"Are you sure?" the elderly woman asked softly, "We can’t even take care of ourselves."

Afia froze.

The Sea of Mist rolled and surged in all directions. From the Observation Tower, the city looked enveloped in a thick barrier of pitch-black clouds, completely covering every district. Soon it would spread to the entire city.

Ivan, after a quick glance, returned to the room with a heavy expression. In the Cultivation Room, alarms kept ringing incessantly, mobilizing all the employees as urgent broadcasts sounded one after another.

An employee approached Ivan, who asked immediately, "Can we reach them?"

"No. We’ve detected that the fog tide contains a large amount of decay plague," the employee explained, "The pervasive decay plague has consumed the ether and cut off communication."

"It sounds like the Great Rift is expanding outward," Ivan murmured.

"According to calculations..."

The employee’s voice suddenly dropped, unsure whether to continue.

"Speak. At a time like this, there’s no reason to hold back," Ivan said.

"According to calculations, a concentrated decay plague bomb should have exploded within the Great Rift. As it expands, it can be diluted by the vast space, but at the core explosion point, within the Great Rift’s narrow, enclosed space..."

Ivan paused, asking, "Do you think they are all dead?"

The employee didn’t give a definitive answer, "I’m not sure, but according to the data, those at the explosion’s core are facing high concentrations of decay plague impact."

Ivan felt immense pressure, his head aching.

"This operation involved our mission elites. Even when faced with high concentrations of decay plague impact, they are protected by ether and won’t die so easily."

Ivan had to believe this.

Once the employee finished reporting, they became busy again. Ivan walked down an empty corridor, and after a few steps, he cursed and slammed the wall.

For this operation, the elite of the action group were involved in trade, while other groups surrounded the Great Rift. Now it seemed like a trap where the main forces were directly hit by the decay plague. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

How did the King’s Shield Guard manage this? Ivan couldn’t figure it out.

Although the decay plague was terrifying, deploying it was extremely difficult. Yet they used the gray fog haze as a carrier, allowing this frightening gas to spread throughout the city.

The King’s Shield Guard almost bore the brunt of the decay plague’s impact, thereby manipulating a terrifying weather pattern.

"Tyrant... damn Tyrant."

Ivan knew who could accomplish this. He was certain that the eruption of the gray fog haze was definitely orchestrated by the Tyrant.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Ivan pounded the wall repeatedly, his fists bleeding.

Now, the decay plague disrupted communication, and no one knew what was happening inside the Great Rift. Not only the Order Bureau’s action groups, but even the King’s Secret Sword had vanished.

A thick fog veiled everyone’s vision, leaving them unaware of what lurked beneath the dark mist.

...

It was like a grand purge. The rising fog mixed with decay plague washed over everything in its path like a corrosive acid. Rocks crumbled, buildings collapsed, and those who hadn’t fled the uncertain crossroads quickly became rapidly decaying corpses, ultimately turning into dust.

Amid the surging fog, the Fourth Seat hid in a nearby shelter, activating ether protection to shield the other King’s Secret Sword members, struggling to maintain their ground against the roaring Sea of Mist.

To his surprise, the spreading decay plague was weaker than expected. Although it caused some harm, it could be resisted.

It seemed that someone had absorbed most of the damage, leaving only a small portion to spread.

"First Seat..."

The Fourth Seat muttered, aware of the First Seat’s secret mission. On the surface, his own attack was merely a feint, while the First Seat silently intended to take the Shadow King’s head, leading to... another conspiracy.

But the decay plague’s eruption disrupted everything. The King’s Secret Sword had their secret mission, and the King’s Shield Guard set traps with premeditated warnings.

A trap luring the First Seat by using the Shadow King as bait.

"I have to leave."

The Fourth Seat told the others, looking into each other’s eyes and nodding, signaling it was okay. The current concentration of the decay plague hadn’t reached deadly levels, only causing skin burns. The true death zone lay ahead amidst the ruins of that Fog Abyss Fortress.

High concentrations of decay plague filled those brutal ruins, the true death zone, and now the Fourth Seat had to go there.

Around them, the decay plague concentration began to rise, as ether and invisibility interfered with each other, producing a hissing sound.

The Fourth Seat halted, as thick fog obscured visibility. Even as a Defender, his view was limited to a few meters. However, he sensed the ether fluctuations beyond the Sea of Mist, the vague and grotesque silhouette.

In the ruins, a flesh monster struggled, its body twisted constantly, without skin protection, its flesh fully exposed, making direct contact with the decay plague.

It rolled in agony, covered in wounds, blood and pus flowing. Every groan and howl accompanied an eerie scent, deterring anyone from approaching.