Before the Dragon Shadow Four Rankings in Candle Dragon City.
Everyone looked up at the sky.
Beyond Dragon City Planet, a massive Equatorial Ring encircled it, studded with Moon Fortresses.
Now, one Moon Fortress suddenly exploded!
A great deal of debris flew toward Dragon City, forming a dense swarm of meteors. Dragging long tails of flame, they poured down like a river of fire rain.
Moon Fortresses were like ordinary moons. Even with Dragon City's Great Sun present, they could still be seen in the sky, though they were not particularly bright.
Now, the exploding Moon Fortress bloomed like a grand firework, even eclipsing the sun's radiance and drawing the eyes of everyone below.
Only a very few saw that, at the instant the Moon Fortress exploded, a spear of light tore through space, entered it, and vanished. The spatial rift then closed.
"How could a perfectly fine Moon Fortress explode? This is no good omen."
"An explosion is just an explosion. Moon Fortresses were abandoned by Dragon City long ago and do not count as part of the Dragon Soul World. They have nothing to do with us."
"I think I saw something flash past. I heard the Annihilation Dragon Spear is inside the Moon Fortresses. Could that have been the Annihilation Dragon Spear?"
"Hard to say. So many years have passed; the Moon Fortresses cannot possibly be activated. You must have seen wrong."
"It would be perfectly normal for the Annihilation Dragon Spear to fly out when a Moon Fortress exploded."
"Still, those meteors are quite beautiful. Anyone hit by one would be in for a terrible time."
As everyone discussed it, someone suddenly shouted.
"Look! Look at the Military Merit Ranking and the Emperor-Slaying Ranking!"
Everyone immediately turned toward the two rankings, their eyes wide with shock.