There was a trace of resentment in his voice.
"In just the past few days Beyond the World, more than fifty Authority Holders have died in the sudden surge of undead!"
"Fifty! That's over a thousand times the usual rate of natural losses Beyond the World. There's never been a mass-casualty event like this!"
He fixed Deklan with a hard stare.
"If you arrived late because you had a long way to travel, I could understand."
"Beyond the World is vast. Information and people both take time to get anywhere. But you said you waited until we couldn't hold out before stepping in? What good would that do?"
"Were you planning to wait until we were all dead, then come assess the ruins?!"
Alvin had clearly been holding back too much anger and helplessness.
As the master of the Mechanical Divine Domain, he had watched the tragedy unfold. He had fought with everything he had to save the core region and some of its survivors, suffering severe injuries himself.
Faced with words that sounded both belated and condescending, he could no longer keep calm.
Through Alvin's fierce questioning, Deklan's silver, vortex-like eyes remained perfectly still. His expression did not change, as though Alvin's fury were no more than a breeze brushing a mirror.
Only when Alvin finished did he speak, his voice steady and strange as ever.
"Alvin, your anger is understandable."
"But the scale and nature of this undead calamity are far beyond the ordinary. Its source lies in the Boundary Land."
He paused. His gaze seemed to pass over Shen Yi before returning to Alvin.
"That lady—Lady Feng Qingyao—made the decision."
"Lady Feng Qingyao detonated the Black Fog Core that had accumulated deep within the Boundary Land. She intended to purify and weaken the deeper threat posed by