A young noblewoman, clutching her child, leaned against a crumbling stone pillar, tearfully whispering a prayer:
"God, please save us... please save us..."
Her voice trembled, her eyes tightly shut, the child in her arms nearly suffocating from her embrace, but she didn't notice.
Nearby, a young guard knelt on the ground, his armor riddled with cracks from the earlier impact, his face covered in dust and blood.
His hands weakly supported him on the ground, muttering incessantly:
"It's over... it's all over... Pangu City... Pangu City has been cleaved apart..."
More people began to echo similar sentiments, fear spreading through Pangu City like a plague.
Those once all-powerful dignitaries, those self-proclaimed celestial dragons who thought themselves high above, were now as helpless and insignificant as frightened birds.
They scattered and fled, some even falling to the ground, unable to rise, forced to watch as everything around them completely collapsed.
"Is this... the end of the world?"
An elderly celestial dragon, leaning on a broken pillar, murmured softly.
His gaze pierced through the dust-filled air, towards the distant sky, where the top of Pangu City had completely collapsed, light shining upon the ruins, creating a scene of utter devastation.
However, in the deepest part of Pangu City, the scene was entirely different.
Compared to the chaos and wailing outside, Im's chamber was eerily silent, as if all sound had been swallowed by the darkness.
Amidst the twisted architecture and the hall bathed in crimson light, Im remained seated upon the high throne.
Her fingers gently caressed the armrest of the throne, her expression cold and serene, as if everything that had just happened was of no concern to her.
Through the massive mirror, she clearly saw the destruction of Pangu City and the cries of despair within, but she showed no emotion whatsoever.
"What fragile creatures you are."
Her voice was low and cold, tinged with disdain.
"A city is merely cleaved in two, and you are all so terrified?"
She slowly rose, her steps light yet filled with oppressive force, each footstep echoing as if trampling upon the shattered dignity of those dignitaries.
She walked to the mirror, gazing once more at Jin An, who stood amidst the ruins, raising his long sword, a cold smile playing on her lips.
"Jin An, you have not disappointed me after all."
She said softly, her voice carrying a strange undertone.
"But... do you think that merely cleaving a city in two can shake my authority?"
Her gaze swept coldly across the scene in the mirror, finally settling on the crack in the ruins of Pangu City.
The crack resembled a massive wound, splitting the entire city in two, symbolizing the brutal trampling of her inviolable rule.
"Very well, very well."
Im chuckled softly, her voice laced with a dangerous chill.
"You have piqued my interest, just a little.
But you will pay the price for your arrogance."
With a gentle wave of her hand, the scene in the mirror instantly blurred, transforming into a deep darkness.
Then, she turned and walked deeper into the hall, her footsteps echoing in the empty space, like a prelude to death.
"Now that you've come, you shall not leave."
Her voice gradually faded into the darkness, but the chilling killing intent made the air in Pangu City even more suffocating.
Above the ruins of Pangu City, the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, the air filled with a thick smell of gunpowder and a pungent, fishy stench.
The sword in Jin An's hand still trembled slightly, the lingering force of that earth-shattering strike.
On the ground, a deep crack stretched into the distance, directly into the core area of Pangu City.
The Five Elders who had fallen were, some of them, completely incapacitated, but more of them were still standing.
However, at that very moment, Jin An noticed a subtle change.
The eyes of the Five Elders, once filled with brutality and madness, suddenly cleared for a brief instant.
A hint of struggle flashed in their blood-red pupils, as if a deeper consciousness was trying to break free from some kind of shackle.
Jin An's gaze narrowed slightly, his fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword, coldly watching the changes in these enemies.
That moment of clarity allowed him to catch a glimpse of an unusual clue—these Five Elders might not be as utterly insane as they appeared.
"Just now... their eyes?"
Jin An muttered to himself, his tone tinged with contemplation.
"For a moment, it seemed as though they regained a bit of their reason."
Loki noticed this as well. He swung his warhammer, stood beside Jin An, and asked with a frown:
"What was that with those guys just now? For a moment... it felt like they regained a bit of sanity."
Whitebeard snorted coldly, pointed his long blade forward, his eyes blazing:
"What if they regained their sanity? If they dare to stand in our way, we'll smash them all the same!"
But Jin An's gaze remained fixed on these enemies.
His intuition told him that the state of these Five Elders wasn't entirely voluntary, that their twisted appearances and insane actions might all stem from some external control.
And that strike just now seemed to have triggered some hidden switch, allowing their eyes to regain a trace of clarity.
"They... are being controlled."
The thought flashed through Jin An's mind, but before he could delve deeper, the Five Elders moved again.
The Five Elders' bodies trembled slightly, the brief clarity vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.
Then, their eyes were once again consumed by blood-red light, the original struggle disappearing completely, replaced by an even more insane and brutal killing intent.
Their bodies tensed once more, like drawn bows, and in the next moment, they charged towards Jin An and his companions as a group.
"Here they come!"
Loki roared, his warhammer raised high, slamming down fiercely on the Five Elders who were charging at the front.
His movements were swift and powerful, carrying the force of thunder, sending the leading Five Elder flying backward.
But even so, the other Five Elders' attacks did not falter in the slightest, but instead seemed even more frenzied.
"They're really fighting to the death."
Whitebeard chuckled softly, a grim smile appearing on his face.
His long blade trembled, the shockwave erupting once more, shattering several charging Five Elders.
However, the remaining Five Elders seemed completely impervious to pain. Despite their bodies being covered in wounds, they still lunged at Whitebeard with reckless abandon.
Jin An took a deep breath, his blade slightly raised, calmly watching these frenzied enemies.
He didn't rashly attack, but instead quickly observed the movements and aura of these Five Elders, trying to find the reason for that momentary clarity.
"These guys' bodies are reacting even more intensely than before."
Jin An analyzed silently, his gaze locked tightly on the Five Elder charging at the front. That guy's movements were extremely swift, his claws aiming straight for Jin An's chest.
Jin An moved his feet, his body retreating like lightning, while simultaneously slashing out with his long blade, the blade energy sweeping across like a hurricane, directly forcing the Five Elder back.
But at the instant the blade touched the opponent's body, Jin An clearly saw a glimmer of struggle flash in the Five Elder's eyes once more.
"As I thought..."
Jin An frowned, saying softly,
"Their reason hasn't been completely erased."
However, that trace of clarity disappeared again, and the opponent's attacks became even more violent.
Jin An quickly adjusted his steps, wielding his blade to block the successive attacks, while his mind raced:
"If their reason still exists, then that means these Five Elders aren't acting entirely of their own free will.
The question is... why is Im controlling them like this?
Or, how is she controlling them?"
