"Damn you…" the Fourth-Rank Lord snarled, finally realizing the scale of the dilemma he had fallen into.
His overwhelming defense and absolute stability… had become the very engine of his own exhaustion.
Within mere minutes, the entire crystal armor was shattered.
His body remained without armor… but it didn't end there.
The threads of flame… were not satisfied.
After severing my connection to them, they began to grow without resistance, feeding endlessly on the Lord's accumulation.
For the first time, fatigue was clearly visible on his face. He couldn't stop the massive drain.
In less than an hour… he had lost more than 30% of his accumulation.
The flame threads had grown enormous—sparks bursting wildly from them.
If they had possessed even a trace of awareness or intent to attack… they would have become an immense threat to everyone present.
Then—
The Fourth-Rank Lord closed his eyes.
