Crack! Crack!
Along with the release of that strange fluctuation, fine cracks suddenly spiderwebbed across the barrier that even the mana surge had failed to breach, making a shattering sound.
The sound of cracking made the expressions of the Four Kings instantly tighten.
But now that they were on the verge of entering the deepest part of the ruins, despite the unease in their hearts, not a single king had any intention of retreating.
They had already made it to harvest time!
Retreat? How could they!
Even if they were to die, the Four Kings would die while exploring the ruins!
Amidst the solemn yet faintly expectant expressions of the Four Kings, the outer barrier of the inner court quickly shattered, webbed with dense, spider-like fractures.
Then, with a crisp “ping,” the barrier instantly disintegrated into raw mana, slowly drifting to the ground.
The Four Kings cast their sharp gazes inside the barrier.
In the center of the inner court area stood a stone chair crafted from blue Snowtower stone.
Seated upon the stone chair was a withered, emaciated figure.
The figure wore a whale-silk robe popular in the Burns Merman Court a thousand years ago and wore a transparent crown on his head, which was set with a massive deep-sea magic crystal.
“It's the corpse of Burns V, the last Merman King of the Burns Merman Court!”
The Myriad Spirit King's eyes lit up, and he stared greedily at the corpse of Burns V.
“We hit the jackpot! We really hit the jackpot with this ruins exploration!”
Never mind the merman king's whale-silk robe on Burns V or the transparent crown on his head—just the corpse of a Legend rank powerhouse alone was worth a fortune!
Whether sold to mages for research or to the top nobility of the Heron Empire or the Nightmare Empire for their collections, it could fetch at least a million gold coins!
With a million gold coins in hand, the Myriad Spirit King would never have to worry about money for the rest of his life!
At this thought, the Myriad Spirit King suddenly burst forward, lunging toward the corpse of Burns V.
Boom!
But in the next instant, three attacks shot toward the Myriad Spirit King simultaneously, blocking his path forward.
“Myriad Spirit King, the corpse is just sitting right there. What's the rush?” the Wind-Calming King's voice drifted lazily from behind.
Turning around, the Myriad Spirit King saw the other three Kings staring at the corpse of Burns V with greedy eyes, which also held killing intent and wariness.
The Four Kings had originally agreed on how to divide the spoils from the ruins, but in the face of Burns V's Legend rank corpse, their past agreement was hard to uphold.
Before such massive profits, everyone wanted to eliminate the competition to secure a larger share for themselves...
As the Four Kings stood in a tense standoff, another strange fluctuation rippled outward.
And the source of this strange fluctuation was none other than the withered corpse of Burns V.
Looking over, the Four Kings saw that the strange fluctuation was gradually intensifying at a fixed frequency, throbbing like a heartbeat from within the corpse of Burns V.
This situation instantly filled the hearts of the confrontational Four Kings with unease.
“We can talk about the distribution of spoils later! Right now, let's work together to get Burns V's corpse out first!” the Shadow King's expression shifted, and he spoke immediately.
His proposal was quickly agreed upon by the other three Kings.
This inexplicable fluctuation was clearly a bad omen; they could not afford to linger in the inner court any longer!
Without further hesitation, the Myriad Spirit King, who was closest to the center of the inner court, immediately surged forward and rushed toward the corpse of Burns V.
The other three Kings followed closely behind him. They kept a vigilant eye on their surroundings while watching the Myriad Spirit King out of the corners of their eyes to prevent him from making any sly moves.
However...
Just as the Myriad Spirit King reached the side of Burns V's corpse, preparing to carry out this body that had remained unrotted for a thousand years...
He suddenly discovered that the tightly closed eyes of the corpse had snapped wide open!
This sight caused the Myriad Spirit King, who was just about to reach Burns V, to freeze instantly, his scalp tingling with dread!
In the next instant, the Myriad Spirit King locked eyes with Burns V.
They were a pair of deep blue eyes, deeper than Hope Canyon in the Dusk Sea, filled with an emotion of absolute coldness.
When these eyes swept over the Myriad Spirit King's body, it was as if they were not looking at a peak Gold rank merman transcendent, but rather at a lowly ant that could be crushed with a casual wave of a hand.
Oh no—
An incredibly terrifying sense of crisis rose in the Myriad Spirit King's heart. Stricken with sheer terror, he immediately stopped his forward momentum, wanting only to flee.
Yet, the very instant the thought of fleeing crossed his mind, the withered, fleshless body moved.
Burns V raised a dry, shriveled arm. The movement appeared incredibly slow, yet it gave the Myriad Spirit King an inescapable feeling of utter helplessness!
Whoosh!
Like a body caught in a whirlpool, the Myriad Spirit King's frame tilted backward violently, falling right into Burns V's outstretched hand!
In the next second, a black-hole-like suction force erupted from Burns V's palm.
Before the Myriad Spirit King could offer any resistance, his flesh, bones, mind, and soul were completely swallowed by that powerful suction in an instant!
After devouring the Myriad Spirit King, Burns V's shriveled body rapidly filled out, his flesh becoming slightly more robust.
That strange heartbeat-like fluctuation also grew a bit stronger.
“Run!”
The scene of the Myriad Spirit King being absorbed by Burns V had occurred in the blink of an eye, but this single instant caused the pupils of the remaining three living Kings to contract in sheer horror!
They could no longer care about any Legend rank corpse; their only thought now was to escape!
To get as far away from the Burns Merman Court's inner court as possible!
At this point, they had finally realized that the entity sitting on the Snowtower stone chair was no corpse of a Legend rank powerhouse.
It was a resurrected Legend rank Merman King!
This ruler from a thousand years ago had never died at all!
After absorbing the Myriad Spirit King, Burns V's increasingly bright eyes turned toward the fleeing trio.
Seated upon his Snowtower stone chair, he raised his hand once more, aiming at the largest and outermost of the group, the Wind-Calming King.
Swoosh!
Another powerful suction force erupted from Burns V's palm, enveloping the Wind-Calming King like a black hole.
“No! I can't die, I still—”
Whoosh!
The Wind-Calming King's roar was still echoing through the ruins, yet his entire being was drained and absorbed by Burns V in an instant!
Afterward, Burns V cast his gaze toward the Shadow King, as if selecting a dish from a menu.
“Help me! If you don't help me, you'll die too!” Sensing Burns V's gaze, the Shadow King felt a chill run through his entire body. He roared desperately at the Frozen King, who was fleeing at the very front.
Hearing the Shadow King's frantic cry, the Frozen King hesitated for only a fraction of a second before gritting her teeth and spinning around.
Just as Burns V was about to unleash that terrifying gravity magic once more, she erupted with all the mana in her body, condensing a complex and massive magic model in her wand:
“Diamond-rank Magic: Call of the Ice Element!”
Crack! Crack!
Torrential ice elements poured from her wand, instantly condensing within the ruins into a massive dragon of ice that swept forward.
Although this strike failed to cause even a scratch on Burns V, it successfully interrupted the gravity magic he was casting, allowing the Shadow King to narrowly escape with his life.
The shaken Shadow King did not dare to linger for a second. Taking advantage of the brief half-second pause in Burns V's actions, he immediately lunged forward and grabbed the Frozen King, who was temporarily stiff due to the casting delay of her super-tier magic.
Then, unleashing his rogue secret technique to its absolute limits, he fled outward with the Frozen King without once looking back!
Rate on N.U.
