CHAPTER 209: CHAPTER209-THE TRUE IRON SPINE OF THE EMPIRE

Indeed, he could not kill a Sage Rank expert yet.

But as long as he could force them to act with all their might, triggering an even stronger Sage Rank Calamity, that would be enough!

With this level of strength, he was confident that he could still succeed!

However, before the Sage Rank expert from Blade City could speak again,

From the direction of Endless Glacier,

A snow lotus, containing the ultimate ice-cold laws, silently sank into the depths of Blade City!

At the same time,

Above the sky east of the Anubichi Mountain Range,

A pure, holy flower, radiating with the brilliance of life and wisdom, crossed space and descended upon Blade City.

In the next moment,

The sky over Ironback Mountains, where Blade City was located, was set ablaze by endless law-infused thunderfire!

The sky seemed to tear open, and terrifying thunderfire cascaded downward.

Extreme sword light shot into the sky, intertwining with the law-infused thunderfire in a deadly clash.

A silver-gray altar rose from deep within Blade City, releasing a dazzling brilliance!

Endless thunderfire fell from the sky!

All the strong figures within Blade City looked up at this shocking scene.

The gray altar was Blade City’s most central artifact—

The Voidsplitter Altar!

A truly ancient artifact, its power in some areas even surpassing the strength of the Glamer Holy Sword!

This was Blade City’s greatest foundation and significance in suppressing the Ironback Mountains!

But at this moment, without Aurek’s direct intervention, an equivalent force had already been triggered, forcing Blade City’s ancient existence to invoke the Sage Rank Calamity!

Isabella, Freya, and the reinforcements from Frostvale knew that

The Iced Lotus originated from the master of the Endless Snow Mountains—White Lady!

Others vaguely recognized that

The holy flower came from the Sigeits Parliament!

Aurek’s gaze sharpened, and he commanded the seven Stellar Rank experts,

"Clear this place for me!"

"Understood, Your Majesty!"

Aurek then used Transdimensional Leap and directly appeared outside the Ironback Mountains!

The residents of Blade City were helpless, watching as the Sage Rank Calamity covered the entire sky.

Endless destructive thunderfire rained down, killing many instantly.

The intense sword light and law-infused thunderfire collided, producing energy remnants that fell into the city, crushing countless civilians in seconds!

This was the display of true Sage Rank power!

Even the smallest energy remnant, no larger than a grain of rice, was an unstoppable calamity for ordinary civilians!

"Ah—!"

"Someone help me! My leg is broken!"

"Help, I don’t want to die!"

"..."

Desperate cries echoed in the cities near Ironback Mountains.

Under the pressure of the heavenly might, the civilians couldn’t even move.

They could only watch as the people around them and the buildings were turned to dust.

In wars between gods, mortals could only endure the disaster.

Those who schemed in the shadows never valued the lives of ordinary beings.

Absolute interests were enough to bring about apocalyptic chaos.

And the ones who suffered were always the common people.

Aurek, who had once experienced insignificance, knew this sense of helplessness all too well!

He waved his sleeve.

The empire’s national power spread out like a protective barrier.

The Conqueror Divine Aspect stood tall in the sky, binding the space above all cities and shielding the destruction of the Sage Rank Calamity.

"What is happening..."

"Look at the sky!"

All the civilians looked up in disbelief at the towering figure blocking the sky.

"It’s the Emperor!"

A low-level Awakener gasped.

"It’s the Emperor who saved us!"

"What... why didn’t Blade City’s ancient existence protect us?!"

"Haha... how ridiculous, we waited for Blade City and didn’t get help, but we were saved by the Emperor from afar!"

"Damn Blade City, their officials fled first, ha!"

"The glory of the Empire will never fade!"

More and more people realized what had happened and cried out in gratitude for their survival.

"All citizens of the Empire, evacuate the city immediately!"

Aurek’s commanding voice rang in everyone’s ears.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for protecting us!"

"We bow to Your Majesty! We are forever the Empire’s citizens, forever!"

...

Countless civilians began desperately fleeing toward the distance.

To hell with Albion!

To hell with Blade City!

When we were at our most desperate and helpless, who saved us?!

As they fled, they kept glancing back at the towering figure that was guarding them.

At this moment, the true Ironback Mountains seemed to materialize!

The iron spine of the empire was held up by that very figure!

Aurek focused his gaze on the depths of Blade City!

He maximized the defense of the Divine Carapace.

At the same time, he mobilized the empire’s national power, fully activating the killing power of the Glamer Holy Sword, locking onto the figure resisting the calamity.

The threat of a Sage Rank was too great!

If he could destroy it now, that would be ideal.

Even if not, he must severely wound it so it could no longer threaten the empire!

He glanced at the Emperor Point on the system interface,

The zeros following the number were too numerous to count.

This battle, though difficult and brutal,

Would bring the empire an unprecedented opportunity once it was won!

Right now, the external empires were taking advantage of the chaos to seize territories, keeping these semi-hegemonic forces from fully turning their attention to the empire.

Once they stabilized their external situation, they would inevitably target the weak foundation of the empire.

The time left for the empire was short.

So,

This battle must be fought.

No matter the cost, it must be won!

However, Aurek had clearly underestimated the power of the Iced Lotus.

It seemed to contain unimaginable extreme cold power!

It could even freeze the ancient being from Blade City!

Under this external force’s strong interference, the Blade City ancestor seemed caught off guard.

The Sage Rank Calamity grew increasingly violent.

He could only rely on the ancient artifact, the Voidsplitter Altar, to hold on.

The holy flower continued to release purifying and suppressing light,

The two forces, both above Sage Rank, along with the devastating Sage Rank Calamity,

Continued to disrupt the Blade City ancestor.

Even the Voidsplitter Altar began to dim.

At that instant,

A pure, ultimate purifying light pierced through space and struck the Blade City ancient being!

In an instant, it pierced his body, sending him flying into the ruins of Blade City.

The Iced Lotus then launched a fierce ice-cold attack.

At the same time,

The law-infused thunderfire descended, engaging in violent burning and destruction!

This calamity lasted an entire day.

Finally, in the ruins, there was no more movement.

The Sage Rank Calamity slowly dissipated.

Aurek flew into what had become a scorched wasteland, Blade City.

An old man with a white beard leaned against a broken wall.

His aged eyes looked at Aurek.

There was neither anger nor viciousness in his gaze.

Only a serene understanding of the world.

"Do you see, Aurek?!"

"In the vastness of the laws and the will of the world, how insignificant life is."

"But yet, the ambition of living beings is greater than the stars themselves, desiring eternal existence, seeking to control the laws, to dominate all!"

"And thus, man fights against man, fights against the world, and fights against the highest laws!"

"One wrong step, and everything becomes a fleeting dream!"

"Death may perhaps be a form of liberation."

The old man smiled helplessly,

Then, his gaze turned complex as he looked at Aurek!