A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole spoke softly, then raised his right hand and pressed it on the Fire God Cannon. Spirit Qi surged out of his body and flowed into the Fire God Cannon. He inspected inscriptions on each and every one of the Numinous Treasures within and tried his best to stabilize the cannon.

Standing beside Wang Baole, Chen Yutong looked at him and was moved. He remained quiet for a few moments, then laughed. There was resolve in his eyes as he stepped forward and, together with Wang Baole, gave his all to repair the inscriptions.

Wang Baole saw what Chen Yutong was doing. He looked over, and when their eyes met, they laughed. Amidst the swarming beasts, against a sky shaking with the thunderous roars of beasts, that moment was immortalized in the hearts of the warriors around them.

Everyone could see reason, and everyone was afraid of death, but sometimes the value of action triumphed that of thought!

Less deliberation and more action didn’t mean one was rash; it spoke of a genuine pure-heartedness!

“Senior Brother Chen, let me handle the inscriptions. I’ll hand over the repairs and replacement of materials to you!” Wang Baole’s eyes shone brightly. He spoke calmly as they continued their repairs.

Chen Yutong nodded and didn’t question further. He immediately withdrew his Spirit Qi from the inscriptions and poured his energies into inspecting damaged materials, dismantling them from the cannon and replacing them swiftly.

As for Wang Baole, he stilled his breath and focused his mind. His brain ran the simulations from the formula at top speed. His grasp of the internal machinery and workings of the Fire God Cannon had been refined to perfection during the period when he conducted repairs on the cannons. He knew that the Fire God Cannon was composed of hundreds of Numinous Treasures and that every Numinous Treasure acted like a component of the composite machine, making the Fire God Cannon a weapon of immense intricacy.

Each Numinous Treasure contained one to a few hundreds of thousands of inscriptions. The combined number of inscriptions found in the Fire God Cannon was incredible.

The bat’s ultrasound wave attack sent an aural quake through the Numinous Treasures within the Fire God Cannon, inflicting fractures on their inscriptions. As the Fire God Cannon continued operating, the inscriptions, no longer able to withstand the activity, would shatter in great numbers and lead to a breakdown in the cannon.

Their previous approach to repairing the cannon was akin to sketching—Spirit Qi was used to ink over the fragmented inscriptions so that the inscriptions could continue to support the Fire God Cannon. But as more and more inscriptions suffered fragmentation, the effect of this traditional approach weakened. The fractures were too numerous and were found on a quarter of all inscriptions.

That was why Chen Yutong had concluded bitterly earlier that the cannon was beyond repair.

Chen Yutong was right. If they had applied the traditional method, the cannon would indeed be irreparable. The only way left for Wang Baole to repair the Fire God Cannon… was to refashion the inscriptions!

Not to restore, but to apply different inscriptions and refashion the fragmented inscriptions within the Fire God Cannon—to a certain extent, it could be seen as a reform!

To reform the Fire God Cannon was something that was beyond even the ability of a Dharmic Armament Soldier; it would be an unimaginable feat for a Dharmic Armament Disciple.

Even if they had complete knowledge of the inner workings of the Fire God Cannon, they weren’t the original creator and didn’t have the core recipes for crafting the cannon. They might be able to attempt an imitation, but modifying the inscriptions inside would prove too great a challenge. Had it been another time and place, the military would have forbidden them from trying, as any failure might result in instability and the collapse of the Fire God Cannon.

However, there was no one around to stop them. What’s more, the inscriptions within the Fire God Cannon were largely shattered. Even if Wang Baole failed in his modification, it wouldn’t trigger an explosion. The worst that could happen was a complete breakdown.

Regardless, he was left with no other choice!

Wang Baole steadied his breathing, and determination shone in his eyes. Based on his grasp of inscriptions and inscription system he had, in order to modify the damaged inscriptions and refashion them, he would need to choose amongst the numerous inscriptions available.

For example, Wang Baole had to replace a damaged segment containing extremely complex inscriptions with a series of simple inscriptions to allow the part to carry on running.

There were also shattered inscriptions that were no longer functioning and couldn’t be used; Wang Baole had to add in a few inscriptions so that the part could be activated again to some extent. Such adjustments couldn’t be done in isolation, because the Fire God Cannon was an elaborate and intricate piece of machinery—a tweak to a single part could affect the whole!

The deductions he would have to run were too immense and completely unprecedented!

Chen Yutong seemed to realize what was going on the moment Wang Baole started modifying the Fire God Cannon. His pupils contracted, and he gave Wang Baole a deep, long stare, deciding to place his faith in Wang Baole. He left Wang Baole undisturbed, took out various materials, and started replacing and repairing them furiously.

The pair combined their efforts as the surrounding Armament Soldiers stood guard amidst anxiety and steely-eyed determination. Thunderous roars resounded throughout the battlefield, and beasts threw themselves upon the Golden Bell Shield ceaselessly; the Golden Bell Shield was on the verge of collapse… Wang Baole and Chen Yutong threw all that they had into the cannon.

They worked free from distraction and immersed fully in the repairs on the cannon. It was at that moment, wrought with anxiety, that the Golden Bell Shield shattered with a blast. It created an explosive force that swept outward, decimating great hordes of beasts in a blink of an eye. As the warriors howled in rage and held off the beasts that came charging…

The Fire God Cannon thundered. Wang Baole shouted and slapped the cannon, and a gigantic blast of light shot out from within, directly at the swarm of beasts approaching from ahead.

The heavens shook, and the earth quaked. The blast seemed to punch a hole in the sky, and waves of inscriptions rippled outwards. Where the light passed, beasts were torn apart by an invisible giant hand—wiped out.

That wasn’t the end. Chen Yutong continued his replacement of materials, and Wang Baole refashioned more inscriptions before firing the Fire God Cannon again!

Boom, boom, boom!

Three consecutive shots shook the heavens and earth, and the hordes of surrounding beasts kept falling back. Despite having suffered some casualties from the brief onslaught of beasts, with their retreat, the surrounding Armament Soldiers finally could catch their breath. The looks directed at Wang Baole and Chen Yutong were filled with gratitude and utmost respect!

One had to know that, at that time, in the stronghold, theirs was the only working Fire God Cannon!

The other Fire God Cannons had either been torn apart by beasts or had broken down…

As a result, their sole Fire God Cannon became a presence that drew everyone’s attention on the battlefield. Be it the warriors and cultivators on land, or the beasts, their eyes were all drawn to the sole working Fire God Cannon.

That was the case for the aerial battle as well, which had grown in intensity, and where the scales of life and death could tip anytime for either side.

Even the bat in the eye of the hurricane narrowed its eyes and directed an icy glare at the Fire God Cannon where Wang Baole and the rest stood.

“Continue!” Wang Baole roared as he ignored the stares and continued modifying the inscriptions. His energies were spent. Such modifications required substantial deductions; it was beyond what he could cope with, but Wang Baole persevered. He would modify a few inscriptions, then activate the cannon and fire another beam of light.

Every cannon shot shook and fractured the inscriptions. As a result, despite Wang Baole’s unceasing repairs, the Fire God Cannon struggled to keep firing.

The cannon blasts aided the fights in the sky and on land, but its efforts were limited. The psychological impact of its presence, and its symbolism, however, were boundless!

As long as even one Fire God Cannon remained standing, its thundering blasts would resound throughout the battlefield. The will to fight would never die!

However, they soon reached the end of their ropes. Despite Wang Baole’s and Chen Yutong’s combined talents and the modification attempts—unless the cannon ceased its firing—with every third of it repaired, a cannon shot would destroy it by nearly half!

Gradually, despite the repeated modification of the inscriptions in the cannon, the inscriptions fragmented further. At that moment, two-thirds of the inscriptions had shattered. The cannon would stop working at any moment!

“What do we do!” Wang Baole was frantic beyond measure, his hair disheveled; he was driven to madness, and was powerless. Misfortune had to rear its ugly head then and add fuel to fire!

In the skies, the battle between the two Foundation Establishment realm camps finally drew to an end!

Two Foundation Establishment realm beasts let out cries of agony, followed by an explosive boom. Their bodies were torn apart in an instant, and another three were wounded grievously; jets of blood spurted from their bodies. They seemed to be injured badly!

The price of those injuries and death… was the death of two of the Foundation Establishment realm cultivators, and the serious injury of the remaining two!

At that moment, following the deaths of two Foundation Establishment realm beasts, the surviving cultivators—the man who possessed the Divine Armament and the female cultivator—spat blood out. Their bodies shook, and they struggled to grab hold of their Dharmic Artifacts. They retreated rapidly, heading straight for the stronghold.

Left behind them were the beasts. Out of the original seven, three had been killed consecutively; the surviving four, while injured greatly, remained ferocious and savage. They howled and chased after the two cultivators, relentless in their pursuit!

Upon seeing that, Wang Baole maneuvered the Fire God Cannon in a bid to help the cultivators. It was then—as the four beasts pursued the two Foundation Establishment realm cultivators, speeding through the battlefields—that a rainbow burst out from the earth!

Big-bearded commander-in-charge’s silhouette leaped into the air with inconceivable speed. He stood atop a flying disc-shaped Numinous Treasure and held a long sword the color of blood; as he charged in mid-air, he let loose a startling battle cry and, and with a single blade sliced through the heavens!

From afar, the blood-colored blade seemed to transform into a destructive blade of heaven-shattering proportions. The four beasts howled furiously, shock frozen on their faces as the crimson blade descended and swept past—cleaving the two Foundation Establishment realm beasts, that had previously been injured severely and couldn’t escape in time, in half!

As bright red blood continued spurting out, the remaining two Foundation Establishment realm beasts retreated in alarm. Big-bearded commander-in-charge lifted his face to the heavens and laughed, and madness colored his eyes. He bellowed, “Brothers, for the Federation, counterattack!”

Roaring, he raced towards the two retreating Foundation Establishment realm beasts. Not too far away, the two heavily wounded Foundation Establishment realm cultivators gritted their teeth before turning and charging as well!

Back on land, following the deaths of four Foundation Establishment realm beasts, the Beast Tide stilled momentarily, and signs of its dispersal seemed to surface. Every single one of the Armament Soldiers, eyes red and battle-crazed, retaliated in a mad counterattack!

“There’s hope!” Wang Baole went mad with glee. He was astounded by big-bearded commander-in-charge’s ambush and assault, and a rush of hot blood surged through his body.