The leader of the Giant Crocturtles had reached the high echelon of the seventh tier.
This behemoth, with a shell diameter of a full sixteen meters, resembled a small mountain. Each step it took shook the earth, as it stood confronting a Tremorboar skeleton in battle.
The Tremorboar skeleton, about eighteen meters in length, seemed much smaller compared to the Giant Crocturtle leader.
The gaze of these two colossal creatures met.
Thud, thud, thud!
The Tremorboar skeleton charged forward with large strides, its long protruding tusks sharp as bone spears, aiming straight for the Giant Crocturtle leader's head, crushing and killing many ordinary Giant Crocturtles along the way.
Unwilling to show weakness, the Giant Crocturtle leader also charged toward the Tremorboar.
The next second, the two behemoths collided fiercely.
Crash!
The Giant Crocturtle leader lowered its body, retracting its head into its shell, using the shell to withstand the Tremorboar skeleton's bony tusks. The tusks, capable of destroying metal and steel, only left white marks upon contact with the shell's plates, unable to penetrate.
Woo!
The Giant Crocturtle leader let out a low roar and continued to advance.
With each step it took, the Tremorboar skeleton was forced to step back, clearly overpowered by the Giant Crocturtle leader.
Crash! The Tremorboar skeleton stomped fiercely, its limbs almost sinking into the ground. Mud, rocks, and other materials clung to its bones as if forming its 'flesh', increasing its weight and strength. Finally, under the Giant Crocturtle leader's assault, it stopped retreating, and the two stood locked in a stalemate.
Meanwhile, the war between other creatures and sea beasts continued.
The Yellow Crystal Earth Dragon curled into a boulder shape, its body ablaze with fire, rolling continuously and crushing Giant Crocturtles into fragments. A sixth-tier Giant Crocturtle elite, about twelve meters in diameter, intercepted the Yellow Crystal Earth Dragon but was no match for it. It wasn't long before its shell was smashed, and it was killed.
Illum, with a fiery red body, hovered mid-air, spitting out explosive fireballs at the water-attributed Giant Crocturtles, blasting them in all directions. Like a fireball turret, its firepower was fierce, even surpassing that of other Shaper Casters of the same tier.
A fifth-tier Giant Crocturtle noticed Illum, raising its crocodile-like ferocious head and opening its mouth wide.
Inside its mouth, a high-speed spinning, highly compressed water orb was brewing. Any splintered stones that entered the Giant Crocturtle's mouth were instantly ground to dust upon contact with the water orb.
Locking onto the 'fireball turret' in the air, the Giant Crocturtle was about to launch a sneak attack with the water orb.
Just then, a flash of lightning silver light circled the Giant Crocturtle's neck and vanished in a flash.
The Giant Crocturtle's body stiffened, and crimson blood spurted from the gash on its neck. The high-pressure water orb it had been brewing in its mouth became unstable and exploded, blowing its head apart.
The Black Shark moved with incredible speed, weaving through the sluggish Giant Crocturtles like a fish in water, a flash of lightning. Before the Giant Crocturtles could retract their heads into their shells, the Black Shark tore open their necks with the force of thunder.
The Skeleton Ulg was not large, but with a flap of its bone wings, it circled in the air, occasionally diving down swiftly. Its bone spear pierced through the heads of Giant Crocturtles that couldn't dodge in time.
Many Tiger Sharks, Lanternfishman slaves, and Undead creatures were also engaged in fierce combat with the Giant Crocturtles.
However, the number of this Giant Crocturtle group was indeed vast.
With the surging waves, more Giant Crocturtles continuously landed on the coastal areas of Moon Bay.
Moments later, accompanied by a deep roar, amidst the churning waves, another high-tier Giant Crocturtle leader with an eighteen-meter shell diameter appeared, striding onto the island and wreaking havoc.
The Yellow Crystal Earth Dragon, having just killed a fifth-tier Giant Crocturtle, confronted this high-tier leader, entangling with it.
The Yellow Crystal Earth Dragon pounced onto the Giant Crocturtle leader's back, stood upright, and clenched its fists together. Materialized magma and flames appeared on its hands, then it slammed down hard on the Giant Crocturtle leader.
Boom!
The massive recoil caused the Yellow Crystal Earth Dragon to shudder. The ridges on the Giant Crocturtle leader's shell moved, shooting upwards like giant spikes, forcing the Yellow Crystal Earth Dragon to jump off the Giant Crocturtle leader's back.
After a few brief exchanges, the Yellow Crystal Earth Dragon was sent flying far away.
It roared in anger, shook its head, and charged at the Giant Crocturtle leader again, but it was clearly outmatched.
"This is bad, we've encountered a Giant Crocturtle group with two boss leaders," the Demon Warlock thought to himself, scratching his skull atop the Tremorboar skeleton in the chaotic battlefield.
Giant Crocturtles, with their immense defensive power and numbers, once set their sights on an island, would aggressively drive away or kill the creatures there, not easily deterred.
"However, if they suffer significant losses without taking the island and the cost becomes too high, they will not persist."
"Still, our casualties will likely be horrendous."
"Let's try to kill one high-tier leader first; maybe that will make them retreat."
The Demon Warlock's eyes glowed eerily, the green fire of his soul flickering as he chanted spells.
At the same time, vague shadows rose from the corpses of Giant Crocturtles, Tiger Sharks, Lanternfishmen, and others, converging in front of the Demon Warlock. They were gathered by the invisible power of Necromancy, forming a bucket-sized ethereal skull mark, which upon closer inspection, was composed of countless smaller skulls.
Sixth-tier Necromancy Spell: Soul Devour!
After more than a year of recuperation, the Demon Warlock could now barely cast a sixth-tier spell, but would need time to recover his Magic Power after each use.
After another collision between the Tremorboar skeleton and the Giant Crocturtle leader.
The Demon Warlock seized the opportunity, stretching out a bony hand and pointing at the Giant Crocturtle leader.
The skull mark flew out instantly, branding itself onto the Giant Crocturtle leader. It touched the iron-hard shell but was not blocked; instead, it eerily merged into it.
After a moment of silence, a tremendous wail of agony erupted.
As if in extreme pain, the Giant Crocturtle leader's head, limbs, and short tail twisted and convulsed, then whooshed back into its shell, with keratinous armor falling to seal the shell's openings.
"Crush it!" the Demon Warlock commanded, urging the Tremorboar skeleton to maximize its output.
The Tremorboar skeleton raised its upper body, and its legs, covered in layers of mud and rock, smashed down on the Giant Crocturtle leader, causing the ground to shake violently and collapse. Yet, the shell remained unbroken.
Then it opened its jaws and aimed a Ground Light Wave at the Giant Crocturtle.
A beam of earthy energy hit the Giant Crocturtle's shell, subjecting it to a massive impact. The ground beneath it collapsed layer by layer, with numerous cracks spreading.
However, when the Ground Light Wave ended, although the Giant Crocturtle's shell bore a dent and was surrounded by cracks, it stubbornly did not shatter.
Among all high-tier sea beasts, the Giant Crocturtles were absolutely at the forefront in terms of defense.
Moments later, as the effect of Soul Devour ended, the Giant Crocturtle leader let out a low growl, its head emerging from the shell, its eyes blood-red as if it had entered a berserk state.
Whoosh!
Its shell began to spin, lifting off the ground.
Hiss, hiss, hiss!
Powerful water jets erupted from the shell's limb holes, sweeping the surroundings. Even the Tremorboar skeleton was forced to retreat repeatedly.
"Instead of retreating, they've been thoroughly enraged," the Demon Warlock felt a headache coming on.
Two high-tier Giant Crocturtles, along with numerous elite and ordinary Giant Crocturtles, posed a huge problem.
The Yellow Crystal Earth Dragon was no match for the high-tier Giant Crocturtle leader, who gradually penetrated deeper into the battlefield, causing more casualties among the creatures. The Tremorboar skeleton could hold its own against another Giant Crocturtle leader, but it couldn't overcome the one with the abnormal defense. As for the ordinary creatures, killing the ordinary Giant Crocturtles was not easy either.
Time passed, and night fell.
The tide of battle began to lean towards the unfavorable.
At the same time, as the Giant Crocturtles grew impatient from not being able to take the island for a long time, they became more irritable and aggressive. This was the critical step in resisting the Giant Crocturtle horde; afterward, they would retreat on their own.
"Sigh, the casualties this time are expected to be severe," the Black Shark thought heavily as it twisted the neck of an ordinary Giant Crocturtle.
It set its sights on an elite Giant Crocturtle, ready to move, when it suddenly paused, then its eyes brightened, turning to look towards Gem Peak.
A familiar and profound aura quietly spread.
All the creatures felt a surge of inspiration.
"Our lord has awakened," the Black Shark grinned, roaring, "Kill! If these Giant Crocturtles don't want to leave, then let them all stay!"
The war continued, with the creatures fighting the Giant Crocturtles without retreat, their morale soaring once again.
Meanwhile, deep within the mines beneath Gem Peak.
The True Dragon, silent for a long time, opened its eyes. A pair of golden dragon pupils shone brightly in the dim mine, like two golden lamps.
Whoosh!
The sound of dragon wings flapping resounded, a gust carrying dust and stones arose, and the sound of scales rubbing against rock filled the mine tunnel.
The mine tunnel, once spacious, now seemed rather cramped for the awakening creature.
After a brief silence.
A golden dragon shadow, accompanied by a fierce wind, burst out of the mine and soared into the sky, reaching thousands of meters in an instant.
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas