Tactics
A dwarven scout team followed the massive Crystal Dragon through the wasteland, carefully collecting traces left by the enemy. The enormous claw marks were as deep as large ponds, emitting an unidentified stench.
The warrior, wielding the Giant Hammer bearing the King Star Pickaxe's command, crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
"How was the attack just now?" he asked.
"The Bone King's attack doesn't seem to have worked," the team leader reported, pointing to a hole at his feet that wasn't very large in diameter but was surprisingly deep. "This was left by Plain Gift; it fell to the ground."
Scattered around the hole were fragments of Crystal Dragon. There weren't many, and they didn't seem to have been ejected from a glancing blow by shrapnel. "No disintegrating Magic Power crystal powder was detected nearby," a Magister said, a faint glow of probing magic swirling around his fingertips. "This indicates the enemy hasn't experienced a large-scale depletion of Magic Power crystals."
Giant Hammer's thick eyebrows furrowed. "I understand. I'll go see what happened!"
Without another word, the rocks beneath his feet shattered with a deafening roar! He transformed into a blur, rushing off in the direction the Crystal Dragon had vanished.
Knowing the situation is one thing, but it's even more important to figure out why this happened!
The Death Knell, perched atop the crystal cluster, quickly detected the rapidly approaching aura. A flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes. Turning the Crystal Dragon's head to unleash its breath would waste considerable time, and they were pressed for time, needing to quickly assault the Final Bone Mad Machines artillery position. Although they had managed to defend it for now, these timed, heavy shells were like a sword hanging over their heads; prolonged defense would inevitably lead to their defeat!
The Death Knell rose, about to meet the attack, but was stopped by Nitelai.
"I'll go." With a Nitelai wave of his hand, thousands of crystals scattered on the dragon's back were drawn and floated around him.
The sharply defined crystals tumbled in the air, refracting the rising sunlight into a dazzling halo of seven colors. Nitelai's body was then lifted by a powerful Magic Power, shooting off like an arrow towards the direction from which the Giant Hammer was hurtling!
Several members of "Minute Hand" were gathered around a cluster of cracked crystals, which had been affected by the fragments of Plain Gift. The Death Knell floated closer. "Is the restraint field stable?"
"It's safe for now, sir," the leading Minute Hand member reported.
"What fancy new technology!" Jinghuo grumbled. "It's much simpler to just stick to the old method and insert a few hundred needles into the Crystal Dragon's brain core!"
The Death Knell did not answer. If the original brain were not preserved, this body could not have survived for a thousand years.
Behind the Crystal Dragon, Nitelai suddenly stopped in mid-air, just in time to intercept the oncoming Giant Hammer.
The dwarf warrior roared, his body surging with Dou Qi that flowed across his rough skin and heavy armor.
He transformed into a golden comet, rushing towards Nitelai. The Giant Hammer hammer in his hand, engraved with ancient runes, slammed down towards Nitelai's head.
"Bang!!!"
Where the hammer struck, Nitelai's figure shattered like fragile glass. At the core of the shattered pieces, a burst of energy exploded! The shockwave, mixed with sharp crystal fragments, slammed into the Giant Hammer's heavy Dou Qi, producing a piercing screeching sound. Even with the resilience of Saint Rank warrior, the Giant Hammer was shaken to the point of letting out a muffled groan, its blood boiling.
He looked up sharply, and sure enough, Nitelai's figure was hovering dozens of meters away.
"She's truly stupid," Nitelai said with a cold, mocking smile, "But she's got a thick skin."
Before he could finish speaking, the shield surrounding Nitelai collapsed with a loud crack. He staggered in mid-air, drifting back more than ten meters before barely regaining his balance!
Giant Hammer grinned and sneered, "You delicate, stinking warlock, how about tasting my Forceful Cleave!"
Without the slightest pause, another shockwave erupted beneath the Giant Hammer's feet, and a golden afterimage flashed as it attacked Nitelai's new location.
Nitelai was clearly wary of the strange collateral damage, and this time chose to simply dodge. The Giant Hammer's senses opened, capturing several fleeting energy signals in the surrounding area—all of them were false targets.
Without hesitation, he locked onto the nearest illusion with his Giant Hammer, unleashing a torrent of Dou Qi as he attacked once more.
In any case, within his domain, whether it's true or false, the target's true self will be affected in the same way.
"Splash!"
But before the dwarf warrior could get close to his target, the scene before him shattered like a glass curtain wall.
This wasn't surprising, given that his opponent was skilled in illusions. But after the illusion vanished, Giant Hammer's expression changed drastically—he had clearly been lunging horizontally through the air, yet he found himself facing solid ground!
Boom!
The Giant Hammer had no time to adjust its posture; it crashed into the rocky ground below like a cannonball, creating a large, cracked crater. Before the dust could rise, dozens of scorching, blinding energy rays followed the Giant Hammer's descent and slammed into the crater!
Boom boom boom!
Explosions followed one after another, with debris and turbulent energy raging wildly. Then, a disheveled figure tumbled out from the center of the explosion, his Dou Qi aura armor dimmed, and fled rapidly into the distance!
Nitelai did not pursue. The severe damage had been successfully inflicted, and if the fight continued, the desperate counterattack of a Saint Rank warrior would not be easy.
He glanced at the distant Plain Gift pierced through the protective mirror formed by the Crystal Spawn Insect high in the sky Jinghuo's body! The mountain-like super Crystal Dragon suddenly twisted its body, its Dragon Tail, like an extension of a mountain range, whipped up terrifying wind pressure, and with a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, fiercely lashed at the incoming Plain Gift!
The powerful and heavy Plain Gift Zengjing was struck off course by this landslide-like blow and crashed obliquely to the ground.
However, the price paid by the Crystal Dragon was equally tragic—the scales covering its Dragon Tail shattered and peeled off in large areas, revealing the blurred flesh and stark white bones beneath, with blood gushing out like a waterfall.
The Minute Hand, which had been waiting nearby, immediately stepped forward and used various materials to bind and reinforce the parts.
Seeing this, Nitelai didn't linger and quickly returned to the Crystal Dragon's back.
Some time after Nitelai left, not far from the battlefield, beneath an inconspicuous mound, the soil suddenly loosened slightly, and a short, wiry figure emerged from it like a skeleton rat.
This was a Master Rank dwarf assassin who hid nearby while the Giant Hammer drew attention to him.
He immediately activated Wind Message Spell to contact the nearby mage in charge of communications and reported what he had just seen.
"Dragon Tail?!" Su Ming's voice was filled with disbelief, "Using flesh and blood... to knock away a supersonic solid metal rod?!" The Vermilion Bow's attack has now been suspended. After firing 12 shells in succession, the Vermilion Bow has entered a maintenance cycle. Some components need to be inspected and tightened, while consumable parts need to be replaced.
Everyone gathered in a makeshift shed nearby to analyze the current situation. A simple terrain model was set up on the ground. "It's not too surprising," said Zijin, "After all, it's a super-sized behemoth."
"Ultimately, it's because Plain Gift's terminal speed isn't fast enough." Su Ming traced a long arc with his finger on the sand table. "We've wasted most of our kinetic energy on the 300-plus kilometer run. As the distance closes, Plain Gift's attacks will become increasingly lethal."
"If we're close enough, the Long-Range Fire Battalion can also join the attack," Bowers said.
Although the stockpile of "Jiangling" missiles was depleted, their reserves of heavy rockets with a range of over 100 kilometers were still quite plentiful. A newly printed image was delivered. This was a 3D model of the Super Crystal Dragon drawn based on the last close-range scan data from the Rainbow Drone. In the image, besides the head that could spew destructive breath, the giant tail that could deflect projectiles, and the shimmering crystalline scales covering its entire body, the most striking features were the huge crystal clusters on its back and the array of magic circles covered with intricate runes beneath them.
"Then we can launch a coordinated attack from a distance of fifty kilometers." Jielusi handed Su Ming a drink with a reed stick stuck in it. "The Vermilion Bow will lead the attack, while the Long-Range Fire Battalion will provide saturation coverage to completely tear apart their defenses."
Newman and Quail immediately sat down to calculate, their pens scratching across the draft paper. They quickly concluded, "Based on the previous performance of the magic array, this combined attack is enough to destroy the array cluster and strip that beast of its scales—of course, to completely annihilate a monster of this size, we'll still need your 'big guys'."
Su Ming pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "We can't let them get this close before we fight."
He turned and pointed to the Celestite Hydropower Station dam outside the shed, which blocked the great river. "The range of the dragon's breath attack on the other side is still unclear. If it were to attack the dam, it would be troublesome."
"The enemy may not know about the Vermilion Bow and needs a hydroelectric power station to fire it," Younier said. "They might not even attack this target." "But the enemy will definitely want to cause destruction—that's a full reservoir of floodwater!" Miao Xin said, spreading her hooves.
Everyone inside the shed felt a chill run down their spines. Perhaps the dragon's breath couldn't destroy the entire dam in one go, but a dam at full capacity, if it suffered even one major injury, would continue to spread under the scouring action of the water.
If the Celestite Dam collapses, the fertile land downstream will be turned into a swamp, the Dragon Gorge Port will be flattened by the giant waves, and even the Ruby Base will be affected!
Because the bottom outlet for flood discharge has not yet been excavated, there is currently no way to lower the water level.
"In principle, pure magical attacks cannot achieve such a long range," Newman attempted to analyze.
However, Quail raised a different opinion. "If the opponent combines the power of the magic circle and the Crystal Dragon, and uses throwing attacks, the attack range cannot be estimated based on pure magic."
Su Ming moved the marker line on the sand table forward. "In short, we will launch a joint attack from a position one hundred kilometers away!"
He turned to Bowers, "Immediately lead the Long-Range Fire Battalion forward fifty kilometers to establish a launch site!"
Although the long-range rocket has a maximum range of over 100 kilometers, it requires a heavier warhead and a higher terminal penetration speed to break through defenses. "Yes, sir!" Bowers accepted the order and left.
"Our priority, besides destroying the magic array cluster, should also be to take down those crystal clusters," Zijin suggested. "According to Chloe's analysis, the crystal clusters are where the controlling souls that maintain its movements reside. Destroying them directly will paralyze this giant dragon." "But in the infrared signature we captured, the Crystal Dragon's head looks normal," Miao Xin said, pulling up footage she had taken earlier when they approached.
This is a thermal image. The Crystal Dragon's head area emits an orange-red glow that is one or two degrees brighter than the rest of its body, and its structure is full. "Indeed, this head is 'alive,' and there are no signs of death or shrinkage," Stacy concluded after a closer look.
Everyone hesitated for a moment, as this was clearly inconsistent with what had been found on the Rift Tribe Crystal Dragon.
"That means this Crystal Dragon might be a combination of a crystal cluster and a brain," Su Ming deduced. "Then destroy them all, leave none alive."
The battle discussion continues; next up is the enemy's Saint Rank being.
Miao Xin zoomed in on the image, which showed two figures on the dragon's back at the center: Death Knell and Nitelai.
"These two are the enemy leaders," the dwarf priest Wanshi, announced.
He pointed his finger at the image of Nitelai. "The one fighting Giant Hammer is this man, a warlock, with extremely high skill in illusion magic." He paused, his face grim. "By the way, there's bad news: Giant Hammer's injuries are quite severe; he won't be able to make it to the final battle."
"Isn't Giant Hammer best at 'overcoming skill with brute force'?" Stacy asked, puzzled. "How could he fall for an illusion?"
Wanshi recounted the battle as transmitted back by the Giant Hammer: "The opponent manipulated the crystal, simultaneously creating holographic illusions in six directions around the Giant Hammer —up, down, left, right, front, and back—and also superimposed more than twenty different types of interference spells to lure him into crashing into the ground rocks."
"If that's the approach," Zijin thought for a moment, "Then you can leave it to me."
Jielusi pointed at the Death Knell, "And what about this woman?"
"Information gaps. Giant Hammer has been confirmed to be Saint Rank being, but her aura seems somewhat weak," said Wanshi. "I'll go hold her off; we should be able to manage for a while."
"I'll go with you," Ruixiuli, standing up. A priest, when paired with someone, is far more effective than the sum of its parts. "Then I'll team up with Zijin and prioritize taking down that warlock," Gelie's thunderous voice boomed from outside the shed.
"So what if the enemy has two Saint Rank experts? We have plenty of manpower this time!" Wanshi, then looked at Su Ming, "As long as you take down that Crystal Dragon, the outcome will be decided!"
The head of the maintenance team rushed into the shed, "Report! Vermilion Bow is ready!"
Su Ming stood up and said, "Let's go, Miao Xin!"
The Skeleton Pig immediately followed.
Wanshi stared at the still-moving Crystal Dragon on the screen, somewhat puzzled. "Now that the enemy can use its tail to deflect the cannonballs, should we keep firing?" "Of course!" Newman replied. "It can deflect one, but what about a hundred?"
As the steel cable was taut and tightened, the modified shotgun "Plain Gift" by Beianqi was lifted by the hoist and steadily placed into the tail slot of the Vermilion Bow. The familiar clearing alarm then sounded. The giant dragon participating in the operation spread its wings and took off, while the ground personnel retreated into the shelters that had been built in advance beside the riverbank.