The Gate of Destruction

Varus's words were clear; he sensed Jax's presence and mistook him for Vastaya.

The situation arose suddenly, Fiora quickly pointed her sword at Varus, ordering him to drop his weapon, but Varus completely ignored her threat.

Jax remained silent; no one knew what kind of face was behind the mask, or what expression it held.

"Yasuo, is this your friend? What's going on with him?" Fiora, seeing her threats were ineffective, turned to me. If I hadn't been there, she probably would have attacked me directly.

"I'm sorry, but you should leave it alone for now. The entanglement between them is far more complicated than you can imagine."

"I don't want to get involved in their business, but Jax is here to challenge me. After our match, you can do as you please."

"Jax!" Varus flew into a rage upon hearing the name, immediately drawing his bow to its full draw, ready to fire at any moment.

Fiora could no longer hold back, but she still didn't harm Varus, instead using her sword to deflect his attack.

Varus glared at her fiercely, and his power began to surge violently as he prepared to ascend!

At this moment, Sivir stopped him. "Don't act rashly, Varus. This is not the place to fight."

Jax glanced at Sivir through his mask, seemingly lost in thought, before finally whispering three words: "Come with me."

We walked in silence until we reached a deserted open space outside Silver City before stopping.

Jax first said to Fiora, "I'm sorry, young lady, you'll have to wait a while. I need to catch up with two old friends."

"Go ahead." Having witnessed the imposing aura Varus had just unleashed, Fiora knew she couldn't interfere in their feud.

"Long time no see, Ascended Empress, it's been a really long time."

"You've mistaken me for someone else. I've only seen you in the Ascended Realm; this is the first time we've actually met."

"You're not Shetaka? Oh right, all of Shurima held a funeral for her, there's no way she could still be alive."

"My name is Sivir. You can think of me as the reincarnation of the Ascended Empress. Judging from your appearance, you've also been greatly affected. But the fact that you've survived until now is thanks to this power, isn't it?"

"Yes, thanks to those monsters, I've struggled in hell for two thousand years."

Upon hearing this, Varus couldn't help but retort, "You brought this on yourself!"

"Don't say that, I'm a victim too."

And so, the group began to talk. Varus was initially very emotional, but gradually calmed down, and I finally learned about this sad past:

Jax is an ancient Icathia, and unlike his fellow citizens, he knows no magic.

Ancient Icathia was known as the Mage King, where it was almost impossible to survive without magic. But Jax was different. He earned the respect of others through his brute strength and superb martial arts skills, and became a centurion. Later, he even won the praise of the Mage King and rose through the ranks.

When Icathia rose up against Shurima, he had become Icathia's only general, commanding thousands of soldiers and hundreds of mages.

Although he held a high position, he never earned the respect of the mages. When Shetaka sent the Ascended to wipe out Icathia, he had no idea that the mages were brewing a plan that could destroy the world: to open a rift in the void.

At the time, he was fighting the Shurima army on the battlefield, with three powerful Ascended stationed in the rear, not even bothering to glance at the Icathia army.

Jax was unconvinced. He was young and impetuous, and with his good qualities, he actually led the Icathia to victory, until the Ascended intervened.

The Ascended was bathed in Golden Light, and his terrifying weapon could kill a large number of Icathia with each sweep, while Icathia magic attacks had no effect.

It was only then that Jax realized the gap between them. He refused to admit defeat; he had come prepared to die, either in battle or in battle—he had never considered that he would have a second ending.

Wielding the weapon bestowed upon him by the Mage King —a lamp staff with sealing abilities—and with his own extraordinary prowess, Jax managed to fight an Ascended to a draw!

However, this was meaningless, because soon all his subordinates were killed in battle. No matter how brave he was, he could only fight one Ascended to a draw. Against three, he would soon be blasted to smithereens.

Finally, he collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted, but the secret weapon the mages had spoken of never appeared.

"They're a bunch of cowards, only able to satisfy themselves with their imaginations. They usually consider themselves noble mages, but when it comes to a crisis, they don't even dare to go to the battlefield." That was Jax's thought at the time.

Just as he was preparing to face death, suddenly the earth shook violently, and bursts of purple light shot into the sky from afar, turning the sky purple as well.

Immediately afterwards, arcs of energy spread outwards, causing houses to collapse instantly, trees to be uprooted, and even the Ascended to be thrown far away.

Did these mages really have a backup plan? Were they not cowards after all? At that moment, Jax was delighted.

The Ascended sensed danger and, ignoring Jax, headed straight for the energy center.

At this moment, Jax mustered his strength, stopped another Ascended, and killed him together with the reinforcements who arrived later!

"You have opened the gates of destruction, foolish Icathia!" These were the last words left by the Ascended.

"Die, you proud beast!" Jax didn't care, for he was the victor.

The Celestial Warrior were not invincible! This greatly encouraged the Icathia, and when the other two Ascended were also swallowed up by the powerful energy and perished, the Shurima army scattered and fled.

This was the first defeat since the founding of the Shurima Empire. The battle shocked the world, and Jax's name spread to Sun City, Naremajet, and many other cities.

However, his excitement lasted for less than half a day. After the energy arc disappeared, countless terrifying creatures poured out of the rift!

These creatures are bizarre and seem to have no consciousness. They are filled with pure malice, and all life is their food!

At this moment, Jax finally understood what the Ascended had said before his death: Yes, the Icathia had opened the Gate of Destruction with their own hands!

He did not try to save Icathia, nor did he wait for Shetaka to lead his army, because he knew that this was not territory he could tread.

Jax roamed through purgatory, eventually finding a warhorse and fleeing in panic.

Aside from Kieran, who was traveling elsewhere, he was the only surviving Icathia; the city of mages was completely wiped out from the world.