by Zhuang Bifan
However, when the light of the Alchemy Array reached its brightest, thick gray clouds suddenly appeared in the sky that was originally turquoise in color. They rolled continuously as if they were going to press against the top of their heads. The clouds were also filled with snake-like arcs of lightning and thunder rumbled.
At the same time, the sea around Cage Island seemed to have started boiling as it roared and tumbled while the waves soared high to a height of tens of meters. However, no matter how tall the waves were, they could not touch the island, and it was as if there was an invisible layer of protection outside the island. However, the island was also shaking vigorously, as if it was a boat that would capsize amidst the storm.
The 10-odd Legendary-mages that were guarding the Alchemy Array were doing their best to keep it running. However, they had no idea what kind of power would cause the Alchemy Array to emit a flickering light. The operation was clearly not smooth.
The scouts sent by the various forces of the Breezy Plains watched the dramatic changes on Cage Island from afar, only to be stunned by the earth-shattering scene. They did not know that they would see such a violent sight on the barren island.
Immediately afterwards, a low but penetrative roar of a dragon suddenly surged from the depths of the sea. Amidst the roar of the gigantic waves, the dragon's roar seemed exceptionally clear and distinctive. The area around Cage Island seemed to have changed drastically too as the thick dark clouds in the sky seemed to reveal a dark red hue, as if blood clots were forming.
Chapter 1057 - Dragon Prison Island
The sea around Cage Island was eventually dyed as black as ink, and numerous gigantic waves surged, resembling a moving black mountain range. The surface area was so massive that it seemed to be connected to the sky. The waves rolled and crashed against the sea, emitting a deafening rumble.
However, that was only the beginning, and the scouts soon saw the lightning that was flickering and bouncing around the clouds in the sky suddenly converge like it had received some command. In the blink of an eye, the sky above Cage Island turned into a sanguine pool of lightning. Before the people of the Gilded Kingdom could react, a sanguine thunderbolt that emitted a bloody odor had already come blasting down from the sky.
Cage Island was being bombarded by an intense wave of attacks, and the numerous sanguine thunderbolts seemed to cause the entire island to shake vigorously as they blasted the bodies of the Legendary-mages, causing them to turn into ashes. The magical shields of the Legendary-mages seemed to have become as fragile as paper in the face of the sanguine thunderbolts. They could not even buy the Legendary-mages a 10th of a second.
Seeing that the sanguine thunderbolts were continuously crashing down, and had annihilated half of the Legendary-mages in their own team in the blink of an eye, the Sanctuary powerhouse of the Gilded Kingdom finally took action. Of course, the scouts who had been spying from afar did not know that it was a Sanctuary powerhouse. The leaders of the various forces only discovered that there was actually a Sanctuary powerhouse involved in this operation of the Gilded Kingdom when they received all the information.
The Sanctuary powerhouse who participated in the Gilded Kingdom's operation this time was none other than Elder Zumar, who ranked fourth among the 10 elders of the Illuminati, and was one of the patriarchs who followed the priest to the Gilded Kingdom to spread and preach the Illuminati's doctrine. Hence, his status among the Illuminati was far above Elder Jorre's. That was also why Cantory, Elder Jorre, and the others would personally greet and receive him when the fleet entered the harbor.
The Domain World that Elder Zumar cast out was a world that seemed like an ocean where there was a turquoise sky, a boundless sea, and an endless number of sea beasts that were of various forms. The ocean world engulfed Cage Island as soon as it appeared, and the people of the Gilded Kingdom were pulled into the Domain World where they were protected by the Sanctuary powerhouse.
Of course, just like the real ocean, the world of this domain was not calm and peaceful at all. When the sanguine thunderbolts outside continuously blasted into the oceanic world, it began getting riled up too as it set off a huge storm against the invading forces.
However, even Elder Zumar's Domain World could not subdue and take in Cage Island, as the oceanic world and Cage Island were separated by an invisible force. It was as if there were some supreme World Laws that were impossible to break even for a Sanctuary powerhouse who understood the World Laws.
The sanguine thunderbolts blasted the oceanic world continuously while gigantic black waves surged around Cage Island, crashing against the oceanic world. From afar, one could see that the oceanic world was clearly becoming distorted amidst the bombardment as if it was a bubble that was continuously getting compressed vigorously by an immense force. It seemed to be on the verge of shattering loudly any moment.
Elder Zumar, who was in the middle of the oceanic world, had a somber and grave expression on his face. The external attack on his Domain World had already left him with no choice but to go all out and use his full strength to maintain the stability of the Domain World.
The news of battle on Cage Island was quickly spread inland by the scouts through various means, thus immediately attracting the attention of the various forces of the Breezy Plains. What really surprised them was the fact that the Gilded Kingdom had a Sanctuary powerhouse involved in this operation.
What exactly was hidden on Cage Island that would be worthy of the involvement of a Sanctuary powerhouse? Of course, a more surprising thing was that it seemed that the Sanctuary powerhouse from the Gilded Kingdom had not been able to make any fruitful moves on Cage Island, either. Hence, the forces unanimously sent more scouts to Cage Island in hopes of finding out what the Gilded Kingdom was trying to do and what secrets were hidden on the island which had been forgotten for thousands of years.
Fortunately, the Gilded Kingdom's team had already cleared a safe passage straight to Cage Island, so the additional spies sent by the various forces managed to arrive at the site rather quickly. For a while, the number of scouts around Cage Island surpassed 1,000. They were no longer snooping around secretly. Instead, they each got into a good position, and watched the great battle on Cage Island openly. It was as if they were there to watch a show.
However, the Gilded Kingdom did not have the energy to pay attention to the actions of the scouts. Although Elder Zumar had blocked most of the attacks, it seemed unlikely for him to have the time to do anything else. As for the Legendary-mages who were lucky to have survived, as well as the warriors in the team, they were protected in the oceanic world, and could not leave for the time being.
Just like that, the scouts of the factions from the Breezy Plains watched as the Gilded Kingdom's Sanctuary powerhouse and the mysterious power of Cage Island remained in a stalemate. They ended up watching for nearly 10 successive days, and they even began to get a little bored.
However, a wave of dense and violent roars suddenly began coming from above the sea on the 10th day. Before the scouts could go to investigate the situation, they saw a fleet of a dozen giant battlesh.i.p.s sailing rapidly towards Cage Island. Needless to say, only the Gilded Kingdom could afford to have such a fleet in Anril.
After the huge fleet arrived, it immediately got into a battle formation, and surrounded Cage Island. Although the sea around Cage Island was frightening under the influence of that mysterious power, the giant battlesh.i.p.s of the Gilded Kingdom did not seem to have been affected much. They stopped steadily as if they had existed at that spot for thousands of years.
Since they had been having the sea beasts as their main opponents, the gun laying of the cannons on their battlesh.i.p.s was very flexible, and they could easily fire below the surface of the sea. After setting up the formation, the people on the battlesh.i.p.s quickly adjusted the firing angles of the cannons, aiming them at the bottom of Cage Island.
The cannons used on the Gilded Kingdom's battlesh.i.p.s were somewhat similar to
the Magical Crystal Cannons produced by the Dwarf Kingdom which were also powered by magical crystals, and would fire after compressing mana to the maximum. However, compared to most Magical Crystal Cannons, the ones on these battlesh.i.p.s were much larger, especially the main one which had a caliber that could compare to that of 10 ordinary Magical Crystal Cannons. Each cannon on the battleship would probably use up one Legendary magical crystal per shot.
That also had something to do with the environment in the Gilded Kingdom, which was situated in the endless sea where there were all sorts of sea creatures, including giant sea beasts that were even larger than the ancient wyrms. If the power of the magical crystals was reduced, it would not be enough to pose a threat to those sea beasts at all. Only a Magical Crystal Cannons of such a massive size could allow the fleet of the Gilded Kingdom to dominate the seas.
The consumption of one Legendary magical crystal per cannon was definitely not something that any force could afford to support on Anril. The Ledin Kingdom and Felan Kingdom could not even bear to use ordinary magical crystals, let alone Legendary magical crystals. However, in the endless sea, Legendary-level sea beasts were too rampant, though they were not too violent, either. Hence, it wouldn't be too difficult to obtain Legendary magical crystals.
Of course, even the Gilded Kingdom had yet to reach the point where they did not take Legendary magical crystals seriously. The main cannons on the battleship which had a massive consumption of Legendary magical crystals would only be used when they encountered the threat of giant sea beasts. If they were to really use it to deal with smaller fishes, they would not be able to afford the consumption, either. Clearly, they had already received instructions, and were aiming the main cannons below Cage Island.
Seeing the movement of the battlesh.i.p.s, the scouts in the distance immediately began to breathe rapidly. As residents of the Breezy Plains, or rather Anril, they really had very few opportunities to witness such scenes.
In fact, not to mention the scouts, even the people of the Gilded Kingdom also rarely had the opportunity to witness the scene of the whole fleet firing unanimously. In particular, even those who served on a battleship for a lifetime might never be able to witness the main cannons firing.
Apart from the Magical Crystal Cannons of various sizes, the battleship was often equipped with weapons such as a projectile weapon named the Poseidon Trident. It was a large weapon that would be easily recognized as a harpoon that many sh.i.p.s were often equipped with. However, the Gilded Kingdom's Poseidon Trident was too large. If it was fired at an ordinary merchant ship, the ship would probably be blown into pieces.
Generally speaking, the Magical Crystal Cannons were used against enemies, while the Poseidon Trident was used for hunting sea beasts. After all, many of the giant beasts in the ocean possessed strong vitality. Although the Magical Crystal Cannons were sharp and lethal, they could only cause the sea beasts to get wounded and flee most of the time.
The people on the fleet were ordered to attack at full power; hence, all the weapons were used, regardless of their purpose. After everything was ready, there were soon new orders for them to fire. In an instant, the thousands of Magical Crystal Cannons on more than 10 vessels began emitting dazzling rays of light as the cannons shot at the spot below Cage Island. The dozens of Poseidon Tridents penetrated the waves and shuttled into the sea as if they were trying to overturn the entire Cage Island.
Seeing this scene, almost everyone thought that Cage Island was going to follow in the footsteps of the Blackwater Swamp, and completely disappear from Anril.
However, after all the attacks stopped for the time being, the people were surprised to find that Cage Island did not seem to have undergone any changes. The only difference was that the sea around Cage Island began surging even more violently than before, causing massive waves to charge upwards and crash against the battlesh.i.p.s.
The massive battlesh.i.p.s of the Gilded Kingdom were so large that they looked like floating islands. However, compared to the huge waves, the giant battlesh.i.p.s seemed rather small, and each wave seemed to almost press them down to the bottom of the sea. Fortunately, alchemy was used in the battlesh.i.p.s of the Gilded Kingdom, so almost no one had to work on the deck. Otherwise, they would have been wiped out.
The fleet which had been thrown into jeopardy by the huge waves did not bother to adjust its formation, and immediately opened fire and attacked the bottom of Cage Island again. This time, they attacked continuously, and were even at the risk of overloading their cannons.
This was a feast for the eyes of the scouts in the distance. At the same time, they were overwhelmed by the strength of the Gilded Kingdom's fleet. With such a terrifying power, it was no wonder that they would be said to dominate the Endless Ocean. Even the naval fleets of Ledin Kingdom and Felan Kingdom were destroyed.
However, the stronger the Gilded Kingdom's fleet was, the more bizarre Cage Island looked. If it had been an ordinary island, the first salvo from the Gilded Kingdom's battlesh.i.p.s would have been enough to destroy the island. However, Cage Island was still intact after being bombarded with the full force of the Gilded Kingdom's fleet for a long time.
What exactly was hidden under Cage Island? Was there really a legendary ancient evil wyrm that had been imprisoned there? After receiving the information from the scouts, almost everyone became quite interested in Cage Island which they originally did not bother to mention at all.
Of course, they had the self-awareness to know that they were not fit to intervene in this matter. Even a force like the Gilded Kingdom which had a powerful fleet and the Sanctuary powerhouse could not cause any substantial damage to Cage Island. Wouldn't they be courting death if they intervened?
Hence, all they could do was to instruct their scouts to speed up the frequency of news transmission so that they could understand the situation of the battle on Cage Island as timely as possible. None of the leaders of the forces had the guts to take the risk seeing the situation for themselves. After all, there was no benefit to that, so who would do something that wouldn't be beneficial?
As countless people watched Cage Island, changes occurred in the battle again. The situation was progressing in a direction that was extremely unfavorable to the Gilded Kingdom. A true Sanctuary powerhouse and a fleet with impeccable combat power fell into an absolute disadvantage before they could even see their enemies.
At this moment, Elder Zumar's face had turned extremely sullen, and his Domain World was on the verge of collapsing too. The battlesh.i.p.s that surrounded Cage Island also seemed to have been wrecked, and were beyond pathetic. In fact, they could be said to be in a miserable state.
Two battlesh.i.p.s have submerged to the extent that only the observation deck is still exposed on the surface, while another had already sailed away from the battle area with difficulty. The battleship was tilted, and had clearly been heavily damaged. As for the rest of the battlesh.i.p.s, they were still persistently bombarding Cage Island, but each of them was severely damaged.
Chapter 1058 - Requesting Aid
Seeing such a situation, Elder Zumar knew that there was no hope for this matter to be resolved using his own power. Hence, he summoned Cantory who had arrived with the team while keeping up his Domain World, and suppressing the power of the mysterious existence below Cage Island.
"Elder Zumar!" Cantory exclaimed, behaving like an obedient child in front of Elder Zumar. His unruly nature was not shown at all.
"Cantory, you have been in charge of the matters in the Breezy Plains, and you've had contact with the various forces of the Breezy Plains. Now, I want you to immediately go and contact those forces of the Breezy Plains and find a way to get them involved in this matter." Elder Zumar quickly finished his sentence, and waved his hand to send Cantory away from his Domain World without waiting for his response.
After hearing Elder Zumar's words, Cantory understood that he wanted him to go and ask for help from the forces of the Breezy Plains. However, giv
en how arrogant Cantory was, asking for help from others was simply a torture for him, not to mention requesting it from the forces of the Breezy Plains which he looked down on in the first place.
However, before Cantory could say anything, he felt an unstoppable force surging towards him, and he couldn't continue saying what he wanted to. By the time he got a clearer idea of the situation around him, he realized that he was in a place that he had passed by when he went to Cage Island. No matter how reluctant he was, he had no choice but to act according to Elder Zumar's instructions.
"Which force do you belong to? Take me to your leader!" Cantory decided to save himself the trouble, and directly grabbed from the vicinity a scout, who then led him to the leader of the force he belonged to. The leader was none other than the patriarch of the Cartia Family, Sandev.
Sandev had previously been frightened by the Gilded Kingdom's group, thinking that the other party was trying to take revenge on his family. Although he'd discovered later that that had not been the case, there were changes in his heart. Ever since he returned from the Mithril Alliance, he had been thinking about how to get on the Gilded Kingdom's side and cozy up to them.
Cantory's arrival was just what Sandev needed as it was a perfect opportunity for him to cozy up to the Gilded Kingdom.
In order to cozy up to the Gilded Kingdom, Sandev of the Cartia Family naturally dared not delay in helping Cantory. He was even more hardworking than when he was handling his own matters. While serving Cantory like he was a prestigious guest, he sent out a large amount of manpower to contact the various forces of the Breezy Plains.
In fact, the leaders of the forces could already tell from the news about Cantory being sent out by Zumar, which was delivered by the scouts, that the Gilded Kingdom was probably having a hard time hanging on. After all, they all saw the state of the battle on Cage Island, and it was obvious that the Gilded Kingdom was overwhelmed and stuck in a spot.
