Clone Ascension

Evan’s pupils contracted.

He recognized the two figures being chased by the “island.”

One was General Elias Storm.

The other—shockingly—was Yeh Muni, the Rovan general.

Yeh Muni appearing here wasn’t surprising.

But the island chasing two Saint‑tier Overlords?

What kind of monster could do that?

And suddenly, everything clicked.

The marine beasts weren’t invading the land.

They were fleeing—fleeing from the island.

The moment the island surfaced, every sea beast went berserk, stampeding toward Dongli’s defensive line as if being one step slower meant being swallowed whole.

Marcus Grant made the call instantly.

“Everyone fall back! Retreat behind the city wall!”

A kilometer inland stood Dawnsea City’s final defensive wall—

the last barrier protecting civilians from the sea.

If even Saint‑tier Overlords were running,

there was no point holding the beach.

Dongli soldiers fought while retreating.

Evan, Serena, and Marcus stayed at the rear to cover the withdrawal.

Evan unleashed everything he had—

Gravity Dust and Raging Myriad Tides tore through the beast tide,

carving open a path drenched in seawater and blood.

Once the troops reached the wall, they finally caught their breath.

With the terrain advantage, they could hold for a while.

Meanwhile, the island drew closer.

General Storm was almost at the shore now,

and Evan finally saw the island clearly.

The “rocks” covering its surface were multicolored,

each sprouting writhing tendrils.

Occasionally, a “rock” detached and flew outward,

its tendrils whipping through the air to snatch fleeing beasts.

After feeding, the “rock” returned to the island—

slightly larger than before.

The entire island…

was made of these things.

Serena gasped.

“That’s… coral!”

As a coastal native and Evolutionary Science graduate,

she recognized it instantly.

A coral island—

not made of stone,

but of countless evolved coral polyps.

Each “rock” was a coral polyp’s hardened shell.

The tendrils were its feeding appendages.

Not ordinary coral—

but evolved coral beasts,

and high‑tier ones at that.

Evan’s voice tightened.

“So the whole island is alive? A single organism made of countless coral beasts?”

Serena nodded grimly.

“And they can split and recombine freely.

Each polyp can hunt alone or merge into larger forms.”

“No wonder the sea beasts are fleeing,” Evan muttered.

“If this whole island spreads out to hunt, it could devour the entire coastline.”

Marcus barked,

“You two—fall back with me! It’s too dangerous here!”

Evan and Serena followed him toward the wall.

Moments later, General Storm and Yeh Muni reached the shore—

Storm fleeing toward Dongli,

Yeh Muni toward Rovan.

The coral island stopped at the shallow waters.

General Storm exhaled in relief—

Then the island exploded.

It shattered into countless coral polyps,

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a living storm of writhing tendrils blotting out the sky.

The swarm split into two waves—

one chasing General Storm,

the other chasing Yeh Muni.

Both Overlords paled.

If they retreated,

they would drag the swarm into their cities—

where civilians stood no chance.

If they stayed,

they would be overwhelmed.

General Storm gritted her teeth and turned back,

choosing to fight.

The coral swarm merged into a towering coral giant,

a mountain of shells and tendrils,

and slammed into her with earth‑shaking force.

But not all coral polyps joined the giant.

Some slipped past her,

rushing toward the Dongli defensive wall.

Dongli soldiers were already exhausted from fighting sea beasts.

Now coral monsters—each the size of a person—descended upon them.

The coral creatures were grotesque,

shaped like lumps of clay molded by a child,

but deadly.

They attacked in two ways:

Bludgeoning with hardened coral shells

Tendrils covered in venomous stinging cells

Evan and Serena had to prioritize these coral beasts.

The sea beasts were merely fleeing—

but the coral monsters attacked anything alive.

Evan smashed one open with Ant Strength and Needle Strike—

only to find it useless.

Even with holes punched through them,

the coral polyps didn’t die.

He switched tactics—

Gravity Dust ripped the polyps out of their shells,

and he crushed them one by one.

That worked.

After a brutal fight, Evan identified their pattern:

Individual coral polyps were weak

But when merged, their strength multiplied

The more polyps merged, the harder the coral shell became

The only solution: separate them and kill individually

He finally destroyed one coral beast—

and was stunned.

It had been made entirely of Tier‑0 and Tier‑1 coral polyps,

yet fought like a Tier‑2 S‑grade beast.

Marcus was fighting a larger one—

made of Tier‑1 and Tier‑2 polyps—

and it was holding its own against a Butterfly‑tier evolver.

If the entire island merged…

No wonder it chased two Saint‑tiers.

Evan wondered,

“What’s the highest‑tier coral polyp in that island?

There must be a leader.”

He spotted Serena being chased by a coral beast.

Her One‑Strike‑Ten‑Thousand‑Effects style was nearly useless—

she couldn’t apply debuffs through the coral shell,

and touching the polyps meant getting stung.

She had met her natural counter.

Evan rushed over,

Gravity Dust tearing the coral beast apart piece by piece.

Serena watched him work and questioned her entire life path.

But the overall situation was deteriorating.

Dongli soldiers were exhausted.

General Storm was barely holding against the giant coral monster.

Rovan’s side was worse—

Yeh Muni had been chased into Gada City,

and chaos erupted as coral beasts flooded the streets.

The only good news:

with the coral swarm on land,

the sea beasts had stopped fleeing inland.

Dongli only needed to clear what was already on shore.

Then—

The coral beasts Evan and Serena were fighting

suddenly flew toward Marcus’s opponent,

merging into a four‑meter‑tall coral titan.

Marcus was caught off guard.

The titan punched him,

sending him flying ten meters.

He coughed blood, face pale.

Other Butterfly‑tier officers rushed to fill the gap.

Marcus swallowed healing pills and charged back in.

The battlefield split:

Butterfly‑tiers vs. Coral Titan

Soldiers vs. remaining sea beasts

Evan and Serena handling breaches

A few beasts broke past the wall.

Soldiers moved to chase them—

Evan stopped them.

“I’ll handle it.”

He grabbed Serena and leapt over the wall.

A beast fled toward the city—

Evan’s Gravitic Chain yanked it back.

Serena slapped it with a full stack of debuffs.

Evan kicked it aside and grabbed the next one.

Weak ones died instantly.

Stronger ones were debuffed and left to rot.

They cleared the breach quickly.

“Come on,” Serena said.

“Let’s help outside.”

Back at the wall,

the soldiers were still struggling—

especially against several Tier‑3 beasts.

One was a massive walrus‑like monster,

slamming the wall like a living battering ram.

Tier‑3 B‑grade: Mammoth Walrus.

Evan judged it carefully.

A Tier‑3 S‑grade like the Gravity Demon would be too much—

but a B‑grade?

He could try.

He fired Gravitic Chain—

not to pull the beast,

but to pull himself onto its back.

He landed, then pulled Serena up as well.

Ant Strength activated.

Needle Strike pierced its hide.

Serena applied her debuffs through the wound.

The walrus roared and tried to crush them against the wall—

but Evan Spider‑Man‑swung away with Gravitic Chain.

They repeated the process—

hit, debuff, retreat.

After several rounds, Evan was exhausted,

but the walrus was barely standing.

He leapt down one last time—

Raging Myriad Tides exploded point‑blank.

The walrus collapsed, stunned.

“Everyone—now!”

Soldiers swarmed it,

burying it under a storm of skills.