Chapter 1469: Chapter 1467: The Coming of the Dark Night
"Click, click, click!"
The clock-like timer kept ticking.
"Clack!"
Finally, all three hands of the timer returned to zero, stopping at the top position of twelve.
Midnight, twelve o’clock.
Somewhere underground Shalin, in the Black Sun Castle.
In the Command Room, all mid-to-high level Black Sun members were present.
Arthur Osheimer had noticeable dark circles under his eyes, looking more intimidating than usual. He glanced sternly at the timer, then took a deep breath, looked at everyone, and said: "Time’s up, no termination orders received; it seems the Black Sun plan can proceed to the next step."
"Agree." Black Sun high-level member Robert Albert spoke.
"Agree." Another high-level Black Sun member, Han Kaoke von Neumann, said.
"Agree..."
Then the third person, fourth person, fifth person... all gave the same response.
"Very well, unanimously agreed, let’s begin."
Osheimer nodded and, without further ado, stepped to one wall of the Command Room, pressed his hand on it, and infused mana into it.
The wall’s surface quickly lit up with magic runes, and in the next moment, it slid open to the left and right, revealing three keyholes and two number dials.
Osheimer pulled a silvery-white key from his coat, inserted it into the left keyhole, turned it three times to the left, and three times to the right, then stepped aside.
Robert Albert stepped forward, pulled out a golden key, inserted it into the left keyhole, turned it one and a half times to the left, four and a half times to the right, stopped, and moved aside like Osheimer.
Han Kaoke von Neumann stepped forward, pulled out a black key, inserted it into the central keyhole, turned it five times to the right, and stepped aside.
Then another high-level Black Sun member, Rudolf Pole, stepped forward, and turned the first number dial several times, entering the verification code.
After verification, Bi Bi stepped forward seriously, turned the other number dial, and entered the final verification code.
After completing everything, with a "click," the wall slid open again to the sides, revealing a secret chamber.
The secret chamber was about twenty square meters in size, with large square crystals embedded in the middle of its three walls, each surrounded by dense magic runes.
The four high-level Black Sun members exchanged glances, walked straight into the secret chamber, reached out to activate the magic runes on the walls, and began operations. The square crystals displayed dense lines and characters.
The four high-level Black Sun members focused on their task, speaking as they operated: "Detect input coordinates."
"Detection complete, coordinates three, eight... lost, coordinates eleven, nineteen... deleted, coordinates one, two, four, five... twenty-three... confirmed."
"Connect the Star Spirit Mirror."
"Successful connection."
"Star Spirit Mirror secondary positioning."
"Positioning complete."
"Target secondary confirmation."
"Secondary confirmation complete."
"Unlock attack button."
"Attack button unlocked!"
"Swish!"
In the center of the secret chamber, a twenty-centimeter square control panel rose up, with a raised black circular button prominently displayed on its surface.
Seeing this button, the breaths of all Black Sun members inside and outside the chamber became heavy.
Osheimer stepped forward to the control panel, placed his hand on the black circular button, and even he, as calm as he was, had a trembling voice at this moment, saying: "Awaiting final attack command."
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Crisp footsteps sounded as a figure walked in from outside the door, drawing everyone’s attention.
It was Richard, wearing a gray robe, his eyes incomparably bright.
Osheimer looked at Richard, repeating the previous words: "Awaiting final attack command."
After hearing the words, Richard stood calmly in the room under everyone’s gaze for about three seconds. Then his lips parted, and he slowly said: "Confirm the attack."
"Clack!"
The button was pressed!
...
The instant the button was pressed, many places on the Main Continent changed.
...
In the center of an abandoned small town, within a towering stone tower, a rumble suddenly erupted.
"Crack, crack, crack..."
Dense cracks appeared on the surface of the stone tower, and with a "swish," the tower’s outer shell peeled away to the sides.
Then, a pillar of flame shot into the sky.
...
Outside the city, in an old dry well.
"Rumble..."
A strange sound echoed from the bottom of the well, and large plumes of white smoke billowed out.
Before the white smoke could dissipate, a column of fire rose up, climbing higher and faster until it reached the sky.
...
Forest.
The ground swelled, and the two trees growing there suddenly tilted to the sides.
"Boom!"
The soil exploded, and amidst the flying dirt, a crimson glow soared into the sky.
...
Pond.
In summer, bubbles suddenly rose in the middle of a rain-filled pond.
"Splash!"
The largest bubble burst at the water’s surface, and immediately the water parted as a streak of fire shot up into the sky.
...
Fields.
On a sultry summer night, a seven or eight-year-old boy in the village woke up feeling suffocated, holding his stomach as he rushed out of the thatched hut. Running to the edge of the field in front of his yard, he dropped his pants and started to relieve himself, watering the sparse crops.
Halfway through, the boy seemed to see something incredible and rubbed his eyes vigorously.
There, in the middle of his family’s field, a door to hell seemed to suddenly open outward. The crops connected to the soil on the door swooped quickly to the sides, revealing a square hole two meters on each side.
"Rumble..."
Then a deafening noise erupted, a scorching wind rushed forward, dazzling light flashed, and a flame shot up.
"Thump!"
The boy fell to the ground in shock, full of amazement.
...
Also in the seldom-visited mountain peak.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of explosive sounds rang out as round metal manhole covers were hurled up under high explosives, revealing holes beneath them, making the whole mountaintop look like a menacing beehive.
The next moment, from each hole, flames shot out, forming a neat array that flew straight into the sky.
...
Outside the Staff Department tent, Soron stepped out, squinting at the distant sky.
A group of staff followed him out, with a bit of confusion, gazing at the distant sky.
The soldiers marching in the Shalin Territory seemed to notice something and stopped to look at the distant sky.
The Commander of the garrison in Grey Rock Territory had just finished inspecting the camp and was about to return to his tent when he suddenly looked up at the distant sky.
In Reef Rock Castle, Bor City, White Sand City, and numerous other towns, night guards yawned, and amidst cries of surprise from their companions, curiously gazed at the distant sky.
In the North Wilderness, a red-robed, purple-eyed man was dragging a black key over a meter long, walking among the mountains. After walking for a long time, he paused to rest, sensing something, and looked at the distant sky.
Then... the next moment, they saw, they all saw it.
In that distant sky, suddenly there was a streak of fire, then a second, a third... countless streaks of fire...
Like a sudden meteor shower, countless streaks of fire moved rapidly, dragging fiery tails, falling towards various places on the earth.
"Boom!"
One "meteor" fell.
"Boom!"
Another "meteor" fell.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
More and more "meteors" fell.
The firelight briefly dissipated, time seemed to stand still for a moment, followed by even more terrifying flames rising.
The flames first expanded into a blinding fireball, then quickly ascended in the night, the ends spread, forming mushroom clouds like giant torches illuminating almost the entire continent’s night sky.
Under the illumination, enormous power was released from the firelight’s landing points, spreading in all directions.
The ground began to tremble, rivers and streams started to shake.
A never-before-seen strong wind swept across the plains, countless trees snapped instantly, and many birds flew up in panic from the trees they called home, trying to escape. But they hadn’t flown far before being caught in the strong wind, like small boats in a sea storm, crying pitifully, not knowing where they were taken.
The hillsides and rock formations, hit by strong impacts, cracked into gullies and fissures, widening and deepening. Numerous beasts and reptiles fled from their burrows in panic but didn’t get far before slipping into the cracks or large sections of ground caving in, burying them deep beneath the soil.
In a small town near the fire’s landing point, many buildings seemed attacked by an invisible giant hammer. Walls cracked with a "crack" sound, doors and windows deformed with a "creak", and people asleep in their beds were roughly thrown off, panic written on their faces.
They walked out of their homes, all looking toward the distant sky, and saw the crimson mushroom clouds, after continuously expanding, now hovering like giant umbrellas in the sky.
Under the "giant umbrellas", dust, ash, countless small particles stirred up, along with a special powder called "Black Sun" mixed in the firelight, rose under temperature and pressure. They first changed the "giant umbrellas" color like ink, then gradually dyed the entire night sky black.
The stars disappeared, and the moon was gone, slowly, the whole sky was left with pure black.
The people across the continent, looking at the pitch-black night sky, felt an inexplicable fear, sensing something extremely terrifying was descending.
Something that seemed even more terrible than death.
What was it?
The arrival of a new era.
...
(End of this volume)
