In the eastern sea region of the Mu Continent.
Sheshe and the Great Crab rendezvoused with great ease, but during their advance towards the Mu Continent, they encountered an unexpected interception.
The "Xuanwu Fleet" from Shenzhou and the "1st Fleet" from the North American continent.
Without receiving orders from their superiors, the commanders of the two fleets, Naval Admiral Yu Ting and Supreme Commander Ernest, had both independently decided to deploy their fleets here.
Both were acquaintances of the Great Crab.
Before the Honkai Eruptions, they had been old adversaries who had clashed countless times. To be able to fight side-by-side in the same waters was an exceedingly rare occasion for these two aging naval veterans.
As they themselves put it:
"Never thought that one day,"
"We two would actually be standing on the same battle line."
The old admiral, taking his ruyi-shaped long-stemmed pipe from his lips after several hearty puffs, spoke to the old fellow on the other side of the comms screen.
His counterpart, however, kept his pipe firmly in his mouth.
Blue-white clouds of smoke puffed out rapidly as his mouth opened and closed.
"Méi máocī..."
"Is that how you pronounce it?"
"...No, it's a bit off."
"Is that so?"
"I thought I learned it pretty well."
Boom!!
The chat between the two old naval officers did not affect the fleet's combat.
Amidst their light-hearted banter.
The main cannons of the battleships had already thundered with deafening roars.
To counter the large-scale invasion of aquatic Honkai Beasts, the current Xuanwu Fleet had already absorbed Yingzhou's last fleet, the "Yata Fleet," and had been further augmented by six additional capital Sky Ships, making it a behemoth.
The 1st Fleet was in a similar situation.
Due to the "activity" of Emperor-class Honkai Beasts, North America had been forced to contract its defenses, recalling most of its deployed fleets to waters near its homeland and reorganizing them. The current 1st Fleet was a brand-new special-purpose fleet, having absorbed the 3rd, 4th, and 7th Fleets.
Undoubtedly.
This was the largest naval force the entire "human" faction could muster.
————
Old enemies see each other with eyes blazing red.
With the Emperor backing it up, the Great Crab completely changed its cautious combat style.
Familiar auras, familiar fleets—both these navies had engaged in extremely "cordial" exchanges with the Great Crab in the past.
Now was the time for revenge!
Click-clack!
The Great Crab had no mouth, so naturally, it couldn't roar. But the violent friction between its carapace segments proved its current emotional state was anything but stable—
CLICK-CLACK!!!
As the Great Crab emerged from the water.
A massive number of Tide-class Honkai Beasts appeared, batch after batch, from the sea surface, accompanied by seemingly endless waves!
Fwoosh!!
The waves surged!
Led by their chieftain, all the Tide-class Honkai Beasts that had surfaced curled their bodies into balls.
This was the Tide-class's exclusive skill, [Spinning Impact].
In this manner, they could instantly multiply their previously not-so-fast surface speed several times over!
And then—
Countless enormous white spiked balls猛然 (měngrán - suddenly/fiercely) charged towards the human fleet!
Boom!!
Orange-red fireballs, accompanied by gunpowder smoke, erupted from the muzzles of the 406mm main cannons. Shells weighing 1.2 tons each rained down upon the football-field-sized Variant Tide-class beast!
BOOM!!!
Explosions continuously erupted on the sea surface!
However, the shells, with a penetration depth of 800mm, couldn't breach the Variant Tide-class's defenses at all. No, forget North America's 406mm main cannons; even Shenzhou Navy's 356mm electromagnetic cannons, with a penetration exceeding 1200mm, could only leave scratches on the Variant Tide-class's surface.
[Claw of Heart Protection]
When not attacking, the Tide-class's exclusive skill, [Claw of Heart Protection], could significantly mitigate incoming frontal long-range firepower. This was also the key ability that made them the mainstay of aquatic Honkai Beasts.
With the coordination of these two abilities.
The Tide-class could charge into human fleets at maximum speed. And when a large number of Tide-class beasts unleashed this combination simultaneously... they were almost unstoppable on the frontal battlefield.
CRASH!!
The Great Crab was the first to engage!
Its immense tonnage generated a powerful impact, directly snapping a 10,000-ton class destroyer at the forefront of the fleet in two at its midsection!
Crack!
With a powerful grip of its left pincer.
The ship's island superstructure was lifted high like a dumbbell by the Tide-class beast, then hurled towards a second destroyer not far away—
Swoosh!
BANG!!
A brief shower of metallic rain exploded across the sea surface.
The Great Crab's movements didn't stop. A cross-shaped glint flashed in its single eye, and a circular energy wave abruptly converged—
VMM!!
A beam of light flashed across the sea level!
Fzzt—BOOM!!!
Two frigates that were rapidly approaching, preparing to launch torpedoes, were directly bisected by the beam. They instantly sank beneath the orange-red sea surface as their ammunition magazines catastrophically detonated.
After swiftly dealing with its opponents.
The Great Crab once again curled into a ball, using the sinking destroyer as a springboard, and rapidly charged towards the center of the fleet!
————
"The Great Crab is having a lot of fun, isn't it?"
Sheshe did not directly participate in the battle. Being more adept at long-range attacks, it remained in the middle-rear of the legion, "overseeing the bigger picture."
The Great Crab handling the legion's frontal assault was sufficient.
Although it was still a lower-tier Honkai Beast, the combat power it displayed was in no way inferior to Wangxiang's... No, in a direct confrontation, Wangxiang might not even be as strong as the Great Crab.
Its newly acquired little brother was also not by Sheshe's side.
The great sea serpent was leading a third of the aquatic legion, hugging the deep seabed, slowly sneaking towards the underside of the human fleet.
Their target was humanity's submarine force.
Sheshe had long since detected the underwater threat through its Super Perception.
Compared to surface ships, the underwater battlefield, an area where Honkai Beasts should have an advantage, presented enemies no less formidable than those on the surface.
Shenzhou had few strategic nuclear submarines, but in terms of sheer size, they even surpassed the newest "Taixu-class" Sky Ships. A total of two "Gonggong-class" strategic nuclear submarines, underwater fortresses exceeding 500 meters in length with a displacement of 180,000 tons, had been built (one was present here). Alongside them were two "Kuiniu-class" heavy attack nuclear submarines, known as the "Water God's Shield," two "Qilin-class" long-range nuclear submarines, and sixteen "Chiru-class" and "Goushe-class" escort submarines.
Together, they formed humanity's underwater strength.
What Wangxiang needed to do was to ensure these underwater forces... remained underwater, permanently.
Swoosh!
Boom! xN!
Beams of light swept across the sky.
Anti-ship missiles, as if they cost nothing, turned into debris and fell from the sky in sheets.
A full fifteen Quillspike-class Honkai Beasts were the bedrock of the entire Eastern Legion's confidence—human-made flying objects and projectiles, as long as they lacked "shields," had no chance of successfully breaking through the blockade net they formed.
Of course...
Vooooom—
BOOM!!!
A dazzling pillar of light descended from the sky.
Over twenty large aquatic Honkai Beasts were all incinerated into ash within the golden radiance.
"Hiss."
Its serpentine tongue flicked lightly in the air.
"Sky Ships..."
"Have to find a way to bring them down."