Chapter 252: War-Breaker Pulse

Eagle Peak rose above the northern frontier like a giant wall of stone.

Holden stood at the base of the mountain, looking up at the enormous fortress built into its slopes. The place was even more impressive than the images Maeve had shown them aboard the jet. Huge watchtowers stood along the winding road, while armored bunkers and cannon positions had been carved directly into the mountainside.

Thick grey clouds covered the summit, hiding most of the central command structure from view. However, Holden already knew what was waiting up there. With the information Maeve had gathered, his 10,000x processor had helped him study the mountain’s layout and identify its most dangerous defensive positions.

Twenty-eight enchanted cannons.

Five thousand soldiers.

Two hundred trained war-beasts.

And somewhere at the summit, Commander Zahn, a Rank 4, 2-Star cultivator who had spent years mastering military warfare.

It was quite the welcoming committee.

Holden lowered his gaze toward the road stretching ahead of him.

The only proper entrance to Eagle Peak was a narrow path that climbed the mountain through seven sharp turns. Each section was overlooked by cannon positions and watchtowers, making it almost impossible for an approaching army to move without being seen.

There was barely enough room for two wagons to pass each other along the wider sections. Near the sharpest turns, the road became even narrower, forcing anyone approaching the fortress to slow down.

And slowing down here was practically asking to get shot.

Holden studied the first defensive position.

A large enchanted cannon stood on a stone platform roughly two hundred yards farther up the mountain. Its long, dark barrel pointed toward the approach road, while several glowing markings ran along its sides.

Two soldiers were stationed beside it.

One was watching the road through a small observation device, while the other stood near a communication crystal mounted on the wall.

Neither had noticed Holden yet.

He glanced toward the surrounding cliffs before looking back at the cannon.

Well, no point hiding.

After all, drawing their attention was part of the plan.

Holden stepped onto the road and began walking.

It didn’t take long for the first soldier to spot him.

The man straightened immediately, lowering his observation device before turning toward his companion.

"Someone’s coming up the road!"

The second soldier hurried toward the edge of the platform.

"How many?"

"Just one."

"One?"

The soldier leaned forward, trying to get a better look.

Far below, a lone young man was walking toward the fortress without any visible weapon or armor.

For a moment, the two men simply stared.

Then the first soldier grabbed the communication crystal.

"Outer defense, this is Post One. We’ve spotted an intruder approaching the southern road."

The crystal immediately lit up.

A voice answered.

"Identify the target."

"Male, probably around eighteen or nineteen. He’s alone and approaching on foot."

"Any weapons?"

"None that we can see."

A brief silence followed.

Then the voice returned.

"Hold your position. Command is being informed."

The soldier acknowledged the order and turned toward the cannon.

"Get the weapon ready."

His companion immediately began adjusting the barrel.

Dark blue energy spread across the cannon’s markings as the enchanted weapon slowly turned toward Holden.

Within seconds, the alert had spread to the surrounding defensive positions.

Watchtower guards raised their observation devices. More communication crystals began glowing, carrying the report farther up the mountain.

At several cannon platforms, soldiers hurried into position.

The enormous fortress was waking up.

Holden watched the activity from below.

His enhanced senses picked up movement along the terraces as soldiers emerged from their barracks and hurried toward their assigned posts. Cannon barrels turned toward the road, while officers shouted instructions to the men gathering around them.

Everything happened with impressive speed.

Each soldier seemed to know exactly where he was supposed to be.

Holden had to admit that Zahn knew how to train an army.

Within minutes, hundreds of soldiers had taken their positions, and the cannons overlooking the approach road were preparing to fire.

The communication network connecting the fortress made the entire process even faster.

Orders could be sent from the summit to the lowest defensive position almost instantly, allowing Zahn to coordinate thousands of soldiers without leaving his command structure.

It was a well-organized system.

And Holden was about to ruin it.

High above the approach road, Commander Zahn stood on the balcony of Eagle Peak’s central command building.

He was a tall, lean man in his late middle years, dressed in a neatly pressed dark grey military uniform. His short grey hair was cut close to his head, and the rank markings on his collar were the only decorations he wore.

There were no medals hanging from his chest.

Nothing that suggested he cared about showing off his position.

His appearance was simple, but everything about the way he stood made it clear that he was accustomed to giving orders.

Zahn held a small observation device in one hand.

Through its enchanted lens, he could see the lone figure standing near the base of the mountain.

A young man.

No visible weapon.

No soldiers accompanying him.

And no apparent concern about the fortress preparing to attack.

Zahn frowned.

"Who is that?"

An officer standing behind him immediately checked the communication crystal in his hand.

"Outer defense reports a lone male approaching the southern road, sir. Estimated age, eighteen to nineteen."

"Any identification?"

"Not yet, Commander."

Zahn continued studying the young man.

A lone intruder approaching Eagle Peak was strange enough.

But walking openly toward a military fortress defended by thousands of soldiers?

That was either incredible stupidity or a deliberate attempt to attract attention.

Neither possibility pleased him.

"Could be a scout," Zahn muttered.

The officer glanced toward him.

"Shall I send a patrol to capture him?"

"No."

Zahn lowered the observation device.

"If he’s a scout, there’s a good chance someone else is watching from a distance. And if he’s a distraction, I don’t intend to send men running after him."

He turned toward the communication crystal mounted beside the balcony doors.

"Alert all three defensive rings. Outer positions will prepare to fire on the southern approach road. Middle ring, stand ready to support them. Inner ring remains on guard."

"Understood, sir."

"And make sure the artillery crews coordinate their shots. I don’t want him slipping between the firing positions."

The officer quickly relayed the orders.

Within moments, the mountain responded.

Enchanted cannons turned toward the road as their crews began preparing the firing chambers. Blue light spread across the weapons, growing brighter as energy gathered inside them.

The watchtowers received their instructions.

Soldiers moved into defensive formations.

Even the war-beast handlers began preparing their creatures in case the intruder somehow survived the opening attack.

Everything was going exactly as Zahn expected.

At the base of the mountain, Holden watched the cannon barrels turn toward him.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

There we go.

His processor followed the movement of the weapons, identifying which sections of the road they were targeting.

The cannons weren’t all aiming directly at him.

Some were targeting the spaces behind him, while others covered the road ahead.

Zahn was preparing to trap him between several attacks, leaving little room to escape once the bombardment began.

It was a clever arrangement.

Against an ordinary army, the opening volley alone could cause devastating losses.

But Holden hadn’t come here to challenge Zahn’s artillery.

He had brought something much better.

He reached into his Inventory.

A small dark grey cube appeared in his palm.

The War-Breaker Array.

Its smooth metallic surface gave off a faint vibration, and Holden could feel the powerful energy sealed inside.

One use.

A ten-mile radius.

Enough to permanently disable the magical networks supporting Eagle Peak’s defenses.

Holden looked toward the mountain.

"All right. Let’s see what you can do."

He placed the cube on the ground.

The artifact rested on the packed dirt, its dark surface giving off a faint metallic glow.

Holden stepped back slightly and focused on activating it.

Immediately, the System responded.

[War-Breaker Array Activated!]

[Releasing Rank 4 Disruption Pulse!]

[Effective Radius: 10 Miles.]

[Targets: Magical Communication Systems, Enchanted Shielding Arrays, and Connected Energy Networks.]

[Effect: Permanent Disruption.]

[Warning: Single-Use Artifact Will Be Consumed.]

[Activation Confirmed!]

The cube began vibrating.

For a brief moment, thin lines of dark grey light spread across its surface.

Then the artifact broke apart.

There was no explosion.

No thunderous sound.

Not even a strong gust of wind.

The cube simply collapsed into tiny particles that vanished almost immediately.

And at that exact moment, an invisible pulse spread outward.

It passed through the road, the surrounding rocks, and the mountain itself.

There was nothing for the soldiers to see.

Nothing for them to hear.

But across Eagle Peak, the effects were immediate.

At the first cannon emplacement, the artillery crew was preparing to fire.

The cannon’s barrel had already begun glowing brightly, and the firing chamber was nearly fully charged.

"Target acquired!" one soldier shouted.

His companion placed a hand on the firing control.

"Ready!"

Then the blue light vanished.

The cannon went dark.

Both soldiers froze.

"What?"

The man at the firing control tried again.

Nothing happened.

He pressed the mechanism harder.

Still nothing.

"Why isn’t it firing?"

His companion hurried toward the side of the cannon, examining the glowing markings that had suddenly disappeared.

"The enchantments are gone!"

"What do you mean, gone?"

"They’re not responding!"

The soldier grabbed his communication crystal.

"Post One to Command! We have a weapon failure! Repeat, our cannon has stopped working!"

Only static answered him.

BZZZT!

He pulled the crystal away from his ear.

"What the hell?"

The same thing was happening across the mountain.

At the second cannon position, the firing chamber went dark just as the crew prepared to launch its first shot.

At the third, the enchanted targeting system stopped responding.

The fourth cannon lost power.

Then the fifth.

Within moments, all twenty-eight enchanted cannons had suffered the same failure.

Their connected magical systems had been destroyed.

The massive weapons remained standing on their platforms, but the energy that powered their enchanted functions was gone.

Soldiers shouted in confusion.

Artillery crews frantically checked their equipment, searching for damaged crystals or broken connections.

Some tried to restart the weapons.

Others hurried toward their officers, demanding instructions.

But the communication network was dead.

Every enchanted communication crystal on Eagle Peak had stopped working.

The devices that had carried orders between the defensive rings were now useless pieces of crystal and metal.

Inside the watchtowers, soldiers pulled their earpieces away as harsh static filled their ears.

Officers tried contacting the command structure.

No response.

They switched to backup channels.

Still nothing.

Even the reserve magical communication systems refused to activate.

It was as though someone had reached into the mountain and destroyed every enchanted connection at once.

And the disruption didn’t stop there.

High above the defensive rings, the enormous Rank 4 shield protecting the central command structure flickered.

Its pale blue surface trembled for a moment.

Then it vanished.

The generators buried within the mountain had lost the enchanted connections that allowed them to maintain the barrier.

Without those networks, the shield could no longer remain active.

One moment, Zahn’s command fortress was protected by a powerful dome of energy.

The next, it stood completely exposed.

The anti-air wards also went dark.

The enchanted formations that had prevented enemy aircraft and flying cultivators from approaching the mountain stopped working, leaving the sky above Eagle Peak unprotected.

But there was one more consequence.

And it was about to make everything considerably worse.