Two days later, on the open sea outside the Seven Cities Alliance, the sunlight beat down ruthlessly.
Under the searing glare, every inch of exposed skin prickled with a sharp sting and itch, as though wrapped in invisible stinging nettles.
The wind blowing in from afar brought not the slightest chill. The heavy moisture struck like steam in a sauna, scalding hot as it slammed against the face—an unbearable sensation, like being kicked into the crashing waves again and again.
The Prosperity was anchored quietly between the azure sea and the vault of heaven, drifting gently with the waves as it waited in silence.
After the hectic operations concluded the previous night, the Prosperity confirmed its supply status, dragged Old Tom aboard right after he stepped off his ride, weighed anchor, and set off into the night at maximum speed toward the Endless Sea.
Even with the blessings and reinforcement of Deus Ex Machina, and the elevation from Non-Offensive's Metamorphosis, the propellers had spun so hard they nearly threw off sparks, yet only now had they barely reached the outer waters of the Seven Cities.
And that was assuming they hadn't run into any rough seas along the way.
Ji Jue had already begun wondering when he could get his hands on an airship and mount the workshop onto it... Man, those things were so much more useful than ships!
At the very least, they were fast!
What should he name it when the time came, though?
Isis's Little Toy Plane? One you could hold in your hand and go whoo-whoo-whoo... Hmm, that actually didn't sound bad, did it?
Under the parasol, Ji Jue sipped an iced cola, lazily holding a fishing rod and enjoying the pleasures of sea fishing, when he spotted an eyesore in the water splashing past like a sea dog.
"Woohoo~"
Then it splashed back again.
"Woohoo~"
Then it splashed past once more...
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Rolling his eyes, Ji Jue snatched up the submachine gun beside his iced cola without a second thought and emptied a burst at that agile sea dog, until the bastard bored enough to go skinny-dipping shrieked, leapt from the waves, and fled across the surface of the sea on two hairy legs.
Now it was even more blinding to the eyes!!!
"Boss, this isn't included in our services!" Scrambling onto the deck, Tang Qian flew into a rage. "You gotta pay extra for that!"
"No, I'm deducting from your pay," Ji Jue said impassively. "Failure to comply with management regulations during working hours, including failure to properly wear uniforms and effective protective gear, results in forfeiture of the day's wages and a written warning. Subsequent violations incur factory-wide notices and disciplinary demerits. Serious offenses may result in dismissal, with all resulting losses borne by the employee. If severe safety hazards cause production stoppages, Haian reserves the right to pursue full compensation..."
Old Tom felt his entire world crumbling. "I came here to be an enforcer, damn it, not to screw on bolts! Where the hell did all this nonsense come from?!"
"It's all in there, my friend, it's all in there." Ji Jue nodded with pity, glancing at his indignant expression. "So, you never read contracts when you sign them, do you? Our employment agreement used the exact same template as Haian's onboarding contract..."
We've known each other for so long, so how have you not improved in the slightest? If only you read a few more books... Oh right, you're Swarm. Never mind then.
Ji Jue's gaze turned instantly sympathetic.
"By the way, if you don't put your pants on and keep streaking around dangling your junk on my ship, you might never get to use that thing again."
Ji Jue flicked a gold coin with one hand and waved the other behind him. Instantly, quicksilver flowed from the seams of the deck, writhing as it rose into a mechanical arm. The massive shears at its tip opened and snapped shut repeatedly, making a clacking sound that sent a cold shudder between one's legs.
At the other end, an eggbeater began spinning furiously.
Target acquired.
"Eep—!"
The moment Old Tom saw the brilliant gold flicked his way, his face lit up in a wide grin. "Boss, if you don't like it bare, you should've just said so! I even brought two bikinis..."
Babbling away, his hands moved like lightning as he pulled on a pair of oversized boxer shorts, caught the gold coin with pinpoint accuracy, gave it a practiced puff of breath, and listened enraptured to its ringing chime. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he shoved it behind his back—just like how he drew his swords.
How did he even do that?
Ji Jue grew increasingly intrigued.
Wait, where did he pull those shorts from in the first place? Did the Swarm have some kind of hidden legacy technique involving a four-dimensional anus?
"Still, we've been waiting this long, Boss. Are you sure they're showing up today?" Old Tom expertly grabbed cold beers from Ji Jue's mini-fridge, chugging two cans down in quick succession. "The Endless Sea is huge, and aren't those Northern blokes still down south? Can they make it in time?"
"If they don't make it, they don't get any meat. What are you worried about?"
Ji Jue couldn't care less. He had already spotted mist slowly gathering at the edge of the distant horizon. Amid the sweltering heat, a trace of chill began to emerge.
It was as though the frost and wind of midwinter were sweeping in from the end of the sea.
Thunder, storm, and dragon bones howled into view!
"Holy shit?" Old Tom stared dumbfounded. "They actually made it?"
Generally speaking, ordinary people had a skewed idea of how vast the Endless Sea really was, because nearly every map on the market had been altered.
There was no helping it; it had to be altered. No matter how much it was scaled down, if drawn to a standard scale, ninety percent of the map would be swallowed by the Endless Sea.
Picture a pond of a dozen mu, scatter a random handful of sesame seeds across it, and once those seeds drifted irregularly across the water, that was the Thousand Islands.
The distances between them were either absurdly close or impossibly vast.
Even though everyone existed in the same world, the ocean barriers and vast distances formed insurmountable chasms. Some people likely never ventured beyond the waters of their home island their whole lives.
Now, watching the Dragon Bone Fleet roar in alongside driving rain and crashing thunder, skimming the waves as though flying, Ji Jue couldn't help but feel his fingers itch...
So nice, truly magnificent. With so many years of accumulation, North Wind Workshop had truly produced some extraordinary wonders.
Centuries ago, the raider fleets of the Northern Realm had already roamed the Endless Sea. The foundation built over all those years through the maintenance and development of generations of artisans was simply not something an Ember like Ji Jue—who had been an artisan for less than a year—could compare to.
The seven seemingly modern warships were, in fact, all retrofitted from the previous generation's Dragon Bone Fleet. At their core, they remained thoroughbred alchemical creations.
Moreover, the seven warships resonated and linked together through the storm and rain, faintly coalescing into a single entity, interconnected and surging across the ocean powered by thunderclouds.
Combined, they were practically a Divine Craft!
In fact, according to Ji Jue's speculation, in its complete state, it shouldn't consist of just seven ships, nor should it be limited to such scale and momentum...
This deployment was merely a single detachment of the Dragon Bone Fleet.
The Northern Realm still held back, but that was understandable.
After all, if they deployed fully armed with all their trump cards, let alone going out to scavenge or pillage, sirens would have sounded in countless places the moment they left port.
At this moment, the blistering heat vanished swiftly. Under the expanding dark clouds, amid flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder, countless specks of frost condensed out of thin air, showering down in drifting flurries.
The mighty Dragon Bone Fleet halted in the distance, and before long, a frozen path extended across the water.
Despite the sweltering climate, Master Yellowbeard, still clad head to toe in thick furs, boarded the Prosperity with his entourage, looking around at the arrangements and fittings with apparent surprise.
It was as though he had noticed something.
"You've managed to put together something quite impressive, Ji Jue."
"You flatter me. Just to keep up appearances, I even dragged my whole workshop along, yet compared to North Wind's heritage, it's hardly worth mentioning," Ji Jue replied with a chuckle. Soon, chairs were brought out for the visitors to take a seat.
Yellowbeard didn't stand on ceremony at all. He plopped down, pulled a flask from his coat, took two sips, and asked, "Where are the others?"
"Let me check..."
Ji Jue glanced at his phone. "The Red States contingent should arrive within half an hour; the Seven Cities Joint Defense fleet is ferrying them over. Still no word from the Wild Gathering, though."
"Heh, the Wild Gathering," Yellowbeard scoffed. "Expecting those White Stag folks to be punctual? You're still too young after all."
"Now don't go saying that, old geezer."
A voice rang out from behind him without warning. Immediately, another voice seamlessly picked up:
"Then again..."
"That's just how we White Stags are."
"Though the two of us prefer being early."
"Exactly. Better early than late. The early hunter gets the wolf."
"Speaking of which, got any wolves?"
"Twenty percent off if there are wolves, kid."
Two middle-aged men—virtually indistinguishable in height, weight, and build—bantered back and forth one line each, smoothly opening Ji Jue's mini-fridge and rummaging through it.
A bottle of vodka and a bottle of whiskey were unscrewed in unison, both tilting their heads back to chug them down.
The Twin Fingers of the An family, cursed with ridiculously long names!
They had zero presence when they kept quiet, but the moment they opened their mouths, they wouldn't shut up, annoying as hell.
"Wait, hold on, stop, stop, stop..." Ji Jue's eye twitched. "When did you two get here?"
"Just now."
"Not long ago."
"We arrived just in time to see the Swarm fellow dropping his pants on the deck. Thought there was a good show on."
"A bit outrageous, sure, but considering Embers, it seems par for the course."
"You're the employer; of course we couldn't ruin your fun."
"There's still a bit of time. Need us to give you some privacy?"
"Alright, stop talking. I'm begging you."
Ji Jue's vision began to darken.
No matter how many times he experienced it, he could never get used to how shameless White Stags were. On top of that, these two were old-school rockers who used to play in a band years ago, which made them even worse.
"Bullshit!" Old Tom slammed the table and sprang to his feet in a fury, glaring at them. "How can you White Stags slander a man's purity out of thin air?! How am I supposed to hold my head high if word gets out?! Besides, gigolo services don't come at this rate! You gotta pay extra!"
So that's your fucking takeaway?!
Ji Jue was ready to pull out a gun and mow these bastards down on the deck one by one before they ruined his spotless reputation forever.
Amid the chaotic racket, the Seven Cities Joint Defense fleet gradually appeared on the horizon.
To put it mildly, it was an eye-opening sight...
It was practically a floating museum.
Ships from the Federation, the Empire, domestic Thousand Islands builds, modern vessels, early modern ones, patched-together hybrids... A dizzying spectacle where, aside from the flagship, every craft displayed astonishing ingenuity and wild patchwork design, leaving one marveling at the sheer limits of imagination.
Minkler knew full well his role as the hype man. After coming aboard, he assumed an exceptionally humble posture, grinning ear to ear as he handed out a massive pile of local specialties. Once he delivered the Knights of Homecoming who had gathered from various regions, he pulled up a small stool and sat aside, waiting.
Imagine lying at home doing nothing while military merits rained down from the sky, forcing him into the position of overall commander whether he liked it or not. Ah, it really is so tiresome, so helpless... and so wonderful!
In an instant, everyone's eyes turned toward Ji Jue in unison.
Yellowbeard didn't drag his feet either, asking bluntly, "Everyone's here. When do we begin?"
"No need to reorganize and prepare?" Ji Jue asked.
"My heart's burning up, itching with torment. At least let us set eyes on land first, eh?" He tilted his head back, downed the strong liquor in his flask, and wiped the dregs from his beard. "Speed is the essence of war. Even though the fleet is masked by storms, if we linger, anyone will notice something's wrong. Rather than wasting time sleeping around, we might as well strike right at the heart."
"I've only just deployed the surveillance, and for secrecy's sake, it hasn't reached its position yet. The interior situation remains unknown, so wouldn't a cautious approach be safer?" Ji Jue asked, "Has an Aether seer from the North looked into it?"
"Before coming, we had a shaman perform divination. Perilous yet safe, exceptionally auspicious."
Ji Jue looked at the An family's Twin Fingers. "What about you two?"
"Doesn't matter to me."
"Same here."
The Twin Fingers were noticeably far more nonchalant. Though they had hurried the whole way, it was mere travel fatigue; a sip of water was all the rest they needed.
When it came to hunting wolves, enduring extreme conditions without sleeping or blinking for days, weeks, or even a month was par for the course.
Besides, their job wasn't charging the front lines. The An family's Projection art was refined to the point where, as long as the target fell within their sensory range, they didn't even need to be physically on site.
The Knights of Homecoming were tasked with protecting the Prosperity, and after roughly familiarizing themselves with the situation, they indicated they were ready to move at any time.
All was prepared; only the east wind was lacking.
The enemy was in Punabantu!
"All right, then we won't wait."
Ji Jue cast one last glance at his phone.
To this moment, there was still no trace of Sister Wen. Knowing her habits, she might have charged straight in and started brawling without caring about anything else.
Besides, since their destination was the same, they would cross paths sooner or later anyway.
When the time came, he could just pin a remnant faction label on her and take her into custody on the spot, couldn't he?
As for how to apologize afterward, errrr... "I'm doing this for your own good, Sister Wen. You wouldn't misunderstand my good intentions, right?"
Right...?
Whether right or not remained up for debate, but Ji Jue didn't ask for much—just so long as she didn't blow his head off with a single punch.
Currently at the outer edge of the Seven Cities' territorial waters, heading for Punabantu at full speed would take four... no, with the storm of the Dragon Bone Fleet, they could arrive at its doorstep within an hour.
Then what was there to hesitate about?
The enemy was right before them. F2+A, select all, initiate team fight!
A quarter of an hour later, the sails of the Dragon Bone Fleet hung high once more. Horns resounded across the sky, calling forth thunderclouds. Limitless lightning flared, and amid the roaring gale, dark clouds enveloped the Prosperity, surging toward Punabantu!
Soaring atop the wave crests, buffeted by head-on gales, the entire Prosperity jolted violently, skimming across the water like a skipped stone.
Within the thunderclouds, spiritus waves cast down either intentionally or casually swept over Ji Jue like radar, seemingly gloating at his expense.
Old bastard, you finally found a chance to mess with me, didn't you!
Ji Jue sighed, offering no reaction.
Letting the raging waves crash in, from start to finish the Prosperity showed not the slightest sign of breaking apart or losing control. The Hand of Non-Offensive rested against the gunwale, ceaselessly channeling reinforcement and metamorphosis.
In fact, as they sped along, strands of spiritus circuits that had "accidentally" slipped free drifted into the sky and slipped into the thunderclouds.
Like little sticky fingers, itching to fish something out.
Let me see!
Then, they were mercilessly blasted to smithereens by lightning!
Look at what?! No looking! Is this yours to look at? Go home and look at your own!
In the end, it took an Ember to understand an Ember; the moment one artisan laid eyes on a peer, they'd already planned out when to attend their funeral and how big of a condolence gift to bring.
Seeing that his petty harassment hadn't worked, Yellowbeard seemed disinclined to bicker with that dog Ji Jue any longer, and the buffeting wind and waves eased considerably.
Only...
The further they moved forward, why was the sky growing darker?
Ji Jue lowered his eyes, glancing at the satellite image on his phone... Out on the sea, the sun shone brightly; across the sweltering afternoon waters, light glinted across cloudless miles.
Yet beyond the domain of the Dragon Bone Fleet, it seemed as though they were stepping into an endless night. In the rapidly dimming, slanting sunlight, a spreading crimson gradually emerged, staining miles of horizon in blood-red hues within moments.
Next, even the sun was about to vanish.
Ahead, heaven and earth plunged into darkness. The wind howling through the pervasive mist seemed to carry the faint, eerie trace of singing.
The entire world had transformed into a demonic realm.
Under the collapse effect brought on by massive spiritus leakage, the thoroughly corrupted forbidden zone seemed enshrouded in eternal, pitch-black darkness, so dense that one could not see their own outstretched hand.
Amid piercing sirens, the Dragon Bone Fleet ground to a sudden halt at the edge of the darkness, staring coldly at the writhing gloom and the deeper world cloaked in thick fog.
Not a single trace of Punabantu could be seen.
"Has it already deteriorated to this extent?"
In the projection, Yellowbeard's expression was grim. Rubbing the hilt of his flamberge, he gave orders without hesitation: "Command the fleet: prepare for battle. All units coordinate to awaken the dragon bones. Prosperity, prepare to fall back and clear the vanguard."
"Release Twilight!" he commanded.
This was no time for hesitation or deliberation. Whether dealing with allies or enemies, how could one seize the initiative without paying a heavy price upfront?
Before fighting, haggle over every penny; after fighting, yield not a single step.
But when it was time to fight, forget about all that bullshit.
Roll up your sleeves and get it done!
In that instant, a magnificent, echoing horn blast sounded once more from within the thunderclouds. Amid rising arcs of lightning, eerie drums resounded through heaven and earth.
Awkward, ancient murmurings merged together like a raspy hymn to deities. Amid frenzied shouts and screams, the horn call grew increasingly shrill and sonorous, rising endlessly toward the firmament as if to reach the ears of heaven!
Until, from the highest point of the sky, a thunderous response echoed back.
Boom!
High in the darkened sky, a spark of fire suddenly ignited.
Reflected in Ji Jue's eyes, it enlarged and grew bigger still, until finally, a colossal meteorite wrapped in boundless flames revealed its ferocious silhouette.
Tyrannical, blinding light.
The night was incinerated. Heaven, sea, and all things in the world were dyed in twilight hues, reflecting the magnificent, blazing light plummeting from the sky.
Ji Jue held his breath instinctively.
His eyes went wide.
Crack—
A crisp shattering sound rang in everyone's ears.
Like an iron hammer smashing a mirror, under the furious impact of the Twilight meteorite, crack after crack materialized out of thin air within the nearly tangible darkness, spreading rampantly across the sky.
The world fractured, and all creation fell apart.
Beyond the breach woven of fractured cracks, a scarlet eye as colossal as the sun and moon slowly opened.
Gazing down upon the dust of the world.
Chapter 491