Elven cultivators

Chapter 446 This is too illogical

Under the relentless bombardment of the fleet, Sule Castle was completely reduced to a charred ruin.

The beams of the Spirit Crystal Cannon and the Golden Crow True Fire plowed through every inch of land, destroying the conversion arrays, bone towers, and warehouses built from skeletons one after another. Thick smoke billowed from the depths of the ruins, spreading the pungent smell of burning flesh in all directions.

The remaining spirits in the city are still making their last struggle.

But without the protection of fortifications and formations, they were exposed to the fleet's firepower, like fish stranded on the mudflats after the tide receded, and were wiped out one by one by wave after wave of artillery fire.

Bone fragments and shards of armor were swept into the air by the shockwave, then scattered down, covering the scorching ruins, and were quickly swallowed by the embers.

When the last spark died out, there was no one left to move in the ruins.

Only the thick smoke continued to rise silently, blending into the low-hanging clouds.

Ryan and the others stood on the slope, watching this scene, and smiles appeared on their faces.

After several days of relentless tracking and hard work, the effort finally paid off.

Just then, a figure flew out from the Flying Radiance Tower high in the sky and landed lightly in front of Ryan and the others.

It was Flora. Her face was still gentle, but there was a hint of weariness in her eyes from the journey, and the ends of her hair were a little disheveled by the strong wind at high altitude.

Without exchanging pleasantries after landing, she strode forward and said in a low voice, "Ryan, we need to leave here immediately."

Ryan's brow furrowed. "What's wrong?"

"Our fleet was ambushed by skeletal giant birds on our way here," Flora said succinctly. "We lost several Skyships before we wiped them all out, but the battle was too commotion. The undead must already know we're here, and more skeletal giant birds are probably on their way. We can't stay any longer."

Ryan's expression hardened.

The others also lost their relaxed expressions and became serious again.

"Everyone up to the tower, depart immediately," Ryan ordered in a deep voice.

Without delay, everyone quickly packed up their array plates, flags, and equipment, and leaped into the air.

The hatch of the Flying Star Tower was already open, and everyone filed in.

The moment the hatch closed, the tower trembled slightly, the array core at the bottom suddenly lit up, and the golden flames around the tower intensified.

The massive tower slowly rose into the air.

At the same time, numerous flying ships completed their final round of concentrated fire, turned around, and formed an escort formation on both sides of the Flying Radiance Tower, flying towards the Alliance's defensive line. To avoid the surveillance network of undead scouts, the fleet deliberately took a large detour, not returning via the original route, but instead cutting diagonally along the southwestern edge of the Ash Wasteland, breaking through the weakest point in the undead defense line.

Before the skeletal giant bird could catch up, the fleet successfully passed through the undead defenses.

Only when the distinctive blue halo of the Alliance's defenses faintly appeared on the horizon ahead did everyone truly relax.

The fleet landed at a temporary anchorage outside the Alliance defense line.

Ryan said goodbye to his teammates and left in a hurry.

As the squad leader, he had to rush to the command post to report on the mission.

The other team members also said goodbye to each other and returned to their respective camps.

Derek followed his fellow elves toward the royal camp.

"Derek, are you really alright?" The elf in his team looked at him. "Should we go to the logistics department and ask for some Life Source?"

The Fountain of Life is a higher-level healing medicine than the Fountain of Life. It is produced from the Fountain of Life beneath the World Tree. Its production is scarce and extremely precious, making it a resource that is not easy to obtain even for legendary powerhouses.

However, the effect is equally remarkable; even legendary-level laws of curse nature can be slowly dissipated by it.

Derek waved his hand: "It's nothing, I'm just a little dizzy from the shock, I'll be fine after a night's rest." His companion looked at him with some skepticism, but seeing that Derek's gait was indeed steady and he didn't seem to be seriously injured, he was somewhat relieved.

"Okay, remember to let me know if you have any questions."

"Okay, I got it," Derek replied with a smile.

Back at the camp, Derek said goodbye to his comrades, went to his quarters, and pushed open the door to go inside.

The moment the door closed, the relaxed smile on his face vanished like the tide, revealing a cold and calm expression beneath.

He was indeed injured, but only superficially.

That strange undead of legendary rank was indeed quite troublesome, but only for ordinary legendary rank beings.

It was nothing to him.

If it weren't for maintaining his "legendary powerhouse" persona, he could have easily dealt with that undead without a scratch.

Even a mere wisp of the power of war authority would be enough to leave that burrowing beast without a trace of its bones.

Derek sat down at the table and let out a long sigh.

The barracks were dimly lit, with only a sliver of sunlight filtering through the window and falling on the back of his hand. He opened his right hand, and a faint golden-red halo appeared in his palm.

The halo was not bright, not even as conspicuous as a candle flame, but the aura it contained caused the surrounding air to tremble slightly.

This is his divine authority—war.

Since he accidentally acquired that fragment of divine power during a trip more than a decade ago, his power has surged dramatically.

In just over a decade, he rose from the peak of gold to the demigod level.

If it weren't for the concern that his rapid growth in strength would arouse suspicion, he would have become one of the twelve seats of the Star Ring long ago.

That was a position within the core decision-making level of the Jade Court, something he had always longed for.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do that.

If you truly expose your power, what you will gain is not glory and promotion, but doubt and judgment.

Derek lowered his eyes and dissipated the halo of light from his palm.

The divine authority he wields is rather unique; it is war.

Unlike most false gods, the Authority of War draws power without the need for faith. As long as there is war, as long as the intelligent beings on earth fight each other, the power of war will automatically converge upon it.

In recent years, the continent has been plagued by frequent wars, and the undead calamity has plunged the entire continent into unprecedented turmoil.

Every day, thousands of soldiers fall on the battlefield, and every battle provides him with a constant source of nourishment.

These deaths ultimately became fuel for his growing power.

That's why he was able to improve so quickly.

But there is always a limit to how much you can improve.

Derek knew very well that the power he gained from war could only push him to the brink, and would never ignite the divine fire.

To become a true god, he must gain faith.

Only faith can solidify divine authority and elevate it into true divinity.

But once he gains followers, his secrets may be exposed.

Derek wasn't worried about the elves in the royal court.

He was confident he could handle the elders of the Emerald Council. Even if his identity was exposed, he was confident he could escape the royal court's pursuit.

What he truly cared about was that Meteor Dragon Sword Saint.

For years, Derek had been carefully hiding himself, fearing that Anton would discover him and he would suffer the same fate as that fool who died at the hands of the Dark Dragon King.

Once Anton discovers him, even though he is a demigod, he has no confidence that he can defeat him.

The best-case scenario is escaping from the latter's clutches.

However, if he did that, he would inevitably be besieged and attacked by the Silver Moon Clan, and other forces would also swarm in.

By then, let alone developing the church, he would be lucky to even survive.

After much deliberation, Derek realized that it would be difficult to develop enough followers for him to become a god, no matter where he was on the continent.

Leaving aside the east and south, the Silvermoon Clan's territory was so securely maintained that there was simply no fertile ground for the development of a church.

Those small churches that tried to infiltrate were all uprooted without exception, and even the church capital was dealt with by Anton himself.

The north was devastated, with almost all major races and factions wiped out.

Even if the alliance eventually succeeds in reclaiming the north, without hundreds or thousands of years of recuperation, that scorched land will never recover. Trying to establish a church there would likely result in hardly any survivors.

The situation was slightly better in the west and central regions, but under the influence of the Silvermoon Clan, both the Emerald Court and the Free Alliance strictly prohibited the spread of the church.

Developing followers is also very difficult.

Beyond the continental shelf, it goes without saying that most sea creatures worship the tides and are under the rule of the Tide Temple, leaving no room for any extra faith for them.

Derek closed his eyes, his brows furrowed.

It shouldn't be like this.

It was a time of war, which should have been a good time to spread the faith and develop the church in secret.

However, after careful consideration, it turned out that there wasn't a single suitable place on the entire continent to spread the faith.

This is completely illogical.

Ultimately, it's all the Silvermoon Clan's fault!

Derek gritted his teeth inwardly.

If all else fails, he'll stop spreading his faith on the surface. He recalled the intelligence he'd gathered about the Underdark during this time.

Although the Underdark is desolate and dangerous, it is at least unaffected by surface forces.

If we go there to spread our faith, we won't have to worry about the Silvermoon Clan and other forces chasing after us, right?

Although the Underdark is sparsely populated, it is home to a considerable number of intelligent beings.

Dark elves, underground dwarves, mushroom people, stone-blind barbarians... as long as you patiently work your way up little by little, you might be able to gather enough faith to ignite the divine fire.

However, the environment in the dark region is harsh, and it is not easy to gain a foothold there.

Derek was pondering how to proceed when a commotion suddenly erupted outside the tent.

Derek frowned slightly, got up, walked to the tent entrance, lifted the curtain, and went out.

Outside, several legendary experts were gathered together, one of them holding a roll of parchment in his hand, talking about something with a solemn expression.

"What happened?" Derek asked as he stepped forward.

The elf holding the parchment looked up, saw it was Derek, and immediately handed him the scroll: "This is a battle report I just received. Take a look."

Derek took the parchment, unfolded it, glanced at it, and his gaze suddenly froze.

Alliance, command center.

When Ryan arrived, the castle was bustling with activity both inside and out.

Messengers ran up and down the stone steps, while officers of different races gathered at the corner of the corridor to talk in hushed tones. Occasionally, someone would raise their voice to argue for a few words, only to be pulled away by the people next to them.

The air was filled with the smells of ink and leather, mixed with the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen.

Ryan was used to this situation and walked straight through the corridor into the command hall.

The lobby was even more lively than the outside.

Dozens of wooden tables were lined up along the wall, piled high with files and maps. A large number of clerks were engrossed in writing and drawing on paper, sorting out intelligence gathered from various places.

In the center of the hall, a large magical sand table was set up, displaying the entire northern landscape in exquisite detail.

The continuous mountain ranges, winding rivers, crisscrossing official roads and towns—every part of the terrain is scaled down within an area of ​​just over a foot square.

Dozens of small flags of various colors were planted in various places on the sand table, marking the advance route of the Alliance army and the distribution of the undead army.

Some of the towns are marked in red with skull icons next to them. These are confirmed undead spawn points, as well as suspected spawn points.

Ryan's gaze swept across the sand table, and he quickly located the position of Süle City.

The small flag had been flipped over, turning into a gray-black pattern of ruins.

He strode forward.

The Grand Elder was standing in front of the sand table, discussing something with several advisors beside him.

The Third Elder and the Second Elder were also not far away, each looking at different areas on the sand table.

"Elder." Ryan stepped forward and bowed slightly.

The elder raised his head and, seeing it was Ryan, the solemnity on his face softened, revealing a faint smile: "I've already heard. You did a good job and made a great contribution."

"It's my duty," Ryan said with a slight smile.

The elder chuckled and patted his shoulder, then turned to look at the sand table: "This is the thirteenth unit nest we've destroyed. Even if it doesn't reach half of the total number of unit nests possessed by the undead, it's at least a third."

"That's right." The Third Elder nodded in agreement. "Building troop nests isn't that easy. Those undead certainly won't have many troop nests."

The Second Elder said in a deep voice, "The replenishment speed of the undead forces has indeed slowed down recently, and the pressure on the front line is much less than before, which proves that our strategy is correct." He raised his hand and pointed to a small area marked with a red flag on the sand table.

"There are still more than a dozen nests identified so far. Once we take them all down, the undead forces will be completely unable to keep up with the attrition. When we launch a general offensive, our chances of winning will definitely be much greater than they are now."

A glint of light flashed in the Third Elder's eyes: "I heard that the Ziwei Heavenly Palace is almost finished and is currently conducting final testing and personnel training. As long as the Ziwei Heavenly Palace is mobilized, it may be able to break through the undead's defenses in one fell swoop."

Ryan perked up upon hearing this.

The Ziwei Heavenly Palace is a large-scale flying magic weapon of the spiritual artifact level, with power far exceeding that of the Flying Radiance Tower and the Soaring Cloud Flying Boat.

Its construction alone took more than thirty years and consumed a great deal of the clan's manpower and resources, making it arguably the Silvermoon Clan's most powerful war creation to date.

The entire clan placed high hopes on him.

If it were the Ziwei Heavenly Palace, they might really be able to make the final decision and determine the outcome of the battle.

Just as Ryan was lost in thought, an elven officer suddenly ran over and handed him a battle report.

"Elder, there's new information."