Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Under the cover of the Order Prisms hovering over the outer wall, all artillery positions were moved forward. And that wasn’t all—the cannons originally meant for the other three border fronts were all being redeployed to the vital Rune Core.

BOOM!

BOOM!

Dawn broke, the eastern sky paling to a fish-belly white.

But before the morning light could spill across the land, it was artillery fire that lit up the earth.

In that instant, over a hundred heavy cannons equipped with Acceleration Rune Arrays fired a simultaneous volley. Their muzzles spat crimson-gold flames as specialized shells tore through the low sky, trailing dazzling tails of fire before slamming into the Undead Legion’s position a kilometer away.

The explosions merged into a single, fiery conflagration. Rotting corpses, Bone Puppets, and wailing Vengeful Spirits were instantly vaporized by the shockwaves.

Even the few towering, pagoda-like Death Knights clad in heavy nether-iron armor could not withstand the dense artillery fire and were forced to retreat one after another on command.

“This is insane!”

Everyone was stunned by the increasingly insane artillery barrage.

“Where did all these extra shells come from?”

It wasn’t just the enemy who was dumbfounded; even many of the reinforcements who had arrived were startled.

This was the direct and devastating consequence of the Olan People’s total defeat yesterday. Just last night, after collecting a massive amount of Rune Essence, the four major military corps had easily produced over twenty Level 7 Shaping Skills. These were then distributed in batches to numerous master craftsmen and conscripted old blacksmiths.

These smoothbore cannons could already be mass-produced using casting methods with clay and iron molds. The quality of the barrel material was guaranteed by the Separation Refining Skill, and the raw materials themselves were sourced from large-scale purchases of various minerals from private mines and exchanges.

Furthermore, the tens of thousands of enemies who died yesterday had also contributed a massive pile of firearms.

That wasn’t the main point. The barrels of many guns with the Enchanted Acceleration Skill were cut out, allowing them to amass a huge number of Level 7 Acceleration Skills.

Even more critically…

Pressured by the situation, the Olan People had deployed their Gate of Bones over two kilometers out, and their overall offensive strategy for the day was to concentrate their forces for a main assault on the vital Rune Core.

“Consider it a welcome gift,” Captain Zhang of the Ghost Assault Team said with a heroic grin.

There was a reason the people of Dongfu City chose to reveal their trump card at this moment. Ghost agents who had advanced to the front lines had already relayed intelligence back to headquarters.

At least ten Teleportation Gates had fully formed at regular intervals behind the Gate of Bones.

Since the distance was so short—only about two and a half to three kilometers—there was no need for a messenger to relay the information.

The confirmation of this intelligence allowed them to go all out.

The die was cast.

Once deployed, a Teleportation Gate was difficult to move; it required a 24-hour cooldown to be repositioned. By then, it would be too late—the battle for the city would be long over.

“They might have armed helicopters and armored vehicles, but we have a growing number of cannons,” Captain Zhang said with a smile.

The shells had another major advantage: they couldn’t be jammed by a Thunder Element Overload Pulse.

To counter potential long-range missile attacks, they had not only stealthily dispatched Ghost agents for sabotage behind enemy lines, but also stationed a large number of top-tier Thunder mages who had mastered the Overload Pulse at the front.

After yesterday’s successful trial, many powerful individuals from the general populace had more or less mastered this Technique.

Besides its immediate and dramatic effect on mechanical and electronic devices, it also caused neural overload in living organisms, essentially short-circuiting the brain and making it impossible to think clearly.

Although it wasn’t a hard-control ability like a Static Field Rune, it was more of a soft-control effect.

But thanks to its ability to effectively suppress Rune Casting and its wide area of effect, it quickly won the favor of many combatants.

…

「Over twenty minutes later.」

In stark contrast to the magnificent momentum on Dongfu City’s side, the morale of the Olan People plummeted after yet another wave of their Undead Legion was annihilated upon stepping into cannon range.

Moreover, the advantage of their concentrated artillery became increasingly obvious. As if by magic, the number of cannons on the front line now seemed to exceed two hundred.

One towering Skeleton Giant even collapsed and died mid-charge after taking ten direct hits.

Failure itself wasn’t shameful.

But as the battle dragged into its third day, seeing the vital Rune Core become an increasingly tough nut to crack and personally witnessing the enemy’s dramatic transformation, the atmosphere grew heavy.

The people of Dongfu City were simply too united. They acted as one body, with one will, showing no signs of breaking.

As for them… “Dawn is here. Where are Mitra and General Caleb’s ground troops?” Matel Lorenz demanded.

Colonel Griffin, standing to the side, fell silent, his expression complicated.

He had personally been working to unite the major factions. Even though there had been previous rifts and bitter disputes, he was willing to compromise his own side’s interests—even take a step back—in the face of a crisis, all to ensure events unfolded for the greater good.

But another army colonel who had arrived to meet them, a forward observer, was cold and dispassionate. He spoke bluntly to the Demon, “The general has decided to provide support for your strategy. He will send a number of elite squads to infiltrate the borders of Dongfu City to tie up the enemy’s main forces.”

“Piss off!”

Matel Lorenz roared, utterly incensed.

‘This explanation made the army’s attitude perfectly clear. They were just using an excuse to reject a frontal assault.’

‘Tie up the enemy’s main forces?’

‘Pure bullshit!’

‘The city’s entire fighting strength is gathering at the vital Rune Core! Even Dongfu’s foremost champion, who has never shown his face before, has appeared in this core sector to personally aid in the defense.’

‘The other sectors are predictably undefended.’

‘The arrow has already left the bow.’

‘The majority of the forces our two consortiums deployed are already committed here; it’s impossible to redeploy them. And now the army is showing its disloyalty.’