Chapter 361

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

As the bombardment raged on, the Deceiver had already taken refuge deep within.

Despite three rounds of firepower that could plow the ground, only a small portion of the exposed defensive apparatus was destroyed, and there were hardly any casualties among the personnel.

It could be said that these three rounds of seemingly formidable bombardment had very little actual killing effect.

But this was never meant for killing; it was a cover!

Little did they know that as the elven fleet launched the first round of attacks, the Maple Principality’s army and the elves began their assault, surging toward the mudflats like a tidal wave, heading for the hill.

By the time three rounds of bombardment had passed, they had already crossed half of the mudflats and were only two to three hundred meters away from the hill.

At this moment, the Deceiver had returned to their various positions, ready to counterattack.

A massive alchemical cannon concealed in a cave, its firing port hidden by vegetation and camouflage, suddenly erupted in flames. Within the flames, a half-meter-diameter spherical shell was propelled out, exploding directly in the midst of the advancing soldiers. The massive explosion engulfed them, sending them flying high like rag dolls.

After the intense explosion, countless shards of metal and metal fragments shot out from the smoke and flames at a speed beyond the naked eye, leaving behind gruesome wounds on the soldiers. The air was suddenly filled with a dense mist of blood, staining the mud red.

Seeing this scene, the soldiers felt a chill in their hearts, but they didn’t stop and continued to charge forward with their weapons in hand.

To stop meant death; moving forward still offered a glimmer of hope!

Bombs and arrows fell like raindrops, but they couldn’t halt the advance of the soldiers.

Soon, the Maple Principality launched a counterattack. Dozens of small airships appeared in the rear, each equipped with multiple ballistae.

These small airships rapidly approached from the sky and unleashed a volley of fire against the exposed positions. Due to the angle of the weaponry, the Deceiver couldn’t effectively target the agile and maneuverable airships, leaving them to be pounded.

Before long, dozens of firing positions fell silent.

With the reduction in firepower, the attacking soldiers below became even more audacious. They finally crossed the mudflats and entered the caves and tunnels at the base of the hill.

Yasen, who was commanding from the rear, wore a grave expression on his face.

The real battle had just begun.

The first wave of Maple Principality soldiers that entered the interior of the hill quickly became lost in the winding and complex caves, not knowing which path to take and splitting up to explore and search.

In the darkness, humanoid metal war golems revealed their forms. Four metal arms extended from their backs, each wielding a weapon. Familiar with this place, they launched surprise attacks from the darkness, causing significant casualties among the unsuspecting soldiers.

For a moment, the cave echoed with intense combat and screams.

Of course, these were all soldiers from the Maple Principality; the elven warriors remained outside the cave, guarding its entrance.

Ji Chen didn’t choose to intervene. The Crown of the Ocean’s forces by his side numbered just over four hundred units at full strength, which wasn’t enough for a full-scale assault.

At the moment, he stood at a safe distance, observing the battlefield’s developments.

The battle seemed fierce at the moment. The Maple Principality used airships to suppress the Deceiver’s firepower while continuously deploying troops for the attack, resulting in apparent heavy losses.

However, in reality, the Maple Principality’s soldiers and their coordination were undoubtedly superior to these war golems. As more and more soldiers entered the caves, the advantage of the Deceiver’s side would gradually diminish in the face of both numerical superiority and strength.

Over the past couple of days, Ji Chen also learned about the Deceiver’s organizational structure.

Within the Deceiver’s ranks, their level of authority and rank was primarily determined by the color and pattern of their masks.

The Iron Masks were the lowest level and also the most numerous.

The Silver Masks were in the middle management and often served as leaders for various principalities and kingdoms.

Above them were the Gold Masks, which clearly belonged to the upper echelons of management. Each Gold Mask oversaw the affairs of several principalities, kingdoms, or even an entire empire.

Masks not only represented rank but also strength. The higher the rank of the mask, the stronger the individual behind it.

If one were to go even higher in rank, there was said to be the creator of the Deceivers, the one who wears a black mask.

However, it was quite regrettable that no one had ever seen them to this day. In fact, it’s not even known whether it was been the same person beneath the black mask for thousands of years. It’s an extreme mystery.

Apart from these, there are some special masks that exist.

From what it appears, the Deceiver with the Silver Mask who commanded the mountain trolls to surround Ji Chen that day was probably the leader of the Maple Principality.

If they could capture that individual, it would indeed be a significant achievement.

However, so far, there hadn’t been any sign of the Deceivers showing up; it was only the war golems in combat.

Now, he was quite curious about how they planned to break through, or if, like the Deceivers in the city, they would choose to commit suicide to protect their secrets.

The entire hill and base were thoroughly blockaded, and no matter how one looked at it, it seemed like an unsolvable deadlock.

As Ji Chen gazed at the hill, which had a vast stretch of ocean surrounding it, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Could they be planning to escape from the direction of the ocean?

He looked into the distance.

Not all of the elven fleet had arrived; only eight warships were anchored. Their firepower was sufficient to seal off the sea surface.

If the Deceivers weren’t foolish, they probably wouldn’t attempt to break out forcefully from the sea surface.

But Ji Chen’s gaze slowly shifted to beneath the sea surface.

Could they be choosing to quietly depart from underwater?

This idea seemed increasingly plausible.

The elven fleet certainly had alchemical devices for detecting underwater targets, but they could only detect depths of one or two hundred meters at most. Even with added spells, in most cases, they could only explore depths of two to three hundred meters.

At depths below 500 meters in the ocean, for most races, it’s a restricted area.

Water pressure and light are insurmountable obstacles.

But for Ji Chen, who possessed many underwater shelters, it felt like returning home, with no difficulty at all.

He could enter or exit as he pleased.

The more he thought about it, the more Ji Chen felt the need to investigate.

He immediately led his troops to the seaside, entered the ocean, and dispersed the remaining 400 units of his army in a spider-web pattern, starting to search the surrounding waters of the hill.

They stayed on the sea surface, waiting silently.

However, as time passed, the search yielded no results.

Ji Chen began to doubt whether he had over thought things. Perhaps the Deceivers didn’t have the capability to escape underwater.

Boom!

At that moment, a tremendous roar suddenly echoed in his ears.

His gaze filled with shock, and he turned to look.

The hill… had exploded.

The hill that couldn’t be destroyed even by the elven fleet’s bombardment was now shaking like it had experienced a magnitude twelve earthquake. It collapsed in all directions, massive boulders the size of houses rolled down from the mountain and crashed into the sea, creating towering waves.

Thick smoke billowed from various cave entrances.

Right before his eyes, the entire hill had dropped dozens of meters.

The extent of this collapse couldn’t possibly have been caused by an external force; it had to be the power generated from within.

The Deceivers… had actually blown up the entire hill from the inside!

He gasped, feeling a chill run down his spine. This would have buried countless soldiers and elves.

How brutal!

At this moment, one of the Naga Berserkers in his sensory range suddenly lost contact.

Ji Chen was taken aback, his expression turning joyful.

Looks like the fish had bit the bait!

He immediately called for Alice and Benbo to gather all the troops and rushed to the scene.

The seawater carried their bodies, propelling them rapidly through the ocean.

Arriving at a cliff located about five to six hundred meters deep in the water, they quickly spotted the Deceivers engaged in a fierce battle with the Ocean Crown troops who had arrived earlier.

At a quick glance, there were at least four or five hundred of them.

Leading them was the Silver Masked Deceiver who had crossed paths with Ji Chen before.

Seeing this, Ji Chen couldn’t help but be overjoyed.

This was like catching a big fish!

He squinted at them.

Whether the masks were attached to their faces or not, they all wore masks even underwater.

These Deceivers were wrapped in a layer of white membrane that seemed to isolate water pressure and provide oxygen. The source of all this was a glowing treasure held in the hands of the Silver Masked Deceiver.

At this moment, the Silver Masked Deceiver also spotted Ji Chen and fury surged in their eyes.

So, it’s this filthy Divine Patron!!!