However, Sheshe felt that these wild Emperor-class Honkai Beasts... were decidedly not up to the task.
While their raw power was undeniable, their control over their abilities was simply too poor. Take the Emperor's Four War Temples for example... using the Death Temple as a case study, even though it couldn't defeat an Emperor-class Honkai Beast in a one-on-one fight, controlling its own energy to create a thunderstorm capable of blanketing an entire city was a trivial matter.
As for the "Wangxiang" before it...
Sheshe's original intention was for it to create a lightning storm to launch the first wave of attacks—a feint—against the "Zhuque" fleet passing through the Tsushima Strait.
But in reality, for a creature of Wangxiang's size (a large body meant ample Honkai energy reserves), the extreme weather it produced was, at best, only powerful enough to interfere with the sorties of the naval air corps. It could hardly be considered an effective offensive measure.
Its Honkai-life was full of helplessness, and Sheshe sighed.
The main character usually makes their appearance last, and it was still a bit early... Never mind, the mission takes priority.
Tons of seawater crashed down from the sky.
A massive serpentine head slowly revealed its true form from below the horizon.
Its body rested upon a dark reef, while its five necks, which had broken the surface, rose high towards the sky in an extremely bizarre formation.
As forked tongues flickered from its mouths, a sudden flash of electricity revealed the first hint of its ferocity.
Tiny arcs of electricity danced across the sea's surface. Soon, they linked head to tail, forming vivid purple lightning serpents.
Just a few seconds later...
The thunder began its symphony.
The oppressive dark clouds overhead seemed to herald the apocalypse.
On the churning surface of the sea, the roar of the giant waves was completely overwhelmed by the increasingly deep rumble of thunder!
A bolt of lightning fell from the heavens!
Heaven and Earth were pierced by a violet brilliance!
One bolt, two bolts... countless bolts!
Terrifying lightning coursed ceaselessly over Sheshe's entire body.
Above its high-raised heads, golden horns in the shape of lightning coalesced from the void!
The horns, using lightning as a medium, connected to the boundless firmament above.
This ability, whose opening move alone could incite the roaring of the seas and a scene of doomsday, was the longest-range mass-destruction skill in Sheshe's arsenal.
A deep explosion, a brilliant flash of lightning.
The horns and the endless lightning bolts formed an unceasing, straight line.
When the final sea of lightning that linked heaven and earth transformed into a pillar of light and surged violently into the roiling, wave-like dark clouds—
Strong winds, raging waves, roaring thunder.
Although the super typhoon was still some time away, the Zhuque fleet had already been sailing through the harsh sea conditions for a long while.
The entire fleet had entered the Tsushima Strait.
The "Wupeng"-class coastal patrol/defense ships dispatched by the naval forces stationed on Tsushima Island to guide them had even led the fleet's vanguard out of the strait's range.
"Your jewelry box..."
The aide-de-camp named Alai was still pitying her treasured collection, but Ayinuer's taut nerves had finally begun to relax.
The anticipated attack had not come.
The terrible weather was merely a manifestation of the sea's fickle nature.
"If it's gone, it's gone."
"Alai, notify the four Beidou ships, cancel the... DEPLOY THE FOUR SYMBOLS GRAND ARRAY!!"
From a soft murmur to a deafening roar, the change in Ayinuer's voice took less than half a second. Alai's little head hadn't even processed what had happened!
"The four Beidou ships!"
"Engine room, full power! Main cannons, prepare!! Deploy—"
Ayinuer's reaction was fast. The moment the sea's visibility dropped by less than half a nautical mile, she had already sensed something was wrong.
But she was too slow!
When the lightning pillar, several kilometers in diameter, descended from the sky, the [Joint Shield · Four Symbols Grand Array], which required the guidance of all four Beidou ships and was powerful enough to cover half the fleet, had no time to form!
The 4th ship at the rear of the fleet, the "Tianquan," was instantly blasted into a firework display across the sky.
"Deploy the Three Powers Grand Array! Repeat! Deploy the Three Powers Grand Array!!"
As Ayinuer's aide-de-camp, Alai may not have seen many storms, but her reactions were, at the very least, extremely sharp.
As the admiral's command was rapidly relayed, the "Tianshu," "Tianxuan," and "Tianji" all lit up with a dazzling brilliance.
With these floating warships as the core, a powerful energy fluctuation rapidly constructed and combined, and a massive golden shield quickly spread to cover the fleet—
The light stole everyone's vision.
A second pillar of lightning viciously struck the center of the shield! New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel(ꜰ)ire.net
A violent shockwave washed over the surroundings, and the shower of light particles in the sky was a testament to the absurd amount of energy consumed to block that strike!
But regardless, the new joint shield had worked. The attack, powerful enough to destroy the "Tianquan" in a single blow, had been successfully stopped!
"Zhuque! Prepare for engagement!"
"Zhuque! Prepare for engagement!"
The thunderclouds still roiled in the sky.
The attacking opponent was still watching like a tiger eyeing its prey—to this point, the fleet had still not spotted a single Honkai Beast.
On the flagship's bridge, sweat soaked Ayinuer's beautiful hair.
North, south, east, west, above, below—the mobility of Honkai Beasts allowed them to attack from any direction.
The threat from the sky had not been neutralized, and the fleet faced the fatal strike of a venomous snake at any moment.
"Large-scale spatial fluctuation detected!"
"Coordinates 37.43.11... directly above us!"
The messenger's voice had just fallen when Ayinuer's roar fiercely overwhelmed the thunder outside the ship:
"All ships, open fire!!"
"All ships, open fire!!"
Every vessel in the fleet received the coordinates and command from the flagship in an instant.
From destroyers to battleships, electromagnetic cannons of every caliber aimed at the clouds in the sky with the utmost speed. The Honkai Beasts had not yet appeared, but the emergence of a large spatial fluctuation meant that at least a medium-scale Honkai Beast legion was about to traverse through.
Countless trails of light of varying thickness streaked across the sky!
Shells and anti-air missiles were unleashed madly towards the sky as if they were free, the terrifying projection of firepower even managing to disperse some of the thunderclouds.
The fleet executed the order with extreme speed, but this brought Ayinuer no peace of mind. The saturation bombardment had lasted for over three seconds. For an enemy capable of creating such a large-scale spatial fluctuation, it was impossible that they didn't have a single Honkai Beast that could withstand the initial attack!
Ayinuer's reaction was once again fast, but just like before, she was just that tiny bit too late—
Creating a large spatial fluctuation was something that eight Space-Time Crystals could easily accomplish.
Using half of its "transport capacity" as a decoy to draw the human fleet's preemptive strike... this was Sheshe's simple and effective two-stage tactic.
Amidst a flash of cyan and purple electricity, a massive dragon burst forth from the sea.
The impact from Wangxiang directly snapped a "Xuanming"-class battlecruiser in half at the waist!
At the same time, it sounded the horn for the legion's offensive.