223: Chapter 223 A single shot from 300 kilometers away blasts through the Holy Court's stronghold

Yi Chang's audit notification automatically popped up on the Boss Lady's face.

[Temporary war observation fee project, commission rate: 40%.]

The Boss Lady's fox ears perked up.

"Vice City Lord, are you robbing me?"

Yi Chang walked through the commercial district passage in her stilettos, flipping a page on the data pad in her palm.

"Displaying war assets is part of building the territory's public credibility."

"You opening a betting pool counts as secondary commercial development."

"I'm only taking a 40% cut; I've already given you face."

The Boss Lady's chest heaved twice, and her tail almost puffed up in agitation.

"I call this enlivening the market!"

Yi Chang lifted her chin.

"Keep enlivening it, and it'll be 50%."

The Boss Lady immediately hugged her abacus to her chest.

"40% is 40%, you win."

At the edge of the deck, the twelve Star-Splitting Main Cannons had all been deployed.

The dark gold cannon barrels pressed against the outer edge of the fortress, with thick energy conduits running from the cannon mounts all the way to the main Star Core mine.

Copper Hammer stood beside the first cannon, his face covered in soot, his beard shaking as if it were about to fly off.

"Lord, the first cannon has finished preheating!"

Mio floated beside him, her projection shaking violently.

"You call this preheating?"

"The cannon mount vibration levels are 27% above the limit!"

"This isn't a cannon battery; it's a row of ancestors that will shake the city apart along with them!"

Copper Hammer hoisted his welding gun onto his shoulder.

"As long as it can fire, that's all that matters."

"Did you Dwarves eat the words 'safety'?"

"Couldn't eat them, too hard."

Su Xiaoqi immediately poked her head out from the side.

"If it's hard, you can stew it."

Mio was silent for two seconds.

"I don't want to talk to you guys anymore."

Chen Chen stood in front of the main cannon array, watching the remote projection pushed out by Shen Wanbing.

Three hundred kilometers to the southeast.

The vanguard reconnaissance point of the Gray-White Mechanical Holy Court was hovering over a broken wasteland.

Three reconnaissance shuttles were cruising close to the ground, and a temporary beacon tower was constantly emitting gray-white ripples.

Under the tower, two Tier 5 peak Dismantling Sentinels were assembling a new receiving array.

Shen Wanbing tapped her fingertip on the top of the beacon tower.

"They are rebuilding the sector coordinates leaked before the Hunter King died."

"Give them another twenty minutes, and the coordinate range of the second fragment will be compressed to within one thousand kilometers."

Jiang Jiuyou's cloak was blown behind her, and her palm was already pressed onto the fire control panel.

"We could send the Dark Division to raid them."

Chen Chen raised his hand.

"No."

Jiang Jiuyou turned her face.

"Test-firing from three hundred kilometers away—spatial refraction, storm turbulence, and crystal sand interference will all affect the trajectory."

"If the first shot misses, the real model of the main cannon array will be captured by them."

Chen Chen looked at the cannon muzzles charging in the distance.

"Then don't miss."

Qin Hongye walked onto the outer sniper calibration platform.

The repair bandage on her right shoulder hadn't been removed yet, her coat was only draped over one side, her tight tactical vest accentuated her sleek curves, and her long legs stepped onto the cannon platform pedal, connecting the Meteor Orbit Sniper Cannon into the auxiliary chain.

Copper Hammer felt his scalp tighten as he watched.

"Miss Hongye, if you take another shot with that shoulder, it might really rip open."

Qin Hongye lowered her head to adjust the gun body.

"If it rips, I'll just reattach it."

Chen Chen walked over and pressed directly onto her right shoulder.

Qin Hongye's body tensed slightly.

"You are only allowed to fire one shot."

She looked up, her dark brown pupils full of fighting spirit.

"If I miss, you can tear my shoulder off."

Chen Chen pressed his palm down.

"What would I want your shoulder for?"

Qin Hongye paused for half a beat, her ears slowly turning red.

Blood Rose leaned against the railing and chuckled.

"Sister Qin, that didn't sound like a request to fight; it sounded like you were fishing for praise."

Qin Hongye shifted the muzzle of her gun.

"Do you want to try a calibration round?"

Blood Rose immediately raised her hands.

"I'm a patient, I'll shut up."

Just as things were settled, Shen Wanbing suddenly looked toward the rest cabin.

"We're still missing one luck calibration."

At the entrance of the rest cabin.

Shen Wanxing poked half her head out while hugging an aromatherapy pillow.

Hearing the four words "luck calibration," she turned and ran.

After running just two steps, Su Xiaoqi blocked her path while carrying a large bowl of bone soup.

"Sister Wanxing, don't be afraid."

Shen Wanxing hugged her pillow tightly, wary.

"Move aside."

Su Xiaoqi very seriously held the soup out.

"Touch the cannon barrel, and the main cannon will be even more fragrant."

"What does the main cannon being fragrant have to do with me?!"

Shen Wanxing turned her head to try a different route, but Chen Chen was already standing behind her.

She froze completely, her voice instantly softening.

"Brother, I only just finished touching a Tier 6 yesterday..."

Chen Chen reached out and grabbed her by the back of her collar.

"Today we touch cannons, not corpses."

"That doesn't sound any better."

Shen Wanxing was brought to the main cannon control core; she had a short jacket draped over her silk robe, the collar pulled tight, and her exposed collarbone turned pale in the wind.

She extended a finger and poked the control core.

"Just one poke."

A golden light burst forth.

Immediately after, a ten-fold multiplier notification popped up.

[Lucky Critical triggered.]

[Star-Splitting Main Cannon Array gains temporary effect: Ballistic luck correction.]

[First-round hit rate significantly increased.]

[Current hit correction: Lock-on level.]

Mio looked at the panel, her projection pausing for three seconds.

"Very well."

"This city has officially abandoned science."

Su Xiaoqi nodded while holding the soup.

"Science doesn't taste good."

Mio covered her forehead.

"You shut up too."

Jiang Jiuyou raised her hand, and the main control channel was fully connected.

"The whole city is entering test-fire stance."

"Secure safety ropes in the lower hold."

"Engineering district, stay away from the main energy conduits."

"Commercial district, no rolling dice at the moment of the cannon strike."

The Boss Lady was immediately dissatisfied.

"You're controlling this too?"

Yi Chang's notification popped up simultaneously.

[Illegal dice roll, deducting betting pool credit points.]

The Boss Lady gritted her teeth.

"Fine, I'll calculate it by hand."

The public screens in the lower hold all lit up.

Mine slaves, craftsmen, and prisoners of war crowded along the passage, looking up at the remote projection.

Someone muttered in a low voice.

"Can it really hit three hundred kilometers away?"

"And that's a Grey-White Sanctuary stronghold..."

Iron Wall stood on the high platform carrying a heavy machine gun.

"Watch the screen, don't block the construction lines!"

In the commercial district, the Boss Lady had already hung up a sign.

[First shot hits, odds 1 to 2.]

[One shot pierces the beacon tower, odds 1 to 6.]

[Three shots wipe out the stronghold, odds 1 to 15.]

Yi Chang passed by and took a look.

"40% commission."

The Boss Lady took a deep breath.

"Got it!"

On the deck.

Jiang Jiuyou counted down.

"Three."

Among the twelve main cannons, the muzzle of the first one lit up with a dark red light.

The Star Ocean composite energy furnace started.

The main Star Core mine supplied the flow.

The residual energy of the Tier 6 Hunter King core was compressed into the third power supply chain.

"Two."

Qin Hongye lay on the sniper platform, the Meteor Orbit Sniper Cannon aimed at an invisible refraction point in the distance.

The bandage on her right shoulder was stained red, but her hand was terrifyingly steady.

"One."

Chen Chen raised his hand.

"Fire."

Boom!

The first Star-Splitting Main Cannon ignited.

A dark red beam sprayed from the muzzle, and the entire fortress shook back by half a foot.

The safety ropes in the lower hold tightened in unison, and tens of thousands of people were shaken against their seats.

Mio screamed at the main control console.

"Cannon mount bolt number three has shifted!"

Copper Hammer roared back.

"If it didn't fly off, it's not broken!"

At the same instant.

Qin Hongye pulled the trigger.

The Gauss projectile hit the spatial refraction point three hundred kilometers away 0.2 seconds early.

That turbulence was forced open to create a brief void.

The Star-Splitting beam passed through, heading straight for the Gray-White stronghold.

The temporary beacon tower had just deployed its shield, and the top of the tower was pierced by the beam.

The Gray-White mechanical sound played halfway.

[Remote detection—]

Boom!

The entire beacon tower melted from the middle.

Before the upper half of the tower body fell, the internal upload core had already burned into a red dot.

Shen Wanbing immediately reported the numbers.

"Hit."

"Upload interrupted."

"Beacon tower core scrapped."

The lower hold passage instantly erupted.

"It hit!"

"It really hit from three hundred kilometers away!"

The Boss Lady slammed her abacus.

"1 to 6 odds, pay up!"

"Don't rush, those who bet on three-shot wipeout, don't leave!"

Jiang Jiuyou didn't give the Gray-White stronghold any reaction time.

"Second cannon, third cannon."

"Lock onto the Dismantling Sentinels."

The two Tier 5 peak Dismantling Sentinels had already deployed shields.

Bone armor popped out from their backs, and the gray-white cores in their chests began to spin at high speed.

[Star-Splitting Main Cannon model acquisition—]

The second cannon fired.

The dark red beam descended, and the shield was forcibly penetrated.

True damage stacked with the Star-Splitting melting effect; the left sentinel's chest collapsed on the spot, and half its mechanical body was driven into the ground.

The third cannon followed immediately after.

The right sentinel tried to move sideways, but Jiang Jiuyou had locked onto its path in advance.

Qin Hongye's auxiliary projectile grazed the crystal wall, blowing up the support node beneath its feet.

The sentinel paused for 0.1 seconds.

The main cannon beam hit its head squarely.

Boom!

The gray-white armor exploded, and the remains twitched twice on the wasteland before completely shutting down.