We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 314 Times Have Changed! Mysterious Flute Music?
"Must win!"

"Rhine! Victory is certain!!!"

As the shouts of the citizens of [Rhine City] gradually merged into one.

A strange feeling inexplicably arose in Xia En's mind.

It was as if an indescribable connection was being established between him and the people below.

If one had to put it into words, this connection is somewhat similar to the "threads" that Kur and Urals use when they pray to the Lord of the Rhine.

However, there are also some obvious differences.

For example, these "threads" are more of a one-way transmission of emotions between the Moon Wanderer and the Tree People.

Shaen could not perceive the perspective of these people in the same way he could perceive the perspectives of Kur and Urals, nor could he transmit [Void Arcane Power].

Suddenly, a realization dawned on Xia En, and he secretly guessed.

"Could this be what is called the 'power of faith'?"

The power of faith is something invisible and intangible, but it may actually exist in this world.

It's possible that both the [Radiant Cult] and the [Deepest Cult] can draw upon this power.

Although Xia En had disguised himself as a follower of the "Radiant Cult" and a descendant of the "Deepest Descendants" to deceive these two esoteric sects, he himself had never had any real faith in the gods.

Now, however, he has become the object of worship for the people of the [Rhine Realm].

This feeling... is quite novel?

Putting aside the question of what use this power might have, Xia En looked at the spirited crowd below and couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

Although it was just a spur-of-the-moment pre-battle mobilization, it seems to have been quite effective.

Moreover, Xia En vaguely sensed—

The people of Rhine City not only had their morale boosted, but also seemed to have received the blessing of an invisible force.

Perhaps this is because, as the Lord of the Rhine, Shane inherently carries the support of the Will of the Mystic Realm.

At this moment, through his encouragement of the people of Rhine City, he also shared this blessing, or rather, "luck," with them.

This is equivalent to giving all members a buff that increases morale and luck, giving them a better chance of survival in the upcoming battle.

at the same time.

The crew members behind him also looked at Shane with surprise.

Although they had seen Shane give orders on the ship, that was still within the normal scope of a captain.

But now, standing on the city walls of Rhine City, feeling the heartfelt worship and respect expressed by the residents, everyone was inevitably shocked.

Joey's beautiful eyes widened, filled with amazement.

"So this is how the captain is treated in the [Rhine Secret Realm], he's practically treated like a lord... no, like a king!"

When Feia was on Silvermoon Island, as the son of the governor, she enjoyed a period of "noble" life.

However, the attitude of the residents of Silvermoon Island towards the governor is incomparable to the support of the residents of Rhine Realm for Shain.

That's why Fei Ya understands even more how rare and precious this situation is.

If such support and trust are passed down from generation to generation.

Therefore, in the future, [Rhine City] will undoubtedly become a reliable and powerful reserve force for Shane!

Perhaps by then, Shane will be able to pull out a fully armed army at any time.

Just imagining that scenario fills Fei Ya with excitement.

However, the amazement and admiration of the crowd did not last long.

Just then, a thunderous roar suddenly came from afar.

Rumbling--

Xia En looked in the direction from which the roaring sound came.

A black line appeared on the ground in the distance, surging towards the direction of [Rhine City].

The earth began to tremble, and deep, mournful roars echoed from the distant forest.

The roars were like a tidal wave, indicating that there were probably at least several thousand ferocious beasts.

When they burst out of the forest, they seemed to transform into a dark, oppressive cloud, vast and overwhelming, creating an extremely strong sense of unease.

Just looking at them makes you feel breathless.

The Moonlit Clan and the Treant Clan watched this scene intently, holding their breath as if facing a formidable enemy.

Xia En's expression also turned somewhat serious.

In the Rhine Realm, a single beast is actually quite weak and not particularly frightening.

But when their numbers accumulate and they charge together, their power can only be described as terrifying.

Just like in the era of cold weapons, the scene of hundreds or thousands of cavalry charging was an unstoppable torrent for the civilization of that time.

Individual strength appears extremely insignificant in the face of such a beast tide.

It is likely that only legendary powerhouses possess the ability to single-handedly confront a horde of beasts.

Moreover, [Rhine City] has a fatal flaw.

That is……

Too few people!

Even if newborns have been born in the [Rhine Secret Realm], the newly born infants cannot quickly become usable combat forces.

Even with the Moonlit Clan's characteristic of universal conscription, aside from the elderly and children, the number of people who can be used as fighting force is only about five hundred.

As for the number of Tree People, they are even rarer.

The number of ferocious beasts currently in sight is at least a thousand.

It's easy to imagine how much pressure they'll face once the beast tide really gets close to [Rhine City].

Moreover, Xia En had a small wish in his heart.

He did not want any of the people of the Rhine Realm to perish in this beast tide.

Even if the idea sounds impractical, how will you know if you can do it if you don't try?

Boom! Boom—

The black line appeared to move very slowly, but in reality, it was incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, it pushed forward more than a hundred meters.

As the beast tide drew closer, the ground tremors and distant roars became increasingly clear.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, the gaping maws, sharp teeth, and scarlet eyes of the strange beasts were already faintly visible.

Even the encouraged Yongyue tribesmen felt a little apprehensive upon seeing such a sight.

"Gulu..."

Some people couldn't help but swallow, their throats feeling dry.

Although Xia En looked serious, his mind remained as calm as ice and snow.

Looking at the berserk beast, a question arose in his mind.

Under normal circumstances, the creatures in the Rhine Realm are generally quite docile, especially the herbivores—even the Moon Wanderers could be domesticated without much taming.

But now, they have shown a ferocious side and joined the beast tide.

Moreover, the arrival of this beast tide is shrouded in mystery.

Even if these native beasts wanted to destroy Rhine City, they wouldn't hide away first and then swarm out after accumulating a certain number.

This series of anomalies made it seem as if... someone was manipulating this beast tide. Shane's intuition told him that there might be some crucial secret hidden behind it.

However, this is clearly not the time to delve into this issue.

Because the distance between the beast tide and [Rhine City] has been shortened significantly once again.

Not to mention the ordinary Moon Wingers, even seasoned crew members like Joey and Faia showed signs of nervousness.

Sha Jingjing bit her lip and asked softly.

"Your Highness, perhaps..."

"It's not yet time."

Xia En waved his hand and said, "Let's wait until they're within their maximum lethal range."

"I will give the order when the time comes."

Upon hearing this, Sha Jingjing's eyes brightened slightly, as if she had regained some confidence, and she nodded emphatically, "Yes."

Not only Sha Jingjing, but all the other members of the Yongyue tribe were also waiting for Xia En's orders.

That's why Xia En was able to remain calm and composed.

To achieve zero casualties, every detail must be perfected.

Before long, Xia En received the arrival of the fighter jets.

Just as the dark, surging beast tide was less than a hundred meters from the first line of defense, Xia En's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he shouted an order.

"fire!"

At Xia En's command, the Moonlit Clan members, who were already prepared, immediately sprang into action.

On the city wall, heavy cannons began loading and firing.

—These heavy cannons were naturally equipment that Xia En purchased on [Liuli Island].

They generally look rather bulky and crude, and their accuracy is only so-so, but they are easy to operate, have a large enough caliber, and are powerful enough!
It is perfectly suited to defend against a massive, rushing beast tide.

No need for shooting accuracy, just bombard the beast horde with fire.

This can be considered a targeted weapon that Shane purchased to deal with this crisis.

However, before the numerous bulky cannons could fire, a strange heavy cannon with beautiful purple patterns was already poised to go beside Shane.

It's an enhanced version of the [Magic Cannon]!
In order to deal with this beast tide, Shane temporarily removed it from the Black Swan and took it to the Rhine Secret Realm!

At this moment, as the secret power continued to gather, the light from the cannon's muzzle grew brighter and brighter.

Then...

boom! ! !
A massive beam of light poured out from the muzzle of the [Magic Cannon], hurtling towards the beast horde at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

"Roar--"

The first giant tiger to be hit only managed to let out a roar of resentment before being completely melted by the surging beam of light.

The energy beam did not dissipate immediately, but continued to pierce through the bodies of dozens of wild beasts.

A trench hundreds of meters long and several meters deep was plowed into the ground, the soil was scorched black, and even showed signs of melting under the high temperature.

Those beasts that were swallowed by the light left not even a trace of their bones, let alone their corpses.

Only a faint aroma of roasted meat lingered in the air.

Such a ferocious and terrifying blast naturally brought the beast tide to a halt.

Those wild beasts that had narrowly escaped death couldn't help but show a hint of fear and trepidation.

However, the entire beast tide has already begun its charge and will not stop because of the pause of one or two strange beasts.

As a result, these wild beasts, if they paused even slightly, were trampled underfoot by their companions behind them and instantly turned into a pile of minced meat.

Upon seeing the terrifying pillar of light traversing the battlefield, the members of the Moonlit Clan couldn't help but let out a cheer.

"The Holy Son has made his move!"

At the same time, the cannons on the walls of Rhine City also began to roar in unison.

boom! boom! boom!
Solid shells rained down on the beast horde, raising dust and shaking the ground.

With each shell that landed, at least two or three strange beasts perished.

The shrapnel from the cannonballs will also cause significant secondary damage to nearby monsters.

In an instant, roars, booming sounds, and tremors echoed across the entire battlefield outside [Rhine City].

Compared to the clashes of cold weapons in the [Forge Realm], the war in the [Rhine Realm] has clearly entered the era of firearms.

Of course, it was Shane's side that unilaterally entered the era of firearms.

With so many gold dragon coins invested, Xia En naturally played a crucial role at the critical moment.

In this single round of bombardment, hundreds of alien beasts died on the spot, and countless others were injured.

In fact, those alien beasts injured by the shells would become obstacles to the beast tide because of their pain and fear.

In fact, even the illumination of the beams of light and the roar of the cannons had already caused considerable panic among the beast tide.

After all, these native creatures have always lived in the [Rhine Secret Realm].

They had never even seen gunpowder, let alone cannonballs.

Weapons that produce loud noises and cause physical harm naturally terrify wild animals.

Seeing signs of chaos emerging from the beast tide, a hint of joy flashed in Xia En's eyes.

To reiterate, a few individual wild beasts are not dangerous; only when they gather together do they pose a threat to Rhine City.

Beasts, times have changed!

But at this moment.

A distant and desolate flute melody rose from the direction of the forest, its tune strange and ancient, as if it came from a very distant era.

As soon as the flute music started, several skunk-like beasts in the horde had their eyes glow red and spewed out strange white smoke from their tails.

Where the white smoke dissipated, the strange beasts seemed to have entered a state of frenzy.

Their breathing became heavy, their eyes turned bloodshot, their veins bulged, and their muscles twitched abnormally.

Fear and pain all transformed into a bloodthirsty instinct.

"Roar!!!"

"Ouch!!"

The next moment, the numerous beasts roared again and charged forward at an even faster speed than before.

It was as if the previous shelling had never happened.

"This is?!"

Upon seeing this, Xia En frowned deeply.

The sound of that flute was clearly not something a wild animal could make; it was definitely the work of some intelligent being.

Could they be the native inhabitants of the [Rhineland Secret Realm]?

If that's the case, wouldn't the flute music just now mean that the natives have the ability to control their native wild animals?

So, the source of this beast tide seems to be emerging.

However, more important now than those long-term issues is resolving the immediate crisis.

laugh!
laugh!laugh!laugh!
Without Xia En's prompting, Sha Jingjing, who was beside her, drew her longbow and shot at the skunk-like beasts.

However, as the white smoke dissipated, they had already completed their mission.

Right now, the raging beast tide has breached the first line of defense of [Rhine City]!
(End of this chapter)