His eyes were shut tight, his hands forming a complex, arcane seal before his chest. Tiny silver arcs of electricity leaped from his fingertips, faintly echoing the silvery light that flowed from the runes at his feet.

"The energy tide has entered its peak window," a cold female voice announced from the south.

The speaker was Evelyn, her face as pale as snow beneath her hood.

"All nodes, report status." Alonso did not open his eyes. His voice was steady, yet it clearly pierced through the increasingly loud hum of energy at the platform’s center. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"East position, stable," Barton, a man as burly as an iron tower, responded in a deep voice from the northeast.

"South position, ready," Evelyn stated concisely.

"West position, rune linkage is clear, and the flow of Magic Power is stable," the old Wizard, Eric, reported with precision from the southwest.

"Northwest position, counter-interference and counter-detection barriers are operating normally," added the final Wizard, a young man named Greg.

"North position, main control node is stable," Alonso confirmed himself. "Eric, perform the final calibration of the spatial coordinate parameters. Ensure the anchor target is the preset reception point at the Silver Tower in the New Realm."

"Re-verifying now. Historical data for the Plane Waymark shows a 99.7% match. Coordinate error is less than one percent. We can anchor," Eric responded swiftly.

"Excellent." Alonso slowly opened his eyes, a silver light swirling within them. "Activate the Ethereal Core. Prepare for the final anchor—"

VMMMM!

Just then.

In the distant sky, anomalous glows of energy flared to life from different directions almost simultaneously, approaching Eagle’s Beak Peak at astonishing speed!

To the East, a holy, silver-white radiance, like the breaking dawn yet carrying an unparalleled majesty and lethal austerity, formed a bridge of light that spanned the sky. At its forefront stood an old man, suspended in mid-air, dressed in a magnificent white, gold-trimmed Sacrificial Robe and wearing a golden Triple Crown.

He was none other than the Cardinal of the Truth Church Court, head of the Judgement Court: Saint Cyril Cardinal.

His features were as rigid as a stone carving, his gaze as sharp as a falcon’s. He held a Scepter inlaid with a massive Holy Radiance Gemstone, and his entire being radiated an awe-inspiring divine might.

At almost the same instant, to the North, a torrential flood of majestic, azure energy tore through the clouds like a roaring glacial dragon.

Atop the torrent stood a middle-aged man, proud and erect. He wore a deep blue Shepherd’s Robe and a Northern Sapphire Crown. He was one of the three Metropolitan Bishops of the Northern Shepherd Chief District, known for his Iron Fist and for protecting the Northern Territory—the "Frosty Winter Guardian," Valkendu Metropolitan Bishop.

His expression was as cold and hard as iron, his graying beard like steel needles. He tightly gripped a massive Ice Staff, its head bearing the Holy Emblem of Truth: a crescent moon encircling a star.

The foremost experts from two major Church Court factions had descended simultaneously, at the most critical moment of the Tower of Secret Silver’s operation, and in such a direct and ferocious manner.

"Blasphemers! How dare you tear a rift in the world’s barrier and invite the filth of the Otherworld!" Saint Cyril Cardinal’s voice was like a great bell, carrying a divine resonance that instantly thundered across the entire Eagle’s Beak Peak region. "In the name of Oriane, such defiance shall be utterly purified by holy fire!"

"Fanatics of the Tower of Secret Silver! You are not merely opening a passage, but a Pandora’s box of calamity!" Valkendu Metropolitan Bishop’s voice was like an arctic wind, bone-chillingly cold and filled with undeniable authority. "The lands and faith of the North will not be defiled by the power of the Otherworld! In the name of Oriane, this passage must be closed, and the perpetrators must pay the price!"

Before the words had even faded, the attacks came!

Saint Cyril raised his Scepter high. The Holy Radiance Gemstone at its tip erupted with a light as brilliant as the scorching sun. A massive Light Spear, over ten meters long, tore through the sky, carrying the absolute will to purify all things as it lanced toward the surging core of energy at the platform’s center!

Valkendu Metropolitan Bishop slammed the butt of his Ice-Forged Scepter down hard. The surrounding temperature plummeted to the brink of absolute zero. Guided by the Scepter, countless ice crystals, their edges as sharp as divine blades, instantly condensed. They then converged into a destructive glacial torrent powerful enough to crush mountains, following close behind the Light Spear as it smashed down upon the entire platform!

"They’re here. Perfect timing." Alonso showed no sign of surprise or panic. "Proceed as planned!"

"Understood!" the other four responded in unison.

Barton let out a furious roar as crimson Magic Power erupted from him. It joined with Evelyn’s azure Magic Power, one on the left and one on the right, like two giant hands. They guided the incoming holy Light Spear and the glacial torrent, violently "smashing" them into the core area at the center of the platform!

At the same time, Alonso, Eric, and Greg poured their Magic Power into the Rune Array maintaining the nascent passage without reservation. This caused the already extremely unstable core to swell with brilliant light and tremble violently.

"Now!" Alonso roared, a silver light exploding from his eyes.

BOOOOOOM!!!

An explosion, thousands of times more terrifying than any sound before it, suddenly erupted!

A white light of blinding intensity instantly swallowed everything!

The white light rapidly expanded into a terrifying sphere of light over thirty meters in diameter. In the sphere’s path, the platform, the mountain rock, the very air... all of it was utterly vaporized!

Vanished without a trace.

Saint Cyril and Valkendu Metropolitan Bishop, having just launched their attacks, bore the brunt of the blast.

They had expected their attacks to destroy the Array and cripple the Wizards. They never imagined their opponents would be so viciously decisive, detonating the Array themselves to create such a terrifying, suicidal explosion of annihilation!

The expressions on both men’s faces changed drastically. They only had time to pour all their Divine Power into their Scepters and personal Shields.

The white light swallowed them.

"Urgh—!"

Two muffled groans of pain sounded out almost simultaneously.

The white light, powerful enough to annihilate matter, failed to kill the two top-tier powerhouses instantly, but it brutally tore apart the immense Divine Power they had gathered around themselves!

Saint Cyril’s golden Triple Crown cracked, and his magnificent Sacrificial Robe was scorched black and tattered. He coughed up golden blood, his aura withering in an instant.

The light of Valkendu Metropolitan Bishop’s Ice-Forged Scepter grew dim. His Shepherd’s Robe froze, then shattered. His beard was scorched and curled, and he too spat blood laced with ice shards as he was sent flying backward, clearly suffering from severe internal injuries.

The white light lasted for half a minute before slowly dissipating.

The platform that had once topped Eagle’s Beak Peak, along with at least thirty meters of the mountain summit itself, had completely vanished. In its place was a terrifying crater nearly thirty meters in diameter, its edges shimmering with the gleam of molten glass.

Deep within the crater, a terrifying heat and chaotic energy radiation lingered.

Everything seemed to indicate that the Tower of Secret Silver’s plan had failed completely. The five Official Wizards had perished along with their creation under the Church Court’s assault.

Far in the distance, Saint Cyril and Valkendu Metropolitan Bishop barely managed to steady themselves in the air. They stared at the crater of destruction, and though they themselves were severely injured, a flicker of relief crossed their eyes.

The passage was destroyed.

However, just as the two were about to order their subordinates to clear the battlefield and search for remains, a subtle wrongness began to emanate quietly from the crater’s depths.

At first, it was a faint, dark red glow, like embers deep within the earth, flickering intermittently on the vitrified walls at the bottom of the crater.

Immediately after, a scorching, dry breeze carrying the scent of sulfur and rusted metal wafted up from the bottom of the crater without warning.

The wind was light, yet it made the two powerhouses’ expressions instantly freeze.

This wind... it was absolutely not a scent that belonged anywhere in the Main World!

It carried the resonance of a completely different Law—one that was chaotic and scorching.

"That’s..." Saint Cyril Cardinal stared fixedly at the bottom of the crater, the golden light in his eyes flickering violently with disbelief.

Valkendu Metropolitan Bishop’s pupils contracted as well, the Ice-Forged Scepter in his hand trembling slightly. "The scent... of the Deep Red Wilderness? Impossible! How can this be..."

As if in response to their astonishment, the dark red light at the bottom of the crater suddenly brightened and stabilized!

A spatial portal, roughly ten meters in diameter, blazed into existence at the bottom of the giant crater, right where the explosion had been centered! Its edges swirled with crimson and black energy, and through it, one could faintly glimpse a cracked earth beneath a dark red sky!

WHOOSH!

The scorching wind of the Otherworld continued to pour out, carrying the unique manic energy and desolation of the Deep Red Wilderness.