novelhk 047 Clash of Iron and Blood
047 Clash of Iron and Blood
The whirlpool gradually disappeared, and suddenly, the ship began to rock. Then, with a loud crash, both anchor chains on the ship were cut at the same time. Selma saw that the whirlpool that had disappeared had turned into a sharp line of water, chasing straight after them.
"Attacked by an unidentified object!" someone shouted.
"Selma, turn on the sonar and see what that thing is!" Mance said.
Selma rushed to the sonar platform, staring at the bright echo that suddenly appeared on the screen: "Azimuth 045, depth 30 meters! Approaching at lightning speed!"
First Officer Grayson grabbed the microphone: "Target characteristics confirmed! Submarine or torpedo?"
"No propeller cavitation! No mechanical heat source!" Selma's voice trembled with tears. "Approximately fifteen meters long, fifty knots! And it's still accelerating!"
Good heavens, we've already overcome all eighty-one tribulations, how come it's still not over? No, wait, the final tribulations in Journey to the West were eighty, this is just the last one that's been artificially added!
"Fifty knots of underwater flesh-and-blood assault..." Professor Mans strode to the bow. "The guardian of Bronze City has awakened! All ships, level one combat readiness! Prepare for the assault!"
"Bang—" The expected impact did not come; the ship only shook slightly.
"It veered off course!"
"The impact didn't miss, but the sonar was damaged!"
"Beep—beep—beep—!"
The battle alarm instantly blared throughout every compartment of the ship.
"Apostle..." Lu Mingfei opened his eyes, sat up abruptly, and reached out to pull the IV needle from the back of his hand.
"Lie down."
Ling grabbed Lu Mingfei's wrist with one hand and placed the other hand on his chest, gently pressing him down.
"Outside……"
"Don't worry about it, that's the execution department's job." Zero placed his hand on Lu Mingfei's forehead. "Your risk of shock hasn't been eliminated, and the situation hasn't deteriorated to the point where you need to play. Continue to rest."
An intense sense of irritability and exhaustion welled up in Lu Mingfei's heart. In the end, he did not forcefully shake off Ling's hand and stiffly fell back onto the pillow.
On the deck separated by just one door, a life-or-death tug-of-war is unfolding.
Having just taken off his diving suit, Ye Sheng pushed aside the medic beside him and pounced onto the steel anti-slip plate that was being washed by the torrential rain.
His eyes were tightly closed, veins bulging on his forehead, and the Word of Power: Serpent was fully activated. A violent bio-current flowed from his body into the surging river, and tens of thousands of invisible serpents radiated outwards from the Moniach at high speed, weaving a huge active sonar network.
"Starboard! Bearing 045!" Ye Sheng jerked his head back, veins bulging on his neck. "Depth 30! Target speed 50 knots!"
Selma gripped the communications microphone and roared into the ship's intercom: "Target bearing 045, range 800, depth 30, speed 50 knots!"
Grayson shoved aside the barrier in front of him: "Hard left! Both cars to four!"
"Hard to left! Both cars forward!" The helmsman's arm muscles bulged as he frantically steered the heavy steering wheel to the left.
The massive hull of the Moniach veered sharply to left at high speed, leaving a violent white "S"-shaped wake on the river's surface. The immense centrifugal force caused the warship to list and roll violently to starboard. The starboard side almost touched the water, and river water rushed back onto the deck through the bleed holes.
A massive black shadow swept across the water, kicking up thick white foam, and crashed past the starboard side of the Moniah, creating a huge eddy that made the ship rock like a leaf in a storm.
"It's circled back!" Ye Sheng opened his bloodshot eyes. "Direction 270! Distance 400!"
"Hard to starboard! Hard to starboard!" First mate Grayson roared.
"It's too late! The speed is too high, and the ship is still in the inertia of listing to the left!" the helmsman shouted.
"Hold the helm steady! Prepare for the impact!" Grayson roared.
Professor Mans strode to the edge of the deck amidships on the port side, spread his legs, gripped the handrails, and began chanting dragon script.
Words of Power: A Dustless Land.
The spherical repulsion field had just formed on the outer side of the port side when the dragon servant's terrifying impact slammed into the invisible barrier.
With a muffled boom, even the thunder in the sky was suppressed. The domain forcibly deflected hundreds of tons of impact energy, causing the bow of the Moniah to heave violently, and rivets below the waterline to shatter in pieces. Mans' chest jolted, he spat out a mouthful of blood mist, and slammed one knee onto the deck.
The first attack failed, and the shadowy figure underwater instantly changed tactics.
The river surface exploded with a deafening roar.
The dragon servant's massive body burst through the water, proudly unfurling its membranous wings, several meters wide, in the stormy night sky. Like a heavy seaplane bomber, it glided low, skimming the crests of the river's waves. Its two bony claws tore through the rain, heading straight for the bridge of the Moniah.
"Air engagement!" Second Officer Gunayar roared into the communications channel, tearing off the waterproof cover of the foredeck weapon station.
The fire control operator on deck lunged toward the twin-mounted 12.7mm heavy machine gun.
The ammunition belt spewed forth frantically, 12.7mm tracer armor-piercing rounds leaving two blinding whips of fire in the darkness, instantly enveloping the low-gliding dragon servant in a crossfire. High-energy armor-piercing rounds struck the dragon scales, shattering into a shower of sparks. The tungsten steel bullet cores couldn't penetrate the ancient bio-armor, but the kinetic energy of hundreds of heavy machine gun bullets poured onto one of the dragon servant's membrane wings, forcefully deflecting its gliding trajectory.
As the dragon servant veered off course and brushed past the mainmast of the Moniach, Shudeaki had just climbed to the top of the mast. She tilted her head back, meeting the enormous vertical pupils so close to her, and her lips moved rapidly.
"Close your eyes!" Ye Sheng shouted at the crew after seeing Aki's actions.
Words of Power: Blazing Sun.
Within a ten-meter radius of the sun, a burst of 4000 lumens of intense light instantly emanated. The dragon servant felt as if it had entered the interior of an incandescent light bulb, and its nictitating membrane immediately and instinctively closed. However, the distance was too close, close enough that Aki could smell the dragon servant's fishy odor, and close enough that the intense sunlight could penetrate the dragon servant's nictitating membrane, directly causing it to be temporarily blinded.
The dragon servant could only instinctively fold its wings, and its massive body, like an out-of-control iron block, plunged headfirst into the river.
"Fire the torpedo tubes! Launch three and four! Quickly, while they're still there!"
"Launch three and four completed!"
Two refined torpedoes, modified by the equipment department, were launched directly into the center of the whirlpool where the Dragon Servant had fallen into the water, using the launch mode of depth charges.
"Bang! Bang!"
The series of explosions resounded underwater, instantly creating two huge water swells on the river surface, and violent underwater shockwaves slammed into the hull of the Moniach.
Large amounts of dark red blood, along with shattered scales, surged to the surface of the water. The wounded dragon servant let out a painful groan and fled into the depths of the river.
"The target has submerged!" Ye Sheng rubbed his temples. "Seventy meters deep! It's retreated to deeper water!"