Chapter 276: Flood Overrun and Countering Spiritual Energy

"Dead... dead, I guess."

"I don't know..."

Staring at the Elite lying on the ground, its body covered with plasma‑scorched wounds, the Gulu still spoke with lingering fear.

"Short ones, don't block the way!"

"Get out of the way!"

But the Jackal Werewolves didn't care about any of that; they tore the Gulu apart and ran toward the fortifications.

Yet before those Jackal Werewolves could get far, the Elite, which should have been dead beyond death, suddenly twisted its joints and crawled rapidly toward a Jackal Werewolf.

"Ah!"

With a wail, the Jackal Werewolf was pinned beneath the Elite.

Immediately, their skins seemed to fuse, tentacles entwining, forming a much larger twisted creature.

"Save... save me..." the Jackal Werewolf shouted, its voice heavy with emphasis.

But the Covenant soldiers had no time to tend to it.

"Fire! Fire!"

"Don't eat me! Don't eat me... ahh!"

"Run fast!!"

The scene descended into chaos.

More and more twisted, mutated Elite and Ghost‑faced Beasts completely surrounded the Covenant soldiers.

At the same time, creatures that looked like bubble‑shaped octopuses emitted a "Gulu~" retching sound, flooding in from all directions like an uncontrollable Flood.

The Gulu and Jackal Werewolves were slaughtered in an instant.

"Roar!"

The four remaining Ghost‑faced Beasts lasted only a few seconds longer than the weaker races, let out a resentful roar, and then fell into the Flood tide.

All resistance forces to be eliminated.

The Elite and Ghost‑faced Beasts simultaneously turned and began assaulting the fortification still occupied by living beings.

Conversely, those bubble octopuses that trigger claustrophobia in humans sliced corpse skin with their slender, sharp tentacles, then used the openings to burrow inside.

One Ghost‑faced Beast corpse being invaded by a bubble octopus suddenly twitched, then visibly mutated at a rapid pace.

In no time.

That corpse also became a member of the Flood army.

The smaller, physically weaker Gulu and Jackal Werewolves, though parasitized, remained lying on the ground, their heads and upper bodies swelling slowly as their mutation progressed.

It seemed the bubble octopuses used those corpses as breeding beds for their kind.

At that moment.

A formation of large transport vessels and Viking fighters slowed, maintaining a hundred meters above the ground, skimming low over the base.

Inside the transport's cabin were thirty Holy Knights, an equal number of Cekmites, and two OriginalBodies with helmets sealed.

The crew streamed the transport's live footage to the helmet displays, allowing the OriginalBodies and Honor Guard to observe the surface events.

Under the helmet.

"..."

Magnus furrowed his brows, his expression gravely serious.

Through the live feed on the left side of the screen, seeing a bubble octopus pierce and twist a corpse, he could be certain the creature ravaging the surface was the Flood his father had mentioned to him and Lai'ang.

Bubble octopuses are the Flood's most basic infection form, or infection spores, and they are also the Flood's most essential component.

The presence of infection spores enables the Flood to more easily infect and assimilate other races.

Once infection spores successfully bore into a living body, they rapidly extend tentacles toward the spine, attacking the host physiologically and neurologically until the host is fully assimilated.

Even corpses, provided they aren't severely rotted, can still be infected and transformed by the spores.

Simultaneously, spores generate infection forms assigned to different "positions" based on the host's physique and qualities.

For example, races like Elite and Ghost‑faced Beast are twisted into combat‑specific "Combat Bodies," and his father had specifically noted that humans also fall into this category.

Conversely, hosts like Gulu and Jackal Werewolves rarely mutate into combat bodies; they usually become "Mothers" that incubate more infection spores.

As for the host's memories and thoughts...

Even the soul may be claimed by the Flood, coalescing into a single entity.

As for why Sui Bian knew about the Flood, Magnus wouldn't probe further; after all, his father's secrets were countless.

He slowed down.

He opened the internal comm and said gravely to his brother: "Lai'ang, it seems we drew a terrible lot; the Jila Hani released not a weapon but a Flood that can sweep the entire galaxy."

"Mindless thing." Lai'ang replied with a hint of irritation.

Between the two OriginalBodies' conversation.

The Covenant Base's final fortification was easily breached by the Flood army, and the Covenant soldiers hidden inside would become part of them.

At this moment.

The screen showed countless Flood combat bodies wielding firearms, raising their muzzles with grotesque precision, firing plasma cannon barrages at the transport vessels and Viking fighters.

The cabin tilted slightly, indicating the crew were maneuvering the transport to evade.

"Clack clack clack!"

The escorting Viking fighters employed Gauss cannons for a sweeping "clean‑up."

Even the Flood's tenacious vitality couldn't withstand the physical destruction of 25 mm spiked projectiles, rendering the combat bodies completely inoperative.

"Pop~! Pop~!" The infection spores burst like balloons, one crisp pop after another.

"All pilots cease fire."

However Magnus opened communications, called off the escort pilots' clearing-the-ground action, and ordered: 'Continue toward the target, head to the core.'

'Yes, sir,' the pilots replied.

Magnus called off the attack because the pilots, aside from wasting ordnance, inflicted no substantive damage on the Flood army.

Only saw the infection spores piecing together the corpses blown apart by machine-gun fire, evolving into reptilian forms or sturdy 'tank' forms.

After issuing the order.

Magnus also used the repeater on the Teutonic Knight to send Shield World's Flood intelligence to the Courage Anthem.

Immediately, he watched through his helmet screen as the flight formation accelerated away from the Covenant base, then entered an abyss-like entrance, and after flying for a while, the Courage Anthem, suffering from communications delay, gave an audio reply.

Only heard Sui Bian's voice over the audio: 'Try to recover Forerunner-related data, technology, or weapons, then as quickly as possible ignite the Shield World's core to destroy it, containing the Flood's outbreak at the initial stage.'

Upon hearing that.

'Understood, father,' Magnus and Leon replied habitually.

Although destroying the Shield World is a regrettable decision, according to information provided by Wolrsa, at least six hours have passed since the Flood was unintentionally released by the Death's Head Beast.

Furthermore, based on another point from the intelligence, the Covenant Empire forces deployed in the Shield World, including the total number of elite clans, amount to nearly four million, leading to the inference……

The Flood should have moved beyond the unorganized 'wild' stage, and is either forming or has already formed the initial Gravemind, entering the 'mutual aid' stage.

Once the Gravemind evolves into the 'complete form,' it would have absorbed the memories, thoughts, and souls of four million intelligent beings.

Magnus dare not say it is the most intelligent thing in the galaxy, but it certainly belongs to the most cunning category.

The Shield World is now in an irrecoverable infection stage, and moreover the Flood they face makes Magnus very uncomfortable, seeming to have a strong counter to Spiritual Energy.

'Counter…'

Thinking of this, as a scholar who has long studied Spiritual Energy and other worlds, Magnus explained his analysis to his brother:

'Leon, if the Forerunners truly created the Flood, then the Flood might be a weapon aimed at extra-dimensional spaces, and moreover encountered some mishap midway, causing the Forerunner lineage to be backfired by the Flood, ultimately vanishing in the river of history.'

'Ah, maybe.' Leon responded noncommittally.

As for this OriginalBody acclaimed as a swordsmanship master, he cares nothing for the past of the Forerunners and the Flood; he only cares about how to complete the task entrusted to them by their father.

Outside the cabin.

The flight formation was in a spacious yet gloomy dark tunnel, inclined downward toward the inner world.

During the voyage.

The pilots seated in the cockpit could also observe numerous Forerunner-tech automated turrets around them, emitting orange-red light high-temperature rays to scorch the infection spores constantly surging toward the surface.

But all their efforts are futile; that's why they're called the Flood, because once it spreads, it's as uncontrollable as a flood.

After several minutes of flight.

The light at the tunnel's end became increasingly blinding, until the flight formation burst out of the tunnel, after which the light gradually softened, and the pilots first experienced what a 'paradise' is.

However, here the pilots temporarily couldn't tell direction, because wherever they looked, they saw green-filled forests and grasslands, beautiful mountains and lakes.

Even when looking 'up' at the sky, the horizon turned out to be a clear expanse of ocean, apparently due to a special gravity device that prevents the seawater from pouring down on their heads.

At the position equivalent to an Earth-like planet's core, an artificial star with a diameter of about thirty kilometers hovers, providing warm illumination for this 'paradise' and energy for the entire Shield World.

Of course, many areas eroded by the Flood have become quite bleak.

Some lakes that should have been clear to the bottom have now become viscous, turbid, and even emit a putrid odor, turning into swamps.

Around the swamps, the nearby vegetation has all withered, replaced by a creeping earth-green rhizome.

The net-like rhizomes sprawl across the soil, and at intervals they accumulate into mushroom-shaped aggregates.

These aggregates are scattered across various-sized holes, occasionally spewing turbidity and fine particulate-like gas, continually polluting the surroundings.

At this moment, Magnus beneath his helmet had his eyes wide open and mouth slightly agape, fixing his gaze on that artificial star.

He couldn't help but exclaim: 'Just by looking at the technology displayed by the Shield World, it's not hard to understand why the Covenant people regard the Forerunners as gods.'

'With our current human technology, even terraforming a planet comes with very strict conditions, yet they can autonomously construct habitable planets…'

'God? Hmph.' Leon expressed disdain.

Noticing his brother's emotional fluctuation, Magnus merely gave a light laugh without speaking, then composed himself and continued observing.

Soon.

No need for careful searching; a conspicuous three-sided pyramid structure sits directly beneath that artificial star.

At the same time, Spiritual Perception informed Magnus that the pyramid also filled him with extreme aversion.

This indicates that the area is a Flood hotspot, possibly where they were first released, or perhaps the Shield World's central control facility.

Immediately, he marked that pyramid and ordered the pilots: 'Take us there.'

'Understood.'

Having said that.

The flight formation carried them, swiftly heading toward the pyramid.

When the formation drew near.

The four Viking fighters tasked with escort stood out, opened their fuselage belly bays, and fired more than ten air-to-ground missiles at the pyramid's base.

Whoosh—!

Boom! Boom~!

The missiles trailed white flames, striking one after another at the Flood cluster's entrance; the violent explosions instantly cleared a relatively clean landing zone.

Afterward, the four Vikings quickly turned left and right, circled once, slowed to adjust their nose angles, then swept with machine guns to stabilize the created landing zone.

The transport also took the opportunity to lower altitude, swiftly flying to mid-air above the landing zone.

Without touching down, it hovered, opened its rear hatch, and offloaded the OriginalBody and Honor Guard that had been waiting.

Then the transport closed its hatch and moved away from the ground; the four Vikings finished their ground attack, and the escorting transport returned to high altitude.

Looking again at this side of the landing zone.

Magnus released a faint red Spiritual Energy barrier that completely enveloped everyone, intending to keep them from contacting the Flood.

Howl!!

Gurgle~.

And the combat bodies and infected spores that surrounded the people in a circle, emitting eerie roars, were now trying to assault this barrier.

Snap~! Snap~!

Once the infected spores touch the barrier, they will uncontrollably shatter one after another.

But the combat bodies, whose vitality is extremely tenacious, kept hammering the barrier, and soon…

Crack… crackla~!

The barrier, capable of resisting most physical attacks, was actually struck by what seemed like an ordinary blow, producing an extremely minor pattern that looked like shattered glass.

The sixty Honor Guard members were also not idle.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

While Magnus maintained the barrier, protecting everyone as they headed into the pyramid's interior, the Honor Guard members, using linked or heavy explosive-arrow guns, continuously spewed 'fire snake' at the Flood tide.

Moreover, unlike the results of plasma attacks, the explosive-arrow rounds that can tear apart and shatter bodies can truly incapacitate the combat bodies of the Flood, albeit temporarily.

Thus, it seems that using live ammunition is more effective against the Flood.

While a few Spiritual Energy-adept Sekmait, with their left hand operating the linked explosive-arrow gun and their right hand waving forward, released a dazzling red lightning.

Crackle! several times.

Even though the power of the Spiritual Energy lightning was suppressed, it still scorched dozens of the Flood's combat bodies.

Next, the people advanced against the 'Flood' current, delving deeper into the pyramid facility's interior.

(End of chapter)