Chapter 281: Chapter 254: Your Mission Target Is Under Attack

Out on the sea, a long, slender head broke the surface.

It tilted its head to the sky and let out a piercing howl.

Even from so far away, its sharp, high-pitched cry was faintly audible.

"A Snake-necked Dragon!"

Someone recognized it and couldn’t help but shout in excitement.

Zou Jianghe stood on the rooftop, his expression grim. He suspected this was the very Snake-necked Dragon that had killed He Biao and the others.

Qin Ziwen soared into the sky on his Beaked Eagle.

He headed toward the Snake-necked Dragon. It was rare to see a Giant Beast from the sea surface, so he decided to get a closer look and observe it first.

The closer he flew, the more Qin Ziwen felt something was wrong.

He had been too far away to see clearly before. But now, looking down from the sky at a closer distance...

He realized there seemed to be more than one Giant Beast here!

Besides the Snake-necked Dragon, there was another massive, dark Giant Beast.

Most of its enormous body was hidden beneath the murky, dark blue surface of the sea.

He could only catch a glimpse.

From what he could see, the other Giant Beast appeared to be even larger than the Snake-necked Dragon.

Only then did he discover that the two marine Giant Beasts were locked in a fight to the death!

Based on their shapes, the one with the long neck had to be the Snake-necked Dragon.

The other one was much bulkier.

It looked a bit like Godzilla, its body covered in thick, mottled black scales.

It was larger and stockier than the Snake-necked Dragon, over thirty meters long, like a living mountain.

"BOOM!!!"

The surface of the sea exploded.

A massive, broad head, like a reef come to life, burst from the water. Its giant maw, filled with terrifyingly sharp teeth, was clamped down on the Snake-necked Dragon’s thick neck.

Its horrific bite force was unleashed in an instant.

The muffled CRUNCH of its jaws snapping shut echoed across the water.

Blood sprayed everywhere as the Snake-necked Dragon’s neck bent at an unnatural angle.

The beast leaped from the water, the Snake-necked Dragon’s neck still in its jaws, and crashed back into the ocean with its prey, sending a colossal wave dozens of meters high into the air.

The heavy ripples spread out, taking a long time to fade.

Qin Ziwen recognized this Giant Beast—it was the Mosasaurus from the Level 2 Task!

At that moment, only a single thought remained in his mind.

’Your task target is attacking another task target!’

’Holy shit, don’t tell me that’s the only Snake-necked Dragon in this whole area!’

’If it’s gone, doesn’t that mean I’m just short one task?’

On the surface, the Mosasaurus’s thick armor occasionally broke the water as its massive body tore at the Snake-necked Dragon’s corpse, performing a death roll.

The water churned violently, refusing to calm, as a huge cloud of crimson stained the ocean red.

He had heard from Wang Yun that among the ancient marine Giant Beasts of Earth, the Mosasaurus was special.

This was because the Mosasaurus’s ancestors were small, land-dwelling lizards.

It was one of the most successful cases of a vertebrate "returning to the sea."

Although its limbs had evolved into flippers, it still retained a degree of keratinous scales on its back.

When it opened its mouth just now, its upper and lower jaws opened incredibly wide. This was different from most fish and more like a crocodile!

The Mosasaurus’s mouth seemed specifically evolved for hunting giant prey.

"What a shame," Qin Ziwen said with some regret.

They didn’t have any suitable weapons right now; this Mosasaurus was just too big.

It was far larger than the Tyrannosaurus he’d seen on the last map.

’On the current dinosaur leaderboard, this one would probably rank first for now.’

Even a Giant Rock Dragon wouldn’t necessarily be safe against a Mosasaurus if it fell into the water or was near the shore.

When a creature’s size reached a certain point...

...even being Extraordinary might not be enough.

The Extraordinary state only breaks the limits of one’s own species. If a species’ original upper limit was already very high, becoming Extraordinary would only make it more terrifying.

Qin Ziwen thought of the Tyrannosaurus. If an adult Tyrannosaurus could also break through to the Extraordinary state, it would probably become a true killing machine.

"Let’s go. We’re heading back for now," Qin Ziwen signaled for the Beaked Eagle to return.

At present, they had no viable way of dealing with this Mosasaurus.

Although Home had a completed twelve-meter wooden boat, in front of the Mosasaurus...

...it would probably capsize the boat with a single leap.

After witnessing the Mosasaurus’s size, Qin Ziwen suddenly felt that even a twenty-meter iron-hulled ship might not be safe.

’If I could mix Ghost Gold into the outer iron plates and raise its Defense Power by another two levels, maybe then we’d have a chance to protect ourselves.’

However, the Mosasaurus had just finished a hunt and was now busy eating the Snake-necked Dragon. This was a good opportunity to go into the sea and explore the surrounding seabed.

Back at Home, Qin Ziwen summoned the core members of the Hunting Team.

"Who here can’t swim?"

No one raised their hand.

After learning that this map was an Island, even those who couldn’t swim had been secretly practicing.

No one wanted to be left behind.

Qin Ziwen emphasized solemnly, "Let me repeat myself. We are going into the sea this time. If you’re not a strong swimmer, it will be very dangerous. When it comes to a critical moment, the only person you can rely on is yourself."

Yuan Dajun smiled. "Chief, we were prepared for this when we came."

The others all nodded silently.

"Alright. Since you’re all ready, let’s prepare to move out. Go get your gear."

He took out sixty units of Deep Sea Oxygen, three for each person.

Next came the underwater weapons provided by the Military Equipment Supervisor: fish spears and twenty sets of Sand Worm Armor.

Testing had shown that due to its lightness, the Sand Worm Armor was not only waterproof but also very light, making it suitable for underwater use.

There were also three One-Handed Crossbows and sixty Tipped Arrows.

The group went to the shore and swallowed two units of Deep Sea Oxygen. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

They kept one hidden on their person.

In the last three minutes before the Deep Sea Oxygen ran out, they would receive a notification. This also served as a way to keep track of time underwater.

They would take the last one just before the effect of the second one was about to end.

An hour should be enough time to guarantee a safe return to the surface.

"Our objective is to first conduct a survey of the surrounding seabed. So far, we haven’t found the altar, and I suspect that on this map, the altar might be located underwater." Qin Ziwen hadn’t forgotten that one of the visions he saw was of the seabed.

"SPLASH~"

"SPLASH!"

One by one, the team members jumped into the sea.

The seawater instantly enveloped them—cold, salty, and heavy with pressure.

Almost everyone instinctively shut their eyes and held their breath the moment they hit the water.

However, the expected feeling of suffocation never came.

Tentatively, they carefully opened their eyes.

They stretched out their hands, swimming curiously beneath the surface.

One person began to sink toward the seabed and quickly kicked their legs, squirming awkwardly in the water.

Qin Ziwen gripped his Fish Spear and walked toward the bottom.

The island reef was surrounded by a sloping seabed.

From a certain perspective, the island reef was actually like a mountain growing in the sea.

Most of the mountain was submerged, with only its peak jutting out above the surface.

As far as the eye could see, the surroundings were filled with large coral reefs and hidden shoals.

From time to time, schools of fish could be seen darting through them.

Underwater, some crabs brandished their claws threateningly.

A few octopuses glided silently along the sandy bottom.

It was a novel sight they had never witnessed before. Many of them had never even been diving, so everything around them felt new and exciting.

The group continued to descend along the seabed.

But soon, they discovered a problem.

The deeper they went, the darker their surroundings became.

...

...