A battlefield stalemate, new intelligence

The officer guiding Yang Wenqing led him to the fortress's main entrance.

From outside, the building looked like nothing more than a two-story fortress built of solid stone. Its gray-white outer walls were made from whole blocks of deep-sea granite, with fine waterproofing runes embedded in the joints.

But the instant he crossed the threshold, the space suddenly opened up. The first floor was an enormous hall more than twenty meters across in either direction, with a vaulted ceiling nearly seven meters high. Cool white rune lamps lined the beams along all four walls, illuminating the entire hall as brightly as day.

A massive water screen was set into the wall facing him. It currently displayed a live tactical map of the three defensive lines in the Thunderclap Archipelago, dividing the entire front into jagged, interlocking fragments. Every defensive node was covered in densely packed data and identification numbers, some of which had already been revised repeatedly.

A long, dark gray conference table stood in the center of the hall, its surface covered with nautical charts.

Several used teacups were scattered along the edges of the maps. The tea stains at their bottoms had already dried, making it clear that the meeting had been going on for quite some time.

Jian Cong stood at the far end, both hands braced against the edge of the table as he studied something below. Only when he heard footsteps did he raise his head.

The general's stars on his epaulets gleamed coldly beneath the cool white lights. Beside him stood a middle-aged man in a pale cyan scholar's robe, the spiritual fluctuations around him exceptionally steady. Fine golden Divine Art Runes were embroidered along his lapels and cuffs. At a glance, he was clearly a Divine Arts Cultivator dispatched to the front by