Chapter 635.5: Stepping into the Extraordinary
All kinds of data and information reports put Jifan deep in thought.
Recalling the tasks Lord Matthew had entrusted to him, he decisively began issuing orders:
"Our time is precious. Squad 3 and the logistics team will stay here. Squad 1 and Squad 2, prepare for the hunt."
"The target is the nearby Abyssal Demonfish. Operation range: 5 kilometers."
Hearing this, the Dragon Warriors quickly began preparing for battle in their squad formations.
Watching their figures scatter into action, Annie clenched her fists but ultimately didn't speak to Matthew beside her.
She knew very well that compared to the Dragon Warriors' daily grueling training and combat drills, she still had a lot to catch up on.
Combat felt somewhat foreign to Annie now.
But she didn't feel discouraged. The strongest thing she had learned from Bay Territory was willpower and belief.
Matthew naturally noticed Annie's state and, satisfied with her growth, smiled as he explained:
"This expedition to the underground ruins is mainly to train the Dragon Warriors' combat skills."
"The Abyssal Demonfish is the opponent I selected for them. Huge in size, devious, with excellent melee and spellcasting abilities, and even capable of psychic spells."
"I want the Dragon Warriors to master the techniques to fight such foes."
"It's also in preparation for the 7th modification surgery."
Annie was delighted by Matthew's openness. Recalling the many traits of the Abyssal Demonfish, she raised a key question:
"The Abyssal Demonfish is pretty powerful. Won't there be casualties?"
"All battles carry risks. Casualties are inevitable."
"Our future enemies will be even more terrifying. If we don't become stronger now, there will be more deaths later."
"What we can do is provide our soldiers with the best conditions and trust their performance."
Matthew had no intention of hiding anything from Annie.
Just like Bay Territory never hid the dangers and difficulty of tasks from its soldiers and adventurers.
To face life and death head-on and rise to the challenge!
That's the fate of warriors!
Annie thought of the generous treatment Bay Territory gave its warriors, the detailed planning of each combat mission, and nodded with deep understanding.
Soldiers were never stupid!
They knew full well they were "risking their lives."
But they were absolutely willing to do it for Bay Territory!
And Bay Territory?
Would go to every length to protect their lives!
That's why the combat strength of Bay Territory's army was so formidable.
What intrigued Annie even more was the 7th modification surgery Matthew mentioned.
She felt Matthew had long since planned everything, and it was all unfolding step by step under his arrangements.
Whether it was anticipating the enemy or preparing the territory, nothing he did was ever in vain.
She recalled the previous surgeries and pondered over the recent training between the Abyssal Demonfish and the Dragon Warriors.
A bold thought emerged in her mind.
Annie carefully organized her words and asked with anticipation:
"Is the goal of the 7th surgery to further enhance the Dragon Warriors' psychic resistance?"
"Or is it to boost their overall combat power?"
"Like fighting larger enemies, perhaps?"
After spending so much time with him, Annie knew Matthew never made baseless plans, so her guesses were daring.
Matthew extended his hand and summoned a magical image.
It happened to show Squad 2 of the Dragon Warriors launching an attack on a half-drowsy Abyssal Demonfish.
It happened to "show" Squad 2 of the Dragon Warriors launching an attack on a half-asleep Abyssal Demonfish.
Compared to their caution with the first Abyssal Demonfish—
Now that they understood its weaknesses more deeply, the Dragon Warriors opted for a far bolder offensive strategy.
They assembled two Dragonhunter Ballistae and aimed them—one above and one from the right.
To avoid alerting the Abyssal Demonfish to their killing intent, they deliberately refrained from attacking themselves and instead remotely controlled a small golem.
Before Annie could examine the rest of the Dragon Warriors' arrangements, the golem had already pulled the trigger of the Dragonhunter Ballista.
The ballista bolt sliced through the water in a white streak, reaching the Abyssal Demonfish just before the ripples spread.
The enormous creature, sensing danger, jolted awake!
It reflexively curled up, trying to shield its soft underbelly.
But it never imagined this would be the most ferocious assault it had ever faced.
Boom! Boom!
The massive bolts struck the Abyssal Demonfish's body with precision.
Unlike heavy piercing bows, which could only breach its outer defenses—
The Dragonhunter Ballistae, built to pierce dragon-scale defenses, easily ripped through the Demonfish's tough skin, drilled through its dense muscles, and plunged deep into its organs.
The terrifying impact force even pushed the creature downward through the water, while two jets of blood dyed the surrounding meters crimson.
The searing pain nearly made the Abyssal Demonfish black out. It thrashed in fury, wrapping its tentacles around the bolts, trying to yank out the weapons embedded in its flesh.
"Roar...!"
Watching the gory scene, Annie gasped sharply, once again realizing the threat and horror of unfamiliar weapons.
The Dragonhunter bolts, laced with multiple barbs, had plunged deep into the Demonfish's organs, and the large bleeding grooves would keep draining its blood.
When it ripped them out with brute force, it tore out two massive chunks of flesh, easily over a thousand pounds each!
Such ferocious and fearless behavior made Annie admire the ruthless efficiency of the Dragon Warrior combat design.
Before Annie could react, two gleaming throwing spears had already struck the wounded Demonfish.
Crackle!
A surge of thunder erupted on impact, electrocuting the beast into spasms.
This monstrous creature lost another huge chunk of its vitality.
Before it could even recover from the paralysis, two Dragon Warriors wielding four-meter-long spears charged right up to it.
A burst of psychic power exploded outward, violently displacing the surrounding water.
Unfortunately for it, every move was already within the Dragon Warriors' calculations.
A dark red psychic shield absorbed the Demonfish's frenzied psychic force without flinching.
They entered the "Power Burst" state.
And activated the "Power Enhancement" spell buff.
With their Thunder Armor running at full power—
The Dragon Warriors drove their adamantine spears into the Demonfish's head with unmatched, terrifying force!
Crunch!
Splurt!
The Abyssal Demonfish, just about to open its black, hideous maw to swallow the two enemies, instantly lost all thought and consciousness.
Its entire body went limp like a snapped string.
The two Dragon Warriors didn't pull out their spears. Using the rebound, they floated backward.
Two other Dragon Warriors had already slipped under the Demonfish's belly.
Each drew a serrated longsword and slashed into its gray-brown skin.
Its entire chest cavity burst open, spewing blood and massive organs.
The two Dragon Warriors calmly severed its heart to ensure total death, then retreated over a hundred meters.
As the creature's corpse began to sink slowly—
Two unenchanted piercing bolts shot into its back.
Thick chains attached to the bolt tails went taut as the Dragon Warriors dragged the massive body away.
The entire fight didn't even last 30 seconds!
The seamless sequence of lethal strikes left Annie wide-eyed.
These were tactics the Dragon Warriors had never shown in training!
As she mentally replayed the battle, she quickly realized the Abyssal Demonfish's death was utterly justified.
Each attack may have looked like just two people acted, but the entire team had been involved.
The sharpshooter who fired the bolts.
The thrower who unleashed thunder.
The lancer who charged in.
The assault striker who flanked in secret.
The commander at the center, ready to respond.
All ten participated in the assault. The offensive surged like a tide—relentless. The Demonfish didn't even survive to the fourth wave before being slain.
Annie couldn't help but picture herself in the Demonfish's place... she might not have lasted beyond the second wave.
The Dragon Warriors' entire combat flow was coldly precise, trained to perfection—it had a beauty that defied description.
The deadly Abyssal Demonfish was utterly helpless before them.
"Can a one-sided battle like this really serve as effective training?"
Annie's doubts were answered in the days that followed.
Once the temporary outpost was built, a batch of hidden supplies and personnel were teleported in.
Bay Territory was going to construct a fortified underground fortress here!
After clearing out eight nearby Abyssal Demonfish, the Dragon Warriors split into even smaller combat teams and engaged in ongoing battles with dozens more.
Fighting these dangerous and cunning creatures greatly sparked their battle fervor and potential.
Some of the top-performing Dragon Warriors had already applied to hunt in pairs or even solo.
Naturally, Matthew wouldn't let them push too close to their limits. He kept their impulses in check and had Jifan ensure their discipline and composure.
No matter how unrestrained the combat release, there must always be an excellent tactical plan behind it!
These direct clashes between Dragon Warriors and Abyssal Demonfish allowed their skills and feats to be further refined and improved.
After thoroughly analyzing and recording all of the Abyssal Demonfish's capabilities, Matthew finally finalized the blueprint for the 7th modification surgery, based on the past half-month of combat gains.
It was to address the Dragon Warriors' flaws in "level" of life energy when facing large magical creatures.
And to lay the groundwork for enhancing their psychic strength!
But before beginning the experimental trials of the 7th modification surgery, Matthew had to complete a crucial breakthrough.
Stepping into the Extraordinary tier!
In terms of flesh mastery, Matthew had already reached complete control below the Extraordinary level.
However, breakthroughs in psychic will remained his last obstacle to mastering all spell schools and disciplines.
Now, Matthew was going to overcome that final weakness and become a true all-school Extraordinary Arcanist!
March 3rd.
Bay Territory.
Bay City.
Underground Mage Tower.
In the Advanced Magic Laboratory—
Surging waves of psychic power continuously radiated from Matthew's body.
One hulking experiment subject after another faced the psychic spells he unleashed.
Unlike physical pain, psychic shocks and stings stirred a new kind of terror in those somewhat pain-hardened subjects.
Because their past sins would now be shown to them with terrifying clarity.
Only this time, they were the ones being humiliated, tortured, and slain.
Matthew kept their sanity intact throughout, ensuring their "mental" "health."
He tested psychic protection enhancements on those who had "truly repented."
As for amplifying psychic power, Matthew had no intention of developing that in them.
That power was too dangerous. Its control and management needed to remain within safe bounds.
After all, Matthew had seen it many times—reckless, bold experimenters being killed by their own creations.
For now, psychic ability enhancements weren't included in this round of surgical upgrades.
Matthew still needed more time to deepen his mastery and understanding of psychic forces.
Having fully mastered all high-level and lower-tier psychic spells, Matthew slowly closed his eyes.
He stepped into a pool.
It was etched with intricate magical runes, including, but not limited to, purification arrays, clarity arrays, and life arrays.
The clear, radiant liquid emanated intense, vibrant life energy.
Elemental energy, almost material in density, flowed beneath the waters of life.
Even all this preparation wasn't enough.
Matthew also expended 1,000,000 Fate Energy to optimize his state.
Breakthrough initiated!
Under Matthew's "gaze"—
Vast soul energy surged forth from deep within.
It constantly washed over soul and body, refining and adjusting their structure at the most minute level.
The already intricate spell models on his quasi-material soul body became even more magnificent and refined.
Faintly glowing nodes appeared, representing every spell Matthew had learned, now fused into his soul.
What disappointed Matthew was that these magic-net-like nodes—
Only lit up during his ascension, then vanished without a trace.
Perhaps, in his next breakthrough to Grand Arcanist, their secrets could finally be unraveled.
Aside from the soul changes, Matthew's tall and powerful body was also undergoing a new kind of refinement.
Every part of him emitted a hunger signal, greedily absorbing the essence of life and waters of life.
The elemental energy swirling around him formed countless micro-vortices that Matthew absorbed.
He could clearly feel the bloodline power hidden deep inside his body finally seizing this feast, its greedy maw roaring:
"More! I want more!"