Chapter 302 - 198: Meteorite Strike, Naval Battle

Shore’s suspicion was quickly confirmed. The Earth-Digging Spiders’ sneak attack on the residential district was just one part of the Monster Giant’s plan.

As a notification popped up in the info log, everyone’s faces went pale.

[The Monster Giant has picked up a stone to interfere with the board.]

[Meteorite inbound.]

HUMMM—

A giant hand wreathed in mysterious, dark purple Power suddenly appeared in the sky. It picked up a stone and flicked it toward the Kingdom Faction’s side.

WHOOSH—

Wrapped in intense Firelight, the massive meteorite plummeted from the sky, hurtling toward the city wall.

The meteorite didn’t look particularly large, but if it landed squarely on the city wall, it would undoubtedly shatter their defensive line.

"HISSS!"

Meanwhile, Earth-Digging Spiders began popping up one after another in the residential district, hissing and roaring as they frantically destroyed the surrounding buildings.

Although neither Giant knew the specifics of the situation on the board, the highly skilled Monster Giant stuck to its plan. It hit the Kingdom Faction with a decisive and ruthless two-pronged attack.

The meteorite was still plummeting from the sky. A few Mage Chess Pieces launched Magic Attacks and tried to take it down using the Spell Weapons on the city wall, but to little effect.

However, the Kingdom’s Chess Pieces were distracted by the cannon-fodder spiders in the residential district.

The Mage Chess Pieces on the wall were no exception, leaving the wall’s defenses thin.

"Fuck!" Shore lost his cool, his heart racing with anxiety. "How the hell are we supposed to handle this? Do we have to choose between the residential district and the wall?"

"Shore, you get to the wall and use the Magic Cannon. Guagua and I will handle things in the residential district." Wa Zai wasn’t panicking. Instead, he calmly made the optimal choice.

The Earth-Digging Spiders in the residential district were just cannon fodder; while they would certainly damage buildings if left unchecked, anyone was capable of dealing with them.

The Magic Cannon on the wall, however, could only be operated by Shore, a Mage.

"I’m on my way," Guagua said, looking anxiously at the sky as he ran. "What is our Kingdom Giant even doing? The opposing Giant has already made a move. Isn’t ours going to react?"

The two Giants outside the board didn’t interfere frequently, and when one did, the other was sure to respond in kind.

However, the timing of that interference and its effectiveness... well, that all depended on the skill of the Giant.

As for the Kingdom Giant... enough said.

[The Kingdom Giant unleashes its mighty power to interfere with the board.]

[Kingdom Faction Chess Pieces have received a temporary Enhancement.]

A giant hand appeared, scattering specks of light from the sky that fell into the bodies of the Chess Pieces.

The Chess Pieces’ bodies swelled, and they let out a Battle Cry as their combat power increased significantly.

"..."

The three defenders saw this and felt their vision go dark.

"I give up," Wa Zai was at a loss for words.

"They’re dropping a meteorite on us! A meteorite! And this Giant gives us an Enhancement? What the fuck good is that!" Shore swore, feeling short of breath. "Am I supposed to headbutt the damn thing out of the sky?"

The Monster Giant used a single-target piece of Magic, and the Kingdom Giant countered with a group Enhancement.

...So there was a good reason they couldn’t win even while cheating.

But cursing aside, the meteorite still had to be dealt with.

He hurried over to the rune-covered Magic Cannon on the city wall.

It was called a cannon, but it was actually a ring-shaped activation device that could fire a high-powered Energy Ball. It could only be used by someone with a sufficient Spiritual Attribute.

WHOOSH—

The meteorite grew closer and closer.

Guagua and Wa Zai were already in the residential district, clearing out the Earth-Digging Spiders alongside the other Chess Pieces.

There was more than one Magic Cannon on the city wall, but in the hands of the other AI-controlled Chess Pieces, their effect was barely better than nothing.

If the meteorite were to land squarely on the wall, the Demons would be able to pour through the breach in the battle to come.

To prevent that from happening, they had to do everything in their power to minimize the meteorite’s impact!

One can only imagine the pressure Shore was under.

CLANK, CLANK...

He activated the mechanism, and the ring began to rotate.

After making a quick calculation in his head, Shore took a deep breath and gripped the control lever beneath the Magic Cannon.

HUMMM—

The Warfire blazed. As Spiritual Power flowed into the device, the ring began to spin, faster and faster. The Energy Ball at its center grew more solid, its light more brilliant.

FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

The other Chess Pieces only charged for a moment before firing their Energy Balls. Streaks of light shot out from the wall, one after another.

This approach was fast, and a few shots even managed to hit the meteorite, but the damage they inflicted was negligible.

’To change the outcome, I have to charge up and land one big shot.’

’But if I miss...’ He didn’t need to dwell on the consequences.

The ring spun faster and faster, until it was almost a blur.

The meteorite and its Firelight drew ever closer, and the scorching Temperature could almost be felt on the city wall.

The concentration of Spiritual Power reached its absolute peak!

Shore took a deep breath and, without hesitation, fired.

All he could do was predict the meteorite’s trajectory and gamble on the slim chance of a hit.

FWOOSH—

A brilliant streak of light flashed past.

BOOM!

With a tremendous roar, the Energy Ball collided with the meteorite. It then exploded violently, and a brilliant light flashed across the entire board!

It was a direct hit!

"Holy shit, that was awesome!"

At that moment, everyone—from those fighting the Earth-Digging Spiders to Niuniu and the others at the front of the nest—saw what happened and cried out in astonishment.

They all knew how slim the chances of intercepting the meteorite had been. They were already starting to consider how they would deal with the failure.

They never expected Shore to be so damn clutch!

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The remaining meteorite fragments rained down on the front lines, the residential district, and the city wall, killing a few Chess Pieces and causing minor damage to the buildings.