Sebastian who was watching from the side was left flabbergasted.

“An implant! A literal mechanical implant?!”

Listening to the conversation between the powerful Ancient Basilisk and the clownfish Chief Councilor, he felt his brain spinning like he was stuck in a washing machine as everything he heard sounded too fictional to be real.

Back in his previous world, as someone who had a rare love for science fiction, mostly fantasy and science fiction books since novels were one of the cheapest means of entertainment then, he knew of implants.

Installing mechanical implants into humans, that would partly computerize the brain, increasing human’s IQ to an outrageous level where it could even match with a computer’s processors was complete fiction on earth.

Most people opposed the thought alone, arguing that humans would become robots and a lot of other things.

In his previous world, Sebastian was not like others, though he felt that some risks were associated with it, he still dreamt of himself living with an implant in his head. Now, in Oceania, he just confirmed through a clownfish that this was feasible.

Sebastian’s eyes glittered like stars. “Another research route pinpointed!”

Despite Sebastian’s excitement at his discovery and his inner monologue, it did nothing to stop the fight that was currently raging fiercely.

The remaining 12 clownfish councilors and the 4 snake elders were still embroiled in their battle, only the Chief Councilor and the most authoritative snake elder stopped to converse just for a few seconds.

“Well, you’re not the only one who improved in all this time”.

“Witness my new killer move!”

Once Sebastian heard this, he knew that things already escalated. Despite his invisibility state, he tried to maintain his distance before it erupted.

Once the Ancient Basilisk finished his words of bravado, he erupted!

“Killer Move: The Hibernating Shadows!”

Once these words left the mouth of the Ancient Basilisk, the temperature decreased rapidly as darkness descended into the corridor with only a faint yellowish-green light illuminating from a corner.

Then from this darkness and yellowish-green light, came shadows!

Wraaaaa!!!

A high-pitched shriek reverberated as soon as these shadows appeared. They were so many, and they looked so menacing like they had the power to destroy the whole world with just a sneeze.

All these shadows were shadows of the Ancient Basilisk.

The powerful mech who was the recipient of this growing attack reacted, entering a defensive formation as its red eyes scanned and calculated rapidly.

This was when the mech discovered its opponent inside the darkness. The Ancient Basilisk was now at least 3 times bigger, only its normal size was completely corporeal, its other parts looked incorporeal.

With yellow eyes that glowed like those of a Lich, the overly massive Ancient Basilisk now looked like the god of shadows.

The elaborate mechanism for this killer move revealed a fraction of what its real power was. Once it charged completely, the Ancient Basilisk attacked.

Surprisingly, this was a 2-fold killer move.

“Killer Move: Shadow Fight!”

Wraaaaa!!!

All the shadows that floated in the water all lunged at the enormous mech as soon as the shadow fight killer move was activated, they battered the massive mech with their whole body, from their teeth to their tail.

With the shadows moving, the real Ancient Basilisk also moved as this massive snake started an elaborate offensive barrage on its opponent.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Attacks rained down on the mech, submerging it completely till it was no longer in sight. Once the attack started, the darkness finally disappeared, but the mech could not be seen since it was already submerged by the shadows.

Only sounds like exploding dominoes came from the center of the shadow convergence as they ruthlessly battered the massive mech with their all.

The water vibrated constantly, sound waves, and shockwaves traveling from the heart of the massive battle as it affected everything in the vicinity.

This trend continued for 1 minute as the shadows all overwhelmed the mech. When the resistance from inside started reducing and it seemed that the mech finally exhausted its reserves, the mech burst out with even more power.

BOOM!

A bright red light suddenly shone from the center of the shadow convergence, a bright light with heat that washed away the shadows like it was their nemesis.

The bright red light was quickly followed by a powerful shockwave. Accompanying this shockwave was the glowing and still extremely lethal Plasma sword that was wielded by the mech.

Though submerged in the shadows for over a minute, the mech never gave up even though it could no longer shoot with its Positron Rifle as it used its plasma sword alone to fend off all the shadows.

Originally, the Chief Councilor would have succumbed already, but his implant enabled him to track everything, even the ones that he could not see.

It was like the battlefield was in a 3-D version to him. This way, he made only the right decisions, maximizing efficiency as he butchered the shadows.

After finding the right timing, it finally erupted, annihilating all the shadows, pushing the real Ancient Basilisk back, and ending the suffering.

Once the mech was exposed, it easily became clear that its heroic enduring battle against the shadows was not without sacrifices.

The mech’s armor that originally seemed inviolable was now damaged. Mechanical parts were exposed, electric light could be seen sparking in some parts, while one of the mech’s front legs was heavily damaged.

The mech suffered a lot, but it was not the only one who did. Though throughout the attacking barrage, the Ancient Basilisk didn’t receive any damage, it lost so much mana in the 2 attacks that it now felt drained.

The Ancient Basilisk no longer seemed as menacing as before.

Both strongest predators were now weakened, but they were not spent.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With the Positron Rifle finally seeing the light of day again, the clownfish Chief Councilor pulled the trigger without hesitation as positron beams and annihilation beams started raking the skin of the massive snake again.

As for the Ancient Basilisk, it simply suppressed his drained state with sheer determination as he erupted into battle enthusiastically again.

The reward on the stake for this battle was too important to miss.

Since they had already come this far, he was not leaving without achieving any result. He would tear the mech apart with his teeth.

Boom!

Both predators became embroiled in a fierce melee battle again. 

Even as the 2 most powerful predators fought like there was no tomorrow, the other councilors and snake elders also fought with their all.

For 3 hours, the battle kept on raging with no side ready to give up.

At this point, the intensity of the battle already reduced a lot due to the wear and tear of the mechs and mana draining of the snakes that the Doom Destroyers who were originally relegated to support roles joined the battle again.

“Give up, Baskfool, you are no match against me”.

“In your dreams!”

By this moment, the Ancient Basilisk already exhausted all his plans and cunningness. The clownfish simply overprotected the zone of glory, and with the Chief Councilor’s breakthrough, winning became a more distant prospect.

While the battle continued raging, with both sides taunting themselves, insulting themselves, and doing a lot of other things, a pair of eyes watched from the darkness.

“Just a little bit more, and I will enter”.

Sebastian tracked the intensity of the battle with rapt attention, he was calculating the perfect opportunity to grasp and get his goal.

Once the Ancient Basilisk became weaker again, Sebastian finally entered.

“This is my time!”

[You have activated skill: Supersonic Speed!]