I Have a Modern Weapon Gacha System in the Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter 176: Killing it Part 1

Captain Weber’s eyes narrowed immediately.

"Track it."

"Yes, sir!"

The sonar operators worked rapidly across their consoles while the massive underwater contact accelerated upward through the Philippine Sea.

The thing was huge.

And now it was rising directly toward the approaching destroyers.

Above the ocean surface, the lead Arleigh Burke-class destroyer cut through the dark waters at high speed while its SPY-1 radar system scanned continuously across the surrounding sea and sky.

Inside the Combat Information Center, tension filled the compartment.

"Submarine reports hostile contact ascending rapidly!"

"How deep?"

"Contact passing one hundred meters!"

The destroyer captain immediately issued orders.

"Deploy active sonar."

"Aye, Captain!"

Moments later, powerful active sonar pulses erupted downward from the destroyer into the ocean below.

PING.

The acoustic wave traveled through the dark water before bouncing back toward the ship’s sonar arrays.

Then the tactical display updated.

The room immediately became silent.

Because now they finally saw the full scale of the creature.

One officer quietly muttered—

"Holy shit..."

The thing beneath the sea looked enormous.

A massive cephalopod-like body surrounded by colossal tentacles moving violently through the water. The sonar return showed a central body size exceeding sixty meters now that clearer imaging became available.

And it was still moving upward.

Fast.

The destroyer captain immediately grabbed the communications line.

"All vessels, hostile contact confirmed. Prepare anti-surface engagement."

The second destroyer acknowledged instantly.

"Copy. Weapons hot."

Further behind, the cruiser activated its combat systems as missile cells armed automatically beneath the forward deck.

On the flight deck of the lead destroyer, sailors rushed around the waiting SH-60 Seahawk helicopter while weapons crews mounted anti-submarine torpedoes and heavy machine guns onto the aircraft.

Rotor blades began spinning.

WHUP.

WHUP.

WHUP.

The helicopter prepared for immediate launch.

Then suddenly—

"CONTACT BREAKING SURFACE!"

Everyone inside the destroyer immediately looked toward the external camera feeds.

The Philippine Sea exploded upward.

A massive tentacle erupted out of the ocean in a violent spray of seawater large enough to resemble a collapsing building.

Then another emerged.

And another.

The ocean itself churned violently as the creature finally surfaced completely beneath the night sky.

Ryan would have probably stared speechless seeing it.

Because the thing looked like a nightmare dragged from the deepest parts of the ocean.

Its enormous body emerged partially above the water while massive tentacles spread outward across the sea surface. Dark red flesh pulsed unnaturally beneath armored growths covering sections of its body.

Parts of it looked rotten.

Mutated.

Infected.

And its massive yellow eye immediately locked onto the destroyers.

The creature roared.

The sound echoed across the ocean loud enough that even sailors on deck physically flinched.

"Jesus Christ..." one sailor whispered.

The destroyer captain snapped immediately.

"ENGAGE!"

The warship erupted into action.

MISSILES AWAY.

Several Mark 41 Vertical Launch System cells opened simultaneously across the destroyer’s deck before RUM-139 anti-submarine rockets launched upward into the night sky trailing fire.

The missiles arced outward before descending rapidly toward the surfaced creature.

Then impact.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

Massive explosions erupted across the surrounding water while shockwaves blasted outward violently.

One missile detonated directly against a tentacle, tearing chunks of flesh apart in an explosion of blackened blood and seawater.

The creature roared again.

This time louder.

Angrier.

But it did not retreat.

Instead the massive tentacles slammed violently across the ocean surface toward the destroyer.

"Hard port!"

The destroyer immediately turned sharply while sailors held onto nearby railings as the massive warship maneuvered aggressively.

One colossal tentacle crashed into the ocean barely fifty meters away from the vessel.

BOOOOM.

A wall of seawater erupted upward across the deck.

Several sailors were thrown sideways from the impact alone.

The second destroyer opened fire next.

Its five-inch Mark 45 naval gun thundered violently across the sea.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

Guided high-explosive naval shells screamed across the darkness before detonating directly against the creature’s exposed upper body.

Explosions tore across its flesh.

Black blood sprayed across the ocean.

One tentacle partially ruptured under repeated bombardment.

But horrifyingly, the creature kept moving.

"Why the hell isn’t it dying?!" one officer shouted.

Because it was too big.

And too durable.

The creature suddenly lunged toward the nearest destroyer with terrifying speed despite its enormous size.

"INCOMING!"

One tentacle slammed directly across the destroyer’s bow.

CRAAAAASH.

The entire warship shook violently.

Metal screamed.

Several deck sections crumpled inward while sailors were thrown across the surface.

"Damage report!"

"Forward hull damaged!"

"Minor flooding lower compartments!"

The creature wrapped another tentacle around part of the ship’s side and tightened.

The destroyer physically groaned beneath the pressure.

Then the cruiser joined the battle.

"Cruiser engaging hostile contact!"

Moments later, multiple anti-ship missiles launched from the cruiser’s vertical launch systems.

Harpoon missiles screamed low across the ocean surface before slamming directly into the creature’s upper body.

BOOOOOOM.

The explosions this time were massive.

Entire sections of the monster’s flesh erupted apart violently while one enormous tentacle detached completely and crashed into the ocean.

The creature roared loud enough to shake the surrounding ships.

For the first time, it looked hurt.

Badly hurt.

Black blood spread across the sea while damaged tentacles thrashed violently around the burning surface waters.

The destroyers continued firing nonstop.

Naval guns thundered repeatedly.

Missiles streaked through the night sky.

Machine guns opened fire from close-range defensive positions across the decks.

The Philippine Sea itself had become a battlefield.

And finally, the creature began slowing.

Not dead.

Not even close.

But severely wounded now as massive burns, ruptured flesh, and shattered tentacles covered its enormous body beneath the burning night sky.

Its massive body floated partially above the burning waters while smoke and steam rose from the wounds covering its flesh.

One of its remaining eyes stared directly toward the destroyers.

Hatred.

Pure hatred.

Then the ocean around it began turning darker from the sheer amount of black blood pouring out of its shattered body.

Inside the lead destroyer, the captain immediately seized the opportunity.

"All ships continue bombardment! Don’t let it recover!"

"Aye, Captain!"

The naval guns roared again.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

More five-inch high explosive shells slammed into the creature’s exposed body while additional missiles streaked low across the sea surface.

Another tentacle exploded apart under concentrated fire.

The creature roared violently afterward, but the sound carried less strength now.

It was weakening.

Finally weakening.

Far beneath the battle, Captain Weber’s submarine slowly stabilized while sonar operators tracked the creature’s damaged movements from below.

The captain stared at the tactical display silently.

Then one of the sonar operators spoke quietly.

"Sir..."

Weber looked toward him.

The operator swallowed slightly before continuing.

"It’s retreating."