As soon as those words left Juwade's mouth, transparent floor that was protecting them from the mana puffer whales started to slide open.
"He can't be serious."
"I didn't sign up to literally swim with the fishes."
"I'm out"
Several voices resounded from where the cadets were standing; they all could infer what Juwade really wanted from them, and it was an absolute no-no for them.
"You signed contracts, people. "If you think that you will gain the benefits of the Blackhawk faction without any hard work, then you must be on some high-grade sh*t." Juwade spoke, then he snapped his fingers.
The doors to the gymnasium closed tightly, and metal blinds covered the windows. All they could see now were the lights that iluminating the place.
"Don't worry, puffer whales are a gentle species; they won't kill any of you….intentionally." Juwade muttered under his breath as he looked at the cadets with a coy smile.
"damn"
Again, the floors started parting; it was becoming wider by the minute. Several of the cadets ran to the walls and attempted to climb onto the plat forms, but
Out of nowhere, officers in black uniforms appeared on each platform, and as soon as a cadet made it to one of them, the officer would fling him or her directly into the water.
"Hehe" Wilder watched the whole scene unfold before his very eyes and couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
They were cornered, but was this really a bad thing?
Wilder didn't believe that the Blackhawk faction would let himself and Sapphire, two people who broke through with black cores, die here.
And as he was contemplating entering the water,
A girl with purple hair walked past him and casually walked towards the water. She made a hand gesture, and some metal plates appeared on the surface of her feelers.
The cadets all looked on in surprise; they didn't know that the feelers came with battle equipment.
They included blades on the sides, a transparent face cover that also functions as an underwater breathing mask, and arm and leg pads that looked like they were meant to protect and amplify them.
"Splash!" Sapphire dived into the water.
Seeing this, Wilder also steeled himself and walked to the edge, performed the same gestures that Sapphire had performed, and dove into the water too.
Inside the water
"It doubled." Wilder felt the pressure from the gravity room double as soon as he dove into the water.
There was another feeling, though, other than the pressure. Wilder felt something like a cool breeze. It seemed strange to have this feeling inside water, but that was what he was feeling right now.
"woaaa"
As Wilder was thinking, he felt the water pushing him to the side. Turning around, Wilder saw a giant whale approaching him.
This whale could not be considered as big as the demon whale protecting the city, but it was quite big for someone like Wilder.
,,,,,,,,,
Meanwhile
Several kilometers from the demon whale city in the dry and deserted land
"boom voom boom voom"
The sound of the earth shaking could be heard, but it didn't seem like an earthquake as the rhythm was in sync.
At least to some extent
"Lord, help us." On top of a small tower situated at the far side of the area, a man in a greenish uniform commented with a look of fright in his eyes.
Right now he was observing a hoard of blood-maned lions making their way toward the demon whale city.
"Contact HQ and tell them that the hoard has crossed the third marker." The man dropped his goggles and spoke to another man beside him.
"Yes sir," the man saluted and walked off.
"Sigh," the soldier with the goggles couldn't help but sigh. If the city was attacked, they would lose everything they had worked for. He wasn't ready to accept it, but what could he do? He was just here for surveillance; he couldn't fight against the creatures.
He turned around and looked out the window once more with his goggles. He continued to observe the hoard.
But unknown to him, a blood-maned lion so big that it could eclipse the whole tower slowly approached them.
"hm?" After a few short seconds he saw a shadow looming over the tower
But it was too late.
"boom"
A red beam of light went off from the blood-maned lion's mouth and destroyed the tower.
In another location inside of Demon Whale City
"hello! Hello!" A young man with glasses screamed into his coms with a look of urgency on his face.
"What's wrong?" beside the man, a lady in a greenish uniform asked.
Right now, they were in a situation room with several officers working round the clock to make sure everything was prepared.
"I think we lost them," the young man with glasses on said with some sadness.
"So soon?" the lady officer frowned.
The hoard had been approaching them for a while now, and even though they had several markers and outposts around the city, they didn't notice until a few hours ago, and the hoard had been closing in on them ever since.
"Okay, contact the keepers and alert everyone; the Demon Whale Army will take action." After a brief moment of contemplation, the lady commanded
Almost immediately, the room went into a frenzy.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"Ahh ahhh," the sound of heavy breathing resounded from a young man who was on the floor and seemed to be soaked wet.
The sound of an alarm could be heard all over the place, and with his blurry eyes, he could hardly make sense of what was happening in his surroundings.
One minute he was crusing on the side of a whale; the next he was grabbed by an officer and pulled out of the water.
"listen up!! There's a hoard of blood-maned lions heading for Demon Whale City, but do not fret; the Army is currently taking care of it, but for now this exercise is over, and the men here will take you to your dorms." Juwade , who had just gotten down from the platform, explained to Wilder and co.