Chapter 254: Your mission objective is under attack |
At sea, a slender head broke through the surface of the water.
It raised its head towards the sky and let out a piercing cry.
That sharp sound, even from this far away, could faintly be heard, its high-pitched call carrying across the distance.
"Plesiosaur!"
Someone recognized it and couldn't help but shout excitedly.
Zou Jianghe stood on the rooftop, his expression grim. He suspected the creature that killed He Biao and the others was this very plesiosaur.
Qin Ziwen rode the Crowned Eagle into the sky.
He flew closer towards the direction of the plesiosaur. It was rare to catch a Sea Colossus showing itself, so he decided to go take a look first, to observe before making any decisions.
The closer he flew, the more Qin Ziwen felt something was off.
he discovered it seemed there wasn't just one Sea Colossus here!
Besides the plesiosaur, there was another massive, pitch-black beast of immense size.
Its enormous form was mostly concealed beneath the turbid, deep blue sea surface.
Catching only a glimpse of a corner,
one could tell the other beast's size seemed to be even larger than the plesiosaur's.
It was at this moment he realized, in the sea, these two marine giants were actually fighting!
Judging by their builds, one with the long neck should be the plesiosaur.
The other one had a stockier, more robust physique.
It looked a bit like Godzilla, its body covered in thick, mottled black scale patterns.
It was larger and bulkier than the plesiosaur, with a body length exceeding thirty meters, like a living mountain.
"!!!"
The sea surface erupted violently.
A broad, majestic, reef-like massive head broke through the water, its maw filled with terrifyingly sharp teeth clamping down on the plesiosaur's thick, long neck.
A terrifying biting force instantly erupted.
The dull thud of the massive jaws snapping shut exploded.
Blood sprayed violently, the plesiosaur's neck abruptly bending at a sharp angle.
The leviathan that had surged out, gripping the plesiosaur's neck in its jaws, leaped out of the sea, and with its prey in tow, crashed back into the ocean with a tremendous impact, sending up a wave dozens of meters high.
The heavy ripples took a long time to subside.
Qin Ziwen recognized this giant beast, the mosasaur from the Level 2 mission targets!
At this moment, only one thought remained in his mind.
Your mission target is attacking another mission target!
Holy shit, please don't let there be only this one plesiosaur in this sea area!
If it's gone, wouldn't that mean one less mission right off the bat?
On the sea surface, the mosasaur's heavy scaled armor occasionally broke the water, its massive body tearing at the plesiosaur's corpse, performing a death roll.
The water churned violently, unable to calm down for a long time, a large patch of crimson staining the sea red.
He had heard Wang Yun say that among Earth's ancient marine giants, the mosasaur was special.
Because the mosasaur's ancestors were small land lizards.
It was one of the most successful cases of vertebrates "returning to the sea" a second time.
Although its limbs had degenerated into flippers, its back still retained a degree of keratinous scales.
When it opened its mouth just now, its jaws opened wide to a large extent. This was different from many fish, more like a crocodile!
The mosasaur's mouth seemed specifically designed for hunting giant prey.
"What a pity," Qin Ziwen felt some regret.
They didn't have suitable weapons yet, and this mosasaur was simply too big.
It far exceeded the Tarbosaurus they encountered on the previous map.
On the current dinosaur rankings, it could probably temporarily claim the top spot.
Even the Giant Rock Dragon, if it fell into the water or was at the shore, might not be safe facing the mosasaur.
When size reaches a certain magnitude,
even being Superhuman might not be enough.
Superhuman just means breaking the limits of one's own species. If the original species' upper limit was already very high, breaking through to Superhuman would only make it more terrifying.
Qin Ziwen thought of the Tarbosaurus. If an adult Tarbosaurus could then break through to Superhuman, it might become a true killing machine.
'Let's go, we'll head back first.' Qin Ziwen signaled the Crowned Eagle to return.
Currently, they had no feasible method to deal with this mosasaur.
Although the Home had one completed twelve-meter-class wooden ship, in front of the mosasaur,
it was probably just one leap and a ram from being capsized.
After witnessing the mosasaur's size, Qin Ziwen suddenly felt that even a twenty-meter-class iron-plated ship might not be entirely safe.
If they could mix Ghost Gold into the outer iron plating, raising the defensive capability by another two levels, then they might have a chance at self-preservation.
However, the mosasaur had just finished its hunt and was currently feeding on the plesiosaur. This might be a chance to dive into the sea and explore the surrounding seabed.
Returning to the Home, Qin Ziwen summoned the members of the Core Hunting Team.
"Who among you can't swim?"
No one raised their hand.
After learning this map was an island, even those who couldn't swim had been taking private lessons to learn.
No one wanted to fall behind.
Qin Ziwen emphasized seriously, "Let me reiterate, this time we're going into the sea. If your swimming skills aren't good, it's very dangerous. In a critical moment, the only one you can rely on is yourself."
Yuan Dajun laughed, "Guild Leader, we were prepared when we came here."
The others also nodded silently.
"Alright, since you're prepared, then get ready for action. Go collect the equipment."
He took out sixty Deep Sea Oxygen Sacs, three per person.
Then came the underwater weapons provided by the Armory Department: harpoons, and twenty sets of Sandworm Armor.
After testing, due to its lightweight nature, this Sandworm Armor was not only waterproof but also very light, making it suitable for use in water.
There were also three hand crossbows and sixty conical-headed arrows.
Everyone arrived at the seaside and swallowed two Deep Sea Oxygen Sacs.
Leaving one hidden in their clothing.
In the final three minutes before a Deep Sea Oxygen Sac's effect ended, everyone would receive a prompt. This also served as a method to get a time reminder while underwater.
They would take the final sac just before the effect of the second one was about to end.
One hour was basically enough time to guarantee a return to the surface.
"Our objective is to first conduct a survey of the surrounding seabed. And currently, we haven't found an Altar. I suspect the Altar's location on this map might be underwater." Qin Ziwen hadn't forgotten that one of the scenes back then was underwater.
"Splash!"
"Plop!"
The group dove into the sea one after another.
Seawater instantly enveloped them, cold, salty, carrying a heavy pressure.
Almost everyone instinctively shut their eyes tightly the moment they entered the water, holding their breath desperately.
However, the expected suffocation did not arrive.
Cautiously, tentatively, everyone opened their eyes.
They stretched out their hands, curiously paddling and moving underwater.
Someone kept sinking towards the seabed and hurriedly kicked their legs, moving clumsily through the water.
Qin Ziwen gripped his harpoon and headed towards the bottom.
Surrounding the Island Reef was a downward-sloping incline.
From a certain perspective, the Island Reef was actually like a mountain growing in the sea.
It's just that most of the mountain was submerged, with only its peak breaking the sea surface.
What met their eyes were vast stretches of coral reefs and Hidden Reefs.
Fish could be seen darting among them from time to time.
On the seabed, some crabs waved their claws, looking fierce.
A few octopuses slid quietly over the sand.
These were all novel sights they had never seen before. Many among them had never even been scuba diving. Everything around them was filled with novelty.
The group moved downwards along the seabed.
But soon, they discovered a problem.
The deeper they went, the darker the surrounding light became.