by Feng Yue
At the moment, the phantom image of the dragon and the fog collided, and a landslide-like quake burst forth.
The phantom shadow of the holy emblem fell apart.
The wall of fog was smashed through.
The tide that had risen vertically began to collapse, and huge gaps emerged from it. In the forlorn wails of countless strands of music theory, the dissipating aether spewed out, forming flying streams of silver light in the air.
The naval defense set up by the Sacred City was destroyed as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.
The Royal Fleet had already entered the hinterland of the territorial waters of the Sacred City!
It was at the very moment that the waters behind the fog wall were enraged. Mighty bell tolls sounded. The bell chimes seemed to have become tangible, spreading from the middle of the sea in all directions. Everywhere the substantial sound waves passed, they forcibly smoothed out all the ripples and tides.
It was as if someone was cutting off protruding wooden stumps with a sickle.
The sea region which was initially turbulent with hidden tides returned to a death-like calmness in an instant.
First, the thousands of alchemy arrays inscribed into the mud and gravel at the bottom of the sea were illuminated. When the glows lit up, only then did people realize that the entire seabed had long since been shoveled in a manner such that it was perfectly level at the moment.
It was as smooth as a mirror.
The mud deposited on it was pushed away by the shock waves. Then, an infinite nature interference spread, forcibly processing all the seawater in the sea region.
After the original nature of “fluidity” was removed, the “rock-like firmness” that replaced it made the water as hard as a rock.
In an instant, the entire fleet was bounced up into the sky by the ocean.
It looked as if all the warships leaped from the sea together in an orderly fashion, then fell back heavily on the rock-firm sea. As if they had hit the iron, matter and matter collided, leaving deep scratches, and producing countless sparks. Sharp noises sounded one after another.
The warships were stranded.
Fortunately, most of the warships materialized from Firebird. Otherwise, tragic scars would probably have appeared due to weight and gravity in an instant.
It was much simpler for the Mountain of Nomadism.
It directly switched to the fourth mode forcefully.
And so, it stopped its falling forcibly, floating about 60 centimeters above the sea. Relying on the enormous gravitational force radiated by its innumerable arrays and musical movements, it exerted pressure on the frozen sea below.
It was as if a shot put had fallen into a fishing net, and the sea surface, which was initially flat was forcefully pressed until it caved in.
“That’s all? Let me add on!” someone snickered with disdain, then stomped on the deck.
Bang! The gravitational force emitted by the Mountain of Nomadism became hundreds of times stronger in an instant, reaching the maximum load it could bear in theory. It was the result Ye Qingxuan directly extracting the power of the Net of Aether and forcefully pressing it down.
The frozen sea surface shattered and caved in, directly forming a huge hole. The surface of the sea became rugged like shattered rocks and turned into ruins in an instant.
As if it was not expecting the defense position that was initially indestructible to be defeated so easily, at the moment, the counterattack finally took place.
A large pillar of iron rose from the deep sea towards the surface.
A total of 641 iron pillars were erected on the sea in an instant, their tops being several hundred meters above the sea, and each was so thick that it would take several people to join hands and form a ring around it.
But no alchemy array was inscribed above.
It seemed like pure ornaments with no ability to attack, and even the material was just an alloy with high strength coated in a layer of black gold.
The strange man-made creations stood on the shattered sea, exuding a cold and forbidding aura, or at the very least it did not seem like some artificial scenery of the Sacred City.
At least, no one had ever heard of such a pointless tourist attraction.
Soon, the Sacred City provided them with a detailed explanation.
What the pillars were, exactly.
When the auditory hallucinations that sounded like the buzzing of bees resounded in everyone’s ears, their hairs standing up one by one in the static electricity, some still did not know what was happening.
But everyone could see the chaotic specks of light floating around in the air.
They were like fireflies of summer.
They drifted about in the hurricane, fluttering chaotically. They were fine and chaotic lightning, and the harm each one could do was negligible, but they were like the warning barks before an earthquake.
They were the signs of the arrival of a disaster.
800 Judgment 2
The first thing that could be felt was “shockwave.” The beating of wings of the bee colonies reverberated beside one’s ear. It was as if the sound possessed actual physical quality. It filled the air and overpowered any other sounds. It occupied the only principal axis and became more ferocious and sharper.
It was the grand pillar of metal that was shaking. It was capable of shaking seas and countries into dust. During the phase of warming up, it would already begin to erode the space of the entire sea domain and completely rewrite all the laws of physics.
Soon after, 641 grand pillars of metal began to burn. It was the majestic tolling of the bell. Heaven and earth were in resonance and everything was trembling. After the same movement had been piled on top of one another for 641 times, it turned into a destructive lingering sound.
Pale white air currents swept across from all directions and wherever they passed, aether would boil and gather together before collapsing inwards, as if they had congregated into a physical quantity. The pure and terrifying density was a threat that was comparable to one posed by catastrophe. No, perhaps even a catastrophe would not be able to unleash a power that was stronger than this?
Even if the layer of shockingly beautiful mercury wave was to be transformed completely, one would instantly be able to detect the core music theory embedded deep within, as long as one was not completely awed and shocked by the appearance. Silver Tide! For a long time, the Sacred City had already secretly grasped the power of recreating Silver Tide! It was one of the eight most destructive phenomena.
It was as if, in this instant, the world that countless musicians were familiar with had turned upside down. Every law and common sense had been flipped. Since when was the power of catastrophe capable of undergoing mass production too?
Amidst the devastating pale-white air currents, even the fairy tale warship, which was formed from Firebird, saw half of its body being devoured just from a mere scratch by the edge of the air currents. In an instant, more than half of the 16 instruments of harmonious melody exploded. The fleet, made from Firebird, was being trampled on by the catastrophe, and half of them were instantly put out.
Far away in Anglo, countless musicians, who had been in deep sleep, suddenly began to tremble and climb up from the iron pool. Fresh blood was flowing out of their noses and mouths.
On the surface of the sea, there was destruction everywhere and death was impending. But the more that the wave, which represented death, gathered towards the center, the more its speed was reduced. It was being blocked by an invisible repulsion. They could not go past a boundary that did not belong to them.
It was Mountain of Nomadism. Directly below the Mountain of Nomadism, the surface of the sea, which had been terribly trampled on after solidifying, had already formed a crater that sunk deep below. But within that mysterious crater, there was light. The light was spreading in all directions like a flood. It resisted against the pressure brought about by the terrible resonance, then, amidst the sc
reeching of metal, it broke open the pressure that was coming from all directions.
Countless sparks burst forth out of nowhere. Metal clashed against metal as they competed against each other. It did not matter that, at this very moment, the vault of heaven was dark as it had been engulfed by dark clouds. But on the surface of the sea, which had now been turned into ruins, a perfect, pure white figure suddenly appeared.
A physical projection rose from the other end of the mirror. It broke through the limits of the surface of the mirror and struggled out of the illusional restraints then… it rose up into the sky!
“Bright moon rises above the sea!” Just like how Ye Lanzhou reappeared back then, that white and perfect moon had already risen from the sea emanated the light of redemption in all directions.
From the endlessly deep sea set up by the enemy, a flawless moon was created. At this moment, it rose above the 641 grand pillars of metal and hung high between the sky and the sea to become the only beacon of light. In the end, it landed on a palm. The moonlight lit up a pair of indifferent eyes. Ye Qingxuan closed his palm and gripped onto the moon.
Countless beams of light were crushed and disintegrated by his fingers. The moment that the perfect moon was crushed was also when an indescribable beauty appeared. After the bright mirror was smashed, countless shards of mirror flew in all directions. Every shard reflected the broken full moon, and every piece of full moon represented a blade of broken light.
Tens of thousands of beams of moonlight shone between the sky and the sea. They clashed against each other and resulted in the screeching of swords sparring against each other. When the empty moonlight clashed against metal, there was a sharp screech and the moment the moonlight was extinguished, the grand pillars of metal roared in despair.
At that moment, 641 grand pillars of metal disintegrated, as if they had been hacked down by countless swords and knives. Beneath the sharp moonlight, they turned into wreckage and fell into the sea. When they made contact with the hard and solid surface of the sea, there was a continuous stream of ear-piercing sounds.
Soon after, the palm was relaxed and flipped over. Tens of thousands of miles of ice sea melted. Waves were crashing in all directions as countless broken waves flew up into the sky and turned into a storm to fall from the vault of heaven. In that instant, countless steel towers in the Sacred City were twisted and broken to fall onto the ground. In mid-air, the musician, who was in charge of the bell tower, fell to the ground and was smashed into minced meat.
“Big deal.” The sound of cold laughter traveled from the surface of the sea that was a distance away. That voice was like a shadow as it reverberated beside everyone’s ears. As a result, all the remaining musicians fell to the ground as their faces turned red and purple-black fresh blood oozed out of their noses and mouths.
The Symphony of Predestination, which had been forcefully pulled up by the bell tower, was instantly broken into pieces. Amidst the cold laughter, it was like a thin piece of paper that was rolled into a ball before being shredded into pieces.
“The demon… that fellow… did he think that he would be able to shake the foundations of the Sacred City with those demon-like techniques! Dream on!” In the central sanctuary, the cardinal bishop, who was in charge of the attack, was already rambling incoherently, “Come and ring the bell and call upon the Holy Spirits! We shall take down the rebellious Hand of God. No! He is no longer worthy of that name! This is a blasphemy that is more despicable than the falling of the morning star! Absolute blasphemy!”
The majestic bell tolled once again. Above the towering walls of the Sacred City, burning stars rose one after another. A pair of cold eyes stared in the direction of the fleet on the surface of the sea.
Very soon, those stars began to gather together, as if they were in a battle formation. Then, the stars pressed down against the surface of the sea, as if the vault of heaven had collapsed. Countless whirlpools and storms rose from the surface of the sea and began to rage.
Massive gravitational force pulled at the waves and created oceans and rapids and lightning. At the highest point of the warship, the revelation musician, who was staring into the distance, could no longer handle the overwhelming pressure and fell down onto the deck.
“My Lord, they have gone against the catastrophe convention and woken up the Holy Spirits!” The musician on the lookout was coughing, rainwater in his mouth, “There are a total of 41 Holy Spirits heading our way…”
“Kill them,” Ye Qingxuan cut him off. “Don’t let a single one live.”
On the deck, the Chief Inquisitor returned back to his cabin and walked past his subordinate, who was in a state of shock. “Do you still need me to teach you how the Religious Court of Inquiry carries out its business?”
There was dead silence on the bridge. Only the young man, who was temporarily the captain of the knights, began to laugh. He slapped his own knee and looked up with his steel-grey eyes.
“What is it? Didn’t you hear the Chief Inquisitor’s order?” He waved his hand and continued calmly, “Now, it’s time to teach those people in Sacred City how we do things around here.”
In the silence, he could not help but smile. He could smell blood in the air. He raised his palm slowly and the shrieking sounds of the drawing of swords could be heard on the deck. These steel blades were aimed in the direction of the storm, as cold and unforgiving light reflected off them.
“Deus vult!!!” Countless people shouted at the same time.
The palm waved down and 31 launching tracks shot off from the deck of Mountain of Nomadism, propelling armored knights towards the vault of heaven. Fiery stars fell from the sky while steely stars rose from the surface of the sea. When both stars clashed against each other, there was a huge roar.
270 Witch Hammers flew towards the sky. There was a deep rumble in the armors as the bronze-plated wings were opened, tearing into the storm and lightning. Complex alchemy formations lit up on the wings. It exuded a tremendous amount of heat as both wings became burning hot. They evaporated the rainwater, leaving behind white traces everywhere. It was as if countless spirits were floating towards the sky,
Soon after, dragon’s breath armor arrived from tens of thousands of miles away through the net of aether. It was as if there were hundreds of Ye Qingxuans that were able to boost each armored knight at the same time. Not only were their power and speed boosted, but they were also given a power that was comparable to that of the bell tower.
In an instant, thousands of movements were unleashed in an equal and luxurious manner. Very soon, after a short pause, the glow of Day of God’s Fury was fused onto every single sword and knife! Finally, beams of burning halo rose from the top of each armored knight’s head!
They looked like iron angels that were patrolling between heaven and earth, as they spread judgment and punishment on behalf of God! This was an outcome that the Sacred City had never dreamed of.
After possessing the supreme authority of the central core, how could Ye Qingxuan possibly allow it to continue sleeping in the dust? With the terrifying computing power of the central core, the efficiency of the net of aether’s effect on power was raised by hundreds of times. This method of processing tens of thousands of movement threads simultaneously might be something that ordinary musicians could never dream of attaining but to the central core, this could not even be considered as a form of warm-up!
When the Sacred City had thought that the power of the allied countries would be able to suppress Ye Qingxuan, the latter was already in control of the key that would unlock the last shackle and completely unleash the net of aether onto the mortal world!
Just like what Hermes once said, from here on, the old authority and old power and everything else related to it would all die along with the old God. In the new era, a new protagonist would step up! And those that dared to stand in its way would be crushed under the unstoppable wheel of the new era!
In that instant, the sharp blade, that represented God’s
fury, swung down at the Holy Spirits, and the terrible massacre had begun above the vault of heaven. Between heaven and earth, countless burning spots of light rose and fell.
But Ye Qingxuan could no longer be bothered to observe such a meaningless outcome. He only kept quiet and silently watched the raging waves ahead. He watched as the Mountain of Nomadism broke through the storm and pushed forward between the burning and falling stars. Everything its way was crushed as it continued on towards the Sacred City. Eventually, it broke through the last line of defense and finally entered the coast of the Sacred City. The port and the city walls were within sight!
Then, as everyone watched, the Mountain of Nomadism slowly raised its bow so that its pitch-black main cannon was aimed directly at the towering wall of steel. The city of glory, which had accumulated all the essence of mankind’s Golden Era, was finally within shooting range. Its destruction was close.
It was only now that the emergency communication from the Sacred City’s central sanctuary had reached the bridge of the ship. It was neither too early nor too late and was right on time. It was full of the essence of intelligent coordination.
Albert’s gloomy face appeared on the projection. Perhaps, to the Sacred City, this old fellow was the only person that would be capable of talking to Ye Qingxuan. Nevertheless, the look on Ye Qingxuan’s face was one of indifference. There was no anger or lament. Just serene. It was so serene that it was scary.
Albert looked dispirited. Several times, he opened his mouth and tried to speak but they all ended up as sighs. In the end, he was so frustrated that he tore off what little remained of his hair and asked weakly, “Why resort to this, Ye Qingxuan? Is there no better way we can resolve this?”
Ye Qingxuan looked at him as if he was looking at an idiot. “Why don’t you ask this question to your Sancta Sedes?”
Albert’s face was flushed. He had had enough of the restrictions being imposed on him so he began to stomp his feet in desperation. “Don’t you understand? This world cannot accept a living God, otherwise, everything that mankind has worked hard for will all go down the drain. Even Anglo will never give up everything and bow down to a God.” He looked at Ye Qingxuan and was practically pleading, “Stop this. What you are doing will only pit the whole world against yourself.”