The viewing platform... it no longer exists.

Along with everyone on the platform: the king, queen, ministers, nobles, mages, paladins... along with their magnificent robes, dazzling jewelry, powerful magical equipment... along with the solid rock platform itself... they were completely disintegrated the moment the white light engulfed them!

Before the ensuing shockwave, they weren't even left behind as dust! They were instantly reduced to the most basic energy particles! Completely wiped out of the material world!

A destructive energy storm swept upwards!

It tore apart the powerful magical barrier that enveloped the cave entrance!

The meticulously arranged celebration venue was torn apart!

It tore apart the dense crowds, exquisite sculptures, and fluttering colorful flags in the square!

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!

A belated, terrifyingly loud bang, powerful enough to shatter eardrums, accompanied by a violent earthquake that swept through the entire capital, finally exploded from the very center of the capital!

A mushroom cloud, indescribably massive, a mixture of dark red dragon crystal fragments, blazing flames, churning dust, and destructive energy, rose slowly into the sky, before the stunned, bewildered, and then boundless dreadful gazes of countless people.

The shockwave, like a raging tsunami, spread wildly in all directions in a ring from the point of explosion! Wherever it passed, exquisite buildings collapsed and shattered like building blocks!

The sturdy city walls tore apart and collapsed like paper! Huge stones and burning debris rained down on the distant streets! The entire heart of the capital was instantly reduced to a burning wasteland!

Just as the destructive white light erupted and the shockwave was about to completely tear apart Jiang Chan's enormous dragon body, at the very last moment!

In the instant the white light engulfed Crown Prince Elias's figure, Jiang Chan saw it! At the edge of that destructive white light, amidst the frantically disintegrating fragments of the magical shield, a faint golden holy light shone. Perhaps it was an automatic activation of some powerful protective artifact on Elias's body, barely shielding him from being violently thrown away by the blast wave! But it was only for a moment!

That's enough!

Jiang Chan's enormous head, gathering the last vestiges of her willpower, aimed at the young crown prince who had been thrown by the shockwave, falling like a kite with a broken string, his face still bearing the lingering shock and bewilderment of the ultimate calamity—

With a sudden, powerful flick!

The last bit of strength that had been building up deep in his throat was released, taut like a bowstring!

Whoosh—!

A faint, almost imperceptible dark red line of blood shot out from the dragon's mouth! Its speed exceeded the limits of visual perception! It ignored the chaotic energy storm, ignored the fragments of the collapsing holy light shield, and like a poisoned arrow shot by fate itself, it struck Elias's chest armor with perfect accuracy!

Pfft!

A faint thud, so faint it was completely drowned out by the roar of the explosion.

The crimson crystal, imbued with all the black dragon's hatred and curses, easily pierced through the steel breastplate and embedded itself above the young crown prince's warm heart! The icy cursed crystal instantly merged into his flesh and blood, vanishing without a trace!

Elias felt a chilling coldness explode from his chest, engulfing his entire body! Before he could even feel much pain, his consciousness was completely shattered by the violent shockwave of the explosion. His vision went black, and he lost consciousness completely, being swept away like a rag doll into the destructive tidal wave and the billowing dust!

Jiang Chan's enormous dragon body disintegrated like a sandcastle amidst the destructive white sea of ​​light and the subsequent shockwave!

The sturdy keel bones snapped inch by inch!

The decaying scales and flesh turned to ashes in an instant!

The dragon crystal that ignited everything shattered completely after unleashing its most dazzling light!

Immense pain swept over me, but it was instantly replaced by an unprecedented feeling—freedom!

Those chains that pierced through the collarbone and bound people for a hundred years have vanished!

Those runes that greedily absorbed energy have vanished!

This decaying cage has finally collapsed completely!

In the last moment before consciousness is completely burned and annihilated.

Jiang Chan felt a strange sense of relief and pleasure. The cold system notification sound clearly pierced through the destructive roar and rang out in the core of her fading consciousness.

Mission accomplished!

Consciousness was as if pulled by an invisible force, instantly detached from this collapsing world.

...

Use my bones as a monument.

Toll your death knell!

The massive crater, like an ugly, unhealed scar on the heart of the capital city of Aetheran, swallowed up the former "Dragon-Slaying Sanctuary" and the most magnificent surrounding buildings.

The pit walls were charred black, bearing traces of high-temperature melting, and exuded a strong smell of sulfur and destruction.

The king, queen, cabinet ministers, high-ranking mages, the core of the paladin order... the kingdom's ruling class and top military force were almost completely uprooted in that earth-shattering self-destruction! The entire kingdom's administrative and military systems were instantly paralyzed.

The only surviving core member of the royal family was Crown Prince Elias, who was thrown into the air by the blast wave and fell into a coma with serious injuries.

When he was pulled from the rubble far from the explosion's epicenter, his chest armor had a small hole about the size of a finger, the surrounding skin was an eerie dark red, and his body temperature was frighteningly low.

The court physicians did everything in their power to save his life. However, weeks later, fatal signs began to appear:

Elias's injuries were healing extremely slowly, and even began to inexplicably worsen. He had a persistent low-grade fever, his body was weakening day by day, and his energy was draining away at an alarming rate.

Even more terrifying, fine, black lines, like dragon scales, began to appear beneath his skin! These lines were cold and hard, like curse marks embedded in flesh and blood!

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