Lin Xian hadn’t expected to suddenly be caught up in a skirmish with abnormal creatures. Besides the immediate situation, he also began worrying about the other squads.

“So many of them, what do we do?” KIKI pulled Shiori beside her, then back-to-back with Lin Xian, her voice sharp and resolute as she asked.

“Take them all out before the island sinks!” Lin Xian responded decisively. His gaze swept quickly over the radar system of his power armor. Suddenly, he regretted not bringing Mie Ge along. The current scene was swarming with monster tides, but initial observations showed no signs of S-level entities. He looked at the black shadows in the sky and the giant creatures stirring under the sea, then spoke to Laine’s side.

“Laine, everyone, attack together.”

“Got it!” Laine responded without hesitation. At this moment, the abnormal entities from the abyssal vortex had already burst out of the water. Various kinds of abnormal creatures rapidly climbed onto the island, each opening their mouths filled with eerie tentacles, roaring and howling with grotesque sounds that assaulted everyone’s eardrums.

“Attack!”

At Lin Xian’s command, everyone struck instantly. Lin Xian, KIKI, Laine, Vanessa, Erica, Azrael, and Geddy each charged toward the huge abnormal creatures that had appeared in three directions, all-out to quickly resolve the battle before disaster snowballed.

Boom! Boom!

Laine’s team had just unleashed their crystal lattice energy, immediately drawing the attention of the abnormal creatures on shore. But no one hesitated—they decisively targeted the largest special-level entities first. Laine’s other subordinates formed formations, and the gunfire began to sweep away the swarming insect tides emerging from the sea.

“Geddy, Azrael, be careful!” Just as a freezing spray froze a sharp-bladed insect bursting out of the ground, Laine suddenly noticed the clouds scattered by Azrael above. The storm clouds had returned, and beneath a huge black shadow that blotted out the sky, scarlet glimmers gathered—a special-level colossal airborne creature appeared!

“Erica, countershock ray.”

“Understood!”

Almost simultaneously with the laser beam’s descent, Erica surged skyward, once again forming an energy shield in front of her.

In the reef zone, just the exposed mouthparts of a deep-sea worm stretched nearly a hundred meters, towering into the clouds as the true form gradually revealed itself.

Farther away, several mountain peaks began to shake lightly within the clouds, and several islands at sea level also started moving simultaneously. There was no doubt—the targets of these abnormal creatures were Lin Xian and his team. The appearance of the level 4 mark made them shine like guiding lights in the endless dark night.

On Lin Xian’s side, over a thousand drones swarmed the sky, precisely hunting the dense insect tide. He and KIKI cut through a wave of monsters directly toward a giant sea creature that floated on the surface like a dead infant.

“Don’t hold back, finish quickly!”

Sizzle!

An electric arc instantly killed a cluster of sea insects. Lin Xian burst forward, raising his hand to control Xuanwu’s right arm and slashed directly with a sword strike. At the same time, KIKI’s telekinetic waves unleashed a shockwave over a thousand meters wide, denting and blasting open the sea surface. Then countless VK Electric Blades screamed as they tore through the swarm at high speed. Together, the two struck the unknown creature—whether A-level or special-level—before it could launch any attack, cutting it into chunks of flesh. Crimson waves stained the sea red.

After the swift kill, Lin Xian immediately looked toward Laine’s side. The entire Falcon Sea Group elite had fully deployed, executing their attacks swiftly. Only the continuous emergence of various abnormal creatures from the sea prevented their marks from disappearing.

Lin Xian noticed the dark mark’s intensity had dropped from level 4 to level 2, but with his drones and KIKI’s constant slaughter, it fluctuated between levels 1 and 2, making his expression increasingly grim.

“That approach won’t work. Too few monsters have gathered around Haiyan Island, making it difficult to create openings.”

“As long as you still have a mark, complete elimination is impossible.” KIKI’s tone also grew anxious.

Telekinetically scanning the sea surrounding the seventh week, the storm’s end intensified, the sky clearing slightly. Wild waves swept the coast, and several small and large whirlpools appeared in the surrounding sea, signaling the situation was deteriorating.

Elsewhere, Laine’s team had not yet fully opened fire. The entire beach was covered with various abnormal corpses. Facing the continuously appearing monsters on the shore, Laine’s face turned pale. He immediately spoke into his comm.

“Erica, Lin Xian, work together to block the coastline.”

Boom!

A blank shell fired, carving a giant trench hundreds of meters long along the coast. Sea water mixed with sand and gravel was hurled skyward, shattering apart. Lin Xian punched through a small abnormal creature precisely landing afterward, his tone serious as he responded.

“We’ve calculated it. You’re only covering such a small area!”

Boom!

Azrael fired another massive cannon, cursing loudly, “Fuck, no good. If this keeps up and we attract an S-level or that Uniga-1, it’s all over!”

“There are too many monsters surrounding Haiyan Island. In this situation, clearing this sea area quickly is absolutely impossible!” Vanessa, who was defending alongside Erica at high altitude, suggested, “Laine, Captain Lin, I recommend we retreat from this sea area first.”

“Retreat?”

“She means to move away from the storm for now. Since it’s daytime, if we can leave while the mark is still level 1, we might get a breather.”

Geddy added, “After retreating, we can proactively hunt weaker abnormal creatures inside Haiyan City to eliminate our marks!”

“Good idea!” Laine immediately agreed, shouting toward Lin Xian.

“Captain Lin, the energy release plan must be postponed. It’s best we retreat before bigger monsters arrive!”

“Not a bad idea.”

KIKI nodded in agreement, but her gaze turned to Lin Xian beside her. “Lin Xian, what do you think?”

“Doesn’t work.”

Hearing this plan, Lin Xian answered decisively, “Level 1 mark is still a mark. Within this range, we are exposed to the abnormal creatures. Haiyan Island is currently surrounded by all kinds of abnormal creatures. Chatham Island, located far southeast, is an outlying area away from the main island and probably has the fewest monster tides. If we try to run toward the main island or other directions with a level 1 mark, it would truly cause Haiyan Island to explode into chaos. That’s definitely the worst option!”

Having long fought against darkness, Lin Xian fully understood one truth: in a crisis, you must never rely on luck. Especially when bearing a dark mark, running elsewhere hoping monsters will give up the chase could only be plausible if the place wasn’t already a party ground for monster gatherings in nearby seas. Running around in such a place with the mark was like carrying a honey jar into a beehive.

Hearing Lin Xian’s words, Laine furrowed his brow deeply. As a leader of a sea group, he knew Lin Xian’s analysis was sound, but the situation was urgent—like a collapsing mountain. There was no better way.

“Doesn’t work? Then what do you suggest?!” Erica immediately retorted upon hearing Lin Xian reject Vanessa’s advice. “Captain Lin, do you have a better plan?”

For these sea group members, clearing their marks now was impossible. Vanessa’s plan, though risky, was their last hope, so everyone was angry and eager to hear what this Phoenix Society’s Sword Bearer had to propose.

“Of course I do!”

As Erica’s words fell, Lin Xian’s voice resounded in everyone’s communicators.

“The plan is to finish all the monsters before the bigger ones arrive!”

Lin Xian was flying in the air, gazing toward the distant storm where a giant black floating island approached like a marvel at sea. Below the abyss cliff, a massive vortex continuously rose. He already had a plan.

“You…”

“Erica.” Laine cut off Erica’s reaction, looking toward Lin Xian and saying loudly, “Captain Lin, what’s your plan?”

At this moment, all propulsion devices on Lin Xian’s power armor roared at full thrust. He broke the sound barrier, rushing toward the high sea surface. Simultaneously, his voice echoed through the communicator.

“All marked personnel, gather with me above the sea vortex.”

Laine’s expression flickered with complexity. He took a deep breath without hesitation and decisively said, “Everyone, follow Captain Lin, come with me!”

Rushing forward, dozens of marked members of Laine’s squad activated their power armor, piercing through the dense insect tide to gather above the distant vortex sea area. Meanwhile, the dense abnormal creatures swarming from all directions surged toward the dark mark, creating a spectacular and terrifying scene.

Vanessa, Geddy, Erica, Azrael, and others also fought hard to follow.

“What is he planning?”

“Don’t know...” Azrael said.

“Don’t ask, we can only trust him!” Vanessa shouted.

Suddenly, dozens of power armor suits tore through the gloomy sky, hovering over the southeast sea near Chatham Island amid the storm and hurricane. The sea beneath churned violently, waves rising like black mountains piled layer upon layer. Laine’s Falcon Sea Group members and Lin Xian’s squad formed an aerial formation, flickering like fireflies in the storm, blue flames from their thrusters lighting the dark backdrop intermittently.

From all directions came abyssal whale-like howls. Countless monsters blotted out the sky as they swarmed. Everyone fired back with all their strength.

At that moment, the sea surface below suddenly collapsed, spawning a spiral abyssal vortex hundreds of meters wide. Foam rolled like pale fangs along its edge. At the vortex’s deepest point, a ringed mouth suddenly opened—a giant meat grinder mouth formed by hundreds of steel cable tentacles wrapped together. The inner wall was covered with molten gold compound eyes, and at the center, a second giant mouth split open, generating massive negative pressure suction like a water tornado, attempting to swallow everyone whole!

“That’s the vortex creature from the cliff in the picture!!”

“Hold formation!”

“Captain Lin, what’s your plan?!” Laine looked around, seeing monsters everywhere surrounding them. The abyssal cave below fiercely sucked them in. Dozens of power armor thrusters pushed hard to resist the suction, all sensing a desperate aura. Unease spread across everyone’s faces.

At that moment, Lin Xian dived down from high above, his cold voice ringing through the comm.

“Azrael, use your giant cannon to blast open the clouds above. Laine, you and KIKI strike together. When the other large abnormal creatures approach, freeze them along with the seawater and throw them into that monster’s mouth. Shiori, protect everyone’s mental power. When I signal, KIKI will use telekinesis to carry everyone out of the vortex center, retreating toward the flood discharge maintenance passage!”

“Got it.” KIKI responded immediately. She didn’t need to ask for details—anything Lin Xian planned, she would cooperate instantly.

Everyone else was filled with pressure and panic. Fortunately, Laine and other elite core members all had spirit values exceeding 10,000, allowing them to stay relatively calm under crisis. Hearing Lin Xian’s orders, Laine and Azrael responded instantly.

“Understood.”

“Azrael.”

“Got it!”

Azrael wasted no words and immediately set up his dual-arm giant cannon toward the sky. At this moment, Geddy and Vanessa braced themselves under Azrael’s feet to absorb recoil.

Boom!

After gathering dark energy, a black giant cannon hovered above the sea, piercing the dark clouds overhead. The instant flash of black light dimmed the surrounding space significantly. The giant cannon blasted upward, ripping a huge hole in the low storm clouds. Layers of storm clouds were swept aside, revealing yet another ghostly figure in sight.

Lin Xian’s gaze hardened at the scene. He soared upward and shouted, “Now!”

Laine and KIKI acted immediately. KIKI raised both hands, unleashing a violent telekinetic wave that lifted a hundred-meter-high giant wave on the sea around the vortex, drowning the vast crowd of abnormal creatures.

At the same time, Laine took off his sunglasses, shouting loudly. His eyes gleamed blue light, and a terrifying chill surged outward in all directions!

Everyone heard the piercing sound of freezing spreading. The raised giant wave rapidly froze into solid ice, temporarily trapping the monsters inside. Then KIKI pulled with her hand, shattering the ring of icy waves layer by layer, pouring them down into the vortex abyssal mouth below, blocking the terrifying suction and dense tentacles.

At that moment, Lin Xian shot up to high altitude. Swish, swish, swish—three superstring reactor phase halos like dharma rings lit up behind him!

With the appearance of the superstring reactor phase halos, Lin Xian’s spirit value surged violently!

First superstring reactor phase halo, spirit value 18,000.

Second superstring reactor phase halo, spirit value 24,000.

Third superstring reactor phase halo, spirit value 30,000!

Transcendent-class!

Feeling this spirit value fluctuation beyond all comprehension, Laine’s squad’s faces changed drastically. Erica and others looked up to see Lin Xian raising a hand, pointing at the giant ghostly creature!

Buzz!

A spatial humming sounded. All sounds on the sea seemed to freeze instantly, returning to silence.

Then everyone felt the already faint light above the sea dim immediately. A distorted space formed in the air above the giant ghost, like a black water vortex in the sky. The red light from the ghost’s compound eyes bent into curved beams.

In Laine’s squad’s eyes, it was actually a black hole appearing out of nowhere. With Lin Xian’s spirit value exploding, the black hole instantly expanded from a few dozen meters in diameter to nearly three hundred meters. The twisted dark area churned and swallowed the red light and much of the giant ghost’s torso. Meanwhile, the sun suddenly brightened in the clouds!

Lin Xian’s gravitational lens now seemed like a small focusing lens in the sky, illuminating a vast sea area!

“KIKI!”

“Got it.” Hearing Lin Xian’s words, KIKI acted immediately, waving her hand and using telekinesis to grab everyone, flying swiftly toward the shore.

At this moment, a scorching ray shot down like a heavenly pillar, blasting directly into the abyssal giant mouth below!

At the same time, Lin Xian looked toward the countless abnormal creatures gathering around. Guiding his gravitational lens, he raised his right hand high in the air!

On his right hand, a phantom resembling a mechanical restraint device appeared in the void, quickly morphing on his wrist. It seemed to form a semi-transparent device similar to a diffraction base. In the next instant, a high-temperature wave that instantly vaporized surrounding rain air erupted. Lin Xian felt the power surging and the violent devouring electricity in his right hand. The superstring reactor phase halos behind him howled with low-frequency electric surges. He gritted his teeth fiercely.

“Charging!”

Buzz!!

The reactor halos and the Mechanical Heart operated wildly, flashing again. Lin Xian then shouted loudly.

“Slash!”

In the next moment, the diffraction base on his right hand violently shot out a golden-red impact sword beam, like a celestial weapon beam, piercing hundreds of meters instantly. The blazing blade scorched the air, illuminating the world. Lin Xian’s left hand guided the gravitational lens beam downward as his right hand unleashed the supercritical diffraction sword for the first time, slashing a full circle across the sea area where the abnormal creature tide was attacking.

Boom!

The fierce energy changed the color of heaven and earth. Several kilometers of sea were instantly swept by the giant diffraction sword, like a coronal sweep, ultra-stellar and overwhelming. A giant wave with a diameter of several kilometers exploded. In this high-energy burst, the biological force fields were no match. The attacking abnormal creatures were vaporized en masse at that moment.

The blazing sun pierced the sea;

the divine sword swept the sky.

Using two ultimate moves simultaneously was definitely Lin Xian’s absolute limit, but the destruction it brought was terrifying even to him.

Rumble.

The sea roared;

giant waves sank. The abyssal giant mouth beneath was pierced and burned by the blazing ray. Various large and dense small abnormal creatures attacking were swept away in less than half a second by Lin Xian’s supercritical diffraction sword’s circle sweep.

Sizzle...

The sound of seawater vaporizing into steam continuously rose. Numerous abnormal creature limbs and countless black energies churned and surged on the sea surface, a scene like hell itself.

Far away, Laine and others carried by KIKI away from the impact zone all looked horrified, noticing that their dark marks had been completely cleared. Erica, Vanessa, Geddy, Azrael, and others stared in disbelief at the black hole “summoned” above the sea, the blazing sun, and the divine sword wielded by Lin Xian. The chaotic comm channels fell completely silent at that moment.

Seeing this soul-shaking scene—how the sky itself seemed to clear by human power—no one was not shocked, even KIKI was surprised because this was the first time she had seen this move from Lin Xian.

“This guy... has developed another powerful technique,” KIKI muttered.

“Lin, so amazing!” Shiori hid in the crowd, her face full of admiration.

Laine’s expression was even more complex. He panted heavily, then turned to Erica beside him.

“Now you know... what it means to be a Sword Bearer?”