Stopping Kang De!

Central Island, the location of the Flame-Particle Light Lance Launching Array.

It was a semi-buried, permanently fortified fortress.

The dome opened up like an observatory, with the core of destruction shining and rotating. The inner wall of the dome was imprinted with a large number of energy-gathering runes, from which the beam of destruction was shot out. After passing through the array of mage towers distributed in various directions, the rays that destroyed everything were refracted to every corner of the sea.

Inside the core control console, numerous spellcasters and apprentices maintained a vast array of magical components and rune furnaces, while the commander observed the outside world through Eagle Eye and Atmospheric Perspective array.

Everyone was at their post, but no one could maintain complete focus. Traces of blood remained on the ground, and the staff at the launch array couldn't help but steal glances at the cloud map.

They had recently launched an attack on Kang De, the Cathayan.

They now know that a counterattack is imminent.

The previous joint attack had no effect on the Cathayan or his fleet; the only result was that they had angered the most dangerous madman in the world.

Their leader, however, didn't care at all.

"Contact Mage Tower #5 again!"

Before the Cloud Map, the leader of the Flame Particle Light Lance Array roared, unable to remain calm any longer. His tone was filled with anxiety and rage. "Tell them clearly! I know what they're up to! The island lord spends countless gold coins every year to hire them, and now they must prove their worth!"

He turned around abruptly, his sinister eyes filled with ruthless killing intent, his mental power almost tangible, pressing down on the messenger in charge of the short-range communication device.

The fortress commander's voice was extremely cold. "Tell them that the Flame-Particle Light Lance must be used to attack through the deflection PRISM of the mage tower. Without their help, we cannot strike Kang De's fleet."

"--But I can attack them directly!"

"Simply adjust the firing PRISM downwards by a tiny bit, and the light spears will hit the mage tower itself, not the deflecting PRISM! Tell them clearly! If they cooperate with me to attack Kang De, they might not die, but if they're cowardly and refuse us, I can kill them right now! Let them listen up!"

"Fifteen seconds! I must see the refracting PRISM go online within fifteen seconds!"

"Don't try to run away! I'm watching them!"

The messenger hurriedly agreed and immediately sent a message to the fifth mage tower.

The fortress commander took a deep breath and slammed the water glass beside him to the ground. "Damn it!"

The Flame-Particle Light Lance Heavy Fire Element Concentrator, purchased at great expense from the Arcane Council, is the most fearsome part of the Broken Isles' defense system.

After being deflected by the mage tower array, the indestructible and terrifyingly hot light spears can strike any area of the Broken Sea. Their range, speed, and power are so great that even the most advanced capital ships of the Dusk Moon Dynasty cannot withstand more than four strikes.

Such attacks are impossible to defend against or avoid.

Because the attack range is simply too long.

No warship could launch a counterattack at this attack range, and even if they could, they would find it difficult to easily destroy the mage tower's refraction PRISM —because the island's defense system could intercept magical attacks!

To this day, that's what they all believe.

They believed that no fleet could possibly set foot on the Broken Isles; the powerful fortress magic could destroy any invaders. They were even indignant about the island lords' weakness in the previous days.

--Kang De came to provoke us a few days ago and even scattered the bodies of the victims in Pioneer Square. We should have killed him immediately then! We could have done it!

Why did the island lords allow and compromise like this? They let Kang De's fleet swagger around the Broken Isles, openly carry out some kind of evacuation operation, and even dare to threaten us—we could have easily sunk them!

Such complaints, born of drunken resentment, have finally vanished today.

Now they finally understood that the island owners' caution and hesitation were not without reason.

The Flame-Particle Light Lance was destroyed after only a few strikes, which were responsible for deflecting and repelling the attacks.

On the atmospheric cloud map, only a pillar of fire could be seen rising from in front of Kang De's flagship. The alchemical weapon, spewing Flame from its stern, arrived in an instant like the arrow of the moon goddess. Then, a flash of fire appeared, the upper part of the mage tower was shattered, debris flew everywhere, thick smoke billowed, the tower collapsed, and the PRISM was shattered.

The backup mage tower only fired one shot before being completely destroyed in the same way.

The third mage tower had just been successfully connected and was deflecting itself to strike position when the gleaming blade of light slid before Kang De's flagship, only to be destroyed by the alchemical weapon, which was several times more powerful.

With three mage towers collapsing in succession, the fortress commander, his heart hardened, immediately contacted the fourth backup tower. However, seeing the tragic state of his colleagues, the mages guarding the fourth tower were terrified. After the commander coerced and semi-forced the PRISM to go online, before it could be activated, the fourth missile was launched.

The fifth mage tower refused to raise the PRISM no matter what.

"Five seconds left!" he shouted, staring at the cloud map. "Why hasn't the PRISM been raised yet?!"

The messenger cried out in alarm, "They... they say they're quitting!"

"Traitor!"

The supervisor reached out and pressed the star map array in front of him. Light appeared, and the illusory light enveloped his five fingers. Without hesitation, he turned his wrist. A rumbling sound came from above, and the dome jet generator that had been exposed above the ground dropped slightly. Then, countless points of light converged, and the Flame-Particle Light Lance was sprayed out brilliantly!

With a crackling sound, the crimson blade of destruction struck the top of the mage tower. The surging heat melted the glass, destroyed the outer walls, and detonated the arcane circuits. The white tower, like butter sliced by a heated blade, was cleaved diagonally in two before collapsing with a deafening roar!

"Contact Mage Tower Number Six!"

The supervisor surveyed the staff present, his face grim. "I'll repeat myself one more time. Every year, the Broken Isles gives you countless gold coins, generous benefits, and all the perks, all for this moment! Did you think this money was so easy to earn? Now it's time for you to get to work!"

"Anyone who dares to flee, undermine morale, or instigate a rebellion will suffer the same fate as those fools in that tower! Kang De won't need to kill you; I will make you die a agonizing death!"

"Did you hear me?!"

Whether they meant it or not, people responded loudly, because the supervisor's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and even more so because many fully armed, dumbfounded assassins stood in the corner of the control room.

They then realized that the Broken Isles were not paradise.

Before today, working in the security department of the Broken Isles was one of the most desirable jobs for mages. The risk of war was extremely low, and even pirates dared not come. However, the island lords never slacked off and maintained generous benefits. Even though the frequency of exercises, drills, and assessments was very high, it was still the best place because of the generous salary and many services offered at employee rates.

But now they finally understand.

I came to understand a creed of the monk that should have been etched into my memory from the very first lesson.

Everything is equivalent.

The person in charge strode towards another liaison officer and said coldly, "Has there been no reply from the lord yet?"

The liaison officer hurriedly replied, "Yes, I've been sending messages to Sea Suppression Castle every three minutes, but there's been no response! Our messengers have also disappeared without a trace..."

"... hateful!"

The fortress commander roared in anger.

The Broken Isles are under attack by a massive number of sea creatures. Ships, docks, and coastlines are all under attack. This is an extremely critical moment. The Flame Particle Light Lance Array received orders from its master, the island's lord, to seize this opportunity and launch a thunderous attack on Kang De and his minions.

Regardless of whether it was wise to go to war with Kang De, in the face of a monster attack, not immediately mobilizing the island's defense system to suppress it, but instead using resources to fight Kang De, was clearly a very bad and chaotic decision.

But the island lord's orders were carried out thoroughly.

--Are you kidding? The Flame-Particle Light Lance, the Stone Thrower, and the Raging Tide are such heavy magical artifacts that they wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them sea-suppressing artifacts. As the island's lord and the de facto ruler of the Broken Isles, do you think it's wise for me to order my heavily forged weapons to fire?

The island owners, of course, must ensure that the powerful weapons on their islands can be commanded and used precisely where needed.

This is the downside of monarchical autocracy.

Your great talent lies in your unwavering wisdom and consistent victory.

But if you make a mistake, you're a complete idiot [beep--], and nobody will take the blame for you.

The order to attack was clearly extremely unwise, so much so that more than twenty fortress magic devices were pointed at several of Kang De's ships, only to be immediately silenced by the Forbidden Spell.

Only the three main island fortress cannons, which resolutely obeyed the island lord's orders, continued their offensive.

Not only did it fail to achieve its goal, but it also successfully provoked Kang De's anger and hostility.

"They're all cowards!"

The fortress commander cursed loudly. If the cowards on the other islands hadn't all stopped their attacks, and if one more cannon had been added, Kang De's warships wouldn't have been able to swagger around so arrogantly.

He cursed as he urged them to continue contacting Mage Tower No. 6.

But I already felt uneasy.

Since the attack order was issued, Sea Suppression Castle, where the master resides, has been silent.

Furthermore, the island lord ordered all the magical artifacts on the twelve main islands to launch an attack, and the fortresses on other islands also responded, indicating that the lord had gathered all the necessary authorization tokens.

However, the Forbidden Spell of Kang De was successful in deterring the enemy, and all twenty-two fortress magical devices on the eleven main islands went out and never restarted—this shows that the master and the other island masters did not reach a consensus!

So... what's the situation now?

With Kang De's army pressing in, deep-sea monsters attacking from all sides, the central island leaderless and commandless, and communications with Sea Suppression Castle cut off, what should be done now?

"Continue to contact the town..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard a gasp. The person in charge turned around abruptly, and on the cloud map projected by Atmospheric Perspective, another arrow shot into the sky from Kang De's flagship.

"Mage Tower No. 6 has been destroyed!"

"--This damn thing..."

A torrent of profanities erupted, lasting for dozens of seconds, but all the staff breathed a slight sigh of relief—because that was the last mage tower capable of attacking the sea area where Kang De was located.

In other words, they are no longer able to launch an attack.

"Grown ups!"

The observation team reported, "Enemy ships are about to arrive at the southwest resort beach!"

The fortress commander rushed to Yun Tu, his eyebrows twitching. He said coldly, "There are monsters in the sea. They can't hold out any longer. Of course they want to land—they're courting death!"

To be fair, going to the island was a wise move.

Not to mention that warships are simply inadequate against the large number of monsters coming from underwater, they also have to go ashore to face the threat of the island's powerful fortress magic devices.

Of the three fortress magical devices on the central island, Raging Tide is the most powerful. When fully charged, it can overturn a small fleet with a single attack, amplified by the combined power of the fortress arrays on other islands. However, its immense power comes at the cost of a long charging time and significant limitations.

For example, if the target is on the shore, the Raging Tide is useless; at most it can create a small tsunami, which can only attack enemies on the shore.

Now that the six mage-level PRISM of Flame-Particle Light Lance have been destroyed, the Raging Tide is useless on the shore. Only one Stone Thrower, which poses little threat to Kang De's alchemical warship, but...

He sneered, "But what we have is a complete defense system!"

The more than twenty heavily fortified magical artifacts are just one part of the whole.

Numerous fortified bunkers and fortified positions, mercenary troops and mage agents, and elite troops sent to the Dusk Moon Dynasty for training every year, equipped with the best weapons, armor, warhorses, arrows, spears, and frequently updated enchanted equipment, undergo high-intensity training exercises, and even practice against pirates every year—although the Broken Isles are an island nation, their army is as strong and well-equipped as a world-class power!

Our hypothetical enemy is none other than the Royal Army of the Dusk Moon Dynasty!

The exercise plan was designed to counter the landing operation of the Elf Elf Elf Commandery. The Imperial Guard equipment purchased from the Empire, an army forged in gold and war—what could Kang De possibly fight with without Forbidden Spell? Just a few thousand naval soldiers on a few ships? Trying to take the navy ashore and fight the army?

Are you kidding me!

"Log in!" he said dismissively. "You'll soon discover what a nightmare is..."

"The island's defense system was established based on the premise of annihilating all strategic forces, including heavy magical artifacts and defensive fleets. This ensures that even in extreme environments, the defensive forces can still rely on favorable terrain and permanent fortifications to counter the invading landing forces under the combined magical attacks equivalent to the three Golden Fleet and five main magical battle groups of the Dusk Moon Dynasty..."

"Your alchemical weapons can't possibly shake us!"

He thought for a moment and said, "Connect me to Suokete!"

This time, the short-distance communication was quickly established. The supervisor picked up the communication stone, and the hollow part vibrated to reproduce the other party's voice. "What is it?"

The supervisor said coldly, "Suokete, Kang De is about to land his troops. Take your men and resist from the defensive positions and fortified fortifications. Our master is watching us..."

Before he could finish speaking, a rude interruption came from the other end. "Are you telling me how to do things?"

The supervisor frowned. "You..."

Suokete said impatiently, "You useless bastard, just shut up and watch! In just twenty minutes, the assault corps and cavalry from the Western Camp and the Northern Outpost will Kang De that ridiculous Marine Corps on the beachhead. I will then lead the attack!"

The supervisor's expression changed drastically. "Damn it! You idiot! Stop the plan right now! Didn't you see how powerful Kang De's alchemical weapon is?"

Suokete's tone grew increasingly impatient. "I've already made arrangements; tactical magical devices from several nearby permanent fortified positions will support us, and the mage corps has already deployed!"

"--But you will still suffer casualties! Why waste your advantage? You should rely on your fortifications to delay and resist, instead of..."

"Alright! You're the fool!"

Suokete finally couldn't hold back any longer. He roared, "Do you really think we can hold out? Even if we can defeat those navies, can we withstand Kang De's Forbidden Spell? Can we stop Kang De's troops, or even the legions of the three kingdoms, that come after us? This is our only chance!"

The roar carried a hint of unease and fear, "While Kang De is landing with his army, launch a surprise attack and capture as many as possible! With hostages in hand, we can negotiate with Kang De! We can even negotiate with the elves, the Council, and the empire! That's my goal! Do you understand? Otherwise, tell me what we should do?"

The supervisor opened his mouth. "I..."

"Damn it! What's going on with the master? No command, no response, no orders! We have to figure it out ourselves! You useless bastard, just do what you're supposed to do!"

The communication was abruptly terminated.

The supervisor paused for a moment, then ordered, "Now! Everyone! Seal the control components! Shut down the furnace core! We're preparing to evacuate! The Flame-Particle Light Lance are no longer effective; staying here is just a waste of time. We need to go to the battlefield where we're needed more!"

People stopped what they were doing and turned around in astonishment.

"What are you looking at!" the supervisor shouted. "Does anyone want to stay here and get beaten up by Kang De?"

The alchemists and apprentices hurriedly got up, and the security guards silently moved to their positions, maintaining a dual stance of protection and surveillance over the precious spellcasters. They quickly formed ranks, and all the staff of the launch array were mobilized before leaving via the floating ladder.

The Flame-Particle Light Lance's firing array slowly shut down, the observatory-like dome closed, and then it slowly descended. At a hidden exit not far away, the supervisor led his team to the surface.

He glanced in the direction of Sea Suppression Castle, a resolute glint in his eyes.

It's almost certain that something happened at Sea Suppression Castle that cut off communications, and there's definitely danger... but he has to find out what happened.

"Let's go! We're going to Sea Suppression Castle!"

As he spoke, he subconsciously looked southwest, towards the beach about ten miles away, which should be the direction from which Kang De landed, but the view was blocked by the undulating mountains.

Kang De must have started logging in by now.

I wonder if Suokete's ambush will go smoothly...

The supervisor hesitated for a moment. He wanted to fly up to a higher place to take a look at the scene over there. Then, a sudden feeling of fear flashed through his mind.

Just then, the assistant beside him said, "It's so quiet..."

The next moment, he heard a whistling, sharp sound.

People looked up suddenly and saw plumes of white smoke breaking through the barrier of the mountains in the southwest, streaking across the sky and appearing in the clouds. One after another, like a meteor shower, they rushed towards them!

The supervisor, pale-faced, shouted sharply, "Run!"

As they spoke, the first dark figure, trailing flames, suddenly crashed into the nearby mountains!

"Boom!"

Flames illuminated the scene, shockwaves erupted, and a continuous stream of sound and smoke swept across the world, turning it black and white. One after another, pillars of fire fell to the ground, steadily advancing and spreading outwards from the initial blast point. Explosions and roars echoed like an epic invasion from hell, with surging air currents and the smell of sulfur filling the air!

Those who ran at the back were swept up by the shockwave and sent flying like rag dolls. Many more were shaken and thrown about by the earth-shattering, continuous roar, fleeing forward in a panic.

The supervisor had already rolled twice in a row. He tried to use magic to fly, but was overturned to the ground by the chaotic air elements. The scene behind him was like hell, and all he could hear were the desperate screams of his colleagues. This terrible attack came suddenly, but in a flash, a flash of inspiration made him realize the truth!

This is not a targeted attack against our group!

It's a counter-barrage against the Flame-Particle Light Lance Firing Array!

--Kang De has arrived!

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: The trailer for Far Cry 6 is out, and it feels like the writers are going to feed me shit again. I will never pre-order it. It's so stupid! [beep--] I will never forget the brain-dead design of Far Cry 5, which was so idiotic. I will never pre-order a Ubisoft game again. Damn it! The idiotic plot design is second only to Borderlands 3.