The dark skies above the Citadel of Holy Justice remained splinted in a violent rift, as though an axe had struck the heavens themselves.
In front of that tear, the gigantic Shattered Star Cruiser hovered as its blackened hull swallowed the surrounding light, sails of shimmering cosmic silk catching the darkness and turning it blood-red.
The runes along its sides pulsed faintly, making it appear even more menacing. But the Shattered Star Cruiser wasn’t alone, as its master was also there!
At the cruiser’s very prow stood the Champion King, his towering figure framed against the glow of the sundered sky like some battle-forged deity. The jagged pauldrons of his armor caught the dark light in cruel glints, and the long shadow he cast seemed to stretch across the Citadel’s streets far below.
Behind him, standing one pace back, was Dark Wing, his scarred face twisted in something between unease and resignation.
The rest of the crew clustered behind them, a motley gathering of hardened killers and mercenaries—each one notorious in their own right.
Yet none of them shared their captain’s brazen composure. Shoulders were stiff, jaws tight, eyes flicking toward the citadel with an unspoken anxiety. They were no strangers to battle, but this was the Holy Justice Citadel—an entirely different beast.
As for how the situation escalated to this point, it was all because Dark Wing and his crew failed to retrieve the ’Temple’.
Previously, when the Dark Wing’s crew encountered Jacob, they lost their guide with the map. Then, they discovered even more hurdles in the Ashen Mirage Desert, and the forces of the Cardinal Spirit Temple were their biggest enemy.
Furthermore, when the Temple of the Blazing Flame emerged, it became impossible to keep everything under the rug, and almost everyone in the Legendary Plains got involved.
Dark Wing has naturally alerted the Champion King right away. Still, because the Champion King has been occupied with the war between the Life and Dead Factions, he couldn’t just leave at a moment’s notice, no matter how furious the Champion King was.
However, since the Temple of the Blazing Flame was almost impossible to enter and no one seemed to be able to find their way in, it gave the Champion King time to make this trip.
Moreover, since everyone seemed helpless, the Shattered Star Pirates decided to follow suit and adopt the same ’wait and see’ approach as everyone else.
Yet, before they could formulate a plan or the Temple of the Blazing Flame opened, again something unexpected happened out of everyone’s expectations.
A mysterious expert emerged from the Temple of the Blazing Flame and stole the entire temple under everyone’s watchful and dumbfounded expression, which also included the Shattered Star Pirates.
Almost instantly, Champion King received this news like every other top power of the Legendary Plains.
This time, he couldn’t sit still, so after using nearly all of his connections, he received news that the Holy Pontiff of the Cardinal Spirit Temple had left her ’turtle shell’ (Holy Justice Cardinal) on her tamed beast, moments after the Temple of Blazing Flame was stolen.
Not only the Champion King but also others who were paying attention to the Temple of the Holy Flame received the same news.
Lastly, they also received another piece of information that the Holy King seemed to have brought back a ’mysterious guest’, and his stature seemed to match the ’temple thief’.
So, Champion King bought his men and Shattered Star Cruiser directly to the Holy Justice Citadel. Although it was risky, Champion King was extremely arrogant and very confident in his current fighting prowess.
Moreover, the Champion King, like the others, knew how extraordinary the Temple of the Blazing Flame was, and on top of that, he knew something else that others didn’t because of the map of the Yang Flame.
That’s why the Champion King was willing to pay any price to get his hands on that Temple, even if it meant war with the Cardinal Spirit Temple.
That’s why no matter how much his men advised him against this, he would listen and directly use a precious magic scroll to break past the space barrier around the Holy Justice Citadel.
In his ecstasy, the Champion King didn’t notice that the space barrier around the Holy Justice Citadel suddenly got weakened, and he also didn’t know, like everyone else, that the Holy King had already become a Myth.
Now, at this moment, the cruiser sailed forward until it loomed over the outer sanctum, its shadow eclipsing a swath of marble streets and worshiper-filled courtyards.
Then the Champion King drew in a breath and let loose his voice, a bellow that rolled across the Citadel like the tolling of war drums, "Old hag! (Holy King)"
The words struck like thunder, shaking banners on their poles. "Hand over the bastard who took what belonged to me... or prepare for war!"
The sound didn’t just echo—it reverberated through the very walls, carried by a force that made the temple bells ring without human touch. Citizens froze mid-step. Priests halted their prayers. The Citadel seemed to hold its breath.
However, despite the sudden arrival of the Shattered Star Pirates, the natives of the Holy Justice Citadel were still more fearful about the chaos earlier, and the Champion King just seemed like another ’calamity’ sent to them by their God!
At that moment, Champion King finally noticed the strange atmosphere, and his crew was the same.
’Wait a moment, why is it so dark? The Holy Justice Citadel is known as the paradise of light, and the last time I came here, it was a completely different scene...’
A peculiar flicker crossed the Champion King’s eyes. His lips curved, but not in confidence this time—something in the air was wrong.
The Champion King looked around and noticed the light in the sky above the Citadel’s central dome was unnaturally dark.
Holy wards that should have been blazing with radiance flickered weakly, some reduced to smoldering fragments of their former glory.
The marble avenues leading toward the heart of the Citadel bore fine, jagged cracks—as if they had been trembling long before his ship’s arrival.
The Champion King’s brows furrowed. This wasn’t the fortified, unshakable bastion of the Cardinal Spirit Temple he had once visited and remembered.
This was a city that had already been wounded, and for the first time since stepping onto the prow, his confident expression flickered with doubts!