Rumble..!

The molten tungsten rod slammed into Fort Whitebridge's wall like lightning; fast, deafening, and full of destructive power. Although the molten tungsten rod significantly deformed on impact, it continued to drill into the stone wall under the driving force of the chaotic rainbow energy behind it.

Unfortunately, the stone wall didn't stand a chance against the might of the empire's magitech cannon. It collapsed almost instantly as broken stones scattered in different directions.

Countless battle witches staggered from the violent tremors produced.

"That is.."

Emperor Renardier narrowed his eyes after the dust settled, revealing Fort Whitebridge's wall still standing strong after taking the full force of their magitech cannon, which was said to be comparable to an Early-stage Transcendent's attack.

However, the white stone wall had completely disappeared, replaced by a metallic black one. The white stone wall was only an outer shell that concealed Fort Whitebridge's true defense.

That said, the magitech cannon's attack wasn't completely effective against Fort Whitebridge's defense. Clear cracks could be seen on the magic barrier protecting the black metal wall. A second shot would definitely breach its magic defense system.

"What a good defense they have.. to be able to withstand the might of our magitech cannon," Emperor Renardier spat with a gloomy look.

Although it seemed like he was praising Fort Whitebridge's defense, he was actually criticizing the border lords, Ulrich Salazar included, for failing to obtain such information.

"Fort Whitebridge did not have such a powerful defense in the past. The Kingdom of Black Rose must have invested a lot into upgrading its defense in the past week we gave them," Ulrich frowned before adding, "However, if they have the chance to do that, then we can expect the Kingdom of Black Rose to be well-prepared for this war."

"How long will it take to charge up the next attack, Lord Alistair?" Emperor Renardier asked.

"The magitech cannon has overheated, and the interior is a scrambled mess. At the very least, it will take my people an hour to return it to its peak state," Alistair Cane answered.

"Can it be done faster?"

"We could try, but I wouldn't bet on it, Your Imperial Majesty. We won't be able to guarantee the magitech cannon's structural integrity if we rush its repairs."

"Fair enough. Please get its repairs started at once, Lord Alistair."

"Understood."historical

..

..

..

Meanwhile, over at Fort Whitebridge, Vaan had his gaze fixed on the magitech cannon in the distance with a flicker of curiosity and desire. He wanted to dissect it for study.

Regardless of the world he lived in, it seemed humans were always more adept at creating weapons of mass destruction than self-improvement.

"My Lord, our fort's magic defense has been reduced to 20% durability. If they fire that thing again, our walls won't hold," Artemis quickly reported after receiving the data from her subordinates.

"Don't worry. Even if they have the technology to produce such a devastating level of attack, it shouldn't be something they can fire as they please. We should have some time if they intend to attack again," Vaan assured before instructing her, "Focus on restoring the fort's magic defense."

"Yes, my Lord!" Artemis solemnly answered.

"Is it finally time, my Lord?" Aeliana asked shortly after, albeit a little too excited about what would come.

"Un," Vaan calmly nodded and said, "Since the empire has officially launched the first attack on our kingdom, we can't blame us for retaliating. It's time to give them their surprise gift."

Vaan took out a strange black remote with a red button before pressing it without hesitation.

..

..

..

"Your Imperial Majesty, one hour is too long," Count Eldridge mentioned.

"Mana stones are precious to us, but it's most likely as common as sand to the witch kingdoms. By the time the magitech cannon is ready for the next attack, their magic defense will most likely be restored to peak conditions as well."

"We need to think about a different strategy," Count Eldridge suggested.

"You're right, Count Eldridge," Emperor Renardier completely agreed and said, "There's no need to take down Fort Whitebridge with the magitech cannon. It consumes too many resources. If I didn't have to conserve my strength for unexpected variables, I would have personally carved out a path for our—"

"Ahh—!"

Dorothy's suddenly clutched her head and wailed painfully deep inside the camp, where it was supposedly secured. Her voice easily resounded throughout the busy camp, startling Duke Chalfont and attracting the nearby soldiers over.

"What's wrong, Dorothy? What's going on with you?"

"My head hurts..! It hurts so much.. I want to die!!!"

The ringing pain in Dorothy's head drove her crazy as she repeatedly smashed her head into a wooden pillar, splitting her forehead and drawing blood until her father restrained her.

Although Duke Chalfont wanted to help his daughter, he didn't know where to start; he could only stop her from inflicting further self-harm.

Beep.. Beep..

A strange noise was produced within Dorothy's head. It wasn't loud, but it could be heard clearly by those around her.

However, each time Duke Chalfont heard it, his heart pounded like drums as he recalled Vaan's parting silent message for him:

"The price of misplacing your faith will be your undoing."

Beep.. Beep.. Ka-boom..!

Duke Chalfont's vision was suddenly blinded by an explosion of brilliant white light from Dorothy's head that devoured everything it touched.

Whether it was Duke Chalfont, Dorothy, their tent, or even the several dozen surrounding tents and hundreds of soldiers within the area, everything disappeared in the brilliant white fury that roared thunderously like heaven's wrath.

Everything else outside the blast radius was blown away by the powerful shockwave.

After the brilliant white light of intense heat subsided, an enormous crater was left behind in the middle of the empire's camp; its soils still burned with scorching temperatures.

No one knew what happened, but they at least understood they were attacked, and seven hundred soldiers went missing. It was a nightmarish scene.

However, that wasn't the end of their nightmare.

Following the initial explosion, another three dozen explosions resounded in their rear camp like a chain reaction, swallowing the empire's food supply crates one by one with their furious eruption of flames.

"What the fuck is going on?! Someone please tell me what the fuck happened!"