Chapter 899: Moment of Crisis
Every being with a penchant for breaking laws or committing crimes made an effort to understand the rules governing their world.
The Tower Master of Dark Flame was no exception.
In the Magus World, every knight and mage was a valuable asset of the Magus Civilization, and their rights were safeguarded under its laws.
Even the black knights and black mages exiled to Blackhaven retained a degree of protection—after all, they were still considered native members of the Magus World.
Under such a framework, the notion of harming or sacrificing Magus World’s knights and mages seemed unthinkable.
But the Tower Master of Dark Flame, well-versed in the legal intricacies of the divine towers, knew of a particular supplementary clause.
It stated that during interplanar wars, if Rank Four or higher powerhouses faced an unavoidable crisis, they were permitted to prioritize their own survival over that of ordinary knights and mages.
This clause exemplified both the thoroughness and the inherent biases of the Magus Civilization’s system.
But at the same time, it also provided a loophole for powerhouses like the Tower Master of Dark Flame to exploit!
Perhaps absolute fairness was just a myth.
Out of ten thousand full-fledged mages, perhaps only one would ever reach Rank Four, let alone Rank Five.
It was only natural for Magus World to offer preferential treatment to those of Rank Four and above.
The Tower Master of Dark Flame’s action of sacrificing his people was justifiable under the rules of the divine towers, but this pragmatic approach undoubtedly chilled the hearts of many divine tower mages.
If someone like Master Lorianne had been in Master Dark Flame’s position, she likely would not have issued such a cold and ruthless command.
This was the stark difference between the Tower Master of Dark Flame and the Tower Master of Verdant Spring.
In the master control room of the space fortress high above, a demigod-level mage—one of Dark Flame’s most trusted aides—sat frozen in indecision.
Pressing the attack button would unleash the fortress’ full destructive power, obliterating three to four thousand registered divine tower mages, along with countless mercenary knights and hired mages.
This was not just any weapon; it was a space fortress—the pinnacle of Magus World’s magitech.
Among those legions of mages and knights on the battlefield might be his friends, apprentices, or even his family.
The Magus World’s war-hardened mages never hesitated when killing extraplanar creatures, but turning their weapons against their own people was an entirely different matter.
The old demigod-level mage, his hair streaked with silver, could not bring himself to press the attack button.
Instead, it was the Tower Master of Dark Flame who did.
As a powerful mage, Dark Flame could directly activate the space fortress’ combat program with his unparalleled mental focus.
The massive thirty-thousand-meter-diameter war platform had been hovering just above the plains battlefield, well within range.
Moments later, the center of Akre Plains was engulfed in a dazzling storm of energy and elemental beams—a spectacle of unprecedented magnitude, rivaling the meteor shower in the Northern Crown Constellation of the Magus World.
Since the space fortress was hovering not too high above the battlefield, the light show was visible to every creature below.
However, beauty often spelled doom!
The fortress’s attack had come too suddenly. All its energy was concentrated on a tenth of the battlefield.
With the reserves of the Dark Flame Space Fortress, destroying the heart of the plain was no challenge at all.
Dark Flame had once been as frugal as any less-wealthy Tower Master, carefully conserving resources during the interplanar war.
Yet the life-threatening crisis before him left no room for such restraint. Without any hesitation, the formidable mage emptied his coffers!
The concentrated strikes from high above took the native creatures in Akre Plains completely by surprise and also stunned the Magus World legions.
No knight or mage could have imagined that the elemental barrage they had so often unleashed on foreign planes would one day rain down on them.
For the first time, the Magus World legions finally experienced the devastating power of their own ultra-advanced magitech that countless extraplanar creatures had endured.
***
When the thirty-thousand-meter-diameter space fortress hovering above began gathering energy, its elemental magic cannons hummed ominously.
Sein, positioned near the crater, immediately sensed something was wrong.
Like the Rank Five mage, Sein never placed his survival in the hands of others.
Caution and skepticism on the battlefield bred exhaustion, but they also granted individuals like him a far greater chance of survival—especially when confronted with the unexpected.
The instant the fortress began charging, Sein spun around and bolted toward the edge of the volcanic crater, where Reina was still locked in battle with the demigod-level Ground Dragon.
She held her ground, sustained by her fat-burning state and Sein’s assistance.
Although the Ground Dragon had sustained numerous injuries from their combined assault, neither Sein nor Reina fared much better.
Fighting an opponent a rank stronger was grueling.
Reina’s body was covered with wounds, and the shoulder armor Sein had crafted for her now bore several cracks from the Ground Dragon’s devastating strikes.
As for Sein, he was barely holding himself together. He was battered, with internal injuries caused by mana backlash.
Suppressing his pain, he lunged forward and grabbed Reina, yanking her back just as she prepared to launch another attack.
Reina’s body size had indeed shrunk significantly after using the Fat-Burning Secret Technique.
Otherwise, Sein would not have been strong enough to drag a physically immense knight like her away.
“Look at the sky!” Sein urgently called to her via mental focus.
Reina’s bloodshot eyes—strained from both her wounds and the Fat-Burning Secret Technique—gradually regained a sliver of clarity.
Her deep-seated fear of Sein snapped her out of her berserk state almost instantly. Had it been anyone else, they would have never been able to calm her so quickly.
Lifting her gaze to the sky, she caught the moment the space fortress completed its charge.
A brilliant, devastating barrage erupted from its cannons, raining down upon the battlefield like a meteor shower—dazzling, almost dreamlike in its beauty.
For a dreamer, it was a sight of wonder. For those on the ground, it was pure terror!
The sight sent a chill down even Sein’s spine. Despite his steady demeanor, he could not help but draw a sharp breath.
In their current state, neither he nor Reina could survive the fortress’ relentless, meteor-like barrage.
Their odds of making it out alive were slim—perhaps one in ten.
At this critical moment, Sein reacted instantly.
Ignoring the foolish Ground Dragon, which showed no hint of despair, Sein pulled Reina and charged into the volcanic crater below!
“Dive into the volcano! It’s our only chance to survive!” he shouted.