Chapter 640: Boom
Anderson manipulated the Arcane Wheel, sending waves of fire spells surging forth. Reina, too, swept her hand and unleashed a torrent of ice magic.
The firepower of the Alchemical Golems seemed the most overwhelming. Every spell was cast instantaneously, with even the weakest being fifth-level magic—a raging flood that crashed through everything in its path.
The monster's tentacles were shattered in an instant by the barrage of spells.
But in the blink of an eye, more and more black mist poured in, and even more tentacles began to coalesce. Except for Hubert, no one dared approach them.
Hubert had bathed in the blood of gods and demons, severing any ability to sense magical power. He had never possessed mana to begin with, so the tentacles’ magic-sealing and mana-draining tricks were useless against him.
Among the group, only Hubert could fight the tentacles up close. Reina’s powers were suppressed, leaving her to attack with ice magic alone.
Even Ragulin could only cast an evil aura to boost everyone’s movement and attack speed, swinging the Sword of Doom from afar to unleash slashes of death.
Unfortunately, Hubert was simply no match...
There was hardly any real resistance—Hubert was already sent flying back, screaming in pain...
When Hubert finally managed to crawl up from the ground, everyone could clearly see three swollen, red welts across his skin—as if he'd been lashed by a whip.
"Archmage Leon, hurry! We can't hold out much longer—the monster is breaking through!"
Hubert swung Slaughter as he fought, howling in terror. Fewer than twenty tentacles, and they were already this powerful. Beyond the gate, not only were there more monster heads, but a lot of their strength was being held back, unable to break through.
Anderson gritted his teeth, pushing the Arcane Wheel to its absolute limit. The mana in the Elemental Amber was draining fast.
Reina transformed into her dragon form, wielding Draconic magic in her attacks. But for every tentacle destroyed, even more surged in behind.
No one could get close—they were forced to attack from a distance. It seriously limited everyone's strength, making it impossible to mount any real defense.
After just over ten minutes, Hubert was already coughing up blood.
"Archmage Leon, if you don't finish soon, Hubert's really done for..."
Hubert's voice was thick with terror...
Even someone as thick-headed as Hubert knew: if they couldn't hold back this monster, they'd all be dead. This thing wasn't like Lord Theodorus, who only roughed him up.
The battle kept shifting closer to Leon. Anderson glanced back, his face tense. Sweat beaded on Leon's brow—the encrypted alchemical array was cracked, and now both his hands were twitching as he frantically tapped at the Hand of Destruction's control panel.
"Leon..."
Anderson called out, but forced himself to hold back and said nothing more.
"Archmage Leon... ah... help..." The Dragonblood Orc's screams grew more and more desperate...
"Shut up! Don't distract Leon!"
Anderson, face dark with rage, snapped at Hubert.
Just then, Leon's twitching hands finally stilled. Without hesitation, he jammed a Mana Crystal into the slot on the Hand of Destruction.
Threads of light began to glow from the Hand of Destruction's pitch-black barrel. At last, the weapon was fully activated...
With the weapon online, Leon steered the barrel toward the main gate.
"Hold on just a bit longer!"
Leon clenched his teeth, staring hard at the gate—the Aegis Web Array was about to be breached!
Faster, just a little faster...
Firing the Hand of Destruction takes time—the greater the power, the longer the charge, and it needs manual control throughout.
An Alchemical Golem got snagged by a tentacle; Reina had to cast an advanced frost spell to save it, but the group was already forced back in front of the Hand of Destruction.
"Archmage Leon, hurry up!"
Hubert's face was pale, his chest streaked with blood, and his grip on Slaughter was starting to tremble.
Boom!
With a deafening blast, the Aegis Web Array was finally shattered.
The monster’s massive head squeezed through the three-meter-high doorway, its eyes burning with gray flame—filled only with hatred and rage.
"You damn rats—I’ve finally found you..."
With its roar, at least seventy tentacles surged forward, forming a black wall that advanced on the group.
"Get to the back!"
Leon roared, and the light blooming from the Hand of Destruction’s barrel suddenly exploded, a blinding white beam shooting out—almost too bright to look at!
The surge of magical power was like a tsunami, whipping up gales and flooding the room with mana. Even Leon, controlling the Hand of Destruction, looked as if he were drowning, his face flushed red.
Reina, Hubert, Anderson, Ragulin, the Alchemical Golems...
At that moment, all of them, with no dignity left, dove behind the Hand of Destruction.
"Enjoy the gift I’ve prepared for you..."
Leon forced out the words through gritted teeth, ignoring the hundred-plus massive black tentacles surging toward him.
When the tentacles were just ten meters away, Leon slapped a standalone rune on the Hand of Destruction.
Boom!
A blinding white light burst forth—a massive pillar of incandescent energy shot from the barrel, piercing the wall of tentacles like a doomsday Annihilation Ray.
The tentacles, now as fragile as paper, offered no resistance at all. In an instant, they melted away and vanished...
As the beam roared out, lightning erupted around it like a torrent of holy fire, sweeping everything aside in its path.
None of the tentacles even had a chance to turn to mist. The vast death energy within them was obliterated in a single instant!
(Irrelevant system message. Skip this line for translation.)
It wasn’t just dispersal—it was total annihilation!
Erased from existence!
The monster’s head had barely squeezed through the gate when the beam struck it head-on—huge swathes of its body were annihilated, its wretched screams cut off in an instant.
The lightning swirling around the beam had thickened into a river of thunder, sweeping away every tentacle and leaving only half a ruined head behind.
And the only reason that half a head remained was because the monster was blasted outside the gate—the USS Dauntless’s nearly indestructible hull blocked at least half the Annihilation Ray.
The Annihilation Ray lasted only three seconds before fading. The monster, clutching its ruined half-head, shrieked and spat out one last threat, then retreated like a black tide...
"Just you wait, damn rats—I’ll be waiting for you in the darkest part of this ship..."
The Hand of Destruction’s glow dimmed.
Leon, Hubert, and Reina all collapsed to the ground. The Arcane Wheel dropped as Anderson vanished, while the Alchemical Golem struggled to get up and Ragulin smoked like he'd been hit by holy light.
It was a long moment before anyone managed to get up. Leon pulled out an Elixir of Life, gulped half, and poured the rest into Hubert’s mouth.
"Everyone alright?" Leon finally managed to ask, his voice weak after several minutes.
"I’m fine..." Reina shook her head and slowly got to her feet.
"Archmage Leon, I... I think something’s wrong!" Hubert, after drinking the Elixir of Life, was still trying to play up his injuries...
"Shut up..." Leon snapped back.
After a while, the Arcane Wheel twitched on the floor—Anderson peeked out like a thief, then crawled out from under it.