The entire ancient capital had turned into a sea of fire. It was as if the earth veins had been blasted open, with rolling magma surging up from underground. Soil, rocks, ruins, and broken walls had melted under the high temperature, transforming this place into a magma lake—a true forbidden zone for all living things.
The contract holders all watched this scene. Most of them stood around for a moment before turning and leaving, clearly unwilling to get involved. They did not need to know the details; just seeing this display was enough to tell them it was trouble.
The group had originally thought it was safe to watch the show from here, but after seeing that cross-shaped "Sun Holy Sword," they realized this place might not be safe at all.
Su Xiao paid no attention to the departing contract holders. He had been waiting for the kill notification. Although someone had once created a "fake notification" through a substitution technique, Apollo had been completely expended, yet no kill notification had appeared. Sure enough, the Gray Gentleman had not put all his eggs in one basket. Even after obtaining the "remains" of Dawn Paradise this time, he still had not gambled everything on it.
Or rather, this was very much in keeping with the Gray Gentleman's style. Based on what Su Xiao had learned of him over such a long time, the man would first plan a "primary objective" while preparing a "secondary objective" at the same time.
When the "primary objective" was about to collapse because of a powerful enemy or the situation, the Gray Gentleman would pretend to continue pursuing it. In reality, he would have already shifted to the "secondary objective," even using the "primary objective" as bait to draw his enemy's attention and buy himself more