"Take this, Solar BUSTERRRRRR!
"..."
"Tremble before the might of Huo Qiang, the sun god!"
"..."
"Haven't had enough?"
'Does he have to shout out his attacks every time, I know that that dragon is slow… but everyone from the sect can hear him.'
Zhang Dong had trouble concentrating on helping Bob crack the code to the main pocket dimension where their true enemy was probably hiding. When the massive dragon monster appeared before them he was going to defeat it but instead Huo Qiang wanted to have a go at it. It seemed that he was actually winning but the performance was rather loud and unnecessarily long.
Huo Qiang quickly shifted into his enhanced form that placed him inside of a large glowing armor. He did look like a sun deity by tossing large plasma-filled solar bombs at the fire dragon. Even this creature made of molten rock started to melt into liquid as the fight continued. It seemed that after a while he shifted from taking it seriously to showboating. The sect members that cheered him on from afar only fueled this whole situation.
'Maybe I shouldn't have recreated those comics and mangas when I was bored.'
A while back he implemented a new technique that he became aware of. Thanks to his brain being enhanced as a cultivator he could recall all the pieces of fiction he once read or saw back in his previous world. It was quite easy to infuse those old works into books inside his system library. Then copying it into the real world wasn't hard anymore and some of those works contained manga. These usually had the heroes call out their special attacks before attacking and after reading a few Qiang seemed to develop this quirk.
'Well… he probably won't go overboard with it, at least he is luring the other monsters away from the palace with all of that shouting.'
With the flamboyant performance, it was hard for the creatures to concentrate on one target. It was actually a good tactic to lure them toward Huo Qiang and that huge dragon boss. The beast was so huge that it could destroy even the lava golems. Even now one was crumbling after getting hit by a tail swipe. The monster was clearly enraged as the fight wasn't going its way.
'Bob, speed it up.'
Soon he just decided to sit down and concentrate. By relegating some of his own spiritual energy into Bob the process could be hastened. Only now that he knew that there was no reason to save up power did he push himself to the limit.
'Calculations complete, sending trajectory data to the user.'
'Finally!'
The triangulations were complete and the visual representation of the map showed him a world filled with green and blue energy. This indicated that the element of wood along with water were probably the most prevalent there. Perhaps this was a clue to what he would be getting if he managed to defeat the master of that place. Yet he couldn't know if that was the finish line for this military expedition.
'Hm… this is going to take out a lot of energy… luckily these monsters let me farm more spirit points.'
While he couldn't farm spirit points by killing monsters it was possible to use it in tandem with his faction system. The monster waves that were being cleared out by anyone above a certain favorability ranking was giving him some points. This together with the constant passive gains from his enlarged territory would be enough for a two-way trip.
"Qiang, stop playing around and come back, I'll be teleporting us and the Golden Palace away from this place and you better be in range before that happens."
"Already Senior Brother? Fine, I shall end the life of this overgrown lizard!"
After it was possible everyone was given the order to return to the inner parts of the palace. They all needed to be inside during the teleportation procedure or otherwise, they would be lost in this place forever. Soon the only person that didn't retreat was Huo Qiang that instead was gathering a large attack over his head.
It was somewhat similar to Zhang Dong's finishing move which created a miniaturized star. Qiang on the other hand made his from plasma energy which made it look like a smaller sun. It was then promptly tossed at the already injured volcanic dragon that could only activate its fire breath to go against it. The two forces clashed with each other to generate a massive explosion. Even the creatures that lived in this volcanic region weren't able to sustain themselves in all this heat. Their scales and hides started turning to black charcoal or just melting.
Soon the golden palace started glowing brightly and together with the flame technique, everything in the vicinity went white. Where once stood the massive golden palace nothing more remained and near it a giant hole that spawned a few kilometers with a headless dragon remained.
"Did you see that!"
"Yes, I saw a lot of stupidity, there was no reason to cut it so close you idiot, when my husband gives you an order you better comply immediately!"
"You're just jealous that I took out their boss!"
"Why you!"
"Calm down you two, this is not the time for petty squabbles, we could be in for a lot of resistance on the other side so conserve your strength."
Zhang Dong's voice could be heard through the speakers. He was still sitting in the command room and adding power to the teleportation procedure that was taking place. The golden palace was shaking quite a bit and the shields outside were having some trouble holding together. The passage through dimensions wasn't that easy and he still didn't fully understand it.
He could only let the system along with Bob guide him through it while hoping for the best. This was not something he wanted to keep relying on. The system that he was given was created by a strange unknown force. The reason for its existence was unknown to him but it didn't seem to be anything too good. If it was created by a benevolent god then monsters like Wang Long would not have been created from it. The Overseer that was there didn't even react to the wanton destruction that he created.
The only time it showed itself was when he was about to go through a transformation into something new and greater. It was as if these beings were only here to keep the system holders from discovering the full truth of the matter. Perhaps if his strange cultivation variation was found he would be in for a world of pain. Before that could happen he needed to get stronger and clearing out this last area could bring him over the edge.
'We are here…'
The Golden Palace stopped shaking as it finally appeared in the hidden region. All the other ones were connected to form a loop. Perhaps there was a secret pathway that would be created after he visited all of those pocket dimensions but through this way, he was free to end it faster.
'Looks quite peaceful… similar to the area I arrived in first but there is a lot more of this strange water here…'
At first glance, there was no reason to be alarmed. The creatures of this new zone didn't seem too violent or too powerful. It was a quiet place filled out with breathable water like in the underwater base of that squid monstrosity. This water was very clear and didn't really impede the view as much as regular seawater did.
To check some more he gave Bob the order to scan for everything he could find. All the information was transferred to the golden palace's main computer which could then forward the information to his army. They were quickly getting a visual representation of the region's geographical structure.
"Is everyone alright? If you feel teleportation sickness please rest for a bit in the medical chamber."
"P-patriarch, you are here."
Zhang Dong removed himself from his hidden command room and appeared in the official one where all the elders from his sect gathered. Zhang Zhi and Liena were here along with Zhang Jin. Huo Qiang had barely made it in so his location was outside the inner walls of the golden palace. His condition wasn't all too great, the amount of spiritual energy he went through to defeat the large dragon was staggering. At the time being, he was passed out on the ground in a starfish position.
"Can someone peel Qiang off the ground? The barrier is still in place but the water should be breathable even if that doesn't make sense. "
"Patriarch, should we be cautious of it?
"It should be fine but considering the enemy, we are facing is proficient in water techniques, it would perhaps be better to minimize the contact."
The elders in the room nodded at each other. Even though the water allowed them to function without using air this didn't mean it was safe. What if the strange liquid entered their bodies and was then used against them by whoever was living in this place. Taking in a foreign substance always carried a risk so it was better to remain vigilant and evade any contact as if it was composed of poison mist.
"Dong'er I'll be the first to ask, where are we now?"
"Let me explain the structure of these strange zones to you first before we continue."
Zhang Dong presented his theory to the elders gathered in the room. The circular structure and that they found themselves in a hidden area that they should not be in. Immediately everyone was stunned by the scale as they could see the mockup map that Bob had created for Zhang Dong before. There were twenty-one other pocket dimensions in this anglerfish that they found themselves in. Each and every one of them was the size of the current dimensional regalia.
"Fascinating, what is this creature, and who would be capable of creating such a being… is it even alive, or is it some type of automaton with no soul?"
Some of the elders brought their speculations to the forefront. Zhang Dong himself was inclined to believe that the fish was not a real living being. If it actually had a proper soul then it would have been large enough for him to notice it. Instead, the monster fish was already chomping down on the golden palace before anyone knew what was going on.
"That's a good theory but we must stay focused, I expect heavy resistance after whoever owns this place realizes that we are here."
"Yes, Patriarch!"
While it would have been nice to have the drop on their enemies, they were in a strange place that worked on peculiar rules. There was no way of knowing what would happen to them after their protective barrier stopped working and before that could happen they needed to get this mission over with.