The roar of thunder overwheld everything. Even as the heated breath left Theron's lips, the underground tunnels had already begun to shake and quake, swaying side to side as though they might collapse at any mont.
Theron's gaze sharpened, the scalding breath leaving his throat ignored by him for the mont. Peering down from above as the hound plumted into the vein of Blood Crystal, and watching Captain Halder try in vain to stop it, he knew that the situation had just spun wildly out of control.
But it was also sothing he knew he had to act on.
This was a pivotal point in the history of the Nightingale Empire. So there were several questions he had in mind.
General Pennel… was he really here to just investigate the oddities happening here and train them for the coming gathering?
Were the Nightingales truly unaware of what was happening here?
And, most importantly, if the Thistles had been gearing up for this sort of event, would they be unaware as well?
'I understand…'
The thoughts ca to Theron in waves, his deductions falling like a tower of dominoes until he ca to the conclusion.
At the start, everyone here was on a level playing field. So how was it that the Sangun seed to have such a massive advantage? In fact, if not for the noses of the Lightning Blood Hounds helping them to ignore the disorienting effects of the winding tunnels, the Sangun would have been here all alone to reap the rewards themselves.
So what was the difference?
Those four cloaked figures. They were the difference.
The balance of power in this region was as even as could be until the Sangun suddenly got a helping hand from an external source. They were probably responsible for the Sangun having a leg up on everybody else.
That ant…
'The others are certainly outside. Which also ans…'
BOOM!
Sothing heavy slamd against the ceiling. The stalactites trembled, so peeling off and beginning to fall to the ground. Suddenly, the wide, open space beca a death trap as spikes of earth as heavy as tens of thousands of jin plumted from above, akin to mother nature's guillotines.
At that mont, cracks appeared on the surface, sparse, fluttering streaks of spreading lightning arcs dancing across its surface as though flas spreading across glass.
Seeing that lightning for the second ti in his life, Theron felt as though his heart had stopped beating entirely.
mories flashed in his mind one after another. Then streams of burning heat and shuddering cold poured through his veins as though even his bloodline itself was feeling the greatest sort of fear.
His pupils trembled and his knees grew sowhat weak. It was a rare frailty that manifested from the depths of his soul, and his eyes involuntarily reddened.
They were monts away from beginning to form tears when…
Chi.
An iciness blocked it, frosty tips of a lurking fog emitting from the corners of his eyes as his gaze suddenly beca frighteningly cold.
BOOM!
The ceiling shattered to pieces and the skies opened up from above them.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Heavy stone turned to shards of glass as they were superheated by the violent, lingering streaks of yellow and gold.
A Ninth Resonance Sangun below dodged with all his might, but the numbers were becoming too nurous.
They began to scramble up the sides of the walls, trying to get into the tunnels, but he was too late. He was forced to dodge back once, only to find his path forward blocked. By the ti he leapt over the shaking earth and new mountains of rock obstructing him, another he missed fell from above, crushing his body between the two masses in grueso fashion.
There wasn't even any ti to see blood. He had only just died when more stone fell from above, burying him even further.
However, even in all this destruction, the Blood Crystal seed to have so sort of protective barrier around it all. But it beca quite clear that that protective barrier ironically ca from the Captain-Alpha tandem.
Halder was constantly swinging his hamrs and controlling the earth, sending them flying away.
By comparison, the Alpha was in a heap of barely recognizable mangled flesh atop the vein of Blood Crystal, but his blood was boiling so violently that streaks of the lightning and pulsing crimson fog were shattering even heavy rocks before they got within three ters of it.
The others weren't nearly so bold nor so strong. Ultimately, only one of the Ninth Silver Resonance Mancers died, leaving them with five mbers, including Halder. The rest managed to slip into the tunnels, likely trying to find a chance to escape to the surface.
But in Theron's opinion, they were fools.
The Tribulation had already descended. They were locked onto. They, Halder, the Alpha…
Even himself.
Theron had never felt it so clearly before. Back then, the Tribulation that killed his family had descended while he was still at ho. But now he could feel the sa things they must have felt, the sa fear, the sa helplessness.
Looking up into the skies as the churning masses of black clouds accumulated more and more, Theron found that fear he had felt slowly ebbing into a deeper and deeper coldness.
The calr he beca, the deeper the frostiness around him was as well.
It was no longer just his mouth, but streams of coolness from the corners of his eyes as well. Even the very tips of his hair seed to turn a shocking white.
The Tribulation was about to descend. There were only two ways to survive this… either kill the Alpha or survive until it succeeded.
Theron slowly unsheathed the short sword at his side, his own blood having barely caked dry on his skin.
…
On the surface, a battle had already erupted just as Theron expected. He had even guessed the two parties involved, but regardless of which of the two it was, they both looked over at the very sa ti.
"Tribulation?" they both said in shock.
One was none other than General Pennel.
As for the other…
It was Dean Thistle.
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