Chapter 354

Chapter 354: Total Attack

"Was I being watched again?" Midi furrowed his brows.

Throughout their advance, he’d carried a persistent sensation of unseen eyes tracking him.

Though he’d grown used to the All-Seeing Demon’s gaze from thousands of miles away, this time the killing intent felt sharper, clinging to his skin like a cold sweat.

The discomfort wasn’t his alone. Fina and Alice often shuddered, goosebumps rising on their arms.

Both fastidious about privacy, they’d even grown wary of bathing.

The All-Seeing Demon’s Insight pierced magical barriers effortlessly—though at this distance, it blurred skin and clothing into indistinct shapes.

Nudity, however, risked full exposure.

Fina loudly declared she “didn’t care if those octopus-headed freaks stared” and that “being seen wouldn’t cost them a limb,” yet ultimately joined Alice in using magic for hygiene. Clothes stayed firmly on.

Though practical, the method lacked the comfort of proper baths.

This irritation fueled their urgency to crush the Blue Truth Sect.

The fleet surged forward faster.

Within a week, the Behemoth’s colossal silhouette dominated their view.

Stretching hundreds of kilometers, the leviathan drifted above the Star Ocean like a monarch surveying its field.

Midi’s fleet resembled fish arcing from abyssal depths—a desperate rush to breach the surface, to fracture shadows with spray and foam.

Before them lay the Sea of Clouds’ heart, Arad’s most coveted treasure. Yet Midi’s pulse stayed steady.

That prize still rested in another’s iron grip. Unclaimed. Unyielding.

Caution tightened his commands.

As the Behemoth entered visual range, he held the fleet back. Instead of attacking, they ascended.

Aerial combat obeyed gravity’s pull.

Height meant advantage: Vanguard ships diving swifter, warships adjusting artillery angles smoother, shell trajectories gaining lethal curves.

The Star Ocean’s zenith blazed with starlight—attacking upward meant squinting against celestial glare, accuracy crumbling. Warfare’s oldest rule: never strike blinded.

Midi aimed to claim the higher airspace.

The sect would predict this. Intercepting fleets were inevitable.

But he’d prepared. Let them come. Traps lay ready to snap shut, thinning enemy ranks with each countermove.

This was endgame. Every tactic laid bare, every trump card played. Only raw battle-readiness remained.

Yet no interceptors came.

The sect’s fleet lingered above the Behemoth, motionless, as Midi secured altitude.

Through their own All-Seeing Demon’s sight, he glimpsed the truth—enemies weren’t idle. Their forces gathered.

Not only the main fleet defending the Behemoth, but all Blue Truth Sect warships across the Star Ocean – those at lookout posts, strongholds, mining sites, and patrol routes – were gathering at this battlefield. Viewed from the Zenith, it looked like iron filings being pulled toward a giant central magnet.

When Midi openly advanced toward the Behemoth, the sect finally confirmed his target. They abandoned all defenses, concentrating every warship here regardless of cost. If this gathering succeeded, even with Fina and Alice’s help, Midi’s forces stood no chance against the sect’s overwhelming numbers.

His only choice was a full-scale assault before the sect headquarters completed their mobilization.

True, retreating to their stronghold would render the sect’s massive resource expenditure meaningless. But Midi couldn’t wait – not while the recovering supreme expert grew stronger. More importantly, with Fina and Alice beside him, he believed over seventy percent in breaking the sect’s defenses.

Since when had he ever feared a hard fight? He’d always led the charge.

"Status report," Midi’s voice echoed through magical communications.

"Wind King Warship ready. Main force deployed," Fina responded first.

"Strike team standing by," Alice followed.

"Left wing in position," Reinhardt answered.

"Right wing ready," Marcel reported.

"Undead army prepped. Let’s surprise them," Wiseman said listlessly. Though effective against Heart-Seizing Demons, his forces couldn’t compare to Alice’s Summoned Beasts. Worse, the All-Seeing Demon’s insight meant the sect tracked his every move. He’d already spotted their "Holy Ice Shell" purification ships waiting to counter his undead.

Despite his gloom, the necromancer’s eyes burned with battle hunger.

"Blade team ready," Avril’s voice completed the roll call.

Through psychic energy, Midi felt his army’s rising fervor. Meeting Fina and Alice’s determined gazes, his lips curved slightly.

"All forces – attack!" Golden-Red Sword Lights erupted around Midi as he roared the command. "Follow my blade!"

He shot skyward like a comet, the fleet surging behind him. Engines flared, propelling steel behemoths forward. Cannons spewed deadly fire while warships dove from the high point in relentless assaults.

The sect’s fleet held firm. Their previous defeat had erased all arrogance. Despite numerical superiority, they focused on defense, forming an iron wall above the Behemoth that merged with ground defenses into layered fire networks.

Midi’s fleet stabbed through like a sharp blade, but momentum slowed as they penetrated deeper. The sect forces gradually retreated, luring enemies into ground artillery range.

"Once they’re within ground fire and flanking range, that human’s trapped!" The Leader sneered, smoothing his Six Tentacles. "We’ll grind them down through attrition!"

Just then, four armored warships – more floating fortresses than combat vessels – crashed through the fire net. They plummeted onto the Behemoth’s forested back, disgorging hundreds of Hawk Brigade warriors who immediately dug trenches.

"Disaster!" The Leader and temple head paled as their subordinates scrambled.