The Honkai beasts that "gushed" forth were entirely different from those Luo Lin had seen before. Although they had the characteristic white shells and purple patterns, the Valkyrie felt that these creatures didn't seem like typical products of the Honkai.
They looked too much like sharks, both in appearance and behavior, lacking the otherworldly feeling that didn't belong to the real world. Luo Lin knew why—these creatures were the result of Honkai energy corrupting Earth's native sharks.
The black-haired girl sighed. Honkai-corrupted versions of native creatures like these were extremely rare in modern times. After the outbreak of the Honkai catastrophe, high concentrations of Honkai energy could directly spawn Honkai beasts from thin air!
That meant facing enemies like the Seraph class, Chariot class, Knight class, Templar class, and a series of old friends that Luo Lin encountered every day on the Abyss. She felt like she met them more often than she ate her meals.
Moreover, with humans everywhere on Earth now, even a slight Honkai could produce zombies stronger than Honkai beasts formed from wild animals.
So Luo Lin speculated that the shark-type Honkai beasts in front of her should be considered "ancient craftsmanship," like antiques dug up from the ground, exuding a "primitive beauty."
But that didn't stop the Valkyrie from pulling the trigger and firing at the Honkai beasts.
At the same time, Whitley and the other two Valkyries also launched their attacks, their bullets forming a web of death underwater.
However, there were unexpectedly many of these shark Honkai beasts, which was in line with the Valkyries' understanding of Honkai beasts.
The four of them fought while retreating to prevent themselves from falling into the encirclement of the shark Honkai beasts.
Luo Lin quickly realized that these Honkai beasts were surprisingly fragile, perhaps because they were already considered "beta versions" of her old enemies—
At that time, human technology was underdeveloped, and the global concentration of Honkai energy wasn't high enough. These creatures only needed to deal with ancient Chinese people wielding long spears and swords. Having a hard shell was enough for them.
Who could have imagined that hundreds or even thousands of years later, four Valkyries responsible for combating Honkai would come here wielding "long spears" and "short swords"...
The "spear" was a fully automatic assault rifle assisted by Honkai energy, while the "sword" was formed by Luo Lin using the "Key of Revelation," combined with the amplification of "Edge of Taixuan," "Moon Ring," and "Key of Domination"!
The next moment, exaggerated sword ki and sword light flew out from the blade, cutting a gap in the "turbulence" formed by the shark Honkai beasts, halting their attack!
The Valkyries aboard the research vessel "Icarus" stared in astonishment at the images transmitted by the cameras, feeling as if their emotions were riding a rollercoaster.
"So many Honkai beasts! Captain Whitley is in danger! Everyone, prepare to launch torpedoes and depth charges!"
"Wait... these Honkai beasts don't seem as formidable as we imagined..."
"No, they're coming continuously! Keep your weapons ready!"
"Wow!"
These were cries of surprise from being startled by Luo Lin's indiscriminate Edge of Taixuan strikes.
Alvitr sighed, "The headquarters personnel are really amazing... Is she an A-rank Valkyrie?"
The surrounding Valkyries nodded and agreed.
"Indeed, I once had the honor of fighting alongside an A-rank Valkyrie, and the scene was incredibly exaggerated!"
"With an A-rank Valkyrie leading, wouldn't exploring this Stigmata Ruin be easy and enjoyable?"
The discussions on the research vessel didn't reach the ears of the Valkyries engaged in battle underwater. Luo Lin single-handedly turned the tide of the battle, even showing signs of completely annihilating the enemy.
A few minutes later, Luo Lin casually dispersed the morphing long sword in her hand and gazed at the floating bodies of the shark-type Honkai beasts. These bodies were rapidly disintegrating, turning into purple specks and disappearing.
The black-haired Valkyrie nodded. "I don't think there are any more."
Captain Whitley approached Luo Lin with a reverent expression and suggested, "Luo Lin, you've used a lot of Honkai energy just now. Do you need to rest?"
Luo Lin was initially going to decline. Compared to the Abyss, the atmosphere here was relaxing and enjoyable, and there was no need to rush and risk her life, using a strategy of aggressive engagement and exhausting every bit of her Honkai energy...
But Luo Lin noticed that Whitley and the other two Valkyries' Honkai energy aura was somewhat disrupted. Although continuing forward wouldn't hinder them, facing Chiyou and the inevitable "accidents," Luo Lin thought it would be better to be cautious.
"A short rest, and then we'll proceed."
A few minutes later, Luo Lin and her team entered the underwater crevice in perfect condition.
Initially, the black-haired girl could still feel strong Honkai energy fluctuations.
But as they progressed deeper into the crevice, the concentration of Honkai energy began to rapidly decrease. Even Whitley and the other two Valkyries, who were relatively less sensitive, noticed something was off.
Whitley tapped her breathing mask, expressing her confusion. "The Honkai energy here is unexpectedly low? Could it be that the signal anomalies detected earlier were caused by those gathered Honkai beasts?"
"We should be approaching the real anomaly point."
Arriving here, Luo Lin felt a familiar sensation rising in her heart.
The pattern of diminishing Honkai energy around her was strikingly similar to the "Anti-Honkai Energy Array" she encountered on Taixu Mountain two days ago...
No, it should be said that a "Anti-Honkai Energy Array" had really been deployed here, with the purpose of sealing Chiyou!
The black-haired girl speculated that if they continued forward, they would probably see a "Key of Dominion" inserted into the sea.
Soon, Luo Lin confirmed her speculation.
A spherical shield emitting a faint light suddenly appeared in their sight, illuminating the depths of the underwater crevice. Standing within it was a golden longsword.
It was indeed the "Key of Dominion - Xuanyuan Sword"!
However, the state of this golden sword was very precarious. Luo Lin noticed that the mass-produced God Keys were covered with fine cracks, and the light circulating on the sword's body was flickering, causing the surrounding shield to also flicker, obviously unable to support for much longer.
Whitley didn't know the function of the golden sword here. She scratched her head and spoke, "This... this antique seems to be in a dangerous state. Shouldn't we conduct a rescue excavation and bring it back to the research vessel?"
Antique?
Oh, Whitley probably still didn't understand things like mass-produced Divine Keys, so treating it as an antique was a normal thing to do.
Luo Lin glanced at the two Valkyries beside her, who also expressed agreement with Captain Whitley's proposal.
But the black-haired girl knew clearly that the "Key of Dominion" before her was still maintaining the operation of the "Anti-Honkai Energy Formation."
If she directly dismantled this thing, there was a good chance that Chiyou would wake up with a "waaaagh" sound.
"Let's leave a detector here and wait for archaeologists to come and take it." Luo Lin advised, "We big brutes might just end up smashing the antique to pieces. There wouldn't be anything left... Let's go check out the other anomalous signal points."
The three Valkyries didn't hesitate and readily agreed.