Chapter 317: Battle Between Floating Towers

The enemy Floating Tower rapidly approached. The White Dragon Lord stared unblinkingly at his opponent. The atmosphere grew increasingly heavy—even the dark gray clouds in the sky stopped moving, as if the air itself had solidified.

The dropping air pressure made it somewhat difficult for the people of Nordhill to breathe. With no time to properly gather their spoils, they packed them away along with the corpses and hurried back to the Floating Tower. Only the interior of the Floating Tower would offer a safe harbor in the coming storm.

Inside the control room of Little Finger's Floating Tower, a figure in a black robe stood in the center, gripping a pitch-black, cube-shaped Control Core. This was one of the supreme commanders of Little Finger's current raiding operation: Triman Ghosthand.

Triman wore a mask bearing an eerie smile, his entire body shrouded in a loose black robe. Only his left hand gripping the Control Core remained exposed. The hand was so emaciated it barely held an ounce of flesh, looking like nothing more than withered skin stretched over bulging blue veins.

Standing before the control room window, a human man with only his eyes exposed gazed out at the distant survivors. Failing to spot the familiar figure he was looking for, Sugnor Gloomdagger felt his heart grow heavier by the second.

The Floating Tower had already arrived, meaning the surviving legendary powerhouses were safe. Yet his twin brother, Mawada, had not appeared. This meant Mawada had most likely fallen in battle.

Hidden beneath his mask, Sugnor Gloomdagger's expression grew increasingly grim as killing intent radiated from his body.

The companions in the room felt his seething anger and killing intent, casting sidelong glances his way. An orc who had been wiping down a double-bitted battleaxe paused his work and asked brashly.

"What's wrong? Did that special class brother of yours die? Why throw such a fit!"

The orc's booming voice made Anveena, the evil god priestess, wince. Her ears hurt, leaving her rather displeased.

"Keep your voice down, you stupid rock!"

The burly orc, built like a mountain, was instantly enraged.

"I'll say this one last time! I am a Mountain Bearer! Not some stupid rock!"

The orc's furious roar made the evil god priestess's exposed pointed ears tremble. The rogue and the priestess both glared at him, and Ghosthand also frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Both of you, quiet down! Save the arguing for when we get back!"

Ghosthand's hoarse, deep, and slightly angry voice cut off Anveena just as she was about to launch into a tirade. The evil god priestess resentfully let the matter drop.

"Gloomdagger, have you still not found your brother?"

Ghosthand asked quietly, speaking out of concern for his subordinate.

"No."

Sugnor Gloomdagger tried his best to keep his tone calm, but even with over a thousand years of cultivated restraint, he could not completely mask his fury.

"A pity..."

Ghosthand sighed softly. Mawada Darkdagger had been a special class professional at the Peak Legendary Rank. The difficulty for special class professionals to advance was usually much higher, which was why Mawada, despite being the older brother, had fallen a step behind his younger sibling.

However, the extra hardships endured by special class professionals were well worth it. Once they stepped into the High-Tier Legend realm, their combat prowess would far surpass that of ordinary, newly advanced High-Tier Legends. Of course, if they died prematurely, then none of that mattered.

"Everyone, prepare for battle."

Ghosthand stared at the ever-approaching enemy Floating Tower, his tone grim and laced with anger. The White Dragon Lord had broken the unspoken rules of the battlefield by suddenly deploying a Floating Tower to slaughter their scouting party. This left Ghosthand both shocked and furious.

Breaking the unspoken rules of the battlefield was an incredibly serious matter. If both sides began ruthlessly targeting enemy exploration squads, resource development across the plane would become impossible.

Was this retaliation for that incident?!

After occupying Mine Pit No. 2, Ghosthand had been constantly on guard against the White Dragon Lord's revenge.

But several days had passed without any action from the White Dragon Lord. Ghosthand had assumed the matter was over and relaxed his vigilance. He never expected the White Dragon Lord to suddenly pull a stunt like this, catching him entirely off guard.

Ghosthand was a ruthless character who preferred action over useless chatter. The distance between the two Floating Towers rapidly closed.

Seeing that the enemy Floating Tower had no intention of slowing down, the White Dragon Lord knew his opponent would not give him the chance to deliver a victor's declaration. He tightened his grip on the spherical Control Core in his hand, triggering a restriction within it.

The Elemental Pools began to operate, emitting a hum as magical energy rapidly converted and flowed. The defensive magical arrays inside the Floating Tower activated. Seven profound, ring-shaped purple magical arrays emerged around the tower's body, resembling a stack of circular hoops with the Floating Tower situated directly in the center.

The magical arrays continuously rotated, forming an elliptical Magic Shield that protected the Floating Tower while emitting a soft, moonlight-like glow.

This was the strongest defensive measure of the Council Floating Tower: the Moon's Protection. The Moon's Protection was a Forbidden Spell-level defensive magic inherited from the ancient Elf Dynasty. Having been improved upon by generations of magical masters such as Merlin, even an ordinary powerhouse at the Abomination Rank wouldn't be able to break it in a short amount of time.

Little Finger's suspended conical Floating Tower possessed a similar method, wrapping itself in a layer of black mist.

After activating their defenses, both sides began chanting spells in unison. At the same time, the Cat-Woman charged out closely behind the Ancient Gold Dragon. Little Finger's side did the same, their warrior, rogue, and priestess trio rushing out of their Floating Tower.

The Alchemical Crystal at the top of the Floating Tower shot out two purple rays, connecting to the Ancient Gold Dragon and the Cat-Woman.

Soul-Linking Chain!

Through the Soul-Linking Chain, the White Dragon Lord could channel the Floating Tower's magical energy to replenish his companions' mana. Simultaneously, the three of them were mentally linked, able to communicate instantly and move as one.

Using the Floating Tower as the combat core, connecting with other High-Tier Legend professionals, and cooperating to form an integrated fighting force—this was the battle method of the Floating Tower.

This combat style had stood the test of time. It perfectly displayed the specialties of each class and maximized the value of the Floating Tower. It was the most widely used Floating Tower combat model across the multiverse.

Little Finger's side employed the exact same fighting style. In a flash, the two sides collided with the force of crashing planets.

Empowered by the Floating Tower, the magical energy within the Ancient Gold Dragon's body surged with unprecedented activity. The power of her Dragon Breath multiplied, and a torrent of liquid-gold Dragon Breath washed over the enemies like a surging river.

The orc Warrior, the Mountain Bearer, roared and cleaved out a massive crescent-shaped aura slash. It met the Dragon Breath head-on, splitting the liquid-gold flame in two. However, after cleaving a short distance, the aura slash lost its momentum and was completely annihilated within the breath attack.

Anveena, the evil god priestess, hovered in the air above their Floating Tower with her staff gripped in both hands. Spells tumbled rapidly from her lips. Magical energy resembling flowing black oil quickly crawled over the orc's entire body, forming a primary layer of defense across his robust frame.

Meanwhile, Sugnor Gloomdagger's silhouette had never even appeared. He maintained his stealth state while flying at a low altitude, planning to launch a sneak attack from below. As a spellcaster, the Cat-Woman was his primary target.

Perhaps sensing the hidden malice, the Cat-Woman unleashed a dense aura of death energy that rapidly expanded into a massive black cloud. She hid herself within it. This special death energy not only blocked line of sight but also isolated most magical detection and ordinary mental probing.

After she concealed her position, the sound of a profound and ethereal incantation echoed through the air.

Legendary Rank druid spell—Ancient Tree Skin!

The Ancient Gold Dragon's matte gold scales turned even dimmer, and patterns resembling the bark of a ten-thousand-year-old ancient tree surfaced across her smooth scales.

At the exact moment the Ancient Tree Skin spell finished, the White Dragon Lord's magical reinforcement arrived as well. A transparent, spherical Magic Shield encased the Ancient Gold Dragon, providing further protection.

Ghosthand did not choose to cast defensive buffs on his companions. Instead, at the tip of the suspended conical Floating Tower, a black energy sphere was rapidly coalescing. This sphere was profoundly dark, looking like a black hole capable of devouring everything in its path.

Even before it was fired, the White Dragon Lord, hovering thousands of meters away, could feel a terrifying fluctuation of energy. This was unquestionably a Forbidden Spell-level attack.

Sensing the enemy's malice and the feeling of being locked on with nowhere to run, the White Dragon Lord's expression turned grave.

Although the White Dragon Lord had full confidence in the defensive capabilities of the Moon's Protection, he was not arrogant enough to use it to forcefully tank the enemy's magic. He prepared to activate the Floating Tower's built-in Metamagic Star-Destroyer Projectile to return fire.

However, upon seeing his two teammates engaged in fierce combat with the enemy, the White Dragon Lord changed his mind and rapidly chanted a new incantation.

A few seconds later, the black energy sphere finished charging, and Ghosthand fired it without the slightest hesitation.

Metamagic Annihilation Cannon!

Empowered by the Floating Tower, the destructive force of the Metamagic Annihilation Cannon far surpassed that of an ordinary Forbidden Spell. As the energy projectile shot forward, the space around it appeared phantom-like and distorted. The highly compressed energy was so immense that even space itself could not bear the strain.

A sensation of being locked on washed over her, and the shadow of death veiled her heart. The Cat-Woman's fur instantly stood on end. Ghosthand's target was not the Floating Tower, but her!

By wielding death energy, the Cat-Woman had provoked Ghosthand's wariness the moment she struck. Thus, he had employed a feint, initially locking onto the Floating Tower only to shift his aim the exact moment the Metamagic Annihilation Cannon fired, intending to catch the Cat-Woman completely off guard and obliterate her.

Just as the Cat-Woman bristled in terror, the White Dragon Lord sent her a message.

"Don't worry."