Inside the dim audiovisual room, Luo Feng felt his mind go completely blank. He could no longer hear any of the sounds around him.
“We failed?”
“We failed? We actually failed? How could we fail? How could this happen?”
Luo Feng was overwhelmed by a tide of regret and agony.
He had placed far too much hope in this attack.
Ever since the hydrogen bomb had failed, humanity seemed to have only one final option left, letting Hong and Lei Shen, Earth’s two strongest warriors, risk their lives.
But a desperate fight offered no certainty at all.
The B6 grade laser cannon he had obtained, however, had seemed almost certain to succeed.
The elites of every nation had been thrilled because of this laser cannon.
Everyone had been waiting for that single shot.
And indeed.
The laser fired by the B6 grade laser cannon had been unimaginably powerful.
It had effortlessly pierced and destroyed the Golden Horned Beast’s head before continuing all the way into outer space.
But.
No one had imagined that the Golden Horned Beast, with nothing left of its head except its mouth, would still be alive.
It simply refused to die.
“That’s impossible. It shouldn’t still be alive. How could this happen?” Babata shook his head in shock from within the intelligent storage space on Luo Feng’s wrist.
“No, that’s not right. Whether it’s humans or animals, the soul resides within the sea of consciousness, which is located in the brain. Destroy the head and death is certain. Unless its spiritual imprint has fused into every single cell, allowing it to regenerate from its cells.”
“But someone at the stellar level simply cannot reach that stage.” Babata continued shaking his head. “Could this Golden Horned Beast possess some special innate talent?”
No one knew.
Very little was known about Star Beasts throughout the universe.
Even the Master of Yun Mo Planet had never encountered a Golden Horned Beast during his lifetime.
Knowledge about them was incredibly scarce.
Inside the audiovisual room.
“Quick. The laser cannon. Bring the laser cannon back immediately!” Jia Yi suddenly roared.
The other eleven people instantly snapped out of their daze.
“The laser cannon!”
Luo Feng’s eyes widened as he stared at the screen.
The black metal robot was fleeing at full speed while carrying the laser cannon.
Another display showed the huge shadow of the Golden Horned Beast racing after it beneath the sea.
“The metal robot is travelling at 2,110 metres per second. The Devouring Beast is pursuing beneath the sea at 36,069 metres per second. Distance between both sides, 520 kilometres, 460 kilometres, 398 kilometres…”
The emotionless electronic voice continued reporting the figures, causing everyone’s expressions to change drastically.
“Faster! Faster!” Lei Shen urged anxiously.
“It’s too late.” Hong’s face turned pale as he shook his head. “They were only around one thousand kilometres apart before. The beast is moving at thirty six kilometres per second. The robot is far too slow. It’ll catch it within thirty seconds. The laser cannon won’t have enough time to charge for a second shot.”
The group of planetary level warriors clenched their fists so tightly that their knuckles cracked.
Luo Feng stared fixedly at the screen.
Since the beast was travelling beneath the ocean, the satellites could not film it directly.
However, they could still detect and track its enormous life force.
Its life force was simply too powerful.
Now that its speed had increased to more than twice its previous level, its life force had also become much stronger.
About 3,200 metres beneath the ocean’s surface, the Golden Horned Beast’s wings had grown even larger than before.
The scales covering its wings had become denser.
The golden secret patterns upon those scales now seemed to possess a mysterious power, allowing the beast to reach an unbelievable speed beneath the sea.
Rage.
The Golden Horned Beast had never been so furious.
The previous hydrogen bomb attack had been nothing more than a flesh wound to it.
This time, however, its injuries were ten or even a hundred times more severe than before.
This unprecedented injury instead awakened the brutality and madness hidden deep within its blood.
Suddenly, its speed dropped sharply.
Roar!
Of the two horns growing from its back, the longer horn suddenly erupted with dazzling golden light.
It transformed into a streak of golden light and shot upwards.
Whoosh!
It was as fast as lightning.
The golden horn pierced through more than three thousand metres of seawater almost instantly and burst out of the ocean.
Its speed was so incredible that the black metal robot above had no chance to dodge.
The B6 grade laser cannon in the robot’s hands was still charging.
Bang!
The golden horn pierced straight through the beautifully crafted crystal like laser cannon.
Its charging process was interrupted instantly.
With a loud crash, the cannon shattered like glass.
The golden horn then slammed into the black metal robot.
Boom!
The robot, forged from Black God metal, was extremely sturdy.
Buzz.
It was blasted away like a shooting star, flying dozens of kilometres before plunging into the sea with a splash.
Inside the audiovisual room, Hong, Lei Shen, Luo Feng and the others silently watched the screen.
The shadow beneath the sea continued diving deeper.
And deeper.
“Luo Feng, the robot suffered a violent impact. Its internal control system has been destroyed. It can no longer be recalled,” Babata’s voice sounded in Luo Feng’s mind.
Luo Feng slowly closed his eyes.
Losing a repair robot meant nothing.
But this attack, which carried the fate of humanity upon its shoulders, had failed.
“I’m sorry, Luo Feng. My database contains very little information about Star Beasts. As for the Golden Horned Beast, there’s even less. I only know some basic facts,” Babata apologised.
He understood perfectly what this failure meant for humanity.
Silence.
The entire audiovisual room fell silent.
Jia Yi stood beside the window, took out a packet of cigarettes, lit one, and quietly smoked by himself.
“Give me one.”
Zhu Xi took a cigarette and silently began smoking as well.
Some sat quietly.
Some shut their eyes in pain.
Everyone was quieter than they had ever been before.
“It has incredible defence, unbelievable speed, and it can even burst into an even faster speed. Not only that, even after losing its head, it could still survive and attack. It can even remotely control its horn like a spiritual master, and the attack is incredibly powerful.” Luo Feng mentally reviewed everything they had learned. “It also possesses an internal world capable of swallowing vast quantities of metal.”
“And its rate of growth is astonishing.”
Heaven.
Why had such a terrifying Star Beast descended upon Earth?
How could humanity possibly resist it?
Buzz. Buzz.
Suddenly, a communication watch vibrated.
All twelve people in the room looked over almost simultaneously.
It was Mo Henderson’s watch.
He pressed the button, and an American voice came through.
“Do you have any solution over there? Is there still a way? Ask Luo Feng. Ask the two Chairmen. Is there any other way?”
“Alright. I’ll ask them.”
Mo Henderson replied quietly before ending the call.
He looked at everyone else.
Luo Feng gently shook his head.
Hong and Lei Shen looked at each other.
At the same time, faint smiles appeared on both their faces.
They were unusual smiles.
Smiles that embraced certain death.
Smiles that shook the soul.
This failure dealt a devastating blow to every nation on Earth.
Only moments earlier, everyone had been filled with hope.
When the Golden Horned Beast’s head had been destroyed, countless people had celebrated wildly.
Some had even fainted from excitement.
But in the very next moment, they fell from heaven into hell.
They had entered a nightmare.
The Devouring Beast was even more terrifying and powerful than humanity had imagined.
Even without its head, it remained overwhelmingly strong.
Its flying speed had even become faster.
“My God.”
“Lord, please save Your children.”
“Heavens above.”
Many of Earth’s top leaders, people who had never burned incense, worshipped Buddha, or believed in any deity, now silently prayed.
Only when people fell into utter despair and helplessness did they desperately seek spiritual comfort.
Even these elites were now searching for something to believe in.
Clearly.
They were completely hopeless.
…
Beneath the seabed, within the rock layer approximately 23,000 metres below the ocean’s surface.
The enormous Golden Horned Beast lay coiled in the darkness.
Golden light flowed faintly across its body.
Its head, which had previously consisted of only its mouth and neck, was rapidly regenerating.
Flesh intertwined.
Skin extended.
Scales emerged.
Its head was growing back at an astonishing speed.
Its ears formed once more.
Gradually, its pair of dark golden eyes regenerated as well.
Finally.
Its entire head had completely regenerated.
Its long and short horns merged back into its head.
Only the scales covering its head remained somewhat tender, lacking the hardness of the scales elsewhere on its body.
Its dark golden eyes burned with nothing but fury.
Boundless fury.
Like flames blazing endlessly.
“Woo.”
“Woo.”
Deep growls filled with anger continuously emerged from its throat.
Its injuries had been extremely severe.
It would never forget that instant when the white light had struck.
Faced with that white light, it had been completely unable to dodge.
It had possessed no ability to resist.
Fortunately, the greatest concentration of power within its body, its horns, was unbelievably hard and unbelievably sharp.
Although the laser had blasted them far away and damaged them, it had not destroyed them.
“Woo!”
Once its injuries had fully healed, the Golden Horned Beast experienced an unprecedented hunger.
Its internal world was starving as well.
Every cell within its body seemed to cry out.
It had expended far too much energy.
Its strength had declined considerably.
It urgently needed replenishment.
“Woo.”
The Golden Horned Beast let out a low growl and rapidly burrowed upwards through the rock.
It needed food.
It needed metal.
Inside Luo Feng’s audiovisual room, night had almost fallen outside.
Luo Feng and the other ten people all looked towards two individuals.
Hong and Lei Shen.
“If this continues, we have no chance of survival. This Devouring Beast is simply too powerful and too bizarre.” Hong shook his head. “If we allow it to continue growing stronger, even the humans hiding inside the ancient civilisation ruins will eventually be killed by it. And I’m convinced that after taking a direct hit from the laser cannon, its injuries cannot possibly be light. I suspect that final burst of speed was the desperate struggle of a heavily wounded beast, perhaps its final flash of strength before death.”
After saying those last words, even Hong himself found them difficult to believe.
“Even if it wasn’t a final burst before death, its strength must still be far below what it was before the injury.” Hong said solemnly. “Strike while it’s wounded, and kill it.”
“Mm. If we miss this chance, there won’t be another.” Lei Shen nodded slightly.
Luo Feng and the others all felt a deep sadness.
Were they really going to stand by and watch Hong and Lei Shen sacrifice themselves?
“Lei Shen and I both possess our own domains. If we truly fight with everything we have, there’s still hope.” Hong smiled.
Lei Shen smiled and nodded beside him.