CHAPTER 424: CHAPTER 248: LIGHT OF THE OCEAN, AGURU_2

Leng Xinlan extended her hand, and the Sword Blade Storm swirling around her reversed direction, roaring as it shot toward the ceiling.

"Boom...boom..."

In an instant, the storm tore through the stone ceiling, sending massive chunks of rock crashing into the passage.

At the same time, Abra and the others rammed their powerful monster bodies against the ceiling with a frenzy, causing the passage to tremble violently.

"Roar!!"

"Growl!!"

But in this mere moment of delay, a cacophony of beastly roars surged from the dark tunnel behind them—the army of Dark Monsters had caught up.

"Lao Si, dig deeper right now, or it’s going to collapse!"

Abra shouted, his "Divine Dragon Tail" smashing into the stone walls of the passage, sending shards flying everywhere, battering the oncoming Dark Monster forces.

Leng Xinlan and the others, including Xiong Da and Xiong Er, joined the commotion, creating a diversion to buy time for Lao Si.

"Ka-ka-ka..."

Quickly, the Earth Boring Giant Armored Beast dug furiously into the stone rubble with its limbs, its enormous body vanishing into the depths of the tunnel. Meanwhile, the army of Dark Monsters closed in relentlessly.

Without wasting another second, Leng Xinlan touched her forehead, activating the giant stone she’d prepared ahead of time. It rolled into place, sealing the tunnel entrance to prevent the Dark Monsters from noticing anything unusual.

If only the Dark Monsters had been slower, they might have had enough time to enter the tunnel together—and leave quietly.

But there were no "ifs."

After sealing everything off, Leng Xinlan shouted, "All set—retreat further back! The battlefield can’t stay here."

"Understood!"

The group responded and began to fight while retreating.

Above the chaos of battle, the Earth Boring Giant Armored Beast burrowed through the earth with incredible speed. The debris it excavated was swallowed into the vast space within its lower belly, as it strained to move toward the volcanic opening.

...

Meanwhile, deep within the dark tunnel...

The unstoppable army of monsters pursued viciously. Each time Leng Xinlan’s group paused, many of the Dark Monsters jostled against each other, unable to slow their momentum.

Several irritable Dark Monsters vented their dissatisfaction by attacking the creatures behind them, creating moments of absurdity.

At the rear of the Dark Monster army, a hundred-meter-long mechanical Dark Dragon Beast reared its head and roared, seemingly cheering on the monstrous horde.

Exuding a dark aura, the entity known as the Dark Dragon...

No—this Dragon Beast’s body was rapidly absorbing Dark Energy!

"Ka-ka-ka..."

The sounds of digging deep underground reverberated clearly in the ears of the Dark Dragon.

Qin Shou, now transformed into the Dark Dragon, lowered his massive head. His colossal Dragon Eyes narrowed slightly.

Trying to escape through the underground?

Can they last that long?

And whose harebrained idea was this, such a labor-intensive and error-prone strategy?

A single misstep could waste all their efforts.

With their limited smarts, it’s no wonder I’d already prepared contingencies for them.

"Hmph..."

Qin Shou shook his Dragon Head, as the Dark Divine Light Stick he’d swallowed began rapidly absorbing the surrounding Dark Energy through his transformed body.

The Dark Monsters, blindly following orders, fearlessly attacked Leng Xinlan’s group, completely oblivious to the true movements of the Dark Energy.

Disdainful of the lackluster concentration of Dark Energy, Qin Shou casually left markings nearby before flying past the horde into the deeper reaches of the tunnel.

Soon after Qin Shou left, in the very heart of the Dark Monster battlefield, an extraordinary blue radiance erupted within the darkness.

"Buzz..."

"Swish, swish, swish..."

From the luminous blue light emerged a majestic and otherworldly sound, echoing like turbulent sea waves crashing and gliding upon shores—brimming with vitality.

"Roar..."

"Hiss..."

Covered in the blue brilliance, countless Dark Monsters let out fearful roars, instinctively retreating from the light.

"You all go first."

From the dazzling blue light came Leng Xinlan’s calm, authoritative voice.

At the center of the battlefield, Abra and the rest couldn’t see through the blinding brilliance to discern what lay within.

But they knew—it was tied to Leng Xinlan.

Without hesitation, they quickly snapped out of their astonished stupor, taking advantage of the Dark Monsters’ hesitation. They dashed toward the tunnel, moved aside the giant stone, and swiftly entered the pathway.

"Boom..."

The last to enter was General Xiong, who restored the giant stone to its original position. Only then did the piercing blue radiance begin to fade away.

"Buzz..."

As the light dimmed, a towering, blue giant stood mighty in the wide passage.

The giant appeared to wear a silver mask, with two sword-shaped blue patterns running along its head. At its forehead shimmered a blue crystal, flanked by two luminescent oval eyes.

On its chest, two sword-shaped chest plates guarded a glowing blue energy light.

Its elegant, blue physique took a single step, causing a subtle tremor beneath its feet.

The Light of the Ocean—Aguru!

As the light receded, the Dark Monsters charged again.

"Hum!!"

The blue giant clasped its hands together, then slowly separated them, revealing a breathtakingly radiant Light Sword that pulsed with formidable Light Energy.

"Boom!!!"

In the next instant, the giant strode forward, the Light Sword swirling around its body, sweeping with terrifying speed. Razor-sharp Light Blades unleashed devastating cutting energy, surging across the ground.

"Buzz..."

The Light Sword flashed but for a moment. Closest to it, five towering fiends halted and glanced down at their bodies, as though unaware of what had just happened.

"Hiss..."

Suddenly, the monsters let out ghastly screams, their upper halves sliding off and crashing heavily to the ground.

"Boom-boom-boom!!"

In an instant, residual Light Energy from the dismembered monster corpses exploded in a storm of fiery chaos. Amid the carnage, the blue giant stood tall...

...

Within the giant’s body, within a water-blue Light Mirror...

Leng Xinlan easily dispatched five high-level nightmare beasts, reveling in the immense Light Energy flowing through her. She sank deeper into intoxication.

"No wonder the Principal was always so secretive, never willing to tell me what this was. Turns out this thing is actually this powerful—it was worth all the effort I spent tricking him into handing it over..."

...

At a covert base somewhere within the walls of the Dark Volcano...

Before a giant virtual screen, a creature towering about ten feet observed the blue giant’s recorded data, emitting peculiar screeches.

"Gulu aah-Wo Qi-Qi Ura-kacha..."

The creature resembled an aquatic insect, walking upright with four arms, translucent wings, and a head akin to that of an octopus.

Nearby, Drue Traitor Blada leaned against a corner wall with folded arms, a look of solemnity on his face.

"Kada, is this the so-called Light Giant you mentioned?" he asked in a calm tone.

Kada tilted his head, tapping the virtual screen with his four terrifying hands, storing data about the blue giant.

"Kaka-kaka, that’s right. This is the Light Giant. It first appeared on Earth, and now—who would’ve expected to encounter it here."

Blada furrowed his brow as his gaze met Kada’s cold, insect-like eyes.

"Kada, what are you planning?"

"Kaka... Since we can’t perfectly analyze Dark Power, why not test the power of the Light instead?"

"Earth isn’t easy prey these days."

"Kaka-kaka... On Monster Planet, besides the natives, which faction is easy prey? And yet—we’ve always done whatever we pleased, haven’t we?"

"Fair enough. But you better promise, if we manage to unravel the Light’s secrets, you’ll first build me an army powered by Light Energy.

Your Kaiju beasts are far too weak. Even when transformed into Dark Kaiju, they’re still barely passable. I suppose Light Energy Kaiju would be the same."

"Sure, no problem. After all, you’re a gifted Drue Star warrior, far more suited for battle and leadership over both Dark and Light armies."

"Glad you understand. Right now, we’re all in the same boat, cooperating is the key to survival.

Once I establish my position on Monster Planet, you won’t have to worry about being stranded without a home after your mother star’s destruction."

"Blada, I believe you’ll make it happen."

"Of course... Wait, what’s this? A Dark Dragon Beast has entered the volcanic depths, yet its genes remain stable even as it’s bombarded by highly concentrated Dark Energy?"

Blada had unintentionally noticed the Iron Dark Dragon appearing on another virtual screen, his face filled with shock.

Kada also caught sight of the anomaly, his eyes gleaming brightly.

"Excellent—a creature capable of absorbing high-concentration Dark Energy Crystals has emerged, and it’s an Iron Dragon Beast.

In my hands, it will absolutely surpass that Dark Bat and defeat the Light Giant!"

Hearing this, Blada got ready to act.

"I’ll go capture it."

Kada shook his head to stop him. "Not yet. It just paused—I suspect right now, it can only withstand this level of Dark Energy.

Let’s deal with those people first. We can’t let them escape—especially that Light Giant."

Blada didn’t object, replying, "Fine. Keep an eye on the Dragon Beast."

"Alright."

...

"Huff...grr..."

Having transformed into an Iron Dark Dragon, Qin Shou crouched low, feigning sleep atop giant stones within the cavern.

His half-open Dragon Eyes were focused on the mysterious base within the cavern, his thoughts on high alert.

A base belonging to the Drue traitors?

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the base’s doors swung open. Two figures in transparent battle armor—designed to resist Dark Energy—stepped out.

The Drue Traitor... And wait—that’s an Alien Pioneer!