New Game+

The rising commotion around the Kraken had now exceeded the capabilities that the Kraken could handle. There was a massive tornado right at the Kraken center, and it kept on drilling on the Kraken. Most of the firepower was centered there, but the tornado was just too strong. Around it, was the four winds that continued on attacking those that dared enter its perimeter. A cutting wind, a freezing wind, a mighty gale, and an area that always sucked the air created a vacuum. The soldiers were doing their best to keep up. Several powerful weapons were already used to destroy the entire tornado. But every time an Armor or the Kraken itself would prepare for an attack, the wind would use it and fling it up to the skies above. 

Several bright explosions have already occurred on the skies above. But as if that wasn't bad enough, werewolves were reported to have made an appearance. At the opposite side of the Kraken, the Commanders have long led all the soldiers to retreat. 

Werewolves were seen, causing great havoc. The strength of these werewolves was terrifying as they could forcibly dismantle the parts of an Exoskeleton. Yet what intrigued the Commanders was that although these werewolves were originally their own men, they continued to attack another unidentified party that was attempting to infiltrate the Kraken earlier. 

"Let them kill themselves! Don't waste our men!" The Commanders ordered and ushered their forces to support the Golems. 

The battle of the Golems almost ended as the group of soldiers was already cornered. But suddenly, a massive Armor appeared and aided the Exoskeletons that fought the Golem. The Exoskeletons took shelter from this and retreated to another end. 

"Any update and that group that disappeared?" A Commander talked to another Commander who shook his head. 

"We lost the trail. The battle is too chaotic, and our sensors cannot pinpoint them. They were last seen fleeing towards the werewolf region. Should we send men? I opted not to as I believe that that group caused the lightning strike allies with the ones currently fighting the werewolves." The Commander quickly relayed. 

"Yeah. I suppose that's the only thing we can do. For now, we focus on the tornado and order the full retreat. Our priority is to make sure that there are no more groups that can infiltrate the Kraken." 

"Where is the Atlantis?" The other Commander cursed. 

The pair was silent. A tremor could be felt that caused the Kraken to shake. 

"What now?" 

"Sir! One of the buoyancy chambers has been destroyed!" One of the warriors reported. 

"What?!" The Commanders exclaimed. 

Even the Commander that was healing the wounded soldier that was brought in reacting. 

"Who did it?" The Commander shouted. 

"Admiral!" A video feed appeared. 

"I am headed for the buoyancy chamber. Since that area is only accessible to Commanders or those in the Command center, then one among you is the traitor." 

"Sir. With all due respect. After being defeated, you have not returned to battle even though your Armor has been repaired. And even though that had happened, you did not report back here. As a Commander of the World Governing Powers, I would have to suspect you as well. You left out that apart from us Commanders, you have direct access to opening those buoyancy chambers." 

"Commander Drake! How dare you?!" Another Commander angrily replied. 

"How dare me what? Of everyone who can betray us, the Admiral has the most power and capacity to do so! He is outside right now, and by his location, he is near the buoyancy chamber that was damaged! Who else could have done that? Tell me?!" Drake challenged. 

The Admiral's expression changed. 

"So, it looks like you're the traitor." The Admiral sighed. 

"On what grounds?" Commander Drake countered. 

"On the grounds that I am not the traitor." The Admiral sneered. 

"That's it?! I haven't left this room! I can't possibly be the traitor! You trained us all to be wary, and you already warned us that there might be a traitor among us! So now that I accuse you, that's the best you have?" 

"Enough! Fine, then Commander, why not go out here and check? Aren't you worried that I would blow up more chambers? If I am the traitor, it is beneficial to you. You can watch me. If you are the traitor, it's beneficial for the good guys to not have a traitor in the Command Center. I dare you. Do you accept?" The Admiral's expression turned serious. 

"Why wouldn't I dare?" Drake replied and immediately moved. 

The room became quiet as it observed Commander Drake immediately exiting the room. The large exit was opened once more. 

"Get those three soldiers out of there." The Admiral also ordered. 

Drake paused and motioned for the soldiers to get the one who was in a medical table. 

The two immediately moved, not daring to linger anymore. 

"You two follow me. Keep up to my movements and detail the plans. I will be disabling the outgoing of my communicator. Inform me for any important changes or if the Admiral acts crazy." Drake gave his orders as he began to move. 

"Everyone else. Carry on. Assume that the ones next to you are traitors. If Drake isn't the traitor, then he's the best soldier among you for suspecting even me." The Admiral sighed, and the video feed disappeared. 

"You heard the Admiral. Back to work. We are already in the brink of defeat." Another Commander chided. 

Drake and the group began to move. 

Stanley and Roselyn continued to carry Sammy. 

"There. I did as you said. How did you do that? How did you inform your allies?" Drake whispered. 

"Our other allies have found a way to infiltrate the Kraken. The weapon that they used to begin the attack was the one you hid in the common areas. The Exoskeleton you received from New Great Britain." 

"But those are obsolete weapons? Do you really expect me to believe that they could pilot such useless tools?" 

"You guys just haven't figured out how to turn those weapons on. As for how I did it, it was fairly simple. Some of your teams have already been broadcasting commands all over the Kraken. Roselyn recounted what we had 'discovered' while Stanley was sending out the messages as he spoke in a different frequency. Hearing such things is easy for them." 

"Stanley? That soldier?" 

"He might look old, but he is a kid. It's just some smudge and makeup." 

"A kid?" 

"Hi! I'm Stanley Vagrant." 

"Vagrant? Warfreakz?" 

"Oh. You've heard of us? I'm Roselyn." Roselyn smiled. 

"Anyway... I told them right when you told me about the frequency that we can only hear. This is all part of the smallest miracles that our team has. You interested? Such power will allow you to stand alongside her." 

"The fact I did to what you said shows my willingness. But are you guys seriously going to sink the Kraken? Although I don't care about the WGP, there are soldiers in this facility that I do care for! If I am to ally with you, I want my squad to be spared!" 

"Go and order them to go search for the Exoskeletons from New Great Britain. At this point, you are both suspected of being a traitor, or the only smart Commander. Your actions will be tolerated if it's just that. I already made Stanley make that broadcast." Sammy smiled. 

"Fine. But still... you guys are crazy. Sinking the Kraken? We still have several more buoyancy chambers to destroy." 

"You guys really know how to put on a show. I've been taking a look at the map and the Kraken's capabilities. Those chambers... they aren't even real." 

"What do you mean?" Drake frowned. 

"Destroying those chambers won't do anything. It's only something that was meant to deceive possible traitors. If we blow up all of those chambers, the Kraken still won't sink." Sammy explained. 

Drake was surprised, but his gaze turned strange. 

"What? No! That's impossible?! We were clearly-" 

"Think! This is the Kraken. The best and brightest of the world made this! Why would they create a Death Star level weakness? We have learned so much since A New Hope. Why make the same mistake?" 

"What?" Drake was confused.

"Your superiors did that to deceive people and reveal possible traitors. Richie's instinct believes this as well. Before we went inside, he mapped the entire Kraken and already pointed out the weaknesses of it. He's understanding of vibrations is superb. He noticed that even if those chambers were broken, the Kraken would still float." 

"How sure is he? Is he as smart as those who built this? How can he understand the limitations of the Kraken? Did he saw the plans before?" 

"He didn't need to. The vibrations and sound had already revealed where the buoyancy of this ship is and how it floats. Those chambers only provide a tiny percentage of it. Especially now. It's almost impossible to sink this Kraken unless you blow up about half of it." 

Drake was surprised at the claims. 

"When the Emperor's Invoking began, the Origin force had even strengthened it. As long as a thick layer of Origin energy remains in the air around us and in the sea below, the Kraken won't sink. But as I said, even without Origin, destroying those chambers won't sink this ship." 

"If that's the case, why did you still order Dara's team to blow up that chamber?" 

"To create confusion. Everything that has been happening here is being recorded. So we can't afford to make the enemy think we're this smart. Didn't Lowengren teach you that?" Sammy smiled. 

"No. Our boss taught us to always show ourselves to be three or four times smarter." 

"Ah... A difference of perspective. But who am I to go against the great Lowengren?" 

"You said that you will force her to call me?" Drake asked impatiently. 

"Calm down, Chase. It all depends on our great and magnificent leader. He's probably looking for the right opportunity to tell her." 

Drake was silent. 

"What happened to the Atlantis? What did you do to it?" 

"Not what. But who. And the answer to 'who' is Lennox." 

Deep underwater, the Atlantis continued to sink. 

For some strange reason, the Atlantis' doors and chambers were opened, and the crushing water rushed inside the Atlantis. Although the soldiers in the Atlantis had the means and protocols to quickly resolve this scenario, the rushing water was too fast to deal with, and it caused the Atlantis to sink. 

Various protocols were enabled to draw the water out of the Atlantis. However, the estimates show that it would take a few hours to complete as the sinking Atlantis already met tremendous pressure. Odinsbane did his best to push the water out, but it was too late. He tried to send several messages to warn the Empress, but his messages could not be sent out. 

Finally, Emperor Odinsbane rushed out of the Atlantis to resurface. His Invoking could not be made as he was deep inside the water. Therefore, he could not gather the Origin Energy around him. But upon exiting the Atlantis, he met two bizarre creatures. The darkness of the waters could not hide the figure. A figure of what looked like a woman stood by, but next to it was a bright flashing figure. 

Odinsbane rushed forward and made a wild charge as it released powerful white energy that became the shape of a serpent. 

"Finally. He made me wait long enough." 

Lennox's body flashed with intense electricity. But the electric charges did not move out but continued to rotate around him. 

"Compress as much water and turn it into a sword," Lennox ordered. The woman next to him was one of the lost sciences that even the WGP sought after. The science pushed Egypt to acquire formidable tech that placed them on par with the Caliphates and the African Nation. 

She was the first and most successful Project Nile specimen who stood nearby and commanded the waters around her. With the aid of Lennox, her control over the water increased to a whole level. It was her power that forcibly caused the waters to rush in after Lennox opened the door. And although she could not control a large amount of water, her water control in various critical moments caused them to successfully drown the Atlantis. 

The water around her was being drawn and compressed into a spear. The compression of the molecules created an almost solid figure. 

Lennox lifted his hands and touched the sword. 

The sword began to flash with bright lights as a bluish charge enveloped it. 

The terrifying energies caused even the woman next to him to back away in fear. 

"Lennox! That energy!" 

"Relax. It would be hard for the WGP to detect a weapon of this level since we are deep underwater. The Atlantis can detect it, but with the static field I created, it won't send out a warning. Besides, we are directly above the Kraken. Up there is the strong storm that New Great Britain sent to harass Australian. And right now, that aircraft my son sent should have arrived. It will use several weapons on the boundaries of the WGP's weapon limitations. So any fluctuations or energy that they detect in this region won't be easily identified." Lennox casually replied. 

Odinsbane detected tremendous energy before him and frowned.

"What technology is this?" After hesitating a bit, the Emperor led his Rule to recklessly charge towards Lennox. 

"You think that little stick is going to defeat me? Even a nuclear bomb can't destroy this Rule!" He shouted as he commanded the Rule to travel forward. 

Lennox held the sword in his hands as the electricity increased. 

"Three months' worth of energy... All gone. And to think I was saving this for Egypt." 

A chill rang up on the spine of the woman next to him. 

"Calm down, Stefanny. As long as you and Damien remain loyal to me, you'll never be the ones to receive this sword." Lennox said as he observed the energy in the sword. It was then that he recalled one of the verses that Eagle once mentioned in a particular sermon. 

"A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished— sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning." Lennox smiled as he held the sword higher and threw it like a spear. 

The moment it left his hands, the sword traveled quickly and rushed towards the Rule. 

The Rule released a bright, concentrated energy that countered the approaching sword, but the sword continued to travel unhindered. 

The Emperor activated a powerful Origin shield that its Rule could create. 

BOOM! 

The impact caused a muffled sound, but instead of an explosion, the sword easily pierced through the Origin shield. The sword shattered the shield and struck the hard shell of the Rule. 

BOOM! 

Yet again, the sword drilled its way, creating loud crackling sounds before piercing right through the other side of the Rule. 

The Emperor's Exoskeleton immediately detected the energy. It forced the position of the Emperor as it also released another explosive power that was meant to deflect an attack. 

The sword stabbed right through and destroyed the left arm of the Emperor. The sword continued to charge through and penetrated the back of the Rule and headed towards the sinking Atlantis, causing another small explosion. 

The waters rushed in the Rule. The Rule immediately activated various defensive measures to prevent the water. Still, it was too damaged to quickly resolve the flooding waters. As for the Emperor, his expression was deathly white as he clutched his left arm and shouted in pain. The side of his ribs was also damaged and even the Exoskeleton armor he wore could not protect him from the terrifying sword.

Various alerts were being made by the Exoskeleton suit and the Rule, but before he could react, an electric charge shocked him and caused him to faint. 

Lennox had a disappointed face.

"Three months is not enough?"

Steffany pondered on the strange words of Lennox.

"It... pierced through the Rule and even damaged the Atlantis. What do you mean?"

"Seeker spoke of an attack in his future. They were the primary weapons reserved for fighting against World Champions and Ranked Heroes. That attack that I made is weaker than the speculated power that those lightspeed attacks the Aragarians gave the traitors of Earth."

"That attack..." Steffany's couldn't even finish her words. That attack already caused her great fear but with Lennox's description, she realized just how inadequate they were.

"Let's go. Tell your husband to retrieve the Rule and the Emperor." Lennox ordered as he descended towards the Atlantis.

"Maybe our only hope... really lie on these madmen.." Steffany muttered to herself as she quickly followed.