Song Chen watched the bands of light vaporize the instant they touched the sphere of light, but their sacrifice bought a brief halt.
The sphere of light paused for half a second before the third shield layer.
In that half-second, the heavy cannons on both wings of the city fired at once.
Only then did Song Chen realize that Warden Zephar had never intended to rely solely on the shields to withstand the attack.
During the gap when the sphere of light was stopped by the third shield layer, a row of dark-gray turrets on the eastern and western sides of the city lit up simultaneously.
Their barrels were extremely short, firing nearly transparent spiral shells.
Dozens of spiral shells struck the same point on the sphere's surface, like more than a dozen chisels hammering at one spot at once. Cracks began to appear across the sphere.
At that moment, the fourth pale-gold shield layer actively expanded outward, shoving the sphere away. Then, the sphere exploded.
The light of the explosion was brighter than the first strike, but it was also briefer.
The shockwave spread outward from the impact point. More than a dozen turrets around the city were blown away, metal fragments spinning like scraps of paper as they flew backward.
Song Chen heard the building beneath him emit a piercing groan of twisting metal, and a thin crack split open across the deck under his feet.
But when the light faded, the city remained, the Spatial Node remained, and four shield layers remained.
"Damn, that's fierce!"
He sighed.
This war was not won by whoever had the bigger fist. It was won by whoever seized the other side's weakness first during a barrage exchange.
Song Chen turned his gaze back toward the enemy fleet in the northern starry