Chapter 446: Nine‑Ring Meteor Blast

The Fei She family's castle, called Torrent Fortress, lies north of Baroske City, built on the riverbank where two rivers converge; the stone fortress is triangular, with two sides facing the river, and on the southern third side a massive trench two hundred meters wide has been cut.

The trench is ten meters deep, its bottom and sides paved with stone steps, and it is the only land passage into the castle under normal circumstances.

Torrent Fortress had already received the warning from Crab Port, opened the gates at both ends of the trench, and let river water flow in.

When the main army gathered outside Torrent Fortress, the trench was already filled with river water, turning the castle into a small island surrounded on three sides by water.

A semi‑transparent water shield rose from the river, protecting the entire Torrent Fortress within.

"Tap tap tap tap…"

The Extreme Warriors opened fire; hundreds of bullets struck the shield, sending ripples outward, and the energy was quickly absorbed.

Such a massive shield cannot be shattered by a few Lambo spears.

Moreover, Torrent Fortress is not just on the receiving end; massive hydraulic artillery are installed on all three walls, at least a hundred, more than in Baroske City.

The Sturgeon Warriors operated the batteries in retaliation, blasting thick water jets; the water blasts exploded, tearing several Centaurs that rushed to the trench edge to pieces.

The Spearwing Knights reacted swiftly; seeing the batteries could not be taken down, they immediately ordered the bronze Pegasus to halt.

Centaur leader Nahazi shouted repeatedly, ordering his troops out of the water‑cannon range, yet more than twenty Centaurs still perished under the guns.

Lei En watched this from behind, shaking his head in his mind.

The Centaur legion's training is still lacking; they cannot enforce absolute obedience. If not for their numbers, confronting a true transcendent legion head‑on would likely cost them heavily.

After painstakingly forming a proper battle formation, a quarter of an hour had already passed.

Emily stared at the guards on Torrent Fortress's walls, all Sturgeon Warriors; for some reason, the River Bay Legion did not leave the castle to aid the battle at Crab Port.

This thwarted her plan.

If she could lure the Sturgeon Warriors out of Torrent Fortress and eliminate more of them within Baroske City, the castle would be short of manpower and easier to capture.

According to Valorgen's intelligence, the Fei She family's River Bay Legion totals over 1,300 Sturgeon Warriors, six of whom are Legendary High‑rank.

Excluding those stationed at Crab Port, at least a thousand remain inside the castle!

These thousand‑plus Sturgeon Warriors, relying on Torrent Fortress's protective formation and holding terrain advantage, will not be taken easily.

For millennia, Torrent Fortress has scarcely ever fallen.

Without the Weizelan floating city's Wizards, Emily would never dare assault Torrent Fortress; the five thousand plus Centaurs alone are far insufficient.

"Your Highness."

Valorgen spoke, "Duke Fei She holds his ground; this fits his steady temperament. We may have to launch a direct assault."

Emily gave a slight nod, her gaze falling on a robust old man on the main gate wall of the castle.

His face was weathered, hair gray‑white, but his blue eyes were exceptionally clear and bright; like other Sturgeon Warriors, he wore tight black fish‑skin‑like armor, a black fish‑shaped badge on his chest, and a gray great cloak behind him.

A group of Sturgeon Warriors gathered around him, clearly of the highest rank.

Valorgen whispered, "Your Highness, he is Lifu Si, Duke Fei She, clan head of the Fei She family and current ruler of the Fei She Principality."

"I know him," Emily replied, withdrawing her gaze. "Is it possible to make him submit through negotiation?"

Ding Laji shook his head, "Almost impossible."

"The Fei She family places great honor on themselves; surrender without a fight is unacceptable to them," Ding Laji explained. "Although they are not aligned with Malke and even oppose him, this is almost their tradition. Historically they've defected a few times, but only when forced to, when the clan faced existential crisis."

He spoke subtly, yet everyone caught the implied meaning.

They must be defeated before they will submit.

"Then we have no choice but to fight," Emily said, nodding. She would not waste words with Duke Fei She; even the newly captured Brinton was unused. She looked at Lei En and the two Speakers, asking, "What do the Speakers think?"

Kelaoaosi and Kaidejia said nothing, remaining silent.

This departure from the floating city had long been instructed by the GrandSpeaker; all members of the Wizard Corps obey Lei En's command and are only responsible for execution.

Yet Lei En gave no order, still pondering.

His soul‑eye perceives more information than anyone; the Duke Fei She on the wall is a Legendary High‑rank Sturgeon Warrior, at level eighteen, one level higher than Speaker Kaidejia. Though his strength is less than Kaidejia's, Duke Fei She has a trait that must be guarded against.

This duke's fire of faith is unique, manifesting as a flowing water state that leads to an unknown void.

Lei En sensed from afar and instantly detected a deity's aura.

Lifu Si, Duke Fei She, is a Divine Chosen!

In Ai Lun E Si's world, Divine Chosen are the most dangerous to provoke; they have deities behind them, and even a single action can draw divine attention.

The river god Oushenna worshipped by Duke Fei She is obscure, his divine power modest, but that is relative. For mortals, even the weakest deity is scarier than the strongest Holy Soul Wizard; a single divine avatar can sway the war.

Lei En knows little about Oushenna, only that he is a low‑profile deity with few followers in the Empire.

Oushenna's followers are mostly river species or professions that rely on rivers, such as fishermen and boatmen, so the faith cannot spread widely.

The number of followers determines the strength of divine power.

The fewer the followers, the more the deity cherishes them; a family like Fei She, ruling a principality of millions and developing transcendent professions closely tied to the clergy, is inevitably vital in the river god's eyes.

This differs from the incident on Sein Plateau where Caligula was slain.

Although Caligula was also a Divine Chosen, he was merely one of the Black Emperor's many Divine Chosen, and the Black Emperor's temperament is the strangest among deities; he is extremely harsh on Divine Chosen, making them compete, and when one dies another follower quickly fills the slot, then the successor seeks revenge.

Killing Caligula summoned the Black Emperor's avatar, an absolute accident.

The river god Oushenna is different; his divine power can sustain only two or three Divine Chosen, and Duke Fei She is the sole surviving seed.

If Duke Fei She is killed, it is highly likely to provoke the god's wrath; perhaps right now the river god watches all this from the divine realm.

Lei En remained silent for a long while; Emily seemed puzzled and called, "Lei En?"

Her voice carried a hint of urgency.

Lei En calmly lifted his head, scanned the sky—no sign of a deity avatar descending—and whispered, "Duke Fei She is a Divine Chosen, do you realize that?"

Kelaoaosi and Kaidejia, the two Speakers, showed a slight change of color, their expressions cautious.

One should not provoke a Divine Chosen; that is common sense.

Emily did not react strongly, nodded, and said, "All major families of Kangjiatuo have their own patron gods; over millennia many Divine Chosen have been born, mostly clan heads or the strongest transcendants. Lifu Si, Duke Fei She, is the longest‑living duke in Kangjiatuo; three hundred years ago he publicly declared himself Oushenna's Divine Chosen."

"When I was in Weizelan, I already promised Master Anxi that the restoration would not involve disputes over divine worship."

"Last night at Dragon Crystal Castle, my prayer was answered."

Ai Mi Li Si's words were surprising; she continued, "The Dragon God is pleased to see the Zhuogeng Castle family regain its glory. He has already negotiated with the deities, and as long as Kangjiatuo's people do not change their faith in the Seven Gods, the gods will not send avatars to intervene in the mortal war."

The Seven Gods of Kangjiatuo refer to the seven deities, including the Dragon God, corresponding to the seven great families.

Lei En was still uneasy, "What if we kill Feishe Title: Duke?"

Ai Mi Li Si's eyelids twitched; she only considered defeating Feishe Title: Duke, never daring to imagine killing him. This is the normal thinking of most people—can a Divine Chosen, as a deity's mortal representative, kill?

Why does Lei En speak so lightly, as if killing a chicken?

"It is better to keep him alive; a living Feishe Title: Duke is more useful to us than a dead one," Ai Mi Li Si said cautiously.

"I understand."

Lei En nodded, indicating he understood, "Speakers, can you breach the castle's protective shield?"

Kelaoaosi, transformed into a high elf red dragon, looked toward Bengliu Castle, his eyes fixed on the circular shield rising from the river water, his face showing contemplation.

"This shield is a large Divine Technique; if I'm not mistaken, its principle is similar to the Five-ring Water Curtain Technique, built upon abundant water sources, and its defense has been raised to Nine Ring..." Kelaoaosi made the judgment within seconds.

Ai Mi Li Si, Wa Luo Gen, and the others were startled when they heard the Nine Ring Divine Technique.

Divine Techniques, like spells, require the Nine Ring to reach Holy Soul level, that is, above Level 20, to be cast, and the two Speakers are only Legendary High-rank; can they breach it?

Then the next sentence was Kelaoaosi saying, "Such a crude shield is nothing but a joke."

The high elf's face was full of contempt.

"Prepare to attack."

He tossed the words to Ai Mi Li Si and the others, looked at Kai De Jia, and ordered, "I will lead the Wizard Corps to blast it open; you cooperate with me to cut off the shield's river water source."

"Fine," Kai De Jia gladly agreed.

Now Kelaoaosi's seniority in the six-person council is second only to the GrandSpeaker; he once received mentorship from him, and this is his nature—he's long been accustomed to it.

Kelaoaosi cleared a space in the main army, took out materials, and set up a rune array.

His efficiency was extreme; the materials had been prepared, and in less than ten minutes he drew a massive array on the ground, standing at its center, with thirty elite wizards and two Legendary Initial-rank individuals surrounding him, each occupying a position in the array.

Only Lei En and Speaker Kai De Jia did not participate.

Lei En recognized this as an "Energy-Collecting Rune Array"; every Weizelan Wizard in the Wizard Corps has learned it, allowing soul energy to be channeled through the array and gathered onto one person, enabling higher-ring spells, amplifying power, or expanding damage range.

This is an essential array for the Wizard Corps' collective combat, used to confront enemies stronger than themselves or to alter the course of a war.

Not only Weizelan Wizards; all major Fu Kong Cheng also possess similar means.

"Begin."

Kelaoaosi let out a light shout; thirty-two wizards simultaneously poured soul energy into the ground, lines of incisions lit up, mysterious runes flickered, and the array was instantly activated.

The vast soul energy converged onto Kelaoaosi through the array; as a Level 19 Legendary High-rank mage, he easily withstood the infusion, waited a few seconds, grasped his crystal staff, raised it, and began casting.

A terrifying wave emanated.

The biting cold wind in the sky halted, temperature rose rapidly, dispelling the chill; within several miles, everyone felt a scorching heat, as if summer arrived within a few breaths.

This anomaly unsettled the sturgeon warriors in Bengliu Castle; looking from the walls at the wizards' rune array, they felt fear, and some even wavered.

Feishe Title: Duke's aged face also showed panic.

But he did not know what was about to happen; in Kangjiatuo, lacking specialized casters, few have seen such high-ring spells.

The anomaly lasted about a minute.

Kelaoaosi's magic grew brighter; soul and mana coalesced at the staff's tip, seeming to burn, the tip like a small sun too bright to stare at. He lifted the staff, it rose gradually, as if this arm-length crystal staff weighed over a thousand pounds.

When the staff reached its highest point, finally, the spell was complete!

A solid fireball the size of a fist shot into the sky; its speed was extreme, even Lei En's eyesight barely caught its trajectory, and it vanished instantly.

The surging rune array calmed, the wizards ceased guiding, gazing at the sky.

A few seconds later, four clusters of red light appeared in the blue-white sky, rapidly expanding in view, occupying the sight within seconds, revealing their shape.

"Meteor!"

The sturgeon warriors in Bengliu Castle screamed in terror.

Four massive meteors fell from the sky, each over five meters in diameter, igniting flames from air friction, trailing tails hundreds of meters long, one after another, arranged from low to high in a line, crashing toward Bengliu Castle.

Nine-ring Technique—Meteor Burst!

The guards on Bengliu Castle's walls immediately fell into chaos; they had never seen this technique nor known its name, but such terrifying bombardment raining down made them feel horror at a glance, and no one believed the castle's water-flow shield could withstand it.

The meteors fell at such speed that there was no time to flee.

Feishe Title: Duke could not respond at all.

Boom—!

The first meteor struck the shield, producing a earth-shattering explosion that echoed throughout Baroske City.

I can't write peacefully at my old home; I've rolled back. I will not give you a chance to duel me!

(End of Chapter)