Chapter 369: P(5) Strategy

Slash!

Silver light glinted under the moonlight, and two thick tentacles fell to the ground. Selene hummed as she watched the mutated octopus release a shrill cry and recoil.

It tried to rush back into the water, but could only slide hopelessly on the frozen surface. Selene wasn’t going to let it escape naturally.

She raised her hand and two ice spikes formed on both sides, then shot at the octopus with chilling accuracy.

The octopus managed to block one of the ice spikes with a tentacle, but the other pierced straight into its belly.

Selene smiled coldly, her blue eyes reflecting scorn.

Boom!

Followed by the internal explosion, the octopus wailed as a portion of its body was blown off and frozen. Realizing it couldn’t really resist the young woman, it began slamming the tentacles against the frozen surface of the water, trying to force its way through. From below, other aquatic mutated beasts that hadn’t been able to surface yet were also attacking the ice surface.

Selene frowned, feeling her mana drop heavily. Not wanting to waste any more time, she reinforced the ice surface again, then shot at the octopus.

She landed on the surface of the frozen water, skidding straight at the beast. Before long, she reached it and swung her sword.

A blue arc of condensed ice energy shot out from the slash, cutting off another tentacle of the octopus.

Before it could react and retaliate, two condensed ice spikes pierced into its body, then exploded.

Another wail of pain escaped the mutated octopus as it writhed on the surface.

Without slowing down, Selene used Frozen Steps to circle around it, slicing off its tentacles one after another and then shooting ice spikes that drilled into its body and exploded.

In just a minute, the mutated octopus had become unrecognizable. All its tentacles had been torn off, and its main body was a mess of wounds. It couldn’t even move any longer.

Selene raised her sword and prepared to cut it down finally.

At that moment, she sensed something move below her, and she instinctively dashed back.

BANG!

The ice surface cracked and shattered, and a huge maw opened up, swallowing the half-dead mutated octopus whole.

Selene stared in shock, then retreated further until she was back on land.

The giant mutated shark sank back into the water, disappearing from sight.

"What the hell was that thing?" Miguel asked, astounded.

Selene didn’t answer immediately, but when she did, the whole place fell silent.

"Tier Three."

Miguel’s face paled, and he took a step back. Even Richard’s tamed beasts became quiet. The mutated raven stopped circling in the air above the water and returned to flying above its master.

The raging waters stopped boiling, and everything settled into a dull calm.

Selene’s eyes narrowed. ’Did they retreat?’

She wasn’t sure yet, but if that was true, then she could only feel more unease instead of relief.

’Their leader must be smart.’

They waited five more minutes, and when nothing surfaced from the water, they pulled back.

Selene looked around, then spoke. "Take the corpses inside and harvest the soul crystals from them. Don’t move too close to the water even if it seems safe."

With that, she turned around and returned into the city. Meanwhile, the Evolvers began to follow her orders with caution.

Miguel stayed behind to assist them while Richard went back inside. As they returned to the central mansion, Richard glanced at the silver-haired lady.

"Do you think those fishes will come back?"

Selene nodded without hesitation. "They will. And we will wait."

The young man nodded, gulping nervously. "Well, at least we can finally eat fish meat."

Selene didn’t answer that. She merely pulled out her phone and picked up Rune who was walking by her side.

As soon as she sat down, she immediately contacted Gwen, explaining the situation to her. A few minutes later, her message was seen, and a few more minutes later, a reply came.

Reading it, her eyes narrowed.

She glanced at Richard, who was eating a fruit with a pleased expression, then said, "Go call Miguel. He’s leaving tomorrow morning."

"Eh? Why?" Richard asked, baffled.

Selene returned her gaze to the phone as she answered him. "Bayonne Camp needs help. Leon chose him to help."

"Ah..." Richard blinked in realization, then immediately stood up. "I’ll go deliver the message now."

Selene nodded and set the phone aside, closing her eyes as she stroked Rune’s fur. The cat purred, its tail glowing softly.

It didn’t know why Selene seemed agitated, but it was helping her relax.

...............

-Eternal Night City-

Leon frowned, listening to Gwen’s report about Park Slope City.

"Intelligent fishes that actually retreated? This might be more serious than I thought."

Gwen nodded. "I believe Selene can handle it, though. So Miguel will be leaving for Bayonne with Cassie tomorrow morning."

"Huh?" Leon stared at her in surprise. "Wouldn’t that increase the pressure on Selene?"

"She can handle it." Gwen shrugged. "Besides, you could always go and help her."

Leon hummed, then turned to Marie. "Any information about the Mutated Forest?"

The auburn-haired lady answered, "It has gone unusually silent. Teams that went in there this evening returned without finding any mutated beasts. They said the forest was just silent and seemingly empty."

Leon’s expression hardened. "That’s no ordinary disappearance. Something is gathering them, and it’s not going to be a pleasant event."

Reymond frowned. "So they’re going to attack the city? Like zombies did?"

"Yes." Leon nodded. "My guess is that they’re being led by a very strong Tier Three mutated beast. I can handle it, but will y’all be able to handle the others? They will outnumber our forces by a lot."

Everyone turned to look at Gwen, and she smiled mischievously.

"That means we’ll need strategies to win. I guess we can start making preparations."

Leon nodded. "Proper preparation prevents poor performance. Since a battle is inevitable, let’s do our best to win it with the fewest losses."

The others nodded, agreeing with him.

At the same time, Thyra finally returned to Earth.