In the central plaza of the Quartz Gate, which resembled a gemstone castle, a pillar of fire rose into the sky. It illuminated the night while scorching the atmosphere and releasing waves of heat.
Luo Zhen stood before the pillar of fire that had surged up from the explosion. His black coat whipped wildly in the blast, yet he stood firm, bathing in the shockwave and blazing light without changing expression.
Throughout the entire plaza, the only things besides Luo Zhen that remained unmoved by the blast were the twelve coffins arranged in a fan shape. The girls lying inside were still asleep, allowing the shockwave to wash over them.
No one knew how long the situation lasted before it finally subsided.
The pillar of fire slowly descended and disappeared.
The shockwave gradually calmed and dispersed.
By the time everything had settled, the enormous, overwhelming magical power in the plaza had vanished. Even the person who had obtained that power through underhanded means was nearly gone.
After that grand explosion, what remained was no longer Zaharias in his affected merchant's guise, but a mangled wreck. It was not merely his arms and legs—even most of his body had disappeared.
"Guh... ah..."
The arms dealer named Zaharias lay on the ground, clutching his ruined body as he let out an agonized howl that his throat could barely produce.
He had united numerous Beastmen tribes, made his fortune selling weapons, eventually defeated the Karyana territory and seized the War King's Domain, becoming the chairman of the Nilepusi Provisional Autonomous Government. Relying on the Blazing Night Lord he had acquired through various channels, he had rampaged across the land, defeating the lords of the Duchy of Aldeia and the Caucasus, and nearly brought about the awakening of the Fourth True Ancestor. That was