Chapter 568: Mutation

The elongated green creature approached Charles in a slow crawl. It parted its monstrous mouth bristled with sharp teeth and slurped at its blood-drenched fingers.

Upon reaching the third digit, which had a mangled ear still hanging from it, the creature stopped briefly before tossing the ear into its mouth and chewing with relish.

Witnessing the scene, Charles instinctively reached for his right ear, only to find nothing. All that remained was a bloody hole. He took a deep breath to steady himself before his body gradually vanished into thin air.

Unable to detect Charles in his invisible state, the elongated creature could only spin in its spot in confusion. Amid its frantic search, a long spike appeared before its eyes all of a sudden.

The sharp black spike slashed through the air like a hot knife slicing through tofu and severed much of the creature's mass in an instant.

Despite the major injury, however, the creature could still move. Green silk sprouted rapidly between its hands and shot out toward Charles.

However, Charles was quicker. Emerging from his invisible state, he lifted his right leg high and stomped down hard on the creature's neck. With a crisp snap, the creature went limp under his foot.

Having gotten rid of this nuisance, Charles dashed forward. Just when the distance between him and "King" had narrowed to a mere thirty meters, 134 dropped from the sky and landed on "King's" corpulent shoulder.

As Charles closed the gap between them, 134's lips twisted into a cruel smile.

"We meet again. This is the third time," 134 said, "I won't let you off this time."

"You're no match for me now," Charles retorted as he stared into her eyes.

134 let out a chuckle. "How arrogant… I know you have grown stronger, and that's why I brought so many helpers."

The warships had encircled the Narwhale, their decks crowded with Fhtagnists identifiable by the octopus tattoos on their faces. The Fhtagnists glared at them with hostility. Charles was stunned to see several Deep Dweller Elders among them; it baffled him how they had managed to reach the surface unnoticed.

Damn it. Is it too late?

Charles' heart sank as he assessed the situation. Clearly, his foes had considered every possibility to make the fullest preparation for this ambush. At this point, he started to brace himself for the worst.

Suddenly, the thud of galloping hooves rolled over the battlefield like thunder.

Crash!

Several spears that were thick as tree trunks and tethered with ropes pierced a warship with devastating force. The next moment, the ropes were pulled taut, and two towering vessels collided. The turbine chambers exploded upon impact, sending up a blaze of fire and black fumes of smoke.

From afar, Charles spotted reinforcements. There were over twenty gargantuan black horses pulling a colossal carriage that closely resembled a towering castle on wheels more than a carriage. The carriage was swiftly encircling the fray and was flanked by assorted vehicles and exploration ships.

Judging from the numbers, it seemed that every explorer in the vicinity had rallied. As the reinforcements launched their counterattack, the tide of battle swiftly turned. The besiegers became the besieged.

Seeing that the tides had turned, Margaret clutched her bleeding neck and leaped onto the insectile body of "King." She turned to 134 and roared, "Retreat! The ambush has failed!"

"Failed? No way! I never fail!" 134 screamed hysterically, "Everyone, gather! Play the Awakening Sonata!"

At 134's command, fear flickered across the corpulent face of "King." For the first time ever since he had appeared on the battlefield, he spoke, "177 forbids it!"

"177 has lost his mind! I'm in charge now! When I say play, we play!"

As soon as 134's words fell, a gray misty figure materialized next to her and raised a bone flute to its lips.

The elongated creature that had engaged with Charles previously slithered up next to them and lifted its multiple arms. Then, its green filaments tremble at a particular frequency.

Charles didn't need to know what they were planning, as he knew that it couldn't be good.

"Attack! Everyone, attack! We must stop them here!"

At Charles' command, the crew adjusted their target and charged toward 134.

Margaret swiftly positioned herself in front of 134 and blocked most of the incoming bullets with her own body. Her face was ablaze with fervor as she roared, "I said retreat! We agreed that I'm in command!"

"No! I'm so close to killing Charles to avenge myself! I must kill him! He took my islands—two of them!" 134's lips curved downward into a scowl; a mix of anger and wounded pride painted her face and eyes red.

With a sizzling crack, Charles' tentacles emitting electrical sparks swept through the air toward them but were intercepted by a swarm of insects that surged from "King," leaving a foul stench of charred flesh in the air.

Seeing that the situation was escalating into a crisis for them, Margaret turned to "King" and shouted fiercely, "Retreat if you don't want everyone to die here! Don't forget, your friends might die too!"

"King" turned to look at 134 with a confused and vacant gaze. Suddenly, he released his giant insectile limbs that had been clinging to the hull of the Narwhale and dug furiously into the ground.

Charles cast a lingering gaze at Margaret standing in the distance before transforming into a bat and departing from "King's" massive insectile form.

Clouds of dust billowed up, and a thick blanket of grit shrouded everyone's vision. When the dust had settled, they could only see a large, ominous hole in the earth.

The remaining warships that had been isolated and didn't manage to retreat were sandwiched between the Narwhale and the other exploration vessels. Devoid of any suspense, the battle quickly came to an end. All crew on board ended up as corpses.

On the semi-desert ground, Charles met up with the Haikors, who had come to his rescue. The Haikor's towering frame loomed over him imposingly. Charles looked up and extended his right hand in gratitude "Thank you. Thank you so much for your assistance."

The Haikor giant glanced at Charles silently. Ignoring Charles' extended hand, it turned and walked toward the massive, castle-like carriage.

At that moment, the other ship captains approached Charles. One young man among them spoke with a cheeky grin, "Governor Charles, there's no need to thank us. You should thank the person who notified us. If it hadn't been for them, we wouldn't have known that you were under attack."

A trace of surprise flickered across Charles' face.

"Someone notified you that I was under attack?" Charles asked.

The group nodded collectively. Some of them even hinted at wanting rewards for their timely intervention.

Their words left a twinge of suspicion stirring within Charles.

Who notified them? Could it be…

Margaret's face flashed across Charles' mind, but he dismissed the thought almost immediately. There was no feigning her overflowing murderous intent earlier.

"Why are you spacing out here?" Anna tiptoed to Charles' side. She was still wrapped in only a white towel. Her stunning beauty and alluring figure immediately attracted the lustful gazes of the explorers around.

Feeling the passionate gazes upon her, the corners of Anna's lips curled up into a seductive smile. She then let go of her grip on the towel, allowing it to slip off her body casually.

The sight underneath the towel had the explorers widening their eyes in shock and letting out involuntary gasps. Their hands instinctively reached for their weapons at their sides.

Their flustered expressions had Anna bursting into heaps of laughter as she placed an elbow on Charles' shoulder for support.

Just then, Charles recalled a detail. He turned to face Anna and asked, "Why didn't you finish off Margaret earlier? With your current strength, it should have been an easy job."

"Oh my, that little lass has gotten much tougher," Anna replied. One of her tentacles reached down to the ground to gracefully retrieve a towel before wrapping it around her monstrous torso. "It's not as easy now."