Turning Chapter 956

It was the suspicion that, at last, so kind of change was beginning to occur in the abnormal rift that acted as the gateway from which monsters poured out.

Imagine the monsters they were fighting—and the rift itself—as grains of rice or beans packed tightly into a narrow-necked jar or piping bag. The grains had been soaked until they were thoroughly softened, and each ti the jar was shaken, they stuck together, crushed and clinging, barely squeezing through the tiny opening.

If you turned that jar upside down, naturally, nothing would co out easily at first. You’d have to shake it violently or stir the inside to push the contents toward the neck in a lumpy mass for them to co out. That was only natural, considering how full it was. If the monsters from the first to the eighth wave were like that, then how should one think of this ninth?

Grains start to flow more smoothly only when the amount inside the jar has significantly decreased. From that point on, even a slight tilt or small push would cause the contents to pour out far faster than before.

‘If, in any case, the ti it took for the ninth wave to arrive stretched out because a change is finally happening in the abnormal rift that acts ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) as the monsters’ exit, and that change is now manifesting in the monsters themselves...’

Then the long gap before the ninth wouldn’t have been aningless at all.

And at the sa ti...

‘Monsters erging in the form of tentacles likely wouldn’t possess the sa tight cohesion as before. Perhaps even...’

They might not co out one at a ti anymore.

Before the thought could even finish, another tentacle struck toward Yuder from behind. With nearly superhuman reflexes, Yuder twisted his body to dodge. But he couldn’t entirely block the second tentacle that surged up right where he had just dodged.

Wham.

A massive tentacle, thick like a tree trunk, slamd into his back, sending his body hurtling downward. The resistance of the water pressed against every inch of him, dazing his mind montarily, but Yuder sensed yet another tentacle approaching from another direction and mustered his strength desperately.

Slash.

He spun his body at the very last mont, barely avoiding the next strike. Several more attacks ca at him in a blur, but sohow, he managed to evade them all. In truth, due to the ocean’s resistance and pressure, each attack was far slower than it would be on land—but for that sa reason, their force felt even more brutal.

‘Damn it.’

If he hadn’t instinctively shielded his vital organs with the power of wind and water at once, his bones would’ve cracked, or at the very least, his organs ruptured. Glancing around, he saw that his unit mbers were also caught in a frenzy, attacking and defending against the now-multiplied tentacles.

Yuder counted them—five.

The number of tentacles mirrored the number of abnormal rifts. That couldn’t be a coincidence. It was certain now: sothing had changed in the rift. The massive cluster of monsters that had once been too entangled to pass through was now finally managing to co out.

However, compared to before, they were less solid, less cohesive, and flimsier—easier to cut down under the unit mbers’ attacks. They were erging faster, but that didn’t an it was all bad on their side either.

‘As long as no one is exhausted... and no one panics.’

The enemy’s transformation ant both a crisis and an opportunity.

Yuder had to turn that into an opportunity, no matter what.

The unit mbers, overwheld by the sudden surge in tentacles, had yet to regain their composure. So thrashed wildly after taking a hit, others struggled to steady their tired, sluggish bodies.

To calm them, Yuder gathered his power. One eye blazed so brightly it felt as though he might go blind, and a massive current began to whirl around him as its center.

—Kwoooaaaah!

Sensing the threatening current, the tentacles faltered, but like moths drawn to a fla, they soon twisted their direction toward him. The sight of monstrous tentacles charging in unison through the darkness of the sea floor was enough to terrify anyone—but Yuder didn’t flinch. Alone, he stood firm. As he extended his hand, the current he had summoned swelled dramatically, generating the sa sweeping force he had already used eight tis before.

A storm raged beneath the sea.

Sprays of seawater howled violently as they lashed against the five tentacles. Chunks severed by the unit mbers’ attacks flailed helplessly, swept away in the torrent, and all five tentacles began to target Yuder at once, cutting through the current.

When there had only been one tentacle, the unit could help shield him. But now, they couldn’t completely protect Yuder. Though they continued to attack the tentacles heading toward him, they couldn’t provide the sa defense as before.

Yuder dodged as best he could, weaving through the torrent while continuing to wield his power—but he still took several hits. Just brushing against them caused blood to burst and swell on his limbs, yet the current he had summoned didn’t waver or vanish.

However, the tentacles and the abnormal rift weren’t rely taking the hits like before, either.

The five tentacles and the rift-generated currents clashed with Yuder’s current, intertwining violently. Massive shockwaves, like giant waves crashing against a seawall, erupted again and again with resounding booms.

—Rrrrrrrumble!

Darkness and foam created by colliding currents filled his vision. Sparks of attack flickered. Everyone was unleashing their power with desperate determination. The whole scene looked like a battlefield of stars filling the night sky.

Yuder’s current was powerful—but against the rift’s monstrous currents, it faltered dangerously, constantly collapsing and recovering. As he pushed to drive them back, a dizzying sense of his strength being sucked out, along with pain, began to surge.

Clenching his teeth, Yuder forced his eyes open, ignoring the feeling of his muscles being twisted tight throughout his body.

‘I can’t give in here. More.’

More!

Responding to his will, the power of water exploded outward, swelling and pushing back the tentacles with force.

—Kwoooaaaah!

Unable to withstand the montum, one of the tentacles—whose cohesion was particularly weak—began to crumple, flailing like fabric caught in the wind. But the others, and the abnormal rift anchoring them like roots, remained firm. Yuder approached the faltering tentacle, keeping an eye on the flow of the others still writhing.

‘If I can just cut down that one flailing tentacle...’

If he could just do that, it felt like he could reverse the balance of the clashing currents in an instant and tilt things in their favor. But no matter how much force he poured in, it didn’t go the way he wanted. The tentacle danced on the edge of being severed, yet still managed to cling to its place. Gritting his teeth, Yuder thought bitterly that if this continued, the remaining tentacles might protect it or retreat into the depths.

But he and his unit had already expended too much to simply watch that happen.

‘I can't let them retreat like this.’

More—more power!

Then it happened.

As if in answer to Yuder’s will, within the swelling current, a different force surged suddenly.

It was smaller than Yuder’s power, but when it clashed with the tentacles, it produced an even greater effect.

Where Yuder’s storm was like a giant but blunt blade, this new current acted like a small but razor-sharp saw, slicing into the tentacles as they began to be pushed back.

As Yuder turned his head, he caught a glimpse of Steber—through the frenzied swirl of current—guiding that force. Blood stread from his shoulder, yet he held both hands up, controlling the water.

Soon, weaker currents, even more ager than Steber’s, began to join with Yuder’s power—one after another. Currents summoned by other unit mbers. Though they handled the force clumsily, clearly unaccustod to using power this way, and they were no more than gentle breezes next to Yuder’s storm, they still added up.

And as they united, riding atop Yuder’s current, they created a force far greater than any one person could have summoned.

Even when Yuder’s current collapsed again and again before the monsters, the others’ currents held firm. Twisting together, reinforcing each other, they finally brought about a miracle.

The weakened tentacle, overwheld by the combined torrent, was torn to shreds with a snapping crack.

A blinding shock.

A wave like a beast, surging to swallow him whole.

The rift on the seafloor shrieked like a living creature in agony, convulsing violently.

The sea, the land, the sky—the whole world felt like it was being torn apart.

It was the mont when the barely balanced scale finally tipped.