"We must stay. This is the civilization we are ant to protect."
"If we leave this island, we are no longer people of Sakura Prayer!"
In the forr capital of Sakura Prayer Country, those who had chosen to stay gathered together, standing guard before the ancient building that symbolized the nation.
They encouraged one another.
"Don't be afraid, it's not the end of the world. Our country has gone through so many earthquakes in its history, and each ti we've pulled through. This ti will be no different!"
"Yeah. As long as everyone stands together and stays united, we can get through this."
"Those who moved to the tropics will regret it sooner or later. When they want to co back, we won't accept them!"
"Exactly. Those who gave up their holand are no longer our compatriots!"
Thousands upon tens of thousands of people gathered. It was as if sheer numbers could generate enough courage and strength to make everyone believe they could survive the magnitude 10 earthquake that was predicted to strike today.
By noon, people took out the food they had brought and began a communal al, not expecting an uninvited guest to steal their lunch.
At first they heard sharp, rhythmic bangs in the air, then the ground beneath their feet began to shake.
"Earthquake! An earthquake!"
In a very brief mont, the tremors suddenly beca ferocious.
A violent shockwave rushed in from one direction, compressing the air. Many people suffered lung collapse and internal injuries the instant they were struck by the blast, vomiting blood and dying.
Yet this was still a relatively less painful way to go.
Amid the roaring tremors, the earth was torn open, quickly forming a super-sized rift valley.
All underground pipes exploded; molten rock at temperatures high enough to lt steel spewed from the fissures, creating a network of fire. Many people, panicked and directionless, either fell into the chasms or were swallowed by the flas, a scene too horrific to behold.
But the most terrifying threat was the inevitable super tsunami that an island nation had to face.
Less than half a minute after the quake began, the super tsunami had already ford. Its waves reached hundreds of ters in height and advanced at terrifying speed, swallowing low-lying land whole.
In their final monts, many people saw only a despair-inducing "sea wall." Everything in front of it—buildings and people alike—was rcilessly swept away.
Those who had stayed on the island to protect the ancient building watched with their own eyes as everything they had vowed to guard was devoured in the blink of an eye. No matter how powerful a person was, facing the super tsunami left them utterly helpless, with no way to protect themselves.
Five minutes of earthquake ti seed short, but it was enough to utterly destroy the entire island and everything on it.
Yet the secondary disasters caused by the quake would not end just because the ground stopped shaking five minutes later.
The great rifts, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and ecological changes—all brought by the earthquake—would remain as bloody wounds, continuing to bleed the remnants of human civilization.
...
"Hiss..."
After Guan Tong's teleport, for so reason his whole body ached intensely.
Fewer than ten people teleported back to the base with him; nearly two hundred others died at the epicenter. Even though that outco had been anticipated to so extent, the pain of it was still profound.
"How are you?" Shi Jingyi walked over. Although she looked pale from exhausting much of her Mind Power, she had been properly protected and sustained no injuries. Seeing that sothing was wrong with Guan Tong, she hurriedly asked.
"Maybe it's because of contact with the Geomantic Pillar... the tremors were too intense."
Guan Tong wasn't sure if that was the reason. The magnitude 10 Geomantic Pillar had vibrated wildly from within, and as soone who had contacted it, he had taken a huge shock.
Besides that, he felt it might also be related to the Wordless Book overheating continuously. The burn from its heat seed to affect not only his body but also his mind.
"Shadow, I have to leave first!" Dragon Soul said at that mont. "I have other tasks."
After Guan Tong had weakened the Geomantic Pillar, his cooperation with the officials had effectively concluded.
Since Guan Tong clearly didn't intend to join the official team, Dragon Soul naturally had other missions to carry out. After all, the disaster relief from this earthquake was far from over.
Guan Tong nodded, saying nothing.
After Dragon Soul and several other survivors left with a volunteer, Shi Jingyi, who was also a volunteer, did not depart. She was not part of the official team and therefore would not act alongside them.
"Aren't you returning to the academy?" Guan Tong asked.
Shi Jingyi did not answer directly. She frowned while looking at him and said, "I can feel your Mind Power is very unstable right now—actually completely chaotic. Sothing's wrong."
"Maybe it's from overuse. I can't tell."
Guan Tong guessed it had to do with overusing the Wordless Book. The feeling was unpleasant; he needed to stabilize himself as soon as possible.
"I need to find a safe place to recover quickly."
Before he could finish, Shi Jingyi suddenly clenched, her eyes narrowing. A bright yellow spiritual energy shield imdiately unfolded, wrapping the two of them inside.
Guan Tong froze slightly and looked upward, his pupils reflecting an incredulous light.
The next instant, an explosion blasted from the roof above.
"Boom!!!!!!"
A missile-like long-range weapon had struck the official base, instantly obliterating the building.
Outside the base, a fifteen-person squad watching the blast was shaken to the core.
They knew Shadow was inside—this was intelligence from the Higher-ups, and such intel was never wrong.
Moreover, these base structures were built from blast- and quake-resistant materials; for one strike to destroy the building, the weapon used had to be far from ordinary.
At that mont, Team Leader Liu Wen said, "The Commander's order is clear: Shadow must be confird dead for the mission to be deed successful."
"Understood."
They moved quickly, scattering to surround the target area.
They saw a scene of rubble and assud that no matter how powerful Shadow might be, having just returned from the quake's epicenter his condition must be poor—he couldn't possibly withstand such bombardnt.
But their mission was to find a corpse, so...
Crash.
Suddenly noises ca from the middle of the ruins, and everyone looked over in unison.
Several fractured steel plates were thrust aside, and a figure stood up from beneath. He seed to be carrying another person in his arms. The latter looked badly wounded, half of their face soaked in blood, unconscious.
The action team imdiately recognized the gravely injured person.
It was... the academy lecturer? Shi Jingyi?
They exchanged glances. As elite Ascendants, they had all watched Shi Jingyi's online classes and studied under her. None of them had expected her to still be here, and the intelligence had made no ntion of this.
Then... the other person must be Shadow, they reasoned.
They looked at him. The person was entirely cloaked in jet-black shadow, which moved in a highly unstable, morphing manner—like so malevolent substance that made everyone's skin crawl.
It truly was Shadow...!
Jiang Ming in the action team saw the shifting shadows and instantly confird the identity.
The next mont, the target took a book from his arms, and a strange house suddenly materialized out of thin air.
Shadow opened the door, placed the severely wounded, unconscious Shi Jingyi inside, then turned to face the action team.
"I swear I will kill every one of you, and every planner involved in this operation. No matter who you are, I will not spare a single one."
Guan Tong's voice sounded muffled beneath the armor, but the murderous intent within was so dense that everyone who heard it shivered and broke out in cold sweat.
Liu Wen shouted, "Don't be intimidated! He's not in good condition right now—take him out imdiately!"
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