Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 829 Conquest [5.3k words]

"abyss."

There are many records about it.

"An ominous beginning, a calamity's end, the sins of all living beings..."

"However, compared to these vague records, seeing it with one's own eyes is much more effective."

...

...

"The 37th test."

"Subject No. 39 died after being exposed to elemental light of intensity level 3.9 for 12 hours and 39 minutes. Before its death, it released three types of abyssal curses, which, according to the analysis, correspond to emotional extremism, abyssal erosion, and memory erosion, respectively, with the following curse intensities..."

"As predicted, this is a Deathrattle-type abyssal creature, which I will temporarily name 'E'xu'."

"Same as the previous 36 tests, the experimental subjects this time still showed characteristics that matched the predicted results."

"Based on the current results, the abyssal creatures... at least those living in the shallow erosion zone, still follow certain patterns in their abilities that can be understood by conventional cognitive logic."

"Hmm...or perhaps the word 'biological' itself is actually the most obvious rule governing our bodies?"

……

"Huh? Captain Hei, what are you researching this time? There's even a technique for cognitive impairment on it? Won't you share it with us?"

Dark and deep abyssal energy flowed across the surface of the warship, which was specially built for abyssal navigation. Inside the warship, Yamu, who was casually holding a glass of iced drink, looked at Xin Lailai, who was standing in the corner and quietly flipping through something. He curiously leaned over and teased her.

"These are the notes that '83203' gave us. They record some of her research on abyssal creatures and abyssal energy during her expedition back then. Are you sure you want to see them?"

"8... cough, since it belongs to that gentleman, then forget it. Captain Hei, you should keep it safe."

Upon hearing Xin Lailai's answer, Yamu's smile froze slightly. He then coughed lightly and silently retracted his earlier statement.

Although 83203 himself left behind too many deeds in the astral plane, his existence can be said to be the most transcendent among the peak of the world. Even as his proxy, he did not have the courage to casually flip through the notes that the other party gave to Xin Lailai without the other party's permission.

"Speaking of which, Captain Hei, do you have any information about this operation? Like, do you have a strange feeling that something might suddenly happen at some point?"

"Sadly, no."

"I guessed so. After all, I could tell from your reaction. It's really a headache. In times like these, having a bad feeling beforehand is actually a good thing, isn't it?"

Yamu sighed softly, shrugged with a slightly helpless expression, and casually remarked, while Xin Lailai glanced at him curiously and said:

"I'm more curious about why you reacted as if we were bound to encounter some unexpected event this time?"

"Well, how should I put it? It's probably just a bit of intuition formed from past experiences. Although, at present, this intuition doesn't seem to have much significance."

As Yamu spoke, he shrugged, glancing at the dark, liquid energy slowly creeping along the surface of the warship outside the window, and said:

"After all, there are too many unpredictable things in this hellish place called the Abyss. Even if you know that something unexpected might happen, here, unexpected things are actually quite common. What do you say, Captain Black?"

"Maybe."

Upon hearing this, Xin Lailai did not reply. She simply glanced at the scenery outside the window, just like the other person, before turning her gaze back to the notebook in front of her.

Just as Yamu said, in a place like the Abyss, accidents are the norm. Therefore, the only thing they can do is to enhance their ability to deal with possible accidents in other ways as much as possible before actually coming into contact with it.

[Attention all personnel! We are approaching the designated coordinates. The first wave of personnel is requested to proceed to the deployment bay and await orders!]

[To reiterate! We are approaching the designated coordinates. The first wave of personnel, please proceed to the delivery pod and await orders!]

"It seems like it's time."

"Well, let's go."

The cold announcement came from the broadcast, interrupting the two's conversation. Seeing this, Xin Lailai and Yamu did not hesitate for long. After a brief exchange, they followed the warship route map they remembered and headed towards the area where the drop pod was located.

"Tsk tsk, I was thinking of getting a good night's sleep before setting off, but I didn't expect to arrive so quickly?"

Upon entering the compartment where the drop pods were located, Randy was heard standing at the entrance, clicking his tongue in amazement. Beside him stood the White Demon and the Deathbringer, who had arrived earlier.

"Seriously, isn't the interior space of this thing a bit too cramped? How can we fit five of us into such a small space? Doesn't it feel creepy?"

"The delivery capsule is a disposable item, so cost and main functions must be the priority in the design."

Stepping into the drop pod, what greeted them was not a spacious and comfortable private space, but rather five cramped areas facing each other, where they could only stand like coffins, securing themselves to the recesses. Randy couldn't help but complain a couple of times, while Xin Lailai simply stated it as if it were commonplace.

While the current drop capsule may not be the most comfortable, from a practical standpoint, this capsule-shaped cabin, which only provides a few cubic meters for the occupant to live and move around, has taken into account all the safety factors and possible accidents that may occur upon landing.

Putting everything else aside, the armor wall alone, which is more than three meters thick, is definitely a design that exceeds the specifications of a conventional delivery pod. Xin Lailai even suspected that if the launch speed were maximized, the delivery pod in front of her could actually be used as a space-based weapon.

Om-! !

[Respondent confirmed, launch capsule closed, launch procedure about to begin]

[Countdown 30…29…28……]

"Damn, why is there a light-off feature? Speaking of which, you two, the Death Seeker and Old Bai, your eye effects are quite noticeable in this pitch-black place?"

After all five entered the cabin, the broadcast, which was somewhat deafening due to the echo effect, came down, and the light in the cabin dimmed. Randy glanced at the White Demon and the Deathbringer, whose eyes were filled with blood-red light and ghostly blue flames respectively, and made a curious comment.

"..."

"You talk too much nonsense."

"Tsk, if you don't want me to say it, then you don't want me to say it. By the way, Lao Bai, you're not feeling embarrassed because everyone is sitting too close together here, are you?"

"Shut up."

"Hey, you're getting anxious! Haha, Old Bai, you're not really not used to this situation, are you? Tsk tsk, I didn't expect our dignified White Demon to actually... Hey, Old Bai, calm down. This is a tiny place, if you mess around, everyone will suffer with you!"

"Hey, can you two stop messing around...?"

Following Randy's provocation, the next second, a chaotic commotion and the sound of breathing colliding erupted from the narrow cabin, until a violent feeling of weightlessness came from beneath everyone:
[Countdown complete, launch commences!]

……

...Abyss erosion zone, shallow layer.

Thick, black fluid flowed slowly from the sky, while dense miasma gushed out from the dried-up riverbed.

On the ground, giant, mushroom-shaped plants sprouted from the ruins of abandoned high-rise buildings, swaying and releasing large amounts of tumor-like spores as the miasma surged.

On those clusters of mushrooms, one can see strange creatures with huge bulges on their backs, giving the unsettling feeling that they might burst at any moment, lying on the large, umbrella-shaped caps, munching on the caps beneath them amidst rustling sounds.

In the distance, dark miasma surged past, carrying a large number of spores as it swept across the deserted ruins filled with building debris. The spores clung to the weathered ruins, bursting, multiplying, and spreading with each tiny cracking sound.

silence.

Without the activity of any living beings, without fierce battles, the abyssal creatures quietly went about their tasks, collectively disintegrating the desolate and ruined planet before them, until…

—A streak of silvery-white light burst forth from the sky that had been sealed off by the black fluid!
In an instant, as if subjected to an unbearable force, the dark, fluid sky suddenly collapsed from a tremendous tremor, forming an inverted spire shape. Then, with a deafening roar, it shattered, allowing the object hidden within to plummet from the sky at an incredibly terrifying speed. Before the eyes of countless abyssal creatures, it tore a conspicuous trail of flame from the sky and crashed into the largest mushroom-shaped plant with a deafening boom.

boom! ! !
A massive, earth-shattering impact erupted, and the mushroom-shaped plant, over 400 meters tall, instantly caved in under the terrifying force. Accompanied by the sound of numerous bubbles bursting, it transformed into a ring of greenish-brown shockwaves, blasting away all the abyssal creatures and architectural ruins within a radius of several kilometers.

"Roar--!!"

As the commotion erupted, the land, which had been shrouded in silence, seemed to be stimulated. Pairs of eyes flashing with a brutal red light shone from the dark haze. Accompanied by a low growl that seemed to have been spoken first, like sharks smelling blood, they surged toward the thing that had crashed into the giant mushroom forest. In just a few minutes, they surrounded the strange, silvery-white thing that looked like a capsule and was stuck diagonally in the pit.

"Roar?" "Gurgle!"

"Ruaaa!" "Moo~!"

Once the unknown entity surrounded them, the abyssal creatures at the forefront, as if possessing intelligence, exchanged glances with each other in a way incomprehensible to ordinary creatures, their compound eyes and vertical pupils flashing with blood-red light. It was as if they were deciding who would go up first to test the unknown visitor.

"Roar!!!"

Finally, one of the seemingly less intelligent, one-eyed abyssal creatures, as if unable to bear the tedious atmosphere any longer, suddenly let out a low growl and charged out of the abyssal army with unparalleled ferocity. It opened its gaping maw, large enough to swallow a small building, and was about to devour the unknown creature before the others—

Boom—!

In an instant, a tremendous roar and collision erupted without warning. Almost at the same time that the one-eyed abyssal creature charged forward, the silver-white capsule beneath it seemed to have been struck by something heavy from within. One of the capsule doors flew off with a bang and slammed squarely into the face of the one-eyed abyssal creature, turning it into a cloud of blood mist that evenly covered the faces of the abyssal creatures in the front row.

Buzz, rumble—! !

The next second, the silver-white hatch that had been kicked away collided with the stem of a mushroom-shaped plant that was about a hundred meters tall amidst a piercing whistling sound. It was broken apart by a shockwave that was visible to the naked eye, and then collapsed heavily to the ground amidst a series of booming sounds.

At the starting point of the silver-white hatch that flew backward, a white-haired youth with blood-red smoke swirling in his pupils stood expressionlessly at the entrance, silently staring at the abyssal creatures before him.

For a fleeting moment, the whole world seemed to fall silent, and then...

"Ruaaa—!!" "Roar—!!"

"Moo-hoo-hoo—!!" "Awoo—!!"

A terrifying roar erupted, as if the entire world had been jolted awake. The abyssal creatures, which had been quietly observing, surged forward like sharks smelling blood, roaring with excitement and fervor, a dark mass pressing towards the white-haired youth. Just as the leading abyssal creatures were about to reach him, a dull thud of a trigger being pulled suddenly exploded behind him:

boom!
A streak of light, carrying spatial fluctuations, flashed by, freezing all the abyssal creatures charging at the forefront in mid-air. At the same time, a handsome gray-haired youth, his face clearly bearing traces of blood and his hair disheveled, casually pulled the trigger while rubbing his messy hair and complaining as he walked out of the hatch.

"Tsk, finally out of this shabby place. If we'd stayed any longer, I felt like I was going to choke on your bloody stench..."

"Moo!!!"

Before the gray-haired youth could finish speaking, a deep, thunderous moo suddenly exploded from the side, interrupting his words. At the same time, a new wave of abyssal creatures roared like a tidal wave, sweeping over the abyssal creatures that were held in place by spatial fluctuations, and lunged at the two people in the center of the encirclement. Then...

Boom——! !

A dazzling golden lightning bolt erupted alongside the pitch-black death aura, shattering the already overburdened hatch into pieces. It swept across the land with incredible ferocity, annihilating all the abyssal creatures rushing in from both sides. At the same time, the figures of the blond youth and the black-haired woman emerged from the lightning and death aura one after another.

"Hey you two, even if you're going to have a discussion, at least look at the surroundings first. There are quite a few guys here who haven't tasted the flavor of a living person in hundreds of years!"

"Haha, isn't it because of you guys, Brother Yamu? And we finally landed, so we're bound to... uh, it seems like something big is coming over there?"

Faced with the blond youth's sarcastic remarks, the gray-haired nobleman smiled lightly, and as he habitually wanted to retort, he seemed to suddenly sense something, glanced in a certain direction in the distance, and then...

"Roar--!!!"

A tremendous roar, powerful enough to awaken the deepest fears in the hearts of living beings, exploded from afar. Suddenly, the ground to the left and behind the group trembled and rose high, revealing a colossal creature covered in gray-green moss, its head alone the size of an ordinary mountain, amidst the sound of falling rocks. A cross-shaped gray-green flash of light was clearly gathering power in its mouth.

"Goodness, things are getting this heated right after landing? If that thing were to shoot over, wouldn't that be bad? Maybe we should take cover..."

"No need to bother."

The gray-haired young nobleman stared at the conspicuous cross-shaped flashbang in the distance, clearly intended to wipe them all out in one shot. He blinked and curiously asked his companion beside him, but before the companion could finish speaking, a calm yet authoritative voice suddenly rang out from behind them:

"It doesn't have that chance anymore."

As soon as the words fell, in the next instant, a black and white light, as if it were stealing all the colors from the world, burst forth from behind everyone, then condensed in a short moment into a black and white sphere the size of a human head. With the help of spatial magic, it vanished from its spot with a bang, and then—

boom! ! !
A conventional Devouring Bomb, formed from tens of thousands of points of Devouring Energy, exploded, engulfing the head of the enormous abyssal creature in the distance, along with its half-condensed cross-shaped gray-green light, from the terrifying energy fluctuations. Like erasing a pencil drawing, it wiped the creature and a large swathe of abyssal creatures from the black and white world.

"My goodness, Black Sword Bro, you're going all out right from the start? Are you sure your mana bar can handle this?"

"Don't worry, with this, I don't have to worry about the consumption problem until I kill them all."

[Note: "Large-scale Abyss Suppression Device" has been activated. Current suppression intensity: Tier 3]

The slightly surprised question fell, but the black-haired youth at the back of the crowd simply closed the book in his hand with a calm expression. With a heavy thud as the huge tower-shaped device crashed to the ground, he stepped into the air and looked down at the dark army of abyssal creatures in the distance from the pure white beam of light that shot into the sky and the field that quickly spread out from him. His mental power surged!
Endless Laws - Crystals!
Boom——! !

The next instant, a massive amount of mana, purified by the abyss suppression device to the point of being usable, surged forth. Under the control of the boiling, pitch-black domain, it transformed into a crystalline barrier tens of meters thick, colliding with the ranged attacks pouring down from mid-air. Amidst the deafening roar, it intercepted them all, leaving only the calm, authoritative, and indifferent command of the black-haired youth:

"Let's begin, and try to arrive before the next wave of abyssal creatures—"

"Slaughter them."

As soon as he finished speaking, numerous seemingly simple black and white orbs of light began to condense behind the black-haired youth. The gray-haired nobleman on the ground glanced at the abyssal creatures in the distance, who, instinctively fearful, dared not venture into the area simultaneously shrouded in white light and a dark domain. Amidst the thunderous roar and the whooshing sound behind him, he grinned, abruptly snapped his twin pistols together, and laughed heartily as he spoke:

"Understood!!!!"

In an instant, four distinct colors—blood, gold, black, and silver—erupted from the earth. Under the cover of a black and white orb of light that streaked across the sky like a meteor, they swept towards the surrounding abyssal creatures with unparalleled force, causing the entire earth to tremble.

The battle for Reef No. 1

start!!!
……

(End of this chapter)