Chapter 162 - 144: Enemies in the Water
Chapter 162: Chapter 144: Enemies in the Water
The group dove steeply, quickly descending to an altitude of about a hundred meters.
"That way," the captain called out, spotting a river in the distance.
Their eyes lit up at his words.
Both the Gray Bean Doves and Storm Eagles were Flying Pet Beasts; plunging into the water would undoubtedly cripple their combat effectiveness.
The captain had realized this, and so had everyone else.
THUMP THUMP THUMP...
SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH...
Seeing their chance, they stopped hesitating. Pushing their suits to the limit, they plunged into the water one after another.
The moment they hit the water, everyone recalled their Pet Beasts to their Beast Taming Spaces.
Perhaps due to their jobs, the captain and the two cabin crew members had all contracted Flying Pet Beasts.
Li Qian could understand that.
After all, for those working on a Flying Ship, a contracted Flying Pet Beast would undoubtedly prove invaluable in a crisis.
While it was expected that the three crew members had contracted Flying Pet Beasts, it was somewhat surprising to Li Qian that the beautiful woman had as well.
After all, most Beast Masters sought to build a balanced and versatile team of Pet Beasts.
It was rare for a Beast Master to exclusively contract Pet Beasts of a single type.
’What a coincidence,’ he couldn’t help but think.
Entering an unfamiliar body of water, Li Qian dared not be careless and immediately summoned his Frostfire Salamander.
Although the Frostfire Salamander’s attributes were Ice and Fire, it was an amphibious Extraordinary Creature, so entering the water wouldn’t affect its combat effectiveness in the slightest.
As for the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, that went without saying.
The moment they were submerged, the five of them instinctively gathered together. Their five mecha suits moved through the water without any issue.
Clearly, the mecha had been designed with such situations in mind.
When they saw the glowing Summoning Array and the sudden appearance of the Frostfire Salamander, their faces filled with delight.
They had all recalled their Pet Beasts to their Beast Taming Spaces. Even if they hadn’t, their beasts would have little combat effectiveness in the water. Now, their only hope rested on this young man’s two Pet Beasts.
The beautiful woman in their group was no ordinary Beast Master; she had a sharp eye.
She quickly identified the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, though she didn’t immediately recognize the Frostfire Salamander due to its rarity.
Nevertheless, it was enough to make her shoot Li Qian a surprised glance.
Judging solely from the auras emanating from the two beasts, they were undoubtedly rare Pet Beasts with impressive Potential.
This also suggested that the young man himself was no ordinary person.
Despite her surprise, the beautiful woman didn’t hesitate, moving directly toward Li Qian’s position.
After the group reconvened, Li Qian felt a little lost, unsure of what to do next. Just then, the captain’s voice came through his earpiece. "We’ll stick to the bottom."
Everyone heard his voice, and it was as if they had found their pillar of support. They instinctively followed the captain’s lead and dove toward the riverbed.
Since they were all wearing Mecha Battle Armor, diving to the riverbed was not a difficult task.
"Wait." However, just as they were about to dive to the riverbed, a clear female voice suddenly rang out.
Their Mecha Battle Armor had already established a local communication network. The speaker was none other than the beautiful woman who had been sitting diagonally in front of Li Qian.
The woman’s sudden warning caught the others off guard.
"There’s something on the riverbed!" the woman’s voice echoed in their headsets again.
"What is it?" the captain asked, turning toward the woman.
"A Pet Beast! One with an Energy Intensity of at least Dominator Level!" There was an anxious edge to the woman’s voice.
"At least Dominator Level?" the captain repeated, his voice filled with doubt.
His doubt was understandable; he had complete confidence in his Active Metal Mecha Battle Armor.
’The armor’s sensors haven’t picked up any energy fluctuations. If the suit didn’t find anything, how could she possibly have?’
’Even if her Beast Taming Talent is Energy Perception, it can’t be more powerful than this Mecha Battle Armor...’
That’s what the captain thought.
However, he still trusted the woman—they had fought side-by-side, after all. "Head this way," he ordered. "It’s the closest path to the shore."
If there was a Pet Beast in the water—and a Dominator Level one at that—they had to assume it was hostile.
Besides, trespassing on a wild Pet Beast’s territory was an extremely dangerous act to begin with.
At the captain’s command, the five of them propelled themselves as fast as they could in the direction he pointed.
The Mecha Battle Armor was incredibly fast underwater, no slower than an ordinary Water-type Pet Beast. And that was to say nothing of the Frostfire Salamander and Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon.
In truth, Li Qian had believed the beautiful woman the moment she mentioned an Overlord-level Pet Beast.
His belief wasn’t born from trust in the woman, but from his understanding of the Black Divine Teachings.
If the Black Divine Teachings were truly determined to launch an attack, it wouldn’t be such an anticlimactic affair.
A simple plunge into a river wouldn’t be enough to escape them.
"It’s coming straight for us! And there’s more than one—I can sense at least two of them."
The woman perceived that as they changed course, the pursuing energy signatures followed suit.
It was undeniable proof: whatever these things were, they were coming straight for their group.
’Or, to be more precise, they’re coming for me,’ the woman thought.
’Among everyone here, I’m the most valuable target.’
As it turned out, Li Qian was thinking the exact same thing.
At that very moment, Li Qian was also wondering to himself.
’Could this attack by the Black Divine Teachings be aimed at me?’
’After all, I did foil one of their operations, save the Sparrow-tailed Fish, and get my hands on a Demon Core that probably came from them.’
’It’s not impossible that they’ve gone to all this trouble just to deal with me.’
"It really is Dominator Level!" The captain’s voice suddenly came over the comms. By now, his Mecha Battle Armor had also detected the closest energy fluctuation.
The energy fluctuation was indeed at the Dominator Level, though the suit hadn’t detected the enemy that was further away.
His expression was grave, but he couldn’t help but admire the female passenger’s incredible perception.
Li Qian’s Mecha Battle Armor detected the energy fluctuation as well, and his brow furrowed deeply.
The situation was incredibly precarious. With their current strength, it seemed all they could do was struggle to hold on and wait for backup...
This feeling of powerlessness washed over Li Qian once again, leaving him frustrated and at a loss for words.