21st Century Necromancer-Chapter 908 - 902: Suppressing the Earth
Chapter 908 -902: Suppressing the Earth
When the orb of light, teeming with infinite wisdom and knowledge, emerged above the Ritual Altar, the reaction of the World Consciousness reached its peak.
Mighty waves surged across the surface of the Sanzu River, crashing onto the banks. The splashing water even reached the Ship-girls standing along the shore. If not for Warspite’s earlier order to retreat a certain distance, the Stygian Water would have undoubtedly drenched them.
Gazing at the now turbulent Sanzu River, the expressions of the Ship-girls grew increasingly grave and tense. The Aircraft Carrier Ship-girls deployed all their onboard aircraft, weaving an aerial defense net.
Meanwhile, the other Battleship Ship-girls formed defensive formations, standing guard firmly around the Ritual Altar.
At this very moment, it was impossible for them to spare a thought for the spectral boat that continued its relentless course toward their position. Despite being riddled with holes from the earlier divine-powered barrages, one side of the boat nearly submerged and seemingly on the verge of capsizing, it eerily floated steadily on the Sanzu River, swaying as it pressed onwards toward them.
“If only we could sink it!” Warspite grumbled in frustration as she eyed the spectral boat that kept approaching. However, her gaze remained fixed on a swarm of flying monsters that had somehow gathered on the opposite riverbank.
Constitution had also noticed the flying creatures. They resembled a flock of crows, but their bodies radiated a ghastly white hue. With the Ship-girls’ sharp eyesight, they could discern that these creatures were nothing but pallid skeletons. Their vulture-like elongated necks and gaping, razor-toothed maws added to their grotesque and fearsome appearance.
The monsters flapped their skeletal wings, producing a macabre noise akin to the clattering of bones. They spiraled and gathered into a dense, gray-white cloud-like mass.
“Don’t worry, those should be hellish creatures. They can’t cross the Sanzu River. Even if they can fly, they shouldn’t pose a threat to us,” Constitution reassured. She recalled Chen Yu explaining that in Japan, the Sanzu River marked the boundary between life and death. The only way to traverse the river was via the no-bottomed spectral boat, paid for with six coins, allowing passage solely from the realm of the living to the realm of the dead.
As such, she wasn’t concerned about the monsters launching an attack across the Sanzu River.
In contrast, it was the increasing vibrations of the earth beneath their feet and the endlessly roiling Sanzu River that unsettled her the most.
Chen Yu had previously mentioned that the Sanzu River Bank served as the boundary between the present world and the Yellow Springs. It belonged neither to the world of the living nor the dead, but to the liminal space in between. Here, the influence of the World Consciousness was at its weakest.
Yet now, Constitution could keenly sense a shift, as though the entire world was beginning to reject their presence.
As Constitution’s unease deepened, the tremors beneath the earth abruptly intensified as though an earthquake had struck—or rather, an earthquake *had* struck!
Amid the violent shaking, the earth covered in Manzhu Shahua split apart. A gash carved its way forward, twisting before unexpectedly extending directly toward the riverbank!
Witnessing this, Constitution’s eyes widened in shock. Without hesitation, she unleashed a volley of naval gunfire toward the direction of the fissure!
Even though her naval guns were old-fashioned muzzle-loaders, under the influence of her divine power, each shot carried as much force as the modern Ship-girls’ weaponry. The barrage created craters that blocked the fissure’s progression, preventing the Stygian Water from spreading along the cracks.
But this did little to improve the Ship-girls’ dire situation, merely eliminating one looming threat.
The tremors in the ground grew increasingly violent, and cracks multiplied across the terrain. The Ship-girls were forced to lower their stances to stabilize themselves and constantly shift positions to avoid falling into the fissures.
Warspite frowned deeply at the scene before her. The situation was spiraling into something far worse.
She was not afraid to fight tangible enemies. No matter how overwhelming their forces, it would simply be a matter of a fight to the death. But facing such an intangible, formless enemy—battling what seemed to be the entire world itself—was utterly disheartening!
A tangible enemy could be shot, slashed, or fought barehanded if necessary. But how does one defeat an enemy that is invisible and incorporeal? Were they supposed to fire at the sky?
As Warspite wrestled with her negativity, the tremors intensified further, shredding the Ship-girls’ meticulously arranged defensive formation.
The quaking ground made it nearly impossible for them to maintain their footing, let alone preserve the cohesion of their defense.
“This can’t go on!” Constitution struggled to steady herself but could hardly stand. She glanced toward Missouri and shouted, “Missouri, summon your ship! Use it to anchor this land! Even if the earthquake damages the hull, we can’t worry about that now! We must stabilize our footing!”
Hearing Constitution’s words, Warspite also looked toward Missouri and nodded in agreement, simultaneously issuing identical orders to Yamato and Musashi.
The combined weight of the three Battleships—nearly two hundred thousand tons—would be enough to suppress the violently shaking ground. Positioned strategically, the three Battleships could also create a perfect web of firepower, allowing the remaining Ship-girls to board their decks for stable combat conditions.
Upon receiving the command, Yamato, Musashi, and Missouri—humanity’s largest Battleships to ever grace history—unfolded their steel forms on the muddy banks of the Sanzu River.
The massive steel constructs, which should have been slicing through the seas, were now forced to play the role of beached leviathans.
But the effect was immediate. The nearly two hundred thousand tons of weight anchored the quaking land as soon as the ships materialized. While faint tremors still persisted, the three colossal warships were unshaken.
Seeing this, Warspite promptly ordered the other Ship-girls to climb aboard the decks of the three Battleships.
Though the deck still carried tremors from the shaking ground below, the Ship-girls could at least stand firm and gain a stable battlefield.
As for whether the earthquake would damage the Battleships’ hulls, such concerns were now secondary. Stabilizing the current chaotic situation was the top priority.
Meanwhile, as the Ship-girls worked tirelessly to hold the line, Chen Yu had already pulled the brilliant orb hovering above the Ritual Altar down onto the altar. He was implementing the final step of the ritual—to forge the orb formed by the world’s rules into an Ancient Godhood!
