Chapter 1 The Sleepless

　　This deafening sound awakened everyone slumbering outside Ironclad Walls.

　　The lights of a dozen or so Originium skiffs ignited instantly, soaring into the sky as the North Continent's transcendents awoke at once.

　　The Five Great Families' transcendents were quick to act as well.

　　In a matter of mere seconds, more than a dozen figures levitated into the air. The searchlights of the Originium skiffs shone toward the shattered section of the Ironclad Walls… only to be met with a wall of fog. Snow mingled with dust and smoke, and at this crucial moment, mental power proved useless.

　　The power within the Sky Sheath's core area suppressed all transcendent abilities… Even Gui and Xue were unable to "see" the specific situation within the core area with their minds.

　　The alarm blared.

　　"What happened?"

　　Luo Yu, without even bothering to dress, rushed out of his dwelling. He gazed at the shattered thunderlight and stone fragments filling the sky, his expression ashen.

　　Beside him, a Watcher's voice trembled, "Lord, the Sky Sheath… it's been breached…"

　　These words struck like a bolt from the blue.

　　Luo Yu's mind went blank.

　　The Ironclad Walls had been shattered from within. Even from miles away, countless "tiny" holes were visible. This was the place where the most dangerous prisoners of the East Continent were confined! If they were to break through the inner prison, even a gap of a centimeter in the outer Ironclad Walls would be enough for them to exploit.

　　"Quick, quickly surround the Ironclad Walls!"

　　Luo Yu commanded anxiously, instinctively.

　　"No… don't rush into action."

　　A strong hand gripped the Watcher's shoulder.

　　"Young Master!"

　　The surrounding Gu family transcendents felt their panic lessen considerably upon seeing this figure.

　　The Gu family had many Watchers.

　　Gu Nanfeng was the leader, but the thing he was protecting was not a certain house, or a certain corner.

　　Gui and Xue's minds enveloped the Ironclad Walls.

　　And Gu Nanfeng quietly protected the entire temporary base.

　　He had been honing his mind all night, and so he had immediately awoken the moment the explosion occurred.

　　In this temporary base, Gu Nanfeng was the first transcendent to act… Thanks to the ultra-fast movement speed granted by his cultivation of "Arashi Cut," he instantly moved, swept to the outermost edge of the base, and sliced apart dozens of stone pillars that had broken off from the core area and were hurtling towards the base. These were deadly threats in the darkness. Without his intervention, many young Gu family transcendents might have suffered undeserved calamities tonight.

　　Many transcendents could have been seriously injured or even killed in this sudden explosion.

　　Fortunately, the base was far enough away that the impact force of these falling stone pillars was greatly reduced.

　　Otherwise, even he would have found it difficult to intercept them all!

　　"Now is not the time to act. Have you forgotten? The explosion originated from the 'Sky Sheath Core Area'!"

　　Gu Nanfeng's voice was decisive, carrying authority. "Everyone, stay where you are! No unauthorized actions!"

　　He was present for one "Sky Sheath Collapse."

　　That explosion came from the Traveler drawing his sword… Although the Sword in the Stone was not completely pulled out by that big fellow, the phenomena caused by drawing the sword at that time were terrifying.

　　He didn't know what happened tonight.

　　The Sword in the Stone stirred again!

　　The scale of this explosion… was much more frightening than before. He was afraid that the internal prison had been completely destroyed.

　　There must be transcendent criminals who were seriously injured in the shockwave from this Sword in the Stone explosion.

　　But there must also be powerful enough transcendents who had broken free of their restraints.

　　The "Ironclad Walls" were no longer "Ironclad Walls" at this moment… They were true "wolves," imprisoned here, their anger with no outlet, perhaps having long lost hope of survival.

　　If the Gu family transcendents rashly entered the Snow Cage, wanting to investigate, they would likely be directly killed by these transcendent criminals if they were to encounter them!

　　The crowd obeyed, exchanging glances.

　　This time, the Ironclad Walls had been breached in more than one place.

　　The temporary base and the North Continent Originium skiffs were only stationed at the corner that the Traveler had previously crashed through. This time, the "explosion"… must have provided those transcendent criminals with an escape route.

　　"Young Master, are we just going to wait?" Luo Yu was anxious. He gritted his teeth and said, "Some of them may have already escaped to the north!"

　　Gu Nanfeng lowered his eyes, unmoved, and said calmly, "Take a headcount, organize the teams."

　　Luo Yu was stunned.

　　"Yes…"

　　Based on his trust in Gu Nanfeng, he could only take a deep breath, suppress his confusion, and choose to obey.

　　The transcendents of the temporary base immediately sprang into action.

　　They began to take a headcount, confirming whether their teammates had lost contact through the mental channel. The explosion just now was too frightening… Many were still in a state of shock. Now, with this ample buffer time, they slowly recovered.

　　Gu Nanfeng stood alone on a snowy slope in the temporary base.

　　He looked toward the high tower.

　　In the howling wind and snow, Gui and Xue stood solemnly on the tower's peak.

　　These two "wardens" had not acted immediately. Powerful as they were, they dared not rashly enter the core area after such a violent explosion within the Sky Sheath… And those prison officers responsible for guarding the Snow Cage had also received orders not to act rashly.

　　Gu Nanfeng met Gui and Xue's eyes, then looked toward the "Originium skiffs" hovering in the distant sky.

　　……

　　……

　　"Did you guys feel that just now? It was like a furnace exploded!"

　　"I saw it with my own eyes… the Sky Sheath exploded!"

　　"Lord Zhuxue, how could this be?!"

　　The control channel of the North Continent Originium skiffs was filled with noise.

　　Lin Chou, draped in a grand duke's robe, silently watched the sky outside the Originium skiff. He sat in the main skiff, witnessing the entire "explosion." Tonight, he was supposed to be an inconspicuous "observer," but the sudden explosion had nearly shattered the main skiff's purple-silver windows. Someone's earlier assessment was flamboyant, but also accurate.

　　This commotion was like… a furnace exploding.

　　The North Continent Originium skiff squadron, descending to low altitude and turning off their lights to rest, had been struck by a massive shockwave in an instant. Countless stone fragments shattered the Ironclad Walls and then tore through the copper skin of the Originium skiffs. Fortunately, these temporarily deployed Originium skiffs were dispatched from nearby fortresses and possessed "combat functions," being thick enough to withstand the aftershocks, and no one was injured or killed.

　　But the Snow Cage's change had caused an uproar among the North Continent transcendents!

　　"Radar malfunction…"

　　"The external links to the Deep Sea are broken, we can only use the local network now!"

　　The Sky Sheath fragments that had sprayed out damaged the "mental network" within the North Continent Originium skiff squadron. Fortunately, everyone could still communicate through private channels, preventing them from being forced into a "silent state."

　　"Lord Zhuxue, 'criminals' are escaping from the Snow Cage!"

　　This exclamation silenced the noisy control channel instantly.

　　After enduring the violent impact, the energy supply of the Originium skiff squadron was generally damaged, limiting their altitude. But this altitude was high enough to see the "core area" of the Snow Cage. Amidst the churning snow dust and smoke, several gaunt figures could vaguely be seen, breaking free from the solid Snow Cage prison and speeding towards the northern Ironclad Walls!

　　Although they were North Continent people, they also knew the significance of the Snow Cage to the East Continent!

　　This was the top prison in the East Continent, where the most powerful criminals were imprisoned… Transcendents who could withstand an explosion in the core area of the Sky Sheath and survive would become a "nightmare"-like existence once they were freed!

　　"Lord Zhuxue, I request to carry out a 'pursuit operation'…"

　　Someone spoke softly and seriously, "Using the Originium skiff squadron at this moment, passing directly over the core area to block the north, may still give us a chance to contain the actions of those criminals below."

　　Below the Originium skiffs was the temporary base built by the Gu family.

　　No matter how fast the Gu family acted, they couldn't compare to the Originium skiffs… The only ones who could carry out a "containment" operation at this moment were them!

　　"Request denied."

　　Zhuxue stood in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the spiderweb cracks on the glass, and said in a calm voice, "No one is allowed to enter the airspace of the 'Sky Sheath core area'… No one is allowed to start the Originium skiff energy without my order."

　　At this moment, the North Continent still had another option, which was to detour and block.

　　Detouring around the Sky Sheath core area would be slower, but it could still achieve a "containment" effect.

　　Zhuxue's words stunned all the North Continent transcendents. No one expected the Grand Duke to issue such an order… Stopping the Originium skiff operation would be tantamount to letting the "criminals" of the Tundra Prison carry out a large-scale prison break?

　　Someone asked in confusion, "Then… what are we supposed to do now?"

　　"Now, everyone land."

　　Lin Chou returned to the control panel. He knew that his words would cause a lot of controversy, so he smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "Open the 'energy shields', and then firmly park the Originium skiffs on the ground. If anyone really wants to do something, they can try leaving the skiff and carefully check the external damage of the Originium skiff within the range of the shield… Remember, it's best for those who want to leave the skiff to wear red-silver protective suits to avoid direct contact with the 'Sky Sheath fragments'."

　　……

　　……

　　"Rumble, rumble—"

　　The muffled sound of exhaust echoed not far from the temporary base. These Originium skiffs were parked between the Ironclad Walls and the base, and now they were opening their energy shields one by one, landing on the ground. The Gu family transcendents who had gathered on the ground looked at this scene with confusion.

　　"What's going on?!"

　　"Why did those North Continent guys choose to land?!"

　　The aftermath of the Sky Sheath explosion directly tore through the northern Ironclad Walls of the Tundra Prison.

　　Even without a view, it could be guessed that the moment the explosion ended was when the Snow Cage criminals would try to escape, and the North Continent military, with their Originium skiffs, was the only force that had a chance to contain the escape.

　　Luo Yu was taking a headcount when he saw this scene. He quickly jogged to Gu Nanfeng's side and asked, "Young Master, didn't you contact Lin Chou?"

　　Gu Nanfeng had ordered the Gu family to regroup.

　　He thought that the Young Master had already discussed it with Lin Chou, and that the North Continent would use the Originium skiffs for a lightning strike to block the escape routes of the criminals in the prison.

　　But now, the North Continent's choice took him by surprise!

　　Choosing to land, open the energy shields, and check the Originium skiff damage at this moment was equivalent to giving up on "containment"!

　　"No."

　　Gu Nanfeng said lightly, "The Sky Sheath destroyed the North Continent Originium skiff's 'mental network', and… I don't need to contact him either. Just continue taking the headcount."

　　Luo Yu paused.

　　He took two steps back.

　　The second deafening sound struck again… Gale-force winds wrapped in lightning, and fragments of stone from the sky above exploded. The Sword in the Stone had "exploded" a second time. This was a bit like the aftershock explosion of a fire, but the second time was much smaller than the first. However, the Ironclad Walls had already been torn apart, and this impact on the temporary base was even more terrifying than the first!

　　"Retreat, retreat!"

　　As the second explosion struck, Luo Yu shouted wildly as he ran.

　　In that instant of the raging wind, he subconsciously thought that the temporary base, like before, would be completely exposed to the Sword in the Stone's explosive bombardment, until dozens of beams of light suddenly lit up in the darkness. It was the light from the energy shields of the Originium skiffs that had barely landed.

　　"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

　　At this moment, the giant airships that had landed, their shadows like temporary trenches and fortresses, provided unprecedented solid protection in this violent explosion… The Gu family transcendents who had previously objected to the Originium skiffs landing now understood Lin Chou's true intentions. These Originium skiffs, located between the temporary base and the Ironclad Walls, had withstood the aftermath of the explosion.

　　The color of the energy shields instantly dimmed.

　　In the North Continent camp, there were indeed some transcendents who couldn't restrain themselves. They had put on their red-silver protective suits when the airships landed and were preparing to leave the airships to carry out inspections… But this quick succession of secondary explosions made them sit down on the ground with pale faces, completely dispelling their desire to take action.

　　They recalled Lin Chou's self-deprecating tone when he had issued the order, bearing countless doubts and confusion.

　　Had the Grand Duke already foreseen that there would be a second explosion?

　　If the Grand Duke had listened to the suggestion and chosen the order of… directly crossing the Sky Sheath core area to carry out containment activities… then what would have happened to the Originium skiffs?

　　They would probably have been directly destroyed?

　　Thinking of this, the faces of the transcendents in the North Continent camp turned ugly.

　　Facts proved that landing was the best choice—

　　It protected themselves, and also protected the Gu family's temporary base behind them!

　　The second explosion began with a sudden burst of light.

　　It started quickly and ended quickly.

　　Thanks to the timely landing of the North Continent airships, the Gu family's temporary base suffered no major losses. However, the massive shockwave still scattered the crowd that was gathering inside the base.

　　"Young Master, no one in the Gu family base was injured or killed."

　　Luo Yu completed the final headcount. No one was injured or killed. This headcount result could not have been more perfect.

　　But his expression was very unsightly.

　　He bit his lip and said, "Lord… the headcount just now revealed that Zhong Gui is not in the base, and one of the Gu family's Watchers is also missing. The whereabouts of the two are unknown."

　　……

　　……

　　(There will be another chapter tonight)