Ocean Master

4 hours after the decisive battle at the Defense Domain…

After over 2 hours of a futile search effort for the Megalodon, the old toad, and Doctor Mrs. Josephine who was abducted, the Atlantian soldiers finally gave up and returned to their military base.

On getting back to their base, they followed their leader's orders and set up a seamless defense perimeter around the base before starting recovery measures.

For the past 2 hours, the Atlantian military base has been busy as the soldiers worked non-stop on gathering the dead, taking the injured for treatment, while scouring the base to save anyone that was trapped somewhere.

In a situation like this, the fleet's medical quarters were cramped up with work as the apprentice Doctors rushed to attend to the injured soldiers.

This was where the situation of the main Doctor stung the most. With Doctor Mrs. Josephine gone with the Megalodon and probably eaten already, the fleet was plunged into a conundrum of severe medical expertise inadequacy.

The apprentice mage Doctors were also good, but not nearly as good as Doctor Mrs. Josephine. With her not here, the situation became tenser, putting the apprentice doctors under more pressure to work faster.

About 50 injured soldiers already died due to the slow administration.

When Sebastian first abducted the Doctor, he didn't think so far ahead but after he was cornered by the energy ball and after he entered his mini-mana saturated state, his thoughts flowed at the speed of light.

Seeing Tonado's pitiful state, the rage and helplessness of the situation made him take such a ruthless decision.

Since the Atlantians were so decisive and ruthless in taking him down, all the shackles and bottom lines in his mind were exceeded so he also decided to take ruthless decisions against them.

In this world where exceptional Doctors like Mrs. Josephine could wield magic, their treatment skills were miles better than the best Doctors on earth so they were valued more here.

The loss of this one Doctor dealt a huge blow to the fleet.

The Crimson Fleet was at its most fragile state since its creation, the situation was tense, and the fact that they lost their race's main target who was under their noses only spread more unrest across the troop.

At a time like this, if a horde of powerful predators attacked the base, it was a doubt if the elite soldiers would be able to fight at their full potential. The effects would be disastrous. 

The subordinates felt unrest, the superiors felt pressure from all directions.

Doctor Statham and his assistant felt it the most, considering the fact that they've been sheltering this murderous Megalodon for over a month and seeing the countless casualties, this Doctor felt too guilty to see others.

At this moment of unrest across the whole fleet, they hid in their rooms to ride through this tense period safely. 

Atlantians were not such consumable goods, though measures were already made to aggressively increase the chances of their women giving birth, every Atlantian was still treasured.

The death of each one is reviewed thoroughly by the headquarters. 

As the one who indirectly caused so much death, his career was already going towards a downwards trajectory unless he achieved a significant feat that could override this shortcoming.

While everyone in the fleet experienced various emotions after this depressing battle, Staff Sergeant Barnes locked himself inside a room.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in!"

Staff Sergeant Barnes' deep voice reverberated in the central control President's room. President Neiber acknowledged the order as he opened the door calmly before floating in.

"The battle report is out, sir!"

"Good! Give it to me and leave".

"Yes, Sir".

As soon as the middle-aged President left, Staff Sergeant Barnes took hold of the magic book that was on the table and flicked it open.

As soon as he flicked it open, a blue light erupted and lit up in the water which showed the contents that were recorded inside the book.

>Battle Casualties: 518<

>Battle Losses:< 

- 45 Dead Metal Hounds.

- Doctor Mrs. Josephine.

- 1 Wrecked Submarine.

- 1 Destroyer Energy Ball.

- 18 Wrecked War Underwater Tanks.

>Approximately 102,000 Atlantian Credits in war resources lost- Excluding the participation of the Destroyer<

>Including the Destroyer, approximately 818,000 Atlantian Credits in war resources lost<

>Battle Gains:<

- Discovery of the Race's Number 1 target!<

After thoroughly going through the battle report that was compiled by the central control chamber of the military base, Staff Sergeant Barnes took a deep breath before standing up from his chair.

His eyes showed no burden, they were calm and deep like the abyss. His mind was serene as scenes from the previous battle flashed in his mind.

In the previous battle, without a doubt, his fleet was the one who suffered the most. Just thinking of it left his heart aching, but he had no choice but to accept it because this was reality.

The deed was already done, now he had to face reality and give his own report to the superiors. He calmly took out his communicator before solemnly dialing a number. 

"Hello! This is Staff Sergeant Barnes".

"He escaped?" 

The voice from the other end asked this in such a nonchalant way like he already predicted it which only made the Staff Sergeant feel more humiliated, but he still held his emotions in check and responded calmly.

"Yes, the…" 

Staff Sergeant Barnes paused in shock as he looked closer at the soldier that was being projected through his communicator. 

It took only a second before he confirmed what he wanted; his stance became straighter immediately as he saluted. 

"1st Lieutenant Lookman!"

"Continue". The same nonchalant expression was on the Lieutenant's face.

"Yes, sir! The Megalodon escaped due to our incompetence, we severely underestimated his power sir!"

"That's ok, I already expected such". The lieutenant said this calmly before his face became serious the next moment. "You already screwed the mission; all I want you to do now is to remedy it".

"I'm on my way to your location with my team, the captain sent me ahead to help since he already predicted a situation like this".

"All I want from you is some data to start my work with, got it?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Good!"

Click! The call ended.

As soon as the call ended, Staff Sergeant Barnes collapsed back on the chair as the imaginary sweat on his forehead was watched away by the water. 

In Atlantis, soldiers that were qualified to become Lieutenants were veteran Silver Realm powerhouses. The fact that Lieutenant Lookman was sent ahead to intercept the Megalodon just showed how important this mission was.

In the Black Mamba Division fleet, the highest hierarchy was Captain Omega who was the leader of the fleet, then his 2 right-hand men, 1st Lieutenant Lookman and 1st Lieutenant Zorro, then the other soldiers.

Captain Omega was a reputable Atlantian soldier who was at the peak of the Silver Realm, and though his 2 right-hand men were not close to the peak yet, they were still veteran Silver Realm powerhouses.

The lowest unit in the Atlantian military was the team, and a team that was led by Lieutenant Lookman could only be described as overpowered to hunt down this Megalodon.

As he thought to this, Staff Sergeant Barnes' fear was slowly replaced by a wide smile. Finally, someone was going to get revenge for him.

He grinned. "I can't wait!"