Magical Girl's Knight Brother

Chapter 686 Crisis at Sea and Land

Grelando's report struck everyone's heart like a cold hammer.

The lingering warmth after the meal was completely dispelled, and the heavy reality, like the leaden clouds over the dark city outside the window, pressed down heavily.

"And that's not all." Grilando's last words carried a deeper worry. She looked at Tang Zijun, her gaze seemingly piercing through the walls of the fortress and directed towards the distant "ocean," a symbol of endless unknowns.

"Our deep-sea observation post, located on the Everlasting Darkness Cliff, has sent back even worse news."

Her voice was almost inaudible, yet it carried a chilling undertone.

The creatures in the "ocean" have fully awakened. They are gathering, moving in a large-scale, organized manner, their target the coastline of our continent, and even Black City itself!

"Judging from the energy fluctuations and the unusual migration patterns of those deep-sea mutated creatures, a large-scale invasion is probably imminent."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air became so heavy it was almost suffocating.

The river front has become an altar of flesh and blood, the enemy in the deep sea is stirring, and the shadow of destruction is pressing in from both land and sea. Black City is like an isolated island in a stormy sea.

"Tsk." Chang Lei broke the silence with a cold snort. His pupils swept over everyone, and he spoke indifferently. "This situation is normal. Didn't we expect this a long time ago? Back then, Black City gave that rabble on the front lines of the River Basin a chance to integrate them. In the end, they were so stupid that they were infiltrated by the cultists and turned into sieves. Now they have brought this huge mess upon themselves, and blood is flowing like a river. They can't blame anyone else."

""

"But those monstrous bastards lurking in the shadows, gnawing at the very foundations of the world, wanting to awaken that damned, pleasure-crawling creature over mountains of corpses and seas of blood," we can't ignore that." His eyes blazed with crimson light, his killing intent palpable. "Those scum must die."

Tan Zhixin, Qin Nan, and Ge Lilan all nodded solemnly.

Indeed, the chaos on the front lines of the river basin was partly self-inflicted, but the cultists' insane acts of taking advantage of the chaos and attempting to sacrifice all the lives on the front lines are absolutely intolerable.

Tang Zijun's gaze, like a cold probe, swept across the faces of every core combatant present. His gaze finally landed on the figure standing quietly in the shadows of the corner, seemingly one with the darkness—the Shadow Queen, Scáthach.

"Scáthach," Tang Zijun's voice was steady and clear. "What do you think?"

All eyes immediately turned to Scáthach.

Even within the relatively safe fortress, this berserker queen from Norse mythology was surrounded by an inescapable, abyss-like chilling aura. Her eyes, like two eternally burning lamps, rose from the shadows to meet Tang Zijun's gaze.

After a brief silence, Scáthach's voice rang out. "The crisis is pressing in from two directions at the same time. The cultists on land are taking advantage of the bloodshed of the internal strife to cause chaos. Although the trouble they cause is imminent, their foundation is shallow, and they are nothing more than a scab that needs to be eradicated as soon as possible."

Her gaze shifted to the leaden, seemingly frozen ocean outside the window, and her voice suddenly became lower and more dangerous.

"The real threat lies in the depths of the ocean."

"Those things have been fully awakened. Their power comes from the corrupt foundation of the world itself. Once they have accumulated enough and are truly unleashed, this city, along with this dream world as we know it, will be reduced to dust in an instant."

"My suggestion is to attack the one that's already showing itself first. You've obtained the Trident of Poseidon; it's the key to stopping the deep-sea calamity." Her tone was resolute. "The enemies in the sea are yours. Use the power of that trident to pin them down at the entrance to their lair. Never let them set foot on the shore."

Then, her gaze swept over Tan Zhixin, Ge Lilando, and the others like a cold blade, and a bloodthirsty smile curled at the corner of her lips.

"As for those opportunistic ants on the front lines of the river basin, leave them to me and the mercenaries here. I will make them fill that filthy altar with their own blood, so that those insects hiding in the shadows will understand what price they have to pay for disturbing the peace of the dead."

With the strategic plan in place, the restaurant was filled with the tense atmosphere of an impending major battle.

Everyone stood up and prepared to carry out pre-battle preparations according to their respective duties. Tan Zhixin and Ge Lilando went to mobilize the troops, Chang Lei and others went to check the equipment, and He Li also followed Qin Nan away.

However, just as Scáthach turned to leave, Tang Zijun's voice rang out behind her, "Scáthach." "Wait."

Scáthach's blood-red eyes shifted slightly, and she paused, as if the most perceptive cheetah had sensed something unusual. She didn't say anything, but quietly turned around and followed Tang Zijun to a relatively quiet room that was being used as a temporary command room.

The door closed silently behind me, shutting out the noise from the outside world. The room contained only a simple table and a few chairs, and the light was dim.

Tang Zijun did not sit down. He stood by the window with his back to Scáthach. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, his voice low.

"Your assessment is correct. Fighting on two fronts, starting with the enemy at sea, is currently the optimal solution." He turned around. "But I want to ask a more fundamental question."

"You lived through that era, you confronted them head-on, tell me, is there a way to truly kill them, not by expelling them, not by sealing them away, but by completely annihilating them?"

Scáthach's blood-red pupils contracted slightly, as if the question had struck her deepest memory.

She didn't answer immediately, but instead scrutinized Tang Zijun with the same sharp gaze, as if reassessing the determination and weight of the human before her.

A few breaths later, her cold voice rang out, carrying a hint of barely perceptible inquiry.

"Since you were able to 'extract' that ancient Poseidon from the underwater graveyard, didn't that sea god, who once ruled over countless waves, offer you any valuable 'advice'? What advice do you have on how to deal with these parasites that devour the world?"

Tang Zijun's brows furrowed immediately. "Poseidon? When he fell, not even the Great Old Ones appeared. Moreover, he left behind only a remnant image, and he never even set foot in this dream world. His understanding of those beings is probably not much greater than ours. What substantial advice could he possibly offer?"

"Really nothing at all?" Scáthach's blood-red eyes narrowed slightly. "An ancient deity, even if only an echo, possesses wisdom and an understanding of the world's rules that transcend the mortal realm. Did He really say nothing?"

Tang Zijun took a deep breath, trying hard to recall his limited exchanges with Poseidon. Suddenly, Poseidon's words in the New Crown City clearly appeared in his mind.

"...He said it." Tang Zijun's voice lowered, repeating with a hint of uncertainty. "He said I haven't mastered my true power," that's roughly what he meant.

"...True power..." Scáthach repeated the words clearly.

"That's right." Scáthach's voice was still cold, but it contained a feeling she had never felt before.

"Tang Zijun." She took a step forward, her eyes fixed on Tang Zijun, and said, word by word, "Perhaps the key to finding a way to kill them lies with you."

"What?" Tang Zijun was stunned, completely unexpected that Scáthach would come to such a conclusion.

The rule that "Poseidon, the ancient sea god, whose power originates from the ocean and the waters of the world's origin," states that "you have not mastered true power," may mean that the power you perceive and wield may not be the ultimate form to combat those beings.

"Those things are not beings of the material world, nor are they conventional forces—neither physical attacks, elemental energy, nor the authority of gods are effective against them, or even ineffective, because they exist at a deeper, more fundamental level."

"But your power, Tang Zijun." Scáthach's gaze fell upon Tang Zijun as if it were tangible. "Your ability to accept and assimilate our authority, and that trident card in your hand that has fused with the essence of the Sea God—what does that represent? It represents interference with the rules, control over dimensions, and a definition of the boundary between 'existence' and 'nothingness.'"

"Poseidon said you failed to grasp the true power." Scáthach's voice held a guiding quality. "Perhaps it refers to the power to touch the very essence of the rules," the power to truly define "what is existence and what is nothingness," the power to completely erase those things clinging to the cracks of "existence."

Scáthach's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Tang Zijun's mind.

The way to kill the Great Old Ones is not through greater brute force or more sophisticated seals, but through understanding and mastering the true power that transcends conventional laws and can define existence itself.

Tang Zijun frowned. He subconsciously looked at his right hand. The card with the golden trident imprinted on it seemed to sense its owner's emotions, and it was slightly warm in his palm, emitting a soft and deep golden halo.

Scáthach looked at Tang Zijun, who was lost in deep shock and contemplation, and a deep, almost invisible expectation flashed in her blood-red eyes.

She didn't say anything more, just stood there quietly.

A deathly silence fell over the office, broken only by Tang Zijun's rapid heartbeat and the faint yet resolute glow of the card in his palm.