The three Z-class destroyer chibis maneuvered their rigging across the ocean surface with seamless coordination, carving swift arcs as they darted about.
Not even a splash from the seven or eight attacking tentacles managed to touch the hem of their clothes.
In fact, while dodging the tentacles, they could still control their shark-themed rigging and torpedo tubes to launch counter attacks against them.
Although the shells and torpedoes weren't powerful enough to blow the tentacles into minced flesh, the targeted appendages clearly trembled violently after being hit.
Unlike when the tentacles were struck by the mass-produced shipgirls and showed no reaction, these now visibly recoiled in pain.
Watching the three Z-class destroyers dance across the sea, dodging attacks flawlessly, Lin Lan's expression remained taut.
Because he knew—these tentacles were merely a small part of Leviathan's body.
The real Leviathan was still lurking beneath the surface.
At the same time, U-37, U-81, and U-96—three wolfpack U-boat chibis in classic school swimsuits—had already slipped into the ocean unnoticed.
All of Leviathan's attention had been drawn to the Z-class trio, allowing the wolfpack members to ride their shark-themed rigs along the tentacles, nearing the ocean floor.
As shipgirls, their sailing and diving speed far exceeded that of conventional submarines.
In mere moments, the three had reached the seafloor, where they spotted a grotesque, mountainous deep-sea monster.
Nearby lay the twisted wreckage of a massive cargo ship, completely snapped in two, along with scattered fragments of destroyed rigging.
"Ugh... What a disgusting monster. A hundred times uglier than anything I've seen in horror movies."
Even underwater, submarine shipgirls had excellent vision.
So they could clearly see the creature's hideous form—eight crimson eyes and a mouth twisted into a monstrous grin.
U-81 wrinkled her brow and couldn't help but complain into the comms after getting a good look at Leviathan.
"Hehe, we've hunted battleships and carriers so many times before. This is our first time hunting a sea monster, isn't it?"
U-37's red eyes studied the Leviathan carefully, barely able to contain her excitement.
"Battleships and carriers are common. Sea monsters? Not so much. Let's get closer, carefully. Don't get spotted."
U-96 cracked her knuckles, her golden eyes glowing like ghostly searchlights under the sea, lips curling in anticipation.
"Wolfpack—time to hunt~"
As the three wolfpack chibis reached attack range and whispered their battle cry, torpedoes with red tips and trailing bubbles shot from the shark rigs' tubes.
Mark 20 S Torpedo—Bidder.
This was the standard-issue "graduation" torpedo for all of Lin Lan's submarine shipgirls.
In-game, these "Bidder torpedoes" were high-end research equipment, requiring massive resources to develop and upgrade.
And their power lived up to their cost—especially when wielded by these three top-tier submarine shipgirls. Their destructive power was terrifying.
A dense wave of torpedoes surged silently through the deep sea toward the unsuspecting Leviathan, who had no idea it had become the prey.
Above the sea, Lin Lan's yacht was just about to break free from the tentacles' attack range.
Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue had returned to Lin Lan's side. They stared in fear at the grotesque dark green tentacles still thrashing on the surface, visibly shaken.
They had witnessed the incredible agility of the Z-class destroyers. Lu Yangshu gulped, looking at Lin Lan's back and said,
"Xiao... Lin, we're out of danger now. You should have your shipgirls pull back too."
"Ah, right. I should get them back quickly—if they get hit by the tentacles, things could go bad."
Lin Lan turned around, flashing the youthful smile he had before Leviathan's appearance, and replied calmly.
It was as if that decisive, confident Lin Lan from earlier had never existed.
The sudden change startled both Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue. They even wondered if the person before them had somehow switched places with another.
"Leviathan—Xiao Lin, you recognized that thing right away. You know about this monster?"
Qi Yue's gaze no longer held its earlier coldness. She now called him "Xiao Lin," subtly shortening the distance between them.
"Hehe, I used to be curious about Holy Teaching Nation's Leviathan back in the academy, so I looked into it a bit."
Lin Lan chuckled lightly, making up a story.
Just as he was about to contact Weser to recall Nimi and the others, all the tentacles on the surface suddenly snapped upright like they'd been electrocuted.
Before he could react, the tentacles went limp and collapsed back into the ocean.
The bizarre sight made Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue jump in fright—but Lin Lan felt a surge of joy.
Looks like the wolfpack's ambush had worked. Leviathan must have taken serious damage.
Sure enough, in moments, the once-blue sea turned a pale green, with mangled chunks of flesh floating to the surface.
Lin Lan, having seen Leviathan's dark green blood and flesh from its earlier battle with Ulrich and Count Zeppelin through binoculars, knew exactly what this meant.
But Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue had no clue where this weird scene had come from. Their faces turned pale, assuming Leviathan had returned from the depths.
"We need to get out of here, now! Xiao Lin, you know Leviathan can't be killed without Holy Teaching Nation 'Judgement.' If we don't leave now, we won't get another chance."
Lu Yangshu's voice trembled with fear.
Hearing this, Lin Lan couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
You guys really have no idea how strong the Bidder torpedoes are.
Even if Leviathan could survive a full barrage from a top-tier 3U team, I don't believe it could endure the likes of the 457 Big Root or Heavenly Thunder.
Of course, he'd never say that out loud.
"Senior's right. We can't delay any longer."
Just as he finished playing along, he was about to go below deck to order Weser and Mainz—who were covering the yacht and harassing the tentacles—to call everyone back...
But a powerful sense of danger surged through him once again.
"Hold on to something! Leviathan's coming!"
Abandoning the idea of heading below, Lin Lan quickly turned back to the other two and shouted urgently.
But before he even finished speaking, a sudden change occurred!
Beside the yacht, a massive, unspeakably hideous creature slowly emerged from the sea, its mountainous body rising from the depths.
For the first time, Lin Lan got a close look at the deep-sea beast Leviathan.
It towered like a building, its dark green bulk blotting out the sun.
A hideous mouth large enough to swallow an elephant, eight writhing tentacles flailing in mid-air—it was like a demon god of the abyss descending upon them.
But this demon god was in a wretched state.
Its dark green body bore several massive wounds—bloody, gaping holes as if from powerful explosions.
Thick, deep green liquid gushed from these wounds like waterfalls, reeking of a nauseating stench.
Its eight crimson spider-like eyes had been reduced to three, the others damaged and ruptured.
Two of the remaining eyeballs dangled grotesquely from their sockets—clearly beyond repair.
Yet these brutal injuries only made Leviathan seem even more terrifying. The three remaining eyes stared fixedly at the tiny trio aboard the yacht.
Under its furious gaze, Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue collapsed onto the deck, hearts gripped by an invisible force, barely able to breathe.
Abyssal Suppression—Leviathan's unique ability.
Any being who made eye contact with it would be rendered weak and powerless, even forgetting how to breathe.
Having studied Leviathan within her family, Qi Yue stared hopelessly into those remaining crimson eyes.
She remembered the line written in a book about Leviathan:
"When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."
But compared to the others, Lin Lan stood unaffected by the pressure, lifting his head to meet Leviathan's gaze directly.
"So even a sea of torpedoes couldn't kill you? Tough bastard."
Lin Lan sneered coldly.
With his shipgirls by his side, he wasn't afraid of Leviathan in the slightest.
On the contrary—he felt a burning desire to fight rising within him.
He didn't even notice it himself.
He only felt that facing Leviathan, he had no reason to fear. He shouldn't fear.
His shipgirls had given him courage. He knew the wolfpack, the Z-class girls, Weser, Mainz, and the Ironblood fleet behind him would protect him with all they had.
He trusted them—just as they trusted him.
Lin Lan stepped forward, walking between the collapsed pair, arriving at the edge of the yacht, locking eyes with Leviathan without an ounce of fear.
With Lin Lan standing in front, the pressure on Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue lessened. They still couldn't stand, but at least they could breathe.
Gasping for air, they tried to rise but failed, eyes fixed on Lin Lan's small figure facing down Leviathan's immense bulk—yet standing tall.
But... he was just a human!
How could a human stand against Leviathan?
Qi Yue remembered the records stating how many from The Holy Teaching Nation had lost their minds after prolonged exposure to Leviathan's gaze.
Against the abyssal Leviathan, humans were simply too small.
SCREEEEEECH!!!
Seeing its oppressive gaze fail and its prey daring to look back with defiance, the massive sea monster Leviathan let out a shrill, furious scream.
All eight of its grotesque tentacles lifted at once, blocking out the sky, ready to unleash its fury on this insolent ant that had ambushed and challenged it.
Faced with Leviathan's all-out strike, how would Lin Lan respond?
As the world seemed to tremble before Leviathan's overwhelming force, Lin Lan's voice rang out, cold and full of killing intent, a single word:
"Get lost!"
The moment the word left his lips, a low, oppressive hum echoed faintly from the sky above.
Leviathan's remaining three crimson eyes suddenly contracted.
And in the next instant, the terrifying monster retreated with explosive speed—several times faster than it had appeared—fleeing in what looked like sheer panic, as if that one word had shattered its courage.
After releasing one final, clearly fearful wail, Leviathan's massive form vanished completely beneath the sea.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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