Douluo Dalu 2: Sun-Moon Glory

While meditating in their cabin to restore energy, Huo Yuhao and Meng Hongchen were suddenly jolted awake by the disturbance outside the Sunlight.

Frowning, Huo Yuhao sensed something was wrong. He expanded his Spiritual Detection Domain to scan the area within two kilometers of the ship. His expression changed immediately.

Meng Hongchen, who had also awakened, noticed his look and asked curiously, "Yuhao, what happened?"

Just as she finished speaking, the Sunlight rocked violently. Items around the cabin tumbled to the floor with a clatter from the sudden shake.

Huo Yuhao caught Meng Hongchen, who had nearly fallen off the bed, and gave a wry smile before sharing with her what his spiritual probe had detected in the surrounding waters.

When she saw the current situation, Meng Hongchen covered her mouth with a hand and gasped, "Oh my god..."

At that moment, the enormous linked defensive soul tool shield surrounding the Sunlight had already developed several small holes—holes that could not be repaired with soul power. Many sea soul beasts were squeezing through these gaps, vicious and feral, launching attacks on the ship's hull.

The Sunlight's crew had no choice but to reassign some soul engineers, originally responsible for energizing the shield, to form underwater squads tasked with eliminating the sea soul beasts nearing the hull. Shock-type soul-guided cannon shells were no longer enough to handle the overwhelming number of beasts closing in.

Fortunately, aside from the fixed linked soul tools, the Sunlight's crew were also equipped with mobile linked soul tools. Moreover, the gaps in the defensive barrier weren't large enough for sea soul beasts above 5,000 years in cultivation to pass through. That limited the threat level and allowed the crew to manage the most dangerous enemies.

Even so, a few beasts still slipped through and attacked the hull. The earlier violent jolt had come from one such impact. Thankfully, the hull of the Sunlight was forged from starmetal steel, strong enough that beasts under 5,000 years couldn't cause significant damage. There were also soul tools installed beneath the ship to deal with underwater threats.

While the situation appeared under control on the surface, in reality it was like a form of slow, creeping poison. The number of personnel available to power the shield was decreasing, weakening its defense. The holes would continue to widen. If stronger sea soul beasts managed to breach the shield, the consequences would be dire. Based on past expeditions, the cost of resolving such a crisis was always paid in lives.

Huo Yuhao and Meng Hongchen clearly understood how urgent things were. The two exchanged a glance, nodded, and left the cabin together.

If someone could help suppress or eliminate the sea soul beasts entering through the gaps, the underwater squads could return to the deck and resume energizing the linked soul tools. That would stabilize the defense and counter the chronic decline they were now facing.

In the captain's quarters, Shi Dongsheng was hunched over, intently focused on the monitor displaying the red dots of enemy sea soul beasts. He continued issuing rapid tactical orders.

"Combat team alert! Southwest center—enemy crossing the alert perimeter! Prepare for elimination!"

"Gunports one through ten on the left wing—target azimuth twenty-seven to one-thirty, elevation sixty-three—fire a round of fifth-level ordinance!"

"Near-hull strike teams, immediately clear out sea soul beasts approaching from the northwest, south, and southeast directions!"

...

To manage the escalating situation, even the adjutant and other officers had left the command room to fight on the front lines. Only Shi Dongsheng remained at the helm, directing the operation alone.

But why had things gotten this bad? In at least ten previous sea expeditions, the Sunlight's defensive barrier had never experienced issues. Now, multiple breaches had formed—an unprecedented failure.

Shi Dongsheng frowned deeply, recalling what had just happened. After the first wave of sea soul beasts was completely repelled and he was preparing to strike back, several terrifying black beams suddenly shot out from the distant horizon. They pierced the defensive shield in an instant, opening gaping holes that couldn't be quickly repaired.

Fortunately, the tremendous energy of those beams was mostly absorbed by the shield and didn't directly damage the Sunlight. But the resulting holes weren't able to recover in time, and the second wave of sea soul beasts rushed in to exploit the vulnerability.

Shi Dongsheng was certain—such an attack could only have come from a powerful hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast, possibly even a savage beast. This both baffled and alarmed him. Sea soul beasts of that level rarely made a move unless it signaled a major action. And if a major offensive was truly underway, it would spell serious trouble not just for the Sunlight but for humanity's coastal defenses.

It made him deeply uneasy. He knew those ancient beasts wouldn't dare to sink the Sunlight outright, but they were fully capable of launching large-scale attacks to kill more human soldiers. The current wave was still one of attrition, but if the ship couldn't stabilize the situation soon, the upcoming third wave—composed of ten-thousand-year sea soul beasts—would inflict devastating losses.

If too many lives were lost, the Sunlight would have to retreat. That would mean the mission had failed. Humanity's control over the ocean would shrink, and the Sun Moon Empire's coastal cities would suffer from triple blows—loss of marine territory, reduced sea resources, and increased threats from sea soul beasts.

All Shi Dongsheng could do now was do his utmost to command his beloved troops, aiming to meet the third wave with minimal losses. Beyond the strategic consequences, he personally couldn't bear to lose even one of his soldiers. On land, Soul Engineer Regiments were virtually invincible, rarely suffering casualties. These warriors had followed him to the more perilous sea missions—how could he let them down? Or fail their families?

But the situation was growing increasingly grim. Cold sweat had soaked through his uniform. Clenching his fists, he kept his eyes locked on the screen, issuing command after command. He was already doing his best, yet both the shield's energy and the soldiers' soul power were steadily draining away. The sea soul beasts' goal of grinding down the Sunlight through attrition was being realized.

Calling this situation chronic poisoning was no exaggeration at all.

(End of Chapter)

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