Chapter 108: The Might of the Blazing Wasteland

In a blink, the fortress that the Mosar werewolves had been building for a whole month was engulfed in flames. Within the city, numerous werewolves and laborers were still burning, screaming as they dashed back and forth.

Actually, over half of the werewolves had already fled beyond the fortress, but the continuous fire and explosions in the city still couldn’t drown out the ghastly howls of the dying. The sight instantly shattered the morale of even the most bloodthirsty among them, leaving only a desperate urge to escape.

To flee, there was but one exit: the gate.

All the werewolves instinctively rushed toward the gate, only to find, upon reaching it, that a steady stream of new troops was entering from the other side. It seemed a new contingent had just been transferred into the New World.

The newly arrived werewolf warriors, still reeling from the discomfort of the spatial passage, were met with a blaze and relentless explosions. As more of their comrades surged in, they were quickly squeezed past, rushing into the gate.

This was just the beginning. In moments, the “gate” fell into complete chaos. Soldiers inside desperately tried to push out, while those outside continued to pour in.

The worst part was that the communication system had completely collapsed. Apart from the initial orders, no officers issued any meaningful commands. The soldiers fleeing the New World fortress knew only that they had been subjected to a nearly devastating attack. Many were still haunted by memories of being slaughtered by the beast army in their homeland, and didn’t even realize that the current attackers were not beasts at all.

One side was trying to escape, while the other, unaware of the situation, kept advancing under the unchanged orders. Before long, the gate was utterly blocked, both inside and out, with no room to move.

From afar, Qian Ye saw this and wasn’t about to let such an opportunity slip. He issued a firm command, “Prepare the main cannon, use the high-level personnel-killing rounds.”

The gunner, somewhat surprised, replied, “We only have two high-level rounds left.”

“Use them!”

The gunner dared not question further. With a shout, he and several assistants loaded a deep crimson giant crossbow bolt into the main cannon. The cannon automatically swiveled, aiming at the gate. Impatient, Qian Ye took control himself, directing the cannonhead of the dragon towards the mass of retreating werewolves outside the gate.

“Fire!”

With Qian Ye’s order, the deep crimson bolt shot like lightning, soaring above the retreating werewolves. As it neared within a few dozen meters, it suddenly exploded, releasing a cloud of fine mist.

A brave werewolf reached out to test the liquid, which had a strong, pungent smell. Alarmed, he barely had time to scream a warning before a spark appeared in the air, igniting the entire mist!

An enormous fireball erupted at the gate, surging and slowly rising to dozens of meters, turning black and forming a gigantic mushroom cloud.

Even the fog zone retreated by ten meters.

After the inferno, a desolate area of hundreds of meters in diameter appeared outside the gate, filled with charred corpses. Though the fire lasted only a moment, the weapons in the hands of the corpses had melted and deformed, attesting to the ferocity of the flames.

Some of the stronger werewolves, despite their formidable vitality, could still struggle, but their completely carbonized exteriors made it clear that they were beyond saving.

With one shot, the retreating werewolves were nearly wiped out. Tens of thousands turned into ghosts. Their density and lack of preparation made them easy targets for annihilation.

Qian Ye was thoroughly satisfied with the power of the main cannon.

The “Sunken Land,” which he had taken from Jia’er Lin along with its dedicated ammunition, was a treasure. Though Jia’er Lin was only a vice-duke, she had abundant resources and extensive connections. Her warship was unremarkable except for this main cannon, on which she had spared no expense, making it a match for a grand duke’s flagship.

Now, Qian Ye had commissioned a batch of specialized ammunition for the Sunken Land. Some old researchers from the Imperial Academy, eager to obtain more samples of holy tree sap from Qian Ye, had even diverted some specially crafted bolts intended for the Imperial Guard fleet to him.

This deep crimson “Desolation Burner” was the work of the Imperial Academy.

Just then, a voice called out, “So it’s Lord Qian Ye! I was wondering who could have orchestrated such a spectacle!”

Qian Ye turned to see the vice-duke of the werewolves hovering in the air, glaring viciously at him.

Crossing his arms, Qian Ye smiled casually, “It’s you, huh? I was just playing around, thinking you wouldn’t dare to come up here and fight, so I didn’t pay much attention to you.”

Those words were more effective than any insult. The vice-duke’s face turned ashen, and he gritted his teeth, “You are nothing but—”

Qian Ye, with a half-smile, asked, “What am I?”

“You, you…” The vice-duke had wanted to say Qian Ye was just a marquis, but upon closer inspection, he found he couldn’t discern anything about Qian Ye, not even a hint.

This was unprecedented. While there were many strong individuals in Evernight who concealed their auras, none did so as completely as Qian Ye.

If he couldn’t see through him, he could simply engage in combat and find out. But the vice-duke felt a constant sense of danger, as if facing a primordial beast. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his fighting spirit began to waver. He quickly steadied himself, alarmed.

Qian Ye sneered, “Enough, no need to be nervous. I’m also a vice-duke now, just like you. Since we’re of the same rank, I doubt you would dare to fight me. And with the gate so close, it wouldn’t be easy for me to kill you. So, let’s save the trouble; you go back to Mosar, and I won’t bother, saving us both some effort.”

The vice-duke glared at Qian Ye but didn’t move. Returning to Mosar like this would mean losing face and certain punishment from Sosa.

Seeing him unmoving, Qian Ye’s expression darkened, and he coldly said, “It seems you won’t give up until you get a taste of my power. I may not be able to kill you, but I can certainly maim you with a bit of effort.”

With that, Qian Ye’s light wings slowly spread, revealing four black feathers at the tips. The vice-duke, recalling some recent legends, felt his heart leap. He let out a startled cry and turned, dashing towards the gate, leaving trails of afterimages in the air. He plunged into the fog zone in the blink of an eye.

With the main commander fleeing in terror, the other werewolves lost all will to resist and scattered, rushing towards the gate. News of the disaster must have reached Mosar, and no more reinforcements were coming. The desperate werewolves finally had a clear path, rushing into the gate in a frenzy.

“Sir, should we fire another round?” the gunner asked.

“No need, the ‘Desolation Burner’ is too precious to waste.”

The Ancestral Hall, instead of chasing the fleeing enemy, circled above the fortress, using rapid-fire cannons to sweep the remaining werewolves below while gradually descending.

The fortress was now almost entirely destroyed, with no further resistance. Multiple hatches on the Ancestral Hall opened, and countless werewolf soldiers leaped down to clean up the battlefield.

Standing at the dragonhead, Qian Ye surveyed the scene below, smiling to himself, “Truly befitting of a great lord, such a grand display! But it’s all mine now.”

On the side of the fortress, several massive warehouses opened, revealing piles of weapons and ammunition. Qian Ye had a large number of werewolf soldiers, and these supplies were perfectly suited. The warehouses held a considerable amount, and it took an hour for the flood of soldiers to empty them, loading everything onto the Ancestral Hall.

“Fall back,” Qian Ye ordered, and the dragon ship sounded three long blasts and one short. The werewolf soldiers scattered throughout the fortress returned like a tide, climbing up the ropes to the Ancestral Hall.

As soon as the soldiers withdrew, Qian Ye commanded the Ancestral Hall to ascend and fly back to the base. After flying about a hundred kilometers, Qian Ye felt a chill and turned to look behind.

At the horizon, only vague hills and the distant landscape were visible. But from that direction, a feeling of unease washed over him. A true powerhouse, far beyond his ability to handle, had arrived.

Clearly, it was the werewolf king, Sosa. With the New World base destroyed, he would surely check on the situation.

Qian Ye had anticipated this and did not accelerate, merely piloting the Ancestral Hall leisurely away. Indeed, Sosa, frustrated by the challenges of the New World, did not pursue.

The New World, like the Maelstrom, was unpredictable and operated under different rules than Evernight. Even a king acting rashly would face great danger. More than one king had fallen in the Maelstrom, leading to a cautious approach by the races of Evernight, with few daring to force their way in.

Similarly, Sosa, unfamiliar with the New World’s rules, would not risk a deeper incursion.

This time, Qian Ye had successfully destroyed Sosa’s stronghold in the New World, setting back more than just a month’s progress. Even for a werewolf king, gathering such a stockpile again would be no easy task.

The werewolves’ production capacity was far inferior to the Empire’s. Even the modules for the quick-fortress were difficult to produce. Sosa likely borrowed some from the Peaks and purchased extensively from external sources to gather enough for a fortress-city.

Most of the modules from the destroyed fortress would need to be remade, a task too arduous for the werewolves. Given their precarious position in the Evernight Council and the ongoing expansion, they might not be able to acquire much strategic material from other races. Qian Ye, with the support of many clans, had scavenged their strategic reserves to expand smoothly.

Conversely, the more Qian Ye expanded, the more willing the clans were to support him.

The Mosar werewolves, already lagging, now faced a severe setback. They would likely never secure large-scale strategic supplies again, relying solely on their own production.

The modules were just the start. The equipment for twenty thousand werewolves, now gone, would take more than a fortnight to replenish.

Behind the Ancestral Hall, a terrifying storm rose, even from such a distance. Qian Ye could still feel Sosa’s raging fury, but the storm didn’t spread and gradually faded in his perception.

This was expected, and Qian Ye paid it no mind, leisurely piloting the Ancestral Hall back to the base. He was confident Sosa wouldn’t venture further.

The New World was even stranger than the Maelstrom. The stronger the warrior, the more cautious they had to be, as even a slight injury could lead to downfall. Moreover, who knew if there was a forest of the Five Sacred Trees, or even Six?

Thinking this, Qian Ye shivered, silently grateful. Fortunately, his luck held, and the Four-Armed General, who possessed the Four Sacred Trees, was in a slumber. If it had been awake, Qian Ye might not have fared well.