Chapter 210

Chapter 210: Earthly stone bombs

Those dozens of black shadows were a group of blue-scaled wyverns.

But now, their scales had turned ink-black instead of their former sky-blue.

A chilling aura of Death enveloped them, replacing the faint but unmistakable Dragon’s might they once radiated.

Whenever they flapped their wings, icy mist gushed from the gaps in their scales, trailing behind them as they streaked through the air. The high-speed flight left black streaks of light in their wake, like blades slicing through the sky.

These were Undead wyverns.

To be fair, the Undead wyverns’ attack power wasn’t as fearsome as their appearance. Their moves were limited to diving claw strikes, tail sweeps, and wide-range ice breath. Though their breath packed considerable lethality, it barely troubled the physically resilient Dragonkin warriors.

The true danger of these Undead wyverns lay not in themselves, but in what they clutched in their claws.

Streamlined bombs pulsed with such intense magic waves that the ripples were visible to the naked eye. Each throb, like a heartbeat, scattered the frigid air around the wyverns.

“Earthly stone bombs!”

From afar, Midi’s pupils shrank the moment he spotted the Undead wyverns.

He instantly pieced it all together—this was the real trump card of Wiseman Newton, the “Hand of Nightmare,” the Empire’s ultimate weapon to seize Sky City!

He also realized what Wiseman had been hunting for in the settlements of Elemental Giants and Humanoids.

Unlike Midi, Wiseman couldn’t immediately recognize the worth of Aether Stones. In fact, he might not have even encountered one after entering Sky City. Transforming Aether Stones into Aether Liquid, then Aether Rings, and finally Skyships required dedicated research. Only a reincarnator like Midi could achieve this in mere months, let alone under constant enemy pressure.

But earthly stones were different. Sky City’s inhabitants had already harnessed their power. A single earthly stone equaled a magic vein—one condensed from pure magic.

Anyone could see their value at a glance. Even Midi had used a power amplification ring and earthly stones as bargaining chips to ally with the Dragonkin tribe. And Wiseman was a researcher.

He might’ve overlooked Aether Stones, but earthly stones? Never.

Midi had expected this. What he hadn’t foreseen was Wiseman turning earthly stones into bombs!

Each bomb detonation meant annihilating an entire magic vein. Such extravagance could only come from the “Hand of Nightmare.” Even with a nation’s wealth, Midi wouldn’t dare squander resources this way. Belmar lacked the techniques to detonate earthly stones outright.

This was sheer madness!

Truly worthy of Wiseman Newton, the “Hand of Nightmare.” Even after being slain by Midi in this life and suppressed during the West Coast conflict, he could still unleash strategies as shocking as they were terrifying.

But Midi had no time to dwell. The bombs’ appearance meant only one outcome for this battle: no retreat.

Either the Imperial army faced total annihilation, or the Hawk Brigade perished.

“Ascend now! Prioritize shooting down the wyverns, then the Necromancers. Bombard freely if no targets remain!” Midi barked without hesitation.

Engines roared as Aether Liquid surged through the Aether Rings, lifting Vanguard ships into the sky.

The ships swiftly formed a “V” formation. Sunlight glinted off their sleek metal hulls, casting a silvery cold glow. Their gaping cannons resembled fangs, making the 128 Vanguard ships look like a pack of Sharks ready to hunt.

“Follow my blade!”

Without another word, Midi led the charge, his silver Vanguard ship blazing across the sky like a comet.

But they were too late.

The Undead wyverns, already swift and prepared, had reached the battlefield’s heart by the time the ships ascended.

At the battlefield’s rear, a blood-red glow flashed in the eyes of Wiseman Newton, the “Hand of Nightmare.”

In response, the lead Undead wyvern’s eyes burned crimson.

The Undead wyvern originally flew solely by the magical imprints etched into its soul. But now, it had fallen completely under the overwhelming will of Wiseman, becoming a mere puppet.

Under the masterful necromancy of the "Hand of Nightmare," the wyvern’s flying speed instantly increased by a level. It let out a shrill Dragon Roar, folded its wings, and plunged downward like a meteor, carving a steep arc through the sky. At the last moment before hitting the ground, it released its claws.

The earthly stone bomb in its talons hurtled forward with massive momentum, flying like a cannonball before crashing into the heart of the Undead army.

A blinding glow erupted instantly.

The radiance spread outward like a newborn star. Everything it touched—Undead, Dragonkin, hard metal, warm flesh—burned, melted, and dissolved into ash before disintegrating into nothingness.

When the light faded, a massive crater over a hundred meters wide gaped at the battlefield’s center, resembling the mouth of an active volcano.

But this wasn’t the end.

Earthly stones were akin to magic veins. Detonating one destroyed the vein and triggered a chain reaction with nearby pure magic, causing the catastrophic blast. The explosion drained all pure magic from the area, creating a vacuum.

Under the Floating City’s intense spiritual pressure, surrounding pure magic rushed into the vacuum like raging water, priming a secondary explosion.

A brief moment of silence shattered.

Invisible magic surged like a transparent tide from the crater’s edges toward its center. Fierce winds erupted, slicing through Dragonkin flesh, Undead bodies, and the earth itself with blade-like precision.

As pure magic flooded inward, a roaring tornado formed in the crater’s heart. It grew rapidly, sucking in debris and churning the sky’s clouds. When the magic reached its limit, the tornado exploded again.

This second blast lacked the raw power of the earthly stone’s initial detonation, but its shockwave spread far wider, engulfing nearly half the battlefield. Even Tanius and Dickson at the outskirts were caught in the chaos, while countless Undead in the Empire’s army perished.

Two explosions. Dual devastation. A kilometer-wide disruption of pure magic. This was the true might of earthly stone bombs—undoubtedly among the most terrifying weapons in Arad at this time.

Even the Dragonkin stared in shock. This wasn’t their usual awe of Midi’s Personal Power, but the helpless dread of tiny beings confronting nature’s wrath.

Enough destructive force could make even fearless Dragonkin hesitate.

Yet the Undead, already dead, felt nothing. Instead, crimson light flared in their eyes as they charged the Hawk Brigade at doubled speed.

Wiseman’s tactic was simple: trap enemies with death-immune Undead, obliterate them all with earthly stone bombs, then wipe out remaining fortifications. Brutal, direct, and worthy of the "Hand of Nightmare" title.

Still, Midi didn’t flinch. As a reincarnator who’d tasted death and defeat, he feared neither earthly stones nor gods. Besides, his Vanguard ships matched the bombs in power.

“Kill!” Cold determination flashed in his eyes. The cannons on his Vanguard ship spun, firing twin streams of fire from its front fins. They pierced the howling winds, striking an Undead wyvern mid-flight—then swerved to hit the earthly stone bomb in its claws.

Another sun-like explosion lit the sky. The magic vacuum birthed a dragon-shaped tornado, followed by a secondary blast that churned the heavens. But since Midi triggered this detonation mid-air, it didn’t sway the battlefield.

Meanwhile, dozens of Vanguard ships broke through chaotic air currents, reaching the Empire’s rear where Necromancers stood sheltered—and dropped their bombs.