CHAPTER 145: TIDESHEAR COVE RAID [II]

This giant scorpion was a mutation.

They weren’t from within the dungeon though.

Like how unstable mana from dungeons was dangerous to civilians, it was the same for animals too.

A lot of times, animals died when exposed to the gate’s mana, but sometimes... they didn’t die.

Sometimes, they mutated.

Mutation was the body’s instinct to evolve and survive.

After mutating, they became stronger than regular animals, though not quite as strong as dungeon creatures.

Of course, it always depended on which part of their body the mutation affected most.

For the scorpion in front of them, it was obvious. The tip of its tail dripped with poison so corrosive that each drop burned through the sand, dissolving it instantly.

The ground sizzled wherever it touched and steam rose like smoke.

’Okay, so it’s the poison that evolved,’ Lucius thought. ’It’s practically acid now.’

And that wasn’t the only one.

Five others followed, crawling out of the bubbling water with their tails twitching.

The scene looked rehearsed... six horrors emerging together like a welcoming committee from hell.

"Go!" he commanded.

The team sprang into action. Despite how chaotic their earlier streams had been, the group had grown a lot since then.

They were still clowns, but they were clowns with experience.

Grimm charged first, his spear spinning in his hand.

Erika crouched slightly, palms pressed together as she looked up at him with a grin.

Without words, they moved in sync... Grimm jumped, planting his foot into Erika’s clasped hands, and she launched him sky-high with a single push.

[@ArcaneLover33: THAT COMBO WAS SICK 🔥🔥🔥]

[@ShipErikaAndGrimm: TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK 💪]

[@StreamerJunkie: THEY’RE GETTING TOO GOOD 😭]

[@CineRaidClips: THESE TWO WERE BORN FOR CLIPS 💀💀💀]

Grimm shot forward, his entire body coated in swirling mana.

The spear glowed blue as he spun midair, diving straight for one of the scorpions below.

The speed and momentum were ridiculous... Erika’s launch had given him enough force to split boulders.

He slammed the spear down.

The scorpion’s head burst like a balloon.

Green blood exploded outward, splattering everywhere.

Grimm landed hard on the sand, completely covered from head to toe in green gore.

He stood there, dripping slime, and gave the camera a thumbs-up. "Well, that was easy."

A flash of red crossed his vision and the next moment, Raven appeared out of nowhere, backhanding Grimm across the beach just as several scorpion tails stabbed into the ground where he’d been standing seconds earlier.

"Don’t get distracted," Raven said while stepping forward.

Lucius smirked. ’Good timing my wonderful protagonist.’

The scorpions hissed, their tails coiling again for another strike... but three sharp cracks split the air.

Mana bullets streaked through the sky, hitting dead center.

The first scorpion’s head exploded; the second lost half its tail; the third screeched as its stinger melted.

Lucius traced the angle of fire, the brown-haired awakener stood high up on a rock, a sniper rifle in her hands.

She blew the smoke off the barrel and gave a thumbs-up.

Raven looked back and nodded.

"Nice shot," he muttered.

He stomped once, and fire coiled around his body like a living serpent. The air around him grew hotter and his hair flowed with the wind as he thrust his palm forward.

"Flame Cannon."

The fire compressed into a bright sphere before erupting outward, slamming straight into the next scorpion’s face.

The explosion consumed its entire upper body, leaving only burning legs twitching in the sand.

Lucius nodded in approval. "Good."

He turned to Luna but she wasn’t beside him.

His gaze flicked ahead and found her up front, standing right next to the Hudson brothers as they fended off another giant scorpion.

’What the hell is she doing?’

She stood firm, raising her arm.

The fist of her suit started to glow, veins of blue light running up her arm like circuitry.

[@LunaSimp69: WAIT WAIT WHAT’S SHE DOING?!]

[@DroneGirlLover: IS SHE ABOUT TO PUNCH THAT THING?! 😭]

[@HudsonFan: THE BROTHERS ARE GONNA DIE HELP 😭😭😭]

[@TechMage42: OH SHE’S GOT SOMETHING COOKING 🔥🔥]

[@LuciusCam: LUNA YOU BETTER NOT BLOW YOURSELF UP 😭]

The light on her arm intensified until...

A blast of blue energy erupted from her palm.

The beam tore straight through the scorpion’s head, carving a perfect circular hole through its body before detonating midair.

The creature collapsed instantly.

The audience went feral.

[@WhatInTheHell: WHAT WAS THAT?! 💥💥]

[@NanoSuitFan: REPULSOR??]

[@ManaStream: SHE’S USING PURE TECH MANA FUSION 🔥]

[@LunaBestGirl: SHE’S A GENIUS OMGGGGG]

[@SimpNation: IF SHE KICKS NEXT I’M DONE 😭😭😭]

Lucius was in shock. ’Repulsors? Tony Stark much?’

Well it wasn’t like Marvel could reach him here... right?

The fight was basically over now.

The rest of the scorpions were either burning, melting, or turning into ash as the group mopped up.

Lucius’s part wasn’t even needed but he decided to finish things properly.

He spread his fingers and teleported into the water.

The water darkened instantly.

He could see everything underwater and he found his targets; three giant fish still swam near the glowing gate.

Lucius raised his hand, and space compressed violently, crushing three at once before they even realized what happened.

Their corpses drifted upward, dissolving into dust.

When he rose back to the surface, he broke through the water in one smooth motion.

His hair was slicked back and droplets sliding off his sharp jawline.

His black shirt clung to his body, outlining every muscle of his chest and stomach.

Luna’s camera drone panned to him automatically.

[@HolyShirtless: SWEET HEAVENS HE’S WET 😭🔥🔥🔥]

[@LuciusDaddy: DADDY YES PLEASE 💦💦💦]

[@ManaHorny: I WANT TO BE KNOCKED UP BY THAT MAN 😩]

[@ErikaFanClub: LOOK AT HIM OMG HIS HAIRRRR]

[@TechGirlFreak: HE’S LITERALLY A MODEL]

[@LuciusLover101: THE WATER MADE HIM HOTTER??? HOW??]

[@Worldcrafter: RIP ME I’M DEAD 😭💀]

[@BrownSniper: THE MUSCLES. THE ABS. THE VEINS. WTF]

[@OceanBabe: I’M PREGNANT JUST WATCHING THIS 💀💀💀]

Luna turned red instantly.

Her visor fogged from the heat of her own blush.

Erika’s nose twitched and she looked away quickly, her hand wiping away the nosebleed that was threatening to stain her clothes.

Even the brown-haired sniper on the rock had her cheeks tinted pink.

Lucius brushed a hand through his hair. "Good, we’re done here. Let’s get to the gate."

Everyone nodded.

Lucius waved his hand, and the air distorted around them. The P40 drone rose into the sky, focusing on the massive gate that loomed ahead.

The group slowly lifted off the ground, floating toward it under Lucius’s power and the P40 followed.

The chat erupted once again:

[@ManaWatcher88: THEY’RE GOING IN 😱]

[@RaidFanatic: THIS IS IT!!!]

[@SpaceSimp: CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE 👏👏👏]

And then there was... light.

A brilliant flash of blue swallowed everything as they crossed through the gate.

The world distorted and their bodies turned weightless for a moment before gravity returned with a vengeance.

Lucius opened his eyes and immediately realized he was falling.

The world below wasn’t ground... it was an endless ocean stretching infinitely in all directions.

"We’re falling to our deaths!" Matthias screamed, arms flailing helplessly as the team plummeted beside him.