Chapter 136: Disaster Struck Blackstone
"That’s your end, Viscount Aldaric Ashenford." Luke muttered after seeing the light in his eyes dimming with each passing second and bent down to pick up his spatial ring.
"Your spatial ring should contain something valuable." With those indifferent words, Luke turned around and walked away.
The very next moment...
Every celestial body suspended high above the battlefield completed its descent.
Asteroids.
Celestial fragments.
Moons.
Even the colossal planet.
They all reached the ground almost simultaneously.
Then—
They self-destructed.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
A cataclysmic explosion erupted across the battlefield.
The detonation was several times greater than anything witnessed earlier, swallowing the entire region in an endless sea of blinding light.
A colossal shockwave burst outward, flattening forests, uprooting surrounding mountains of earth, and sending billions of tons of dust and debris soaring into the sky.
The ground shook violently for dozens of kilometers as though the land itself had been struck by a falling star.
Far beyond Windmarch Reach, the tremor was faintly felt by the surrounding territories.
People instinctively stopped what they were doing and looked toward the distant horizon once again.
Then...
Their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"WHAT?!"
A gigantic mushroom cloud was rising into the sky.
Black smoke mixed with blazing fire, climbing higher and higher until it towered over the surrounding mountains.
The terrifying sight sent chills down everyone’s spine.
"First Heaven’s Wrath..."
"...and now this?!"
The surrounding lords, merchants, adventurers, and countless civilians stared in disbelief.
They quickly pieced together the recent events.
Such terrifying disturbances was originating from one place.
Windmarch Reach.
Silence fell as the same conclusion emerged in everyone’s mind.
"Viscount Aldaric’s territory... has been attacked."
A cold shiver ran down their backs.
Because anyone capable of creating devastation on this scale...
Could not possibly be an ordinary expert.
"Someone stronger than a Mid-Golden Knight..."
That terrifying thought echoed in the minds of everyone who witnessed the distant mushroom cloud.
Even Count Magnus, who had removed the thought of checking those thunder earlier, felt the big explosion even from thousands of kilometers away.
’This... a Peak Golden Knight?’ The thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly shook his head.
Within his territory, he didn’t paid attention to beings below the Platinum Knight realm.
***
Luke had caused that final explosion intentionally.
It wasn’t merely to finish the battlefield.
The cataclysmic detonation erased everything within the impact zone—battle traces, Aether fluctuations, footprints, corpses, and even the unique remnants of his abilities.
Nothing recognizable remained.
Anyone arriving later would only find a devastated wasteland, making it impossible to determine what had truly transpired there.
"Soon my armies will take care of Windmarch Reach." he muttered while looking toward the panicked citizens of Windmarch, who had also freaked out after seeing the huge mushroom cloud.
"With this, I have reduced my enemies by one." Luke sighed tiredly and called Elena with the help of the Tidewhisper Conch.
Soon a beam of light appeared above him and Luke vanished from his position, leaving not a single clue.
That a talentless hero had killed a Mid-Golden Knight in this place.
After returning to the Magic Tower, Luke slumped onto a large sofa before finally dismissing his Titan form.
His towering physique rapidly shrank, returning to his normal human body.
For a brief moment...
Everything was quiet.
Then the backlash struck.
"Ughhh... damn it..." Luke’s face twisted in pain as a low groan escaped his lips.
It felt as though every bone in his body had developed countless cracks, while his muscles spasmed violently, tearing apart under the immense strain they had endured during the battle.
Veins bulged across his arms, and cold sweat instantly drenched his forehead.
Even lifting a finger sent waves of agonizing pain coursing through his entire body.
The overwhelming power he had forced himself to wield had exacted a brutal price.
"Master!!!"
Seeing his condition, all ten mages cried out in alarm.
Panic flashed across their faces as they hurried toward him.
Some immediately supported his body, afraid he would collapse from the sofa, while others hurriedly circulated their mana, preparing healing and diagnostic spells to assess his injuries.
The peaceful atmosphere inside the Magic Tower vanished in an instant, replaced by tension as everyone realized the terrifying backlash Luke was suffering.
Elena even cast all her magic skills on him.
"Healing Wounds"
"Fatigue Recovery"
"Stabilizing Mana"
"Mana Recovery"
She repeatedly cast every healing spell she knew, one after another, without the slightest hesitation.
She didn’t care how much mana she consumed.
To a mage, mana was their lifeblood—a different manifestation of Aether—and exhausting it completely could leave them unconscious or even endanger their lives.
Yet none of that mattered to her.
Her only concern was her master.
Soft green and golden lights continuously enveloped his body as healing magic washed over him again and again, gradually repairing the damaged muscles and easing the strain on his fractured bones.
Minutes later...
Luke’s condition finally stabilized, though not completely.
His breathing became steadier, and the violent spasms throughout his body gradually subsided.
Although the pain hadn’t disappeared completely, it had lessened enough for him to endure without gritting his teeth with every breath. The relentless barrage of healing spells had finally brought the backlash under control.
"I am fine-" As he was about to complete his words, the Tidewhisper Conch beside him glowed and then the panicked voice of Kai came from the other side.
"Master! Five Golden Knights had suddenly appeared on the battlefield and were now attacking us."
"One of them is even a Mid-Golden Knight!"
’What!’ Luke’s pupils dilated, because he did expect variables to come, but not Golden Knights, and not even more a freaking Mid-Golden Knight.
’Aurielle and others...’ Then fear appeared in his eyes and he immediately asked Kai about this.
"Master, Lady Aurora alone held back those Golden Knights, but she got injured heavily. Fortunately, Lady Aurielle and Lady Vaelira arrived on time, and now they are holding back those Golden Knights."
Luke’s worry lessened somewhat, finding they were alive, but then came the anger when he heard Aurora was injured.
"Master!"
Seeing Luke’s face become angry, the mages got worried and called out.
At this, Luke also came out of his anger and took a deep breath to calm down.
And thought about, how to deal with them, because he knew, even with her armour, Aurielle couldn’t hold back real Golden Knights for long.
’I need to heal back.’ So he ordered everyone. "Use the Recall Function to teleport directly to the territory."
Hearing this, all the mages nodded and took their positions before starting the Recall Function.
The Recall Function belonged to the S-rank Arcane Sky Tower, through which it could teleport back to the anchor location without caring about any restriction below Saint tier.
’But the cooldown.’ Luke’s expression fell, but he didn’t care about the one-month cooldown.
"Sequence started. In 10s, the Sky Tower will return to its anchor location." Elena said, and soon the countdown started.
"10...9...8... 2...1...0!" The moment the countdown reached zero, the whole tower glowed from the outside and, with a WHOOSH sound, it vanished from there.