The next day.
Eighty-one energy fortresses had already been erected across the Hanyuan permafrost plains.
Overnight, the military academy's construction crew had completed exactly eighty-one of these structures.
These energy fortresses continuously provided power to the forward turrets and energy shields.
Unfortunately, while the progress on the siege facilities was swift, the academy's analysis of the Hanyuan moat remained stalled.
Inside the meeting room.
Xia Qiming addressed the academy professor responsible for the moat investigation.
"Professor Liu, is there no other way for the academy? Without the data on the moat, I can't formulate the next phase of the operation.
Now that most of Daxia's primary combat forces are gathered here, if we don't finish clearing Hanyuan soon, it will significantly impact Daxia's plans for other dungeons."
Professor Liu sighed. "Commander Xia, I want to clear Hanyuan as much as you do. But that strange water in the moat completely blocks all our detection methods.
To locate the nodes on the riverbed, we would have to go deep into the water. But you know the situation with that river—our instruments are attacked the moment they touch the water."
Xia Qiming was equally helpless. Since the academy had no solution, he could only rely on Chen Xu to drain the moat directly, dry it out, and then destroy the nodes.
"Professor Liu, in that case, I'll immediately arrange for someone to drain the moat. However, your research team must be ready. As soon as the water is gone, you must locate the nodes instantly."
After Xia Qiming finished, Professor Liu looked puzzled.
"Commander Xia, forgive my bluntness, but the strange microorganisms in that water are extremely aggressive and possess significant destructive power. Even if you get a custom pump from the Heavenly Crafts Academy, I'm afraid it won't hold up."
"Professor Liu, you needn't worry about that. I have my ways."
"Very well." Seeing Xia Qiming's confidence, Professor Liu said no more. "I'll go gather the research team immediately."
After Professor Liu left the room, Xia Qiming pulled out his smart terminal and called Chen Xu.
"Hello, Teacher Xia."
"The plan remains the same. Drain that moat for me."
"OK. Do we need to wait for our people to evacuate? I'm worried that once Kunpeng and the others start devouring the water, it might trigger a counterattack from Hanyuan. I'm not afraid, but there are still many personnel at the military academy's temporary base. I might not be able to look after them."
"It's fine, just go for it. That temporary base wasn't built for nothing. Hanyuan's walls have plenty of cannons, right? It's only polite to return the favor. Let them taste Daxia's mana cannons as well."
After hanging up, Chen Xu stepped out of the temporary base and walked to the frontmost wall.
"Mythic Chen."
The guards on the wall saluted in unison when they saw him.
"Hello. I have a mission here. Carry on with your work and don't mind me."
"We have already received Commander Xia's orders. We will assist you in completing the special mission."
"Mhm, just prioritize your own safety."
With that, Chen Xu summoned Kunpeng and its subordinates, placing them on the land beside the moat.
Even though the Bone Kuns' defense should be enough to withstand the strange microorganisms in the water, Chen Xu placed them on the bank just to be safe.
"Kunpeng, take your little brothers and suck this river dry. There's energy from a mythic-tier Evil Spirit of Ice in here. It's delicious."
"Delicious?!"
Hearing Chen Xu's words, Kunpeng looked incredibly excited.
It had already finished off the Sea God altar on the ocean floor. Having grown accustomed to high-tier energy, Kunpeng's palate had become very picky. Hearing that there was something tasty again, it immediately perked up.
Its tail curved upward before slamming down hard, propelling it into the air. Kunpeng dived headfirst into the water, opened its massive maw, and began a whirlwind suction.
"Tasty! Tasty!"
Even if the mythic-tier energy wasn't as pure as that of the Sea God altar, it was still a rare delicacy. It allowed Kunpeng to rediscover the joy of fine dining after a long time, making it even more excited.
Kunpeng's tail swayed from side to side as blue ripples emanated from its body. Then, a pillar of blue light shot up from Kunpeng, transforming into an external suit of armor that carried it into the sky.
"It even developed the ability to fly!"
Chen Xu hadn't expected Kunpeng's development of the Sea God's power to reach this level. It seemed the one-on-one tutoring from the Whispering Tree had been very effective.
Suddenly, several laser beams shot from the distant walls, striking Kunpeng.
"Boom!"
The lasers exploded into thick black smoke, but they failed to breach Kunpeng's Sea God armor.
Although Kunpeng wasn't hurt, it was very angry. Someone was actually interrupting its meal.
The blue light on Kunpeng's body rippled again. A blue phantom of Kunpeng condensed above Hanyuan's walls. Then, the phantom charged straight at the fortifications, crashing into them like a tsunami. The violent impact instantly tore a massive gap in the wall.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Daxia's side coordinated with Kunpeng and launched a counterattack. Over a hundred mana cannons fired simultaneously, pounding the Hanyuan walls.
Seeing that its attack was successful and that allies were providing support, Kunpeng looked away and returned to its meal. With the enhancement of the Sea God's power, Kunpeng spun the river water into a vortex, continuously sucking it into its mouth.
As for the remaining Bone Kuns, seeing their boss in such high spirits and feasting away, they didn't dare compete for food. Since they were on land rather than in the water, they couldn't move anyway, so they just stared at each other blankly.
In the rear, seeing that Hanyuan's turrets couldn't pierce Kunpeng's armor, Chen Xu stopped worrying and let Kunpeng do its thing.
He walked over to a mana cannon, taking over for the guard who was originally operating it.
Even though Chen Xu was a Lord of the Undead specialized in summoning, guns and cannons were a man's eternal romance.
He asked the guard if he could fire a few rounds for fun. After getting permission, Chen Xu personally operated the mana cannon, pouring fire onto the Hanyuan walls.
The other mana cannons fired one by one. Since each cannon had a limited supply of energy crystals, they had to fire in a rhythmic, alternating fashion to maintain fire coverage.
Chen Xu, however, pulled a mountain of energy crystals from the pile of spoils in the Undead Kingdom. He even summoned two ghosts specifically to handle the crystal swapping.
Thus, Chen Xu held the firing button down firmly, unleashing a relentless barrage of mana shells. Amidst the storm of artillery, a bridge of fire formed, stretching from the Hanyuan walls to the walls of the Daxia temporary base.
After a long time, Chen Xu let out a breath.
"Woohoo, that felt great!"
There were still quite a few energy crystals left, but the barrel of this mana cannon had already overheated and could no longer fire. Only then did Chen Xu step away and return the position to the guard.
Coincidentally, Kunpeng was also nearing the end. The moat's water level had dropped rapidly, leaving only a tiny bit behind.
Many patterns were revealed on both sides of the riverbed, and the academy's research team had already moved in to study them.
"Professor Liu, do you need help?"
Chen Xu also walked to the edge of the moat.
"Haha, thank you for the kind offer, Mythic Chen. But you've already cleared this strange water. If we left the job of breaking the nodes to you as well, our academy wouldn't be able to give Commander Xia a proper account.
It wouldn't be good if he said I was slacking off and cut my research budget for next year."
......
Before long, the nodes in the moat were unsealed one by one, and the other half of the Evil Spirit of Ice was freed. But before it could even breathe a single breath of free air, Kunpeng swallowed it in one gulp.
With that, both the permafrost of Hanyuan's outermost ring and its moat had been completely cleared.
Rate on N.U.
