#654Chapter 654 Lost at the Crossroads of the New WorldAI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
Chapter 654: Lost at the Crossroads of the New World
The unsolved mystery of the century: How do colossal creatures like Godzilla and Zorah Magdaros manage to stand on the surface of the sea?
Everyone always jokes about how imposing Godzilla looks when he stands on the sea in various works, but his legs are thrashing just as frequently beneath the surface.
And Zorah Magdaros, an Elder Dragon 130 meters tall, approximately 250 meters long, and with an overall structure even more massive and heavier than a Godzilla of equivalent volume—how exactly does it manage to emerge from the sea?
Cheng Tian was very curious, Cheng Tian rushed forward, Cheng Tian got the answer, Cheng Tian was fully satisfied.
Unlike Godzilla, who thrashes his legs, Zorah Magdaros utilizes its active volcanic nature to eject high temperatures and airflow from its lower body, serving as auxiliary propulsion when moving in the sea.
Ultimately, this airflow is merely auxiliary. What truly allows Zorah Magdaros to surface is actually the land submerged by seawater near its landing point.
It might seem like there are still hundreds of meters of water depth, but for Zorah Magdaros, it's just a few more steps forward.
If only the fleet and Zorah Magdaros could have timed their movements differently, with one taking the high road and the other the narrow bridge, it wouldn't have led to everyone and every cat on the entire ship experiencing the joy of bungee jumping without a rope.
Compared to those who had already fallen out of the ship's cabin and landed on Zorah Magdaros's body or the sea, those who remained in the cabin and weren't thrown out were perhaps even unluckier, as they were now squeezed together like sardines in a can, making movement extremely difficult.
Zorah Magdaros's own movements also exacerbated the chances of these people breaking free.
Perhaps sensing this, just as Cheng Tian went into the sea, the person in charge of the airship had already issued a temporary rescue mission to everyone in the cabin.
Zorah Magdaros is an un-huntable target, so the mission's focus was solely on rescuing the unlucky ship stuck on the dragon's back and the Guild supplies scattered in the surrounding seawater.
Aileen let out a soft cry, and she too vanished from the airship's deck.
Having entered her Wind Elemental Spirit state, she had successfully blended into the surrounding small storms and was communicating with and calming these turbulent winds to reduce the intensity of the sea's waves.
Zorah Magdaros's heating of the surrounding seawater would significantly slow down the hypothermia of those who fell in. Aileen only needed to ensure these people weren't swept away into the deep sea.
Seeing this, other players also began to act.
In the eyes of many experienced players, this was a preliminary mission provided by the Heaven's Chosen Space to allow the player community to integrate more quickly and naturally into the NPC group. Although there were no explicit Heaven's Chosen Space rewards, it was a very important step.
If this rescue mission was executed beautifully and excellently, there was a high probability it would affect their initial reputation and even status in the new faction later on.
However, the perverted Cheng Tian, who had finished observing Zorah Magdaros's 'skirt,' had already taken action before everyone else.
Steadily standing on his surfboard, Cheng Tian, one in each hand, had already pulled up two hunters who had just been struggling to paddle but were helpless against the surging waves.
A chain reaction then occurred.
In the Monster Hunter world, almost all hunters are equipped with an auxiliary attachment called the "Clutch Claw," which is also a very core component. Its functionality is far superior to Batman's grappling gun.
When they saw Cheng Tian already soaring past with two fellow hunters, there was no need for words; these hunters in the water all immediately deployed their Clutch Claws, grappling onto their already rescued comrades.
One grabbed another, and then that one grabbed yet another. In this way, Cheng Tian, who could no longer fly at all, dragged two long queues across the sea, entirely connected by Clutch Claws.
Of course, the adorable felynes wouldn't give up either. These poor little things, who had generally slimmed down from being soaked, were also grabbed by the hunters who had fallen into the water.
So, when Zorah Magdaros's majestic body successfully set foot on the land of the New World, and the storm completely subsided due to Aileen's intervention, a rift also tore open in the dark clouds above, spilling down dazzling golden light—
It shone directly and precisely on Cheng Tian, who was dragging his comrades.
Making him look like the earthly incarnation of the Sun God.
However, the pouring sunlight also tore apart the surrounding mist, revealing the true face of the New World along with Zorah Magdaros, who had set foot on the continent.
But it was precisely at the moment Cheng Tian successfully landed with many people that all the players, including himself, couldn't help but feel a slight tremor in their bodies, and then a temporary skill named 『Redemption and Sacrifice』 appeared at the very end of their fixed skill bar.
[Redemption and Sacrifice: Dungeon entry-limited skill, active skill. Under the influence of an unknown power, the leylines of the New World have undergone an anomaly, granting all living beings the authority of redemption and sacrifice. How to use this power depends entirely on the user's intent.
Redemption — You can attempt to purify and redeem any living being.
You can, by consuming half of your current HP, revive a biological unit that has been dead for no more than 1 minute and whose soul has not yet left its body, and provide it with healing equal to the amount of HP you consumed; revivable targets include, but are not limited to, players, minions, NPCs, and monsters; no cooldown.
You can permanently consume "offerings" to cast Redemption-type spells associated with that offering.
You can perform a complete purification and redemption on units whose souls are corrupted or bodies mutated, freeing them from the suffering of corruption and restoring them to their original state. This action may permanently increase your Agility and Charisma attributes.
Acts of redemption will cause your arm to become "sanctified," eventually transforming into the "Arm of Sanctity." The higher the degree of purification of the Arm of Sanctity, the more related exclusive spells can be unlocked. Simultaneously, sanctification will cause the degree of erosion of the "Arm of Demonic Power" to decrease.
Sacrifice — You can attempt to perform a sacrificial offering on any living being.
Under qualifying conditions, you can cast forbidden magic by sacrificing organs or even the lives of yourself, your minions, or your teammates. The effects of forbidden magic need to be discovered independently; forbidden magic generally possesses astonishing power, but the sacrificed parts will suffer semi-permanent damage, which can only be specifically repaired and treated after returning to Heaven's Chosen Space.
You can permanently consume "offerings" to cast Sacrifice-type spells associated with that offering.
You can perform a complete sacrificial offering on dying units whose souls are corrupted or bodies mutated, granting them permanent release. This action may permanently increase your Strength and Spirit attributes.
Acts of sacrifice will cause your arm to become "demonic," eventually transforming into the "Arm of Demonic Power." The higher the degree of corruption of the Arm of Demonic Power, the more related exclusive spells can be unlocked. Simultaneously, demonization will cause the degree of purification of the "Arm of Sanctity" to decrease.
Only after completing the main quest "The Walking Calamity" and participating in the hunting of at least one Elder Dragon will the permanent attribute point bonuses gained from this temporary skill be retained through final settlement.]
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