Chapter 403 - 174: "I would rather call it... the Fulfillment of the Celestial Mandate.

Chapter 403: Chapter 174: "I would rather call it... the Fulfillment of the Celestial Mandate.

"The Jiangbei Defense Line must have turrets with immense single-target power, otherwise it can’t deal with the Great Ghosts in the Ghost Tide. It’s just that our No. 7 Defense Line doesn’t have an Architect who can build Dark Towers. In the past, the Eternal Night Hall would send people to build them. Let me think if there’s a way..."

"Uh..."

Chen Fan interrupted Elder Qi’s train of thought, his expression a bit strange. "Actually, Elder Qi, we do. The Jiangbei Defense Line has turrets with immense single-target power specifically to deal with Great Ghosts."

"Where are they?"

"These Godslaying Cannons."

"..."

Elder Qi froze, looking up with a dazed expression toward the depths of the Jiangbei Defense Line, where rows upon rows of Godslaying Cannons were arranged neatly on the City Wall. "The Godslaying Cannons... they’re for killing Great Ghosts?"

"They’re called Godslaying Cannons. I mean, with ’Godslaying’ in the name, they’re probably not for killing small ghosts, are they?"

"Then what do you use to clear out the Ghost Tide?"

"These. The Godslaying Cannons."

"How can a turret with immense single-target damage clear out a Ghost Tide?"

"Oh, they have a special effect where the damage can overflow. They’re very effective at clearing Ghost Tides." Chen Fan glanced around, a hint of regret in his eyes. "It’s a shame the rainy season is over."

"Otherwise, I could’ve shown you how they work."

"It’s a beautiful sight."

"One shot, and a whole area is wiped clean."

"The only downside is that the bodies get blown to bits. A little annoying that there are no intact corpses left."

"They’re very useful, whether for clearing mobs or hitting Great Ghosts."

"..."

Elder Qi stood rooted to the spot, dazed, as he stared at the rows of Godslaying Cannons. ’Turrets of this caliber... On the No. 7 Defense Line, we have one every thousand meters. Here, there’s one every twenty?’

’A Great Ghost wouldn’t know what hit it.’

After a long moment.

Elder Qi finally recovered a bit, murmuring, "Well, in that case, there shouldn’t be any issues. I also see Anti-Aircraft Cannons. You’ve even accounted for flying Ghost Objects."

"This doesn’t seem like some on-paper theory. The layout is quite comprehensive..."

"But there aren’t many flying Ghost Objects in a Ghost Tide. The few scattered ones won’t pose much of a threat."

"The few that might break through the defense line and get behind it won’t cause too much trouble either."

"Not many, you say?"

Chen Fan’s brow furrowed. "So was focusing my Upgrade Direction entirely on Anti-Air a bit of a waste? My plan was to prevent a single Ghost Object from flying over the defense line."

"..."

Elder Qi remained silent, his face a blank mask.

"Any other suggestions, Elder Qi?"

"Right now, I’ve built a total of 200 altars for the Jiangbei Defense Line to ensure the City Wall can be repaired. On top of that, the Jiangbei Defense Line has a bunch of other miscellaneous effects, like ’Thorn Rebound’ and so on, which can reflect damage."

"But I can’t shake the feeling that it might not be enough."

"For example, what if the Undersea Ghost Tide at the Jiangbei Sea Bottom suddenly gets stronger? Or if the number of ghosts in the Ghost Tide suddenly increases? Or what if some other unforeseen situation pops up?"

"Like this place suddenly becoming the Eternal Night Frontline?" Elder Qi added quietly.

"Exactly!"

Chen Fan nodded, his expression serious. "That’s what I’m worried about too."

"In that case, Domain Lord Chen, you might be... worrying unnecessarily."

Elder Qi took a deep breath, then turned to gaze at the distant shoreline, murmuring as if in a daze, "Domain Lord Chen, the Jiangbei Defense Line isn’t even considered a secondary front. The strength of the Undersea Ghost Tide here... it’s not that great."

"Honestly, you don’t need to build the Jiangbei Defense Line to the standards of the Eternal Night Frontline..."

’He wasn’t worried about the Jiangbei Defense Line falling at all anymore.’

’Fall?’

’What a joke.’

’Other than its City Wall being one Level lower than his No. 7 Defense Line, Jiangbei was superior in every other respect. The No. 7 Defense Line could fall, and the Jiangbei Defense Line still wouldn’t.’

’He even thought they should switch places.’

’Let the Jiangbei Defense Line go defend the Guandong Plain.’

’And they could come defend Jiangbei.’

’He had assumed that since the Mortal Realm had never faced a Ghost Tide, any defense line they built based on theory would be impractical. But after arriving, he found that while the Mortal Realm *had* relied on theory, they had just imagined their enemy to be far, far too powerful...’

’To have come up with *this* from just theorycrafting was, frankly, mind-boggling.’

"Is that so?"

Chen Fan, also standing on the Jiangbei Defense Line, gazed out at the distant sea and spoke softly.

’There was one thing he hadn’t said.’

’Namely, that no one knew when the Thunderstorm Sea Realm might suddenly shatter. The number of Ghost Objects imprisoned there was no small matter. Ever since he’d seen even the Level 10 City Wall on the New Continent fall, he’d felt that he wasn’t strong enough.’

’He had to get stronger.’

"It really is enough."

Elder Qi let out a helpless sigh. "There’s absolutely no problem. If this defense line were any stronger, I think it could serve as the Eternal Night Frontline itself."

"The frontline is too dangerous. The Mortal Realm’s foundations are still too shallow."

Chen Fan shook his head.

"By the way, have you seen the Eternal Night Frontline?"

"Never seen it. Just guessing."

...

After that, neither of them spoke.

Elder Qi and Chen Fan continued walking along the Jiangbei Defense Line, strolling unhurriedly atop the City Wall. After a long while, feeling the reassuring solidity of the fortifications beneath his feet, Elder Qi looked at Chen Fan and spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Domain Lord Chen."

"You know, when you learned that the Undersea Ghost Tide would strike in two years, you could have just run. But instead, you poured everything you had into building the Jiangbei Defense Line to protect all the people under heaven."

"On behalf of all the people in the Four Areas of Jiangbei and the Two Areas of Guanxi, I thank you."

"That’s not necessary."

Chen Fan sighed wryly. "To be honest, I thought about running, too. But then I thought about the foundation I’d worked so hard to build here... I couldn’t bear to just abandon it. So, I decided to stay and see if I could pull this off."

"’The plan was to run if I failed.’"

"Luckily, I managed to build it."

"It makes no difference. A man is judged by his deeds, not his intentions."

"I’m no gentleman. You, on the other hand, seem to be one, refusing to leave even in the face of death."

"I’m just a bag of old bones. I wouldn’t live much longer even if I ran. Might as well trade my life for a good name."

The two of them looked at each other and laughed in unison.

"Then from now on, Jiangbei is in the hands of your Mortal Realm."

"Rest assured, Guandong is in the hands of your No. 7 Defense Line."

"We’ll defend it to the death. No retreat."

...

「As they parted.」

Chen Fan saw Elder Qi onto the High-speed Rail. He watched the train gradually pull away into the distance before turning to look back at the Jiangbei Defense Line. He smacked his lips and broke into a grin.

"Not bad at all."