As a seasoned general, Robert was no gambler. He would not wait until total collapse before ordering a retreat. Thus, he chose to withdraw at the first signs of danger, while retreat was still possible. This way, he could at least preserve his forces and avoid entrapment or complete annihilation.

The Holy Court’s army withdrew from the ruined Monclova like a receding tide.

General Geppetto was the last to leave, clashing head-on with the mysterious chosen servant of the ancient gods. Geppetto’s scissor blade shredded the black hood, revealing a shriveled head with sunken eye sockets burning with ghostly blue flames.

Geppetto’s scissors tore the skull’s mouth open, ripping it from one ear to the other.

But the ancient god’s chosen servant was no easy foe, swinging his massive scythe and severing half of Geppetto’s neck. Geppetto’s head hung crookedly on his shoulder, with rotating gears exposed inside the severed section of his neck, occasionally sparking with electricity.

Huangfu Ji felt a trace of regret. He could have pursued the enemy, but his priority now was to suppress Rahu and reassert control to prevent this creation from going berserk. Thus, he could only watch as the Steam Consul withdrew from the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the assault on San Antonio had officially begun.

The two Immortals could no longer rely solely on strategic endurance. They both arrived in person. Joseph took command within San Antonio, while Gong Fu positioned himself outside the city, facing him from afar.

However, neither intervened directly. They waited for the right moment. Initially, the battle remained within conventional warfare. Whoever faltered first would be forced to act, and acting first would risk being countered. Between evenly matched opponents, this timing was crucial.

The Western Daoist Order once again deployed its artillery formations, initiating bombardment.

The Holy Court responded in kind. While ground reinforcements could not arrive in time, aerial forces could. This time, they did not deploy ordinary flying crafts made from machinery and steam. Instead, this flying vessel was a purely arcane construct. Its form resembled an enormous nautilus, unlike the typical Holy Court designs.

This Nautilus Vessel was a top-tier warship developed by the Steam Evangelical Sect to rival the Daoist Order’s Yinglong Warships. It resembled a living nautilus, with tentacles stretching for thousands of meters, writhing through the air.

Accompanying the Nautilus Vessel were numerous wyvern riders circling around it as escorts. These riders streaked across the skies, wielding terrifying lances dozens of meters long, while the wyverns spewed flames.

The Western Daoist Order did not deploy the Daoist Order’s Yinglong Warship but instead sent out a Solar Ark.

It was as if the endless night had finally met dawn. A blinding radiance surged forth like a flood, illuminating heaven and earth, sweeping away all darkness.

A second sun seemed to appear in the sky, like a supreme eye gazing down upon the mortal world.

There were many sun gods in the world, but some had already fallen or departed from the mortal realm. Only Himiko and Kukulkan remained.

Among the sun gods, divine authority could be seized, shared, or inherited. This concept of divine authority was abstract, often manifesting as specific divine powers.

For example, after Himiko aligned with the Buddhist Sect and declared herself an incarnation of the Vairocana, she gained access to part of Vairocana’s divine authority and could wield his powers.

Far to the west of West Shakya was a place called Misir, once home to a fallen pantheon. Its chief deity was also a sun god. Each night, he would enter a state of death, boarding a night vessel through the Valley of the Dead into the underworld, passing 12 gates along the River of the Dead. Under the protection of the gods, he would defeat the chaos serpent Apep, then at the river’s end, transfer to a day vessel and rise again from Misir’s mother river.

This sun god had long perished, leaving behind only relics bathed in the light of a supreme will. Kukulkan, who still endured, seized this god’s divine authority and gained mastery over the night and day vessels. After cooperating with the Western Daoist Order, they jointly created the Solar Ark to counter the Steam Evangelical Sect’s Nautilus Vessel.

Golden eagle warriors appeared alongside the Solar Ark. They had eagle heads, human bodies, and golden wings and bathed in radiant light. They far outnumbered the wyvern riders and wielded bows and arrows.

These warriors were also special followers of the ancient gods. According to the pact between the Western Daoist Order and the ancient gods, the Western Daoist Order helped stabilize their faith, and in return, the ancient gods provided manpower and strength to aid in the struggle against the Steam Evangelical Sect.

In this campaign, whether attacking or defending cities, traces of the ancient gods could be seen everywhere. This was one of the Western Daoist Order’s unique strengths. However, local militias still could not compare to the Daoist Order’s standardized Spirit Guard forces.

The eagle warriors drew their bows and shot a volley of golden light, like a vast rain of radiance.

Within this rain of golden light were True Solar Flames, raising the temperature so much so that the air seemed distorted.

The wyvern riders, clad in crimson spiked armor, showed no fear in the face of the blazing lightstorm. They charged forward and endured the barrage head-on.

Though the battlefield had shifted from land to sky, the fundamental tactics remained unchanged. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The Nautilus Vessel and the Solar Ark remained in place, firing continuously. The former launched corrosive slime, each volley falling like acid rain, while the latter unleashed flames, raining down miniature meteor showers.

On the ground, the armies were also engaged in battle.

At this time, direct hand-to-hand combat had become rare. At a glance, the battlefield was filled with artillery smoke, swirling dust, and lines of trenches.

The thunderous artillery seemed unceasing, reducing the entire outskirts of the city to ruins.

Gong Fu had no intention of fully occupying San Antonio. His objective was simple—deliver a concentrated strike on San Antonio within a short time to systematically destroy the Holy Court’s logistics and military infrastructure. Then, he could declare victory, withdraw from the Northern Continent, and reclaim Del Rio.

At this point, the Holy Court’s forces were forced to retreat due to logistical strain. Thus, both sides returned to their original boundaries.

The guiding principle of this battle was to concentrate superior forces within a limited time, achieve breakthroughs one by one, fight swiftly, annihilate the enemy, and withdraw quickly.

In this way, the Western Daoist Order could prove its strength to the Daoist Order. They were not merely enduring attacks but were also capable of striking back and destroying San Antonio. At the same time, it would avoid escalating the conflict. The Western Daoist Order and the Steam Evangelical Sect would effectively end in a stalemate, neither able to overpower the other, ushering in a period of relative peace.

This was the essence of war serving politics, which happened to align with Qi Xuansu’s interests.

Qi Xuansu had been tasked with stabilizing the situation. If he could achieve this objective, it would count as a preliminary victory, allowing him to return to Jade Capital for a progress report before moving on to the next phase.

In fact, Qi Xuansu had already begun thinking about his return to Jade Capital to report on his work.

Ever since he learned that Little Yin had been bullied at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, he had been thinking of getting a gift for her, preferably a specialty from the Southern Continent that she had never seen before.

Of course, Qi Xuansu would not forget about his beloved wife and mother because it would be troublesome if they both got jealous. It would have been fine if he had prepared nothing at all. But if he treated them differently, he would never hear the end of it.

But if he prepared something for Madam Qi, should he also prepare something for both his mothers-in-law? What about his father-in-law?

Qi Xuansu felt a headache coming on and began looking for an easier solution. Perhaps he could simply have Chen Jianchou prepare everything in Jade Capital so he could just pick it up when he returned.