The gunboat, engulfed in flames, plummeted towards the fortress. This was a heavily armored ground-attack gunboat from the Neutral Lands, yet it could not withstand even a single blow from the main cannon of the fortress. Just a glancing strike, and half of the vessel vanished into thin air.
Fortunately, after that one attack, the main cannon of the fortress spun aimlessly, unable to fire another shot. The fleet dispersed, and the main cannons of the battlecruisers began targeting the fortress’s turrets one by one. The gunboats also opened fire frantically, suppressing the counterfire from the ground.
The werewolves had probably never anticipated a ferocious aerial assault. Their anti-aircraft firepower was far weaker than their ground-based defenses. Many turrets had limited elevation angles, and while they posed some threat to the gunboats, they were completely out of range for the battlecruisers. In a short while, the fortress was ablaze, and the werewolves were thrown into disarray.
Inside the main turret, Qian Ye had already circled around its massive barrel, clearing the surface of werewolf warriors. However, most of the gigantic cannon’s body was buried within the foundation, which was, in fact, a colossal stronghold.
Qian Ye found the entrance to the interior of the foundation. The iron door was shut and locked from the inside. This, of course, did not deter him. He grabbed the handle, yanked it, and with a resounding bang, the door deformed, the handle ripped off entirely.
He reached into the distorted gap, exerting his might again. With a fierce shout, an overwhelming force surged forth, tearing the several-ton iron door from the wall, revealing the dark passage behind it.
A faint luminescent shield enveloped Qian Ye as he stepped into the passage.
Just past a corner, several ambushing werewolves suddenly rose, their origin guns firing furiously, focusing their fire on Qian Ye.
At such close range, the concentrated volley of origin bullets was as powerful as a single origin cannon shot. Yet, dozens of origin rounds striking the shield only caused it to flicker, failing to break Qian Ye’s defense.
These were all werewolf knights. Stunned, they saw Qian Ye stride past them, heading deeper into the passage. The knights clutched their throats and slowly fell, not even seeing how Qian Ye had struck them down.
Qian Ye proceeded through the corridor, searching each room he encountered. Soon, his footsteps echoed through the power room, the mechanical room, the ammunition depot, and the gunners’ barracks. By the time he found no more enemies, the foundation was utterly silent.
At the bottom of the foundation, Qian Ye entered a grand hall. On one side, a roll-up gate was open, leading to the square within the fortress. Through the open gate, he saw fires raging, dark warriors scurrying in panic, and occasionally, an airborne shell dropping, flinging a few dark warriors skyward.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Qian Ye strolled casually through the fortress, as if taking a leisurely walk in his own courtyard. He was no longer interested in ordinary skirmishes, only lending a hand when he saw allied mercenaries in danger.
The current battle was overwhelmingly in their favor. Though the dark warriors were numerous, their equipment was two generations behind the full elite sets of imperial mercenaries. Many dark warriors perished under aerial bombardment, clearly untrained in countering airstrikes. Most evasive maneuvers were ineffective or even hastened their deaths, and the few who did attempt to retaliate against the air attacks were doing so ineffectively.
Qian Ye was not wandering aimlessly. Whenever he sensed a strong presence, he would head in that direction. In a moment, a viscount and three barons had fallen to his hand.
However, there were still many dark warriors, and stray shots abounded, causing Qian Ye’s origin shield to fluctuate constantly, let alone the average warrior.
Another titled dark warrior fell before Qian Ye. In the final strike, Qian Ye had used his bare hands, without unleashing his domain. He sensed the opponent’s spirit plummeting, diminishing in an unusual way. A thought crossed Qian Ye’s mind, and he released his overwhelming aura. The terrifying presence of a Marquis of Glory instantly enveloped half the fortress.
Every dark warrior, regardless of race or rank, felt a primal fear from deep within their blood, a fear that stemmed from the very source of darkness, an instinctive dread shared by all dark races.
In a flash, resistance in half the fortress crumbled. Almost all the dark warriors’ will to fight disintegrated. They dropped their weapons and fled in all directions.
This feeling was quite satisfying. As Qian Ye stood, savoring the sense of triumph, a prickling sensation at the back of his head alerted him.
He turned with lightning speed, just as an origin solid bullet flew silently toward his forehead!
In that instant, Qian Ye discerned the extremely complex and precise structure of the bullet, with faint black specks on its dark gray surface. It was a bullet laced with large amounts of black titanium, a deadly weapon against human elites.
The origin bullet first struck Qian Ye’s origin shield, causing it to flare up brilliantly. But like plunging into a viscous liquid, it compressed the shield, unable to penetrate.
At that moment, the bullet’s tip split open, ejecting three paper-thin shells. The razor-sharp fragments sliced through the origin shield, releasing a slender core that pierced the shield and continued toward Qian Ye’s forehead.
This was a penetrator, designed to counter origin shields and similar defenses. From its design to its craftsmanship, it was impressive, expensive, and required a highly skilled sniper to wield.
As the penetrator’s trajectory appeared in Qian Ye’s eyes, it veered away, barely grazing his cheek. With a casual motion, Qian Ye caught the bullet in his hand.
The bullet was sharp and heavy. Grasping it, Qian Ye’s palm was slightly punctured, oozing a drop of blood. With the toxicity of black titanium, a wound would usually render the hand useless. But Qian Ye, possessing dark gold blood essence, a grade above black titanium, was not afraid. A turn of his blood essence, and a drop of gray blood seeped out, and he was fine.
Qian Ye tossed the bullet aside, shaking his head. The pressure he had just released was that of an ancient blood clan, and this sniper still used a black titanium bullet against him. Whether due to surprise or lack of other options, it was clear that the wolves would have, at best, antimagic secret silver bullets, not the human Empire’s radiant sun projectiles.
Curious about this sniper, Qian Ye had found his first real opponent since entering the fortress.
Looking in the direction the sniper round came from, Qian Ye disappeared in a flicker of movement, reappearing hundreds of meters away, looking down on the street below. The sniper shot had come from here. Unless the sniper had moved immediately after firing, they should still be nearby.
Snipers of this caliber often had immense confidence, desiring to see their success firsthand. If this sniper had the same weakness, witnessing Qian Ye’s terrifying ability to catch the bullet, they would likely be stunned. Even for a brief moment, their speed would not allow them to escape Qian Ye’s current range.
Below, chaos reigned, with dark warriors fleeing in a panic. Nearby, two mercenary squads provided mutual cover, advancing methodically from building to building. Each move showcased high team combat proficiency. In larger battles, such squads, despite average individual strength, often achieved extraordinary feats.
The mercenaries joined the ground battle, intensifying the chaos. Coupled with Qian Ye’s display of power, the dark side, lacking a counter, had lost most of its will to fight, with only a few resisting earnestly.
Qian Ye’s pupils turned entirely blue, encompassing the entire street. The figures of the dark warriors twisted, distorted, and then vanished. The weak warping effect of his Eyes of Control, like a spider’s web, went unnoticed by the average person but was instinctively resisted by true experts.
His gaze fell on a dark warrior. His appearance and behavior seemed normal, pushing and shoving with the others, escaping to another area.
Qian Ye descended from above, landing behind him and tapping his shoulder. “Your disguise is excellent, but isn’t it beneath your status to do this?”
The dark warrior turned, his face a mask of panic, his eyes wide with shock. He drew a dagger and stabbed weakly at Qian Ye’s abdomen, like a third-level warrior.
But in Qian Ye’s vision, a faint trail of dark origin floated beside the warrior, moving unpredictably. Any doubt or lapse in judgment from Qian Ye, and that floating origin would become his escape route.
“Useless,” Qian Ye said, applying force, an irresistible power that made the warrior’s knees buckle, and he fell to the ground.
Under the pressure, he finally revealed his true nature, struggling with great force. Yet, as a mere Earl, he was no match for Qian Ye’s touch and was slammed to the ground.
Struggling, he then chuckled bitterly. “Since you’ve found me, go ahead. Dying at the hands of a Marquis of Glory will not dishonor my tribe.”
“You think wisely,” Qian Ye nodded, raising his right hand to deliver the killing blow.
An Earl-class sniper was too dangerous; even a regular Marquis could fall to a well-placed shot. He could not be spared.
“Wait!” the sniper’s eyes finally showed genuine fear.
Qian Ye’s hand paused above his head. “What do you have to say? Do you wish to surrender?”
The sniper smiled wryly. “My lord, we are both nobles of the Evernight. Why do you lead a human army? Even in Yonglu, our wars for dark honor allow captured nobles to choose between surrender or ransom. In the Upper Continent, unless it’s a blood feud, the same applies. No one has ever acted as you do, attacking without a word.”
Qian Ye laughed. “I am not a noble of the Evernight. See for yourself!”
As he spoke, a brilliant light shone from his fingers, and the Dawn Origin Light illuminated the werewolf earl’s face, causing a burning sensation.
“Dawn Origin!” the sniper exclaimed in shock.
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