175: Cthulhu's crisis. A reluctant decision—to forcibly activate the Beast King's legacy! 1

Star Sea Merchant Guild, Circular Council Hall

Dead silence.

A dead silence, as if time itself had frozen, enveloped the entire Circular Council Hall.

On the massive light screen, the image that could shatter the minds of any Star Sea powerhouse was frozen: the unspeakable cthulhu incarnation used a tentacle wrapped in slime and blasphemous power to utterly crush the remains of Salazar, the King of the Shadow Kingdom, as if squeezing a rotten fruit!

President Nicola, Lucia who had collapsed on the floor, Lan Xin who stood with a straight back, and all the Directors shrouded in faint light... everyone's gaze was fixed immovably on the light screen, their pupils contracting and trembling from extreme shock.

“Dead... he's dead?! The King of the Shadow Kingdom, Overlord-level Salazar... just... gone?!”

The voice of one Director was dry, like sandpaper rubbing, carrying an unconcealable tremor, breaking the suffocating silence.

Boom—!

This sentence was like a spark dropped into boiling oil, instantly igniting the entire council chamber!

“By the Ancestor above! W-what did I just witness?! Ordinary Level... overcoming an Overlord?! This fundamentally violates the common sense of the Endless Sea power system!!”

“W-what kind of form is that?! Just staring at it through the screen, my Spiritual Sense is sounding frantic alarms! Is that... is that the domain of a Deity?!”

“The Kraken... Kraken... what kind of existence is he?!”

Gasps, sharp intakes of breath, and whispers of disbelief erupted, washing over every corner of the council chamber like a tsunami.

Lan Xin stared blankly at the terrifying figure that stood towering on the screen; although the image was frozen, the aura of destruction and blasphemy seemed to still leak through the display.

She tilted her head slightly, took a deep breath, and an arc of emotion mixed with excitement and relief curved uncontrollably on her lips. Her beautiful eyes were slightly red as she murmured softly, her voice light yet clearly audible to those nearby:

“I knew it... I knew it... you can always create miracles. I won the bet... our family won the bet!!”

Amidst this boiling shock, the maniacal, gloating smile on Lucia's face completely froze and shattered.

Her eyes were bloodshot as she glared fiercely at the light screen, as if trying to devour the image whole.

“Impossible... this is absolutely impossible!!”

She suddenly let out a shrill, piercing scream, grabbing her hair tightly with both hands, looking utterly insane,

“Illusion! It's all fake! How could an unawakened youngling crush an Overlord?! It's Lan Xin! You all teamed up to create a phantom to deceive me! Hahaha... you can't fool me!!”

However, the next second, President Nicola's low voice, filled with an indescribable, almost trembling fervor, poured over her madness like ice water:

“No, Lucia, you are wrong.”

Nicola slowly stood up, his gaze like the most precise probe, seemingly wanting to pierce the light screen and analyze every mystery composing Su Chen's incarnation.

“Lord Kraken... what he just used was genuine... Divine Power.”

He surveyed the entire room, the fervor in his eyes almost turning into tangible flames.

“Although I cannot understand how he controls, or even briefly borrows, this power... that rule-bending form, that reality-polluting whisper, that pressure that makes even Overlord-level souls collapse... it cannot be mistaken! That is a higher-level power, transcending our system of understanding!”

His voice suddenly rose, carrying irrepressible excitement:

“What have we discovered?! A massive beast capable of wielding Divine Power! A future Dominator with infinite potential, possibly even touching the Supreme Domain!”

“With Lord Kraken on our side, the beast emperor inheritance will no longer be an unattainable dream for us! Monopolizing the resources and trade routes of the Myriad Beast Sea is within reach! Hahahaha!!”

This unconcealed ecstasy and affirmation, like a final judgment, utterly crushed the last shred of hope in Lucia's heart.

She collapsed onto the floor, her face ashen, with nothing left in her eyes but complete despair.

Lan Xin stepped forward at the opportune moment, her voice clear and firm:

“President, since this is the case, should we immediately adjust our strategy and fully invest in Lord Kraken?”

“Of course!!”

Nicola declared decisively, his eyes burning as he looked at Lan Xin,

“From now on, Lord Kraken is the Star Sea Merchant Guild's highest-level strategic partner! No, he is the 'Ancestor' we must revere! Any and all of his needs, provided the Guild possesses them, must be met unconditionally and with our utmost effort!”

He excitedly waved his arm:

“Lan Xin, prepare yourself... No! I will go personally! I must personally meet Lord Kraken to express our Guild's most sincere willingness to cooperate! We must bind him to our war chariot!”

...Shadow Kingdom, Reef Wasteland

Shouts of battle shook the heavens and the earth, and the light of energy explosions continuously erupted across the fractured territory of the Kingdom like festive fireworks.

Six massive Spatial Rifts stretched across the sky like hideous scars.

Countless Shenxia Warriors, clad in silver Dragon Blood Battle Armor, surged out of the rifts like a breached torrent of steel, launching a full-scale, crushing assault against the forces of the Shadow Kingdom.

Su Chen had returned to his appearance as a black-haired, black-eyed young boy, standing silently on a ruined battlefield high ground with his hands clasped behind his back.

He looked down indifferently at the slaughter below; his small body exuded a heart-stopping majesty.

“Chen Feng,”

His voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable chill,

“Send word to Dragon Abyss Pavilion, the current rate of advance is too slow. I need ten, a hundred, a thousand times the manpower to completely incorporate the territory of the Shadow Kingdom into the Divine Summer Map within one day.”

Time,

was the greatest luxury he possessed right now.

He must complete the task of repairing the system before Cthulhu breaks the seal, in order to increase the chances of surviving Cthulhu's attack.

Chen Feng bowed in response, a solemn voice coming from beneath his faceplate:

“Your Highness, tens of millions of soldiers are already standing by. But... the Spatial Stabilizers we have are at their limit and cannot support more legions crossing simultaneously.”

Su Chen's young face showed no fluctuation; he looked towards the distant void and said lightly:

“No matter. The resource delivery is about to arrive.”

As if to confirm his words—

Buzz—!

A brilliant Spatial Light Gate suddenly tore open nearby!

The intense spatial fluctuations even temporarily overwhelmed the din of the battlefield.

Led by President Nicola, Lan Xin, Aux, and several core Directors stepped out of the light gate, their faces bearing enthusiastic (and somewhat fawning) smiles.

“Hahaha! His Highness Kraken! Truly a hero among the young, no, a figure shaking the past and present! I am Nicola, President of the Star Sea Merchant Guild. To witness Your Highness's divine might today is truly...”

Nicola spread his arms wide, his face full of smiles, attempting to show maximum sincerity and amiability.

However,

Su Chen merely raised his eyes slowly. There was no surprise in his deep pupils, only an indifference that saw through everything:

“President Nicola. I saw the footage of you and your Guild previously rejecting Lan Xin and choosing to invest in that Abyssal Demon Dragon.”