Chapter 163. Tunneling Shield

Clinging to a cliff face for a brief respite, Charles' eyes widened in terror as he watched the monstrous entity descend. The creature's size rivaled that of a tunnel-boring machine.

As the entity grew closer, Charles picked up more details. An amalgamation of black chitinous plates, purple tendons, and viscous, bloodied tissues, the creature bore a striking resemblance to a colossal tunnel-boring machine

Insectile legs the size of small houses protruded from its sides and gripped the surrounding rock walls as the Shielder scaled downward. Below its mass, compound eyes glowed like spotlight beams at the bottom of a fathomless abyss.

The remaining surviving mantises arched their glowing abdomens upward and formed a lotus-like formation as they clung to the leviathan creature.

A quivering, whale-like hum sounded from the web of living tissues on the Shielder. Charles could feel the emotions underlying the sounds. The entity was mourning over the death of the mantises.

Gulp.

Charles swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva. The newcomer had yet to make a move, but an icy chill raced down his spine whenever its compound eyes scanned over him.

The appearance of the Shielder didn't just physically shroud them; the dread it imposed also loomed over the hearts and hopes of everyone present.

"Governor, didn't the Divine Light Order mention that there were only some indigenous flying creatures? What in the world is that thing?" a terrified helicopter pilot shouted at Charles.

The same question plagued Charles' mind. Why had this creature come out to hinder their advance just when they were so close to the surface?

However, Charles knew it wasn't the time for him to question and lament over his circumstances. Regardless of what that thing was, he had to get it out of the way. If they retreated now, no one knew how long it would take to assemble another sizable aerial fleet to make their ascent.

He had waited far too long—he was done waiting.

"Everyone, ascend!" With a flap of his wings, Charles surged upward toward the Shielder.

Just when the distance between Charles and the Shielder had decreased to twenty or so meters, the mantises clinging to the surface of the leviathan monster fluttered their transparent wings once more. The vibrations of their wings morphed into an understandable subterranean language.

"Surface dweller, haven't you caused enough disaster upon all species?"

Charles stopped mid-flight and hovered. "I don't know what you're talking about! I live above! I'm just going home!'

"Surface dweller, you can't be from above. Your kind above has vanished with the disaster!"

"Stop it with all these riddles! What disaster are you talking about? What happened above?! Fucking talk in human language!" Annoyed and frustrated, Richard suddenly burst out.

The mantises offered no response. Instead, they swiftly scattered and brandished their scythe-like forelimbs and stared at Charles.

With the sight before him, Charles knew that there was nothing else left to be said. He bellowed downward, "Fire!!"

A cacophony of gunshots and cannon fire roared once again. Purple blood splattered across the Shielder's fleshy surface, only for the wounds to heal in the blink of an eye. Its regenerative powers were astoundingly strong.

The Shielder quivered, and its whale-like hum sharply increased in pitch. Its insectile legs anchoring it to the cliffs retracted synchronously. Like a free-falling elevator, its colossal mass plunged downward at a terrifying speed.

No one had expected such an attack. Charles and his aerial fleet plummeted downward upon impact with the monster.

The rotating helicopter blades sliced against the Shielder, sending sprays of blood and living tissue into the air. However, the monster appeared unfazed and showed no reaction. Perhaps it couldn't feel pain.

Fortunately, the remaining dozens of airships played a crucial role at this critical moment. The buoyancy of their air balloons greatly offset the Shielder's assault and stopped the fleet from being slammed into oblivion.

Realizing that it was halted mid-descent, scythe-like appendages, resembling those sported by the mantises, sprang from beneath the Shielder.

Unlike the mantises, where their razor-sharp scythes were attached to their forelimbs, these scythes were attached to long tendrils speckled with black dots.

The tendrils lashed out like a whip, slashing through the air and piercing through the airships' air balloons. Anything that was in its path, be it human or machine, was cleaved into two.

Charles attempted to lead the group in a counterattack, but it was futile.

Any wounds caused by bullets or cannon projectiles healed within seconds. Faced with the tentacle attacks of the relentless disc-shaped creature, the remaining forces had no choice but to retreat.

Once again, they were pushed out of the crevice.

For some reason, the Shielder halted its advancement upon reaching the tunnel's entrance. It seemed unable or unwilling to pursue them beyond the rift. Stuck at the entrance of the rift, its tendrils flailed aimlessly like a jellyfish.

With his brows furrowed together, Charles observed the monster lodged at the entrance of the crevice. He knew that he had to eliminate it to complete his ascent.

After observing it carefully for several moments, a plan sparked in Charles' mind, and he immediately issued orders to the remaining fleet.

"Divide into three groups. Focus fire on its left first. Its body is supported by those six thick legs. If we destroyed those legs, it wouldn't be able to hold up its massive weight."

The disciples on the airships nodded in affirmation. However, the helicopters ignored Charles' command and started to descend.

Charles darted toward the nearest helicopter and roared in fury, "What are you doing?! We're at the most critical juncture, and you're fleeing?"

The roar of the spinning rotor blades drowned out most other sounds. Over the din, the pilot shouted at the top of his lungs, "Look below! Governor Swann had signaled for us to retreat. We have to turn back!"

Hearing the pilot's words, Charles looked down and noticed the steamships beneath had formed the semaphore for retreat with their searchlights.

While Charles was questioning the helicopter pilot before him, the remaining helicopters had already descended. Now, all that was left hovering near the crevice's entrance was him and twenty over airships.

Success had seemed plausible earlier, but with their diminished numbers, it appeared to be a suicide mission if they were to take the monstrous being head-on.

Under normal circumstances and a reasonable assessment of their current state, the mission could be considered a failure.

However, Charles was unwilling to give up.

He parted his monstrous maws and roared to the airships hovering around him. "Your Pope has ordered you to follow my commands. Will you obey without questions?"

"Yes!" The disciples erupted in a unified voice.

Charles struggled with his next step. There was one final, risk-laden strategy he had devised. Yet, it was one that he found hard to impose on the aerial fleet to carry through.

However, the thought of the surface world being just within reach further steeled his resolve. A look of unwavering determination settled into Charles' eyes.

"Gather all explosives. The plan is...."

Several minutes later, the remaining fleet of twenty-odd airships started to move and inched toward the edge of the rift.

A brutal aerial battle unfolded. The Shielder's scythes lashed out and punctured any air balloon within its reach and sent the attached vessels plunging disastrously to the waters beneath.

The disciples had prepared themselves for the impending attack. Every crew member aboard the airships held a barrel of explosives in their hands, their gazes eyeing the Shielder's thick, column-like legs as they drew near.

The creature's scythes danced in the air, seeking to slash anything within their reach.

However, the disciples had deliberately shortened the fuses on the explosives. The moment a tendril ventured too close, they would decisively detonate the explosives without hesitation.

Every explosion sent a shudder through Charles. Each blast was a reminder that a life had been lost—a death that was commanded by him.

"I don't care! I'm too close for me to turn back now! I have to return! I've waited long enough!" Charles screamed hysterically, his eyes ablaze with an intense—almost maniac determination.