Pomegranate Fortress

A large cluster of magic arrays was activated in a chain reaction, and the violent ley line energy, like a giant beast awakening, frantically tore at the earth's strata! The ground beneath Jinghuo's left foot cracked open into a huge canyon, with rocks and soil collapsing inward like quicksand.

An hour earlier, dwarven engineers had driven piles hundreds of meters deep into the rock layer at great expense, and alchemists had injected a massive amount of expensive magic crystals to connect with the earth's ley line energy, thus setting up this enormous trap.

With one side of its body suspended in mid- Crystal Dragon, the giant beast, now without support, was about to topple and sink into the canyon.

A glint flashed in Nitelai's eyes as he pointed his finger toward the core of the control array.

With a whoosh, a massive levitation force was applied to Jinghuo's unbalanced left side, forcefully halting its collapse! At the same time, Jinghuo's three giant feet on its right side exerted force, stomping the earth like pillars supporting the sky! Accompanied by a deafening roar and shattered rocks, this colossal creature easily detached itself from the sinkhole and regained its footing!

"Dwarf, you do have some cleverness." Nitelai looked at the ever-expanding rift below, his tone tinged with surprise and mockery. Clearly, the Saint Rank warrior with the Giant Hammer and his hundreds of array mages were merely a lure. This massive cluster of runic traps had already been set up in advance.

On the other side, Giant Hammer fiercely wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes burning with humiliation and anger—having paid such a heavy price, only to have the enemy stumble and fall for him.

He leaped into the air and quickly disappeared into the vast night.

News of the defeat in the Giant Hammer operation quickly reached the Ruby Base command center.

King Star Pickaxe said nothing. This operation was originally a probe to find out the super crystal dragon's movement patterns and attack characteristics. Although the tactical objective was not completely unsuccessful, the fact that the enemy crushed the ambush so easily, without even truly stopping their advance, was a result that was hard to accept.

"How much time remains before the target reaches the ' Pomegranate ' mine?" Star Pickaxe's voice was deep.

"Four hours, Your Majesty!" a dwarven strategist reported. "The main force of the 'Stonebreaker' legion has arrived at the mining area and is deploying its defenses!" Could the kingdom's sharpest elite legion shake this mountain-like behemoth? Star Pickaxe asked himself.

The answer, in fact, is despairing.

But the resistance must continue! Whether it slows the enemy's advance for a moment or tears away more pieces of intelligence, the dwarves must fight on, wave after wave, in this clash of blood and fire!

"Share all intelligence with the Final Bone Mad Machines simultaneously," Star Pickaxe commanded.

"Yes, sir!"

The battle report was quickly transmitted to the tablet screen in Su Ming's hand, causing him to frown slightly.

The Crystal Dragon possesses the ability to breathe fire, which is easy to deduce. Su Ming even believes that its range is definitely more than the ten kilometers demonstrated in this battle. That should be the enemy's reconnaissance range, not the Crystal Dragon's maximum attack range.

What truly concerned him was that this super Crystal Dragon could compress the entire process from energy accumulation to the release of its breath into less than ten seconds! It was this attack speed that prevented even Saint Rank warrior personally leading the team from sacrificing all the array masters.

"How's it going?" Zijin's voice rang out beside her, and she handed over a still-steaming oil paper package.

"The basic functional tests of the Vermilion Bow have passed." Su Ming took the bread, took a bite of the bread with bacon inside, and his eyes were still on the screen. "However, a problem occurred during the high-power test—the cooling system couldn't keep up when the input and output power doubled."

Zijin turned to look at the rushing, roaring White River not far away, its waters shimmering under the starlight. "Cooling water... isn't a problem." "The water supply is plentiful." Su Ming nodded, "But we need a more efficient coolant to remove the heat accumulated in the core area of the system." The electromagnetic gun's internal structure is compact; if the power is forcibly doubled, only a few test missiles need to be fired in succession before the temperature of the critical units soars to an unusable level.

This meant that although they increased the charging speed, they were forced into a cooling-off period, and the actual firepower delivery efficiency of the Vermilion Bow did not improve. "Ashy Drongo did mention a heat absorption array concept before because of Lanmo's matter." Zijin pondered for a moment, then took out her phone, "I'll contact them and ask right away."

Her fingers flew across the screen as she succinctly typed out her questions and needs, sending them to the communications center, where they would contact Chloe was far away in Northern Ice Island, via a remote magical communication array.

"What about your side?" Su Ming asked, looking up at the enormous creature on the riverbank.

Under the cover of night, the imposing six-legged robot skeleton, resembling a mobile fortress, stood prominently. Its rugged mechanical lines exuded a strong sense of technological strength, yet every beam and every piece of armor that made up its main body gleamed with a stark white, bone-like luster under the moonlight.

"As you can see," Zijin followed his gaze, "The main 'skeleton' is up and running. Next? There's still the 'decoration' work—rune etching and energy circuits—to come."

Beianqi's voice came through the earpiece, "President Su, the Vermilion Bow system has finished cooling down, and the temperature has dropped to the safe threshold. Shall we begin the third test?"

"Begin," Su Ming replied, returning to the control panel. "Increase the weight of this test missile by ten tons from the previous value!" "Understood."

Zijin ate her bacon bread and returned to her work area, only to find Stacy standing beside her.

She held the tools for drawing the magic circle in one hand, and placed the other on Zijin's shoulder. "Something's wrong with you!"

"... What's wrong?" Zige asked, puzzled.

"You were standing right next to Su Ming just now," Stacy said. "Don't argue, normally you'd be about 20 or 30 centimeters apart from him!" "I didn't argue!" Zijin said. "So the situation is indeed 'abnormal'—what's the problem?"

"This is a huge problem!" Stacy glared at her. "I lost my bet with Chloe. If she has a baby, I'll have to incubate the eggs for her!" "Then I'll definitely take lots of pictures of you incubating the eggs!"

As she spoke, Zijin stuffed the remaining half of the bread into Stacy's mouth.

"Ugh!" Stacy snapped, taking the bread away. "It's always like this! You finish the meat and then give me the bread!"

Zijin clapped her hands. "Let's go, let's get to work!"

Four hours later, at the Dwarf Pomegranate Fortress.

As the most abundant Magic Power crystal mine in the Dwarf Kingdom, this place has long been developed into a sturdy light fortress. The massive, mountain-like figure of the super Crystal Dragon finally slowly approached the edge of the mining area.

Marshal Molten Heart, the dwarf in command, stood on the high platform of the fortress. Her thick fingers gripped a monocular telescope inlaid with Eagle Eye, watching the terrifying silhouette that was growing ever larger in her field of vision.

Beside her stood the disheveled Saint Rank warrior, Giant Hammer.

"If the enemy can use that wicked, 'violent' method to mine crystals, why can't we learn it?" Giant Hammer's voice was hoarse. "When those beasts step into the mining area, let's just detonate the vein!"

Rather than let it aid the enemy, it's better to perish together!

"It's impossible." Molten Heart's voice was heavy as he lowered his binoculars. "We've already tried. Even with a dozen mages working together, they can only blast down a small section of the ore layer at a time. Want to keep blasting? We'd have to clear the collapse first, then dig closer!"

This incident indicates that there is a gap between our side and the enemy, either in technology or in ability, or both. "Where did these damned enemies come from?!" Giant Hammer slammed his fist onto the cold crenellated stone, sending gravel scattering. He was filled with rage and wanted to fight to the death, but he couldn't even find a way to do so.

"Reporting to the Marshal! All miners and non-combatants have been evacuated!" A messenger sergeant rushed forward to report.

Marshal Molten Heart took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening once more. "Execute 'Swamp' Plan!"

"Yes!"

The Super Crystal Dragon did not proceed directly. Perhaps having learned from its previous experience, the Jinghuo or its massive body swung in a huge arc to the left, carefully avoiding the area directly in front of it, before continuing its advance towards the fortress.

Molten Heart couldn't help but curl her lips into a slight smile. Although the situation was hopeless, successfully predicting the enemy's movements and intentions still gave her a sense of accomplishment. Buzz!

Jinghuo had taken more than a few steps, the land within a radius of several kilometers beneath her feet suddenly erupted with a dazzling, earthy-yellow halo, the light flowing across the surface like a living thing! "Again?!" Nitelai exclaimed in surprise, her finger instantly tapping the control core. The runes of the levitation array glowed with a ghostly light, poised to unleash their power. But this time it wasn't an "earthly pulsation." Instead, a heavy feeling descended upon them!

The Jinghuo or all the giant feet suddenly sank downwards, continuing to sink. Nitelai quickly checked and found that the ground was no longer solid, but had become soft and sticky like quicksand!

"It's a massive gravity swamp," said the Death Knell. "That's not surprising, but the fact that they could predict our attack route shows their commander is quite skilled!"

As they spoke, the combined force of four times gravity and the muddy ground caused Jinghuo to feel as if she were sinking into a giant pool of asphalt. Her six giant legs were completely submerged in no time, and her enormous dragon body began to sink into it as well.

The levitation array prepared by Nitelai was of limited size, occupying only a small portion of the Crystal Dragon's back, and the lift it generated was insufficient to counteract the dwarves' massive gravitational amplification.

"These short bugs, they're quite the troublemakers." Nitelai's voice carried a hint of impatience.

"What I'm more curious about is how long they can hold out in such a vast gravity swamp?" Death Knell said coldly.

The swamp has a limited depth, and once the effect of gravity disappears, the Jinghuo may be able to break free from underground at any time.

Flames and thick smoke rose from the walls of the Pomegranate Fortress. Amidst the roar, hundreds of large rune cannons spat out tongues of fire, and heavy shells, like a dense meteor shower, crashed into the shield on the Crystal Dragon's body with sharp whistles, exploding into dazzling energy ripples.

Nitelai nor the Death Knell could even be bothered to exchange a glance. This weak and feeble attack was nothing more than a tickle to Jinghuo. Both sides knew perfectly well that the dwarves must have a backup plan.

Finally, several more loud explosions came from the opposite side, and the muzzles of the fortress-class magic cannons burst forth with intense light. A blazing white sphere of light, condensed with magical energy, tore through the heavy night and slammed fiercely towards the Jinghuo or its enormous body!

The Death Knell raised its pale hand, and another set of magic circles on Jinghuo's back activated, silently creating a semi-transparent extra Magic Power shield ten meters away. The magical orb, powerful enough to shatter city walls, struck this seemingly thin shield precisely. With a soft "poof," there was no earth-shattering explosion, no ripples from the energy impact; like a stone thrown into a deep pool, it made only a muffled and short sound before vanishing.

Like a sorrowful sigh.

An unusual reflection appeared on the distant horizon.

"Water?" Nitelai was slightly surprised, then understood. "The dwarves have breached the riverbank upstream!"

Simple swamp magic might only trap the Jinghuo temporarily, but introducing floodwaters into the area, combined with continuous Gravity Spell, could indeed cause greater trouble, causing the super Crystal Dragon to sink even deeper.

For a super-heavy behemoth like Jinghuo, its immense mass is always a hindrance that can be exploited by the enemy.

"We can fight back now!" The sound of the Death Knell was like ice beads falling onto a plate.

During her search, she had pinpointed the source of all the intense Magic Power fluctuations in the surrounding area. It was either the energy node driving the magic circle or the assembled dwarven mage legion!

With a flick Death Knell his finger in the void, a series of mental marks were instantly imprinted on it.

"Jinghuo or, the big guy is yours, leave the small troubles to me." A cruel smile appeared on Nitelai's face.

"No problem!" Jinghuo's spirit wave rang out.

The dense array of offensive magic circles on the Crystal Dragon's back suddenly lit up, and countless blinding rhomboid energy beams shot out in all directions like a torrential rain! The gravity swamp magic circle nodes distributed on the surrounding land were blown up and destroyed one by one!

The Jinghuo or gigantic maw opened again, and a destructive torrent of energy gathered in its throat. Just as it raised its head to gather power, the members of the dwarven mage corps on Pomegranate Fortress took off in panic, and the dwarven warriors on the city walls rushed out of the fortress without regard for their own safety!

Boom!!!

Ten seconds later, the energy breath, like a divine punishment spear, slammed heavily onto the Pomegranate Fortress, its dazzling light engulfing all vision.

The fortress walls twisted, broke, and collapsed like paper toys, flames and thick smoke, dozens of meters high, shot into the sky, and half of the fortress was transformed into a burning hell on earth!

Even those who fled immediately perished, one-fifth of the defenders, without even a scream, remained forever in the ruins.

As the gravity swamp magic array network was destroyed, the earth returned to its hard state. Freed from the constraints of gravity Jinghuo, Jinghuo easily pulled out its giant foot. It took a step, each step causing earth-shaking tremors, smashing down the last remaining ruins of the Pomegranate Fortress and breaking into the mining area.

The raging floodwaters spread. Jinghuo casually flicked its tail and ruffled the mud and rocks a few times, and a tall earthen dike quickly took shape, keeping the floodwaters outside the ruins of the Pomegranate mining area.