e-booksonline Chapter 1087 Countdown
Chapter 1087 Countdown
Above the sea at sunset, thick clouds were tinged with a dark gold by the afterglow of the setting sun.
Two figures hovered above the sea of clouds, looking down at the churning sea below—where a meticulous and brutal cleansing was taking place.
Cana's silver-white divine robes remained motionless in the wind, his eyes reflecting the icy blue light that exploded on the sea surface.
The fleet is launching a strangulation attack in an "anvil" formation.
After the main guns of the four "Sinful Skyfire-class" battleships fired in unison, the ice cloud condensed above the void creature tide and then exploded into countless ice crystal spikes that fell down.
The storm from the cruiser fleet followed closely behind, with beams of lightning injecting into the ice clouds to form an interwoven electric grid that vaporized the purplish-black deformed monsters in swathes.
Steam rising from the sea surface, a mixture of burnt and putrid vapors, was kept out by the energy shields erected by the frigates.
"The fleet's coordination efficiency has exceeded expectations." Cana's voice was as calm as a deep pool. "With the current firepower density, it is sufficient to establish a mobile blocking belt on the ocean."
When the fleet was first built, Kana was worried that these people would not be used well.
It now appears that, with the help of data, these people are using these new things with ease.
Popper stood half a step behind him, the faint light of the spatial authority flowing around him.
Popper's gaze, however, fell on something further away—a columnar device on the sea surface that was emitting a bright green light.
“Attracting nodes is the key.” She pointed to the device. “Without it, the void creatures within a 35-kilometer radius would gather in the designated area, and even the strongest firepower of the fleet would be diluted by the vast ocean.”
Kana nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the star-patterned alloy surging at the node's core. "What is the maximum attraction range now?"
“Thirty-five kilometers, this is the limit of the seventeenth iteration of the ‘Anchor-I’.”
Bobo projected a light screen, on which flowed complex spatial parameter curves.
"Calculations have shown that the theoretical limit on land can reach 100 kilometers. But the marine environment is different—water attenuates wave transmission, and the distribution of void fissures in the deep sea is also sparser."
"We are developing a 'tidal anchor' specifically for the ocean, which uses ocean current resonance to amplify the signal range."
The light curtain switches, displaying three different node design diagrams.
A type of structure resembling a deep-sea lighthouse, with its bottom anchor chain reaching directly to the seabed.
It is a flat, disc-shaped object that can float at different water depths.
The last type is a living structure—using a domesticated giant marine creature as a carrier, implanting the node core into its body, making it a moving attraction source.
"The maximum range of the ocean version will not exceed three times that of the land version."
Popper added, "This means we need more nodes, more fleets, and more troops stationed there."
"But the good news is that the main forms of marine void creatures are relatively fixed—of the dozen or so variants observed so far, 60% are aberrations formed by marine organism skeletons, and their attack patterns are easier to target."
Kana remained silent for a moment.
Below the clouds, another salvo began, the interplay of ice and lightning turning a large area of the sea into a blue-white death zone.
The purplish-black monsters roared, shattered, and dissipated in the energy storm, but further away, new grotesque outlines continued to emerge from the pale purple waters of death.
“That’s enough,” Kana finally said. “We weren’t in this war to win.”
“By targeting each node individually and intercepting each attack, we can compress a large-scale intrusion into a controllable ‘line’ – this is the right way to buy time.”
Popper retracted the light screen. "Speaking of time... has the specific date for the intrusion been determined?"
"Less than four years."
Cana's answer caused the surrounding clouds to pause slightly.
"The first main rift will be torn open in the 'Silent Bay' on the northwest coast of the Taril Continent, followed by countless rifts opening up, and the Void Gate will open directly. The 'Devouring Package' phase has officially begun."
Popper's brow furrowed deeply, and the aura of his spatial authority flickered violently. "Four years... seven months ahead of schedule."
"The perception of time in the void is inherently different from that in the material world."
Kana turned and looked west—the direction of the City of the Ring Tower, where the light of the divine kingdom on earth could be clearly seen in the eyes of the gods even from thousands of miles away.
"Whether it's earlier or later, what's meant to happen will happen. At least now we have a definite timetable, and we no longer have to let everyone live in the shadow of 'maybe tomorrow is the end of the world'."
The two took one last look at the battlefield below.
The fleet has completed its fifth salvo, and the purplish-black tide on the sea surface has thinned considerably.
Edmund Anchor is using the "All-Around Eye" flagship to switch formations in preparation for a deep sweep.
“Let’s go back,” Kana said.
The space ripples.
The figures of the two deities blurred and disappeared like reflections in water, leaving only the clouds to continue flowing slowly in the sunset.
The city surrounding the tower, in the western district.
Kana appeared at the observatory at the top of the Tower of Trials.
Looking down from here, the expansion of the divine kingdom on earth is nothing short of miraculous—centered on the Tower of Trials, silvery-white light spreads outwards like a living thing, completely enveloping the South City and the North City.
On the edge of the East District, the border of the divine kingdom is advancing at a visible speed. Wherever it passes, the outlines of buildings are coated with a faint glow, and fine, orderly runes appear on the street surface.
"In two more months, Dongcheng will also be incorporated into the divine kingdom."
Kana muttered to himself, "By then, the ring-shaped defensive zone centered on the Tower of Trials will have taken initial shape."
This is his biggest trump card.
Datafication.
His main task now is to do his best to assist in the expansion of the divine kingdom, so that it can encompass a wider area.
The larger the scope, the more people and resources can be protected.
This will also enable the world to recover more quickly afterward.
As for the fact that the divine kingdom was breached by void creatures, Kana never thought of it; for decades, he had been working towards this goal.
The worst-case scenario is that they will reach the borders of the divine kingdom, where they can only put up a final resistance.
It can't get any worse.
The outcome of surviving the apocalypse is already a foregone conclusion.
His title of savior is no joke.
But clearly, this is not the result that Canna wanted after spending so many years and working so hard.
His hope was to at least preserve the continent of Lebia, and ideally, to preserve a portion of the continent of Tete.
The gaze penetrates the building, revealing the true scene inside the divine kingdom.
Data-driven rule networks spread like a nervous system across every inch of space.
This is the pervasive spread of rules; in this region, data-driven rules have become the foundation.
Here, the attribute panels of all Night's Watch members are automatically projected in the corner of the field of vision, and even ordinary people can invoke basic production skills with simple commands. It has completely entered a gamified world.
It was this system that caused the area of Xicheng District to expand tenfold within a year.
The diameter has expanded from the initial one kilometer to the current ten kilometers.
This is even with the Night Watchers' city planning department deliberately suppressing the expansion speed.
If left unchecked and allowed to fully unleash its data-driven construction capabilities, the entire city could be covered within three months of the eastern plains of Leviathan.
But that would be pointless.
Cities need orderly and sustainable expansion, with supporting plans for water supply, energy, transportation, and residential areas, and also need to leave enough buffer zones for the deployment of defensive fortifications.
Cana's gaze swept across the streets of the West End.
Even though it was already dusk, the main road was still teeming with people.
People dressed in all sorts of colorful clothes walked along the avenue that had been three times wider—there were Night Watch logistics officers hurrying along with rune backpacks, noble scions wearing family crests touring the new city under the protection of guards, and caravans from the continent of Anveen unloading alchemical wagons laden with supplies.
You could even see several dwarf engineers standing on the street, arguing heatedly about the newly laid magic pipeline route diagram.
Further away, in the newly built "Cross-Boundary Teleportation Plaza," a huge spatial gate flashes once every ten minutes.
Each flash signifies the arrival of yet another group of immigrants from all over the world.
Humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings...
People of different races walked out of the portal with their luggage, their faces a mixture of bewilderment at leaving their homes and trepidation about their new lives.
The officials in the Night's Watch Resettlement Department were already familiar with the procedures.
Holding whiteboards, they guided immigrants to the registration office in a gentle but effective tone, and then assigned them to temporary housing areas or directly to their jobs based on their skills.
On the bulletin board at the edge of the square, the headline of the latest issue of the World Observer is prominently displayed on the front page.
"Weekly immigration exceeds one million, the carrying capacity of the city surrounding the tower is put to the test," the subheading reads in smaller font: "The Night Watchmen announce that they have launched the 'Hive' underground city expansion plan."
These are all preparations for the worst-case scenario.
For data analysis, for the Night's Watch, the more lives saved, the greater the victory.
Life comes first, then the land.
Kana's gaze lingered on a certain spot for a moment.
There stood a family of four—a human couple with two children—standing blankly at the edge of the square.
The husband clutched a worn-out leather suitcase tightly, the wife held their young daughter in her arms, and their slightly older son looked up curiously at the towering spire of the Tower of Trials.
A night watch volunteer walked over, handed the child a piece of honey wrapped in paper, then knelt down and used simple gestures and common language vocabulary to explain to them where to go.
A slight smile appeared on Kana's lips.
These earliest immigrants were mostly from the most powerful or wealthiest classes in their respective countries.
After learning of the doomsday prophecy, they used money, connections, and even betrayed the interests of their homeland to be the first to obtain the "tickets" to the city of the Ring Tower.
The Night's Watch neither encourages nor discourages this behavior—strategically, the resources, technology, and population these people bring are exactly what the Kingdom of God needs for its construction.
From a moral standpoint, it is meaningless to criticize an individual's survival instinct in the face of an inevitable destruction.
Moreover, the fact that these "smart people" were the first to leave has had a demonstrative effect on ordinary people in various countries.
While the king and nobles were still arguing in the Hall of the Universe about "abandoning their homeland," their people had already voted with their feet and begun to migrate spontaneously to the Leviathan continent.
This indirectly reduced the pressure of subsequent mandatory evacuations.
"Kana".
A cool, clear female voice came from behind.
Kana looked away and turned to see Lelia walking up the steps of the observatory.
The Abyss General was dressed in a light black training uniform, his long red hair flying in the evening breeze, and his forehead still bearing traces of sweat.
They had obviously just come from the training ground.
"Shouldn't you be overseeing the 'Willpower Barrier' squad's combat training right now?" Kana asked. "What happened?"
Leilia walked to his side, also looking down at the city lights gradually coming on.
"The exercise went smoothly. The third batch of 3,000 soldiers has completed basic mental resilience training and is ready to be deployed to the front line."
She paused for a moment, then said, "I came to see you about the arrangements for the Abyss."
"The Abyss?" Kana raised an eyebrow slightly. "What's happened over there now?"
"It's not a sudden change, but a necessary strategic adjustment."
Lelia pulled up a blood-red tactical map projection—a detailed partial view of the 1121st floor of the Abyss.
The map is marked with the symbol "Blood Pit Fortress" in the center, surrounded by constantly changing battle lines.
The projection zooms in to show the internal structure of the fortress:
There were barracks, forging workshops, alchemy laboratories, and even a small temple of order.
Warriors dressed in Night's Watch uniforms patrolled the city walls, golems carried supplies, and several groups of Abyss mercenaries dressed in different faction uniforms traded loot in the square.
"We were able to stand firm on the battlefield because of two things."
Lelia pointed to several key points in the projection, "First, the top-tier equipment and logistical supplies provided by the Night Watchers—from enchanted armor to healing potions, from spatial storage devices to remote communication runes—are of a quality far superior to those produced in the Abyss itself."
"Second, the rotation system—every three months, a new batch of elite Night's Watch personnel arrives through a portal to replace the veterans who are on the verge of mental collapse, thus maintaining the combat effectiveness of the force."
Her fingers traced the supply line, the band of light that stretched from behind the fortress into the void.
"But now, with the Void Apocalypse approaching, we can no longer sustain this scale of cross-world supply."
"The City of the Tower needs every resource to build the divine kingdom, train the army, and produce specialized equipment to fight the void. Even after the apocalypse ends, it will take us at least ten years to rebuild the world."
Yes, they are already preparing for post-apocalyptic reconstruction.
If you prepare for the worst-case scenario, things will be much easier when the outcome is better.
In the worst-case scenario, it would take them ten years to restore the world to its most basic state and repair some of the damage.
This is just the most basic thing.
But that also meant that the Night's Watch had the resources to do other things, including restoring the forces of the Abyss.
After all, the abyss can produce a lot of materials and is also a good training ground.
Kana understood her meaning. "You want to withdraw completely from the Abyss?" (End of Chapter)