Under the cover of night, Liu Ma's fist, glowing with a faint golden aura of Star Energy and carrying a powerful gust of wind, punched through the crimson mist ahead, landing precisely on the tentacle of an Octopus Star Beast lunging at Chen Kong.
With a sickening crack of bone shattering, the Octopus Star Beast's tentacle was cleanly severed. Its dark green blood splattered onto the rail tracks, instantly vaporizing into acrid white smoke.
"Fall back this way!"
Liu Ma roared, pulling the stumbling Chen Kong behind him. He used his iron-tower-like body to physically block the space between Chen Kong and the horde of Star Beasts, providing an overwhelming sense of safety.
His Goldenized body, combined with the thick lower half transformed by the Nether Warhorse, had already ballooned his original 2.2-meter burly frame to nearly three meters in his 'transformed state.'
Every breath he took was heavy, thick with vapor and smoke.
Liu Ma used his shoulder to ram away an incoming Shark Star Beast, then turned back and grumbled, "I thought you were good at stealth. How did these lowlifes find you?"
Chen Kong clutched his side where a tentacle had grazed him. His combat uniform was soaked with cold sweat, and his face was pale.
He stared into the distance, his expression grim.
"Their senses are wrong... they seem to be controlled by something."
Pointing toward a spot in the center of the Star Beast horde, Chen Kong's voice was tight.
"That 'thing' is what discovered me."
Hearing Chen Kong, everyone immediately followed his gaze to the center of the Star Beast horde.
They saw large patches of blood-red coral entwined along both sides of the sea rail tracks.
The coral's surface emitted an uncanny, reddish glow, like a crystal. Below the sea surface, dense red lights flickered constantly, as if an eye was lurking underwater, watching the surface.
Sensing that something was deeply wrong, data streams instantly surged in Vivian's pupils. She projected a holographic data panel in front of her, her fingertips rapidly moving across it.
The intense mental strain caused fine sweat to break out on Vivian's forehead.
Fortunately, she finally isolated the source of the problem.
"It's because of the Blood Crystal Coral."
Vivian spoke quickly, her voice laced with gravity.
"The Star Beasts aren't naturally migrating; they're being controlled by the coral. Any creature that gets close is sensed by the coral through their blood. The Star Beasts are merely guards controlled by it."
"The coral grew on the tracks? Are you kidding me?"
Liu Ma punched and broke an attacking tentacle, getting splattered with dark green blood, which he carelessly wiped off his face.
"What do we do now? Reverse or charge through and smash these damn corals?"
Vivian glanced back, her expression growing darker.
"We can't retreat. The train is already surrounded by Star Beasts, and the tracks behind us are full of their traces. Reversing will just lead to the same result."
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Chen Kong looked at the Star Beasts still surging toward them and made a decision.
He gritted his teeth and said, "We have to destroy the Blood Crystal Coral core up ahead. That way, we can shake off the tide and prevent the train behind us from being attacked."
With the situation laid out, the dimensional viewers outside the screen understood what was happening.
'So it's a high-ground siege battle. The Blood Crystal Coral is the [Crystal] that can see through stealth, and the Star Beasts are the [Minions] guarding the Crystal.'
'You're so weak, Bro Kong. You can't even get past the Crystal~ (dog head)'
'Classic scenario: a low-probability event always happens when the protagonist group shows up.'
'Gotta be Bro Tendo. In this situation, Bro Tendo would just say he thought it was a speed bump and crush right through it.'
With a clear target in mind, Liu Ma once again charged to the front!
He roared, simultaneously activating his Star Core: Golden Demon Bull and his Star Source: Nether Warhorse.
The surge in height and size, the dense body mass of the Golden Demon Bull, combined with the high mobility provided by the Nether Warhorse, turned Liu Ma into a 'Heavy Haul Truck' speeding down the rails. He didn't need any fancy moves; a simple charge was enough to force a path straight through the Star Beast horde.
With Liu Ma leading the way, the group quickly reached a position just one hundred meters from the Blood Crystal Coral.
Liu Ma deliberately drew the attention of the surrounding Star Beasts to himself. His iron-tower-like body managed to absorb the simultaneous pounce of three Level 2 Shark Star Beasts. As his bull horn shattered the skull of the last Star Beast, he let out a muffled grunt.
Though he repelled the three Level 2 Star Beasts, his left shoulder had been sliced open by a Star Beast's sharp claws, leaving a wound visible to the bone. Blood streamed down his golden skin.
"Uncle! Left rear!"
Ying Qianhuan's voice came from behind. Her pink figure deftly weaved through the gaps in the Star Beasts. She was holding a short, silver-glinting blade that appeared out of nowhere.
Hearing her, Liu Ma abruptly spun around, smashed the head of an incoming Octopus Star Beast, and grinned at Ying Qianhuan.
"Good moves!"
"Better than yours, Uncle~"
Ying Qianhuan stuck out her tongue. Her blade sliced through a Star Beast's joint, her movements smooth and precise, unlike those of a high school student.
With the addition of Ying Qianhuan as a fresh force, the group quickly reached the hundred-meter mark from the Blood Crystal Coral.
Vivian suddenly raised her hand. The mechanical device that popped out of her arm immediately released dozens of light green quantum beams, sweeping the coral patch like radar.
After a moment, Vivian spoke: "Attack the crystalline nodes where they connect! That's the Blood Crystal Coral's energy nexus!"
Hearing Vivian's words, Chen Kong's Void Runes flashed violently across his body.
The next second, his figure dissolved into a pale white afterimage, gliding along the tracks, narrowly dodging a flurry of flying tentacles.
Then, his Star Energy Pistol: Void Weaver condensed a silver-white bullet, which he fired precisely at the most vividly scarlet node in the coral patch.
Bang!
When the bullet struck the Blood Crystal Coral's body, it let out a screeching shriek, similar to a wild beast. The surface crystals immediately erupted in a dense blood-mist storm.
Even with the Void Runes attempting to 'disperse' it, the terrifying impact contained within the 'blood-mist storm' instantly flung Chen Kong away, sending him tracing a parabola through the air.
"Look out!"
Vivian lunged forward, barely catching him. The two slammed heavily onto the tracks, sending sparks flying.
When the smoke and dust cleared, everyone's faces fell as they clearly saw the coral's state.
The Blood Crystal Coral's energy node that Chen Kong had just managed to hit was now rapidly repairing itself.
And even worse, the coral patch contained five or six more such energy nodes!
"What the heck is this?!"
Liu Ma punched back a Star Beast and roared, "These broken corals' Star Beasts are like unkillable roaches! Vivian, got any other ideas?"
Beads of sweat rolled down Vivian's cheeks. The data streams in her eyes sped up, and her tone remained remarkably calm.
"It's absorbing the Star Beasts' life force to repair itself. If we stall any longer, all the nearby Star Beasts will be drawn here."
A moment later, Vivian suddenly pointed toward the sea, her voice suddenly rising.
"Look there! The Blood Crystal Coral's roots are extending into the sea. Its main core must be hidden underwater!"
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