In the rear, inside the institute, everyone crowded around multiple monitors.
"The big fish is moving very fast. It is about 3 nautical miles away from Target Location 1."
"All instrument operating parameters are normal."
After the dawn of the Dungeon Era, Daxia's exploration of the ocean had come to a halt.
For the first fifty years, there was still a fishing industry in the coastal areas. But later, the presence of the sea race turned the ocean into a complete forbidden zone.
Fortunately, the dungeon cores obtained after clearing dungeons provided Daxia with many secret realm spaces.
Most of these secret realms contained freshwater sources like lakes, which somewhat compensated for the loss of the actual oceans.
Kunpeng entering the sea was not only to detect the situation of the sea race but also to carry out the task of surveying the state of the ocean itself.
Among the detection instruments on its body, three were used to test various chemical indicators and biological conditions of the seawater.
Two others were used to record the types of sea race encountered and analyze their strength.
Soon, Kunpeng arrived at Target Location 1.
This was a small outpost built by the naga race, with the primary responsibility of monitoring the land to the east, which was Daxia.
"That big guy is so hideous. I have never seen it before. Is it a species from the New Realm?"
The nagas in the outpost also discovered Kunpeng.
"Probably. There shouldn't be any creatures that look like that in the Water Realm. It is so ugly that it definitely doesn't have the Sea God's blessing. Only the New Realm would have something like this."
A tall, high-level naga interrupted the conversation of the lower nagas: "You lot, go and drive that freakish sea beast away. Don't let it enter the outpost. The priest just finished building the sacrificial altar a few days ago. If it gets damaged or broken, I will pull out your bones to repair it!"
As he spoke, he hurled the steel fork in his hand, which slammed into the ground right in front of the lower nagas. Terrified, they scrambled to grab their weapons and swam toward Kunpeng.
"Hmph, the Tyrant faction is just pure violence. The old priest was much better; at least he didn't threaten us like this."
"Shh, do you want to die? I still want to live a bit longer. Now that the Tyrant has become king, the old priest has been branded a traitor naga for consorting with demons. Watch your words. Otherwise, if that guy hears you, we will all become materials for the altar."
The group of nagas whispered among themselves as they closed in on Kunpeng.
One of the nagas raised its hands and cast a charm magic at Kunpeng, attempting to temporarily bewitch it and force it to leave.
Unexpectedly, the moment the charm magic hit Kunpeng, it opened its massive maw. A terrifying suction force erupted from its mouth, resembling an abyss.
In an instant, the entire naga squad was swallowed into Kunpeng's stomach.
Not only did the charm magic fail to control Kunpeng, but its effects actually made Kunpeng mistake these nagas for delicious food, leading it to swallow them whole.
After devouring the naga squad, Kunpeng continued to slowly submerge into the naga outpost according to Chen Xu's instructions.
It was completely unaware that its previous actions had already drawn the attention of the other nagas in the outpost.
A steel fork shot through the water at high speed, striking Kunpeng's head, but it failed to leave even a scratch.
Kunpeng sensed the aura of the nagas from it and, thinking it was more food, opened its mouth slightly to suck the steel fork inside.
The high-level naga in the distance saw its weapon being eaten by this unknown sea beast and was instantly consumed by rage. It pulled out a conch and blew it.
Immediately, all the nagas in the outpost swam out, gathering beside the high-level naga.
At the high-level naga's command, they all swarmed toward Kunpeng.
Seeing so much food, Kunpeng's eyes lit up. It flicked its tail and swam toward the naga swarm.
The distance between the two sides closed rapidly. The nagas began casting spells or throwing weapons.
Kunpeng made no other move, simply keeping its massive mouth open. It swallowed the spells, the weapons, and the nagas themselves, gulping everything down.
"Sea God above, what kind of monster is this hideous sea beast!"
The last remaining high-level naga in the outpost was also terrified by Kunpeng.
Based on their previous encounters, the native large sea beasts of the New Realm, such as whales, only ate tiny shrimp and fish. This was why they hadn't been afraid when they first saw Kunpeng.
The high-level naga was still frozen in place, but Kunpeng had already spotted its location. Sensing there was one last piece of food, Kunpeng flicked its tail powerfully, shooting out an air bubble.
With a whistle, it arrived inside the outpost.
By the time the naga reacted, all it saw was a mouth like a deep abyss waiting for it.
After clearing out the nagas in the outpost, Kunpeng followed Chen Xu's orders and began destroying the small houses the nagas had built.
Kunpeng thrust its tail deep into the seabed and lunged forward with sudden force, kicking up countless sand and stones that swept toward the naga dwellings.
With a single strike, all the houses were knocked down. Inside one of the slightly larger rooms, an altar was revealed.
"Chen Xu, the energy fluctuations from that altar-like object are very strange. Can your summoned creature bring it back?" Wei Qian's voice came through the remote control.
"I will try. But Kunpeng's stomach seems to be one-way only. I will see if it can carry it in its mouth and bring it back."
After replying to Wei Qian, Chen Xu gave the command to Kunpeng, telling it to carefully hold the altar in its mouth.
Kunpeng didn't understand why Chen Xu wanted it to bite something that didn't look like food, but the loyalty deep within its soul meant it would never question his orders.
It opened its massive mouth and took the altar along with the sand beneath it into its maw, then began swimming back toward Daxia.
At the same time, Wei Qian and the others notified the soldiers at the coastal defense line to help receive the altar.
But before Kunpeng had even swum a nautical mile, the altar in its mouth suddenly burst with a blinding blue light.
Boom!
Following the blue light was a violent explosion. The shockwave from the blast sent Kunpeng tumbling quite a distance. The powerful aftereffects churned the seawater, forming waves that spread in all directions.
"Kunpeng, are you alright?"
Flying in the sky atop Sindragosa, Chen Xu looked at the waves rising from the sea and the dense water-attribute energy dissipating into the air, unable to help but worry for Kunpeng.
After three breaths, Kunpeng recovered from the explosion and sent a soul message back to Chen Xu.
"So... so delicious!"
Although many of the instruments on Kunpeng's body had been destroyed in the blast, Kunpeng itself had suffered no damage.
On the contrary, the extremely pure water-attribute energy had piqued Kunpeng's interest. It opened its mouth wide, and a terrifying suction force quickly began absorbing the energy lingering in the water.
After consuming the remaining energy, Kunpeng let out a burp, spat out a bubble, and then asked Chen Xu what to do next.
Most of the detection instruments had been damaged in the explosion, and the remote control in Chen Xu's hand had lost the underwater video feed. He could only pull out the Fuxi sub-system to contact Wei Qian and the others for the next steps.
"It seems your instruments are all broken. Do you still want to investigate the remaining targets?"
"Your Kunpeng is fine? That explosion just now was quite powerful, and the energy it contained was incredibly pure."
"Kunpeng is fine. It is quite full, actually. It said the energy from the explosion was delicious."
"Delicious?"
Hearing Chen Xu's words, Wei Qian fell into deep thought.
Seeing Wei Qian suddenly go silent, Chen Xu thought the signal had been lost and quickly held up the Fuxi sub-system toward the direction of Daxia.
"Hello? Can you hear me?"
"I can hear you. I was just thinking about something."
"Oh, I see. I thought the signal was gone. So what should we do next? Should we return first so you can reinstall the instruments, or should I have Kunpeng clear out the remaining three targets?"
"No need to return yet. Go to Target Location 2. I want to verify something."
Receiving the instruction, Chen Xu directed Kunpeng to swim toward Target Location 2.
He followed up by asking, "Verify what?"
"The Sea God the nagas mentioned."
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