Chapter 244: The Battle Begins

"Rest assured, everyone. If it's just that lucky Andre, I think we are still capable of dealing with him."

Cressy Jax was saying this when his expression shifted slightly, and he glanced upward: "Look, they've already come—"

At that moment, all the dragon-mask-wearing people present held their breath, their pupils contracting.

The change was even greater for Edwin Antonio, whose already livid face turned even more gloomy.

"Rest assured, everyone! I think this place of ours can at least withstand a standard ground regiment, enough to hold out until midnight under the worst circumstances."

A mocking smile appeared on Cressy's face: "You all should know best that the young man of the Wiltonshire family is merely a knife in the hands of those big shots. These noble houses lack the courage to confront the Fire Calamity Dragon Lady head-on. Our princess is an immortal and indestructible existence; in three thousand years, countless noble lineages have been destroyed by her. But if it's just that little fellow's private army, what can they do to us? Our base has a full three hundred magic-energy professionals, nearly thirty outlaws."

After calming the emotions of the many 'honored guests' present, Cressy Jax turned to look at Edwin Antonio and the Frenzied Blood Aonzo behind him.

"I apologize, Antonio, for failing to fulfill my promise this afternoon and eliminate that kid. But now, you have a chance for personal revenge. I hereby authorize you with command over all 'Disciples of the Fire Calamity.' If they really attack here out of overconfidence, then kill them all here. Can you do it, Antonio?"

"With pleasure!"

A ferocious grin immediately appeared on Antonio's face. As he turned and walked out the door again, Cressy Jax also curled his lips slightly: "Mind the time, Antonio. Don't miss the blood feast at midnight."

...

At eleven o'clock in the dead of night, the magic tower array hidden in the sky over Atlanta suddenly emitted a dazzling light, forcibly 'excluding' the Gerald Fine Works and the Fire Club, along with part of the land beneath them, from the outside world, forming a separate domain space.

Li Mochen glanced around and saw that the dozens of residential buildings and two large structures between the Gerald Fine Works and the Fire Club had not been drawn into this domain.

But the underground parts of these buildings, from 12 meters to 55 meters deep, were completely brought over. This was because the land, under the effect of the underground magic array, had formed a whole.

The mages presiding over the magic tower array were highly skilled, making very precise cuts to ensure that this battle would not involve innocent civilians or cause any additional property damage.

Li Mochen found it quite novel; it was his first time seeing a large-scale spatial spell like domain splitting.

In the Primordial Dome Realm, they could also do it, but they were unwilling to. It required too much spiritual energy, and the cultivation resources of the Primordial Dome Realm simply could not afford it.

This was not only due to the scarcity of various spirit stones; the thin spiritual energy of that realm also increased the difficulty of splitting domains. Here, it was much better—the ubiquitous magic energy minimized the consumption when splitting domains.

If he had time, Li Mochen would have liked to carefully study the structure of the magic tower array above. But now, he had no such leisure or time.

"Let's begin! If they are using Halloween to accelerate the resurrection of the Calamity Flame Dragon Girl, then it means we have only one hour."

The so-called Halloween is a festival established by the Church of Light over three thousand years ago. They designated November 1st as "All Hallows' Day," also known as the "Feast of All Saints." On that day, all churches of Light hold Mass to celebrate all the saints in heaven.

And this church-wide Mass and ritual has its reasons.

It is because from midnight on October 31st to November 1st, due to some cyclical change in this world of light, various creatures from the dark world, demons and devils from the abyss, and even ghosts from the underworld, enter this world in large numbers.

Thus, long ago, the priests of Gaul, Britain, and Ireland—the Druids—would on this day call upon the people to light towering bonfires and hold sacrifices. The Greeks and Romans would also offer large-scale sacrifices to the gods on November 1st, seeking protection.

Later, the Church of Light would also on this day invoke the power of the saints of past ages to suppress the demons and evil spirits encroaching upon the world of light.

Correspondingly, if anyone were to hold magical rituals related to necromancy or demons on this day, they would often gain additional power.

This is why Li Mochen was eager to rescue Hazor before this day; he feared the Dragon Witch Cult might take desperate measures.

"As you command, my BOSS."

Sampson Brut, the overall commander, knew the true identity of Li Mochen's current body.

"Though personally, I think it's best to wait for the signal from the church knights and act on both fronts simultaneously. But since you insist, I reserve my opinion."

As he spoke, he waved to a uniformed man behind him, who immediately raised an automatic rifle equipped with a grenade launcher and fired several flares into the interior of the Gerard Fine Factory, making every object under the night sky clearly visible.

The next moment, twelve rockets were launched from various directions, bombarding the factory's outer wall in succession. They easily destroyed the magical array along with the high wall, and simultaneously wiped out seven sentry posts, both overt and covert, behind the wall.

However, the defensive array on the surface of the Gerard Fine Factory was merely a decoy. The sixteen assault teams broke into the factory grounds with irresistible force, but when they attempted to storm Building No. 2 in the central area, they encountered stubborn resistance.

This four-story building, which looked very old on the outside, withstood the impact of seventeen rockets intact. The meticulous and imposing magical array unfolded layer by layer outside the building, blocking all gunfire from outside. The dense hail of bullets from inside pinned down nearly a hundred of Sampson's men dozens of meters away, not daring to raise their heads.

"—Indeed, this is a level seventeen, nearly legendary defensive array."

Dainn Stacy lay prone seventy meters away, relying on a broken wall reinforced with magic and steel plates to avoid the dense bullets pouring from the opposite side. She observed the enemy through binoculars.

The next moment, her pupils contracted slightly. She saw a cannon barrel being pushed out from a second-floor window of the warehouse—the Dragon Witch cultists had hidden four 106mm recoilless rifles inside!

—And this was only the southern side, their main attack direction. According to Jeremy Burt's intelligence, the total number of recoilless rifles inside the building was as high as nine.

But the next moment, a gunshot rang out beside her. Seventy meters away, inside a certain window, a 106mm recoilless rifle exploded with a loud bang, flipping over entirely.