Chapter 352: Heaven’s Scar is Broken
Strengthening city defenses, replenishing troops, adjusting strategies – all these matters required Owen’s attention, causing him a considerable headache. This was not even counting the establishment of the alliance and preparations for the coming winter.
Fortunately, Howard and his son, along with Emily and her students, were quite capable. After a round of handling affairs, Owen realized that there weren’t many things that needed his personal attention. Most of it was making decisions. It was like switching from writing an essay to answering multiple-choice questions.
The city walls continued to be raised and widened. Although the significance was minimal, for ordinary people, tall city walls meant safety, and to outsiders, they were a deterrent.
After signing and approving the document, Owen put down his pen and rubbed his smooth chin. He thought for a moment and said,
“I will transfer a batch of Gargoyles and Iron Golems to be placed on the city walls. See how you can integrate them into the existing defense system.”
Gargoyles and Steel Golems originated from the game Heroes of Might and Magic. They belonged to the Golem category. Although not very agile, they were quite suitable for city defense.
Owen had previously exchanged for the corresponding unit buildings on the second floor of the Underground City. He had accumulated quite a few by now, and it was the right time to put them to use.
As the Domain required less Progress Value, Owen planned to exchange for more unit buildings from Heroes of Might and Magic to replace the Age of Empires units that were starting to fall behind.
However, this would be a very long process. At the current stage, the territory still relied on the cost-effective units from Age of Empires to bear the brunt.
After dealing with some matters, Owen returned to the Academy City because he wanted to see what reaction the Empire would have to this battle.
In reality, there was no reaction. The Imperial Capital was still prosperous, and the Academy City remained unchanged. Even though he heard news of a terrifying plague in the south that had already killed many people, no one seemed to care because it was all too far away from them.
“There are so many evil organizations in the south as well?” Owen was chatting with Ke Ji. He was the only one in the Special Talent Class Owen could have a decent conversation with.
Owen had just talked about the Demon’s Head and the Flesh and Blood Church that appeared in the northern war. Ke Ji casually mentioned that the plague in the south was caused by the Church of Calamity. This stunned Owen.
Who would have thought that the seemingly powerful Empire was already riddled with problems? The nobles and the royal family hindering each other was one thing, but there was also a bunch of messy villainous organizations determined to cause trouble. Owen couldn’t help but shake his head.
It was only because the Empire had a solid foundation that it hadn’t collapsed yet.
The topic was initially just casual conversation. Who would have thought that the plague in the south would escalate? The Academy City, which had already dispatched a batch of mages and alchemists to support the construction of the Imperial Border Army, had to mobilize another group of people to the south. It was said that the people infected with the plague had become like undead zombies. This made people inevitably think of the undead demigod who had caused hundreds of thousands of casualties in the north before even showing up. It should be noted that there was also one sealed in the south.
To be safe, not only did they need to research an antidote for the new plague, but they also had to check the sealing point. All this required a lot of manpower, and it was urgent.
There was no other way. Although the Empire wasn’t critically injured in the northern war, repairing the damaged border, rebuilding the border army, and restoring the population lost in the Northland were all huge expenditures. If another incident like this happened in the south, the Empire wouldn’t be able to handle it. They could only deal with it quickly, which was unexpectedly efficient. However, Owen had a growing sense of foreboding.
Because a large number of teachers and senior students had been transferred, the Academy City was now in a semi-paralyzed state. Many students had no classes to attend. With this rare leisure time, the students learned to find their own fun. The air was filled with a happy atmosphere. It was estimated that many people would become parents next year. However, Owen became increasingly nervous.
Other students in the Special Talent Class noticed this. They didn’t quite understand, but they trusted Owen’s intuition. Except for Deer Antler, the elf who had disappeared, everyone else, led by Owen, started building shelters.
“Although I don’t know what use this is, I’d rather do this than attend class,” the dwarf muttered as he drew blueprints, making the underground fortress Owen was building more robust and complete.
Judging by their respective races, their mental ages were not very old. They were all very interested in building underground fortresses. Even Ke Ji rarely stayed to help brainstorm ideas.
Owen’s premonition came true. The long period of peace had made the Academy City careless, and with so many people transferred away, when the Flesh and Blood Gate stood tall above the Academy City, there was no defense or counter-attack mechanism activated for a while.
The Academy City definitely had these two mechanisms, and there were people specifically responsible for maintaining them. So, apart from an inside job, there was no other possibility.
Even so, a mere Demon Gate was still not a big problem for the Academy City. After all, although its rank was high, it couldn’t attack or move. It could only attack through inducing demonization and summoning creatures. If it secretly accumulated power, it might become a problem. However, hanging in mid-air in broad daylight was underestimating the Academy City’s foundation.
However, what no one expected was that the Demon Gate’s target was not the Academy City, but Heaven’s Scar.
Heaven’s Scar was the world’s scar. Although there were many seals on it, it was still fragile. The increasingly vast Secret Realm put immense pressure on Heaven’s Scar, making it unable to heal.
The problem was that the Secret Realm was the world’s food source. Even if it caused pressure, it couldn’t be abandoned. This was why the Heaven’s Scar organization existed to mediate and maintain a balance between the two.
But balance was fragile. The Demon Gate, which could communicate with the Abyss, was not a vegetarian. With careful preparation by the Demon’s Head and the Flesh and Blood Church, it acted like a Portkey and a steel needle, easily breaking the balance of Heaven’s Scar. At this moment, the sound of chains snapping echoed throughout the world. Even in the Imperial Capital, everyone could see illusory chains breaking and disappearing in the sky.
As the chains snapped, the seal began to crumble. Heaven’s Scar, squeezed by the Secret Realm, began to cave inward, its shape changing from a crossroad to an outward-protruding mixed hemorrhoid. A large amount of indescribable matter poured down, widening the opening, even reaching the ground.
As soon as the turbid, glass-like substance flowing from Heaven’s Scar touched the Academy City, the entire city was distorted. Then, like a painting falling into a whirlpool, it disappeared in an instant, as if it had never existed. In its place was a burning land, with countless demons appearing from nowhere. After a brief adaptation, they spread out with glee.
Standing at the entrance of the underground fortress, the group from the Special Talent Class was dumbfounded. Facing this level of disaster, no fortress would be of any use. Demons were much more capable than huskies. No matter how deep they hid, they would be dug out.
Owen wanted to teleport everyone away, but the entire space had become chaotic. Teleportation was fine if not used, but using it was like pulling the plug while taking a bath – everything would be messed up. Everyone was swept into the chaos.
As the core, Owen suffered the most. He was swept into the deepest part of the turbulent flow. Seeing others escape the turbulence, only he couldn’t break free. He had no choice but to expand his Domain. However, he was surprised to find that the Domain was absorbing something, making it even harder to escape. He was trapped deep within.
