Chapter313-Settling Old Scores
In the chaos unleashed by The Celestial’s
apocalyptic descent, no one could remain untouched.
Despite Owen’s instructions for the Dragons and other factions to secure the borders, a massive, dark torrent of various powers and kingdoms surged toward Azure Kingdom.
Among all the regions in turmoil, Azure Kingdom stood as the only relatively stable place, widely recognized as a potential haven from the coming apocalypse.
Although these factions previously feared Owen and the powerful forces gathered within Azure Kingdom, the impending apocalypse darkened the skies, and the earth cracked and trembled as if struck by a world-ending quake.
With survival at stake, all they could think of was finding sanctuary.
Naturally, Azure Kingdom became the focus of their desperate assault.
Though the Dragons and Shadow Clan killed countless mages breaching the border, an endless wave of attackers continued their assault.
Blood flowed outside Azure Kingdom’s
borders, littered with corpses.
Above these bodies, terrifying beasts awakened in the darkness of the new Epoch, beginning their gruesome feast.
Amidst the carnage, few noticed the giant black wolf standing under the sky, its form like a gathering of shadowy mist, surveying the land below.
Its fur blended into the night, a shadow
darker than darkness itself.
As it inhaled, the battlefield’s bloody mist rose and gathered into its nostrils and mouth, drool dripping greedily.
The wolf’s body swelled, and its
bloodthirsty aura grew even more
terrifying.
This was Fenrir, the legendary world-devouring beast, resurrected at the
end of days.
At the same time, a massive serpent coiled around Middle Earth, emerging from an abyss with the tremors of apocalypse.
Its vast body shook as it opened its maw, consuming ancient gods once revered by mages as omnipotent, swallowing entire factions with a single bite.
Jörmungandr, the Serpent of the World, had also awakened.
As more dark beasts, dormant until now,
stirred from the tremors of apocalypse, the
realm’s chaos intensified.
These ravenous giants needed flesh and
power to survive into the next Epoch, and some even turned their gaze toward Azure
Kingdom.
Unlike other crumbling lands, Azure Kingdom held a vast population and dense
mana, making it a prime target.
But as they eyed Azure Kingdom, Owen,
Leslie, and their loyal followers exuded a cold, formidable aura.
After a tense moment, the beasts decided
to turn away.
The danger these people presented wasn’t worth risking in such perilous times, where weakness invited predation by other
beasts.
As the beasts retreated, Owen narrowed his eyes, observing the escalating danger.
The Millennial Cataclysm had arrived, plunging the realm further into chaos.
Ancient, powerful beasts roamed freely, and kingdoms that hadn’t yet been destroyed by the cataclysm were being overturned by restless citizens.
The Nine Powers of Middle Earth, which
once opposed Owen and Leslie, were now deserted and abandoned.
Places once resplendent, like the Truth
Church and Holy Pool, had become arenas for mages’ final frenzies.
The once-glorious Nine Powers had
dissolved, while older and stronger factions closed their gates and fought off intruding mages in desperate turmoil.
In this new, lawless world, strength was
the only measure of worth, and everyone sought it by any means necessary. Only the powerful could avoid oppression
and had any chance of surviving the Millennial Cataclysm.
As a result, any place with cultivation
resources became a target for pillage, with no faction spared.
As Owen’s gaze moved across the lands, he
noticed that even the Demon Realm wasn’t untouched.
The oppressive mist thickened, enveloping
the Demon Realm like a caustic, corrosive layer, twisting and melting the space as if it were a sunlit cake of dark chocolate. At the Demon Sky Citadel, deep within the
center of Demon Realm, the Archdemon sat upon a throne forged from unknown bones.
Her expression was solemn, mana swirling around her in dense patterns of golden, dragon-like symbols covering every corner of the Citadel.
She was the heart of a massive defensive
formation, resisting the mist’s corrosive effects.
While other parts of the Demon Realm
were dissolving into nothingness, the Demon Sky Citadel remained largely intact, as though the Archdemon, now a celestial
god-tier mage, had found a way to combat the cataclysm.
Just as Owen watched her, the Archdemon seemed to sense his gaze.
Her eyelids fluttered, and she opened her
eyes, her gaze piercing the void to meet Owen’s.
A smile touched her lips. Owen had once advised her to bring
Demon Realm’s core members to Azure Kingdom, but since Leslie ruled Azure Kingdom, she chose to remain, especially as she had now unlocked the Demon Realm’s ultimate secret.
Though she couldn’t save all of Demon
Realm, she could protect Demon Sky Citadel.
She hadn’t expected Owen to check on her during the chaos.
“Owen, we’ll meet again after the Millennial
Cataclysm,” she conveyed, a faint smile on her face.
Owen was about to respond when he noticed someone familiar beside the Archdemon-Ymir. Shock crossed his face.
He had sent people to retrieve her and her
family before the Cataclysm began, but they had mysteriously vanished. To his
surprise, the Archdemon had taken them
in.
As Owen processed this, the golden patterns on the Archdemon’s body glowed, dispersing Owen’s vision from Demon
Realm.
Turning his attention back to the chaos, he observed the turmoil spreading across Middle Earth and the continent.
When his gaze fell upon Luna Academy, his
heart sank.
Luna Academy was now almost entirely in ruins, a shadow of its former grandeur. Preparing to focus his senses and search
for Raina and Mary, Owen suddenly sensed a familiar energy. Turning, he saw Leslie, equally solemn.
“Luna Academy was just attacked. Let’s go and check on them. Raina, carrying your child, must not be left unprotected,” she
said.
Owen was silent for a moment before nodding. “Agreed.”
Epoch’s End had come, and with it, the
time to settle old debts.
Owen thought of those he had wronged;
his regret toward Raina and Mary ran deepest.
He had sent word to Raina previously, but his message was met with silence.
Both of them were decisive by nature, and with Leslie’s approval, he summoned Charlotte and others, delegating critical tasks for them to handle in his absence.
They were instructed to keep a low profile and focus on defense until his return. With matters arranged, Owen and Leslie left Azure Kingdom and set off for Luna
Academy..
