21: Chapter 21 The Netherworld Cannon, One Shot, Ten Thousand

"Huummm—!"

A low, thrumming energy vibration seemed to shake directly within the marrow of everyone's bones. On the newly expanded defensive platform at the periphery of Zone B7, three floors underground in the Fortress, three ferocious metal constructs were emanating a heart-palpitating aura.

They were three newly assembled [Nether Talisman Turrets].

The emplacement bases were thick and heavy, covered in twisted netherworld runes. Their long, thick barrels pointed diagonally upward like the fangs of a giant beast. Around the cannon bodies, visible black energy swirled like a vortex. The air was thick with a dense, Yin-cold aura, dropping the temperature by several degrees.

Zhang Hao stood guard around the artillery with a team of elite subordinates, his eyes holding both reverence and poorly concealed excitement. Su Qingyu was coordinating the Yin Soldiers, transporting crates of shimmering, ghostly "ammunition"—bundles of nether talismans—to the specially designed energy slots beside the emplacement bases.

Everyone in the Fortress knew the master, Lin Chen, had acquired a great weapon of destruction!

Qin Weiwei "happened" to be passing by this newly designated military restricted zone. She held a tray of freshly roasted jerky, claiming she had brought some food for the hardworking guards. Zhang Hao glanced at her but didn't stop her. The master's "little sister" had been quite "sensible" lately.

Her gaze was immediately drawn to the three Nether Talisman Turrets. Their ferocious appearance and the soul-shivering energy fluctuations they emitted all proclaimed their terrifying power.

Just then, Lin Chen walked over, escorted by a Yin Soldier Chiliarch.

"Big brother!" Qin Weiwei immediately put on a sweet smile and went to meet him, handing the jerky to a nearby guard. "I saw everyone working hard, so I specially made some snacks."

Lin Chen nodded, his eyes sweeping over the three artillery emplacements. He spoke as if casually to Zhang Hao and Su Qingyu beside him, but his voice was loud enough for the nearby Qin Weiwei to hear clearly:

"Are the Nether Talisman Turrets fully charged?"

"Reporting, Master! All three emplacements are pre-charged with the nether talismans required for three shots each. A total of ninety thousand nether talismans are already in position!" Zhang Hao reported loudly, his tone filled with pride.

Ninety thousand nether talismans! Qin Weiwei's heart gave a violent lurch! Just for a pre-charge, they consumed ninety thousand nether talismans?! This was practically burning money!

Lin Chen walked up to one of the emplacements and reached out to stroke the cold, rune-covered barrel.

"Their power still needs to be tested in practice," he said lightly. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned to look at Qin Weiwei and beckoned. "Weiwei, you haven't seen the power of these emplacements yet, have you? Come over here. Stand closer for a better view."

Qin Weiwei was ecstatic inside, but on her face, she showed just the right amount of timidity and curiosity. "Big brother, I... I'm a little scared."

"What's there to be scared of? Your big brother is here," Lin Chen said in a "gentle" tone.

Only then did Qin Weiwei "summon her courage" and walk to a position slightly behind Lin Chen, adopting the posture of a little sister relying on her elder brother.

Lin Chen's gaze turned to the distance outside the Fortress, toward that ruined city shrouded in eerie fog. He locked onto a roughly twenty-story-tall, long-abandoned bank building.

"Target, that building," he issued the command.

The Yin Soldier Centurion controlling the artillery immediately sprang into action. The emplacement base emitted a low sound of mechanical rotation as the long, thick barrel slowly moved, precisely aiming at the distant skyscraper.

The netherworld runes on the cannon body lit up one by one, growing increasingly dazzling. At the muzzle, heart-stopping black energy began to converge, distorting the surrounding air!

The humming grew louder and louder, like the whisper of Death itself!

Qin Weiwei held her breath, her eyes fixed on the cannon muzzle. She could feel the destructive power contained within that energy!

"Fire," Lin Chen calmly uttered the two words.

The next second!

BOOM!!!!

It wasn't an ear-shattering explosion, but a deeper, more profound roar, as if space itself were being torn apart!

A black energy beam, thick as a bucket and condensed to an extreme, shot forth like a Nether God's spear tearing through the heavens. Moving at a speed beyond visual capture, it instantly crossed several kilometers and struck the mid-to-upper section of the bank building with pinpoint accuracy!

There was no fire, no smoke or dust (at first).

Where the black beam struck, the reinforced concrete structure silently annihilated and vanished like ice and snow under the sun! It left behind a perfectly smooth, impossibly circular hole over fifteen meters in diameter!

Immediately after, the unsupported upper floors, with a sickening screech of twisting steel, began to tilt and slide irresistibly along that smooth cut!

KABOOOM—!!!

The true thunderous roar came only now—the terrifying cacophony of hundreds of thousands of tons of building debris crashing to the ground! A cloud of dust billowed into the sky like a gray mushroom cloud!

The might of a single shot was actually this terrifying! It had cleanly severed a skyscraper!

All the survivors watching from the Fortress walls were stunned. After a moment of dead silence, earth-shaking cheers erupted! With such a divine weapon protecting them, what did they have to fear?

Zhang Hao's face flushed red with excitement as he waved his fist. "Hahaha! Did you see that?! This is the power of our Fortress! Whoever comes will die!"

Su Qingyu also let out a long sigh of relief. This power was indeed worthy of that astonishing consumption.

As for Qin Weiwei, standing behind Lin Chen, beneath the shock and "admiration" on her face lay a nearly overflowing torrent of wild joy and icy calculation!

She had seen the power. It was indeed world-shattering!

But she had also "heard"—a single shot consumed ten thousand nether talismans! The pre-charge for three emplacements cost ninety thousand! And Lin Chen had specifically told her this was just the "pre-charge"!

What did this mean? It meant this great weapon of destruction had an extremely terrifying consumption rate. The Fortress's nether talisman reserves were definitely not infinite! Lin Chen was demonstrating his power to her, or rather, through her, to the Thousand Faces Cult. But he was also exposing his hand—he relied on this massively consumptive weapon and couldn't afford a war of attrition!

"Big brother, this... this is too amazing!" Qin Weiwei covered her mouth, her voice "trembling" with "excitement." "With this, we'll never have to be afraid of the bad guys again!"

Lin Chen smiled slightly and patted the cold base of the artillery emplacement, his words carrying a hidden meaning. "Yes, let's hope those 'bad guys' don't force me to exhaust my entire family fortune."

This statement, like a final confirmation, settled Qin Weiwei's heart completely!

Late that night, Qin Weiwei couldn't wait to activate the shadow recording worm again. She meticulously recorded the shocking power of the Nether Talisman Turrets, but she placed particular emphasis on their "ten thousand nether talismans per shot" terrifying consumption and Lin Chen's statement about "not wanting to exhaust his family fortune." In her intelligence report, she vehemently argued: the Fortress was extremely dependent on this consumable ultimate weapon; its nether talisman reserves were its Achilles' heel. She suggested that during the main assault, they should adopt attrition tactics to deplete its nether talismans. Once its resources dried up, the Fortress would surely fall!

She could already envision it: the Thousand Faces Cult's army attacking wave after wave, the Fortress's nether talismans being rapidly consumed with each thunderous shot, the artillery emplacements finally falling silent, and Lin Chen perishing in despair.

After sending out the intelligence, Qin Weiwei was immensely pleased with herself.

What she didn't know was that the actual consumption for a single shot from those three Nether Talisman Turrets wasn't ten thousand nether talismans, but one hundred. The extra nine thousand nine hundred was merely an energy and light effect simulated by Lin Chen using nether talismans, a performance staged specifically for her benefit.

And she had no idea that this top-secret intelligence she sent out about the "Fortress's resource Achilles' heel" would become the death warrant... that would annihilate the main force of the Thousand Faces Cult.