Shrouded Seascape

Hovering before the colossal triakis octahedron, Pede's figure appeared as insignificant as a mouse before an elephant. From Charles' perspective, however, he was watching an absurd scene of a mouse challenging an lephant in a fight.

The massive triakis octahedron trembled slightly in the darkness. Despite being capable of easily destroying the Foundation's aerial fleet earlier, its offensive ripples had no effect on Pede.

Pede raised his malformed hands riddled with pitch-black holes and swung them at the pitch-black sphere that surrounded the triakis octahedron. Cracks instantly appeared on the shield.

On the surface, it seemed that Pede had gained the upper hand in their first clash.

However, Julio's features twisted into a scowl as he watched the scene. "These trash should be thrown into the sea to feed the fish! They had such overwhelming power all along but had never brought it up even once! They've been sitting in the back and watching us risk our lives on the surface world! They've been hoarding their secrets while merely watching as the world ends!"

Anna let out a cold sneer as she folded her arms across her chest. "Be grateful, won't you? At least they isolated themselves to the Sea of Mist and never tried to expand outward. With such powerful existences among them, even if all humans in the Subterranean Sea worked together, they wouldn't stand a chance."

Anna was right. No forces in the Subterranean Sea could possibly withstand such overwhelming strength. The fact that Pede could clash with the triakis octahedron and still stand His ground indicated that the first God of the Haikor Tribe indeed possessed true strength that could surpass that of a Divinity.

Given that Pede could give a Divinity a run for His money, He could certainly dominate the entire seascape if He wanted to do so.

However, for some unknown reason, the Haikor Tribe had confined themselves within the Sea of Mist, which was undoubtedly a blessing in disguise for all humans in the Subterranean Sea.

Just then, a sound of tearing fabric resonated through the air. Pede had torn away a large part of the pitch-black sphere to reveal the triakis octahedron's earlier bizarre form.

At the same time, the massive black hole that Pede had come from to join the battlefield lit up. An iridescent, conical structure that was as large as the Eiffel Tower emerged from its depths. Surrounded by floating glyphs, the structure dragged a series of afterimages as it spiraled toward the triakis octahedron.

It seemed like Pede had allies on the other side of the black hole, and they were providing assistance by sending some kind of special weapon.

When the triakis octahedron collided with the newly introduced object, the entire battlefield trembled violently. Like ripples on a water's surface when it was disturbed, everything within the space stretched and contracted swiftly.

In the next moment, everything returned to normal once again. The only thing that had been affected was the triakis octahedron hovering in the sky. A spacetime fissure had left its mark on the surface of the triakis octahedron. The conical structure retracted swiftly, causing a chunk of the triakis octahedron's outer shell to be torn off to reveal the swirling fog of chaos within.

When Charles saw the cannons of the Foundation's aircraft carrier pivoting toward the exposed core, a sense of understanding washed over him. Instantly, he teleported back into the bridge, grabbed the microphone, and shouted, "All units! Aim at the exposed core! Fire!"

Now that the Haikor's God had compromised the outer shell of their enemy, this was the opportune moment to strike. The Foundation had clearly anticipated this scenario as well.

Within a second, all the exploration ships present opened fire. The roar of cannons filled the air and bombarded everyone's ears. In a low-gravity environment, the residue shockwaves shook small loose objects in the cabins into disarray.

With a grim expression, Charles returned to the deck and watched on as projectiles streaked across the sky like meteors, hurtling toward the triakis octahedron.

Bzzzzt!

A blinding beam of light made Charles squint instinctively. It was a laser beam fired by the Foundation's mothership next to him. Not just one, but at least four extremely bright beams were fired at the target. The Foundation had started its bombardment.

The dazzling light beams reminded Charles of the laser weapons that were attached to the bottom of Ronker.

Formidable weapons that were capable of slicing through an entire island easily were now being unleashed freely as if they were easy to come by.

Despite the overwhelming offensive, however, Charles and his allies failed to penetrate the triakis octahedron's core. Its physical resilience was certainly unparalleled in the entire Subterranean Sea.

The relentless, high-intensity assault continued on for a full fifteen minutes. Only when Pede raised His deformed right hand riddled with pitch-black holes did the offensive gradually cease.

As clouds of sulfuric smoke faded away, the triakis octahedron was still hovering in mid-air without any new hints of damage. In fact, even its previously stripped outer shell was restored.

The attacks had no effect? Even after tearing away its shell and attacking its inner core directly, it still didn't work. Charles thought, his heart sinking into despair.

Just then, Paiper's intertwined black-and-transparent figure writhed and twisted as it swam up to Charles. Parting its grotesque mouthpiece slightly, it said, "Charles, Pede alone cannot destroy this creature. Its existence is extremely unique. We need to combine the strength of everyone present!"

"It can't? You guys have already encountered this thing before?" Charles asked as he looked up at the spiraling ring of sharp teeth in front of him.

With a crackling sound, a holographic projection of Feuerbach suddenly popped up in front of Charles.

A cascade of data poured down like a waterfall all around Feuerbach. Feuerbach's face was growing with more anxiety with each passing second as he furiously typed away at the keyboard before him.

"Based on the information we've just gathered, we've calculated a possible solution," Feuerbach said. "Since we can't break through from the outside, we need to attack from within. This is the only way for us to extract the darkness from within it!"

As soon as Feuerbach finished his statement, Paiper quickly chimed in, "In a moment, I'll instruct Taylor on the other side of the portal to initiate another attack. This time, I need you guys to enter its body and retrieve the darkness from its digestive organs."

Before Charles could say a single word, Anna slapped his chest slightly to stop him from talking. With her brows furrowed, she looked at Feuerbach and Paiper.

"Oh, since when did you two get so chummy, and without including us? Completing each other's thoughts now, are we? Are you plotting to set up my man again? He's just a regular human; there's no need to keep tricking him, right?"

Boom!

With a loud explosion, a red hue lit up the sky as the aircraft carrier to the right of the Narwhale instantly blew apart.

The triakis octahedron's counterattack had commenced. Seeing that its attacks were ineffective on Pede, it had turned its focus to the surrounding aerial fleet. In an instant, bright flares of light lit up the space. The defense of the Foundation's fleet was insignificant against the sheer size and power of the triakis octahedron.

A burning fighter jet spiraled like a dart toward the Narwhale.

Anna lifted her right hand; her slender pale forearm instantly transformed into a gigantic tentacle, its diameter measuring three meters. With an effortless flick, she swatted the oncoming jet away.

The new round of battle was starting to cause interference in Feuerbach's communication. His holographic projection flickered, but fortunately, his voice remained audible.

"Who's trying to trick him? Do you think we have time for that at this time? Also, this isn't a solo mission for him! The council has passed the order. I, along with two doctors and a mobile task force, will be participating in this operation!"