Chapter 289 - 156: The 97-Kilometer-Long No. 7 Defense Line

Chapter 289: Chapter 156: The 97-Kilometer-Long No. 7 Defense Line

The City Wall beneath them was a Level 6 City Wall, after all.

Even the No. 7 Defense Line—a 97-kilometer-long bulwark made entirely of Level 6 City Walls—could fall. What could those other factions possibly use to defend anything?

"In recent years, more and more Nodes have failed. The Eternal Night Hall has to build more and more defense lines. We’re already... struggling to hold them all."

The middle-aged man had intended to encourage the young Architect and lift his spirits. But as he spoke, he grew weary himself. He leaned against a crenelation, murmuring as he gazed out at the sea.

He knew more of the story.

He knew that the Eternal Night Continent... might truly not survive this Eternal Night.

...

The Eternal Night Continent.

It was an entire continent, one whole, unbroken landmass.

As for what it actually looked like...

He wasn’t sure.

He knew it wasn’t a perfect square surrounded by the sea, though. At the center of the Eternal Night Continent was a Grand Array—or so he called it, anyway. He had no idea what it truly was; that kind of classified information was far beyond his clearance.

All he knew was this:

This Grand Array protected the Eternal Night Continent.

It kept the continent safe from the invasion of Ghost Objects from the sea.

But in recent years...

More and more of the Grand Array’s Nodes had begun to fail. This meant that the Ghost Objects from the sea could make landfall through these failed Nodes. The Eternal Night Hall was thus responsible for building Defense Lines at these locations, walling off the Ghost Objects.

If a Defense Line were to fall...

It meant...

The continent’s defenders would need to rapidly construct a new Defense Line behind the breach. This new line would have to be several times longer than the original, connecting the two adjacent Nodes.

For example—

The No. 7 Defense Line, where they stood, was 97 kilometers long and composed entirely of Level 6 City Walls.

If it were to fall...

The Eternal Night Hall would have to build a new, concave-shaped defense line hundreds of kilometers long behind it, walling off the breached territory.

The cost would be astronomical.

Several front-line defenses had already been breached. Once the number of fallen lines reached a certain point, the Eternal Night Hall would no longer have the resources to build new ones.

And what would await the Eternal Night Continent then was...

An unending Ghost Tide, pouring through the gap into the continent’s interior. The other defense lines would become useless.

It was like a wooden bucket.

Losing even a single stave would render it useless.

"Oh, right—"

The young man suddenly remembered something. "What about the Jiangbei Defense Line?" he asked softly. "Hasn’t *that one* been gone for a long time? Have they sent reinforcements to that line?"

"No."

The middle-aged man shook his head. "The aura *that one* left behind is enough to deter the Ghost Objects there for several years. It will only dissipate after about four years."

"It won’t fall before then."

"There were two reasons we sent *that one* to stand guard alone. First, his lifespan was running out. By having him guard the Jiangbei Defense Line by himself, he could receive all the Celestial Dao Blessings and use them to extend his life."

"Second, the Ghost Objects at the Jiangbei Sea Bottom aren’t particularly vicious. *That one* was more than enough to handle them alone."

"They say..."

"The Eternal Night Hall plans to wait four years. If *that one* hasn’t returned by then, they’ll send people to Jiangbei to build a new Jiangbei Defense Line and plug the gap."

"But—"

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment before sighing. "If it weren’t for the fact that the moment the Eternal Night Continent is conquered, all surviving humans would be instantly stripped of their status as a Race and lose all their powers..."

"...the Eternal Night Hall would have long since taken all its resources to build a single, ultra-secure city for themselves. They wouldn’t give a damn about the rest of the Eternal Night Continent. Nobody would care if we lived or died."

"Heh."

The young man suddenly laughed. "We defend the lines, and the Celestial Dao deems us meritorious, granting us blessings. But if we fail, the Celestial Dao will instantly revoke our status as a Race and recognize the Ghost Race instead."

"What kind of Celestial Dao is that?"

"It’s nothing but a turncoat, isn’t it?"

"..."

The middle-aged man’s mouth twitched. He glanced up at the overcast sky, half-expecting a bolt of lightning to strike the young man down. After a long moment, he said grimly, "The Celestial Dao isn’t like humans. It has no self-awareness."

"The Celestial Dao simply senses that the Eternal Night Continent is being invaded and instinctively protects it. They say the core Grand Array is one of its methods. For every piece of territory that is lost to invasion, the Celestial Dao loses some of its power, and more gaps appear."

"This continues until the Human Race is defeated."

"At that point, the Celestial Dao of the Eternal Night Continent will perish along with them."

"Afterward, a new Celestial Dao will be born. This new Celestial Dao will recognize the Ghost Race’s status, and that is what the Ghost Objects are after."

"So it’s not a turncoat."

"The Celestial Dao of the Eternal Night Continent will be with us until the very last piece of land is lost. It will fight and die alongside the Human Race."

Just then—

A soldier in full Armor jogged up to them and reported in a low voice, "Celestial Master, Fengtian Tower, the largest faction on the Guandong Plain, is deserted. They’ve all fled. When we arrived, only a few Outer Disciples were left behind. We don’t know where the others went."

"Impressive."

The young man let out a laugh that was more anger than humor. "Fengtian Tower has a legacy stretching back years, they’ve built so much... and they just up and abandon it all?"

"Just to get out of paying a few Ghost Stones?"

"No."

The middle-aged man pondered this for a moment, then a grin spread across his face. "This means they must have caught wind of something. If I’m not mistaken, the Eternal Night Hall must have sent someone. As the first faction to lead the charge in refusing to hand over their Ghost Stones, Fengtian Tower was bound to be made an example of."

"Looks like we won’t have to worry about our Ghost Stone supply for a while."

The next moment!

A massive Flying Ship rapidly approached the City Wall, coming to a stop as it hovered in the air at the same height as the battlements.

The Flying Ship was outfitted with over a hundred turrets of all shapes and sizes.

It was armed to the teeth.

A bare-chested man in black pants strode toward them, his expression grim. He pulled out a Token and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Eternal Night Hall. Tian Yi."

"Take me to the factions that refuse to hand over their Ghost Stones."

The man exuded an overwhelming, tyrannical aura. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept in ages, and his words carried a bone-chilling cold.

His every move sent a single, clear message.

Someone was going to die today.