Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

Chapter 274: Chapter 269: Bite Through the Prey, Crush the Hard Bones

Deep within the Multi-Armed Race’s camp, the ocean currents stirred up fine sand, forming murky whirlpools around the tents.

Grand General Grash’s tentacles slammed down on the stone table.

"Three assault teams!"

His roar made the coral walls hum.

"Three entire assault teams! And they couldn’t even take down a single damn wooden post!"

Several adjutants pressed themselves into the corners of the tent, not daring to breathe.

Grash was renowned for his ferocity within the clan, but even his oldest adjutants had never seen him in such a state.

"Grand General! Urgent military report!"

A messenger rushed into the tent, clutching a seashell letter.

Engraved upon it was the "Ship-breaker’s" mark—the personal sigil of Lord Unas.

Grash took the letter, his tentacles trembling uncontrollably.

The shell slowly opened, and a voice emanated from within.

It was Lord Unas. His furious voice echoed throughout the room.

"You incompetent trash! You sent our people to die for nothing! Tear down their outer defenses within two days. If you can’t, I’ll chop you up and feed you to the sharks!"

"RAAAGH—!"

Grash let out a beast-like roar. His eight tentacles struck out at once, and under the continuous assault, the heavy tabletop finally gave way and shattered.

Stone fragments flew everywhere, but the adjutants didn’t dare move an inch, even when they were hit.

"Damn land-crawling insects!"

Grash swam wildly around the tent, his tentacles lashing out at everything he could reach.

"Lord Unas says we’re sending our people to die for nothing! He says the defenses of those weaklings are getting stronger!"

He stopped, his blood-red eyes fixed on his adjutants.

"Two days! He’s only giving us two days! We must completely destroy the outer port of Minas Tirith! Tear down all of their defenses!"

One of the adjutants spoke up timidly, "Grand General, how are we going to—"

"Assemble all the Warriors!" Grash cut him off. "All of them! Including the camp’s garrison! Including those Level 5 elite Warriors!"

Grash stopped swimming, a crazed light glinting in his eyes.

The adjutant’s face paled. "Grand General, the camp will be left undefended."

"Defend it?"

Grash let out a piercing laugh.

"Those land-crawling weaklings don’t have what it takes! Our previous probes have already shown us what they’re made of!"

He swam outside the tent and roared to the entire camp.

"Everyone, assemble! Prepare for an all-out assault! We take the port tonight, and tomorrow, we move the camp to the shore!"

The camp immediately erupted into a commotion as Warriors swam out from their quarters.

Grash stood on a high platform, looking down at the more than 120 elite Warriors gathered below.

"Clansmen! Those land-crawling weaklings think a few pathetic walls can stop us!"

"Tonight, we will show them the meaning of the deep sea’s fury!"

"Tear through the prey, crush their bones!"

"Tear through the prey, crush their bones!"

The earth-shaking war cry echoed through the camp.

Meanwhile, Korsh and his squad had just returned to the outskirts of the camp. Seeing the scene, he felt a sense of foreboding.

"Captain, it looks like something big is about to happen," his second-in-command said.

Korsh nodded and swam faster.

He had to report his findings about that "giant beast" to Grash as soon as possible.

But when he reached the command tent, he was told that Grash was preparing for the all-out assault and wasn’t seeing anyone.

"An all-out assault?" Korsh frowned. "Why the sudden decision?"

"An order from the Lord Ship-breaker," the messenger replied. "The port’s defenses must be destroyed within two days."

Alarm bells went off in Korsh’s mind.

’Launching an all-out assault now, when the enemy might have deep-sea combat capabilities, is no different from suicide.’

He had to prevent this disaster.

Korsh rushed toward the command tent but was stopped by the guards.

"The Grand General has given orders! No one is to disturb him!"

"I have an important military report!"

"Wait until after the assault is over!"

Korsh could only watch in despair as Grash led the army out of the camp.

He knew this army was very likely never coming back.

「Minas Tirith Port. Late at night.」

The sea breeze grew stronger, and the dark clouds hung heavy in the sky.

Barrett stood on the watchtower, his single eye gazing at the turbulent sea.

’Something’s wrong.’

Even the usually noisy seagulls were nowhere to be seen.

The sky suddenly darkened. Without any warning, fat raindrops began to fall, splashing sparsely on the pier.

In the blink of an eye, the drops became streaks, then transformed into a torrential downpour that blurred the line between the sky and the sea.

"Laine," Barrett said to the adjutant beside him. "Something’s not right tonight."

Laine looked up at the overcast night sky.

"You’re right. This rain came on too suddenly."

"Have everyone on high alert," Barrett ordered. "I have a bad feeling something’s about to happen."

Laine nodded and turned to relay the order.

Just then, the underwater sonar bell that Sea Wolf had set up suddenly rang.

"DONG! DONG! DONG!"

The urgent, heavy chimes tore through the night sky.

Barrett’s expression changed drastically.

"Enemy attack!"

He grabbed a signal flare and yanked the cord.

"WHOOSH—BANG!"

A red burst of Magic bloomed in the night sky, illuminating the entire port.

The garrison troops rushed from their posts, rain drumming against their armor.

The ballista operators scrambled into position, wiping the slick triggers with rags.

"Where are they?"

Laine raised his spyglass, but the rain instantly blurred the lens. He wiped it haphazardly with his sleeve and peered into the distance through the watery streaks.

Rainwater streamed down his forehead, chilling him to the bone.

Suddenly, the sea level in his view bulged upward without warning. A whole section of the ocean was slowly rising.

’Is the tide coming in...?’

’No, that’s not it!’

In the center of that swelling water, jagged "reefs" were breaking the surface.

Soon, water was cascading down their curved edges.

As the shape continued to expand, Laine finally saw the truth.

They were the shells of three giant turtles!

Each one was over fifty meters long. Their carapaces were crisscrossed with deep grooves and covered in coral and seaweed.

They slowly raised their heads, each breath accompanied by a long, low growl.

"My gods..."

The torrential rain poured down on him. Laine shuddered, and the spyglass slipped from his hand, shattering on the stone platform.

The pier groaned under the force of the massive waves, threatening to fall apart at any moment.

Lightning tore through the darkness, clearly illuminating the silhouettes of the three colossal siege beasts.

They slowly turned their giant heads in the wind and rain, swimming toward the port.

Barrett understood.

’These must be reinforcements the Multi-Armed Race found somewhere. Their size alone is enough to flatten the port district!’

"Siege beasts! All ballistae, concentrate fire!"

Two Dwarven wind-powered crossbows and a dozen or so ballistae opened fire in the rain.

"WHOOSH! WHOOSH!"

The massive crossbow arrows whistled through the air, but the rain affected their accuracy.

"CLANG! CLANG!"

Half the crossbow arrows missed their targets, while the other half struck the turtles’ shells, their damage significantly reduced.

To these behemoths, such damage was negligible.

The three siege beasts charged straight for the breakwater, shrugging off the crossbow arrows and Magic.

"BOOM!"

The first giant turtle slammed violently into the dam, making the entire breakwater tremble.

"BOOM! BOOM!"

The other two followed right behind.

Cracks began to appear in the stone breakwater under the terrifying impacts. The fractures spread rapidly, soon running through the entire defensive line.

"Dammit!" Barrett gripped his sword. "Prepare for close combat!"

Just as the breakwater was about to collapse, over a hundred Warriors of the Multi-Armed Race surged out of the sea.

Using the downpour for cover, they charged into the port behind the siege beasts.

"Kill!"

The Multi-Armed Race Warriors brandished their weapons and crashed into the waiting garrison.

The battle became white-hot the instant it began.

Barrett roared and charged at the forefront. His sword, shimmering with magical light, severed the arm of a Level 4 Multi-Armed Race Warrior in a single strike.

But the rain had made the ground slippery, and he nearly lost his balance.

Three enemies immediately closed in on him.

Farther away, a Level 5 Warrior had locked onto him and was closing in.

On the beach, Sarah’s King Insect was directing the Soldier Ants in a fierce battle against the enemy.

But if the Multi-Armed Race Warriors dragged them into the sea, the swarm would quickly die.

The situation was extremely unfavorable for the defenders.

In the command center on the upper level, Tristan’s face was ashen as he watched the battlefield.

Leviathan One had taken all the crew when it went to sea. Even if he wanted to send out units Two and Three now, there was no crew for them—it would be a suicide mission.

And this storm was just making things worse.

"Sarah! Use the ultra-long-range Hive Matrix now!"

Tristan turned to the insect queen.

Sarah nodded, closed her eyes, and extended her Spiritual Power into the deep sea.

"Tell Velin the enemy has thrown everything they have at us! They’re all elites! The port is about to fall! We need the Leviathan’s support!"

...

Deep in the sea, Leviathan One was running silent.

Velin suddenly felt a mental signal aimed at him from outside the Hive Matrix. It was a short message.

[Father! The port is under attack! The enemy’s elites are out in full force! Barrett and the others are about to be overrun!]

The color drained from Velin’s face.

"Dammit! Those octopuses are already going for broke!"

Velin’s loss of composure made the atmosphere in the chamber tense.

Seeing Velin’s grave expression, Sea Wolf and Ola realized something was wrong.

"My lord, what happened?" Sea Wolf stood up from his seat.

Without delay, Velin relayed Sarah’s message to the public channel.

[Message from Sarah! The enemy is attacking the port with their full force! They’re all elites! Barrett and his men are about to be overrun!]

The moment he finished, Ola shot to his feet.

"Lord Velin! We must go back immediately!"

Sea Wolf also looked at Velin, only to find him silent, his eyes fixed on the blinking lights on the tactical map.

Time seemed to freeze in that moment. Velin’s silence made Sea Wolf and Ola’s hearts sink.

They also realized that the Multi-Armed Race’s camp was now empty—the perfect opportunity to cut off their logistics. Destroying the camp before returning to the port was arguably the better strategy.

Yes, that plan was more "correct," but it was also cold-blooded.

Sea Wolf muttered to himself. He wanted to say something, but felt that as a relative outsider, he had no right to speak up.

Ola took a step forward, about to voice his dissent. He absolutely could not stand by and watch Velin abandon his comrades for the so-called "greater good."

However, before he could get a word out, Velin spoke.

"What’s all the noise?"

Without looking up, he swiped a finger across the map, plotting a course that bypassed a complex reef system.

"I’m calculating the shortest route back to provide support."

He finally looked up, his sharp gaze sweeping over the two men. Where was there any hesitation or calculation in his eyes?

There was only cold fury!

[All hands, execute new course. Push the engines to their limit.]

Velin’s voice, resolute and decisive, spread throughout the ship via the public channel.

[We’re going home!]

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