Chapter 352 - 167: Jiangbei Defense Line: The Prototype is Complete

Chapter 352: Chapter 167: Jiangbei Defense Line: The Prototype is Complete

Thanks to a month of diligent mining on the New Continent and the recent harvest from the Four Areas Jiangbei, the Mortal Realm’s Ghost Stone reserves had once again reached 410 million.

This was enough to complete the initial framework of the entire Jiangbei Defense Line.

This was precisely what he had come to do.

Chen Fan arrived at the coast alone, without an escort. He gazed out at the sea—calm, yet brewing with countless dangers—and ascended the wall.

He gazed at the lone Suspended Basket resting on the track atop the City Wall.

He stepped inside.

The Suspended Basket shot off at incredible speed, racing along the track toward the end of the Jiangbei Defense Line!

The principle was that of a High-speed Rail.

The Suspended Basket could ascend the surface of buildings at extreme speed. It didn’t need to use Copper Pipes for its track.

City Walls, Godslaying Cannons, altars, and any other connectable structures could serve as a track.

The only reason for using Copper Pipes as tracks was simply because they were the most cost-effective, with no other reason. Laying one meter of Copper Pipe only required a single Ghost Stone; where else could one find such a cost-effective material?

Soon—

Riding the Suspended Basket, Chen Fan arrived at the end of the Jiangbei Defense Line. The place was deserted, with no structures built upon the City Wall. In fact, a long stretch of the line currently lacked any City Defense Buildings at all.

But...

Even left exposed in the Eternal Night like this, no Ghost Object could inflict even the slightest damage on this defense line.

He stepped out of the Suspended Basket.

A lone Skeleton Horse stood there quietly, maintaining the same posture it had a month ago. It was the Skeleton Horse he had left behind before departing last month.

The Skeleton Horse had no emotions.

It only followed orders.

Without new orders, even if the heavens fell and the earth split asunder, the Skeleton Horse would remain in place, awaiting its master’s call.

Another 55.2 kilometers to go.

Chen Fan vaulted onto the Skeleton Horse. From the end of the Jiangbei Defense Line, he gazed at the empty space ahead and took a deep breath.

The Skeleton Horse began to gallop.

Just as its hooves were about to fall on empty air, a section of Level 5 City Wall rapidly materialized beneath them.

The Skeleton Horse charged straight ahead.

As if lotuses were blooming under its hooves, with every step it took, another section of Level 5 City Wall appeared before it.

This continued until the sky gradually darkened.

Only then did Chen Fan slowly dismount. Standing on the City Wall, he looked toward a towering, cloud-piercing mountain ahead, to which the Jiangbei Defense Line was now tightly connected.

This 55.2-kilometer stretch of the defense line had consumed nearly 200 million Ghost Stones!

And so!

The 170-kilometer framework of the Jiangbei Defense Line was complete!

"..."

Chen Fan stood on the City Wall, gazing at the darkening sky. He glanced at the cloud-piercing mountain beside him, now connected to the Jiangbei Defense Line, then looked out at the churning sea in the distance.

After a long moment, he turned to look back at the defense line stretching endlessly behind him.

He smiled.

It had taken a year and a half.

A 170-kilometer-long Jiangbei Defense Line: all Level 5 City Walls, all covered in Ghost Blood Patterns, all with Anti-Air fields. He had completed what could only be called a miracle!

At that very moment,

The Eternal Night fell.

In an instant, the Ghost Fires placed along the City Wall ignited in unison.

At a glance, it was like Moses parting the sea, carving a corridor of Ghost Fire through the oppressive darkness.

Although the top of the wall looked a bit bare for now,

not a single Godslaying Cannon could be seen.

Nor a single Anti-Aircraft Cannon.

But the 170-kilometer framework of the Jiangbei Defense Line was complete. With time, the Godslaying Cannons and other logistical City Defense Buildings would be added one by one.

The Mortal Realm would stand guard over Jiangbei during the Undersea Ghost Tide’s landfall in two and a half years!

The Jiangbei Defense Line on the Ancient Battlefield was Level 4.

’That wasn’t enough.’

So his Jiangbei Defense Line was made of Level 5 City Walls.

But...

’That still isn’t enough. If the Undersea Ghost Tide doesn’t arrive early, I’ll upgrade this entire line to Level 6 City Walls. I have to make it completely foolproof!’

... 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Chen Fan soon returned to Nameless Mountain. The sky had already grown dark, and he was a bit tired after a busy day. After making himself a pot of hot tea, he sat on the wall of Cave No. 1, listening to Wang Kui’s report.

"Domain Lord."

Standing to the side, Wang Kui reported, "It’s early March, just the beginning of spring. The mining progress on the New Continent has been excellent lately, with no incidents."

"However..."

"We still haven’t found the ’chicken’ over on the Guanxi Plain. The Slaughter Immortal Holy Land sent people to deliver a hefty compensation to the Mortal Realm, along with a letter. It’s a long-winded missive, several thousand characters long, stating that there’s no enmity between the Mortal Realm and the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land, that it was all a misunderstanding, and that they’re willing to use Ghost Stones to patch things up."

"..."

Leaning back in his rocking chair, the corner of Chen Fan’s mouth twitched. His plan had been disrupted. His plan was simple: kill a chicken to scare the monkeys. He would crush a faction on the Guanxi Plain with overwhelming force.

This would serve as a deterrent to the other factions.

He had already chosen his chicken.

It was the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land, the very same one that had sent people to plot for the Nameless Mountain’s Snow Lotus. But their current methods were throwing him off; they had sent people with three consecutive letters.

Each letter insisted that there was no enmity between the Mortal Realm and the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land.

And each letter was accompanied by compensation.

The sums were not small.

’Their attitude is so good, it’s making me hesitant to strike. But if I don’t slaughter a chicken, how can I demonstrate the Mortal Realm’s might? I’ve already figured out exactly how I’m going to do it, too.’

’The Ghost Stones I’ve accumulated lately are enough to build a fleet of Flying Ships and crush them with overwhelming force.’

’The main problem is...’

He looked at the letter in his hand and sighed softly. ’The points in this letter aren’t wrong, I guess. The Slaughter Immortal Holy Land never did target me directly.’