"What the hell is that?"

"Monsters! It's an army of monsters!"

"We need to get out of here!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

A tremendous wave of destruction washed over the entirety of the Great Void Ocean as astronomically powerful monsters and beasts swept across the ocean floor, unleashing tremendous destruction across the countless mining operations rooted upon the ocean floor.

The private-sector parties were slammed the hardest, least informed about the impending surge of monsters that had emerged from the Great Void Ocean, charging across the ocean floor. They didn't have access to the intelligence and the surveillance data that the nations had.

The risks they had taken were fundamentally greater than those of the nations that had a much more secure national security apparatus. They had been caught completely off-guard by the impending invasion of sea monsters the likes of which they couldn't even fathom.

"Shit…! We should have never agreed to accept this commission!" A man gritted his teeth as he sat at the helm of a small submarine storage and transport vessel.

His eyes were cybernetic while his diminutive body resembled that of a dwarf.

VMMM…!

His craft surged through the ocean at maximum speed as he did his very best to escape from the Great Void Ocean, desperately struggling to return to the ocean surface and back home to his home nation of the Kingdom of Sirantes, situated between the Continents of Acherialis and Sirinwel. He fiddled with several buttons and switches at the cockpit of the submarine vessel, desperately trying to outmaneuver the wave of monsters that swept through the ocean floor behind him.

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!!!

RUMBLE!!!

The destruction they spread just a few hundred meters behind his vessel sent shockwaves across the entire ocean, rattling his craft, sending chills down his spine. He gazed at his SONAR feed that showed him countless giant and small entities right behind him, expanding like an army of ants that swept across the entire ocean.

His commpad showed that all of the other vessels of his little outfit were non-responsive to his messages.

His expression grew grave.

There were undoubtedly dead, destroyed by the sudden invasion of monsters that were scarier than anything he had ever seen in his nightmares.

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!!!

RUMBLE!!!

The tekvore-dwarf hybrid gritted his teeth as he pushed his vessel into overdrive mode, desperately getting it to abandon all of its belongings and storage haul to reduce its weight and increase its speed.

Much to his surprise, the moment he dumped all the negatron matter in his reserves, the monsters were much less aggressive about chasing him. Much to his shock, he even spotted, with his sensors, the monster collecting the dumped negatron storage units that had fallen from his submarine vessel as it sped through the Great Void Ocean, unburdened by its former goods.

"I'm never setting foot into the ocean ever again!" he swore as he sped off, thanking any divine being watching over him for saving his life.

He had been one of the many, many foraging, exploring, and mining private companies that had accepted the commissions of wealthy individuals or their own home nations to mine, collect, and deliver negatron matter to their clients.

The negatron mining rush had been one of the most hastily commenced mining rushes in the history of Gaian Civilization, with countless parties rushing to dive into the Great Void Ocean to collect negatron matter without even making all the appropriate preparations.

It spoke to the sheer value of negatron matter such that the reward was able to justify tremendous risks. Not a single party wanted to be left behind in the race, and everybody rushed to get to the bottom of the ocean as fast as they possibly could.

This was despite the fact that the Great Void Ocean spread across a little less than half the planet.

Everybody knew that the seven superpowers of the true world, the Panamic Alliance, the Evolutionary Army, Greater Tekvoria, Genoran Elven Civilization, the Samarkhan Giants, and the Pasupati Clans would likely monopolize most of the negatron matter emerging from the depths of the ocean. Another strong competitor was also the seafolk, who could finally shine in an era that they were otherwise less suited for.

That meant that every other nation, organization, and individual was fighting for a remaining minority. This explosion of demand for the remaining negatron matter led to commissions with unfathomably high rewards and fees, making even risk-averse outfits take the dive, literal and metaphorical, into the Great Void Ocean.

As long as they could spend even a few months in the Great Void Ocean, they would become rich beyond their wildest dreams.

But alas, it was not to be.

"Run! Get out of here before the monsters can reach us!"

"Dammit! My propulsion systems are damaged! I… I can't make it!"

"We're almost there! Just hang in there—"

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!!!

RUMBLE!!!

The sea monsters were merciless. They unleashed a level of destruction that destroyed anything and anybody who could serve as competition. Word spread across the world even as the wave continued. Countless commercial and private operations halted immediately upon learning of the news, leaving all their equipment behind as they rushed to evacuate from the Great Void Ocean, causing them to leave their capital behind.

"Don't damage the mining equipment once they have evacuated." Rui's tone was composed as he issued a command to his army. "Only attack if there are people who remain or those who attack."

Of course, no commercial venture would dare do something as suicidal as trying to fight back against monsters so horrifying that it spontaneously induced thalassophobia in each of them. So much so that after they evacuated, a shocking majority of the survivors shifted careers from aquatic mining to anything else they could get their hands on.

The same, however, could not be said for the national ventures of the many polities that were unwilling to forsake their claims to negatron matter.

"Defend against the infernal monsters with all your might!" The commander of the seafolk battalion roared with all his might. "Show them who the true rulers of the sea are!"

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