Rhapsody on the Epang Palace

If one had to use words to describe the feelings of this attack team at this moment...

That must be--

"Ah, this..."

They came from all over the world and were a veritable treasure trove of talent. Among them were elite soldiers trained with the most advanced military concepts from another world, who had their own unique understanding of war. However, what was happening before their eyes was clearly beyond their knowledge.

The battlefield—a massive castle, impregnable, heavily guarded, and meticulously constructed over a long period.

This is a tough nut to crack for all commanders and soldiers. Whether it's a siege or a direct assault, it's a painful ordeal. The only difference is whether it's long-term or short-term.

All siege battles in the world are extremely brutal. Whether it is breaching a fortified city or a stronghold, it is the most cruel test for the attacking side—the enemy's stubborn resistance, the disadvantage of the terrain, and before entering the castle, there is a bloody assault; after entering the castle, it means a brutal street battle.

Sea Suppression Castle undoubtedly possesses qualities that no general in the world would want to see: complex terrain, formidable defenses, and the immense wealth of the Broken Isles embodied in this castle. Even the outer walls are made of hard bricks fired from white stone meteorite mud, which are far superior to the magic power and can absorb massive amounts of elemental energy.

This is just the city wall; not to mention the terrifying mechanisms, magical artifacts, and heavy defenses inside, as well as the stronghold of elite troops... This is the center of the Broken Isles, and no one knows how many gold coins the island lords have poured into this place over the past few centuries.

The best option to attack this castle would be to bombard it with a large number of magical artifacts and cluster spells, but such tactics are not suitable for the current situation.

The objective of the operation was to capture the enemy's leader.

This means that soldiers must pay a heavy price for victory, and make enormous sacrifices in their fearless marches, charges, battles, and advances in order to capture the enemy leader under heavy defense.

The brave soldiers had made up their minds to fight alongside Prince Kang De, not only for their own hope of survival but also to prove their worth to Kang De, but then...

They saw their new king, whom they recognized and wanted to serve, sneak away to the opposite wall, like a drunken farmer trying to overturn a wooden fence, with a loud "Hey!"...

--An entire section of the city wall, along with its tower, disappeared from the spot.

The ensuing battle became a personal showcase for Kang De, leaving every soldier terrified.

Faced with the formidable and heavily fortified city defenses, Dragon of Cathay acted like a farmer collecting livestock manure in the countryside, wielding a pitchfork and tossing it to send a section of the castle into another dimension.

"Looking for a civil engineering student! Okay, preferably someone with an architecture background!"

As Kang De dismantled the structure, he turned back and called out, "Which side poses a greater threat, or rather, has higher value?"

The ballista crew commander of the Snowy Peak hesitated for a moment, then jogged a few steps.

He was a top student who graduated from the Imperial Capital Institute of Architectural Engineering, with outstanding grades in geometry and mathematics. As a result, he was recommended to serve in the navy. The heads of the ballista groups in the Imperial Navy basically all had this characteristic: they knew how to build fortifications, city walls, buildings and fortresses, and they knew how to demolish them.

As a construction worker, he had already observed the castle with his professional instincts.

Now that the city wall has been demolished, it's like a burly man having his clothes torn off, revealing his well-developed pectoral muscles and well-defined lines. Everything is as he expected. After only a brief confirmation, he shouted without hesitation, "Your Highness Kang De, there must be an alchemical golem guarding that low building at two o'clock!"

The raiders approached like wolves and tigers, their mental energy spreading, Extraction the separation layer, opening the Phase Door, and causing it to fall freely. In an instant, they demolished the low building into a huge hole, leaving not even a foundation.

Grass.

This elite attack squad became spectators, witnessing a unique and unprecedented offensive battle that had never been mentioned in any military book.

Law is vast and boundless, while time and space are the most beautiful eyes of the goddess of magic, the foundation upon which the world is built. Akatum's most powerful scepter constitutes order and supports the world.

Time science and space science are also recognized as the two most obscure and difficult disciplines, and many research results are still only theoretical and have not been transformed into practical results.

The progress in spatial science is slightly better. Through tireless exploration and effort, generations of geniuses have drawn on some legacies from ancient times to develop spatial storage devices, small-scale teleportation equipment, and even phase protection spells, but that's all.

Many ideas remain just ideas, even though heads of state attach great importance to them. Many strategists and military experts see breakthroughs in space theory as the opportunity for the next military revolution or even a magical revolution. They believe that cargo transportation, troop deployment, and even long-range strikes based on large-scale space teleportation will once again change the course of war and promote commercial prosperity and further exchanges. But these are still just ideas for the future, pie-in-the-sky promises that law schools are making to ask for funding.

But now, the idea seems to have become a reality.

No, this is an unthinkable path—using teleportation spells to demolish or even capture the enemy's permanent fortifications and defensive strongholds. Even the most imaginative strategic magicians wouldn't dare to come up with something like this.

They stared blankly as Kang De continued to dismantle the building.

"--snort."

A disgruntled snort echoed from the underground palace in the mountains. The meal was coming to an end, and the killing had almost stopped. On a smooth wall, a light screen woven from sixteen projection crystals displayed the scene of Sea Suppression Castle.

The magnificent and majestic castle was disappearing piece by piece, vanishing into thin air, as if a graphics card had malfunctioned and graphics loading was hindered.

Whether it was a powerful magical artifact capable of attacking on its own or a deadly alchemical golem poised to strike, they were utterly powerless and easily banished to another dimension.

The island lord trembled and knelt down in fear. "This... I..."

"... Hmph, I see. I think I understand what happened. Mudblood, this isn't something you can handle. I won't blame you for it."

"Your Majesty, praise be to your magnanimity..."

Ignoring the sycophantic flattery of his lackeys, the enemy from beyond the heavens looked puzzled, observing Kang De's wandering figure. After a moment's thought, a mocking expression appeared on his face.

"Ah, I see. This year's Fire Thief are no good."

His laughter grew increasingly mocking, tinged with disdain and even reassurance. "He seems oblivious to the true power of the Power of the Fire Thief, actually using their power to shatter city walls and Fire Thief —ha, this isn't some kind of material-shattering spell, but rather a blasphemous power from a tiny, fragile mud race, staining the glory of the gods. Doesn't he realize its true purpose? Surely not? Surely not?"

The thought filled him with glee, even causing him to burst into laughter. He felt a sense of relief and a stirring of ambition. "If that's the case, then he must be extremely weak right now, and it seems I can gain the glory of personally killing the Fire Thief..."

But then a look of apprehension crossed his face. "No, no, no, it's better to be careful. Although they're also Mudbloods, they are still Fire Thief. Let's stick to the original plan..."

He finally made his decision, glancing at the island owner. "Continue, lure him down."

The real hunters are already hungry and waiting.

Ultimately, even the Fire Thief were still Mudbloods, unworthy to fight him. He only needed to remain high above, atop the clouds, watching the Mudbloods slaughter each other.

The Phase Gate open and close.

In a wasteland north of Moyani, the capital of Comora, walls and buildings with a strong Western style keep appearing from the sky, some slightly tilted or even collapsed. In this vast expanse of yellow sand, there is a unique desolate atmosphere, like the last remnants of an ancient Civilization that has long been destroyed.

It's impossible to count all the treasures hidden among these pavilions, towers, city walls, and palaces in a short time. However, with the Paradox Element, Kang De can now teleport living people into the White Mist World, so let the tool people do the rough work of counting the spoils.

Kang De traveled back and forth between the two worlds, like cutting a cake, breaking down Sea Suppression Castle into pieces of suitable size and throwing them into the White Mist World piece by piece, not even sparing the floor tiles.

Wherever it went, the sky was three feet high and the earth was seven-tenths thin. It looted its way through, and all traps, killing moves, and defensive magic devices were banished to the new world along with the entire building before they could even be activated. In an instant, the island lord's shouts of shock and anger rang out in Sea Suppression Castle.

His tone was half acting, half genuine. "Kang De! What are you doing!"

No matter what, it's still my own house, so I'm naturally worried about it.

Kang De laughed heartily, "You old bastard, haven't you ever seen a house raided before?"

--Is this a house raid?

As if sensing the other's thoughts, Kang De added with a grin, "We're used to hardship; we're thrifty and meticulous in everything we do."

Kang Bapi led his men forward like locusts, devouring everything in their path. After ravaging the front yard, they arrived at the square in front of the castle. He pointed to the huge statue in the center. "It's hideous—what's it made of? Is it worth picking up?"

The construction worker beside him had become a professional robbery consultant. He thought for a moment, "We'll need to do a composition analysis, but considering the height and texture..."

"Take another look."

Kang De led his men toward the main building inside the castle; that was the real deal.

"Go pick these up first. By the way, the flagstones in the square are quite nice; they might be useful for creating a very smooth and sturdy surface. I'll come and dismantle them in a bit..."

The island lord's voice was almost hoarse. "Don't waste any more time, Kang De! A great danger is approaching! If you can stop its awakening, everything on the Broken Isles will be yours! Do you hear me? It's awakening, and those ubiquitous sea monsters are its minions..."

As Kang De walked forward, he said to Ulysses, who was following beside him, "You see, this is the art of lying. Lying doesn't have to be entirely false. The advanced level of lying is nine parts truth and one part falsehood, using a lot of truth to embellish your lies. And the highest level is to selectively use one hundred percent truth, and then guide your enemy to be swayed and deduce false conclusions..."

As they spoke, the main body of Sea Suppression Castle was continuously disassembled and transported.

This magnificent building, a residence steeped in centuries of history, countless antiques and decorations, precious books, luxurious carpets everywhere, exquisitely crafted utensils, hidden treasuries, and a vast amount of resources, all changed hands to the Kang family through this cunning and ruthless plunder.

The centuries of hard work and accumulation by generations of island owners, the painstaking business dealings, the exploitation of the common people, the price gouging, the hoarding and speculation—all that hard-earned money was used to build this grand mansion, only to have it all snatched away by Kang De in the blink of an eye. The pleasure of fleecing the common people is truly exhilarating.

"I told you long ago that 'The Rhapsody on the Epang Palace' was written as a wish-fulfillment novel."

While making money, Kang De said, "Unfortunately, no one present understood what the Rhapsody on the Epang Palace' was: 'By the way, my favorite part is the second paragraph. Qin Shi Huang captured all the queens, princesses, and concubines of the six states and brought them to the Epang Palace for his pleasure, turning the former royal families who once lived in the palace into veritable palace bastards. I think this should be the earliest record of palace bastards...'"

So why aren't there any young ladies here?

From the beginning until now, the life detection spell has not detected any sign of living people, which is completely inconsistent with the legend that Sea Suppression Castle is a place of nightly revelry and earthly paradise.

Kang De repeated himself, his tone growing increasingly sinister.

"So, why doesn't your mom have a single young lady?"

But no one present could answer him.

Those who could answer him were still making a racket.

Until the staff left behind in the square returned and reported back.

Your Highness!

Kang De's temporary robbery advisor stated confidently, "There's something wrong with the statue—an underground passage has been discovered!"

The robbery lasted for about forty minutes. The entire Sea Suppression Castle was left completely stripped bare, like a sheep that had been plucked naked, turning into a barren hilltop.

The remaining ruins tell the story of the evil deeds that once took place here, and in the vast square in front, Kang De, with a cold face, casually pushed the tall statue aside.

With a deafening roar, the statue turned to dust, revealing a wide and bright underground passage.

Two forest rangers stepped forward to inspect the area. They sprinkled a special alchemical powder onto the steps, and after a moment, looked up with certainty. "Many people passed by not long ago!"

Kang De raised a megaphone. "Listen up, you inside! You are surrounded! I order you to stop resisting immediately and surrender! Otherwise, you will die!"

"... Finally found it."

The island owner of Star Worship Square breathed a sigh of relief. During this time, he tried his best to hint at Kang De, but he couldn't be too deliberate. However, all his actions failed. No matter how many reminders he gave, Kang De ignored his words and continued to demolish his house relentlessly.

Even though he no longer cares about worldly things and has decided to focus on following the God of the Star Palace to complete the glorious and great plan and obtain the reward of eternal life, watching his ancestral property being dismantled bit by bit still gives him the feeling of being tricked by a minotaur—this bastard from Cathay has finally been fooled.

He couldn't wait to see this guy arrive here, be dragged into the endless abyss by these terrifying tentacles, and be devoured in fear and despair.

The Lord of the Star Palace gestures with his eyes.

"Kang De, I told you I was here! Come in quickly, time is running out, I..."

He stared at the projection screen, continuing to try to persuade and distract Kang De, but at that moment, he saw Kang De on the screen snap his fingers, and then a dark Phase Gate appeared in mid-air.

Then, surging seawater shot out from the Phase Gate and poured in through the underground entrance!

The faint sound of surging water could be heard coming from the direction of the gate.

He heard the noble God of the Star Palace curse, "Damn it!"

" --Kang De!" the island owner shouted sternly, "What do you think you're doing! Stop right now!"

Kang De shouted smugly, "Old man, you think your grandpa can navigate this maze, fight monsters, collect loot boxes, and defeat the boss? Today I'll show you how a successor to communism actually gets through the main storyline!"

"If you don't want to drown, come out right now and kowtow to admit your mistake!"

The island lord and the sovereign exchanged bewildered glances. The latter was also extremely puzzled, even feeling a hint of surprise. "This... this Fire Thief... is a bit..."

Compared to that fierce, powerful, bloodthirsty, cruel, and reckless woman, this Fire Thief is far too... adaptable.

The version has changed, and the God of the Star Palace is finding it a little difficult to adapt.

The island owner, his mind racing, came up with a plan and shouted, "Kang De! Are you going to drown these innocent people? The islanders are all seeking refuge here! Do you want to hear their pitiful, desperate cries? Are you going to kill so many innocent lives without hesitation? Stop now!"

The plan worked perfectly. He saw Kang De snap his fingers again, and the floodwaters immediately stopped pouring down. Then Kang De asked, "Is someone inside?"

The island owner shouted, "There are many people!"

Kang De tossed the megaphone aside, figuring the other side could hear him anyway. "Send out a hundred of them for me to see—the prettiest and the biggest-breasted!"

The island lord was speechless. He looked around at the empty square. All the living people had become food for him, dragged into the deep well by the tentacles. There was not a single survivor.

He looked at the deity of the Star Palace, his eyes conveying this meaning.

--Could you make it spit some out?

The other party's cold gaze ruled out this possibility.

In that brief silence, Kang De realized something had happened. Without hesitation, he reopened the Phase Gate, unleashing a torrent of energy. "Old man, you'd better drown in there!"

Amidst the surging waters, a flash of silver light streaked down as Horus's intricately crafted miniature robot darted swiftly through the water, propelled by the current into the depths of the underground palace.

If it is indeed some kind of large-scale sacrifice as he suspects, then there must be a response after the blood sacrifice, and no one can say for sure what lies beneath.

Therefore, the robot's task is very simple.

Depending on the circumstances, it could provide Kang De with a spatial anchor point for a leap forward.

Or... specify the coordinates for bombardment with high-yield high explosives.

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PS1: I'll start writing as soon as I wake up tomorrow! I refuse to believe it...