Maybe something wasn’t meant to be revealed to the public or adversaries. There were too many naval warships, excessively too high for deployment. The actual number of the US Navy arsenal might be much higher than publicly given.
Ships from the American Mage Federation were around thirty…Five small, ten medium warships, and fifteen aircraft carriers. Fifteen hundred mages swarmed over the body of water, and that was on the good side.
Rebel mages were also everywhere. They had joined the naval warfare party and escalated their intentions.
However, though, Julius brought terror to the Gulf. He wasn’t taking any chances of sparing the rebels. It was an opportunity to use all the skills he didn’t get to use. He was illuminated in bright silver. Bright like the moon thanks to his hair.
Julius’ Skoltor System was keeping track of how many he slained. He blasted off a group of rebels. Their bodies flew to a warship, adding fifty deaths to the count.
The muscles in his arms and back wanted to expand. His robe had torn. The black T-shirt was the only top he had left. Blood leaked out of the sides of his neck. Stress had accumulated in the veins, but Julius couldn’t care less.
His power continued to rise. The ocean was affected by his pressure. A mile radius of water rippled outwards.
[Skill Count: 82] + 3
A rumbling erupted from the sea, and a giant burst of water shot up to the sky like a geyser.
Something emerged from the depths. A giant monster with a dragon head soared. It cried in agony and despair as its eyes were covered in its blue blood. Soundwaves echoed right in the direction of the naval ships.
A group of mage rebels turned their attention towards the beast. The latter was resistant and charged right at them with a crying yell.
Julius’ black T-shirt tore at the pecs as his muscularity grew. His qi expanded the shirt and sewed it back in place. New veins contracted and revealed on his upper arms. Both of his forearms shone in gold through the tattoos. Blue and golden aura burst out of his body, forming a cross.
He raised his sword, Valence, up high. The blade’s tip touched the aura and absorbed all the qi. From the hilt to the end, it transformed and elongated into a gigantic weapon of magnitude…A deadlift for an average man, but a casual lift of boxes for himself.
Julius placed his left grip on the hilt as the weapon became a true two-handed sword. Its guard turned into a golden crossword, longer than ordinary. One foot on each side, and perfectly perpendicular to the hilt like a plus sign. The blade before was already black, so white scar-like marks were formed on the fuller and the central redge. Steam was generated from every tiny gap.
Sling!
Valence was ready. Julius wielded it with uttermost might. The burning feeling in his throat made him yell in a loud echo.
Lian appeared next to him, only to be blasted in the face by a sudden gust. Enemies that tried to get close were pushed further away. Bullets and warship artillery crumbled into dust.
As his back continued to exert excess force of energy, Julius swung Valence.
Under his gesture’s command, miles of ocean were split into two. A deep trench caused by the swinging sword left behind was hundreds of feet deep. Waterfalls began very quickly from both sides. Some ships fell into the abyss. Unfortunately, a few oil rigs received the same fate, followed by a plume of smoke and massive oil spills.
Pollution was rampant.
BRRTT!
Lian unleashed her power and aura to bypass Julius’ pressure and flew right up to him.
Both were then looking to the left. They saw two lasers fired into the sky like a targeting system. A familiar qi traced back to Julius and Lian, and they recognized who it belonged to.
Skylar’s sunglasses were off.
“We’ve got to go,” Lian muttered.
Julius turned to the trench in the Gulf that was formed. Indeed, he has to go. Something from the abyss was abrupting. A force of air that was visible to the naked eye came off like a fan, only for it to return into the abyss. A loud, whirring noise rang in his ears. Ok, we really have to go. Before leaving, he swung Valence down in front of him, launching a golden wave. Funny enough, it created another trench. Because it was a long-traveling wave, it intersected, creating a cross-shaped trench in the Gulf.
Expecting to get far worse for this area, Julius finally departed with Lian. The latter sent telepathic signals to allies, instructing them to leave too before they get pulled into the abyss.
A few miles away, Julius saw Skylar on a rampage. No weapons except guns, fists, and kicks. She was a roaring tiger, tearing many soldiers apart. Even brutal, that one, she carried a body and ripped it in half. An unpredictable sequence of finishers. Her eyes were out of control.
Julius landed a few hundred meters from her chaos. He got a glimpse of her eyes burning. Scars and burn marks were around her socket.
Before he could do anything, he was surrounded by multiple loads of firepower and combatants. Lian dropped down, distracting them. Julius then launched right at them, and she did the same.
Dirt and debris flew up as Julius dashed through with his right arm out. He grabbed a soldier, immediately breaking his neck. His feet articulated and went on a full circle while still holding the body.
Qi invaded the deceased’s rifle and pulled the trigger. A rain of bullets going sideways in a circle plagued the spot. While so, Julius was yelling in pain as he sprinted laps. His throat punched the sides of the esophagus, and the rashy feeling was bloody. The ring of blood from earlier bled again, soaking his neck.
On the last lap, Julius switched to gliding on the rough terrain. He stopped the qi from refilling the rifle’s ammo and decapitated the soldier’s body. Julius didn’t stop as he went on a detour, breaking off from the constant circular laps. Skylar was farther away, so he sped, sending more power to his feet and ankles. His feet tore through the layers of dirt and left behind a deep trail.
Julius’ mouth was gargled with blood, and he spat some out. Then, smoke came out of his nostrils, forcing him to fire a mouth blast. An illuminating flash of light struck at a couple of houses around the block.
It was almost historic because of the era in which these houses and this specific district were built. Stone debris and boulders collapsed. Tall, skinny trees tumbled and crashed down. Julius went through a hardcore parkour trajectory, only for him to give up and go for the strongman strategy. He let his body exert qi at its own free will as he sped up again.
Oh, much better. Julius felt relieved from running through the trees and evacuated houses. He then crashed into an M1a2 Abrams.
“What the hell?” Julius mumbled, getting up. He turned around and saw a big gap that tore the tank in two. He went right after it and grabbed the first half. As Julius was about to, he was struck by an artillery shell from another M1a2 Abrams nearby. So, he went to the second half and tore a piece of metal. Piss off. Transforming it into a projectile, he then threw it back.
Kaboom!
He returned to the first half and lifted it above his shoulders. Then, he ran.
Skylar was ahead and not that far from his view. He opened his mouth and fired a beam at a few speeding military trucks running to her. Julius jumped into the sky, flipped the half of the tank, and grabbed it by the cannon like a hilt.
He regained control of his qi and channeled it to the piece of tank, turning it into a gigantic sledgehammer. Going vom tag, he hovered over the site and went for a rapid descent.
A loud, growling roar that could shake the Earth came. Julius slammed down the hammer, striking right into the crowd.
Clang!
Kaboom!
Everything levitated as he put all of the force into the sledgehammer. He heard the screams of soldiers and metal. Behind him was Skylar, who was still in pain from the burning eyes. He grabbed her down before she flew away. Transferring a trace of his qi to her, she was able to regain her senses and free herself from the pain.
The temperature rose rapidly as indicated by his Skoltor System. Julius saw the smoke form around the crater he had caused.
Skylar grabbed Julius’ arm. “Where am I?”
“Not in Downtown. Do you not remember anything?”
Skylar shook her head. “I don’t. I thought I passed out asleep.”
Julius then swung ahead, pushing the force ahead for miles. He cleared the way of any enemies from attacking him and Skylar. When everything cleared, all debris and rocks dropped to the ground. Everything left behind was just nature’s solid. If there were houses and small buildings here, it was all gone.
Temperatures dropped. Sounds of the heat fizzled around them. The circumference of the crater was a ring of burns left behind. All in bold black. Skylar looked in absolute surprise.
“Woah, I did all of this?” Skylar asked in a curious tone rather than horror.
“And you’re asleep,” Julius answered with a nod. “So…this is what you’re capable of.”
“I don’t know if I should be happy or not. I was asleep. Darn it, what a waste.”
Julius shook his head. “No, no. This isn’t a waste. You got a benchmark. Now your next goal is to do it while you’re awake, but not now. By the way, are you okay without sunglasses? I forgot how long it has to be before you need it back on.”
Skylar shrugged her shoulders. “I wish I knew,” she said as she stretched her arms and back. “What did you see when I was going through all of this?”
“You looked like crying in pain. Everything around your eyes was dark and burned like coal and ashes. Despite that, you were charging like a bull through all of this chaos.”
“Goodness…And this is all from a week of training.”
Lian then arrived. She was in a messy look. “Sorry, I’m late.”
Julius summoned three water bottles, handing one to her and Skylar. “No worries. It’s over…Now, I’m thirsty.” He opened the cap of his water bottle and took a few big gulps.
Lian summoned her phone, checking through a dozen new notifications. “Julius, the situation over New Orleans has switched.”
“Switched? Bad or good?”
“In between. Anybody who was at the Guld either suffered or barely escaped. The bad news is that New Orleans is gone…And the good news is we’ve captured three thousand.”
“Is that just mages or everyone?”
“Total,” Lian said, putting her phone away. “I think we should head back now. We are not going to keep people waiting.”
A few helicopters passed by in the air. Julius watched them go, seeing that it was on his team. They’re heading in the direction that Julius pushed Skylar’s enemies away.
“Time to go,” Julius muttered, turning to Skylar. “Can you still fly?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
The three launched into the air, flying back to New Orleans or what was left of it.
It was awful.
Yinhai. I need a full report of everything that happened here. This can’t be the only thing left. There’s literally nothing here. I don’t see any solid except flowing liquid. No light and silence like an empty void. If Empress Cai yells one more time, I’ll give her a leeaway this time.
Julius sped up, leading the way back to the temporary command center. Everyone should be there, or at least a few notable mages.