Chapter 382: The Melted Cliff

With only enough time to notify the Mother of Lightning, the Lord of Red Lotus swiftly evacuated the battlefield. Piloting his Floating Tower, Grimos Raven immediately felt the pressure on him plummet.

Once he had gained enough distance from the fight, the Lord of Red Lotus glanced back in frustration. He had been on the verge of shattering the Floating Tower's Moon's Protection, yet someone had ambushed his home base.

Not daring to delay, the Lord of Red Lotus cast a teleportation spell and vanished.

Boom!

On the main tower's Teleportation Platform, the Lord of Red Lotus hadn't even found his footing before an earth-shattering boom rang out. He immediately felt the tower tilt, throwing him off balance—a clear sign that the structure was collapsing. Hearing the terrified screams of his subordinates, horror seized him.

"In such a short time! What's going on?!"

...

One minute earlier.

The White Dragon Lord piloted the White Tower, charging toward the Magic Tower Defense System's main tower perched atop the cliff. As he flew, he activated the White Tower's trump cards.

Moon's Protection!

Soul-Linking Chain!

Metamagic Railgun, begin charging!

During the charge, the crystal atop the main tower and the Titan Guardians inside constantly fired volleys of energy arrows. The White Dragon Lord maneuvered the White Tower, weaving up and down through the rain of projectiles. Whenever an attack was unavoidable, he returned fire with the Metamagic Railgun.

The two differing energies collided and detonated in midair. Deafening explosions rang out one after another, sending shockwaves laced with high-energy particles rippling in all directions. The mountains and earth were left riddled with craters. Boulders tumbled, and the once lush vegetation was reduced to crooked, barren trunks.

The White Dragon Lord's gaze pierced the layers of obstruction, but a Protective Shield blocked his view of the main tower. It looked like a soap bubble bathed in sunlight, its surface rippling with dazzling, rainbow-like energy.

With just a fleeting glance, the White Dragon Lord recorded the Protective Shield's data in his mind and searched his memories for related defensive magic. He found absolutely nothing.

"Does anyone know what magic this flashy Protective Shield is?"

The occupants of the White Tower fell dead silent. The White Dragon Lord raised an eyebrow. Since there was no intelligence on the Protective Shield, he would just have to shatter it. He activated a specific restriction within the White Tower Control Core.

Energy from the Elemental Pools surged frantically along the energy channels into the massive crystal at the peak of the tower. The crystal radiated blinding light as its temperature soared.

Metamagic Railgun, maximum output frequency engaged!

The Metamagic Railgun's maximum output frequency sacrificed endurance for a short burst of rapid fire. In this mode, the White Tower's energy channels operated at their absolute limits, causing their temperature to spike drastically. Even a heavily invested structure like the White Tower couldn't sustain this state for long.

But it didn't need to. Every shot from the Metamagic Railgun possessed power comparable to Legendary Magic. Firing at a rate of two shots every three seconds, very few could withstand such an intense bombardment—especially when the Magic Tower Defense System's main tower was a completely stationary target.

Purple blasts from the Metamagic Railgun slammed into the main tower one after another, instantly suppressing the return fire from the Titan garrison and pushing the battle line right up to their stronghold.

Ferocious explosions sent boulders tumbling down the slopes. Furious shockwaves scattered the wispy white clouds as the points of impact drew closer and closer to the main tower.

Watching the White Dragon Lord single-handedly suppress the main tower and its horde of Titans, the occupants of the White Tower were left utterly dumbfounded.

"Don't just stand there! Attack before the Lord of Red Lotus returns!"

Hearing the message transmitted through the Soul-Linking Chain, the crowd snapped out of their daze. They immediately joined the White Dragon Lord's assault, unleashing their own signature abilities.

With the addition of these helpers, the Titan defense line—already heavily suppressed by the White Dragon Lord—collapsed instantly. Blast after blast from the Metamagic Railgun struck the multicolored Protective Shield. Like stones tossed into a tranquil pond, the impacts kicked up a series of waves across the shield's surface, sending ripples spreading outward.

As the Metamagic Railgun battered the Protective Shield, the White Dragon Lord noticed the shield's energy momentarily weaken, only to instantly surge back to full strength.

"It's actually a recharging Protective Shield!"

Protective Shields fell into two categories based on how they replenished their energy. The first type, like the Moon's Protection, only needed an infusion of energy upon activation; as it took damage, its reserves would steadily deplete until it shattered. The second type was like the unknown shield before them: upon taking damage, it could actively siphon energy from the Elemental Pools to replenish its losses.

The White Dragon Lord's heart sank. There were only two ways to shatter a recharging Protective Shield: attack relentlessly until the tower's energy reserves were entirely depleted, or obliterate it instantly with an overwhelming spell that exceeded its maximum tolerance.

Clearly, in such a rapidly changing battlefield environment, the White Dragon Lord simply didn't have the time to cast an offensive Forbidden Spell.

While searching for a way to break the deadlock, the White Dragon Lord suddenly caught sight of the cliff beneath the main tower, and his eyes lit up.

The main tower of the Titans' Magic Tower Defense System was built atop a steep cliff. Far below lay a river resembling a green ribbon, leaving the bedrock that served as the tower's foundation completely exposed to the White Tower's attack range.

"Everyone! I'll suppress the Titans! Focus your fire on the rock face beneath the Magic Tower! Hollow out its foundation!"

The mages' eyes brightened. They immediately shifted their targets, assailing the rock face beneath the Magic Tower.

Boom!

One highly destructive spell after another slammed into the precipitous rock face. Massive boulders peeled away from the cliff and tumbled into the riverbed below. Yet, compared to the sheer size of the cliff, losing these rocks was nothing more than a scratch.

"It's too tough! This cliff has been magically reinforced!"

"I will cast the Earthquake Spell! I refuse to believe the Titans fortified the inside of the rock as well!"

The principal of the Dragon Beast Academy, Legendary Mage Soglamo, stepped forward. Incantations spilled rapidly from his mouth as several buffing spells were simultaneously applied to his body.

Swift Mind!

Mana Amplification!

...

Just over ten seconds later, a colossal surge of mana acted upon the interior of the cliff. The entire mountain trembled. The Magic Tower atop it swayed left and right, throwing the Titans inside off balance and severely disrupting their spellcasting.

The White Dragon Lord shifted his fire, sending several Metamagic Railgun blasts slamming into the shaking cliff.

Boom!

Several massive craters were instantly blown open across the rock face, kicking up a thick cloud of yellowish-brown dust. The mages inside the White Tower focused their fire squarely on the holes created by the Metamagic Railgun.

Wrecked from within by the Earthquake Spell and bombarded from the outside by concentrated fire, the magically reinforced cliff could no longer withstand the immense destruction. The rock strata splintered and the cliff face collapsed, dragging the Magic Tower down toward the earth and sending the Titans inside into a terrified panic.

At that very moment, the White Dragon Lord sensed an additional scorching aura emanating from within the Magic Tower. The Lord of Red Lotus had returned.

But he was too late!

Operating on the principle of striking while the enemy was down, the White Dragon Lord called upon everyone to show no mercy, urging them to continue raining fire on the collapsing Magic Tower.

The Lord of Red Lotus, having just teleported back, hastily linked with the Magic Tower Control Core. The moment he gained the tower's visual feed and saw its shattered foundation plummeting toward the river, terror seized his heart.

Seeing the White Tower floating in the sky and the multitude of incoming spells, explosive murderous intent shot from the Lord of Red Lotus's eyes. He immediately activated the trump card stored in his belt.

Forbidden Spell—Scorching Sun Purgatory!

Scorching Sun Purgatory was an entry-level Forbidden Spell that instantaneously unleashed vast quantities of heat, melting everything in its vicinity.

The instant the Forbidden Spell was activated, the White Dragon Lord realized the entire Magic Tower had transformed into something akin to a blazing sun, radiating terrifying heat in all directions.

The first to suffer this horrifying temperature was the bedrock attached to the Magic Tower's base. Under the scorching heat, the stone actually softened and sloughed right off the bottom of the tower.

The incoming Metamagic Railgun blasts slammed into the expanding wave of terrifying energy and detonated instantly. Meanwhile, the blast of horrifying heat only paused for a fraction of a second before continuing its outward expansion.

Aghast, the White Dragon Lord piloted the White Tower in a hasty retreat. However, it wasn't long before the expanding wave of extreme heat caught up, causing the energy of the Moon's Protection to rapidly deplete.

Fortunately, the extreme heat weakened the further they fled from the spell's epicenter. Before long, the dissipating heat no longer posed a threat to the shielded White Tower.

High in the sky, the White Dragon Lord and the numerous legendary powerhouses stared in astonishment toward the Magic Tower.

Faced with a ruined foundation and a collapsing mountain, the Lord of Red Lotus had been powerless to reverse the structural failure. However, the Forbidden Spell he unleashed melted the surrounding rock into magma. Safely cocooned in its Protective Shield, the Magic Tower plunged toward the ground right alongside the molten rock.

What's more, as the Magic Tower fell, the entire rock face melted away like wax. The tower smashed into the magma below, sending scorching liquid splashing in all directions, before sinking into the molten rock and vanishing from sight.

Even after the Magic Tower sank, the rock continued to melt. The entire mountain dissolved until it disappeared completely, gradually forming a lava lake amidst the surrounding peaks. The river was cut off, its water boiling off into massive clouds of steam that drifted into the sky.

Up in the air, the occupants of the White Tower stared dumbfounded at the steadily expanding magma lake below.

Who knew you could pull a stunt like that?!

The White Dragon Lord couldn't help but mentally applaud the Lord of Red Lotus's adaptability. He had used the intense heat of the Forbidden Spell to melt the stone, allowing the Magic Tower to plunge into liquid magma and avoid the fatal outcome of a hard crash. At the same time, he utilized the recharging Protective Shield to safeguard the tower while submerged in the lava.

Molten Titans were truly the grandmasters of playing with lava. The White Dragon Lord pondered to himself; the Lord of Red Lotus might just perfectly defuse this crisis after all.

The magma lake gradually stabilized, no longer expanding, and its edges began showing signs of cooling. The crowd waited in absolute silence.

"It's coming out!"

From the stabilizing magma lake below, a massive, multicolored sphere floated to the surface—it was the Magic Tower's Protective Shield. Looks of shock and regret washed over the crowd.

"What a pity. If the Lord of Red Lotus had returned just a little later..."

Suddenly, the White Dragon Lord felt a malicious gaze brimming with fury and murderous intent lock onto him. He immediately glared back and fired a provocative shot from the Metamagic Railgun.

Unsurprisingly, the Magic Tower—now firmly commanded by the Lord of Red Lotus—intercepted the blast.

The two energies collided and exploded in midair like dazzling fireworks.

The Lord of Red Lotus might have saved the main tower, but after such a massive ordeal, exactly how much energy was left in its Elemental Pools was a question worth exploring.

At this thought, the White Dragon Lord piloted the White Tower, charging headlong at the main tower and unleashing a torrential barrage of attacks.

Just as the White Dragon Lord suspected, although the Lord of Red Lotus had avoided the catastrophic outcome of dying alongside a destroyed tower, a drastic depletion of stored energy was unavoidable. In just those few short minutes, the energy in the main tower's Elemental Pools had plummeted by two-thirds, and the Lord of Red Lotus himself had burned his strongest trump card.

Under the White Tower's ferocious assault, the main tower wouldn't last an hour before its energy ran dry. And once the energy was gone, they would be at the enemy's mercy.

As he fended off the White Tower's attacks, the Lord of Red Lotus called upon the Mother of Lightning for aid. With the Magic Tower Defense System in place, communication among the Titans was far more convenient than it was for the White Dragon Lord.

In almost an instant, the Lord of Red Lotus connected with the Mother of Lightning and gave a brief rundown of the situation.

"Trash!!!"

On the other battlefield, the Mother of Lightning, who was locked in fierce combat with Grimos Raven, seethed with rage.

Though she was furious at her useless teammate's incompetence, the Mother of Lightning truly couldn't afford to ignore him. Once the dragon forces captured the main tower of the Magic Tower Defense System, the Titans would lose all their advantages.

The Mother of Lightning piloted her Floating Tower in retreat, but Grimos Raven—who had been taking a beating this whole time—was having none of it.

The murder of ravens circling his Floating Tower surged outward, so dense they blotted out the sky. A portion of these energy ravens broke through the lightning net's interception and crashed into the Protective Shield of the Mother of Lightning's Floating Tower. Although they were electrocuted into wisps of black smoke by the lightning shield's inherent damage-reflecting properties, they successfully whittled down the shield's strength.

The Mother of Lightning continued to defend herself while falling back toward the nearest Magic Tower.

Upon seeing the Magic Tower on the ground, Grimos Raven didn't dare pursue any further. However, he also realized that the Mother of Lightning's hurried retreat had to be related to the White Dragon Lord. He immediately initiated contact, and a blurry image appeared before the White Dragon Lord.

"Amos! The Mother of Lightning is heading back!"

The White Dragon Lord looked at the Magic Tower rising above the solidifying lava. Despite his deep reluctance, staying any longer was pointless. He immediately ordered a retreat toward Sea-Calling City.

An hour after the White Tower's withdrawal, the Mother of Lightning furiously returned with her Floating Tower.

She had originally intended to throw a massive temper tantrum, but upon seeing the solitary main tower of the Magic Tower Defense System standing over a lake of cooling magma, the words completely died in her throat.

Had she not been absolutely certain this was the main tower of the Magic Tower Defense System, she would have suspected she had come to the wrong place.

The main tower had originally stood atop a cliff with breathtaking scenery. But now, that cliff had vanished without a trace, replaced by bare, black, cooling lava that stretched all the way into the surrounding mountains.

The neighboring peaks had also been caught in the crossfire. The mountains were left shattered, with hardly a single intact plant to be seen—a testament to just how intense the battle had been.

The Mother of Lightning piloted her Floating Tower down, landing on the cooling magma that still radiated residual heat. She stepped into the main tower's hall and laid eyes on the Lord of Red Lotus, whose face was livid as he sat on his throne.

"Madahak! Look at what a sorry state you're in!"

"If it were you, you wouldn't be doing any better!"

"Hmph!"

Though she was somewhat unconvinced, the Mother of Lightning didn't argue.

To push a main tower commanded by the Lord of Red Lotus to such extremes, the enemy's strength had far exceeded her expectations.

"What do you plan to do?"

"This white dragon is more cunning than we could have ever imagined. Now..."

The Lord of Red Lotus's expression darkened.

"We have no choice but to call for backup!"