Chapter 89

Finally, the tactical plan was completed. The two young succubi hurried to eat and rest, while Katelina returned to the cockpit and began to pilot the Magic Wind Sailing towards the target location.

Da Fei used the skill point he gained when he leveled up to 26 to learn Phantom March, and then he assembled the Phantom Ballista in the cannon deck as part of the pre-battle preparations.

This operation was primarily a special forces infiltration and sabotage, with the warship's coastal artillery providing support. The NPCs had done all they could, but as the commander, the player had to decide how to fight and deploy troops. This was the moment for the expert to show his prowess and demonstrate his commanding presence.

The Phantom Ballista was finally assembled, and its legendary grandeur was revealed! This was a dazzling, opulent ballista that was so brilliant it was hard to look at directly. Anyone who didn't know better might think it was a luxury limited edition made by a wealthy tycoon just to show off. Of course, those who knew better knew that it was indeed a luxury limited edition made by a wealthy tycoon, but not for the sake of showing off.

Apart from the materials used, the structure and parts of the Phantom Ballista were no different from those of a regular ballista, meaning its physical damage was the same. The difference lay in the bolts.

Da Fei took out a bolt from his machine pack.

— Phantom Ballista Special Bolt: A master-level Ice Spire magic with 30 points of enchantment.

Now, destructive magic finally appeared. Let's briefly introduce destructive magic.

Destructive magic, as the name suggests, includes spells like Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Ice Spire, Meteor Shower, and Chain Lightning. To learn these, one must master the Destructive Magic skill. They are divided into single-target and area-of-effect spells.

Since a hero's attributes and skills can affect the entire army, it stands to reason that a hero's attack skills can also affect the entire enemy army. Therefore, a single-target spell doesn't just hit one soldier but an entire tactical position, which is an entire unit! For example, if a pikeman has 10 HP and no magic resistance, a 100-point Lightning Bolt would kill 10 pikemen.

Players might object: "Then what's the point? I worked hard for days to gather 10 soldiers, and he wipes them out with one shot!"

Don't worry. Since the magic affects the entire army, the damage is also shared by the entire army. If a player brings 11 pikemen and encounters a 100-point Lightning Bolt, the result isn't that only one soldier survives, but that all 11 pikemen are left with 0.9 HP. In other words, the 100 points of damage are distributed among the 11 pikemen, with each taking 9.1 points of damage. If there are injured pikemen with less than 9 HP, they will be the ones to die.

In short, when facing a mage, it's essential to bring more troops. One can attack with confidence, and the other can take the hit with peace of mind. In the early stages of the game, when players are often solo heroes, this is absolutely unacceptable. Without any troops to absorb the damage, a single shot can instantly kill the hero.

Since the attack targets a tactical position, a question arises. For example, if a player has 10 pikemen and hides 9 of them in a place where they can't be hit by magic, and only 1 pikeman is visible to the mage, how is the 100-point Lightning Bolt calculated? The answer is that the visible pikeman is killed, and the other 9 are unharmed, but the mage's mana cost is only 1/10. In other words, if a spell can kill 100 soldiers, but 99 are hidden, the mage's mana cost is only 1/100, making it a waste not to use it.

The power of magic increases with the hero's magic and the level of the magic skill. For example, the damage formula for the Ice Spire spell at different skill levels is as follows:

- Basic Destructive Magic: 60 + 12 × Magic, costing 8 mana.

- Intermediate Destructive Magic: 72 + 12 × Magic, costing 9 mana.

- Advanced Destructive Magic: 84 + 12 × Magic, costing 10 mana.

- Expert Destructive Magic: 96 + 12 × Magic, costing 11 mana.

- Master Destructive Magic: 108 + 12 × Magic, costing 12 mana.

In other words, the master-level bolt in Da Fei's hand, with 30 points of enchantment, deals 468 points of damage. Considering the Hell race's general resistance to fire and vulnerability to cold, the actual damage could be close to 1000!

Of course, this is the base damage from enchantment. 468 points of damage isn't much. Destructive magic also has sub-skills like Ice Master, Fire Master, and Storm Master, which can significantly increase spell damage, as well as combination sub-skills with other skills. In the later stages of the game, when magic heroes solve the mana sustainability issue, their power is undeniable. At that time, wars will be a rich man's game where a single Fireball can wipe out a group of cannon fodder. As for area-of-effect spells, they target multiple tactical positions, with the most famous being Chain Lightning, which, though not very powerful, can affect the entire army without exception.

Looking at the bolt, Da Fei was understandably stunned. How many enemies would this shot kill? Of course, killing enemies isn't the main point; the key is that the ballista's range is far greater than any mage's! It's a beyond-visual-range strike! When can I develop my own Phantom Ballista? When that day comes, my luxury warship will have 32 Phantom Ballistas, and a single volley will create a magical explosion. Hahaha!

A sailor came to report, "Captain, we've arrived at the destination!"

Da Fei took a deep breath, put all the special bolts into the ammunition box, and patted the sailor on the shoulder. "Good work!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The Flying Sailing approached the boundary of the barrier and stopped behind a grove of tree roots to hide its massive form. The Flying Sailing then lowered a landing boat, and Da Fei and a sailor quietly rowed the small boat forward. At this time, the two young succubi stealthily flew above the boat.

Seeing the golden barrier, the boat stopped. Da Fei activated stealth and Phantom March. With the double skill boost, Da Fei's form became as blurry as a shadow. The young succubi, of course, were even more invisible, and Da Fei could barely see them.

Perfect! This was the effect he wanted. As the commander, Da Fei was on the front lines to provide a godly skill boost. If the mission failed, he was prepared to sacrifice himself to draw the enemy's attention and give the two young succubi time to escape.

If the captain dies in battle, he will respawn in the captain's cabin. If all the sailors die, he will have to return to the city.

Da Fei quietly slipped into the water from the boat and carefully swam towards the barrier. The lake water of the Pool of Light might be terrifying acid to demons, but it was no problem for a good guy like Da Fei.

All actions were aimed at approaching the target undetected. Even the blessing spell that Serbia strongly requested was not used to avoid detection by the demons' detection magic.

Reaching the shore, Da Fei still didn't dare to land, remaining motionless in the water.

Da Fei began to command the two young succubi to fly out of the barrier and observe from the air. When soldiers are under a hero's command, they share the hero's vision.

Two squads of Nightmare Beasts and Hell Hounds, the mounted and dog patrol units, appeared. Hell Hounds! Da Fei immediately took a deep breath and dived underwater. Hell Hounds have very sensitive noses, and the only way to avoid detection was to stay in the water, which is why Da Fei didn't dare to land.

The two patrol squads passed each other. Now or never! Like a toad emerging from the water, Da Fei crawled out of the barrier, ignoring the 0-level Imp workers hopping around. If his godly skill and stealth were detected by these weaklings, it would be a travesty.

Finally, following the pre-planned route, Da Fei crawled to a puddle left by a construction vehicle, which looked like a siege engine. Yes! Success! In the puddle, the Hell Hounds wouldn't detect him.

Now, it was time to show his expert troop control.

Da Fei commanded the two young succubi to quietly fly near the lookout window of a newly completed magic tower and peek inside. To be precise, this should be called a magic watchtower, which is far inferior to the true magic towers where great mages study, and, of course, the cost is incomparably lower, which is why so many could be built.

Inside the watchtower, various masked mages were busy: casting spells on the magic array, moving spell materials from boxes, training imps, reading books, and bustling about. Damn, there were a lot of people, but their busy and chaotic appearance suggested they were not experienced, likely mage apprentices. It seemed Deirdre's guess was correct.

The room was filled with various instruments and bottles of strange liquids, all very intricate and inviting destruction. However, it wasn't easy to act.

Da Fei sent a succubus to check the first floor of the magic tower, which seemed to be a storage room. Various imps and Imps were carrying boxes up the spiral staircase. Watching the imps struggle with the boxes, Da Fei sighed. Wasn't this just inviting him to help?

Da Fei immediately commanded the succubus to fly to the box at the front of the staircase and give it a light kick! The box tilted!

The imp screamed, "Ah!!!"

Clang! The box slipped from the imp's hands and rolled down the stairs, colliding with the boxes behind it. The chain reaction of crashes and screams quickly alerted the mages upstairs.

— "You fools!!! That's valuable material!!!"

The mages rushed downstairs or turned around—now was the time to infiltrate!

Da Fei immediately commanded the succubus upstairs to fly into the room and hide behind a shelf of instruments and bottles. Perfect, no one noticed. Now, start with this shelf.

The young succubus quietly flew to the top of the shelf and—pushed! Creak— the shelf wobbled. Damn, it wouldn't fall!

Da Fei immediately commanded the other succubus to fly to the window upstairs. The room was still in chaos. Perfect, continue infiltrating! Two working together!

Creak— creak— creak—

The creaking of the shelf caught the attention of a mage in the room. He turned and saw the shelf collapsing like a falling sky, and he screamed, "Ah!!!"

Clang!!! Boom!!! The shelf crashed to the ground, bottles exploded, and the room was instantly filled with smoke and dust.

Great opportunity, time to retreat!

— "Fools!!! What's happening again!" The mage downstairs shouted angrily again!

At this moment, the magic array in the room flickered, and the crystal ball outside the watchtower, surrounded by magical light, flickered like an old fluorescent tube and went out!

Yes! Success! Now it was time for the warship to move in! As long as the warship was in position before the tower recovered, Da Fei could create a breakthrough.

(Seeking all kinds of votes! Although I don't know what Hao Yue is, I'll ask for it too. Wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)

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