Chapter 359: Destruction Prologue (Part 2)

  There was no sound at all, as even sound itself was shattered along with the Grand Hall of Light.

  A figure as brilliant and dazzling as a meteor, carrying the only power capable of tearing through this darkness, slammed down heavily. Before any sound could be made, the surrounding marble structures collapsed silently, like a pile of ashes.

  The dozen or so Wights, transformed from the Popes' corpses, were simultaneously crushed into powder under this force. Among them, several Wights still had the light of imminent magic spells shining in their hands, which also dissipated without a trace. No shockwave was released in this collision. Whether it was matter, magic, or air, everything centered on the two of them was shattered and annihilated. The black aura and the white light, two extreme and opposing massive forces, fought and crushed each other, generating a destructive power that even surpassed the forces themselves, grinding all tangible and intangible things in the surroundings into the finest particles.

  The only things not shattered were at the center of the impact: the two figures, one black and one white. In the instant of the collision, the white light, rapid as a meteor, stopped in its place, while the figure enveloped in the black aura was sent flying horizontally. The one static and the one moving had completely switched roles in the blink of an eye. No sound was transmitted, but the thousands of people on the square felt their hearts tremor violently along with the impact.

  As the dust settled, more than half of the Grand Hall of Light was no longer in existence. A massive semi-circular crater with a radius of several dozen meters was formed with their collision as its center. There was nothing else, only Gru standing alone in a cloud of dust that he had completely annihilated.

  The dozens of priests and swordsmen who had been in front of the great hall had now left not a single trace. In the collision of black and white powers, even the air was crushed, forming a vacuum that sucked them in. Only four managed to retreat in time. The moment Gru's figure flashed by, Ethan and Lancelot immediately grabbed the immobile Magnus and Talise respectively and retreated hastily.

  Only these two could understand at a glance the consequences of these forces clashing. Only they could have such a reaction and speed, and only they could see clearly that in the blinding white light, it was Gru who had slammed a fist into Javi's chest, sending this newborn Lich King flying like a cannonball. It seemed even his body had been torn apart.

  Javi was now out of sight. In the direction he flew, all buildings and trees were destroyed and shattered, carving out a straight path that extended beyond the horizon. It seemed he had flown out of The Radiant Citadel. The gray-black aura that had always shrouded The Radiant Citadel was gradually receding. The corpses that had just stood up fell down once more.

  After a brief moment of silence, the deafening cheers and howls of the orcs erupted. The swordsmen and priests, however, stood frozen in terror, at a loss. The power displayed had long surpassed human comprehension, just like the aura of The Black Star. It brought only utter shock.

  The black energy on Talise's wrist was receding. She finally caught her breath, looked up at Ethan who had pulled her back, and asked in a low voice, "Why did you save me?"

  Ethan didn't even look at her, just looked at the Pope and Lancelot and said quickly, "Go. Now." Then he lunged forward.

  Magnus and Lancelot nodded at the same time. The Pope had also regained his senses, but his face remained as grim as before, just like Lancelot's. Unlike everyone else on the square, the two leaders of the Church showed no excitement or terror. Their faces were still filled with an expression of extreme gloom. After nodding, they did not charge forward with Ethan but instead retreated backward, shouting as they did, "All personnel, evacuate The Radiant Citadel. Quick, quick."

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  Not everyone could hear their voices, and even those who heard might not have been able to react in time. Lancelot and the Pope first found several high priests and bishops in the crowd, and then their commands were quickly relayed. The crowd began to disperse in all directions.

  At this moment, the cheers of the orcs also came to an abrupt end, because Ethan had retreated, carrying Gru back into the orc crowd.

  Gru's hand, the one that had just sent Javi flying, had now turned completely black. The muscles, which had once seemed as perfect as if condensed from the essence of life, had now become the lifeless, jet-black of peat. This blackness was continuously spreading across his body. Although he was still conscious, the only strength he had left was to stand. All of his Battle Qi, power, and life force had been completely burned away in that single strike.

  "Put me down. That guy isn't dead yet..." Gru said to Ethan in a low voice. His eyes were still fixed on the direction Javi had flown. His voice, though faint to the point of being almost inaudible, was still firm. Half a measure of voice, but twelve-fold fighting spirit.

  "But if you go up there again, you'll be the one who dies," Ethan sighed, handing Gru over to a few orc chieftains. "Let's retreat for now."

  The gray-blackness in the sky was only receding from here; it wasn't dissipating, but was instead converging on another location. Ethan could feel it clearly. That massive, terrifying black aura had not weakened much. The aura that had filled the surroundings had all flowed back to replenish the damage caused by that blow.

  Retreat for now. Ethan smiled wryly. He knew better than anyone that this was the legendary Lich King who would destroy the world, the one who could destroy even the Ancient Elven Empire. What meaning could retreating have? What meaning could "for now" possibly have?

  But this was, after all, just the hilt. The real The Black Star was still a thousand miles away in the Diya Valley. This Lich King was surely not complete. Perhaps by gathering more strength, healing Gru, and seeking the help of the elves in the Whispering Woods, there might still be a way. This was the only hope he had left.

  "Never mind the others. Just get everyone out of here as quickly as possible," Ethan yelled. In truth, there was no need to yell anymore. Both orcs and humans were fleeing. The mutual hostility and vigilance between them had vanished in the face of a greater fear, just like wild beasts fleeing a flood or a forest fire, no longer caring about fighting amongst themselves.

  "Where's the little girl who was with me just now?" Ethan grabbed Luken and asked.

  It wasn't just Ethan and Lancelot; even the other ordinary people and orcs had noticed it. The black aura in the air was slowly surging back from the direction it had just receded from, and it was denser and heavier, as if it had returned to a darker, more terrifying origin to be reforged and tempered.

  A simple retreat was no longer possible. The only thing to do was to fight their way out. The orcs and humans were no longer fighting each other. The fighting was now between the living and the dead. Under this newly surging aura, the corpses that had just fallen were rising to their feet once more. And this time, it wasn't just on the square. All the corpses of orcs, humans, and beasts who had died in battle within The Radiant Citadel were transforming into undead. The recent battle had already created more corpses than the living who remained. In just a few breaths, a massive undead army appeared within The Radiant Citadel, attacking every living being nearby.

  A massive black shadow appeared at the edge of The Radiant Citadel. It was a mass of black aura, so dense and extreme that a single glance would fill a person with gloom, fear, despair, and the sensation of death. Like a colossal god of death crawling out of the abyss of the underworld, it displayed the majesty of death and the vastness of death before all living beings. This mass of aura was moving slowly towards them. It was Javi, who had been sent flying.

  The ground churned continuously. Countless bones emerged from the depths of the earth. Not just human skeletons, but more of them were the enormous bones of dragons and other nameless monsters. In this profound aura of death, these corpses, which had been dormant for who knows how many years, all revived in the form of undead monsters.

  These countless zombies and skeletons frantically bit, attacked, and trampled any living person nearby. Even when shattered and destroyed, they pressed forward relentlessly, showing no fear. They would celebrate their rebirth with a feast of death. The ground continued to split open, and more, larger, and more unimaginable skeletal monsters continuously drilled out from below. Even on this not-so-large piece of land that was The Radiant Citadel, the corpses accumulated over millions of years were innumerable.

  Orcs and humans were now indistinguishable, merging into a torrent to break through. At some point, priests had even begun to bestow blessings upon orcs. No one cared anymore if the person next to them was of the same kind or shared the same faith. As long as they were alive, as long as they weren't a corpse, they were enough to be a companion.

  Ethan was also in this torrent of humans, orcs, and undead, charging left and right. But he wasn't trying to survive; he was looking for someone.

  "Aimee! Aimee..." Ethan yelled, his voice completely drowned out by the surrounding sounds. He had to push and shove past the orcs and humans around him, carving a path through the countless undead to search.

  Although he had left Aimee in the orc crowd, everything that had happened afterward was too shocking and terrifying. No one had any extra attention to spare for a little girl. He asked several orcs but found nothing. He had no choice but to search for her himself.

  This was absolutely not the time to be looking for someone, but Ethan knew he had to, and that he must find her no matter what.

  Finally, after incidentally blasting apart a group of skeletons and zombies to help a small squad of swordsmen rejoin the main force, Ethan finally saw Aimee. But his heart held no joy, only a bone-chilling coldness that rose from his chest and abdomen, piercing through all his senses. This coldness was not just cold; it was pain, a thorough, heart-wrenching pain, like an ice dagger stabbing into the body, freezing all the warm flesh and blood into ice before twisting and shattering it into fragments.