The change came without warning.
But—
In the next instant, all eleven Heaven-Deriving Orbital Cannons deployed on Heavenward Continent's city walls, concealed beneath haystacks, opened fire together. Guided by the Peace Sculpture, blazing pillars of light blasted into the sky.
Only two of the Heaven-Deriving Orbital Cannons had been placed in plain sight.
The remaining nine had all been concealed.
Sudden though the attack had been—
Heavenward Continent still intercepted every last one.
If that scene were rewound and played back in extreme slow motion, it would have been clear that the Mortal Domain's Sky-Piercing Pillars split at almost exactly the same moment Heavenward Continent's eleven Heaven-Deriving Orbital Cannons emerged.
This was not a reaction.
It was anticipation.
Inside Heavenward Continent's Underground Conference Room, the elderly man gripped his cane with both hands. Veins stood out starkly against his white fingertips, and his eyes blazed with utter madness.
He had known!
He had known all along that the Mortal Domain possessed a way to split one Sky-Piercing Pillar into three. He did not know where that ability came from—some dark technology, a Heavenly Dao Blessing Effect on the Sky-Piercing Pillars, or perhaps a rare island.
But there was one thing he knew for certain.
The Mortal Domain had it.
Since they had it, he would never truly believe they had fired only three Heavenly-Derivation Sky-Piercing Pillars. He could not afford that gamble. He could not gamble on whether those three pillars would split. If they did, and landed on his homeland, it would be a catastrophe.
So he had activated every Heaven-Deriving Orbital Cannon.
Even though doing so would consume an enormous number of eerie stones.
Now, it seemed he had gambled correctly.
Boom! Boom!
The continent trembled slightly. Although the interception had succeeded, it had taken place directly above