21st Century Necromancer

The operation to encircle and eliminate the sea monster began early the next morning.

After a night of rest, the fleet started preparing for battle before the sun even rose. Amidst the bustle, the soldiers, now fully aware of the formidable foe they were up against, couldn't help but feel nervous and uneasy.

This wasn't like fighting militants in the Middle East who used radar like floodlights and fired automatic rifles randomly; they were facing a colossal marine monster, larger than the warships beneath their feet.

Thanks to Hollywood's disaster and monster movies, the soldiers were acutely aware that, in the face of a creature of this size, warships were no more than tin cans filled with snacks—snacks the monster could devour simply by twisting open the lid. And those "snacks" were the soldiers themselves.

Fortunately, the world-renowned military prowess of the US military wasn't just an empty boast. These soldiers seriously prepped the armaments for the fighter jets about to take off from the amphibious assault ship, readying everything for battle.

Standing on the bridge of the USS Iwo Jima amphibious assault ship, Chen Yu looked at the F-35B fighter jets being prepped for takeoff on the deck and asked Colonel Marcus beside him, "Colonel, how much damage do you think these jets can inflict on the sea monster?"

"To be honest, I don't know. If this were a Hollywood blockbuster, these jets would just be sacrificial lambs, mere background props." Colonel Marcus, standing in the bridge and holding a pair of binoculars while observing the busy soldiers on the deck, cracked a cold joke before continuing, "But this is reality. With the ammunition load of the F-35Bs, we can at least give that monster one unforgettable 'good morning.'"

"Is that so? Well, then I look forward to your 'good morning.'" Chen Yu chuckled, refraining from disrupting Colonel Marcus's command and simply stepped aside to observe the fighter jets completing their takeoff preparations one by one.

As Chen Yu watched, six helicopters on the deck finished their loading, ascended into the air, formed a formation above the fleet, and flew toward the direction of the giant sea monster.

Meanwhile, the F-35Bs, now ready, wouldn't enter the battlefield yet—they had to wait for the helicopters to drive the giant creature out of the water using anti-submarine bombs before engaging in combat.

After confirming the aircraft were airborne, Chen Yu followed Colonel Marcus down into the combat command center inside the ship's hull.

The bridge only managed the operations of the ship itself and the takeoff and landing of aircraft on the deck, while the combat command center coordinated the data across all vessels and directed the fleet as a whole.

At this moment, the command center was a hive of tense activity, with streams of data converging into a battlefield status map for Colonel Marcus to lead the operation.

Standing beside Colonel Marcus, Chen Yu also gazed at the battlefield map laid out on the table, refraining from disrupting the colonel's commands.

"The helicopter formation has reached the combat zone!" An intelligence officer promptly reported the latest update aloud.

Meanwhile, another officer immediately adjusted the markers representing the helicopter formation on the map for Colonel Marcus to clearly and intuitively grasp the battlefield dynamics.

"Can they see the monster?" Colonel Marcus asked the communications officer, who quickly relayed inquiries to the helicopter units ahead.

After receiving a definitive answer, Colonel Marcus stroked his chin and glanced at Chen Yu. Seeing that Chen Yu gestured for him to continue, Marcus then instructed the communications officer nearby, "Tell the helicopters to proceed with the prearranged operation plan—deploy anti-submarine sonar and torpedoes to drive that big guy out of the water!"

The colonel's command was promptly executed, and the tension inside the combat command center reached a peak as everyone awaited the situation reports from the helicopter formation deployed ahead.

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The six helicopters had reached the sea monster's location. Despite its immense form submerged underwater, it remained plainly visible.

Thanks to the relatively shallow depth of the waters in this zone, part of the giant sea monster's spiny shell even protruded above the surface, resembling an actual small island.

Observing the protruding section, one helicopter pilot had enough composure to joke to their colleagues, "Turns out those Hollywood monster films aren't entirely made up! The island's just the part of the monster that's above water—I'm convinced now it's real."

Before the pilot could continue joking, Colonel Marcus's command arrived, ordering them to initiate the attack.

The pilots quickly shelved their banter, and the six helicopters spread out into formation, encircling the giant sea monster like a net.

As they approached the massive creature, the helicopters began dropping anti-submarine sonar devices—not for underwater detection, but to drive the sea monster away using sound waves emitted by the sonar.

This tactic drew upon the reaction observed yesterday when Aquya used active sonar to probe the creature—it evidently responded to the waves emitted by active sonar.

Thus, deploying a large number of sonar devices was expected to evoke a powerful response from the monster.

Sure enough, as the sonar devices entered the water and began working, the sea monster was bombarded with sound waves, prompting it to move.

Watching the giant sea creature, now writhing like a startled animal in the water, the six helicopters dropped their anti-submarine torpedoes.

These torpedoes, specifically designed to attack submarines and equipped with guidance systems, now targeted the colossal sea monster.

Their target was so enormous that the torpedoes required no guidance to strike accurately—all of them hit their mark.

A series of massive explosions erupted around the monster, but the sheer enormity of its body rendered the attack ineffective. Even though all six torpedoes hit, the creature hardly seemed hurt—instead, it appeared enraged.

Its six enormous legs rose from the water, lifting its body skyward. The sea monster's tentacle-covered head emerged above the waves, and its two enormous eyes—each as large as a car—immediately spotted the six helicopters. Several thick tentacles lashed out furiously toward them.

Witnessing the train-sized tentacles sweeping toward them, the helicopter pilots were terrified, their souls seemingly escaping their bodies, as they desperately maneuvered to evade the attack.

Despite their frantic evasive maneuvers, one helicopter was struck directly by a tentacle, erupting instantly into a massive fireball.

The remaining five helicopters rapidly ascended, pulling away from the sea monster to gain distance.

As the helicopters soared higher, the monster's tentacles withdrew, falling short of striking them, though they quivered in irritation as they descended.

At the same time, the monster's colossal body fully emerged from the sea, revealing its immense form entirely above the water's surface.