181 Open Fire! (1/2)
As the stronghold experienced a renewed vigor in its fighting spirit, the fighters charged forward in a full-fledged counter assault. The gigantic bat suspended in the hurricane in the distance narrowed its eyes. It split its gory mouth wide open and blasted out an ultrasonic wave.
The ultrasonic wave was piercing, and strong winds rose where it passed. Big-bearded commander-in-charge and the two Foundation Establishment realm cultivators shuddered, and blood spilled from their lips.
At the same time, the two fleeing Foundation Establishment realm beasts whirled around and used the opportunity to strike back. There was no hesitation in their movements. It was clear that as Big Beard was conspiring against them, they were also scheming against the stronghold. The timing of their move was impeccable, and their sudden strike placed Big Beard and the two Foundation Establishment realm cultivators in immediate danger.
”Damn it! Why hasn't help arrived?” Chen Yutong's face darkened, and his fists tightened fiercely. He was helpless and at his wits' end. Despite being at the peak of the True Breath realm, the chasm between him and the Foundation Establishment realm was too great. There was little assistance he could provide.
Wang Baole's face turned heavy as well. The warriors around them fell into a gloomy silence. The wave of surprised cheer had just risen moments earlier, but with the sudden change in the tides of battle, the situation became unpredictable. Everyone was fraught with worry and tension.
The key lies in that giant bat! An icy light shone from Wang Baole's eyes. It had been clear from the start that the bat was the commanding general of the army of beasts. It had only struck twice; the first attack wiped out the array formation and a great number of the Fire God Cannons, tilting the scales in their favor, and the second assailed the Foundation Establishment realm cultivators, sending a heavy blow to the stronghold' earlier raised morale!
Unless we kill the giant bat… Fury rose within Wang Baole. He knew that only by destroying the bat could they affect the outcome of the battle. Otherwise, unless help arrived soon, defeat was inevitable.
At the thought of that, a vicious look appeared on his face. He knew that his cultivation level was inadequate. The only thing he could rely on… was the crippled Fire God Cannon.
We've not reached the end of the line yet… there's still one last option… Wang Baole eyed the Fire God Cannon, then turned his eyes towards the distant bat. He gritted his teeth, madness bright in his eyes.
Since it's come to this, let's give it a shot!
”Senior Brother Chen, help me fight for time. I need five minutes. I'm going to modify the Fire God Cannon!” Wang Baole said in haste. His right hand rose and pressed onto the Fire God Cannon once again.
Upon hearing that, Chen Yutong's pupils contracted. He stared at Wang Baole. Wang Baole's earlier modifications of the inscriptions had revealed his proficiency in Dharmic Armaments. His mastery was impressive; though not as accomplished as Chen Yutong himself in some areas, in others, Wang Baole had clearly surpassed him.
Chen Yutong didn't comment further. He stepped back to guard Wang Baole. There were many Dharmic Armament cultivators from the four Dao Colleges who had arrived. They heard Chen Yutong's instructions and were shocked at what Wang Baole was planning to do, and a few had doubts in their minds. If the situation had been different, they would have voiced their protests. However, in such a time of crisis, there was no time for talk. After all, it was a Fire God Cannon under Wang Baole's charge—and it had held strong and remained the last one standing.
They didn't speak further and instead, chose to spread around and stand guard.
The warriors followed suit. Behind the layers of defense, standing in the middle of it all, Wang Baole raised his right hand—eyes bright with a hint of madness—and pulled out vast quantities of materials!
The materials were but a distraction; his real target was amidst the materials, concealed and inconspicuous, the Armament Sand!
Wang Baole's refinement of Armament Sand had fallen in frequency after he had refined his scabbard to the third grade. However, his occasional refinements led to the accumulation of thousands of grains of Armament Sand.
He was left with no other choice. More than two-thirds of the Fire God Cannon inscriptions had been fragmented; even if he were to continue with their modifications, the cannon would break down after the next few firings.
In addition, the Fire God Cannon was powerful, but with its range, it could not reach the giant bat. The only option that remained for Wang Baole was… to bet on the Armament Sand!
”Please, let me hit the jackpot, just this once!” Wang Baole uttered a silent prayer. His breathing quickened as he melded the materials with the Fire God Cannon, and focused his concentration on controlling the Armament Sand and melding it with the cannon.
That was his first time using the Armament Sand to reform a composite Numinous Treasure. He focused all his energies on his efforts nervously, slowly separating the Armament Sand into several hundred portions and pouring them into the Spirit Kernel inscriptions on every Numinous Treasure—effecting changes on all Numinous Treasure inscriptions that were beyond his control.
Wang Baole had no idea what would come out of the changes. The Armament Sand melded with the inscriptions before his eyes, and the inscriptions glimmered; some fragmented parts melded together with one another, forming entirely new inscriptions.
What was even more astonishing was the appearance of what had originally been concealed on the Spirit Kernel—inscriptions that had been hidden from Wang Baole's eyes. Wang Baole was staggered by the hidden inscriptions' appearance.
He had heard someone mention on the Spirit Intranet before that some extremely powerful Dharmic Artifacts had hidden inscriptions that were like an encrypted code of sorts. No one except the original creator could see or replicate them.
The hidden inscriptions appeared before Wang Baole then, large parts of them fragmented. A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind, and realization struck him. The reason why the inscriptions he had modified earlier couldn't be sustained was that he only modified the inscriptions visible to him. The concealed inscriptions were hidden from him, and he couldn't modify them, which was why the repairs were incomplete!
The Armament Sand served as a cipher key that unlocked the inside of the Fire God Cannon, unveiled the hidden inscriptions, decrypted their encryption, and unleashed their full potential!
The secrets within the Fire God Cannon revealed themselves before his keen eyes. The sudden descent of good luck brought clarity to his mind, and the gears in his head turned more quickly. He had a stronger grasp of the inner workings of the Fire God Cannon, deepening his understanding of the inscriptions within.
There was no time to reflect over his discoveries. He let them sink in as the fusion of the Armament Sand completed. He couldn't discern the effects immediately as the Fire God Cannon was too complex. In the end, he gritted his teeth and aimed the cannon at the giant bat. He fired the cannon. The shot was a test of the effect of the fusion in actual battle.