficulty in using it lies entirely in the accuracy of the shot.

To achieve this goal, we must find ways to overcome the turbulence caused by the ship and eliminate all interfering factors in a chaotic situation.

For ordinary people, the challenge of such a thing goes without saying.

But for Hugh, this was not a difficult task.

As magic continued to be mobilized and the metal disc's rotation speed increased, Hugh's mental state began to focus rapidly. With the help of that precise long-range aiming device, his magical vision successfully extended into the dark depths of the distant sea.

Although the special community of life forms possesses the ability to block the invasion and detection of Dark Abyss magic to a certain extent under the effect of "Color of Life", at this moment, Hugh doesn't need to observe them in detail. He only needs to confirm the approximate location and path of the target.

Therefore, he quickly locked onto a massive shadow that was constantly moving beneath the distant sea. Dark keratin crawled up Hugh's hands as he gripped the huge handle used to adjust the weapon and pulled it down forcefully. At the same time, a large amount of magic power erupted from Hugh's body and was injected into the heavy gun through the metal handle inscribed with magical rituals.

The enormous magical crystals embedded in the metal casing were lit up one by one, and then, with the activation of the "Magic Bow and Arrow" trick, a magical bullet shimmering with the color of a deep abyss was loaded.

As the heavy trigger was pulled, a loud roar finally echoed across the deck of the Windless.

Everyone saw a somewhat dazzling magical light shoot out from the end of the narrow gun barrel, but the target of this huge magical bullet was not the shadow darting on the distant sea surface, but the darkness hidden beneath the waves.

No one knew whether Hugh's shot hit the target correctly; all they could see was that the young "legendary" spellcaster skillfully reset his weapon after firing a shot, reloaded it, quickly adjusted the firing angle, and pulled the trigger again.

On the other side of the deck, an officer whispered to the accompanying mage beside him, "Did he... hit the target? Those monsters are approaching us underwater?"

"I do not know."

The mage accompanying the army shook his head. He glanced at the figure manipulating the weapon, but was stunned by the magical smoke that drifted out between the shots. He swallowed hard and said, "However, judging from this, even if those monsters aren't hit, they'll probably be torn apart by the turbulence created by these magical bullets, right? How can his magic power be so abundant?"

The military monk's guess was actually very accurate.

In fact, Hugh did not actually snipe those shadows hidden in the depths of the sea. Under his deliberate manipulation, every magical bullet he fired was in an extremely unstable state, and would quickly explode once it was out of his control.

As long as these bullets, which are mixed with a large amount of dark abyss magic, explode near the target, they will be able to cause great damage to them.

Therefore, as Hugh continued to fire, the distorted shadows existing in the magical vision were also constantly destroyed. Soon, some unrecognizable distorted fragments successfully floated to the surface, followed by a large amount of bodily fluids and blood mixed with psychedelic colors.

A large amount of magical steam billowed from the barrel of the far-seeing gun, and the magic crystals embedded in it showed cracks and an unusual glow. The soldiers nearby immediately rushed over and poured barrels of alchemical solution directly onto the huge gun barrel. After the temperature dropped slightly, they began to replace the magic crystals.

This scene left the soldiers who were also operating weapons speechless.

As sailors, they knew very well that the rapid firing they had just done had overloaded the long-range gun, and even the expensive crystals embedded in the gun had suffered serious damage during the firing.

This situation would be absolutely impossible under normal circumstances, because in fact, even the most skilled marksman and the most dexterous loader working together could not achieve such a high frequency of firing.

The series of loud bangs just now sounded like a row of small crystal cannons firing in succession.

"They're all underwater, there are a lot of them, they'll be here soon!"

Hugh, stepping down from his weapons mount, warned: "Be prepared to straf and bombard the sea. I've only taken out a small portion of them."

After witnessing firsthand the twisted corpses floating on the waves, no one questioned Hugh's judgment anymore. As a result, the soldiers, who were already prepared for battle, immediately began to adjust the weapons deployed on the deck. At the same time, many guards who had accompanied the officials and noble passengers to the ship took out their firearms, ready to fire at any enemies that might appear at any time.

Unlike the Windless, which received timely warnings from Hughes, the smaller gunboats positioned further out were already being directly attacked by those strange fish.

Perhaps due to a slow reaction time, or perhaps in an attempt to conserve crystals as much as possible, a gunboat located southwest of the Windless failed to activate its emergency protective ritual in time, allowing the shadows traveling beneath the water to successfully adhere to its hull.

It was a whale with a severely deformed body. Countless suckers grew on its skin, which allowed it to cling tightly to the hull of the gunboat, while a huge, mountain-like tumor was directly attached to the hull.

Just as Hugh had seen in his dream, the huge tumor split open rapidly from the middle, exposing countless sharp teeth to the sailors on the gunboat. Between these teeth, many soft and long tentacles extended out, slapping hard against the deck of the gunboat and swirling toward the terrified soldiers.

Casualties were inevitable.

Moreover, its arrival was exceptionally bloody and terrifying.

As professional soldiers, these sailors were certainly prepared for death, but what was happening before their eyes was completely beyond their imagination. No one could have imagined that they and their comrades would one day be wrapped up by tentacles and dragged into that huge "mouth" full of sharp teeth.

In the chaos, a brave enough soldier climbed onto a "giant machine gun" mounted on the deck. He struggled to turn the grip and forcefully adjusted the muzzle to the right position. He saw his fellow countryman, who had been laughing and boasting with him that morning, being lifted high into the air by a tentacle. His limbs were flailing around, making him look like a comical puppet.

In just two seconds, with a powerful swing of the tentacle, the figure was violently thrown into the air. With a miserable scream, the body crashed heavily onto the deck, mingling with the blood of the other victims. The huge tumor convulsed violently, and more disgusting tentacles emerged from it, ready to search for more targets.

Driven by anger and terror, the soldier roared and pressed down on the lever connected to the heavy trigger. The pre-loaded crystal bullets were then released forward in a specific rhythm. The terrifying impact and the continuous small-scale magical explosions directly acted on the hideous tumor, tearing a disgusting, huge gash in it on the spot.

The crystal spotlights mounted on the "giant machine gun" shone on the writhing flesh, and the soldiers saw that a rich, psychedelic color was rapidly flowing out from inside these bizarre structures, looking exactly like the strange lights and shadows on the sea surface.

(End of this chapter)