Just as Xu Ao was displaying his godlike might, Yu Xian, observing from high above through an eyeball bubble, caught sight of a massive dark silhouette flashing across the distant sea.
"What is that thing?"
Yu Xian immediately steered an eyeball bubble downward, transmitting his voice through the bubble to Xu Ao, who was in the middle of a slaughter: "General Xu Ao, watch out! Something huge is coming from the sea!"
"Salty Fish? Don't worry—as long as it isn't that bastard the Xingtian zombie king, I'm not afraid of anything!" Xu Ao's dragon eyes flicked toward the eyeball bubble, instantly recognizing Yu Xian's voice, before he burst into hearty laughter.
This was the seashore. It was entirely his home turf!
"Waterplay Style, Chainsaw Dragon Form."
Yet while Xu Ao scoffed at the enemy in words, his tactics were remarkably cautious.
Radiating blue light from head to toe, he plunged straight into the seawater. By the time he broke the surface again, his body was completely cloaked in the sea, transforming into a super water dragon ten thousand meters long.
The dragon's mane was composed entirely of chainsaws wrought from seawater. The chainsaws lengthened and contracted at will, stretching over thirty thousand meters at their longest and remaining several thousand meters even at their shortest.
Throngs of sea beasts and aberrant worms had only just surged ashore from the ocean when, in the next second, they were sawn clean in two, their corpses collapsing in geysers of blood.
"Holy crap, that's insane!"
Watching the spectacle, Yu Xian was completely stunned.
He could hardly believe that Xu Ao, who had previously been crippled by a single punch from the Xingtian zombie king, possessed such sheer power.
Yet right as Xu Ao was carving his way through the horde, a colossal wave suddenly roiled across the sea, and a titanic whale at least three times larger than a normal whale breached from the water.
*"Mati!"*
Upon the whale's back stood a fishman clad in golden armor with the head of a shark, brandishing a spear. He let out a low roar toward Xu Ao, his arm muscles bulging to an exaggerated degree, and hurled the spear straight at Xu Ao in an instant.
*Boom!*
The spear struck Xu Ao's abdomen, and his massive body plummeted out of the sky as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
In truth, his reflexes were swift. The instant the spear flew toward him, he had continuously formed water shields in its path while attempting to dodge. But there was clearly something unnatural about the spear—it pierced through every layer of defense in a flash before striking his body.
The shark-headed fishman leaped from the whale and landed before Xu Ao, brutally wrenching the spear free from Xu Ao's belly.
"Bayao people, do you seek to start a war?" Xu Ao asked furiously, blood trickling from his mouth as he glared at the shark-headed creature.
The Bayao people originated from the ancient Bajau people. Due to a Forbidden Fruit, however, they had long since become two completely unrelated races: the former lived in the deep sea, while the latter dwelt by the shore. In fact, their competition over resources had made them bitter, irreconcilable enemies.
The shark-headed warrior raised his spear and aimed it at Xu Ao's head, declaring coldly, *"Pahlawan tidak takut mati."*
With that, he thrust the spear directly at Xu Ao's head, only to be blasted hundreds of meters away by a torrential blast of water erupted from Xu Ao's jaws.
Yet there was indeed something bizarre about the spear—it possessed a perfect ability to repel water. While the shark-headed warrior was hurled away, the spear utterly ignored the torrent's impact and stabbed viciously into Xu Ao's mouth, piercing straight through his lower jaw.
At that moment, countless sharks broke the water's surface, their backs carrying Bayao people bearing heads of various fish.
Only half a minute had passed since the shark-headed warrior's appearance. The moment Yu Xian saw Xu Ao wounded, he had already begun rallying reinforcements. Meanwhile, the naval troops Xu Ao had ordered to hold the city walls joined the fray as well.
By the time the horde of Bayao people stormed ashore, Yu Xian, Xiao Cheng, Hua Qiang, Gong Qian, Tianshu, Gan Jiang, and Mo Ye were already standing at Xu Ao's side, while legions of naval soldiers surrounded the entire beach with weapons drawn.
*"Serang!"*
Scrambling back to his feet, the shark-headed warrior raised his right arm and bellowed.
At his command, all the Bayao warriors charged at once. On Yu Xian's side, Xiao Cheng shouted immediately, "Little Yu, take General Xu Ao for medical treatment first! The rest of you, charge with me!"
"..."
Xu Ao gave an agonized jerk. For some reason, an intense feeling of déjà vu washed over him.
He was injured again, and yet again, it was Yu Xian who was supposed to drag him off for treatment. This was far too humiliating.
Just moments ago, he had boasted that so long as it wasn't the Xingtian zombie king, he had nothing to fear.
If he tucked tail and ran now, how would that make him any different from a craven deserter?
He shouted toward Yu Xian: "Thel-phee Phith, uh nah go-ing! Hehp meh puh thith thpear outta mah mouf!" *(Salty Fish, I'm not leaving! Help me pull the spear out of my mouth!)*
With his jaw impaled, his pronunciation was completely mangled.
Yu Xian couldn't understand a single word Xu Ao had said. Just as he stepped forward to ask, Xu Ao mistook his approach as an attempt to teleport him away from the battlefield and shoved him aside with a wave of water.
The water then formed the shape of a hand in an attempt to pull the spear from his jaw, but the moment the water touched the spear, it passed right through. No matter what Xu Ao tried, he could not make physical contact with the weapon.
The real problem was that in his dragon form, his forelimbs weren't long enough to reach his jaw. Nor could he shift back to human form with the spear lodged there, or it would run straight through his brain.
In the end, he turned a helpless gaze upon Yu Xian.
Finally realizing what Xu Ao wanted, Yu Xian hurried forward, gripped the spear, and yanked it out with all his strength.
The spear was roughly five meters long and weighed more than three tons. Both ends tapered to wicked points, and only the middle grip featured ring upon ring of grooves to provide traction.
"Thanks!"
Reverting to human form, Xu Ao pulled out a can of healing spray, applied a layer of medication to his jaw and left kidney wound, and offered his thanks to Yu Xian.
With that, he locked his sights on the shark-headed warrior currently clashing with Xiao Cheng and dove back into the battle.
Yu Xian stowed the spear into his storage ring, surveyed his surroundings, and drew the Manji Flash Thunder Saber, preparing to support the others.
Right then, however, his phone began to ring.
He fished it out and answered. Yu Lie's voice came through from the other end: "Little Yu, come to the Transcendent Containment Facility."
"Be right there," Yu Xian agreed at once.
He glanced at the state of the battle before instantly wrapping himself in a spatial bubble.
A second later, he appeared inside the Transcendent Containment Facility on Kepler, over six hundred light-years away. Yu Lie was already waiting for him in the corridor.
"Minister!"
Stepping out of the bubble depot, Yu Xian hurried over.
This time, Yu Lie's expression was grave, lacking any of his previous casual ease. He nodded. "Come with me."
The two made their way toward the deeper reaches of the Transcendent Containment Facility. As they walked, Yu Lie explained the reason for the summons.
"To handle the various transcendent disasters that might arise in the future, the state has actually prepared numerous contingency plans. In particular, we have made extensive preparations against [5322], our ultimate hypothetical enemy.
"However, over the past couple of days, you've likely noticed something.
"The lifespans of many people have been shifting. Some have gained longer lifespans, while others have seen theirs cut short.
"According to our think tank's analysis, it is possible that something from the Abyss has entered our world, altering its overall course.
"Yet such fluctuations aren't necessarily a good thing. The Blood Clan Progenitor is a prime example—he was very likely affected by this disruption, undergoing changes we know nothing about," Yu Lie explained to Yu Xian.
After hearing this, Yu Xian asked, "Minister, what do you need me to do?"
"The council has resolved to fully activate Extreme Disaster Contingency Plan No. 402," Yu Lie said, looking at Yu Xian with a smile. "You are the operative Qilin is assigning to execute it."
*Extreme Disaster Contingency Plan No. 402?*
Chapter 160