Zhao Jundu and Lin Wu were the first to recognize this person. They bowed deeply, saying, “Your Majesty.”
Zhao Junhong and Zhao Ruqin followed suit, suppressing the shock and awe on their faces.
The Radiant Emperor said, “No need for formalities on the battlefield. I’ve already checked the situation on the other side, and I’ve also communicated with Northridge Monarch. Place the entire realm on level one combat readiness.”
Everyone turned serious. Zhao Ruqin immediately jumped off the city gates and began issuing a series of orders.
That monstrosity on the other side might be able to traverse space, but the Empire’s interior territories possessed all kinds of anti-air defenses. Even ordinary warsh.i.p.s would rarely enter enemy airspace without proper reconnaissance, let alone their superweapon. This placed Serene Pass at the top of the places at risk.
All of a sudden, everyone felt their consciousness shake. It was hard to tell whether the entire world was trembling or if they were feeling dizzy.
The flying city in the distance was shrouded in a hazy light. It seemed translucent at this point and somewhat surreal, almost like the work of a master sculptor.
The vast space below it was occupied by an entire province, an area ordinary experts couldn’t hope to cover with their eyesight. Currently, this land was being lifted, folded, and crushed by a giant, invisible hand.
This feeling of distorted space lasted mere minutes, but it left a shocking impression on all beholders. All the soldiers watching this scene were petrified; only certain experts returned to their senses after a while.
The Serene South looked strangely spacious now. Only after a long while did people realize that they were looking at an endless plain with nothing on it. At the end of their vision was the horizon because the entire province had disappeared.
Perhaps the Radiant Emperor, Zhao Jundu, and Lin Wu were the only ones unaffected by the scene. Even Zhao Junhong looked pale and couldn’t help but shudder.
Fear became somewhat of a feeble reaction before this kind of space distortion, an attack that could destroy every physical object. Everything felt surreal because people simply couldn’t register that lives could be wiped away with such ease. There wasn’t even any bloodshed.
Their most deep-seated fears only lingered in their imagination. Not thinking about it made things a bit better.
Zhao Jundu placed a hand on his second brother’s shoulder. Zhao Junhong grabbed the hand, taking deep breaths until he was finally calm.
Zhao Jundu said, “Utilizing the laws of space with such power, the only way to neutralize it is with an energy of equal rank.”
The Radiant Emperor nodded. “Duke Rong is correct.”
At this point, the intermittent rumble of a malfunctioning aircraft came from the sky. A shuddering airship could be seen flying toward them, or rather, toward the nearby ground.
This kind of airship could only fit three people, a vessel used for surveys and scouting.
Lin Wu shot into the sky, his figure flitting past like a faint shadow as he made for the airship. With a single wave of his hand, he stabilized the out-of-control vessel and brought it back to the ground. It was as though he were dragging a big toy behind him.
Three people clambered out from the airship and collapsed into a sitting position on the ground. All of them were clutching special papers, pens, and instruments. These people were researchers who had been observing the weapon’s data and numbers. It seemed they had underestimated the range of the semi-dimensional weapon’s shockwaves and ended up nearly destroyed.
Returning to their senses after a while, the eldest one among them said, “According to our calculations, the time it takes for that weapon to charge up is fifteen to twenty-five minutes. We can try intercepting it with the ‘Little Lady!’”
Lin Wu acknowledged the report. The elder immediately dived into the airship and fished out a box. The container was filled with all kinds of mechanical components, which the old man pulled out layer after layer. It was actually an extremely complicated miniature origin array.
Lin Wu produced a core the size of a fingernail and placed it in one of the slots. The old man then set out to operate the machine at great speed. A wisp of origin power flowed out from his hand, bringing the entire machine to life.
Lin Wu asked, “What’s the level of that first attack?”
A young man who had just recovered said, “It’s roughly equal to an all-out attack from a heavenly monarch. Of course, that’s just a measure of power without taking into account the laws of space.”
The young man’s reply was orderly and logical, but that did little to conceal the fear in his voice. Even heavenly monarchs and great dark monarchs were little more than numbers and formulas to these researchers. What intimidated them was the unknown.
Attacks from great dark monarchs and heavenly monarchs possessed great destructive potential, capable of causing penetrative damage to the continents. However, none of them were known to have such a level of mastery over the laws of this world to be able to wipe out all surface structures without causing damage to the land. The power of a domain might produce the same effect, but the energy required to cover such a large area was enough to sink an entire continent.
Lin Wu nodded indifferently and returned to the wall. He bowed toward the Emperor and said, “We can try intercepting the second attack with Marshal Lin’s ‘Little Lady.’”
Zhao Junhong couldn’t help but say, “That flying city must take an astronomical amount of resources to activate. How many shots can it even fire?”
Zhao Jundu said after some thought, “If their targets are the two rebel provinces, they will surely have enough to fire two shots and one in reserve.”
Lin Wu said, “The Empire has records of two semi-dimensional weapons, but this one isn’t included.”
This was depressing news.
The Radiant Emperor’s focus was a bit different. “Why did Marshal Lin call that equipment ‘Little Lady?’”
Lin Wu’s expression turned a bit awkward. This bit of helplessness removed his gloomy countenance and revealed a handsome clarity.
After a while, he said seriously, “The version I heard is that Marshal Lin wanted a daughter at the time.”
The Radiant Emperor was stunned for a split second before breaking out in laughter.
The Zhao brothers exchanged glances.
It was at this moment that the airship in the distance started glowing once more.
The second attack was about to come.
Habsburg had woken up when the City of Eimer launched its first attack. He didn’t walk out of the cabin immediately. Instead, he expanded his perception outward before opening the doors.
There were only operation staff left on the airship as all the titled experts had left. Habsburg walked onto the bridge, nodding at some demonkin who were bowing to him.
A communications officer jogged over and said, “Your Highness Habsburg, Lord Predica asks that you go over directly after you’re out.”
The man nodded and walked out of the airship. The City of Eimer was no longer below his feet.
The golden flounder had left the small plaza and was hovering over the light screen in the sky. The floating city itself was flying at the upper limits of the Serene South’s terrestrial airspace.
Predica and two other dukes, as well as Duke Doer, were gazing forward. The great earth below was now a wide expanse of flatland, allowing everyone’s vision to stretch far and wide. They could see a winding shadow on the distant horizon, the mountain pass constructed by the human Empire.
The four VIPs here were all very young. Even the eldest among them was only at the core generation, so none of them had seen a semi-dimensional weapon in action. Judging from their expressions, they weren’t calm at all.
Habsburg scanned their expressions and realized what was going on. He seemed the least shocked in the group, without the slightest fluctuation in his eyes.
The City of Eimer began moving as Predica turned around to greet Habsburg. Even on the same plane, the movement of a semi-dimensional weapon was completely different from an ordinary airship.
Habsburg paused briefly to sense the laws.
By the time he had joined the group, the City of Eimer was above the Desolate North province. There were cities dotting the landscape, the flames from the previous beheading operation still burning below. The smoke curling up from below made the place look like a gaseous ore mine.
The chaos in the attacked cities was too minuscule to see clearly from this height. The characters here didn’t care, either.
The vanguard forces were on the ground for a mere three hours from airdrop to extraction. Neither the residents’ escape nor the human Empire’s interference could affect the big picture.
Predica explained the situation to Habsburg, “The charging time is fifteen minutes. After the second shot, we’ll need about two hours to collect data.”
Habsburg nodded to show that he understood, but he didn’t say anything.
The werewolf duke was the commander of the ground forces, so he was eager to know more. “The Great Qin might not have enough time to gather a large enough force in two hours, but they will likely mobilize experts. An attack from Eimer is equal to a great dark monarch’s peak attack, so their heavenly monarchs might appear.”
Predica said, “We only need to send in measurement apparatuses for the data. I’ll persuade the warlocks not to descend to the ground. That way, we can control the damage.”
Doer relaxed a bit. The council’s researchers were crazy people. There would be a lot less pressure if they could remain in the city.
Predica laughed. “Besides, the City of Eimer can fire more than just twice. We have no plan to attack the Great Qin this time around, but I’m not too worried if they want to engage in a border skirmish. Don’t worry, we have mobilization authority for this operation. We can call on the forces on Fire Beacon Continent.”
The others never asked about Eimer’s defense and attack numbers, so hearing Predica’s explanation put them at ease. None of them was afraid of a fight, but they didn’t want to become cannon fodder, either.
Moments later, the light barrier around Eimer glowed brilliantly. The second attack was ready.
It was at this moment that specks of light lit up across the land below them. Most of them were situated in the cities, but there were some in the wilderness as well. These specks of light were neither strong nor densely packed. They looked more like household lights after sunset.
Before the Evernight characters could react, a pillar of colorless light shot into the sky from a corner of Desolate North. Even from such a great distance, the pillar looked to be the size of a mid-sized city.
The pillar brought with it an intense aura of daybreak. It first shot through the clouds, then showered down like a precipitous waterfall. The energy swept across the entirety of Desolate North. Everyone could feel that this light was faintly connected to the starry specks on the ground.
Wherever this deluge of light passed, the specks of light would become increasingly active. The motes gathered together into small masses, growing bigger and bigger like a snowball.
Eimer’s second attack fired at this moment!
