Lord of Prayer

The Black-robed Man turned around. The "Sun" in the gravitational field burned with a quiet, fierce intensity, radiating a blinding light.

He paused for a moment, then spoke in a raspy voice, "You want to detonate the Power Furnace?"

Zhou Chen nodded. "The force from the Eternal Burning Star Core’s explosion will be enough to destroy the Time Barrier and the Matrix Core."

"It will also be enough to destroy the Royal Tower and the entire Capital. A fifty-kilometer radius will be turned to scorched earth," the Black-robed Man added.

Then, he sighed helplessly. "But this is indeed the only way."

The Royal Tower was under lockdown. No one inside could get out, and no one outside could get in. There was no telling how long it would take the Star Association to break through the Royal Tower’s defense protocols. In the meantime, the corruption from the Abyss would spread rapidly. Every second, tens of thousands would be corrupted. Endless pain, despair, chaos, and death would create a true Hell on Earth in the land of North Carolina.

Once the situation escalated beyond containment, the Star Association would inevitably initiate emergency extermination procedures. They would quarantine North Carolina and unleash a Purification called "Destruction," mercilessly wiping out the entire nation to prevent the Abyss’s Erosion from spreading and causing even more harm.

At that point, nearly two hundred million people in North Carolina would perish along with this land of suffering.

That could not be allowed to happen.

Therefore, they had to destroy the Matrix Core as quickly as possible to prevent the situation from worsening. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to shut down the Power Furnace; they simply couldn’t find a way to do it.

But right now, one of them was on his last legs and the other was only a Tier Two. It was utterly impossible for them to break the Time Barrier that "World" had constructed by burning their Soul. Fortunately, there was still one simple, brutal option available to them.

—Detonate the "Eternal Burning Star Core" and destroy everything.

The Black-robed Man believed the blast wouldn’t spread too far. After all, there was a group of Crowned Kings outside. As long as one Crowned King with the right Abilities intervened, they could quickly contain the explosion and suppress the range of destruction.

However, how to detonate the "Eternal Burning Star Core" became the biggest problem.

The Black-robed Man gazed at the brilliant Matrix covering the Power Furnace and said in a low voice, "The Power Furnace’s defense protocols haven’t been disabled yet."

The defense protocols for the Royal Tower’s Power Furnace and the Matrix Core were two separate systems, and the former was of a higher Level. Zhou Chen had only disabled the Matrix Core’s defense protocols, not those of the Royal Tower’s Power Furnace. This was why the Power Furnace had remained completely unscathed during the life-or-death battle between two Tier Four individuals.

Even now, those Alchemy Matrices were still faithfully carrying out their duty, covering the Power Furnace and its related equipment, glowing with a dazzling light.

"I’ll think of something." Zhou Chen took out his phone to record the pattern of the Defense Array. He then used the Prayer Space to airdrop the phone to his main body in Jinzhu before calling on Tang Ling for assistance.

—The Royal Tower was partially obstructing his connection to the Prayer Space, so the Power he could borrow was quite limited. Of course, even without the obstruction, Zhou Chen couldn’t use the Prayer Space’s Power to destroy the Time Barrier and the Matrix Core in the real world. Not unless the Spirit Realm descended; only then could he unleash his Power to its fullest extent.

Zhou Chen naturally thought of the "Dream City," but it was just a passing thought. That Divine Kingdom from the old era was wandering aimlessly through the Spirit Realm. Even the Star Association couldn’t track its specific movements. It would only surface on a fixed date, March 14th each year, and descend into reality for seven days. That time had already passed. The Dream City had long since left North Carolina, and there was no telling where it had drifted off to.

「Jinzhu.」

Zhou Chen called into his phone for a long while, but Tang Ling didn’t respond.

Time eroded away, bit by bit. As Zhou Chen waited anxiously, he couldn’t help but frown. ’Tang Ling is always available at a moment’s notice. Why is there no reply this time... Did they run into a powerful enemy and have no spare processing power?’

"Found a way yet?" the Black-robed Man asked from within the Royal Tower.

Zhou Chen could only shake his head helplessly.

"Then let’s do it my way."

The Black-robed Man suddenly snapped his fingers. Seven figures immediately appeared in the air. When Zhou Chen took a closer look, he saw their faces were all familiar. They were Warriors from the Salvation Army.

Among the seven Salvation Army Warriors were four Tier Twos and three Tier Threes. They bore injuries of varying severity, clear evidence of a series of intense battles. Their wounds hadn’t been properly treated, only crudely bandaged.

"I saved them on my way here. I was going to have them look for a chance to ambush ’World,’ but I didn’t expect you to have another ace up your sleeve..." The Black-robed Man didn’t elaborate. He raised the Wish Box with a blood-soaked palm. Beneath the swirling black mist on his face, his eyes stared intently.

"Forbidden Object B-025: Wishing Box. No, I should be calling you ’Benedict Joseph,’ shouldn’t I?"

Zhou Chen was stunned, shocked to his core. ’The Black-robed Man actually knows the name "Benedict Joseph"?’

"Ever since I came into possession of the Wish Box by accident, I’ve been secretly investigating it. I finally found some clues in some old news articles and files from over a hundred years ago.

Benedict Joseph, promoted to Crowned King in the year 95 of the New Era, mysteriously disappeared in the year 96, his whereabouts unknown ever since. In reality, you entered Zone 0471 in the year 96 of the New Era. For some unknown reason, you became corrupted and were imprisoned inside this Magic Box at the same time.

For over a century, you’ve frequently switched Receptors, all in an attempt to find a chance to escape the Magic Box that holds you. The true body of the Forbidden Object known as the ’Wish Box’ is actually the box itself. It only became a ’wish-granting’ Wish Box because you are imprisoned inside.

Am I right?"

In the silence, a terrified scream suddenly erupted. "What are you trying to do?!"

The voice came from inside the Wish Box.

"This entire situation is your fault," the Black-robed Man said coldly. "And you will pay the price for it."

A crimson flame ignited around his body as he began to burn his own Soul to extract Essence. "I want you to open the Power Furnace’s Defense Array, even if the price is your utter annihilation."

—As the Receptor, so long as the Black-robed Man wasn’t beguiled and controlled by the Benedict Joseph inside the box, he could issue any command he wished. Under the effect of the Magic Box’s Ability, Benedict Joseph had no right to refuse. Of course, Benedict Joseph was a Crowned King, and with so many years of accumulation, he had gained the ability to resist the Magic Box. For example, he had just defied a command at a critical moment and screwed him over.

But the number of times he could defy a command was surely limited. After a few more orders, Benedict Joseph would lose his ability to resist and be at his mercy.

"No... No!"

The Wish Box shook violently, emitting venomous and shrill screams. Plumes of black gas rose from the box as Benedict Joseph began to struggle inside, trying to escape the cage that had imprisoned him for over a hundred years.

But he failed. Amidst his frantic struggles, the Magic Box remained tightly shut, showing no sign of opening.

The dispersing black gas gradually gathered, forming into wicked dragons that slammed into the brilliantly glowing Defense Array.

The Power Furnace’s Defense Array could withstand a frontal assault from a Crowned King, and Benedict Joseph was a Crowned King. The collision of spear and shield unleashed a dazzling display of light and darkness, and terrifying shockwaves swept outward.

The crimson flame on the Black-robed Man’s body suddenly extinguished. He staggered, catching himself on the invisible Time Barrier to keep from falling. His aura became unprecedentedly faint. He gasped for breath, looked up at the "Eternal Burning Star Core," and spoke with Weakness:

"Siegfried, you’re an Alchemist, right?"

"Yes," Zhou Chen nodded in acknowledgment.

"Start making explosives. The more, the better. The Eternal Burning Star Core has internal safety measures; it won’t detonate easily. It needs enough external force to trigger an explosion... COUGH, COUGH COUGH COUGH..." The Black-robed Man coughed, spitting up a mouthful of blood. "If I’d known, I would have brought a nuclear warhead in with me."

Without another word, Zhou Chen gathered materials from his surroundings, scavenging everything he could find. He then used an Alchemy Matrix to convert it all into explosives. He was fast, creating a pile of High-Explosive Alchemical Bombs in less than twenty seconds.

But the Black-robed Man slowly shook his head. "I’m afraid it’s not enough."

"There are a lot of labs here. There must be more usable materials."

"There’s no time... In a moment, I’ll have Benedict Joseph convert himself into a volatile Energy Source. I hope it’ll be enough."

"You damned monster!" Benedict Joseph’s roar came from the Wish Box, followed by a stream of curses and insults.

The Black-robed Man ignored him, watching the Defense Array quietly.

CRACK! Finally, a crisp sound rang out. A fissure split open on the Defense Array. Immediately after, a web of cracks spread densely across the impregnable Matrix, which now seemed on the verge of collapse.

BANG!

With a sound like shattering glass, the Power Furnace’s Defense Array broke, exploding into countless dim fragments that rustled down.

"Convert all of Benedict Joseph into a volatile Energy Source." The Black-robed Man burned his Soul once more, squeezing out Essence to issue the command.

"Stop!!! No!! Stop it! I said stop... No..."

The miserable roars and dying wails grew fainter. The Wish Box suddenly opened, and a fiercely burning Fireball flew out, hovering in midair. It emanated a terrifying Essence Fluctuation—the condensed remnant of a Crowned King’s Power.

SNAP. The Magic Box closed. From now on, it was no longer a "Wish Box" that could make one’s wishes come true, but simply a "Magic Box."

This was the true nature of this Forbidden Object: a Prison.

The Black-robed Man sensed the fluctuations radiating from the volatile Energy Source, his tone thick with disappointment.

"Still not enough."

Everyone fell silent.

"Then there’s only one last option."

The black mist on the Black-robed Man’s face slowly dissipated. He pulled back his hood, revealing a hideous, terrifying face.

His ears had been cut off, leaving only the holes. Half his nose was missing. His face was covered in scars of all kinds. He had no hair, and his scalp was severely burned. He looked like a detestable, ugly monster.

The Black-robed Man gasped for air, as if breathing fresh air for the first time in a long while.

As his Soul withered away, he thought of the endless pain, discrimination, and insults he had suffered his entire life. Those tragic memories crashed over him like a tidal wave, tormenting his spirit, shaking his will, whispering like a Demon, tempting him to give up.

But then, he thought of the irreplaceable, beautiful things: the azure sky, the green grass, the cool breeze, the clean rivers, the stars in the night sky, the laughter of children, and happy people...

And so, his gaze hardened with resolve. He took one last deep breath, forced his back straight, and declared with finality:

"—Next, I will burn myself and become the kindling."