Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

Chapter 279: Chapter 274: The Knights Strike

Inside Leviathan One’s command chamber, the light from the Thunder Diamond serving as its energy core slowly dimmed as it entered a forced cooldown phase.

Beyond the breach, the water was filled with the charred remains of those who had been electrocuted, tumbling slowly in the undercurrent.

The battlefield, so raucous just moments ago, was now deathly still.

"Sir, how’d we only kill a few of them?"

Sea Wolf’s voice, full of grumbles, came from inside Leviathan Two.

"Those bastards! They’re tough as hell!"

Ola’s roar followed from inside Leviathan Three.

Velin ignored their shouting.

His gaze fell upon the tactical map. After a brief moment of chaos, the surviving red dots, instead of scattering and fleeing, had begun to converge on Grash’s position.

A cornered beast will still put up a fight.

"Ola, are your Knights ready?"

Velin’s voice came through to the Dwarf Baron on a private channel.

"My lads have been champing at the bit! They’ve been dying to get out and stretch their legs!"

"Good."

"It’s time for cleanup."

The next moment, the massive maws beneath the heads of Leviathan Two and Leviathan Three slowly opened.

Heavy, fleshy lobes curled outward in silence, revealing two deep, dark, circular passages.

Inside the passages, Ola and Sea Wolf stood at the front of their troops.

Behind them, fifty Knights and twenty sailors stood fully equipped and ready to deploy.

"Elvin, are you ready?"

"Ready when you are, Sir."

Elvin’s voice came from Leviathan One. He was standing on a magic amplification platform, his hands held hovering over the matrix core in front of him.

"Launch."

The command was given.

High-pressure seawater flooded the channels within the bays, and a deep, muffled boom sounded from the bellies of the Leviathans.

More than seventy dark figures were violently ejected from the bays by the immense hydraulic pressure. They tore through the water, plummeting toward the coral reef below.

The moment they left the bays, a magical radiance spread out from Leviathan One, enveloping every falling Knight.

’Fourth-Circle Magic: Boon of the Deep.’

Elvin whispered the incantation.

The Knights suddenly felt their bodies lighten. The terrifying water pressure, strong enough to crush steel, became a gentle caress, and the bone-chilling seawater no longer leeched their body heat.

"CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!"

Heavy combat boots made contact with the coral rock, creating a series of sharp impacts.

The Warriors found their footing on the wreckage-strewn battlefield, kicking up clouds of sand.

The surviving Multi-Armed Race Warriors, having just recovered from the Thunder Purgatory, now saw these iron monstrosities descending from above.

Before they could react, the twenty sailors who had fanned out were already kneeling, raising their weapons—a type of specially-made harpoon gun.

"Fire!"

The Scout Captain’s order rang out over the squad channel.

A series of muffled blasts propagated through the water as twenty tempered-steel harpoons, trailing thin chains, tore through the aquatic veil, aimed straight for the few remaining Level 5 Multi-Armed Race Warriors.

A Level 5 Ranger reacted with extreme speed. He had just darted out from behind a piece of coral when he sensed the threat.

Faced with three incoming harpoons, he displayed the prowess of a Transcendent. With a nimble push from four of his limbs against the reef, his entire body executed an incredible twist in the water.

"CLANG!"

He knocked the first harpoon away with his bone blade.

Twisting his body, he narrowly dodged the second harpoon, letting it scrape past his carapace.

But he couldn’t evade the third.

"SQUELCH!"

The harpoon sank viciously into the base of his limb. The powerful kinetic energy sent him tumbling backward into a patch of fan coral.

A sharp pain shot through him, but worse was the numbing sensation spreading from the wound.

A potent paralytic toxin concocted by Valerius was invading his bloodstream through the wound.

"Now!"

Ola’s roar exploded over the channel.

Like a rolling steel ball, he was the first to charge into the enemy ranks.

His reddish-brown beard drifted in the water as a blinding Battle Aura ignited on his battle-axe.

"For the Gray Swamp!"

He kicked off powerfully with both legs, carving an arc through the water. He crossed several dozen meters and smashed down toward the paralyzed Level 5 Ranger.

’Heavy Strike!’

The battle-axe, wreathed in power, cleaved down from above.

The Ranger didn’t give up. Fighting through the paralysis, he raised his bone blade with his remaining functional limbs to block.

"CRACK!"

The bone blade shattered on impact.

The battle-axe’s momentum didn’t falter as it bit into his torso, shattering his carapace.

Blue blood spurted out, not splattering as it would in the air, but blooming into a thick cloud in the seawater before being quickly pulled into wispy threads by the surrounding currents.

He was pinned to the coral reef by the immense force, his tentacles twitching feebly as his life rapidly faded.

After being subjected to the poison and the electric net, the strength of these Level 5 combatants had been weakened by at least thirty percent. Facing the well-rested Ola and his men, they naturally couldn’t resist.

Without a glance at his dying foe, he swept his axe in a backhanded arc.

"Mongrels! Have a taste of Grandpa Ola’s axe!"

Another Level 5 Warrior attempting a sneak attack from the flank was sent flying, weapon and all, by the blow. He tumbled through the water and crashed through a large section of coral.

The Multi-Armed Race’s formation fell into chaos once more.

A Level 4 Multi-Armed Race Warrior watched the scene unfold in terror.

His comrade had thrust a bone spear at one of the iron giants, only to leave a white scratch on the enemy’s heavy shield.

The next moment, from behind another shield at the iron giant’s side, a halberd shot out and pierced his comrade’s neck.

There was no scream, only a long stream of bubbles gurgling from the wound, scrambling to escape the gloomy depths.

’These land-dwellers, clad in their cumbersome armor, were somehow more agile and ferocious in the deep sea than them, the natives of the ocean!’

The Knights quickly formed five-man battle formations, becoming precise meat grinders that began to systematically isolate and annihilate the straggling Multi-Armed Race Warriors.

Grash was leading his last Personal Guards, preparing to assault Leviathan One through the main exit.

But what he saw was the deadly flash of electricity, his kinsmen falling in droves, and that rampaging dwarf.

"AAAAARGH!"

Grash let out a beast-like roar. He abandoned his charge on the Leviathan, abruptly changed direction, and locked his blood-red eyes on Ola.

"Korsh! Hold them back!"

He gave one of his few remaining officers a final order.

"As you command, General."

Korsh’s reply was somewhat sluggish; the toxin was already affecting his nerves.

But he still raised his bone blade and, with the last few Personal Guards who could still move, charged to meet the torrent of steel.

Grash paid no more heed to the others. He kicked off the reef with four of his limbs, launching his body like a cannonball straight at Ola.

"I’ll tear you to shreds!"

Ola had just knocked an enemy over with his shield when he felt a furious presence lock onto him.

He looked up and met Grash’s eyes, which burned with insane rage.

"Bring it on!"

Instead of retreating, Ola advanced, the Battle Aura on his axe flaring even more intensely.

"Today I’m gonna take down a general and kick his head around like a ball!"

"CLANG—!"

The battle-axe and the giant bone blade crashed together. A visible shockwave of water exploded outward, and the muffled boom distorted as it traveled, sending distant schools of fish fleeing in panic.

Ola was forced back two steps, his boots carving two deep, white gashes into the hard reef before he could dissipate the brute force.

Grash’s own arms were numb from the impact; the dwarf’s strength had exceeded his expectations.

’He could sense that the other’s Battle Aura fluctuations were merely that of a strong Level 4 Knight. As a Level 5 combatant, he should have been able to slaughter him with ease.’

’The problem was that damned metal armor!’

’That impenetrable suit of full heavy armor not only provided defense but also amplified his strength to an unnatural degree.’

’Metal—something typically used by the land-dwelling races—was, to races like them who lived their entire lives on the seabed, the most shameless form of cheating!’

’The humiliation of being suppressed by a Low Tier opponent relying on equipment infuriated him even more.’

"You! Damn you!"

Grash roared, floating in the water. His six remaining limbs began to dance, each brandishing a sharp bone blade that seemed to appear from nowhere. They left countless pale afterimages in the water, sealing off all of Ola’s escape routes.

’Eight-Armed Strike!’

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