Chapter 260: Defeating Ace, Venturing Deep into the Sea

Chapter 260: Chapter 260: Defeating Ace, Venturing Deep into the Sea

Things didn’t go as planned; it seemed Ace had miscalculated this time.

With a deafening BOOM, not only was the self-destructing warship blown to smithereens, but monstrous waves were also churned up in the Mysterious Sea Area.

"Ah!"

Sitting on Lanton’s back, Liang He watched coldly as Ace fell into the sea, only to be thrown back into the sky by the massive waves. She calmly pulled out the Photon Gun she had swiped from the Rebel Army and swiftly delivered a finishing shot.

"THWIP..."

Crimson bloomed across the azure sky. Plunging back into the sea, Ace widened his eyes in disbelief. He didn’t want to accept that he had actually died at Liang He’s hands.

The same scene, the same situation, yet good luck did not descend upon him a second time.

"SPLASH..."

An entirely ungraceful spray of water blossomed before Liang He’s eyes. She didn’t care in the slightest about Ace’s dying thoughts; instead, her attention was fully focused on the movements beneath the Mysterious Sea Area.

"Liang He!"

Just as she was hesitating over whether to notify Goring and the others and go down to take a look herself, she suddenly heard someone calling her from below. Looking closely, it turned out to be Lick.

"Lanton, go down."

After such a prolonged battle, Liang He was worried that the Canglan Hunting Eagle’s stamina was excessively depleted. Since Lick was here, she might as well ask about the situation and take a break at the same time.

Lick was piloting a small submarine. As soon as Liang He and Lanton successfully landed, he immediately stepped forward.

"How are you guys? I heard the sound of the warship exploding just now and was nearly scared to death!"

Faced with Lick’s concern, Liang He merely shook her head gently to indicate they were fine. At the same time, she suddenly felt a chill on her wrist. She subconsciously glanced at it but didn’t say a word.

"That’s good, that’s good." Lick, seemingly breathing a sigh of relief, now began to worry about Leila and Ao Ke’s situation. "This sea area is truly too bizarre. I wonder if they’ve found the statue dropped by the Rebel Army?"

Statue?

"What statue?" Liang He subconsciously voiced her confusion.

Lick paused slightly, then clapped his hands in sudden realization. "I forgot! You were just busy fighting the Rebel Army, so you don’t know yet."

Lick relayed all the information Goring had received from Ao Ke to Liang He.

"That massive commotion just now might very well have been caused by Leila and the others."

If it weren’t for the sudden, monstrous waves that tossed Ace into the sky, he might have actually escaped this time. Thinking of Leila and the rest, Liang He also felt a bit worried. She wondered how they were doing right now.

"Since you drove a submarine here, why don’t we go down and look for them?" Since she was already here, Liang He was truly a bit unwilling to just leave like this.

"T-This... is this really a good idea?" Lick hemmed and hawed, hesitating as if he wasn’t sure whether to agree or disagree.

"How about I have Lanton escort you back, and I go down by myself?" After all, what Liang He needed was a submarine capable of diving into the Mysterious Sea Area; whether Lick was there or not wouldn’t make much of a difference.

"How could we do that?!" This proposal was immediately vetoed by Lick. Terrified that Liang He might leave him behind, he stopped hesitating and straightforwardly agreed to her idea. "T-Then... we’d better go down and take a look together."

"Okay."

Because the small submarine certainly couldn’t accommodate two people and a Falcon, Lanton was naturally sent back to notify Goring and the others to provide backup.

"SCREECH..."

Lanton didn’t want to leave; he wanted to stay and guard Liang He. However, he was not an Ocean-type Beastman. Without the protection of a submarine, he couldn’t venture deep into the sea area at all.

"Alright, you’ve done a great job today. Go back and get some good rest. Once I finish up here, I’ll return to find you guys as soon as possible."

Liang He patiently coaxed Lanton, petting his feathers and showering him with praise. Under this barrage of sweet-talk and affection, Lanton had no choice but to leave reluctantly.

Once he disappeared into the sky above the Mysterious Sea Area, Liang He and Lick headed toward the seabed.

"Liang He, we don’t have a Killer Whale to lead the way. How are we going to find them?"

Ao Ke, Leila, and the others had only successfully reached the statue’s location with Grandma Tiger Whale’s help. But right now, there were only the two of them and a small submarine. It wouldn’t work at all!

"Don’t worry about it. Later, when we reach the seabed, we’ll turn off the submarine’s system and let it drift freely." Liang He had already thought this through. Since Leila previously mentioned that some kind of creature was pushing their submarine deeper, Liang He decided she might as well take advantage of it this time, saving herself the effort of figuring it out.

"Huh? Is that reliable?" Lick somewhat suspected that Liang He was joking with him. No matter how he listened to it, this idea didn’t sound very reliable.

"I’m here, so don’t worry."

Nevertheless, just in case, Liang He urged Lick to put on his diving gear. Not long after the small submarine’s driving system was temporarily shut down, she felt a mysterious force pushing the vessel.

"They’re here," Liang He reminded Lick softly, her gaze burning as she stared ahead.

Only when she saw the faint light Leila and the others had mentioned earlier did a slight curve form at the corners of her lips. She had gambled right.

"Turn on the system. If this force isn’t heading in the direction of the light, we’ll take control ourselves."

"Alright." At this moment, Lick could only follow Liang He’s instructions. He stared ahead just as nervously. When the light grew brighter and brighter, he finally pointed forward happily. "Liang He, it’s the Killer Whale! We found her!"

Since Grandma Tiger Whale was here, it meant Ao Ke and the others must be too!

"I see her. Calm down." Compared to Lick’s excitement, Liang He was clearly much more composed. She steered closer in Grandma Tiger Whale’s direction, only to find that something was off.

"Strange. Why does it look like there’s no one inside the submarines?" Lick had also noticed the problem. Across the ten submarines, it seemed everyone was gone, leaving only Grandma Tiger Whale behind. "Could they have all gone to investigate whatever is beneath the statue?"

"Impossible. Even if they were investigating, they wouldn’t leave without a single person staying behind on guard."

Liang He denied Lick’s idea without hesitation. Frowning, she approached Grandma Tiger Whale and discovered that the creature’s condition was also very abnormal.

"What happened to her?"

Grandma Tiger Whale, who was towing the ten submarines, lay completely motionless with her eyes tightly shut—it was hard to tell if she was asleep or unconscious. Even when Lick maneuvered their submarine to greet her, there was no reaction whatsoever.

"I’ll go out and take a look."

Growing anxious, Liang He couldn’t sit still anymore. She prepared to leave the submarine and investigate the surroundings herself. However, Lick tried his best to stop her, urging her not to be impulsive.

"Shouldn’t we wait a bit longer? Maybe Leila and the others will come out soon." Right now, it was just him and Liang He, and Grandma Tiger Whale’s status was unknown. He was worried that an accident might happen.

"No. The commotion on the surface earlier might have been caused by the statue. That means there’s something even more dangerous beneath it." Liang He’s tone grew increasingly urgent, as if she had lost her usual composure and rationality.

Seeing this, Lick felt he couldn’t really stop her anymore. He let out a deep sigh and finally, helplessly, agreed to Liang He’s proposal.

"...Fine! Then I’ll go with you to look for them!"