284: Chapter 284 Feeling like my body has been hollowed out

Beneath the distant blood-colored sea, something was churning, forming massive whirlpools.

"Splash!"

This time, it wasn't slow-moving rotting corpses that leaped from the water, but rather creatures with lithe bodies resembling vicious hounds, their entire forms covered in slick, black scales.

They moved on all fours with astonishing speed, leaving trails of afterimages on the beach as they lunged straight for the fortress.

【Second Wave, Deep Sea Hounds, Quantity: 150】

"Speed type?"

Chen You raised an eyebrow, a disdainful smirk forming on his lips instead.

What's the point of hitting stationary targets? Only moving targets can demonstrate true skill!

However, he didn't immediately operate the magitech crossbow.

The thing had great power, but its rate of fire was ultimately its fatal flaw.

As a dignified Cultivator at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, with his Heaven-Breaking Sword Technique mastered to perfection, could he really be inferior to a cold machine?

"Time to change the way I play."

Chen You muttered to himself, instantly leaving the gunner position. With a thought, the jade-like "jade brilliance" hung before him.

He formed a seal with one hand, and majestic spiritual power surged forth, pointing directly at the swarming beast herd ahead.

"Heaven-Breaking Sword Technique: Chaotic Stars!"

In an instant, the yuhuang sword shone brilliantly, carrying thousands of fine, golden sword auras like a magnificent meteor shower, enveloping the beach in an all-encompassing barrage.

Every single sword aura contained enough sharpness to tear through steel!

However, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The rain of sword auras landed on those Deep Sea Hounds without drawing a single drop of blood or causing any damage.

A series of bright red "-1" damage numbers floated densely above the heads of the beast herd.

At the same time, a system prompt popped up before Chen You's eyes.

【Warning: Within the Heavenly Mandate Trial grounds, the laws are independent, and all external forces have been isolated. Please use the designated weapons for defense.】

Chen You's face instantly darkened.

Forced to use "plot equipment"?

"Click."

Beside him, the Loader had already expressionlessly loaded a new crossbow bolt, reporting in her emotionless voice:

"Detected that you have deviated from your combat post for 7.8 seconds, during which four effective shots could have been completed, resulting in a 2.1% decrease in combat efficiency evaluation. It is recommended that you return to your position immediately."

"..."

Chen You took a deep breath, suppressing the frustration that made him want to curse, and plopped back into the gunner seat.

He finally understood: he had paid to come in here just to fire the cannon.

"Whoosh—!"

The golden beam of light tore through the air once again, instantly vaporizing seven or eight Deep Sea Hounds in a straight line.

"Reload speed 1.8 seconds, efficiency increased." The Loader, Hill's voice sounded.

"Shut up."

Chen You gritted his teeth and began the dull yet efficient work of "whack-a-mole".

...

Time flew by in the cycle of repeated firing and reloading.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen You could no longer remember how many crossbow bolts he had fired.

He went from the initial excitement, to numbness in the middle, and finally to complete, undivided focus.

The variety of enemies was ever-changing, forcing him to be on high alert.

The tenth wave featured swarms of flying 【Scarlet Gargoyles】, forcing him to calculate the lead time.

The thirtieth wave consisted of thick-skinned 【Coastal Behemoths】 that required precise hits to their abdominal energy cores for a one-shot kill, putting his eyesight to the ultimate test.

The fiftieth wave even saw the appearance of a thirty-meter-tall elite lord, the 【Giant Pincer Crab King】.

The corrosive venom it spat left sizzling white smoke on the fortress's alloy exterior walls, making Chen You feel the threat of his position being breached for the first time.

"Warning, right energy shield integrity has dropped to 74%."

"Warning, cannon barrel temperature overloaded. It is recommended to adopt a combat rhythm of cooling for 1.5 seconds after a three-shot burst."

The voice of the Loader, Hill, echoed in his ears like the most precise instrument.

Chen You couldn't be bothered to bicker with her anymore.

Now, he only had eyes for the targets, his hands and the control stick seemingly merged into one.

Every aim, lock-on, and shot was fast to the extreme, filled with the coldness and precision of muscle memory.

【Ninety-ninth wave, complete.】

【Final wave arriving in ten seconds, please be prepared.】

Hearing this prompt, Chen You, whose mind had been tightly wound for over an hour, finally let out a long sigh of relief.

It was finally going to end.

"Hum—!"

This time, there was no alarm, but rather a long, resonant hum that seemed to come from an ancient abyss.

The entire fortress was shaking violently.

Outside the firing port, the blood-colored seawater retreated crazily to both sides, and a shadow, so massive it obscured half the sky, slowly rose from the seabed.

It was a monster that defied description.

It had countless writhing tentacles like an octopus, each hundreds of meters long, with sharp bone spurs at the tips.

And in the center of all the tentacles was a massive eyeball over fifty meters in diameter!

That scarlet pupil seemed to contain the deepest malice in the universe; just gazing at it made Chen You feel a tremor at the soul level.

【One-hundredth wave, Child of the Tides (Projection), Quantity: 1】

"Click!"

The Loader, at the fastest speed of her life, loaded a crossbow bolt completely different from the previous ones, one burning with white-gold flames.

"Final Weapon, Light of Dawn, loaded."

For the first time, there was a hint of gravity in her voice.

"Target energy reaction far exceeds theoretical limits. It is recommended to prioritize destroying its optic nerve center; that is its only weakness."

"Understood."

Chen You's gaze was focused as never before.

The giant beast's pupil began to contract, and a destructive, dark-red beam began to condense within it.

Now!

Chen You didn't hesitate in the slightest, pouring his spiritual power into the control stick and slamming the firing button!

"Whoosh!!!"

A white-gold beam, brighter than the sun, like the light of creation, instantly pierced through the dim world, striking the giant eyeball with unerring precision.

Under the radiance of the white light, the energy the giant beast had condensed instantly dissipated.

Its massive body, like snow under the sunlight, silently dissolved and decomposed, eventually turning into nothingness.

The whole world went quiet.

The light and shadows around him shifted, and Chen You returned to the Supreme Tower once again.

【Trial Quest: Body of a Hundred Battles, complete.】

【Overall Rating: S】

【Congratulations, you have received a Mythical-grade reward: 【Heavenly Mandate Stone: Divine Might Like Prison】!】

A peculiar stone, flowing with dark golden radiance as if a thunderstorm were imprisoned within, appeared quietly before Chen You.

【Heavenly Mandate Stone: Divine Might Like Prison】

【Quality: Mythical】

【Effect: After embedding, when your area-of-effect attacks hit a target, there is a 3% chance to trigger the 'Divine Might' effect, which expands the attack range by 1000%, up to a maximum of 1000 meters.】

3% chance?

Range expanded tenfold!

Chen You's breathing instantly became rapid.

This was practically tailor-made for his Heaven-Breaking Sword Technique: Chaotic Stars!

A god-tier skill for clearing maps!

"It was worth it! That thousand gold coins was worth every penny!"

Chen You's fatigue was swept away, and he couldn't help but feel excited.

He grabbed the stone and, without thinking, shouted to Hill: "Again! Max out the emblems for me, continue!"

...

Nearly three hours later.

Chen You's eyes were vacant, his appearance withered like dead wood, slumped on the sofa in the Supreme Tower like a hollowed-out shell.

Feeling hollowed out.

In front of him lay two Heavenly Mandate Stones.

One was the Legendary-grade 【Heavenly Mandate Stone: Gale】, with the effect that attacks have a certain chance to increase attack speed by 10%.

The other was the Epic-grade 【Heavenly Mandate Stone: Armor Piercing】, with the effect that attacks include a certain amount of armor penetration.

They were both decent, but compared to 【Divine Might Like Prison】, they were trash.

Mythical-grade items are, after all, rare and hard to come by.

By this time, it was completely dark outside.

Just thinking about that dull shooting and the electronic voice of the Loader, Hill, made Chen You feel physically nauseated.

"I'm tired, just destroy it all."

He muttered to himself; he needed to change his mood.

What was the fastest way to change his mood?

Of course, it was watching others work hard while he played the boss.

In Chen You's mind, the faces of Salos, Arrow of the Moon, and Oro, all bamboozled by his "metaphysics," instantly appeared.

"Hmm, the anniversary celebration event is better for physical and mental health," he nodded solemnly. "At least, the workers are very professional."

He opened his friend list, clicked on Arrow of the Moon's avatar, and edited a message.

"Let's go, let's go; this time, someone else is running the dungeon."

Click, send.

Without waiting for a reply, Chen You leaned back on the sofa, a satisfied, capitalist-like smile on his face.