Chapter 391: Deriving Madness (Part 2)

The Combat Qi Armor had somehow covered Rod’s body by then, enveloping his entire physique and the armor in a cyan-gray glow that gave off a fierce and eerie aura. The arrowhead-shaped tiger-head dragon head on it exuded immense authority, with an invisible presence radiating outward unnoticed.

Rod could only cling to his last hope—that his armor, combined with the Combat Qi Armor, his own physical strength at the ninth level, and his Combat Qi would be enough to protect him.

The distant calls only heightened Rod’s anxiety. He slightly turned his head to look at Lucy in the distance and the Nightingale in her arms, a hint of reluctance in his eyes. He never expected to face such great danger here today. Three experts at the Yin Yellow realm had self-destructed, targeting him. How had he managed to make them go to such lengths? If he died again against such a formidable force, it would be a form of honor, after all.

Yet he couldn’t bear to leave the Nightingale behind—her internal organs would be shattered, leaving her with almost no chance of survival. Although the Rainbow Ice Spirit was an ultimate treasure, was it possible to save her life? The chances were slim, extremely slim! Rod was fully aware of this.

Turning back, he gazed solemnly at the people in front of him. The elements were gradually calming down—this was the calm before the storm, as violent storms were about to break out.

“Rod, let’s die together!” Sure enough, in the next moment, the old men across from him shouted loudly at the same time.

At the same time, cries of shock and shouts grew louder behind him. But Rod remained utterly calm. He narrowed his eyes and stared intently ahead.

“Boom…” A deafening roar, like a cosmic explosion, suddenly erupted.

“Break!” At the same time, a barely audible roar was heard.

A visible shockwave spread in all directions. Boom after boom of explosions tore through the night, and thunder roared in the sky. Purple and white lightning, seemingly drawn by the chaos, shot downward.

Dust filled the air, obscuring everything, making it impossible to see what was happening inside. The force of the explosions continued to spread, turning an area of a kilometer into ruins. All debris and objects turned to dust, vanishing under the force of the wind.

The pungent smell of gunpowder and scattered flames were the only things people could see at that moment.

“Brother Rod!” Lucy’s heart-wrenching cries echoed through the air.

“Head!” Whispers of anger and concern from Viski and others echoed throughout the scene, lingering in the air for a long time.
But what met their cries was an eerie silence—a terrifyingly quiet stillness that was unsettling.
All those inside Water Screen City who were hiding at home to watch the battle were stunned. Such a scene might not be seen again in a thousand or even ten thousand years. The terrifying explosion and deafening noise hurt their ears, while invisible shockwaves destroyed all vegetation within a kilometer. Even farther away, the roofs of many houses were torn off.
At that moment, in the Source of Darkness, countless people in places where they had entered the dim yellow realm turned their gazes toward Water Screen City, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
They could feel that power! It made their bodies and souls tremble. What kind of force could reach such a level?
Boom… Thunderstorms began to spread across the Source of Darkness. Countless purple and white lightning bolts crisscrossed the sky, with thick dark clouds pressing down, making it hard to breathe. Lightning bolts like dragons struck the ground violently.
“God’s wrath!” Some insightful people couldn’t help but exclaim in horror.
God’s wrath—such a thing had actually happened. What kind of force existed in this world that surpassed heaven’s limits and provoked such divine anger?
“Did you succeed? With all this noise… Rod, I hope you’re safe!” At the midpoint between Water Screen City and Ice City, a man muttered solemnly after witnessing the chaos.
“Is it you? How could this happen?” In Dragon Valley, an old man frowned deeply and murmured to himself.
“Kid, don’t disappoint me!” Outside a valley, a middle-aged man muttered.
“It’s that kid!” In the city lord’s mansion of Dark Moon City, an old man said solemnly, his brows tightly knitted.
“Is it Brother? Grandpa Melon, he can’t be hurt, right?” A girl asked anxiously beside the old man.
At that moment, the fiercely fighting battlefield of Dark Moon City seemed to calm down. Everyone turned their gaze toward Water Screen City simultaneously, and the fighting stopped as if by agreement.
“Water Screen City!” Suddenly, several people from the pro-battle faction changed their expressions dramatically.
That direction was where Water Screen City lay. The tremors were coming from there—clearly, something terrible had happened there!

“It’s impossible! Something can’t have happened in Water Screen City!” Taking a deep breath, one of the young men said firmly, though his panicked expression revealed his nervousness. The noise came from the direction of Water Screen City; if nothing had happened there, they wouldn’t have known where else the problem could be.

“Third Prince, let’s retreat! The soldiers are already in disarray!” A middle-aged man’s voice asked nearby, further upsetting the young man. The noise from Water Screen City was so loud that everyone could hear it. Most of their men were brought from Water Screen City, and now that it was in trouble, they naturally became anxious. It was their home, their hometown—their relatives were all there.

Taking another deep breath, he said angrily, “Tell Dark Moon City not to act rashly. We’ll retreat first!” After a moment of thought, he added that this was definitely not the outcome he wanted. Their original plan had changed completely due to this battle, forcing them to abort it. If nothing had happened in Water Screen City, he believed that by tonight, the entire Dark Moon City would fall into their hands. That key piece would play a crucial role, but unfortunately, with morale so low, it wasn’t suitable to continue the attack. Fortunately, such an opportunity still existed—so long as that key piece remained, they could launch another attack at any time.

It was surprising that such a major battle had to be halted under these circumstances, which also gave Dark Moon City a chance to breathe and recover.

Of course, at this moment, the anomalies at the Source of Darkness had drawn everyone’s attention. “Heaven’s Wrath”—that term was understood by all. This was the wrath of heaven, the power of nature, something no human force could resist.

At this moment, in Water Screen City, the focus of everyone’s attention, amidst the stormy chaos, a scene unlike anything seen in a hundred years unfolded. Lightning crackled between heaven and earth, with hundreds of bolts of lightning swirling through the air like dragons, accompanied by deep thunder. From time to time, one or two bolts struck the ground, creating huge black holes.

“Brother!” But Lucy and the others didn’t have the heart to pay attention to such things. Their entire focus was on Rod. Gradually, the dust cleared, and the thick smoke dissipated under the cold wind, revealing the scene before them.

Vaguely, they could see a huge hole, about several hundred zhang in diameter and dozens of zhang deep, before them. The inside was completely blackened, emitting a strong smell of burning. Thick smoke filled the air, obscuring everything and making it impossible to see anything.

This used to be the city lord’s mansion, but now it was utterly destroyed, leaving only ruins. Rod had also suffered from simultaneous attacks by three people and self-destructed; now, his whereabouts were nowhere to be seen, causing concern.

“Hurry, let’s go take a look!” Not only Lucy was anxious, but Merk and the others were equally worried. Viski and the rest had already rushed toward the cave with anxious expressions.

A cold wind blew, carrying away all the smoke and dust, revealing the scene completely to everyone’s eyes—something truly astonishing! The huge cave was empty, with nothing left behind, utterly clean.

“Head!” Seeing this, Viski and the others shouted loudly. Could Rod have been reduced to ashes? No, that was an outcome they couldn’t accept. They didn’t believe things could go this far.

“Rod… Rod…” In Lucy’s arms, Nightingale asked weakly with an anxious expression. Just a few words left her out of breath, and a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.

“Sister Nightingale!” Seeing this, Lucy cried out in worry again.

Because of Nightingale, she hadn’t been able to go look for Rod and was now waiting anxiously.

“Big brother will be fine. He can’t be hurt!” Lucy tried to comfort her. But Nightingale could tell from her anxious gaze just how serious the situation was.

The two maintained a silent understanding, their eyes fixed ahead, hoping to see Rod appear. Merk and the others had already mobilized hundreds of people to search the entire area within a kilometer, hoping to find Rod as soon as possible—or at least his body.

Unconsciously, Rod had become their backbone. He couldn’t possibly be hurt. But as time passed—five minutes, ten minutes, half an hour—no clues were found. The entire kilometer-radius area had been searched thoroughly with no results, and despair began to show in some people’s eyes.

Visky and the others scattered wildly across the area, radiating intense killing intent that made it impossible for anyone to approach them. Their cold gazes, as if ready to devour people, forced those around them to stay at a distance. At that moment, the members of the Death Scythe Squad were utterly indifferent; no one doubted that if anyone offended them at this time, whoever it was, they would kill them without hesitation.