Ten thousand meters above ground, Jiang Yan looked down with an icy expression as one-third of HQ City was swallowed by a black tsunami.
Beside him, Blood Master stood quietly, likewise watching the devastation below with cold detachment.
"This battle will mark the moment Xuanjian Division exits the stage of history," Jiang Yan said suddenly, caring little whether anyone was listening.
Once the Xuanjian Division is erased, nothing will stand in the way.
After watching a while longer, Jiang Yan sent his consciousness into his mind to check the progress of the pearl of the abyss.
pearl of the abyss: 26.58 million / 30.96 million
With the recent flesh chaos and Monster outbreaks the numbers had soared; he'd only just finished spending points and already gained another twenty million… HQ City's networks and communications were cut, but the satellites overhead were unaffected.
Awakened organizations across the world watched the black tsunami devouring the city.
Teya Alliance, capital of Beika Country.
Harvey led the remaining Level Fives inside the palace, watching a huge screen that had been specially set up.
When the black tsunami appeared on the feed, every face turned ashen.
Sturdy white-braided elder Carmen stared at the screen, then turned to Harvey. "Director, are we really going to take revenge on something this terrifying?"
Harvey shot Carmen a glare; the old man always picked the worst moments to force the issue in front of everyone.
Still, he answered without hesitation: "We'll plan this carefully. For now, watch. Xuanjian Division hasn't lost yet."
Outside the city, spheres of black-and-white energy flared repeatedly on the satellite feed. Though far smaller than the black tsunami, each blast ranged from a few hundred meters to over a kilometre in diameter.
Town City, Nanwu Country. Inside the ninety-ninth floor of the Xuanjian Division headquarters, an office occupied the entire level.
Wu Yuan, wearing a white cat-print T-shirt and black jeans, frowned at the footage on the wall screen.
"A single Level Six was already enough to keep Elder Bai busy; now another probable Level Six has appeared. If I don't move, Elder Bai may die there." Wu Yuan rose slowly, deciding to intervene before the situation slipped out of control.
What he didn't know was that a Wicked Eye inside the room had been watching him the entire time.
The instant he stood, Wicked Eye notified Jiang Yan.
Whoosh—Wu Yuan vanished from the room; the next second he reappeared on the rooftop of the Xuanjian Division tower.
He scanned Town City one final time, confirmed nothing was amiss, and prepared to depart.
Rumble—
Suddenly the ground shook kilometres away, right in the urban district a dozen kilometres from the Xuanjian Division tower.
Wu Yuan paused mid-step toward HQ City and turned toward the source of the quake.
Rumble! Huge fissures split the ground; buildings swayed.
Bang! A black, forty-metre-wide centipede with a human face burst through the asphalt.
"This—" Wu Yuan's face hardened as he watched the black centipede's body keep pouring from the earth, seemingly endless.
Rumble! The tremors continued as terrified onlookers stared at the colossal centipede writhing across the sky.
"Ahhh—"
"Why is a creature like this here?!"
"Run—"
Screams erupted; the streets turned to chaos as people fled the titanic centipede.
Woo-woo-woo—
Town City's alarms blared.
Only now did Centipede Emperor's full body emerge from underground, empowered by the soul crystal.
Its length had grown from two kilometres to over thirty-six hundred metres, its width from twenty to about forty metres.