The others weren't faring much better, staring at the grotesque sight with churning stomachs.
[What the hell is this thing?!]
Long Yi wished he could punch it into oblivion.
[Damn it...]
Lu Shuishui cursed silently in her mind.
In the center of the formation was a creature that resembled nothing in particular.
More accurately, it was a glob of slime.
But this blob had eyeballs, octopus tentacles, and everything else imaginable, pieced together haphazardly. Not only was its appearance nauseating, but the smell it emitted was unbearable, a foul, fishy stench filling the air. Lu Shuishui couldn't take it anymore and clamped her nose shut, resorting to breathing through her mouth.
She'd rather suffocate than smell that odor!
Even the sea monsters surrounding the formation looked like they were struggling, their expressions filled with disgust.
"Why in the world… would they make us use something like this for the summoning?"
"Ah, there's no helping it. We're on opposing sides with those apostles now, so having anything to summon with is already pretty good."
"Shall we begin then?"
"Alright!"
[Everyone just hang on a bit longer. Let's see what they're summoning.]
Wang Zihao wasn't idle either. He circled around the corner and peeked from there.
A low chant began again.
A flash of blue light, and a naked sea monster began to emerge from the slime.
"Ugh..."
No, Lu Shuishui felt she couldn't watch anymore.
The scene was truly overwhelming.
"Gurgle—gurgle—"
"Act!"
At this shout, Wang Zihao directly yelled out.
They couldn't let this thing fully emerge!
"Someone's here?!"
"Thousand-Mile Ice Seal!"
Lu Shuishui was the first to leap down from the beam. As soon as she unleashed "Thousand-Mile Ice Seal," the sea monster, which was about to break free, was immediately frozen within the slime.
Strangely, the slime let out a "gurgling" sound, and the opening the sea monster had made slowly closed.
"Roar—!"
Finally, the sea monster, which had not fully emerged, let out a pained wail as it was directly severed in half by the slime!
And then, the blob of slime gradually swallowed the sea monster's remains…
"Fire!"
Long Yi roared, conjuring a ball of fire in his hand and slamming it into the jaw of one of the sea monsters.
"It's you guys?!"
Lu Sheng exclaimed in shock!
"What are you all standing around for?! Attack!"
In an instant, the scene descended into chaos.
Fireballs, ice shards, and mechanical drones attacked indiscriminately. It took a full ten minutes to eliminate all the sea monsters.
"What about this thing?"
Lu Shuishui pointed to the slime she had frozen on the ground.
"Just deal with it somehow," Long Yi waved his hand distractedly, annoyed.
Duan Chen watched from a distance, his brow already furrowed.
These people fought so chaotically, without any formation or plan. A few small sea monsters, even he, fighting alone, could have dealt with them in ten minutes. Yet, these four or five of them together took a full ten minutes!
It was simply too slow!
And the efficiency was too low!
If the enemy had been more numerous, they wouldn't necessarily have been defeated, but it would have dragged on much longer, possibly even twenty minutes!
Wang Zihao clearly realized this too. Before he could say anything, the slime on the ground, frozen by Lu Shuishui, began to bulge, looking like it was about to explode.
His expression changed.
"Everyone, get back!"
Long Yi reacted the fastest, pulling the girls back swiftly.
"Boom!"
After a loud explosion, the slime detonated, leaving a dent in the formation on the ground!
Liquid splattered, and the foul stench became even more pronounced.
"Let's get out of here first."
Wang Zihao covered his nose, also finding it unbearable.
"Damn it, what kind of grotesque thing is this."
Long Yi wished he could go home and take ten hot baths right now.
The girls felt even worse.
"The south side is dealt with, but I suspect there might be others in different directions. My suggestion is we split up."
Wang Zihao analyzed the situation logically.
"Long Yi, you're the strongest, guard the back of the temple. Lu Shuishui, you guard the west side. Tian Ximeng, you and Su Baiyi guard the east. I'll stay here. What do you think?"
"Okay!"
Everyone agreed without issue.
Wang Zihao breathed a sigh of relief, glancing subtly at Long Yi.
In the past, this guy would have been shouting loudly that those sea monsters were no match for him. Now, it seemed he had matured a bit.
"Hai Ren, you go with Lu Shuishui to guard the west. Nia, you go with Long Yi."
Duan Chen was still worried about unexpected situations, so he gave instructions.
"No problem."
When Lu Shuishui saw Hai Ren, she couldn't describe her feelings.
The two stared at each other, not knowing what to say.
Especially Hai Ren's peculiar way of walking, which made it difficult for her to look directly.
"Um... hello?"
Lu Shuishui was just scared; she didn't harbor any hostility.
Hai Ren opened her mouth.
"It's alright."
Lu Shuishui: ???
I say hello, and you tell me it's alright?!
She pouted.
"Oh... so tired. Can I lean on your shoulder?"
Hai Ren wasn't good at physical labor and wasn't suited to being exposed in broad daylight.
She was tired and hot.
"Then... you go ahead?"
Hai Ren was truly unceremonious. She quickly climbed over, clinging to Lu Shuishui's waist and shoulder.
Honestly, apart from having more limbs, she wasn't much different from a normal little girl, and her body was soft and quite comfortable.
Lu Shuishui was no longer as afraid of her.
"Can you grow taller?"
"Huh?"
She was taken aback.
"You're too short, I'm not used to it."
Well now, she's getting picky too?
Lu Shuishui found it both amusing and exasperating, and began to chat aimlessly with her.
...
Long Yi looked at the little creature in front of him, quite skeptical.
"You? The instructor sent you?"
His tone clearly showed disbelief.
"Hey, hey, hey! Be polite to your Lord Galot!"
Galot's appearance truly startled him.
"Galot, politeness."
Nia constantly reminded him of the importance of politeness, something his mother had taught him since childhood.
Unfortunately, Jia Yunlian wasn't here and, due to work, didn't have much time to accompany him at Duan Chen's place.
"Two people?"
Long Yi's gaze became curious.
"Hello. If you think I'm a burden, you don't have to mind me."
Nia possessed a calmness that didn't match his appearance. Besides, he was someone Duan Chen had sent…
Long Yi's intelligence was online for once.
However, the words he spoke were still not very pleasant.
"If you get hurt, don't go complaining to the instructor."
"I won't."
Nia glanced at him, recalling Duan Chen's instructions.
"If Long Yi is too impolite, you can let him know what it means when one man is not as good as another."
It seemed unnecessary now.