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Chapter 33: The Destruction of the Forgotten Land

The truth of the matter is often simpler and more absurd than one might imagine.

There was never any convoluted plan or conspiracy; it was just a tragic obsession for love that lasted three hundred years.

To save one person, would one kill millions…?

Humans can sometimes be more monstrous than true monsters.

No wonder that flesh cocoon was desperately trying to protect Afra inside—it was a twisted product imbued with Ulysses’ final strong conviction.

But the Acting City Lord, who had essentially died long ago, might not realize that Afra’s physical form had long since been eroded away over the three hundred years, leaving only a shadowy fragment of what little remained.

Three hundred years of effort, exhausting the souls of a million people, had merely nurtured a piece of immensely powerful equipment.

Countless essence of souls, even the power derived from his fusion with the “Seed of Desecration,” became the fuel for this growth. The entity birthed three hundred years ago should have been much stronger than it is now.

Pitiful, lamentable.

But…

Vilyric couldn’t help but ask herself, if it were her in this situation, what would she do to save Xiao Guang?

…

Forget it, there’s no need to ponder these meaningless thoughts. I can resurrect; I don’t need to resort to such twisted pathways.

Ultimately, the root cause of the tragedy was the lack of sufficient power to change everything.

Moreover, Vilyric still hadn’t figured out why the “Seed of Desecration,” which had been silent for three hundred years, suddenly began acting out now.

Could it really just be a coincidence?

Additionally, she hadn’t found any leads on the owner of that strange room in Bawo Town.

Drawing her attention back to her surroundings, Vilyric assessed the environment.

As usual, Xiao Guang and Lucas stood in their original positions. The mysterious Miss Edwina, who had appeared in the mirror world for some unknown reason and had previously crossed paths with her in the Dragon Valley, was still approaching.

But… just a fleeting memory.

“Xiao Guang.”

“Yup? Master?”

The Little Dragon Daughter tilted her head in confusion, sensing that her master’s expression turned sour right after she touched that brooch.

“Destroy this place.”

“…? Alright, got it!”

Although she didn’t understand the meaning behind Vilyric’s command, it didn’t hinder the Giant Dragon’s speed in following it.

Besides, destruction was the simplest task for her.

With dragon wings unfurled, the blonde girl soared into the boundless dark night sky, inhaling slowly as she opened her seemingly harmless little mouth towards the core of the Forgotten Land below.

White light began to gather.

Meanwhile, Vilyric had already dismissed Lucas’ summon and casually grabbed the perplexed Holy Knight by her collar, bringing her into the air.

“V-Vilyric?!”

Edwina was stunned by the pure white wings that unfurled behind the black-haired girl, as well as her unexpected, slightly aggressive action. However, before she could begin to struggle, the dazzling dragon’s magic circle had already enveloped the sky.

Then, the breath of destruction rained down.

“Wah!”

The terrifying wave of incandescent energy poured down from the heavens like a galaxy, a celestial fist striking the earth, illuminating the night of the Forgotten Land as if it were day.

The gale that surged toward Edwina nearly swept her away, and her body emitted a series of anguished creaks as her bones succumbed under the pressure.

“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!”

Edwina couldn’t even begin to imagine how much power the beam possessed if the shockwave alone was already unbearable for someone like her, a fearless knight of the earth! What terrible force awaited her from the front?

In the next instant, she saw it.

It was true destruction, far beyond any past impacts, something she would remember for a lifetime.

The blinding beam pierced through the ground, instantly melting countless soils and stones, creating a giant pit with a diameter of hundreds of meters, the remnants of the former City Lord’s manor and the shattered mirror door dusting into the air.

But this was only the beginning of the destruction.

After a brief silence lasting mere seconds, the earth began to erupt with countless white incandescent bursts.

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands…

Boom boom boom boom boom!!!!!

The entire Forgotten Land was torn asunder by the flare that sprouted like mushrooms after a rain, fragmenting into shattered pieces. The ground cracked, the undead evaporated completely, and even the somber death energy accumulated over centuries was thoroughly swept away.

With a single strike, millions of undead in the Forgotten Land were obliterated, causing the entire city’s ground to sink nearly twenty meters, with the central core transforming into an unfathomably deep chasm.

A violent and genuine purification.

Meanwhile, Edwina noticed that long before the aurora began to erupt, Vilyric, who was holding onto her, sighed in apparent annoyance and waved her staff, flinging hundreds of golden rings into the distance.

One of them landed directly on her.

That ring transformed into a cylindrical shield with a two-meter diameter, wrapping around the Holy Knight, and even the violent wind that threatened to break her bones, along with the subsequent explosive shockwave, failed to affect Edwina at all.

The shield remained perfectly still, clearly having plenty of surplus power.

As for the other rings, it was obvious to anyone that they were a means for Vilyric to protect the survivors still left in the Forgotten Land.

Even while simultaneously releasing hundreds of such strong protections, and controlling them to fly off accurately towards the distance, the black-haired girl showed no signs of being overwhelmed…

To be honest, Edwina had imagined these two mysterious girls to be incredibly powerful, perhaps even legendary, or perhaps beyond human.

But now it seemed she knew nothing of true strength.

If it weren’t for her absolute devotion to the Light Goddess, she might have straight-up worshipped these two as true gods.

Just as a storm of emotions surged within her.

In the night, the clear voice of a priest resonated through the roaring explosions, reaching Edwina’s ears.

“Miss Edwina, right? I didn’t expect to see you so soon again.”

Honestly, I don’t care what you’re here for, nor will I pry into it. But let me say this first—I’m a person who really hates trouble, so you’d best not do anything weird or later spread word of this. It’ll be for the benefit of both of us.”

“If it can be treated as if nothing happened tonight, that would be best, just consider it… your reward for being saved; that shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Vilyric…?”

The Holy Knight girl wanted to say something or reassure the other that she would keep it a secret, but unfortunately, Edwina couldn’t convey her voice in such a noisy environment, so she could only earnestly nod her head.

“Is that so? Then good. After this, there shouldn’t be any undead left in the Forgotten Land. If you don’t mind, you can try to help the survivors along the way when you leave; some of them should belong to a merchant caravan… forget it, no worries, do as you like on your accord.”

“Remember, the destruction of the Forgotten Land was due to the undead’s rampage angering the gods; it has nothing to do with Vilyric and her companions.”

“Well then, until we meet again by chance.”

As the golden shield surged around her, Edwina began to gently descend back into the deep pit that had been utterly purified by the destructive light.

And when the Holy Knight lifted her head again, the beautiful girl with white wings and her guardian had already vanished into the dark night sky.