Night.
The sky was quickly covered by a veil of darkness, the dead silence fading. The celestial galaxy began to flow with the passage of time.
Only by looking up at the night sky could one sense the passage of time.
The City of Power was ablaze with lights.
Even at this hour, lightning would occasionally strike from the darkness above.
Each strike illuminated the surrounding sky, emitting a deafening roar of thunder.
Apparently, the residents here had become accustomed to falling asleep to the sound of thunder.
The sound didn't affect their sleep quality.
It was said that those in the City of Power supporting the World Scar found it uncomfortable to sleep without the sound of thunder each night. They voluntarily relocated their sleeping quarters to the dormitories of those who snored loudly.
However, the energy from the lightning that fell on the Lightning Tower in the City of Power also supplied the large and small light bulbs around the city.
These bulbs glowed with energy, illuminating the streets and alleyways, as well as the ever-busy harbor.
The Voice of Dawn, a peculiar and dazzling ship, quietly tucked away in a corner of the harbor, nestled in the darkness beyond the reach of the lights.
By this time, Alka and the others had already returned to the ship.
Not just Alka; the others had also gradually returned. After all, Power Branch City was only that small, a city that almost completely occupied the island.
Aside from the city's structure, architectural style, and interesting human geography, there wasn't much else to it.
After the initial novelty wore off, the city began to feel dull.
On the deck, everyone sat casually.
Underneath their butts were seats made of vines, the specially crafted vines offering exceptional comfort.
Although everyone was scattered across the deck, the sounds of conversation could still be heard.
"What do you think of this Power City requesting our help?" Alka asked.
Just now, during dinner, he had told everyone about the priests of the Church of the Holy Machine requesting their help.
Juanlu said, "We also met a councilor from Power City today. He showed us around the Julei Tower and also requested our help."
Hearing this, everyone seemed to understand.
"Interesting, but the other party's attitude is indeed quite humble. To be honest, I am willing to help," Jason said.
Sofia lay next to Alka, their seats joined together like reclining chairs.
Looking up at the dark clouds, which were already somewhat blurred in the night, but with moonlight and starlight shining from behind, the outline of the clouds could be vaguely seen.
"This isn't that simple. If it were simply a matter of dispersing the dark clouds, I doubt the Church of the Holy Machine would have provided additional support."
After all, Power City is nominally a city-state affiliated with the Church of the Holy Machine.
Furthermore, the city's atmosphere, construction, and development perfectly align with the Church of the Holy Machine's aesthetic.
To be honest, if you were visiting this place for the first time, you'd instantly assume it was controlled and developed by the Church of the Holy Machine.
The resemblance is too strong.
"Indeed, the elemental parameters here are off. The dark clouds above us are definitely not ordinary clouds," Simon said.
Lucilia, who was lying on Sofia's chest, said, "After leaving the church, I made a point of visiting the city's record library to learn about the city."
"That dark cloud overhead is the catalyst for the founding of this city, which began 630 years ago.
Of course, back then, it was no more than a small village. It was only later that it developed into its present form.
According to the records, the dark cloud overhead appeared approximately 310 years ago and is said to have been constructed by the original builders. It was clearly a human effort, not a natural formation."
After Lucilia finished speaking, Alka continued, "The problem isn't the size of the cloud, but what's hidden within it. The lightning element gathered within has long since transformed into something even more outrageous."
"What's your advice?"
"Of course I'll help. I have to. It's not necessarily a bad thing. It's actually a good thing for me."
Alka said with a smile.
...
The next day dawned. The eternally silent day cast its rays of sunlight.
‐‐giving the steel city an aged metallic sheen.
‐‐Another flash of lightning struck, followed by a rumble of thunder, as if heralding the arrival of daylight.
‐‐Alka and his companions had already left the port and were this time invited directly to the town council.
‐‐A building approximately seven or eight meters tall housed the city council.
‐‐They were led to the top floor.
‐‐They pushed open the door and entered.
‐‐Inside, besides the priest Alka and his companions had met earlier, there was also Fitz, who was acquainted with Juanlu and his companions.
‐‐There were also several council members dressed in various colors.
‐‐There were men and women, young and old.
‐‐It now appeared that Fitz was the youngest of them all.
"You are all members of the renowned Compass Eye, right? Thank you for coming," the oldest man, wearing metal-rimmed glasses and leaning on a cane, approached with the support of the female councilor beside him. He spoke in a hoarse, aged voice.
Arka nodded and said directly, "We are willing to assist you in your request. We are willing to help you clear the dark cloud overhead."
The faces of those around him couldn't help but smile. Clearly, this dark cloud had been weighing on them for far too long.
"Thank you very much. If there's anything we can do to help, please let me know."
Half of the top floor had a skylight, allowing a direct view of the dark cloud overhead through the transparent glass. The view also faced the tower where the lightning was gathering.
Arka walked over, gazing at the tower and the dark cloud overhead, which was still thundering.
"This dark cloud isn't just any dark cloud. It's a collection of lightning elements gathered and solidified. How did it come to be like this?" Alka asked.
Hearing this, the elder sighed.
A nearby, elegant-looking middle-aged man wearing glasses stepped forward and explained.
"The original founder of the city was a saint from the Church of the Holy Machine. He used his knowledge at the time to construct this Lightning Tower and the dark cloud above. This also led to the subsequent prosperity of Power City.
According to surviving documents, the dark cloud was formed by this builder through the aggregation of elements and the attraction of a powerful energy core.
It is for this reason that, after such a long time, we can no longer dispel the dark cloud and can only pray for external help."
Alka understood, though he didn't explain clearly, and nodded.
He bluntly stated, "Let me be frank. There's already lightning elemental life within that dark cloud. Honestly, if you leave it there for another few dozen or even a few hundred years, a colony of elemental life will definitely emerge."
"Ah!" The elegant young man couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
He hadn't realized the severity of the situation.
He couldn't help but push his eyelids up his nose and asked, "So what do we do now?"
Lightning elementals are among the most violent in elemental theory.
They are the kind of beings that, even if signed, can potentially backfire on their hosts. Violence is their nature.
Just like lava elementals, destruction is their nature.
If a colony of elementals truly emerged, their city would be doomed, leaving them with only escape. "It's not that bad. It's just still gathering, not actually generating lightning elements."
"On behalf of this city, I'm begging for your help," the old man said solemnly, approaching.
Alka waved his hand. "No need. This isn't a difficult task for us, but we do need your help."
"First, evacuate the area one kilometer outward from the Lightning Tower.
It's also best to remove any valuables, as all buildings in this area will be destroyed. For safety reasons, I advise evacuating two or even three kilometers."
"The consequences are just as I said. The central Lightning Tower will definitely be lost. The surrounding buildings are also energy pipelines and transmission routes. You'd better block and relocate them as well.
"Let us know when you've completed this. We'll be waiting at the port."
"Thank you. No problem. Just give us a day and we can do it," Feizhi said, stepping forward.
Hearing this, Alka glanced at him with some surprise and said, "Then you're quite efficient."
After discussing a few details, Alka and the others left.
Back on the Voice of the Dawn.
Upon returning, they could already see the entire city taking action.
Clearly, the council's control over the city was far greater than they had imagined. These residents had only grumbled, not sparked any resistance or protests.
It seemed the city's leadership was quite good.
Back on deck, Alka began to outline the course of action for everyone.
"I plan to use my small world to devour the dark clouds, even the lightning element within, in one go." When Alka said this, everyone's faces lit up with astonishment.
For this kind of situation, the small world annexation function was incredibly useful.
After all, it was a desolate world, so it could be created at will.
"You're interested in that lightning elemental lifeform that's gathering within the dark clouds, aren't you?" Sofia said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Alka and smiled.
"Haha, that's exactly what I mean."
"Since my little world already has earth elemental inhabitants, adding a lightning elemental wouldn't be a big deal, right?
Honestly, if the opportunity arises, I'd like to gather a tribe of every single one of them—fire, water, ice, wind—into my world."
As Alka spoke, the six elemental cards floated up beside him, his meaning clear.
"It seems your knowledge of elemental theory has reached a new level?" Lucilia said, sitting on Alka's shoulder.
Alka nodded, but didn't elaborate.
As his knowledge grew, the others struggled to grasp his meaning. After all, everyone had their own specialties.
Just like when Simon explained his theories on materials and energy architecture, everyone was completely bewildered.
As long as they could understand Alka's general meaning, it would be fine.
"It's not that easy, is it?" Juanlu said.
If it were that easy, Alka would have eaten it on the spot and wouldn't have asked them to evacuate some of the residents.
Alka nodded. "Yes, that's true, but the lightning element is incredibly violent.
Opening the space will undoubtedly trigger the lightning element's rampage. While it hasn't fully coalesced into life at this stage, the lightning element within that dark cloud has already shown a certain degree of intelligence.
If I forcibly consume it with the rift in space, it will undoubtedly trigger their instinctive counterattack. However, I will then use the lightning element to control it and suppress its counterattack within a certain range."
After all, this damned dark cloud had practically enveloped the entire city, even spreading beyond the island.
If he were to unleash his lightning recklessly, this city would be lost, and the casualties would be unpredictable.
Concentrating the attacks from such a large area within a central area of 1 kilometer was already Alka's limit.
He would also need to use lightning control to counter such elemental attacks. After all, he would undoubtedly be the biggest target, which was why he needed the Lightning Tower there.
By then, he planned to swallow the Lightning Tower and the space itself, and there was no other way.
After saying this, he looked at Ululius and said, "We'll need your help then. When we're finally ready to eat, use your ability to condense the dark clouds into a central cluster. The smaller the cluster, the better.
The lightning element here is already accustomed to dark clouds. Combined with my ability to attract and control lightning, the two of us will definitely be able to reduce it to the smallest possible area."
After a moment's thought, he added, "It would be best if Jason could merge with you. That should make things easier."
The two nodded in agreement. This was no problem. After all, it was a dark cloud. At first, Ululius had assumed she would be solely responsible for dispelling it.
After discussing it, they sorted out the procedures and conducted a more detailed survey of the dark clouds overhead. The next step was to wait for the entire city operation to be completed.
In the end, it didn't take a day. By midnight, everything was complete. Alka and the others rested for the night and arrived at the central area early the next morning.
Almost all the important people had arrived. Residents could still be seen gathered outside, watching. The city's security forces were dispersing and discouraging the daring few who ventured deeper.
It had been clearly stated that entering would easily lead to death by lightning, otherwise who knows how many fearless souls would have ventured in.
The people had been dispersed three kilometers away, and all the houses within a kilometer were essentially empty.
Arka observed that the transport pipelines connecting to the Julei Tower below had been almost completely sealed, with no relocation or demolition taking place.
How decisive.
After preparations were nearly complete,
Arka looked at the crowd behind him and said, "Get ready."
With that,Arka, Jason, and Urulius all drank the liquid in their hands—the amplification wine from Matlisa.
Then Julia began to play and sing, blessing the three of them.
The three of them even ate a simple snack on the spot, courtesy of Juanlu's cooking.
After this set, the three of them had essentially maxed out their bonuses.
Urulius and Jason instantly merged into a massive dragon beast, which appeared in the sky.
The residents and council members nearby couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
The moment the dragon beast appeared, the pressure from its life force was so overwhelming that they felt a bit breathless.
After all, this was just a small city-state, and the strongest person was only at the fifth stage.
Alka followed closely behind.
The lightning card appeared around him, enveloping him.