A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1278 - Chapter 1278 Chapter 862 The Fatal Strike

Chapter 1278: Chapter 862: The Fatal Strike Chapter 1278: Chapter 862: The Fatal Strike If Duanmu Huai had to be thankful for something, it would be that they were still deep underground.

If the adversary were to pull this off on the surface… then they would have no choice but to destroy the entire country with the Light Spear directly.

This was also why Duanmu Huai brought a Warship here, even if an Extinction Order wasn’t issued, for caution’s sake, they had to consider the possibility of sterilizing the area…

But the situation now isn’t much better.

“Ha——–!”

Duanmu Huai had already retracted the War Hammer and drawn the Chainsaw Sword from behind his back. Black flames expanded around him, exploded, and ceaselessly burned, devouring everything they touched. The spores ejected from the Son of the Black Goat were quickly wrapped in flames and eradicated. However, the Son of the Black Goat evidently had no intention of giving up; the desire for survival and reproduction is the greatest desire of all living creatures. Conversely, resisting death and destruction is naturally their top priority.

Therefore, as Duanmu Huai unleashed the Domain of the God of Destruction, the Son of the Black Goat immediately deemed him the primary target to be eliminated. At this moment, dozens of tentacles shot forth from the body of the Son of the Black Goat, slithering like serpents towards Duanmu Huai.

Duanmu Huai naturally would not sit still and wait for death. Facing the tentacles assaulting him, he firmly grasped the Chainsaw Sword and swung it down with force, the rotating saw tearing through the tentacles that lunged at him with ease, turning them into ashes with the burning black fire.

The tentacles severed by Duanmu Huai were quickly retracted but regrew after a short while and continued to lunge forward.

“Mary, have you found it?”

“Not yet, Mr. Duanmu, it’s not within this area!”

“What a hassle, continue!”

Hearing Mary’s reply, Duanmu Huai frowned slightly and charged forward again. Even as the tentacles struck heavily upon his Power Armor, they couldn’t stop his stride. On the contrary, Duanmu Huai swung the Chainsaw Sword once again and in an instant, sliced through the obstructive tentacles.

Mary’s Golden Pupil was truly formidable, but it wasn’t without drawbacks.

That was — as a human, Mary’s field of view was limited.

Just as humans can only see within a 180-degree range, so too can Mary. Her Golden Pupil could penetrate everything, but besides that, Mary’s Eyes did not possess abilities like x-ray or far-sight, and her visual range was no different from an ordinary person’s.

It’s like if someone stood in front of a skyscraper, they could only see this segment of the skyscraper right in front of them and would not be able to completely capture the whole.

For Mary now, the Son of the Black Goat was the same, even if she could look straight at the Son of the Black Goat, she could only see this section of its body before her and couldn’t make out its entirety.

If they were on the surface, Mary could have distanced herself and found a farther spot to look, but there was no such space available underground. Therefore, they had to keep moving forward. Only by getting closer to this massive entity could Mary use her “vertical” vision to capture and locate the core of this enormous Son of the Black Goat.

Fortunately, she could still see the flow of power within this repugnant and filthy body.

“Where exactly is it?”

“Above!”

“Above?”

It must be said, Duanmu Huai was also surprised by Mary’s answer.

“Are you sure it’s above?”

“Yes, the flow of power is moving upwards, not downwards, so I believe the core should be above!”

“That’s really strange…”

Generally speaking, most massive bosses keep their core deep underground, and there has never been one that placed its core on top–what does this mean?

“Boom boom boom…!”

Simultaneously, the earth also began to tremble, with large quantities of dust and debris falling down, and feeling this vibration, Duanmu Huai’s expression darkened.

“Not good! This thing plans to go out for some sunshine!”

If possible, Duanmu Huai still hoped to resolve it underground, as once this creature reached the surface and released a spore cloud, the range of casualties would extend to the entire city or even the whole country. By that time, it would be hard to contain the situation.

No choice but to do this!

Thinking this, Duanmu Huai made up his mind.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, the bureau’s teams also began to retreat rapidly.

“What on earth is going on? Is this some new trick from the ghouls?”

Leading the remaining forces to exit the underground, Investigator Amon couldn’t help but curse softly under his breath. Initially, the operation went smoothly; despite the loss of several hands, they had successfully advanced deep into Ward 24.

However, at that moment, the situation changed.

The ground began to tremble, at first thought to be just an earthquake, but it quickly became apparent that it was not when the ground cracked open, and tendrils, like twisted roots, emerged, spewing bizarre spores into the air. This scene, understandably, set off alarms for the investigators, but before they could devise a response, something even more unimaginable occurred–the ghouls shrouded in the spore cloud suddenly started screaming, then their flesh began to warp and transform, festering like budding flowers on their bodies, and in a matter of moments, the ghouls turned into revolting and horrifying monsters.

Having turned into monsters, the ghouls were even harder to handle. Moreover, they were covered in those strange spores. Anyone who came close, even the investigators and ordinary soldiers, could be infected and turn into the kind of monsters beyond ordinary human imagination.

In such circumstances, advancing further was mere fantasy. Hence, Investigator Amon had no choice but to lead his remaining subordinates in a rapid retreat. To prevent this gas-like substance from leaking, he also blew up the tunnel to seal it. Of course, how effective this measure was remained unknown, but at least… it should obstruct it for a while.

“How’s the situation?”

Exiting the tunnel, Investigator Amon looked around. Everywhere, the situation was similar, with many soldiers severely injured and some investigators as battered as himself.

However, one particularly notable figure was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is Mr. Duanmu? How is the situation at the Tribunal?”

Thinking of this, Investigator Amon quickly grabbed a passerby from the Countermeasure Bureau and demanded answers, to which the other party urgently replied.

“We’ve lost contact with Mr. Duanmu! Two-thirds of the Countermeasure Bureau members are still in Ward 24, unreachable!”

“Damn it…!”

Hearing the report, Investigator Amon clenched his teeth. He remembered that Duanmu Huai had been drinking today; normally one shouldn’t participate in operations under such circumstances. But at that time, he hadn’t stopped him, and Miss Mary was also at his side then. In Amon’s view, despite her young age, Miss Mary was a very calm and intelligent girl. If something had happened, she should be able to… huh?

Purely out of instinct, Amon suddenly felt a sense of panic and, subconsciously, he looked up.

That glance saved his life.

The ceiling collapsed in an instant, and Investigator Amon almost instinctively rolled away in a panic. The next moment, a torrent of light flooded down from above, breaking through the thick crust of the earth and driving into its depths.

The light-spear attack fired from outside the atmosphere became a light waterfall cascading from the sky, rushing downwards and utterly engulfing the entire land within Ward 24. The abandoned buildings above burst into flames instantly under the assault of the intense energy beam, and the solid ground could not hold out for long before it crumbled completely.

Naturally, the individuals from the Countermeasure Bureau below met the same fate. Apart from a few like Amon who were further away, the others didn’t even have a chance to scream before they were devoured by the dazzling energy flood.

There was one exception.

“Mary, watch closely!”

Duanmu Huai tightly embraced Mary, as his pitch-black Steel Power Armor stood like a shield against the surging onslaught of the Light-spear Attack. This was the only solution Duanmu Huai could think of–it wasn’t his style to get entangled here, so he made a decisive command for the Warship to launch a Light-spear Attack on Ward 24.

In Duanmu Huai’s view, this was the only way to minimize the damage within the smallest possible area. The Light Spear would collapse the entire Ward 24, and during this process, the body of the Son of the Black Goat would also be shattered under the barrage of the Light Spear. As long as he could have Mary lock onto its core with the Golden Pupil during this time, he would be able to act immediately after the Light-spear Attack ceased, to eliminate it.

Of course, for an ordinary person, even if not directly hit, there would be no escape from death within such a high-intensity Energy Beam. However, Duanmu Huai was the God of Destruction after all, and things like Flesh Naval Cannons were not a big issue for him. Mary had also been protected with a protective Spell cast by Duanmu Huai in advance–after all, she didn’t have Duanmu Huai’s abilities.

Consider it like taking a hot shower.

The ground around them crumbled, and the flashing brilliance enveloped the entire field of vision. Even Duanmu Huai, with his helmet on, could not fully discern what was hidden in those blindingly bright beams.

But the Golden Pupil is the Golden Pupil.

“I found it, Mr. Duanmu! That’s it!”

The torrent of the Light Spear disappeared, and despite the scorching gases that were almost hot enough to burn everything, Mary stretched out her hand pointing towards the front. Duanmu Huai looked up and saw not far ahead, in that steaming hole surrounded by high temperature, something huge and black like a charred vine was falling down. At the top of this vine-like thing was something that resembled a giant bud, the very bud which Mary was pointing at.

“Hold on tight to me!”

Duanmu Huai leapt up high, raising the Chainsaw Sword in his hand, and the jet pack on his back blasted out fierce airflow, blowing away even the surrounding flames and the stones melted into magma. Then, he and Mary descended from the sky like a meteor, charging towards the Son of the Black Goat before them.

“————–!!”

The falling Son of the Black Goat seemed to perceive the impending danger, quickly its charred skin cracked again, and several tentacles extended out, lashing towards Duanmu Huai.

But this time, before Duanmu Huai could strike, Mary raised her Magic Wand, and the shimmering Meteor Magic burst forth, striking directly at the tentacles coming their way. Amidst continuous explosions, the tentacles that emerged from the Son of the Black Goat were sent flying, and the bud itself was blown open; soon, the two saw a male figure emerging from within the “bud,” whose body was nearly half-dissolved and merged with the Son of the Black Goat. He wore a mask, and tentacles squirmed all over his body.

At this moment, the masked man lifted his head, staring fixedly at Duanmu Huai, opening his mouth as if trying to speak.

But at that moment, Duanmu Huai’s Chainsaw Sword had already penetrated the masked man’s head, deeply cutting into the body of the Son of the Black Goat.

“Buzz————–!!”

The chainsaw began to spin wildly, with surging black flames roaring out from it, penetrating deep into the body of the Son of the Black Goat. It didn’t take long to see the body of the Son of the Black Goat start to swell–with the raging fire that could destroy everything gushing out from the crevices, greedily devouring everything they touched.

“Boom———-!!”

An explosion sounded, the pitch-black flames surged in an instant, engulfing the entire cavity.