BOOM!!!
Half an hour earlier, at 10:15, while a life-and-death battle raged over the West Sea.
Federation, Huangzhou.
High above the frozen plains, a private airship billowing thick smoke lost its balance in midair and plummeted crookedly toward the ground. Explosive flames burst forth, tearing a huge hole through the cabin wall and exposing the mangled devastation within...
The howling wind swept through countless shattered corpses and fragments, whipping the old man's black feathered cloak until it snapped in the wind. Like a bloodstained raven.
The current Shadow Scale stood amid blood and flames. His clothes bore scorch marks, his face and body still covered in gaping, curled wounds, and one of his eyes had gone completely blind.
At that moment, the remaining eye was icy cold as he stared indifferently at the corpse nailed to the seat.
As its final breath faded, the dead man's face silently melted away, gradually becoming a completely different face...
The old man fell silent, then softly laughed.
As though mocking the futility of so many sacrifices and costs.
With the world spinning around it, the airship crashed to the ground, sending up a tidal wave of flames.
From within the burning wreckage, Shadow Scale walked out as though treading level ground. He pulled out the phone buzzing incessantly in his pocket and, before the person on the other end could ask anything, told him bluntly:
"Fake."
For a moment, East City on the other end also fell silent.
"I... understand."
The caller sighed softly. After hanging up, he forced his expression back into order and looked toward Han Hui behind the desk, making sure his voice remained steady. "Lord Han, we came up empty-handed."
Zhu Lu said, "The one in Huangzhou was fake too..."
"Looks like we made the wrong bet."
Han Hui