Chapter 407

Chapter 407

Tang Shiyan thought of herself as the incarnation of the Thousand-Armed Guanyin.

The Thousand-Armed Guanyin—said in legend to save all living beings with a thousand hands.

Of course, she did not have a thousand hands like the deity, but the dazzling display of throwing knives from her six arms scattered like falling flower petals in the wind.

Unfortunately for Tang Shiyan, Zeon was a natural-born nemesis to her very existence.

No matter how small and precise a throwing knife could be, it could never be smaller or more precise than grains of sand.

Even if Tang Shiyan, with unbelievable reflexes and control, could fine-tune hundreds of throwing knives at once, Zeon’s senses were dozens, even hundreds of times sharper than hers.

Zeon could feel and control each and every grain of sand floating in the air.

If an ordinary human had been born with Zeon’s level of perception, they would have long since gone insane. Such hypersensitivity, beyond human limits, would not be a blessing—it would be a curse.

Zeon moved his sand, intercepting all the throwing knives flying toward him at once.

Pabababababang!

The knives clashed against the sand and burst into spectacular explosions midair.

It looked just like fireworks scattering in the sky.

“N-no way!”

Tang Shiyan’s eyes flew wide as her ultimate attack came to nothing.

She abandoned the mission entirely and tried to run. But Zeon had no intention of letting her flee so easily.

“Sand Mixer!”

At his mutter, Tang Shiyan hastily looked down at her feet.

She had been too focused on hurling knives at him to notice—the sand had already climbed up to her ankles.

While fighting Xiaowu Chen, Zeon had stealthily guided his sand beneath her feet.

KAAAAANG!

A chilling noise resounded as the sand began to spin at high speed.

“Aaaghhhh!”

Her piercing scream rang out as her ankles were shredded apart.

The shriek, almost ultrasonic in pitch, carried far down the corridor.

It was so bloodcurdling that even the Awakened waiting outside the defense tower shuddered in fright.

The high-speed whirl of sand quickly rose up to her thighs.

From ankles, to shins, to thighs—her body was ground away piece by piece.

Thud!

Her upper body alone collapsed to the floor like a hunk of butchered meat.

And still, Tang Shiyan did not die.

The heart of a demon beast implanted in her chest refused to let her perish.

She tried to prop herself up on her six arms. But Zeon had no intention of letting her stand again.

“Phosphorus Flame!”

Hellfire that would never extinguish until it had devoured everything it touched blossomed across her body.

“N-no! Stop!”

Her desperate scream came too late.

The hellfire burned through everything—her six demonized arms, her pale human flesh, her long hair, even the demon beast’s heart.

Tang Shiyan rolled madly on the floor, thrashing in agony. But even her vocal cords melted in the fire, leaving her voice trapped inside her throat.

Her torment continued until the demon beast’s heart was completely reduced to ash.

Only when her body vanished entirely, leaving not a single speck of dust behind, did the hellfire finally die down.

“Phew.”

Zeon exhaled faintly, staring at the spot where Tang Shiyan had once been.

The ground was charred pitch black in the shape of a human figure—making the sight all the more eerie.

Shaking his head to dispel lingering thoughts, Zeon forced himself back to focus.

Now was not the time to dwell.

It was time to move.

Time was on the enemy’s side.

No one knew what they might attempt while they still controlled the defense tower.

---

“Wu Chen and Shiyan are dead.”

At Jiang Wuhang’s sudden words, Murong Han and Heukno, who had been engrossed in their work, froze stiff.

“What?”

“You mean those two really got taken out?”

Jiang Wuhang glared toward the corridor.

“It’s certain! Just now, their presences vanished completely.”

“No way!”

“How far along is the work?”

“Just a little more, and it’s done.”

“Then hurry! We can’t let their sacrifice be in vain…”

“Got it, Boss!”

Murong Han closed his eyes again, sinking deep into concentration.

At that moment—

“Ghhhk!”

Someone staggered into the control room, groaning.

It was Deng Zhuping.

He bore heavy wounds along his back and side.

“Did the sand wielder get you too?”

“That damn elf bitch stormed in swinging her spear out of nowhere! Fucking elf whore! If I hadn’t been caught off guard, I would’ve slit her throat!”

Spittle flew from Deng Zhuping’s mouth as he cursed the elf who had attacked him.

That elf was none other than Eloy.

She had ambushed Deng Zhuping while he was firing the mana cannons, landing him with those serious injuries.

Overwhelmed by her ferocity, he had no chance to retaliate and barely managed to flee here.

At least he had sealed the passageway connected to the mana cannon control room.

It would take Eloy time to break through to reach them.

Listening with a grim expression, Jiang Wuhang spoke.

“Zhuping.”

“What?”

“Set it up here—the thing you brought.”

“You serious? The damage will be catastrophic.”

“Wu Chen and Shiyan are dead. If we fall here too, Zhicheng has no future. I don’t care how many die in Neo Seoul. Just plant it, now.”

“…Fine!”

At Jiang Wuhang’s firm tone, Deng Zhuping grinned.

He pulled something from the pack on his back and began setting it up all around the control room.

Jiang Wuhang then shifted his gaze to Heukno.

“Heukno!”

“Speak.”

“Send all the remaining Spawn of the Exploding Demon down the passage.”

“At this rate, we won’t have any left when we really need them.”

“We can’t afford to worry about later. If we don’t buy time now, there won’t be a later.”

“…Understood.”

Heukno nodded and pulled aside his robe.

Weeeeeeeng!

From the subspace within, swarms of Spawn of the Exploding Demon burst out.

They screeched with their wings and flew down the passage leading outside.

Babababang!

A chain of explosions erupted from the distance.

The Spawn were self-destructing as they collided with the enemy.

The blasts grew louder and louder.

That meant the enemy was drawing closer.

Jiang Wuhang’s eyes stayed fixed on the corridor, tension etched across his face.

It felt like the enemy could burst from the shadows at any second.

His fist clenched so tightly it went numb.

When he opened it, his palm was drenched in sweat.

Then—

“It’s done!”

Murong Han let out a cry, opening his eyes as he pulled free from the barrier.

Jiang Wuhang asked quickly, “Are you sure?”

“I’ve recorded the structure and principles—all of it into Pangu’s Eye.”

Murong Han held up a glowing blue crystal.

Pangu’s Eye—an artifact capable of recording its owner’s memories.

Even in Zhicheng, it was unique—one of a kind. Inside it, Murong Han had inscribed everything about the mana stone power plant.

Even if he died, as long as Pangu’s Eye remained, Zhicheng would be able to construct their own mana stone power plant.

“Excellent! Zhuping?”

“All set. We just need to escape now.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

At Jiang Wuhang’s words, Heukno tore open the floor of the control room, revealing a passage leading out.

It was a sewage drain.

Reeking, filthy water ran through it, but without a second’s hesitation, they crawled inside.

Just after they disappeared into the sewage—Zeon and Eloy entered the control room.

Eloy looked around and scowled in disbelief.

“Those bastards already bailed? Don’t tell me they finished the job already?”

“More importantly—there.”

Zeon spotted what Deng Zhuping had installed earlier.

A box embedded with a massive blue crystal—its glow flickering unsteadily, like a lightbulb about to die.

“What is it?”

“The unstable mana… It feels like a powerful explosive.”

“Fuck! Those sons of bitches, seriously…”

Eloy cursed furiously.

If that thing exploded here, not only the defense tower but also the mana stone power plant deeper inside would go up in a chain reaction.

If the plant—responsible for most of Neo Seoul’s power supply—blew, the devastation would be unimaginable.

At least half of Neo Seoul would be destroyed. Every skyscraper would collapse.

Every system, every device powered by electricity would go dead, plunging the city back into the medieval ages.

And Jiang Wuhang’s warband surely knew all this.

Yet they had planted such a bomb without hesitation.

That meant—they did not care if every single citizen of Neo Seoul died.

“Those motherfuckers!”

“This isn’t the time for cursing.”

Blink! Blink!

The blue crystal’s flickering grew frantic.

It was about to blow.

“Shit! What do we do?”

“I’ll handle it. Eloy, go after them.”

“And how will you ‘handle it’? If it blows, you’ll be caught in it too.”

“I have a plan. Go—quickly!”

“…Damn it! Fine.”

Eloy cursed, then leapt down into the sewage tunnel.

Worry for Zeon lingered, but right now, all she could do was trust him.

Left alone, Zeon grabbed the bomb.

The moment his hand touched it, the flickering intensified.

He didn’t waste a second longer and sprinted outside.

Startled, Derrick ran up to him.

“What’s going on?”

“A bomb. If it goes off here, the mana stone plant is finished.”

“…What?”

“I’ll take it outside Neo Seoul. Call ahead—have the gate opened.”

“U-understood!”

Zeon raced toward the front gate.

Fortunately, the guards had already received word and immediately let him through.

Out in the slums, Zeon looked down at the bomb.

He could feel the raging surge of mana within.

It was on the verge of detonation.

Though he had escaped Neo Seoul, if it went off here, the entire slum would be obliterated.

There was no more time to run.

He had to deal with it now.

At that moment, one item flashed across his mind.

“Mushura’s Mirror.”

An artifact that, when infused with mana, could randomly teleport its target one kilometer away.

He hastily unbuckled his belt, tied the bomb to it, and channeled mana.

Fwoosh!

In an instant, the bomb and Mushura’s Mirror vanished.

Zeon looked up.

Far above in the sky, Mushura’s Mirror and the bomb reappeared.

Fortunately, the teleportation had not sent it into the slums—but high into the air.

KWA-BOOOOOOM!

A colossal explosion tore across the heavens.

The bomb had detonated along with Mushura’s Mirror.

The blast shook the entire slum as if a volcano had erupted, buildings swaying like they would collapse at any second. But miraculously, not a single structure fell.

Zeon let out a heavy breath.

“Those fucking bastards…”

A fury burned from deep within his chest.