Chapter 605: Misfired?

As a projection spell, it naturally possessed its own tactical subtleties at this moment. For instance, the perspective of the scrying mirror was drawn immensely far back; whatever followed would, at most, depict a distant canvas of devastation, sparing the viewers from anything too untoward.

Luther maintained the focus of his magical projection upon the chaotic skies beyond the borders of the Grand Jin Nation, suspended over the Desolate Sea Realm.

The skies above the Desolate Sea Realm, outside the Grand Jin Nation.

Colossal flying vessels cruised the heavens, serving as platforms from which a legion of cultivators surged forth, treading upon flying swords and riding monstrous beasts. Swords clashed with radiant energy, and spiritual intent rippled through the air, yet that golden torrent was steadily being pressed back, forced into a relentless retreat.

Austin, the Morning Star of the Blazing Flame, ascended into the high skies. Guided by his hand, the gaping maw of the massive cannon loomed like the darkness of the abyss itself.

The immense barrel, spanning nearly ten chang in length, imposed an overwhelming sense of sheer, suffocating dread upon all who looked upon it.

The light of ruination had begun to coalesce, gathering a power so terrifying that even a fraction of its aura birthed the desperate illusion of utter helplessness.

The energy continued to swell. Nalan Hongwu, standing closest to the epicenter, could clearly discern the very fabric of space warping around the gathering vortex of force.

He even harbored the grim suspicion that such a weapon could, in a mere heartbeat, reduce every living soul present to absolute ash.

As the energy gathered at the cannon's mouth, it began to pivot toward the dense center of the battlefield, where the forces were most concentrated and the elite fighters stood thickest.

This terrible weapon could not be allowed to fire!

A flash of sword-light erupted beneath Nalan Hongwu’s feet, and his entire being transformed into a streak of brilliant luminescence, hurtling directly toward the massive cannon!

"Intercept him!"

Before Nalan Hongwu, a vast host of elite knights instantly converged.

This great cannon was, without question, the crown jewel of their defenses, heavily guarded above all else.

Furthermore, the magical arrays surrounding the grand palace flickered with a pristine, white radiance, raining several beams of destructive light down upon Nalan Hongwu’s path!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Yet Nalan Hongwu guided his flying sword through the descending divine wrath, his silhouette seeming to blur into a brief, spectral haze.

As though shuddering for a mere fraction of a second, he inexplicably and unnaturally slipped right through that curtain of destructive white light!

Unscathed!

"What the?!"

"The Z-shaped stutter?!"

A chorus of shocked exclamations instantly erupted from the rear.

In the blink of an eye, everyone witnessed that white-robed figure carve his way into the legion of knights, sending those elite warriors shimmering in golden light into a chaotic retreat!

Viewed from high above, the white-robed figure resembled a pair of sharp shears, slicing cleanly through the fabric of a massive army!

Meanwhile, the audience gathered in White Pigeon Square caught sight of this very spectacle at precisely the right moment.

"Oh my goodness!" The elven maiden, Xela, stared wide-eyed at the vision before her, covering her small mouth as gasps of astonishment escaped her lips.

"Oh! Magnificent, exactly like that!" Deep in the shadowed corners behind White Pigeon Square, two figures remained concealed. They were beings who could never walk in the light, yet that did not bar them from witnessing this clash.

The shorter, leaner one among them could not help but tremble slightly at the shoulders, appearing even more thrilled than the spectators seated out in the open square: "Oh! It is high time those wretched, self-righteous nobles tasted some bitter ruin!"

"Listen to that! The damnable House of Blazing Flame and House of Thorns have suffered a crushing defeat on their so-called 'native' continent, and right before everyone's eyes! Hahaha! I can already picture the ridiculous looks on those bastards' faces!"

"Peace, this battle is far from over. Though I crave such news as much as you, let us not rejoice too quickly," the other remarked.

...

Upon the battlefield.

"To retreat is to die!" Austin, the Morning Star of the Blazing Flame—the middle-aged man clad in magnificent, fiery-red armor etched with floral patterns—bellowed in fury. Even two ninth-tier transcendent knights rushed to reinforce the position.

Nalan Hongwu’s expression darkened slightly.

His mind seemed to be calculating the variables.

The massive cannon had already begun its targeting sequence, initiating its final phase.

At this juncture, Nalan Hongwu appeared to pause in brief hesitation; whatever the case, time had run out!

"Preparation complete!" Austin, the Morning Star of the Blazing Flame, stared at the 'native' who had just been bent on slaughtering his way to the cannon, a cold sneer forming on his face. "You and your army are about to bid farewell to this world!"

"Oh! Those wretched fools! They will finally learn their lesson!" Luther watched the scene with a surge of excitement. The massive cannon had clearly finished charging. In the next instant, these damnable natives would be turned to ash. No one could withstand such an assault, not even a single blow—not even they themselves could endure it!

"Fire!" Austin, the Morning Star of the Blazing Flame, commanded with a detached, cruel smile fixed on Nalan Hongwu.

Yet at that exact moment, he realized that Nalan Hongwu was looking back at him, wearing an equally cold, detached smile.

Clack!

A sharp, thunderous crack echoed, but it was absolutely not the sound of the massive cannon.

Rather...

If any interstellar players had been present, they would have instantly recognized it as the sound of a Ghost agent's Lockdown Missile!

From a corner unnoticed by anyone, a missile drew a piercing, screeching arc through the air.

The smile on Austin’s face froze mid-air almost instantly.

He instinctively turned his head, only to see the entire vicinity of the massive cannon enveloped in a strange, pale-white energy field.

The ruinous, glowing energy that had just flared within the cannon's mouth now dulled into obscurity, vanishing without a trace!

A misfire!

The Lockdown Missile could instantly sever the power source of nearly all machinery within its area of effect, including Protoss Carriers (effective only against mass-produced variants, ineffective against the gargantuan Carriers seen in cinematic records).

"No! This is impossible!" Luther practically shrieked. Aside from holy relics of true divine artifact caliber that existed only in legends, he had never even heard of anything capable of halting the massive cannon!

But how could these natives possess an item of that caliber?!

Not far from the floating palace, several youths and maidens waved toward the crowd. Nalan Mingxue lifted the weapon resting on her shoulder, offering a smirk: "Heheh."

At this moment, within Saint Heinz's grand palace, virtually no one could maintain their previous aura of placid composure.

"This... what is this?! A divine artifact?!" Austin, the Morning Star of the Blazing Flame, found his entire countenance contorting with disbelief.

"Could it be... something left behind by those entities from the ancient wars?!"

"How is it possible! How could they still possess such a thing!"

Princess Isabella, standing nearby, stared in dazed bewilderment: "How does it look as though Lord Heinz’s side is about to lose this war?"

"..." Even Saint Heinz’s face had turned a shade of livid green, utterly devoid of his prior dignified bearing.

Within the Penguin Chat Group for the Internet Cafe Army’s External Operations:

Nalan Mingxue: "Pleasure doing business with you!"

Nalan Hongwu: "(Hearty Laughter) A bunch of fools. The old man here was merely putting on a feint to draw their attention, and they didn't even notice."

Boss Fang: "666, a perfect score!"

Everyone: "Perfect score! Perfect score!"

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