Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 306. Intense Showdown

Chapter 306. Intense Showdown

At the sight of the grenades surrounding him, Charles felt as though the time seemed to slow to a crawl at that moment. He watched the black metal object slowly expanding with the force of the exploding gunpowder within, his clothes curling up from the heat and then blackening. However, all he could do at this moment was to close his eyes in response.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosion sounds relentlessly rang out, and the shockwaves sent Charles flying through the air.

Thud!

Charles flew into a tree hard before landing on the damp earth with a trailing plume of black smoke.

A gunshot was then added to the cacophony. It was Audric; he had turned into his bat form and managed to get out of his handcuffs. He had drawn his pistol and was firing consecutive shots at 399.

However, each bullet sounded a loud clang upon impact. A row of transparent, square shields had materialized in front of 399 and intercepted them.

399's lantern-sized eyes turned onto Audric, and all of a sudden, eight anchors dropped from the sky and were hurtling toward him.

The blind vampire tried to transform into a bat to escape, but unfortunately, the anchors that weighed a ton each had him pinned to the ground.

"Now...It's your turn...," 399 said as he turned his gaze onto the crew members of the Narwhale. His eyes were burning with vicious murderous intent.

Staring at the massive, bizarre head at such a close distance, Weister felt as though his blood had congealed as he was bound in chains.

Is this the end? A thought crossed Weister's mind when a large tree trunk that was three meters tall and two meters thick rolled toward 399.

The shields materialized again and easily blocked the trunk from advancing. 399 turned toward the direction where the trunk came from. To his surprise, the man he had blown away with the grenades was still alive. The man's lower body was bloodied with gaping wounds, but he was still standing.

Charles gritted his teeth to endure the pain. Luckily, his physical body had been enhanced before this expedition. Otherwise, he would have been blown to pieces by the earlier blast.

"You! You killed Lunaia! How are you still alive?!" 399 roared in fury.

Sharp spears then materialized around the giant head. They flew toward Charles so rapidly that they even left afterimages in their path.

With a swift reflex, Charles raised his prosthetic limb and shot his grappling hook onto a tree trunk before rapidly pulling himself away from his original position.

That's strange. Why hasn't this guy handcuffed me? Charles pondered before realization dawned upon him as he noticed the distance between himself and 399. It seemed like 399 could conjure up anything, but it would only work within a certain range. He wouldn't be able to materialize anything outside of his ability's range.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Charles fired three consecutive shots, but 399 easily blocked them all. However, Charles didn't give up; he was persistent in his efforts.

The facial features on 399's giant face twisted grotesquely. Its appearance gradually deviated from what constituted a normal human and became increasingly monstrous and terrifying

"Attack! Seize him! He will pay the price!" 399 bellowed with apparent anger. At his deafening roar, the deformed flesh monsters beneath him let out a screech in response. They bared their teeth and claws and charged toward Charles like a tidal wave.

Despite his precarious situation, Charles found his predicament less dangerous than before. 399 was powerful, but his frenzied state had rendered him senseless.

Charles cast a quick glance at his crew members and spotted Linda vomiting corrosive acid on her handcuffs. They were still trying to break free.

The first to break free from his bindings was Bandages. He ran toward the pentagram formation and started to move the items within.

The progression of events slightly reassured Charles' heart. Now that he knew his enemy's limitations, he just needed to buy time while keeping a safe distance away from 399. At his current speed, there was no way 399 nor the flesh monster could catch up.

That was Charles' plan, but clearly, 399 had other thoughts.

A high-tech propulsion device materialized behind its brain and propelled it rapidly toward Charles.

"Shit!" Charles quickly brandished his Lightning Rod. White electric arcs crackled around the rod as he swung it against 399. However, before the rod could come into contact with 399, a wall made of black tires easily blocked its path.

Hanging from a tree, Charles was about to dive into the forest when white mist suddenly surrounded him and shrouded his vicinity.

It took less than a second for him to realize that it wasn't mist. They were the Whitebeasts that were nowhere to be seen early. They emerged from within Charles' body and successfully held him in his tracks.

The creatures' sudden appearance disrupted Charles' rhythm.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out as bone bullets tore through the bodies of the Whitebeasts. However, Charles couldn't break out of their encirclement due to their overwhelming numbers.

Charles was so caught up in his clash with the Whitebeasts that he hadn't noticed 399 conjuring a giant mechanical construct right next to him. It was a cold, steel cannon mounted on its head, and its barrel shimmered with a cold glint.

Beep!

A red dot appeared on Charles; only then did he notice 399's new weapon. He tried to move, but it was too late.

With a loud boom, Charles' left shoulder, along with the bones within, was blown off. Charles collapsed to the floor like a broken doll.

A Whitebeast floated toward him and reached into his clothing to pull out the tablet 198.

The Whitebeast then presented the tablet before Charles. The screen lit up to display a sideways emoticon.

[:)]

Charles' eyes widened in disbelief and shock

"You were in cahoots with 399 all along!"

[XD Bingo! Now that you've helped me find 399, I'll give you the experimental results regarding the transplant of the projects' special abilities into humans]

Another Whitebeast floated down from above and placed a stack of papers before Charles.

[Our contract has been fulfilled. You may die now, human. :)]

With that message, a mechanical construct lifted Charles with its large cannon and brought him before 399.

Swoosh!

Charles hurled his Dark Blade toward 399, but it was blocked just like his earlier attempts.

Seeing that his attempt at a sneak attack failed, Charles' mind ran as he sought other means of escape. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted by an intense pain in both temples.

Buzzzzzz!

Two black drill bits were pressed onto each side of Charles' temples and rapidly turned as they bore into his skull. Amidst his screams of agony, two bloody holes appeared on either side of his head.

"You killed my Lunaia. I'm not letting you die so easily! You will die a torturous death!" 399's voice, with overwhelming malice, boomed in Charles' head.

Black maggots crawled away from 399's brain, and with a flick of their tails, they leaped onto Charles' face and burrowed into the bloody holes.

More and more black maggots, numbering tens of dozens, started to crawl all over Charles' face before rapidly entering the two bloody wounds in his temples.

"Soon, you shall experience the cruelest torment known to man. You will beg me to end your life!" 399 erupted into a maniac laughter.

However, 399's delight was short-lived as several black maggots flew out of Charles' head with a loud popping sound. The discharged black maggots landed on the ground and writhed for a couple of seconds before they became motionless.

Soon, more and more black maggots were flung out of Charles' head.

399's massive eyes watched as a gray tentacle with writhing tendrils slowly wriggled out of Charles' head. After pushing out the last maggot that had tried to crawl into Charles' brain, the tentacle leaped onto 399's face.