Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Chapter 834: Blue Star’s Final Battle
Guided by some will, the Old Ones’ Retainers launched an attack on the Abyss Player base. It was obvious this was the work of the Old Ones’ ruler.
“They’ve already detected us? It seems the time for the final battle has come…”
Gazing at the dark clouds on the horizon, Qi Wub’s eyes turned cold. Dark demonic energy surged from all directions and condensed around him. His body grew larger and more ferocious. A pair of wide Demon Wings unfurled from his back, and he soared into the air, flying rapidly in the direction of the music.
…
Qingbin City.
A formation of bombers passed over the beach in a V-shape. This was already the twelfth batch of aircraft. All previous fighter formations sent on missions had not returned.
“Sky Hunter squad, you cannot approach any further. Please drop your bombs and return immediately!” the anxious voice of the commander echoed from the bomber.
Pilot Wang Bing glanced at the colossal shadow constantly approaching their country’s coast, his teeth clenched. If they turned back now, they would only be able to kill some of the monsters that had landed. But everyone knew the true culprit was the colossal phantom hidden within the black fog.
“Calling Sky Hunter 1, lead aircraft, please respond!”
“Calling Sky Hunter 1, lead aircraft, please respond!!”
The queries from other pilots echoed in his ears. Wang Bing frowned. They could drop their bombs and return, but the terrifying monster would not. Perhaps if they could drop their bombs on the monster, they could stop its advance.
“Sky Hunter 1 has received. Continue forward!”
“Understood!”
None of the pilots hesitated.
“Calling Sky Hunter squad, please drop your bombs and return immediately. We will dispatch fighter jets to continue bombing missions, do not take risks!”
Every pilot was a precious asset to their country, and Wang Bing understood this deeply. So, as the bombers drew closer, he immediately ordered the other bombers to drop their ordnance. With a series of sharp whistles, air-to-ground missiles exploded in brilliant fireworks on the sea’s surface. Countless Deep Ones were swallowed by flames, and large swathes of the coastline were cleared by the bombs, buying the ground defense forces a brief respite.
“Calling aircraft 1, bombing mission complete!”
“Aircraft 1 received. You will return immediately!”
Wang Bing piloted his own aircraft forward. He was flying a strategic bomber carrying two medium-sized nuclear bombs. If he could fly close enough to the phantom to drop the nukes, they would maximize their effectiveness. In fact, the military had already launched nuclear missiles from silos at the phantom before, but that phantom possessed a strong distortion ability, rendering all targeting systems useless. This resulted in all the long-range missiles missing their target. Only by approaching with a bomber could this distortion be avoided.
“Calling Aircraft 1, calling Aircraft 1!”
“This is Command! Aircraft 1, please return immediately!”
“Wang Bing! What are you doing?”
Inside the bomber, Wang Bing remained silent, carefully observing the bizarre phantom. It appeared to be a colossal giant, its head like a massive octopus with bat-like wings. On its back was a grand city, faintly visible within the phantom, like a mirage. Just a glance sent countless strange whispers into his mind, like ten thousand bees humming, affecting his thoughts. The world in his eyes began to distort. the control stick suddenly felt like a slimy tentacle, and the dense instruments transformed into numerous eyeballs. Black insects crawled out from under his seat and covered his entire body. These visions flickered in and out, like a slideshow of reality and illusion intertwining.
Wang Bing recalled the commander’s description of the bizarre phantom: “It cannot be perceived, cannot be defined, cannot be observed…” He tried to lower his head, focusing only on the instrument panel, concentrating his attention and trying his best to ignore the whispers.
The bomber drew closer and closer to the phantom, and the target distance displayed on the instruments rapidly decreased. When they were less than two hundred meters from the target, Wang Bing, almost driven mad by the whispers, pressed the bomb release button with bloodshot eyes. The two nuclear bombs ejected from the bomb bay, propelled by the bomber’s forward momentum, hurtled precisely towards Cthulhu. At the same time, Wang Bing gritted his teeth and pulled back on the control stick, struggling to ascend. However, no matter how hard he tried, the bomber plunged into the black fog that enveloped the Old Ones’ ruler.
“Beep, beep, beep—”
Red warning lights flashed inside the cockpit. The bomber, which had been functioning normally, suddenly experienced instrument failure.
“Sky Hunter 1, your bombing mission is complete. Please return immediately.”
“Reporting to Command!” Wang Bing’s voice was intermittent, as if he was enduring extreme pain. He rasped, “Instruments failed! I cannot return!”
“Please, my country, continue… forward… salute!”
With two earth-shattering explosions.
Everyone at the Qingbin City Command watched as two massive mushroom clouds rose from the sea. The intercom fell silent, replaced by a series of electronic beeps.
“Sky Hunter 1, do you copy!”
“Sky Hunter 1, do you copy!”
“Wang Bing!!!”
The commander standing before the signal post looked towards the mushroom clouds, tears welling in his eyes. He clenched his fists.
…
On the coast, Abyss Players were fighting fiercely against the tide of Old Ones’ Retainers. Before the Blue Star Will disintegrated, it had already informed all Blue Star military forces about the significance of the Abyss Players and Winter City Players. Thus, even though the Abyss Players appeared more ferocious than the Old Ones’ Retainers, they were not attacked by the military. Furthermore, now that the Abyss Will had disappeared, they were no longer influenced by it, nor were they controlled by emotions of slaughter and violence. Consequently, they did not descend into a frenzy of killing their allies. The Abyss Players were now just ordinary people in demonic guise.
Under the overcast sky, countless crimson sword lights intertwined, forming a dense net that shrouded the monstrous tide. Where the sword strikes fell, they carved bloody paths, flesh and blood exploding in all directions, raining down a blood-red shower. From the mangled flesh, countless suction-cupped tentacles emerged. At the center of these swirling tentacles, a massive rift opened on the beach. Countless Deep Ones were sucked into it, becoming sustenance as they grew. Then, with a tremor of the ground, a colossal octopus-like monster emerged from the churning sand. Its sharp roar shook the heavens, and its numerous eyes embedded in its octopus head exuded extreme rage and malice.
“Damn it, these Old Ones’ Retainers are endless!”
Surrounded by the Tide of Deep Ones, several Abyss Players had grim expressions. Their combat consumed demonic energy; otherwise, they could only resort to close-quarters combat. Clearly, engaging the Old Ones’ Retainers in close combat was not a good option. Therefore, they could only act like ancient musketeers: the first wave of Corrupted Player mages would consume their demonic energy and then retreat to rest, while the next wave would take their place, forming a relay.
