Su Li gave a hum of acknowledgment, then glanced at Xu Xuehui beside him and said, "Girl, it's your turn now."
Xu Xuehui had been strengthening nothing but her eyes. As a Level 6 Source Awakener, her eyes had undergone six rounds of enhancement, granting her vision so extraordinary that she could see things invisible to most others.
Seven rafts carried forty people, stopping in the stretch of water designated by Jiang Shuijue. Within a radius of three to four hundred meters, no buildings were visible. The nearest structure protruding from the water was over five hundred meters away—a thirty-one-story building with only two floors above the surface.
Xu Xuehui silently gazed downward. Su Li signaled everyone to stay quiet and not disturb her.
Many were unaware of Xu Xuehui's special eye abilities, but they held Su Li in awe. When he ordered silence, none dared speak, merely watching him in silence before turning their gaze to Xu Xuehui.
"Remember, right around here, there are scale-covered wild cattle. Tell me the moment you see them," Su Li instructed.
Xu Xuehui hummed in response, staring below for several minutes before finally looking up at Su Li. She pointed about thirty to forty meters ahead of the raft and said, "There, beneath that building, lots of scaled cattle."
Su Li had heard Jiang Shuijue describe the sea oxen's appearance. They looked much like ordinary wild cattle, but instead of fur, their bodies were covered in black fish-like scales. Their limbs were shorter and stouter compared to regular wild cattle, but otherwise, they were nearly identical.
So Su Li had asked Xu Xuehui to search for scaled cattle in the waters below. Hearing her words, he understood—the sea oxen's lair lay beneath the water thirty to forty meters away.
The seven rafts spread out, slowly approaching the spot Xu Xuehui had indicated.
"Xuehui, is this the place?" Su Li pointed ahead. Seeing her nod, he said, "Good. You stay here, no need to go down. Leave at least two people on each raft to guard them. Everyone else, get in the water."
With Su Li's command, the people on the seven rafts jumped into the water one after another.
Jiang Shuijue, Gu Mingfeng, Ling Yi, Ding Longyun, Gong Xiao, Luo Jun, Wu Feng, Ling Tian, Wang Xiaofei, and others followed Su Li into the water. On each of the seven rafts, two people stayed behind to guard them, leaving a total of twenty-six people in the water.
Taking a deep breath, everyone submerged, looking down to see a building swallowed by the water.
Based on the distance between the rooftop and the water's surface, they estimated it was a twenty-eight-story building.
The building Xu Xuehui mentioned was clearly this one. It seemed the twenty-eight-story structure below them was the sea oxen's lair.
Su Li made a downward gesture in the water. The twenty-six people spread out and sank deeper, quickly landing on the rooftop and standing up before descending further along the building.
Su Li dropped to the top floor of the twenty-eight-story building and peered through a window. Inside, he saw monsters coiled up.
These were ape-like creatures with snake heads, slightly taller than humans, averaging about two meters in height. Using his "Peep Rune," Su Li identified them as Snake-Ape Beasts, Level 5 common monsters.
The twenty-six people sinking into the water immediately disturbed these resting Snake-Ape Beasts.
As the group descended to the twenty-eighth floor, Snake-Ape Beasts began swimming out from windows and balconies.
These creatures were agile in the water, and within moments, over a dozen had surged out.
Unable to speak underwater, the group relied on hand signals to communicate. Gong Xiao, Ding Longyun, and Ling Yi sank the fastest. Seeing the approaching Snake-Ape Beasts, they didn't hesitate to dive deeper and attack.
Ling Yi wielded a crystallized sword, thrusting it at a Snake-Ape Beast and quickly killing it. Gong Xiao and Ding Longyun followed suit, each taking one down. The others sank down as well, swiftly dispatching the dozen or so Snake-Ape Beasts.
More Snake-Ape Beasts poured out from the twenty-eighth and twenty-seventh floors, but the group continued descending. These Level 5 Snake-Ape Beasts posed little threat to them, even in the water.
Soon, they reached the twenty-sixth floor. The monsters on this floor and the deeper twenty-fifth floor were stirred up as well. These creatures resembled Snake-Ape Beasts but were larger, with four arms. Using his Peep Rune, Su Li identified them as Four-Armed Snake-Apes, Level 6 common monsters, slightly stronger than Snake-Ape Beasts but not by much.
Level 6 Source Awakeners could gain effective Source Energy from killing these Four-Armed Snake-Apes, which excited those among them. It was a good opportunity to gather Source Energy and advance to Level 7.
Gong Xiao and Ling Yi, sinking the fastest, had already reached the twenty-fourth floor. Gong Xiao's phoenix eyes lit up as she finally spotted the legendary sea oxen.
As Su Li had described, the sea oxen were about the size of ordinary wild cattle, weighing perhaps a thousand jin. Their bodies were covered in fish scales, with short, thick limbs ending in webbed claws instead of hooves, adapted for swimming.
Activating his Peep Rune, Su Li found that the sea oxen, like the Four-Armed Snake-Apes, were Level 6 common beasts.
Gong Xiao and Ling Yi, sinking the fastest, struck at the sea oxen below. Su Li and Ding Longyun followed closely behind.
With their strength, killing these Level 6 common beasts wasn't difficult. Though the sea oxen had hard scales, their bellies were soft and easily cut open.
Soon, Ling Yi succeeded, slicing open a sea oxen's belly with his crystallized sword.
Organs and blood spilled from the wound. Ling Yi harvested an invalid Source Energy, grabbed one of the sea oxen's horns with his left hand, and dragged the thousand-jin carcass upward through the water.
Two people swam down to help. The three of them gripped the sea oxen's corpse, struggling to haul it upward.
Gong Xiao also succeeded, killing another sea oxen. Su Li gestured, and two more people came down to help her. Together, the three of them dragged the carcass upward.
Above them, swarms of Four-Armed Snake-Apes and Snake-Ape Beasts blocked the way. Five or six people stayed in the upper waters, fending off the attacking monsters to protect those hauling the sea oxen carcasses. They quickly carved a path, sending the two sea oxen corpses to the surface.
Those left on the seven large rafts hurried to help, dragging the floating sea oxen carcasses onto the rafts.
To carry these thousand-jin sea oxen, Su Li had ordered the preparation of seven large rafts. Each raft was reinforced with buoyant items like lifebuoys, plastic barrels, or tires to increase flotation. Though food was scarce in the Golden Eagle Alliance, they had gathered plenty of such materials over the past few days. When two thousand-jin sea oxen carcasses were loaded onto the nearest raft, it only sank slightly, remaining stable—clearly capable of holding another without issue.
Below the twenty-fourth floor, more sea oxen appeared. Su Li drew his Dragon Rhinoceros Sword, which could cut through iron like mud. Even the sea oxen's hard scales couldn't withstand it, and he easily lopped off the heads of two.
Jiang Shuijue, Luo Jun, Ding Longyun, and others close by grabbed the headless sea oxen carcasses and began hauling them upward.
The surrounding water gradually turned red, stained not only by the slain sea oxen but also by the many Snake-Ape Beasts and Four-Armed Snake-Apes killed. Only the sea oxen carcasses were useful; the others were left to sink, their blood dyeing the water.
More and more dark shapes appeared in the depths below. Su Li gestured for everyone to stay at the twenty-fourth floor, waiting for the sea oxen to charge up rather than diving deeper.
The deeper the water, the greater the danger. No one knew what lurked in the abyss. For everyone's safety, Su Li remained cautious.
The group worked together, dividing tasks. Su Li, Gong Xiao, and Ling Yi focused on killing the sea oxen, while others primarily hauled the carcasses to the surface. Some stayed above to fend off the Snake-Ape Beasts and Four-Armed Snake-Apes, ensuring the sea oxen corpses could be transported safely.
The dozen or so people on the rafts handled the carcasses, carefully positioning them at the center of each raft.
Based on their estimates, one large raft could hold three sea oxen carcasses plus a few people. With seven rafts, they could carry twenty-one sea oxen carcasses.
In the deep waters below, currents churned, and more sea oxen appeared. Suddenly, Su Li noticed a new variant among them—larger than the ordinary sea oxen, with white limbs. He quickly activated his Peep Rune and identified it as a White-Limbed Sea Ox, a Level 7 common beast, one tier higher than the regular sea oxen.
Killing a Level 7 White-Limbed Sea Ox would yield effective Source Energy. Su Li raised his Dragon Rhinoceros Sword and charged at it.
He was still 39 Source Energy short of reaching Level 8. Once he did, he could unlock the mysterious blood crystal, which piqued his curiosity greatly.
Though he knew diving into deeper waters would reveal stronger monsters, it also carried risks. Even someone as powerful as him wouldn't venture too deep unless necessary. But now, hunting sea oxen was crucial to the Golden Eagle Alliance's survival, forcing him to take the risk.