With Divine Emperor Lier, Purgatory Ancestor, and the others serving as cautionary examples, Jian Shang hovered in midair and surveyed the fierce fighting across the sea. Not a single enemy powerhouse came to intercept him. Only occasional cannon fire struck from afar, unable to threaten him and instead leaving him free to observe the battle in peace.
Half a month earlier, the China Faction had launched an all-out counteroffensive and recovered the entire Marshall Islands. After two weeks of rest and repairs, sixty to seventy percent of the islands' military structures had been restored. In particular, the Star-Reaching Platforms at the center of each island had received priority repairs, with senior officials of the Great Huan Dynasty assigned to guard them.
Now, as the Canada-U.S. Allied Forces launched an all-out assault with human-wave tactics, an elliptical barrier enveloped the entire Marshall Islands. Its upper half glittered with starlight, representing the starry heavens; its lower half was brown, representing the earth. It resembled the eternal earth bearing up the brilliant stars-the Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation. Tens of thousands of cannons from the Canada-U.S. Allied Forces fired from every direction, but their volleys were shattered by dense, darting starlight as they entered the formation, vanishing without a sound like stones sinking into the sea.
Outsiders knew only that the legendary Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation lived up to its name and was immensely powerful. Jian Shang, observing the battle, knew that every beam of cannon fire intercepted meant the formation had consumed at least one Upper-Grade Spirit Stone-more spirit stones than firing the cannon required. This was purely a war of attrition. Moreover, passive defense would inevitably exact a greater price than active attack.
Outside the Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation, Great Huan's elites and China's powerhouses surged out like a tide of beasts.