Appearing inside of the hunting grounds, Long Hua has a total of 21 combat bodies behind him.
"…"
Having come into this place with the intent to do battle against Hai Zang, Long Hua does find it odd to see all the combat bodies dressed in maid uniforms, but at this point, it's already too late to say anything about it.
Four of these combat bodies are currently armed with pitch black tower shields, which are shaped like the shell of a tortoise.
Other than the aforementioned four, the rest of the combat bodies are equipped with firearm-type Spirit Armaments.
The only common equipment among them is the floats.
"…"
Looking around the badly damaged terrain—that is riddled with cracks and uneven craters, Long Hua eventually turns his attention to the raging seas.
Much like before, this world is surrounded by dark clouds, and hidden inside of these clouds is the massive body of a white serpent.
Sensing Long Hua's arrival—
"…"
"…"
The predecessors that have been deemed a failure by the unpleasant individual emerge from the raging seas, and towards them, Long Hua remarks—
"I don't have time for this."
Without any hesitation, Long Hua summons the silver-armored Machina Frame, and boards it with Tian Cheng.
Immediately, the Machina Frame rises off one knee, and positioning its right hand close to the blue gem that is embedded into its chest—
*…!!!* as pale blue radiance emanates from the large gem, the Machina Frame draws out an eight-meter sword, that is discharging red energy.
Immediately, the nearby combat bodies split off into four groups, and begin to distance themselves from the Machina Frame.
Rotating the eight-meter sword in its hands, and stabbing it into the ground, the Machina Frame spews out four energy-based white wings from its shoulder blades.
And as soon as the combat bodies are off the island, Long Hua mutters—
"Moons Dwelling within the Lake."
*…! …! …!* bloodstained crescent moons manifest throughout the damaged island.
And completely unaware of the fact that they have already stepped into a deathtrap, the failed experimental subjects continue to approach the Machina Frame.
"Die."
*Boom!!!!!!* stabbing the sword into the ground, all the crescent moons are simultaneously detonated, causing a crimson pillar—formed of numerous sword Qi threads, to blast upwards!
*…!!! …!!! …!!!* amidst this pillar's rise, everything caught within it is shredded to the point of nonexistence, as not even a trace of blood remains in the air after!
"…"
Upon the crimson pillar's dissipation, the Machina Frame is revealed to be standing on top of a tiny patch of land that is no wider than 12 meters.
And as the Machina Frame pulls its weapon out of the earth—
...…
Deathly silence looms in the air.
"…"
Amidst this silence, Tian Cheng has the combat body groups continue to distance themselves from one another in preparation for Hai Zang's appearance.
"…"
Bringing up the evolution interface, Long Hua sees it showing 30 mutation points, as proof of his kills being counted.
"…"
Using his divine senses, Long Hua scans the area for anything unusual, and momentarily—
"…!"
Snapping the Machina Frame to the right, Long Hua prepares to launch a preemptive strike; however—
*Aaaaaaoooooouu!!!!!* a mountainous body with over 50 tentacles shoots out of the waters, and dives toward the Machina Frame with its maw wide open!
Despite the Machina Frame measuring at a height of ten meters, its stature pales in comparison to Hai Zang.
"Tch."
Having the Machina Frame kick off the tiny patch of land, Long Hua manages to evade the attack.
*Pah!!!!!* and having missed its target, Hai Zang crushes what remains of the island beneath its mountainous weight—causing a wall of waters to be displaced outwards!
Facing the incoming tidal wave, the shield-bearing combat bodies positioned themselves to the front of their respective groups.
Rather quickly, portions of the tower shield split off, and position themselves around the other combat bodies.
And with the split portions of the tower shield acting as relays, an energy wall fills in the gaps between the main shield and the relays.
Following the shield's deployment—
*Boom!!!!!!!* the tidal wave crashes in from the front!
Setting the floats beneath their feet to its maximum output, and supporting the shield-bearers by pressing their weight onto their backs, the combat body groups managed to withstand the impact without being pushed backwards by much.
And almost as soon as the tidal wave washes over the barrier, the shield-bearers retract the split bits.
In the same instance, the combat bodies behind the shield-bearers raised their firearms.
Locking onto Hai Zang, the combat bodies take aim, and—
*Bang!!! Bang!!! Bang!!!* fired off their Spirit Armaments.
Those armed with anti-materiel rifles aimed for the monster's pectoral fins, and upon the impaler rounds landing, the bullets would quickly begin to expand in size by feasting on Hai Zang's blood—forming spheres of black spikes.
One or two of these spiked spheres wouldn't do much against Hai Zang, but as they continue to accumulate on its pectoral fins—while increasing in size, the former gradually begins to find it difficult to move them.
At the same time, any bit of movement would be accompanied by agonizing pain—causing fresh blood to flow from the wounds, while staining the waters around Hai Zang crimson.
As there aren't enough impaler rounds to thoroughly cover Hai Zang in it—
*Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!* the rest of the combat bodies are armed with either a grenade launcher or a missile launcher—to commence constant bombardment on the monster.
"…"
Upon the combat bodies firing off the final impaler round, Tian Cheng reports—
"We're out of impaler rounds."
"Have them switch over to blast rounds, and maintain their current distance from the target."
"Understood."