novelraw Chapter 237 : The Mighty Mechanical Squids
Chapter 237 : The Mighty Mechanical Squids
Chapter 237: The Mighty Mechanical Squids
Faced with the surprise attack of the mechanical squids, the destroyer had no ability to retaliate.
The moment the mechanical squid’s tendrils wrapped around the hull, it released a high-voltage current.
These high-voltage currents surged across the hull like a madly darting web of electricity, instantly engulfing the entire destroyer in a flickering inferno of lightning.
The current surged through the riveted seams and piping systems of the ship, bursting electronic screens in the bridge one after another.
The Ghouls reacted swiftly, steering the fleet to accelerate and scatter.
However, two ships were still entangled by the mechanical squids during this process.
They had no time to rescue their comrades and immediately unleashed a torrent of firepower, destroying both the ships and the mechanical squids entangled with them.
At the same time, the Ghouls deployed a large number of deep-sea bombs into the surrounding waters.
As the mechanical squids were destroyed, the pilots were forced to activate emergency escape devices to flee from their ruined hulls.
Waiting to receive them were the Swordfish Mini Submarines lurking deep under the sea.
The Tomorrow fleet also encountered a sudden assault.
A Level 1 Submersible-type City of the Ghouls had bypassed the blockade line and approached the fleet to open fire.
Under its sudden strike, a Zhenlang-class Destroyer was blown apart and destroyed.
“I knew you’d target my fleet,” Li Ye said coldly.
He had already made preparations.
Just as the Submersible-type City was preparing to retreat, several figures appeared.
They were none other than three mechanical squids.
Their anti-radar detection capability rendered them virtually invisible to enemy fleets and cities, turning them into phantoms in naval warfare.
One hundred meters, seventy meters, forty meters...
As the distance rapidly closed, the mechanical squids suddenly accelerated. A dozen tendrils, like massive pythons, simultaneously coiled around the steel body of the Submersible-type City.
The mechanical squid on the far left firmly entangled the city's propellers and thrusters. From its inner high-voltage discharge nodes erupted blinding arcs of bluish-purple electricity. Under the electric assault, the submarine's propellers emitted a grating metallic screech.
The squid on the right wrapped around the city’s torpedo tubes, rendering it completely incapable of counterattack.
The final one activated its beak-like maw, and a drill pierced the city’s outer hull. A spray of high-pressure acidic liquid quickly corroded the shell, riddling it with holes visible to the naked eye.
As seawater flooded in, the tendrils of the three mechanical squids simultaneously tightened, crushing the mobile city in the middle like a soda can.
With a thunderous explosion, the Submersible-type City was torn in half, slowly sinking into the abyss amidst flashing electric light and clouds of bubbles.
The mechanical squids released their tendrils. The thrusters on their backs silently activated, and in the blink of an eye, they vanished without a trace.
“That was it? Solved that easily?” Li Ye said in astonishment.
Rather than their powerful anti-ship combat ability, the mechanical squids’ greatest strength lay in their anti-radar stealth.
This meant that enemy ships, submarines, and mobile cities would struggle to detect them—
Unless they possessed high-grade detection items.
“Looks like these mechanical squids can definitely be upgraded through upgrade blueprints,” he thought.
At this very moment, mobile cities on both sides were locked in fierce combat.
With support from the Starshine, the Iron Whale successfully caught an Assault-type Mobile City.
With a low hum from Fang Yong, the Iron Whale commenced its familiar "scrap-and-return" routine.
The Titan’s Grip magnetic system on the deck roared to life, greedily absorbing all kinds of heavy machine guns, cannons, and firearms held by enemy combatants.
At the city’s forefront, the Giant Jaw Crushing and Cutting Apparatus activated, and the precision steel teeth and Hydraulic Smashing-Hammer Array began spinning at high speed.
The Level 1 city was torn apart like a child’s roughly dismantled toy, reduced to countless burning fragments by the relentless cutting.
The wailing of steel echoed across the sea.
During this, the enemy’s rear-positioned Fire-support Mobile City launched a round of intense salvo fire.
But the Iron Whale blocked it with its Energy Shield.
Failing to land a hit, the Fire-support Mobile City tried to reposition for another shell reload and volley.
Yet a strange sight emerged—it couldn’t move at all.
The camera panned to the city’s rear thrusters and propellers.
There, clinging tightly, was a mechanical squid. Its tendrils had latched onto the propulsion system and were now releasing high-voltage electricity and acid.
Upon learning that the enemy city had lost mobility, Yang Zheng immediately ordered a precision bombardment with the Electromagnetic Railgun.
The projectile launched at supersonic speed, tearing through the air and hitting the Fire-support Mobile City head-on in an instant.
Upon impact, its kinetic energy transformed into a devastating force. The city’s armor shattered like fragile glass, and the projectile continued through multiple internal layers, wreaking havoc within.
As the Peacemaker struck its target, the Starshine also destroyed a second Assault-type City.
Now, only a Level 1 Defensive Mobile City and a Level 3 Assault-type Mobile City, along with the enemy’s air units and part of their fleet, remained.
Under Li Ye’s command, the Tomorrow fleet began large-scale missile bombardment of enemy aircraft, while the naval units encircled the remaining mobile cities and fleet.
“What about that Level 3 Assault-type City? Should we try to find it, Lord?” Yang Zheng asked.
Li Ye gently shook his head.
The main strength of the Level 3 Assault-type City was in its land-sea-air combat units. Its own combat ability was relatively weak. Now that its combat forces were nearly wiped out, that city was essentially a hollow shell.
“It won’t show itself. It’s probably already fled,” he replied. “We don’t need to bother with it. Let’s focus on eliminating the remaining enemies, then support Bishop Heath.”
“Understood!”
The Starshine then engaged the Defensive Mobile City.
Using the Frost Cannon, it froze the surrounding sea, and followed up with a Hunter Cannon shot that crippled its mobility.
Immediately afterward, a volley of Molten Cannons rained down.
Amid rolling explosions, the Defensive Mobile City sank beneath the waves.
On the deck, Lin Wu gave a slight nod and picked up his walkie-talkie.
“Reporting: All enemy Level 1 Mobile Cities have been destroyed.”
With support from the Tomorrow fleet, the Ghoul air units suffered heavy losses—only a few aircraft managed to escape.
The Tomorrow Alliance had seized air superiority.
Meanwhile, the Iron Whale accelerated and rammed into a Ghoul destroyer.
The Giant Jaw Crushing and Cutting Apparatus activated again, gnawing at the ship.
The destroyer’s armor began to fracture and crumble. Its command tower was shredded into metallic scraps like paper. The hydraulic hammers struck the hull in perfect unison, breaking it apart with tremendous force.
As the Iron Whale suddenly shifted sideways, its precision steel teeth carved a fifty-meter gash along the ship’s longitudinal axis, tearing it apart completely.
The air units dove down to indiscriminately bomb the remaining ships.
As the last enemy vessel tried to escape, the Deep Sea Hunter submarine below launched a torpedo and sank it.
The battle was over—the Tomorrow Alliance had secured a resounding victory.
Excitement erupted among the crew.
The wreckage of the destroyed ships, mobile cities, and falling aircraft—these were all valuable metals. Recycled, they could be forged into steel at the Steel Mill.
As for the Ghouls aboard the vehicles and mobile cities, they were Level 3 monsters, numerous in count, promising a generous haul of dropped resources.
Li Ye gently shook his head.
“No need to collect just yet. The war takes priority. Let’s head over and support Bishop Heath immediately.”
On Heath’s front, the situation was similarly favorable. The forces of the Blood Clan Civilization had been utterly routed.
But they had encountered a new and serious problem.
The duel between Mobile Warriors had concluded.
Only the AM-W2 unit of the Human Forces remained in the sky.
The Monster Forces’ Unit Two had survived in the ocean.
Now, Unit Two was rapidly approaching Heath’s forces.
“Have the fleet intercept it immediately!”
At Heath’s command, the fleet began deploying numerous deep-sea bombs and launching torpedoes.
However, Unit Two evaded them all using Mobile Evasion and a Gas Curtain Barrier Launcher.
On the Radar Screen, everyone watched it draw closer and closer.
The Monster Forces’ Mobile Warrior had begun its assault on the Human Forces’ fleet.
As the Mobile Warrior activated its Supercavitation Torpedo Launcher, torpedoes detached from the bomb bay, trailing spiral cavitation clouds from their tails. The supercavitation effect tore a vacuum tunnel behind them.
One Cruiser was hit directly. The supercavitation shockwave tore through the hull, the Keel shattered like broken glass. The entire warship broke in half amidst a deafening explosion, and its flaming wreckage was swallowed by the towering waves.
The sea erupted with a thunderous roar, and the Mobile Warrior burst forth, its crimson eyes locking onto its target.
The fleet retaliated wildly—CIWS and anti-ship missiles poured down like rain. But the Mobile Warrior activated its Gas Curtain Barrier Launcher, forming a turbulent shield ahead of it.
The moment projectiles struck the shield, their trajectories twisted and they self-destructed in the turbulence.
The Mobile Warrior charged into the center of the fleet, and its arm-mounted armor ejected a High-frequency Vibrating Blade, which oscillated at tens of thousands of times per second. Seawater evaporated into high-pressure steam the moment it made contact.
A nearby Destroyer attempted to flee, but with a single sidestep, the Mobile Warrior swept its blade across, slicing the bow cleanly.
Molten metal dripped from the cut, seawater poured in uncontrollably, and the ship sank in hopeless torrents, its crew struggling in the vortex.
Next, the Mobile Warrior raised its Plasma Pulse Rifle and fired at a nearby ship.
The plasma beam pierced through the ship’s armor, the extreme heat vaporizing steel instantly. The internal munitions depot detonated, tearing the warship apart in a massive explosion. Fireballs shot into the sky, and shockwaves sent waves dozens of meters high rippling outward.
In less than a minute, three ships were completely destroyed.
The remaining ships tried to flee, but the Mobile Warrior activated its Vortex Generator.
A terrifying whirlpool, hundreds of meters wide, formed instantly in the surrounding sea. The distorted gravitational field disrupted the ships' movements severely.
Seeing this, Heath slowly shook his head.
“So this is the power of a Mobile Warrior...” he murmured.
He had only heard about it before. Now he had seen it with his own eyes.
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Heath slowly gave the order.
“Fire. Let’s bury it.”
The Mobile Cities immediately opened fire on the Mobile Warrior.
It dove underwater to evade.
But escape was impossible.
Because this time, Heath had used all his Level 4 Shells – Rose of the Earth’s Core in one go.
These shells streaked forward and plunged into the sea.
No fire, no explosion—only a silent bloom of death underwater.
The shell casings unfolded like deep-sea flowers, unleashing over ten thousand shards and steel needles at extreme velocity, each with enough kinetic energy to pierce armor plating.
They carved a dense trail of cavitation bubbles underwater, like a silver rain rising in reverse.
The Mobile Warrior was engulfed.
The first wave of fragments shredded its Supercavitation Torpedo Launcher, water flooding its munitions bay, triggering a sympathetic detonation. Its left arm was torn off by the high-pressure currents.
The second wave pierced its chest armor. The bulletproof observation window of the cockpit shattered, and icy seawater rushed in instantly. The pilot’s blood misted under the intense pressure.
The third wave destroyed its Vortex Generator in the legs. Hydraulic fluid mixed with seawater, blooming into an eerie iridescence in the deep blue.
The Mobile Warrior was completely destroyed.
When the blip disappeared from the Radar Screen, the command room erupted into cheers.
But soon, their excitement dimmed.
Not only had the Mobile Warrior been destroyed—several nearby ships had been caught in the blast.
Thanks to Heath’s brilliant command, the fleet had emerged from the battle with minimal damage. But in dealing with the Mobile Warrior, they had suffered near-total casualties.
Heath’s gaze grew solemn.
Even knowing ships would be caught in the blast, he had to fire the Rose of the Earth’s Core shells.
It had been the only chance to destroy the Mobile Warrior.
If the enemy had sensed danger and distanced itself, the shells would have done little damage.
The Mobile Warrior would’ve remained in the waters near his forces, lurking, sinking ship after ship, city after city.
As commander, he had to be decisive—
Even if it meant disregarding the consequences.
Upon learning that the Tomorrow Alliance had also finished their battle, he gave a small nod.
“Now, we unite to attack the Level 3 Mobile Island.”
The forces from both sides merged and advanced with great momentum.
Even without mobility, destroying this Level 3 Mobile Island was no easy feat.
The Monster Forces had designed it as a seaborne Mobile Fortress of War.
Its armaments included:
12 triple-mounted Level 3 Main Cannons.
48 Hive-style Level 3 Rapid-fire Cannon Arrays.
Level 3 Modular Vertical Launch Missile Units.
Level 3 Torpedo Launch Arrays.
Upon spotting the human forces approaching from afar, the Mobile Island opened fire.
The 12 triple-mounted main cannon turrets slowly turned, the dozens-of-meters-long barrels lifting into firing position via a hydraulic system, and then roared to life.
All around the island, the 48 Hive-style Rapid-fire Cannon Arrays began to howl, creating a fifteen-kilometer-wide death barrage with staggering firing speed, destroying incoming missile salvos and forcing back squadrons of warplanes.
In the center of the island, the vertical launch silos opened simultaneously, unleashing various missiles trailing eerie blue flames.
Beneath the sea, the Torpedo Tubes had finished loading. With a series of muffled booms, torpedoes launched one after another, carving vacuum tunnels underwater.
“What firepower!” Li Ye gasped.