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Chapter 212 Firing Along the Battle Line!
"It's unbelievable..." Liu Shuyue said softly, "If the two Lianyun Sects are one and the same, they should be in the past. But now they seem to be in the future..."

Sixteen wind-powered boats lined up in the air in a grand procession, looking like divine soldiers descending from the heavens.

Each ship is 200 meters long and over 30 meters wide, with a wooden hull structure but reinforced with steel armor on both sides, weighing at least a thousand tons. The fact that such a thing can float steadily is a miracle even in Jiangcheng.

“I told you long ago, cultivation doesn’t make any sense.” Lin Qing took a step back, slightly hiding behind Chen Xuan. “Even back in our land, an anti-gravity engine would be considered top-tier technology, but here it’s achieved a similar effect with magic. Do you know what it looks like? Like primitive people piloting a spaceship…”

"Do you know how it flies?" Chen Xuan asked Liu Shuyue.

The latter nodded. "Yesterday, Xu Xuanling showed me its power room—a spirit energy machine evolved from the Wind Riding Technique. It doesn't consume talismans, but rather the heart of a great demon."

"The heart of a great demon?"

"That's right. They even told me how to handle it. Before the great demon dies, set up a spirit-gathering array to collect the spiritual energy in the demon's body. Then, it can be taken out and used as the energy source for the spirit energy device. Spiritual energy needs to rely on a physical body, so a heart that is not easily damaged is a good choice."

Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that mean that every windship means they've eliminated a great demon?"

“More than one,” Liu Shuyue replied. “The strength of great demons varies, and it is quite common for them to use two or three hearts to power the windship. With this substitute, cultivators no longer need to go through the trouble of activating the spiritual energy device themselves. It can be said that this design is absolutely a genius idea.”

"So that's how it is..." Chen Xuan's gaze towards the massive fleet held a newfound depth of understanding.

These clustered windships, don't they represent the glorious achievements of the allied forces in their more than twenty years of fighting against the demons? For every powerful demon they eliminate, they have the resources to build one more windship. With this ebb and flow, it is only natural for the four major sects and the Dharma Army to switch from defense to counterattack.

"But I'm a little curious," Lin Qing muttered, "They've completely gained air superiority, yet the enemy hasn't knelt down and begged for mercy. Could it be that they've evolved over there too?"

Just then, the long blast of the horn became short and urgent.

Woo-woo-woo-woo!

"Enemy troops spotted on land directly ahead! They're stone-shooting beasts!" the lookout shouted from above.

His warning traveled through the sound transmission tubes to all parts of the ship.

Ji Yun's voice then rang out from the clouds, clear enough for everyone to hear.

"Ships, disperse and evade attacks. Shield-protection cultivators, take your positions!"

As the order was given, the ship, which had been moving smoothly, finally began to rock. The massive hull began to turn under the force of the wind, and the structure made creaking and squeezing sounds.

Chen Xuan realized that although these ships were enormous, their wooden keel structure limited their speed. If they were to make high-speed maneuvers at large angles, they would likely disintegrate due to inertia.

"What kind of monster is that?" Lin Qing exclaimed in surprise.

The coastline of the British Isles was now less than a kilometer away from them. They could see a large swarm of black dots moving on the beach, like a group of ants carrying food. Testing his eyesight was no problem for Chen Xuan. He used his divine eye technique to magnify his field of vision and discovered that those so-called ants were actually enormous creatures, two or three stories tall.

They resemble mutated hermit crabs, except that their shells are specialized into sharp cones, and the tops are not closed, but instead leave a dark opening.

Chen Xuan had seen many of these beast-like demons before, so they were nothing special. What made them unique was that, in addition to their shells, they also dragged a steel machine behind their tails. Many soldiers stood on the machine, sweating profusely as they worked, throwing shovelfuls of coal into it. Several black pipes extended from the top of the machine, inserting into the shells, with wisps of white steam occasionally rising from the joints.

Wait a minute... This thing eats coal and spews out steam, could it be a steam engine?

The moment this thought crossed their minds, hundreds of shells suddenly erupted with a burst of white mist from their tips, and a sphere the size of half a person shot out like a cannonball, flying towards the fleet! In an instant, countless arcs were drawn across the sky.

Wow, it really is an ancient anti-aircraft weapon!

Chen Xuan subconsciously summoned the Thousand Thoughts Sword and stood in front of the three of them.

The flagship Akabane was also within range of the attack, and in less than ten seconds, the "shells" arrived as expected! At the same time, a pale blue barrier appeared around the ship, covering the front of the hull like a semi-transparent mirror!

Chen Xuan had seen this spell before, and even had one in his inventory: "Spiritual Shield".

Unexpectedly, the four major sects moved it onto the warship.

Indeed... for a single person, it's not a very useful defensive spell. Consuming spiritual energy on physical defense leaves one with insufficient offensive spells. But it's different on a warship. If a dozen or even dozens of cultivators provide spiritual energy and can precisely control the direction of the spiritual energy shield's deployment, then the energy consumption and protection issues are essentially solved simultaneously!
The shells crashed into the barrier, making loud bangs as they shattered into clumps of black, foul-smelling slime.

Chen Xuan could see clearly that it wasn't a metal bullet at all, but rather a group of shelled creatures clinging to each other. If they bumped into something, they would spray out a corrosive liquid from their bodies.

A few drops pierced through the barrier and splashed onto the deck, immediately burning out two or three fist-sized craters.

If it were to crash down intact, it would cause serious damage to the structure of the windmill.

But this fleet was no pushover either.

Chen Xuan noticed that the friendly ships beside him had already turned sideways and opened the gun ports below the hull. Dozens of cannons extended from the openings, aiming at the beach below.

As a dense, rain-like roar sounded, the three of them felt a violent shaking beneath their feet!
The dazzling glow of the flames spread across the sides, as if the bottom of every ship was glowing!
The familiar smell of gunpowder wafted over, just like midnight on Lunar New Year's Eve.

After a seemingly long but actually short wait, the beaches of Britain instantly erupted in chaos! Shells, whether landing on the sand or striking the heads of sea monsters, would create a conspicuous column of smoke, the only difference being what adorned it—either sand and gravel, or the limbs and blood of the enemy!

"Not bad!" Lin Qing whistled. "After more than twenty years, you've already mastered line-of-battle artillery."

The bullets fired from the fleet were not solid shot or chain shot, but proper cone-shaped bullets with fuses and warheads, and their direct impact power looked quite considerable.

In addition, although most of the guns were arranged on both sides of the hull, they were not outdated muzzle-loading guns. Throughout the refitting process, the muzzles were never retracted into the hull.

One type of missile is launched from the ground into the air, requiring the overcoming of gravity; the other is launched from the sky towards the earth, where gravity actually helps. The advantage of this combination is self-evident. Although the enemy forces on the beach were firing under heavy artillery fire, the results were quite limited. Only a few beetle shells were able to penetrate the shields and hit the windships. Unfortunately, the fleet had already turned and was facing the enemy on its broadside. The foul-smelling acid was obviously less destructive to the steel plates than it was to the wood.

Chen Xuan now understood why the windship had an additional metal shield on the outside of its hull—such encounters had likely occurred many times along the French coastline, and the iteration of a large amount of combat experience had ultimately given rise to the windship's current form.

"Enemy troops detected taking off!" the lookout shouted again. "More than a thousand in the northwest!"

"That's... a hot air balloon?" Liu Shuyue asked curiously.

“It looks like…” Chen Xuan clicked his tongue in amazement. Deep inland, a large number of balloons were slowly rising from a camp. These flying objects were exactly the same as hot air balloons, with a basket hanging below the fluffy air bladder, and several figures swaying inside the basket.

Without a doubt, they were all made by the British, with a bright red cross embroidered in the center of each white sphere, like fluttering St. George banners.

(End of this chapter)