There was no immediate reaction from the surroundings.

The ever-roaring sea waves kept undulating in the background.

‘Well, I thought they would take the bait and prevent me from completing my declaration of war, but it seems they are more tactful... more cowardly than I thought.’

Shaking his head in dejection, Niu Chang controlled the World End Fortress, adding additional cannons to match the number of people approaching him.

However, after calculating their movement speed on his mental map, he realized that he wouldn't have enough time to gather sufficient energy and shoot them if he used nine star cannons.

This would be the case even if he used nine star cannons. Thus, the solution was to reduce the number of star cannons to maximize energy gathering and eliminate a few of them before the battle truly began.

Following Niu Chang’s command, the prismatic glass added only four more cannons to the wall, resulting in a total of five star cannons proudly pointing their long barrels outward.

Made of pure prismatic glass, the construct was a sight to behold, standing alone amidst the rampaging sea. It connected heaven and the sea, appearing as a miracle in the mortal realm.

The star cannons themselves did not resemble typical cannons or weapons; instead, they appeared more like extensions of the wall's exterior. They lacked a round and circular shape, instead following the contour of the protruding glass.

Occasionally, the World End Fortress would pulse with colorful light across its massive body, originating from both the top and bottom and converging in the middle where the cannons were located.

However, Niu Chang realized that his plan wasn't as effective as he had initially thought, as the nine dots on his mental map suddenly increased their speed.

In the end, he had no choice but to reduce the number of his star cannons to three to match the enemy's change.

The prismatic body of the World End Fortress continued to increase its pulsating colorful light, much like a heart racing due to strenuous activity.

Subsequently, the second brain initiated the firing procedure.

The mechanical voice continued to ring in Niu Chang’s mind, as he sensed a trace of powerful energy surrounding him, moving with delicate flow.

"Running preliminary preparations."

"Initializing power."

"Acquiring and tracking target."

"Loading projectiles."

"Charging the energy."

"Calibrating on targets."

"Waiting for final confirmation."

Time was tight, as the speed of the saint was beyond human reach.

‘Fire,’ Niu Chang confirmed, completing the last step using his second brain.

The pulsating colorful light on the prismatic wall behind him ceased to escalate as they reached a crucial juncture. The entire body of the prismatic wall fell silent, initiating safety protocols due to the recoil.

There was no explosive sound or blinding light; the sharp and straight portion of the cannon only emitted a light too fast to be captured by naked eyes. The cannon's foundation was instantly shattered into countless pieces before turning into fine dust.

This outcome was inevitable, given that the entire construct was still in development by the second brain. Moreover, attempting to shoot such condensed energy, beyond the current world's knowledge and ability, only heightened the challenge.

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Even for Niu Chang, compressing and sustaining that form of condensed energy in a stable state, and then detonating it as desired, proved to be a daunting task.

Much like his desire for the most efficient way to eliminate his enemies, Niu Chang aimed for every launched attack to hit its target without fail, as they were inherently intertwined.

Guided by the power of karmic bonds from his system, the second brain harnessed its potent computing capabilities and inhuman control over minute details when it came to destruction and violence, courtesy of the Massacre skill.

The three projectiles rapidly approached their target, initially without specificity, before adjusting their paths based on reactions.

No matter how powerful someone is at a certain stage, there will naturally be vast differences between each and every saint.

Thus, Niu Chang, unable to perceive his enemy's power, could only do so on the way.

As Niu Chang had expected, there were eyes watching around him that rendered all of his methods in hiding and concealing his presence and actions useless, giving the nine approaching enemies a head start and allowing them time to react.

However, it was too late, as the precise second brain and bloodthirsty Massacre intuition had already found their target and correspondingly controlled the three projectiles.

Less than a fraction of a second after the cannon was fired, and even less for the second brain and Massacre intuition to find their target, Niu Chang could only feel his head becoming heavier and his entire body growing hotter in compensation for the rapid usage of computational power from the second brain, along with an itchy sensation creeping into his mind, craving blood and chaos.

The three auxiliary thinking skills—the Celestial Astrolabe, the Lazy Tree, and the Chaotic Mind—were able to show their utmost potency because Niu Chang continued to be supplied with endless qi, mental power, and vitality from the system.

If not, he wouldn't be as carefree as he currently was, as he needed to ensure the energy consumption while utilizing all three of them as his second brain. Otherwise, he would be a dried corpse right now.

Once again, Niu Chang was not a fan of big spectacular explosions, as they contradicted his artistic value of violence.

Out of the nine dots on his mental map, only one had actually completely disappeared, one had stopped on the spot, and the last one was still moving, albeit at a very low speed.

‘Only one casualty? That is the most expected outcome of this attack. However, this only demonstrates how weak a saint is in front of my capabilities. I wonder on what stage they are—advanced or perfected,’ Niu Chang mused as he switched the World End Fortress mode into a pure energy-gathering construct.

On the other hand, the nine dots on Niu Chang's mental map represented the seven saints from the continent, plus two advanced stage saints living on the Flower Fruit Island—a flower demon and a bear demon.

Naturally, the young man with the heavenly appearance also accompanied this group, but he wasn't among the nine dots.

He continued to provide the nine advanced stage saints with information about Niu Chang's movements, but it proved to be rather ineffective.

The one who perished was the bear demon. He attempted to evade the projectile, but with a reminder from the handsome young man, he could only face it head-on, mustering all his strength to destroy it before it reached him.

Due to his attempt to counter the projectile, a peculiar phenomenon occurred. The projectile seemed to leap from its original location and directly enter the bear demon's body, accomplishing its objective.

The other saints who also wanted to assist were left stunned, ceasing their efforts to attack the projectiles. However, it was already too late for the other two who were targeted.

In a panic, they also attempted to defend against the projectile. These two were the man with multiple wives and Lan Xin.

The man with multiple wives produced various treasures to shield his inner world, yet he barely survived the explosion, which ultimately only crippled his foundation as a saint. His face displayed horror, pain, confusion, hatred, and helplessness.

As for Lan Xin, she temporarily put aside her primary task and devised various methods to counter Niu Chang's different abilities, which had demonstrated her ability to survive. Leveraging her focus on divination and calculation in cultivation, she devised a means to counter the only way Niu Chang could harm a saint: a pure energy detonation. Consequently, she managed to mitigate much of the destructive power of the Star Cannon. However, her complexion turned pale, and she was no longer detached from the external world, fully absorbed in her own thoughts.

For the first time in a while, she could observe the real world without any burdens weighing on her mind. She gritted her teeth as she confronted a new challenge. "What a sinister man!"

This was the strongest curse she could muster, targeting Niu Chang's lineage for eighteen generations—nine for his ancestors and nine for his descendants.

The young, handsome man assessed the situation and determined that the man with multiple wives was beyond immediate salvation. Consequently, he promptly moved to heal Lan Xin's injuries.

. . .

Niu Chang, who continued to gather more energy from the World End Fortress, found it rather amusing that someone had managed to survive without interference. His strategy did not end with a single strike; if his target survived the initial assault, they would only face prolonged suffering.

"Hah," he sighed with deep emotion. ‘The world is harsh, and so are its inhabitants. Living another day only brings more misery. Why bother to endure if only death awaits?’

As he concluded his words, the energy fluctuations around his body stirred, responding as if summoned by their respective names.