The Door That Was Knocked Open

The sea was packed on both sides of the bridge. The moment Yuan Chen fell downwards, a huge column of water suddenly rose from the calm sea.

Then, from within the water column, an arm made of rough rock, as thick and massive as a mountain, burst through the water's surface. With its five fingers spread wide, it caught Yuan Chen steadily, as if it had been prepared all along.

As they watched Yuan Chen fall into the water, the people nearby barely managed to reach one side of the sluice bridge. Then, accompanied by the surging waves, they saw Yuan Chen, who had been standing on the rocky hand, rise up again and stand high above them.

"Like gamblers, there's always someone who feels they'll always win, and they greedily keep demanding more..."

As Yuan Chen spoke, another enormous arm rose from one side, accompanied by the sound of crashing waves, the shouts of boatmen, the collisions of merchant ships, and the gasps of the people. The enormous arm then slammed heavily onto one side of the lock bridge.

Rumble rumble rumble!!!

Everyone could clearly feel a violent roar emanating from the Sun Gate Bridge beneath their feet.

While the people on this side knew something, the people on the west side of the Sun Gate were completely bewildered—because they had no idea what kind of battle was taking place above the Sun Gate.

Those people on the other side of the dam only knew that corpses were constantly falling and the sound of waves crashing against their doors.

Then they saw a giant arm rise from the tall gate that seemed to separate the two worlds.

Bathed in the morning sun, the shadow cast by that enormous arm obscured nearly a third of the shipping lane.

"What, what is that?!"

The terrified shouts of the crew drew everyone from their cabins, where they were eating breakfast or waiting to start work, onto the deck.

In the captain's cabin, the captain, with his white beard, gaped wide-eyed, completely oblivious to the fact that his pipe had fallen onto the table and lit the trade manifest.

With a slight exertion of force from the other hand that landed on the sluice gate, accompanied by a piercing sound that made one's teeth ache and ears ring, a colossal object, the size of an island, rose from the water.

Its enormous size, upon rising, caused violent waves accompanied by tremors.

Large, sturdy merchant ships were no different from small boats in a storm amidst the violent waves, collided and piled up on the shore like debris being washed away. Even a rough estimate of the scattered wealth was enough to break the heart of any merchant.

Then, the enormous monster raised itself—its body hadn't even fully emerged from the water.

What was visible above the water was less than half of its body. But its enormous head was already level with the 200-meter-high Sun Gate Bridge, and even more than 30 meters higher.

Those on the east side of the sluice gate could still see part of the giant's body, but those on the west side of the sluice gate—

That head alone was already like a rising mountain peak.

The jagged rocks are sculpted into shapes resembling human eyes and mouths. Thick Flowing Water cascade down the gaps in its skull like a waterfall, and its eyes gleam with an amber Shimmer.

That enormous body, though it did nothing, brought endless fear simply by existing.

On that day, humanity remembered the horrors under their rule and the humiliation of being imprisoned in a birdcage.

Refers to the era of Dark Descendant warlords.

Sensing the fear, confusion, and panic in Jia Gu's eyes, Yuan Chen was not surprised at all.

"I had considered how to change all of this more gently and slowly, reducing unnecessary casualties in the process."

"But there will always be people who choose to reject my kindness."

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words and feeling the harshness in his tone, Jia Gu's face lost all the confidence he had just displayed.

His confidence stemmed from his belief that Ixialia would not choose to go to great lengths to gain sovereignty over Piltover only to lose all the benefits.

That is, the Sun Gate. But now, Jia Gu can clearly sense that Yuan Chen, or rather Ixialia, seems to have never cared about the economic benefits brought by the Sun Gate from the very beginning?

So what are you doing in Piltover? Just for academic exchange? Even a child wouldn't believe that. You can't fool a ghost with that excuse!

As for Ixialia, very little is known to the outside world.

In the eyes of most people, it's just an ancient empire where their ancestors were once powerful. Without a real understanding or contact, they will only believe what they see, guess, and think.

Now, in a moment of panic, Jia Gu forced himself to calm down, then forced a smile to appear less tense and said:

"I am ashamed and terrified by my actions! But please calm down, we can continue our discussion!"

Jia Gu said:

"The Sun Gate connects the underlying structures of the two continents. This rock giant might be able to destroy the Sun Gate, but once the Sun Gate is broken, the entire Piltover, Zaun, and Kumulag on the other side of the Sun Gate bridge, and even one-fifth of the Kumungu Mountains, will be submerged in the deep sea!"

Upon hearing Jia Gu's words, a hint of disappointment appeared on Yuan Chen's face.

"Am I being too lenient? You still haven't given up on threatening me through innocent people."

Upon hearing this, Jia Gu changed slightly—in fact, he didn't mean it; he just said it subconsciously.

As someone driven by self-interest, this way of communicating had become instinctive for him. Yuan Chen knew this, and he also knew that trying to change such a person was nothing short of a pipe dream...

The Dark Descendant believe they are different from humans because their biological structure and power level have been fully elevated.

As for people like Jia Gu... they have been enjoying all the resources and power without a second thought since birth. In their eyes, all the common people are just nourishment, playthings, and consumables for them.

Communicating your thoughts with someone like that is a complete waste of time.

Realizing his mistake, Yuan Chen nodded.

Seeing Yuan Chen nod, Jia Gu actually felt a little relieved—he thought Yuan Chen understood what he meant.

But before Jia Gu could say anything, Yuan Chen said, "Let's crash into it."

"OK--"

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's order, Malphite had no objections—or rather, his limited intelligence made it difficult for him to think more deeply.

Even with Monolith Core, Malphite is like an infant holding a supercomputer—his computing power is astonishing, but he doesn't know how to use it.

In this situation, having received the order from Yuan Chen, Malphite simply discerned whether it was right or wrong, and then began to slowly turn to the side, aiming his right shoulder at the massive Sun Gate.

"No! People will die! Many people will die!!" Jia Gu shouted in terror. The soaring mental pressure made him lose his initial elegance, and even his eyes became bloodshot in the process.

"Both continents will be affected! The collapse of the continental shelf will fill the entire strait!"

"No, it won't."

Yuan Chen said calmly:

"The giant beneath my feet is named 'Malphite,' the core of the 'Monolith Fortress' built during the Ancient Shuriman Empire by the Ascended mage Ne'Zuk. Its core served two purposes: one was to annihilate all Void Creature above Icathia."

"And the second is to repair the Void rift located above Icathia."

"In its most glorious era, nearly one-seventh of the Ascended Celestial Warrior of Ancient Shurima served on this site. Unfortunately, the power of the Void was beyond imagination; the Monolith Fortress only managed to eliminate a portion of the Void Creature on the surface before being destroyed."

"And as the core, Malphite can still freely move through the deep ley lines of the earth."

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Jia Gu seemed to realize something, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Just as Jia Gu had expected, Yuan Chen then calmly said:

"Protecting and repairing this world... or rather, reinforcing and adjusting the structure of the continental shelf, is one of the missions and abilities that Malphite was given from the very beginning."

As he spoke, amber-colored energy patterns lit up around Malphite's body. Under the influence of these energy patterns, everyone could clearly feel that the earth was becoming more solid at an unimaginable speed.

Although this enhancement is only temporary, it is sufficient for now!

Without the slightest pause, after a brief period of charging up, Malphite slammed into the Sun Gate sea gate, which wasn't particularly large for him.

Rumble rumble rumble!!!

Under this unstoppable and terrifying power, the originally solemn, tall, dignified, and sturdy Sun Gate emitted a violent roar.

The massive reinforcement spells cast by countless archmages hired by the rulers of Piltover crumbled in an instant, and the Hextech- stabilized reinforcements on the outer and side mountainsides exploded instantly.

Under the watchful eyes of people on the western sea, the Sun Gate, which cast a shadow hundreds of meters long like a chasm, was smashed to pieces.

The heavy door sank into the sea with the violent waves. The rising sun outlined Malphite's massive body amidst the surging currents. The raging Flowing Water washed over both sides of the strait, but not a single piece of soil was left behind!

"You underestimate Ixialia and overestimate Piltover."

As he spoke, Yuan Chen patted Malphite's long, pillar-like fingers. Understanding, Malphite stretched his arm towards the gate bridge—

Although the sluice gate was smashed and fell into the water, the sluice bridge above it was not significantly affected due to its structural design.

With a light leap, Yuan Chen returned to the sluice bridge and looked at the representatives of the four major families in front of him.

"There could have been a more dignified way to end all this... but sadly, I have to use the word 'liquidation' to put an end to it all."