Chapter 216: The Battle Ends, The Hidden Mission is Complete
"Is… is this Mr. Zhongli's true power…?" March 7th's eyes were wide with shock.
Stelle was even more dramatic. She scrubbed at her eyes, staring at the distant crater where the divine punishment had crashed down. Her gaze then shifted back to Zhongli, who stood as calm and composed as ever, before finally dropping to the bare hilt of the lance in her hand.
Suddenly, she felt that her all-out "Golden Light, Demon Subduing!" from earlier… seemed just a little bit lacking in comparison.
"Wow! Zhongli! You're amazing!" Paimon zipped through the air, her hands and feet flailing with excitement. The sheer scale of the attack had startled her, but the feeling was quickly replaced by a sense of vicarious pride.
Lumine, by contrast, was relatively composed. She merely gave a slight nod, a look of 'as expected' in her eyes. She had always known the depths of this retired Archon's power, but she hadn't anticipated this… The Zhongli before her seemed even more formidable than the legendary "Geo Archon in his prime."
At that same moment, far away in the city of Okhema, the three sisters—Tribbie, Trianne, and Ti Ning—had sensed the impending catastrophe. Bracing for the worst, they were preparing to expend all their power to forcibly open a super-massive Gate of a Hundred Worlds, a last-ditch effort to divert the divine punishment's destructive force.
However, the apocalyptic impact they had steeled themselves for never arrived. Instead, they witnessed a pillar of golden light soaring into the heavens.
The three sisters exchanged glances, a collective sigh of relief escaping their lips as hope flickered back to life in their eyes.
"Did Phainon and the others… succeed?"
"They must have!"
"Keep praying! They will surely return safely with the Tinder!"
…Our attention returns to the Suspended Edge Colosseum.
Nikador, now a being of pure Black Tide, let out a furious, guttural roar upon seeing his sure-kill strike so effortlessly neutralized. Dark energy boiled off his body like a furious storm. He spun around, coiling with rage, ready to unleash all his madness upon the mortals before him.
However, Zhongli's gaze had already settled upon him.
He glanced at the assembled group in the arena—panting, injured, and clearly exhausted. He understood that their life-or-death struggle against the Titan had provided all the training they needed.
"This is as far as it goes," he declared calmly, raising his hand once more. This time, his palm was aimed directly at the dark Titan.
"This is the Way of Heaven."
There was no devastating cataclysm, only the descent of an irresistible, ponderous law that felt as if it emanated from the world itself. A colossal celestial body, utterly different in texture from the stone spears he had summoned before, materialized in the sky directly above Nikador.
It was not forged of simple rock. It seemed to be a condensation of endless Geo elemental laws and the ancient power of contracts. Dark golden, deep light flowed across its surface, exuding an ultimate majesty that suppressed all things.
The planetoid fell in absolute silence. Its descent seemed slow, yet it felt as if it had locked onto spacetime itself, making it impossible for Nikador to evade.
The next moment—
A dull, soul-shaking thud echoed through the colosseum.
The celestial body struck Nikador's massive form with perfect precision.
There was no violent explosion, no rampant shockwave. There was only a gentle, irresistible golden ripple that spread out, washing over the entire arena. Wherever the ripple passed, the surging, boiling energy of the Black Tide rapidly subsided and solidified, like snow melting under a warm sun.
The dust slowly settled.
The once-arrogant dark Titan had been transformed into a lifelike, giant stone statue, frozen in its final, roaring, struggling posture—completely sealed. All madness and defilement were utterly suppressed by the incomparably steady power of Geo.
This time, there were no more surprises, no so-called third phase.
As Nikador was completely petrified, a warm, fiery light, like a sprouting seed, slowly floated out from the stone statue's chest. This was the [Tinder of Strife], the very item needed for Amphoreus's rebirth.
Yet, alongside the Tinder, another object emerged—a cube, roughly the size of a fist. It was entirely black, with dark red energy constantly flowing across its surface. The aura it emitted was identical to the materialized Black Tide energy from before.
Just as everyone stared at the black cube in confusion, a clear notification sounded simultaneously in the minds of all chat group members.
[System Notification! Hidden Quest Completion Condition Triggered! Do you wish to submit the quest item: [Black Tide Core]?]
Everyone was stunned for a moment before a wave of realization washed over them.
"So this is the special item we needed to complete the hidden quest they mentioned at the start of the event!" Stelle shouted, her voice laced with excitement.
There was nothing to hesitate about. Phainon and Mydei needed the [Tinder of Strife] to fulfill their mission of reviving Amphoreus; this ominous-looking black cube, therefore, naturally belonged to the chat group.
Stelle quickly stepped forward. She first carefully maneuvered around the warm Tinder—which automatically floated towards Phainon—then extended a finger, cautiously tapping the floating [Black Tide Core].
"Confirm submission!"
[System Announcement: Hidden Quest [Source of the Black Tide] has been completed! All event participants will receive additional rewards!]
[System Announcement: World Event [Amphoreus's Temporary Steward] exploration progress has reached 100%! Corresponding rewards can be claimed at any time from the group function interface! Remaining event time: 35 system hours.]
The moment the announcement sounded, a brilliant light illuminated the ground before the sealed stone statue of Nikador. A magnificently decorated, jewel-encrusted, glowing treasure chest slowly rose from the earth.
This was the final reward granted by the chat group for completing the hidden quest.
Everyone's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the chest. The arduous battle, it seemed, was finally about to yield a rich reward. All eyes were now fixed on the incredibly ornate, giant treasure chest that had appeared before the petrified behemoth.
It was crafted from some unknown metal, inlaid with glittering gems, and a faint glow emanated from its surface, exuding an incredibly alluring aura. After such a long and difficult battle, which had at one point escalated into a city-wide crisis, and after finally completing a mysterious hidden quest, the rewards inside this chest had to be extraordinary.
March 7th rubbed her small hands together, her face a mask of anticipation. "Such a big chest… there must be good stuff inside, right?"
Paimon hovered in the air, her eyes sparkling. "Maybe there's lots and lots of delicious food!"
Phainon and Mydei exchanged a look, their eyes also filled with curiosity and relief. These were their deserved spoils of war, and another layer of assurance for Amphoreus's future.
Even the usually calm Dan Heng and Zhongli had a hint of inquiry in their gazes. A faint tension, a mixture of apprehension and high anticipation, filled the air.
However, Stelle was never one to hesitate at a moment like this. In her opinion, the rewards in the treasure chest were already set. It wasn't as if a different person with better luck could open something different, right? Opening it sooner or later made no difference.
"Let me do it!" she declared loudly, a grin spreading across her face as she strode toward the chest.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, she reached out and, without a moment's delay, flung the lid of the treasure chest wide open.
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