Above the Tengger Desert, seeing Cosmos effortlessly repel the three Antlars, Qin Yuxin and the others no longer planned to stand by. They one by one brought out their Monster Rings.
"Lithra!"
"Red King!"
"Gomess!"
"..."
"Ultra Fusion!"
Soon, five monsters appeared behind Cosmos, transformed from Qin Yuxin, Lu Bai, and their four companions. Their arrival was loud and heavy; Cosmos glanced sideways to see them flanking him, seemingly taking him as their leader.
"Screech~~~"
"Roar~~~"
Lithra and Red King's cries were somewhat similar, though the former's voice lingered longer. The students in their monster forms couldn't yet communicate through telepathy, so they simply looked toward Cosmos at the center.
However, just because they couldn't didn't mean Ye Feng couldn't.
"Qin Yuxin and Lu Bai, handle one Chaos Antlar. Xiao Ling, you three take the one in front of you. Any objections?" Through telepathy, Ye Feng transmitted his voice directly into their minds.
Hearing the voice in their heads, the five were momentarily stunned. Clearly, they hadn't expected Ye Feng to already be capable of telepathic communication.
During that moment of hesitation, the Antlar leader and the two Chaos Antlars began to form a line. They glared at the six figures across from them—especially the blue figure in the center, which filled them with rage!
The screeching of the Antlars quickly snapped the five students back to reality. Letting out their respective monster roars, they charged toward their assigned opponents.
"Hah!"
Facing the last remaining Chaos Antlar, Cosmos assumed his starting stance and sprinted forward.
"Screech~~~"
The Chaos Antlar didn't charge. Instead, it opened its maw, and the insectoid horn between its massive mandibles released a surge of silver-gray energy. Accompanied by a buzzing insect-like drone, the energy enveloped Cosmos.
Caught off guard, Cosmos fell into the silver-gray energy field and immediately felt a jarring sensation that made him clutch his head.
"Ugh..."
Antlar is a magnetic monster; the magnetic field attack it released altered the magnetism around Cosmos. Such shifts can be lethal to biological organisms. Due to his momentary lapse in vigilance, Cosmos was trapped within the assault.
In the TPC base, Lin Jing, who was observing via satellite, stood up instantly. He questioned the staff below: "What's happening? Why is a Class A Antlar able to release a magnetic field attack? What is going on?!"
In truth, the reason freshmen were sent to eliminate these Antlars—aside from their low energy levels—was that they supposedly couldn't yet release magnetic field attacks. Monsters capable of long-range energy attacks or special abilities were typically Class S. While there were exceptions that could use ranged attacks at Class A (like Qin Yuxin's Lithra), Antlar was not supposed to be one of them.
And yet, here it was. Originally a Class B entity, after being empowered by the Chaos Header to Class A, it was now capable of such an attack? The staff looked at each other in silence; none of them knew why. Furthermore, if the monsters possessed this ability, why hadn't they used it sooner?
(The previous plane crashes were easily explained: a colony of Antlars living together would naturally alter the local magnetic field by their mere presence, leading to navigation failures.)
The action of this Chaos Antlar seemed to trigger a chain reaction. The other Chaos Antlars fighting the students also began releasing magnetic field beams. One student transformed into Gomess noticed the shift and, seeing Cosmos' plight, managed to dodge in time. Her friends, however, weren't so lucky.
"ROAR!!!"
Gomess knew things were bad and rushed the Chaos Antlar, but the enemy was prepared. It cut off its beam, snapped its mandibles open, and clamped down directly on Gomess. As for the other two students, under the influence of the magnetic beams, their fusions collapsed and they fell unconscious onto the desert sand. Fortunately, the students transformed into smaller aliens arrived just in time to drag them to safety.
"Roar~~~"
Pinned by the massive pincers, Gomess cried out in agony, drawing the attention of Lithra and Red King. The two monsters looked at each other; Red King nodded and tackled the hornless Antlar leader to the ground, while Lithra spread her wings and flew toward Gomess.
Back at Cosmos' position, after being caught off guard, he had been channeling the light energy within his body. Once it reached its peak, Cosmos was covered in a brilliant blue light from head to toe. He released the energy in a burst, shattering the magnetic field beam.
Knowing the light could only provide a temporary shield, he used the opening to roll to the right. The protective light soon dissipated, but the Chaos Antlar's follow-up beam missed its mark. After dodging, Cosmos shook his head; the previous attack had been troublesome, leaving him momentarily disoriented.
The Chaos Antlar fired another magnetic beam. This time, Ye Feng was ready. He wouldn't be hit again, but he actually charged into the path of the beam. Unlike before, he circulated light energy throughout his body, turning into an afterimage as he used Luna Strike again.
"Hah!"
Cosmos thrust out one hand, advancing steadily against the magnetic beam. Observers noticed that the moment the beam touched his palm, it seemed to be sliced apart, losing all potency. This lasted only a moment; just as the Chaos Antlar's body began to tremble, a hand-blade strike sliced across its brownish carapace, triggering a violent explosion of sparks.
Before the beast could hit the ground, Cosmos teleported behind it, braced his shoulder against its back, and used his full strength to heave it into a heavy suplex.
On the other side, Lithra was in the air, opening her beak to fire thermal rays at the Chaos Antlar holding Gomess.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The rays struck the monster in succession, the explosions forcing it to release its grip in pain. Gomess was freed, though her form was becoming translucent—she was about to lose her fusion. Seeing this, Lithra dove from the sky without hesitation, tackling the Chaos Antlar. The two tumbled across the sand for hundreds of meters before coming to a halt. Gomess finally reverted to human form, but since Lithra had dragged the enemy five hundred meters away, other students were able to safely rescue her.
With the magnetic interference gone, Cosmos was back to a state of total dominance. The Chaos Antlar was being dismantled—a palm strike here, a punch there, a kick to the groin, and a whip-kick to the waist. After this flurry of strikes, the monster was reeling, looking as if it might collapse at any second.
Finally, seeing an opening, Cosmos formed a hand-blade and aimed for the Chaos Antlar's mandibles. In the next instant, the pair of sharp horns were severed and stuck into the sand.
As the Chaos Antlar retreated in agony, Cosmos appeared behind it and lifted it high into the air. The monster realized its peril, its limbs flailing comically in the void. Cosmos then heaved the beast upward with immense force.
As he did so, Cosmos crossed his left hand over his chest and held his right hand vertically by his ear. Full-moon energy began to coalesce in his right palm, forming a shimmering orb of light.
Moonlight Smash!
Although the Luna Mode specialized in defensive and special skills, it didn't mean it lacked offensive finishers. This move was the ultimate killing blow of the Luna Mode. With the energy gathered, Cosmos thrust his right hand toward the sky, firing a beam of golden energy that struck the Chaos Antlar dead center.
Three seconds later, Cosmos lowered his hand. In the air, as the energy permeated its body, golden cracks appeared all over the Chaos Antlar before it exploded into fragments!
He had eliminated one Chaos Antlar, but at the moment of the explosion, a cluster of multi-colored light flew out, making Cosmos pause. That light was none other than the Chaos Header.
On the other side, as the Chaos Antlar tackled by Lithra was attempting to throw her off, another cluster of colored energy flew out of it. With the Chaos Header gone, that Antlar's energy shriveled back to Class B. But it wasn't over; the monster's body began to tremble before it collapsed lifelessly onto the sand, eyes closing forever.
The two clusters of Chaos energy merged in mid-air. On their way, they struck Red King with a single blow, forcing Lu Bai out of his fusion.
In the next moment, the combined Chaos energy surged into the Class A Antlar leader. Its internal energy began to skyrocket, and its physical form underwent a radical mutation.
First, its brownish carapace turned a dark, volcanic red, radiating a sense of raw power. On the inside of its legs, where there should have been sharp blades, a row of dense, lethal spikes grew. Its spindly limbs began to fill out into something more monstrous and grotesque, sprouting an additional pair of long insect-like claws. The carapace on its back split open to reveal a pair of massive, transparent insect wings, granting it the power of flight. Finally, the single horn on its forehead transformed into the massive, singular horn of a rhinoceros beetle. Its mouth was no longer small; it became a gaping maw filled with rows of teeth like a Great White Shark.
Gansu TPC Outpost.
Lin Jing and the others stood up abruptly. On the side of the main screen, the energy level display showed a giant, flashing S. Everyone was stunned.
Principal Jiang's mouth hung open. He finally managed to speak: "It... it actually turned into a Class S monster!"
"Report!"
"Report!"
"Report!"
Suddenly, three operators spoke at once. Lin Jing looked over. "Speak!"
"In the Amazon, a massive swarm of unknown termites has gathered under the influence of the Chaos Header, spawning a Class S+ monster!"
"In the Himalayas, a Class S monster, Red King, has appeared!"
"On the Diaoyu Islands, King Tortoise and Queen Tortoise have seen their energy levels rise to Class S, bordering on Class SS!"
As the crisis reports flooded in, Lin Jing's heart tightened. He immediately ordered: "Quick! Activate Code T0211! Deploy all GUTS and Defense Force units from the border sectors!"
"Director, what about the Tengger Desert? Do we deploy the local GUTS and Defense units there?"
Lin Jing was about to give the order when a signal appeared. An operator reported: "Report! We are receiving an emergency transmission from the Imperial Headquarters."
Lin Jing thought for a moment, likely guessing who it was. "Patch it through."
The connection opened to show a man sitting at a desk. He looked quite mysterious and charismatic, but he didn't speak immediately. Instead, he was using scissors to prune a bonsai tree.
"Director Shajura, the situation is critical. If you have something to say, say it quickly." Seeing the man stay silent, Lin Jing issued a warning, his voice heavy with displeasure at the other's casual attitude.
Shajura stopped pruning and looked at Lin Jing. "I know everything that's happening. But the one in the desert... he can handle it. Don't interfere."
"Director Shajura, that is a Class S monster. Under the Chaos Header's influence, its energy has reached Class S-. Are you sure?" (From weakest to strongest: S, S-, S+, SS).
Lin Jing's voice was full of doubt. While the combat capabilities of Ye Feng's Ultraman Cosmos were beyond imagination, he didn't believe anyone could overcome such a massive gap in energy levels. This wasn't a novel; not everyone can fight above their rank.
Shajura merely smiled faintly. "Lin Jing, you are still underestimating the power of an Ultraman. Those guys... they can't be judged by common logic."
This statement made Lin Jing frown, completely unable to understand. Could the Ultraman race really shatter the barriers of energy levels? It seemed impossible. For a moment, he was filled with doubt regarding these "Ultramen."
"Don't worry. That fellow's power is more than just this. For now, just sit back and watch." After one more instruction, Shajura ended the call with a simple "See ya," and the screen returned to the Tengger Desert.
There, Lithra and Cosmos stood side-by-side. Both were looking at the Chaos Antlar before them with extreme caution.
"Class S energy, huh? This is going to be tricky."
Faced with a Class S monster for the first time, even Ye Feng wasn't entirely sure if he could win.
Back at the Imperial Headquarters, Shajura watched the three behemoths on the screen and whispered to himself: "So, how will you solve this now... Teacher?"
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