A dark vortex hanging in mid-air slowly devoured the surrounding light, crushing even afterimages and the metal from buildings within it.

It was like a millstone, grinding away without end.

When the Throat of the Devouring Void technique ceased at Su Chen’s will, the vortex receded like the tide. The Lorentz member was long gone, not even bones remaining, and the Human Skin Drum he held had turned to dust.

Only two things were left floating in the air.

A Gold Element Soul Core.

A Lv. 8 Golden Light Escape Rune.

The devouring force had been so vicious that all the other Rune Essences were utterly obliterated.

Being fabulously wealthy, Su Chen felt no sting from the loss and simply collected the two most valuable items.

While Su Chen had been lying in wait, Xiaoye, whom he had summoned earlier, had been relentlessly hunting down and reaping lives.

The Nightmare Soul Dog had long since evolved into a new form. Devoid of bone, blood, or flesh, its body was nothing but a roiling mass of high-density black mist that formed a canine silhouette.

Four Phantom Clones split off from it, remaining hidden as they viciously tore into and hunted down their enemies.

With the Summoned Pet’s survivability so greatly increased, it could easily fend for itself in the chaotic battle, freeing Su Chen from having to worry about it.

At this moment, the entire Rune Core area had descended into a veritable Purgatory.

The once ironclad defensive system had completely collapsed.

Nearly half the defense towers had been blasted into twisted steel frames. As for the residential buildings, they collapsed and were pulverized one after another under the combined assault of those professional demolition experts: the Rock Phase Ruler and the Golden Radiance Ruler.

“Heed the Lord’s command! Follow me!”

At the same time.

As the Barrier shattered, the white-robed figures waiting outside the Rune Core area surged in for the kill, led by the Sect.

「Earlier」

Xiaohu and the others, using their Soul Pockets, had wasted no time looting, taking as many of the Magic Guide Hub Crystal Pillars as they could carry.

As for whether to destroy the local Rune architecture…

…or even the central Crystal Spire.

The conclusion was no.

‘Losing these things would be too cruel for the ordinary people of Oran City.’ Captain Zhang was, of course, relaying the Security Committee’s opinion: all resource-producing structures were to be handed over to the Sect’s forces whenever possible.

“I doubt this show of mercy will win us any favors. You’re telling me these foreigners won’t resent us for this? I find that hard to believe,” someone complained, clearly dissatisfied with the policy.

“You guys just don’t get it,” Wild Beast laughed. “If they really do try something later, it just gives us another chance to fleece them.”

The spoils of war were substantial. To put it bluntly, their earnings over the past three or four days far exceeded what they’d make in normal times.

If another conflict between the Twin Cities broke out, spawning a new world quest, that would be genuinely thrilling.

Of course, it was best to just think about such things, not advocate for them publicly.

A little over ten minutes later, news arrived.

The Sect, along with various other factions, had already cornered several key members of the Lorentz Conglomerate within the city. After a fierce battle, they had successfully killed them and destroyed the parchment Soul Artifacts they possessed.

With that, aside from Chairman Bader Lorenz—who had gone into hiding with his whereabouts unknown—and the bronze vessel Soul Artifact he possessed, the other five major Soul Artifacts had all been destroyed.

“That old bastard definitely doesn’t have the guts to show his face. Hard to say where he’s hiding, though.”

It was said that after the man, who was over seventy, regained his youth, he never made a public appearance. A true master of staying in the shadows.

“Let’s pull back for now.”

Captain Zhang signaled for everyone to fall back. After all, the incoming forces were a mixed bag. Besides the Sect’s vanguard, who flew the banner of rebuilding order, there were also mercenary groups looking to loot in the chaos.

The previous ruling coalition had officially disintegrated.

As for who would take over this ruin? How would the Sect conduct its purges, absorb new factions, and establish a new ruling class?

That was no concern of the people from Dongfu.

But they had to make one thing clear up front…

The Security Committee had drawn a red line that could not be crossed.

Anyone who had ever been on any of Oran City’s contribution leaderboards was to be considered a war criminal. They would receive no pardons, nor would they be allowed shelter or acceptance by the new powers.

“The Ruler organization disbanded a long time ago. Its membership was extremely complex; even their leader might not have known all the different branches. That’s why it’s impossible to round them all up in the city right now.”

Captain Zhang explained.

What was certain was that the other three major factions also had plenty of surviving members.

For outsiders like them to hunt for specific people in the city, with no local contacts to help, was undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“The good news is that the Trial Tower and the Arena have public leaderboards,” someone said with a laugh. “Once someone dies, their name is removed, so we can tell who’s still alive.”

The nets of heaven are vast, but they let nothing slip through.

This list had undoubtedly become their hit list.

“It’s true. Besides names, the list also has their class information,” Little Zeus added. He had just successfully managed to interface his consciousness with some of the Rune architecture.

“Right. That Dylan guy is still alive,” Xiaohu said.

Dylan had been the benchmark for the Olan People’s combat strength, one of the top three contenders in the Arena. He used to have the Five-Star hidden class, Holy Light Judge.

He clearly wasn’t very lucky when the rewards for the Twin Cities war were distributed. He hit a wall repeatedly, probably only ranking in the teens, but he still managed to advance to the Six-Star hidden class, ‘Radiant Holy Judge.’

“That pillar of light from earlier was definitely his doing. He showed his hand and then immediately took off. Who knows where he ran.”

Xiaohu scoffed, wiping the ash from his face. His eyes, however, held a look of undisguised mockery. “Goes to show there are differences in quality even among Six-Star hidden classes.”

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