No, This Wasn't

A sharp whistling sound rose up, your voice emanating from the Sea Shaker Control Tower on White Spring Islands in the center of the Broken Sea, sweeping across the entire island in an instant with the help of sonic magic.

Foreign invasion, highest alert, emergency.

The bustling and noisy island docks, streets, red-light districts, and resorts instantly fell silent. Then, an even greater uproar erupted as well-dressed upper-class people, escorted by guards and stewards, hurried toward the nearest underground shelter, while ordinary people were panicked and bewildered, looking around in confusion.

The guards, their faces pale, rang the alarm bells. Mage towers lit up with defensive beams of light. Many private islands had activated their expensively built defensive magical devices. Semi-circular shields formed safe zones. Spellcasters soared into the sky. On many deserted islands, rock walls split open, dense forests collapsed, and enormous magical devices slowly rotated, revealing their forms and shining with Arcane light towards the sky.

In an instant, the Broken Isles, meticulously crafted and passed down through generations by countless powerful and wealthy individuals, revealed a formidable crisis response capability. The inhabitants here are the most despicable of the upper classes in the world. They know that their wealth originates from sin, so they indulge in it with reckless abandon and are extremely afraid of death.

The sole purpose of hiring spellcasters at great expense and employing the most powerful alchemists to build a defensive system is to ensure that, in the event of a surprise attack equivalent to that launched by the Dusk Moon Dynasty's royal fleet, the important figures on the island can hide and escape amidst the onslaught of enemy forces.

So after detecting the impending mass strike, the defense system was activated, the mage towers began to operate, the large magical devices were charged, the spellcasters took to the air, and the important figures headed to the sanctuary—everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

But that's all we can do.

"The sky!"

On the street, someone pointed to the sky, where a dazzling light shone on the horizon. Above the azure sky, a crimson meteor broke through the white clouds, like the chariot of the Vulcan bathed in sacred flames, galloping across the heavens.

It hurtled past, casting the Shadow of death upon the ground, faster than an arrow.

"It's a meteorite!"

On the streets, the lowly people screamed in panic.

"It's Kang De!"

In the opulent and luxurious residence, the noble man roared in shock and anger.

"It's Kang De!"

On the mage tower of Ajinsi Island, a brown-haired spellcaster trembled and roared, gazing at the sky with endless fear and despair in his eyes.

In this situation, the ignorance of mortals is actually a blessing. For a highly learned and experienced monk like him, he can judge the size and speed of the meteorite in the sky with just one glance.

They naturally understood what such spellcasting ability and offensive power truly meant.

In an instant, the noble spellcaster was no different from the runaway and screaming commoners below. He grabbed his Cathay colleague beside him, his hands trembling. "It's Kang De! It's Kang De!"

Forbidden Spell have limited power; in the face of top-tier forces, Forbidden Spell are nothing. He was willing to write those words down on paper, copy them a thousand times, and swallow them all, just to ensure he wasn't on the island today.

"We're doomed!"

Tears welled in his eyes. "I'm dead, we're all dead, and you're dead too! This is the Forbidden Spell master you revered! He doesn't even know who you are! One Forbidden Spell, and millions of people here! Centuries of hard work! The hub of maritime trade in the western seas, all gone!"

All I got in return was a resolute denial from my colleague.

"No!"

The monk from Cathay, who had fled from the East as a child, shook his head resolutely. "His Highness Kang De is definitely not that kind of person! How could someone who could utter the Valentan Declaration be so cruel and ruthless?"

The brown-haired monk wailed, "That's all just for fooling children! How can you believe such things! This Forbidden Spell— "

The Cathayan shouted, "--The Forbidden Spell's target is not the Broken Isles!"

"... What?"

The brown-haired monk miraculously calmed down a bit.

He activated his Eagle Eye, his pupils rapidly distorting as he mentally calculated. A moment later, a look of wild joy appeared on his face. "It really wasn't here! The landing point is very far from here!"

Immediately, the joy vanished, replaced by worry and panic. The mage turned back, grabbing his companion. "Let's go! This shot is most likely a test of the landing point, adjusting the spell model parameters! While he misses, let's quickly find a way to escape to a safe place!"

The Cathayan still shook his head. "No, it wasn't a miss."

"... Didn't it miss? Was it just to scare people? To scare people by throwing it from so far away?" The brown-haired mage glared. "What kind of intimidation is that? It only makes people think he's bluffing, only exposes his weakness and fear. He even throws Forbidden Spell from a distance, afraid of hurting people. Why not get closer?"

Master Cathay did not answer. He pondered for a moment, swept all the documents and materials on the table to the ground, pressed the crystal ball beside him, infused it with Magic Power, identified the soul fluctuations, mobilized Magic Power, and opened the Atmospheric Perspective array. The crystal ball projected a realistic image onto the table.

Before my eyes was scorching, distorted air, and a crimson, enormous celestial body. An Atmospheric Perspective array was tracking the meteorite, and below was an endless sea.

The brown-haired mage exclaimed in surprise, "You diverted the mage tower's Magic Power to make this? This...!"

Before he could finish speaking, the Arcane light on the mage towers on the nearby islands also shifted and changed, activating Atmospheric Perspective arrays and projecting them with mirroring spells, sending them to the mansions atop the mountains of each island.

The spellcasters, high-ranking officials, and important figures across the island breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering that the Forbidden Spell's target was not the Broken Isles, but also felt disdain for the so-called Forbidden Spell mage.

Such a show of force is utterly laughable.

--Although they said this to strategically despise the enemy, they still ordered the mages to use Atmospheric Perspective arrays to broadcast the live footage of the Forbidden Spell bombardment.

In fact, they don't need to give orders; the sorcerers will do it on their own. No spellcaster can resist the temptation to witness firsthand the power of the Forbidden Spell recorded in ancient books.

On the mage tower of Ajinsi Island, two mages on duty stared intently at the image on the table: above the boundless blue waves, a colossal celestial body ablaze with raging flames roared down.

Shockwaves surged through the air, with flames, debris, trails of fire, and blasts of air swirling around them. Even though Atmospheric Perspective couldn't transmit sound, they could imagine the earth-shattering roar.

At this moment, the two of them, and even many spellcasters and important figures watching this scene, couldn't help but think of the Battle of Valentan, and the battle report that was sent to all parts of the world.

Star of the Firmament fell from the heavens.

This is the first direct description of Forbidden Spell in this world after the end of the ancient era.

They initially thought the description was an exaggeration.

The meteor, pulsating with Flame and shockwaves, roared as it hurtled towards the vast, boundless sea.

To the vast ocean, it's like a pebble dropped into a still lake.

Atmospheric Perspective flips, changing the viewpoint to look down from above.

Even though they couldn't hear anything, everyone squinted their eyes the moment they saw the meteorite fall into the sea.

They witnessed this process through magical means.

They saw the torrents created by the high-speed impact of the meteorite, which carved deep craters into the calm sea surface; they saw the meteorite's Flame scorching out large plumes of steam.

They witnessed the massive celestial body crashing into the sea, instantly creating a huge crater in the surface. Countless waves splashed outwards along the surface of the celestial body, generating waves that bloomed like flowers, spreading and swirling in all directions, with the waves roaring and crashing.

But this is just the beginning.

It's just the least amazing part of this scene that's been so rare to witness for a thousand years.

Then, they saw a massive and rapidly moving meteorite crash into the sea, tearing through the water and Atmospheric Perspective a deep and vast cavity beneath the surface. From above, it looked as if an endless abyss had appeared in the ocean, with the seawater cascading down like a waterfall into an unknown and mysterious realm.

Then, the seawater displaced by the meteorite rushed back into the enormous cavity, and the massive hole swirled up from the bottom, creating a terrifying vortex. Because it was so huge, from the sky, this scene appeared both fast and slow, like a masterpiece of nature, forever awe-inspiring.

It felt like an eternity, yet also like a fleeting moment.

They heard a sound, a deep, muffled roar coming from afar.

The abyss was swallowed by the sea, or rather, the abyss erupted with an even greater surge.

The immense pressure exerted by the vast oceans bound by this planet caused the seawater, pushed aside by the meteorite, to surge back and fight back with even greater force. This force not only pushed the seawater to fill the void, but also had the capacity to push the backfilling seawater out of the water, forming a terrifying Worthington jet!

In an instant, the ocean exploded. The ring-shaped waves created by the meteorite hitting the water had not yet dissipated when a terrifying sea peak burst forth from the sea. Countless water vapors, sprays, and waves shot into the sky, as if a towering peak made of water had risen from the ocean, and then—it began to collapse!

Master Cathay and his companions held their breath, watching this scene unfold.

From the perspective of looking down from the sky, pure white flowers were blooming continuously, and waves of white spray were spreading outwards. From the frontal view of another mage tower, they saw a snow mountain collapsing, with countless waterfalls being thrown into the sky and then crashing down in all directions. This sea peak was so huge and magnificent that from a distance, the speed of collapse appeared to be very slow.

The massive amount of seawater crashed down, pounding the surface and stirring the air.

The terrifying waves surged wildly, whipping up storms in all directions. Invisible ripples swept across the turbulent sea, spreading violently.

The people of the Broken Isles all witnessed this scene.

I saw snow-capped mountains emerging from the distant sea.

It was like a miracle.

But the monks' expressions changed drastically.

Because of the collapse of the snow mountain, the splashing water, and the impact of the massive amount of seawater falling onto the sea surface, the initial impact created a wave that swept the raging tsunami and violent winds across the entire Endless Ocean.

It also swept across the bewildered and ignorant Broken Isles.

"Storm!"

The sailors on the mast noticed the strange sign immediately. They screamed and roared, but in the face of such power, human struggle seemed utterly ridiculous.

A storm roared in from afar, carrying a massive amount of misty water vapor that surged and churned. Like a hurricane, it swept across the water at an unimaginable speed, tearing masts off, shaking the water's surface, pushing aside ships lying across the water, and blowing and swirling cargo, ropes, and debris from the dock.

In an instant, the sunlight was obscured by the mist, sand and stones flew, and a damp, cold fog enveloped everything. People screamed in despair, clutching at anything they could hold onto, trying to escape, collapsing, howling. The mist that followed condensed into droplets, like a violent storm, striking, gushing, and scattering. The surging waves and torrential rain pounded and splashed, the water trembling and violently sweeping across the entire Broken Sea.

One wave after another.

The rain poured down.

A fierce wind was blowing.

Roofs, masts, stakes, and debris were whipped and blown about; the docks were smashed; small boats capsized. Faced with this wrath of heaven and earth, everyone cried out in despair; everyone trembled in fear.

Every island, every dock, every ship, every house.

This wave of anger crashed down, striking the sea hyenas who had been eager to make a fortune at Goth's place, striking the hearts of the arrogant who boasted that Forbidden Spell spellcasters were insignificant, and striking the faces of those in power who sat in their mansions, swirling their wine glasses and using their power and money to order others to do evil, showing them what the true power in this world really is.

The biggest impact had subsided, but the torrential rain was still splashing. This once-prosperous maritime trade hub in the western sea was in ruins. Fortunately, being located in an archipelago, it had experience and preparation for dealing with a major storm. However, ships were damaged, docks were destroyed, and people peeked out from their reinforced houses, their cries gradually spreading.

Whether it was the imperial fleet, the hired private raiding ships, or the famous rogue fleet, those battle-hardened, high-spirited, and rude sailors slowly loosened their grip on the mainmast. They looked at each other, exhaling continuously, their former arrogance and recklessness gone.

That fearful expression was like that of a novice who had just set sail.

They also knew what that thing was.

It's what they talk about, despise, and even Cathay when they're bragging—the words of Kang De, that "he might not even have a bigger penis than my father's," or "Goth People is probably just bragging"—these Forbidden Spell.

Now, that arrogant and fearless demeanor has long since vanished.

The seeds of fear have been sown.

The initial fervor fueled by money and promises has completely dissipated.

Just as no sailor wants to encounter a great storm on a long voyage, no crew member wants to see that terrifying sea monster near their own ship.

"Now you understand? That's why we projected the Forbidden Spell so far out at sea."

At the mage tower on Ajinsi Island, a strong wind shattered the reinforced glass, leaving two spellcasters soaked to the bone. The Cathay calmly spat out a small fish from his mouth.

He said calmly, "If we get any closer, he might just kill us."

The brown-haired monk clung to the corner of the table, trembling slightly; he could no longer utter a complete sentence.

He had just been caught in the storm, witnessing the devastation of the day with its darkness and howling winds, which had already filled him with terror and despair. But that was merely the aftershock, weakened by the distance.

So, what would happen if that Forbidden Spell had struck the very center of the Broken Isles?

He hugged the Zhuzi and suddenly burst into tears.

Silence is the Broken Isles of today.

The Broken Isles experiencing three major shocks in one day.

The first shock was the discovery of the Forbidden Spell's attack, its power terrifying.

The second shock was that, although the Forbidden Spell was not aimed at the Broken Isles, the terrifying power of it crashing into the sea was still incredibly awe-inspiring and frightening.

The third shock was that even the aftershocks were like a natural disaster, sweeping across the entire island and causing countless losses.

In the underground shelter of the central island, in a sealed room with dim lighting, the mirror images of human bodies constantly flashed on the chairs surrounding the Round Table. The decision-makers of the Broken Isles Core Council remained on their respective islands, huddled in their foolproof shelters, conducting emergency consultations via remote projection.

The image of a middle-aged man appeared to be still in shock. He pounded on the table, trying to hide his fear and unease, and shouted, "This... this is a declaration of war!"

"--Shut up!"

The next moment, seven or eight roars rang out in unison.

The elderly man sitting in the main seat stared at the middle-aged man, his tone resolute.

No, this is not it.

On the distant sea, Kang De gazed at the gradually calming but far from tranquil surface, and said calmly, "They should know what it means when not a single plank of wood can be put into the sea."

Gloomy Halo unfolded, Fire Thief vanished through the Phase Gate.

"The letter has been delivered. Please reply."

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PS1: Update... Ah, I've been sticking with Ring Fit Adventure for almost a month now. I've been increasing the intensity every day, but I feel like I can stop now. Let's keep going...