Early morning.
The first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone upon the heavy city walls of Aurora City. The entire world was dyed with a layer of magnificent pale gold.
Right at this moment, ear-piercing alarm sounds suddenly came from the sky above the west city gate!
"Wooooooo————!!!"
"Alarm!! Alarm!!"
"Discovered a large number of Calamities approaching! All departments please take your positions immediately! Residents of West City please look for shelter nearby immediately!!"
"Repeating once again..."
The deafening broadcast sound instantly plunged the originally tranquil and peaceful Aurora City into chaos!
All the residents on the streets were stunned. They blankly turned their heads and looked towards that pillar broadcasting the Calamity alarm in the sky, their eyes filled with disbelief.
How is this possible?
Ever since the Lord of the Aurora built Aurora City, this massive aurora dome has sheltered mankind for hundreds of years. Over these hundreds of years, Aurora City has been like an isolated utopia. No matter how the Calamities outside wreaked havoc, they couldn't affect the inside of Aurora City in the slightest, let alone sound a Calamity alarm.
But now, this mournful alarm sound has pierced into everyone's eardrums.
"What's going on?? A Calamity has entered??"
"Didn't the alarm say? A large number of Calamities are approaching! But... the aurora is still there?"
Some people looked up. Although that streak of aurora in the sky was somewhat dim, it still steadily enveloped the sky above the entire city.
"Don't panic!! Nobody panic!!"
"The aurora is still here! Those monsters cannot enter!!"
"Everyone quickly find shelter and hide!!"
After brief shock, the crowd on the streets erupted with terrified screams as if awakening from a dream. They fled in all directions like a frightened swarm of ants, frantically looking for the nearest shelter.
Not only the ordinary masses, but even the Law Enforcers everywhere fell into a brief daze upon hearing this alarm. Fortunately, they had received professional training. Under the organization of their superiors, they quickly and methodically began to maintain order and evacuate the crowd.
Aurora City, Law Enforcer Headquarters.
"What happened??" Chu Shiduo rushed into the main control room with quick steps and roared loudly, "Where was the alarm pulled?!"
"Superior! The alarm came from the west city gate!!" A communicator turned his head anxiously. "Five minutes ago, the monitoring base stations outside the west city gate were suddenly subjected to large-scale destruction. Immediately afterwards, the life signals of over ten thousand Calamities appeared near the base stations... The guards of the west city gate sounded the alarm at the first instance!"
Chu Shiduo's face instantly became incomparably solemn.
"Over ten thousand?"
"This is still the most conservative estimate! The monitoring base stations were destroyed too quickly, the specific numbers simply cannot be calculated!"
"Switch the feed over immediately!!"
With an order from Chu Shiduo, the large screen at the front of the main control room flickered with static snow screens a few times, and then the scene outside the west city gate appeared.
Only to see that outside the range enveloped by the aurora, on the vast ice plains, densely packed black shadows were surging toward Aurora City like a tide!
Those black shadows had different forms. Some were massive Giant Beasts, and some were twisted and deformed monsters. Their eyes were scarlet red, emitting deafening roars, as if they wanted to swallow this city alive!
In this boundless and endless Beast Tide, there were also several giant figures emitting terrifying Auras faintly visible. They stood tall like mountains behind the Beast Tide, coldly watching Aurora City.
"That is... an [Apocalyptic] Calamity?!"
Inside the main control room, everyone sucked in a breath of cold air, their eyes filled with shock and horror.
Although Calamities frequently appeared and disappeared outside Aurora City, most of them were some low-stage Calamities. Even if one or two high-stage Calamities occasionally appeared, they would quickly be exterminated by the Law Enforcers.
But now, this Beast Tide numbering in the tens of thousands, and those figures suspected of being [Apocalyptic] Calamities, it was simply like the apocalypse had descended!
"Calm down! Everyone calm down!!" Chu Shiduo took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the fear in his heart, and roared loudly,
"The aurora is still here! They cannot enter!! Immediately notify all high-stage Enforcers to head to the west city gate to stand by!! Activate the highest defense system of Aurora City!!"
"Yes!!"
The entire main control room instantly became busy, and orders were rapidly transmitted down one by one.
Chu Shiduo stared deadly at the Beast Tide on the screen, his brows knitted tightly.
"For it to happen right at this time... This is absolutely not a coincidence!"
Han Meng's trial was about to begin, the Lord of the Aurora showed signs of awakening, and now a Calamity Tide of this scale had erupted... Behind all this, it was as if an invisible large hand was pushing everything.
"Teacher..." Chu Shiduo muttered to himself. "Exactly where are you?"
...
Aurora Base.
Tan Xin stood under the massive transparent glass dome, looking up at that streak of gorgeous aurora in the sky.
The aurora here was much brighter and more eye-piercing than the outside world, seemingly within reach. Countless profound runes flowed within the aurora, emitting terrifying fluctuations that made one's heart palpitate.
And in the deepest part of this aurora, a massive illusory figure could faintly be seen slowly wriggling, as if some terrifying existence was about to awaken from its slumber.
"This is... the Lord of the Aurora?"
Behind Tan Xin, a researcher wearing a white lab coat pushed up his glasses, a fanatical light flashing in his eyes.
"That's right, Lord Deputy Director-General! According to our observations, the Lord of the Aurora's activity level has increased by three hundred percent in the past twenty-four hours! This is a phenomenon that has never occurred in history!"
"What does this mean?" Tan Xin's brows furrowed slightly.
"This means that the Lord of the Aurora might be truly awakening!!" The researcher trembled all over with excitement. "Once the Lord of the Aurora awakens, Aurora City's defenses will obtain a qualitative leap! We will no longer fear the threat of any Calamities!!"
Tan Xin looked at that slowly wriggling illusory figure, but there wasn't much joy in his eyes. Instead, a trace of deep worry flashed past.
"If the Lord of the Aurora truly awakens, then the lifespan of the Aurora Domain..."
Buzz——!!!
Right at this moment, an ear-piercing alarm sound suddenly echoed throughout the entire Aurora Base!
"Alarm! The west city gate has encountered a large-scale Calamity attack!!"
"Alarm! The west city gate has encountered a large-scale Calamity attack!!"
Tan Xin's face changed and he suddenly turned his head.
"Calamity attack? How is that possible?!"
Aurora City is enveloped by the aurora, and Calamities fundamentally cannot approach. How could it suddenly encounter an attack?
And at this critical juncture at that...
A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Tan Xin's mind. He suddenly turned his head to look at that gorgeous aurora outside the glass dome.
Only to see that originally bright and eye-piercing aurora was actually starting to flicker violently at this moment, like a candle flickering in the wind, about to extinguish at any time!
"This is bad!! Lord Deputy Director-General!!" A communicator rushed over while stumbling and crawling, his face full of panic and terror.
"The aurora... the aurora is weakening!!"