Chapter 96: A Bountiful Harvest!
The immense light and heat caused Jeremy\'s ordinary formal attire to ignite spontaneously. If not for his habitual caution of always being equipped, he would have been completely exposed.
Bonnie, however, wasn\'t as fortunate.
She was wearing a form fitting evening gown, with nothing underneath except for her most intimate undergarments, as anything more would have ruined the dress\'s line.
As the aftermath of Rafael\'s self destruction swept by, Bonnie\'s evening gown instantly turned to ashes, exposing her fair and delicate body to Jeremy\'s view
However, neither Bonnie nor Jeremy had any thoughts about this at the moment.
Jeremy immediately retrieved the "Requiem of Life" from his storage space, ready to consume the life saving potion if his health began to decline uncontrollably.
Bonnie, on the other hand, held a potion glowing with an orange light, clearly her own life saving item.
Fortunately, whether by Rafael\'s intention or not, the explosion\'s aftermath on Jeremy\'s side wasn\'t as severe, leaving both Jeremy and Bonnie gravely injured but alive.
The others weren\'t as lucky as Jeremy and Bonnie.
The Golden Lion Weber and his group faced the full brunt of Rafael\'s self destruction.
They didn\'t even have time to utter a sound before being reduced to charred remains.
The prestigious Eight Great Families of Dawn City, who practically ruled over half of the city\'s territory, faced near annihilation today!
Secondly, the closest to Rafael\'s City Lord\'s Mansion was the Black Armored Knights.
However, the layer of blue light did not endure for long, akin to a malfunctioning light bulb, it flickered a few times before being devoured by the terrifying platinum radiance.
Silently and without warning, the once mighty pillars of Dawn City were obliterated by the very City Lord who had once established their power.
Across the entire battlefield, aside from Jeremy and his companions, it was the Ironclad Army that held out the longest.
Regrettably, this direction was precisely where Rafael\'s attention was most heavily focused.
As the boundless platinum radiance surged forth, an earthen yellow glow instantaneously rose beneath the feet of the Ironclad Army.
In the blink of an eye, a mountain emerged from the flat ground, standing resolutely in front of the Ironclad Army.
Leading the entire force was Taal, a warrior whose prowess was a testament to his rank and skill.
Just as the explosive shockwave was about to strike, Taal, with lightning speed, retrieved a towering shield over two meters high from his storage artifact.
The shield, ancient and robust with a thickness of over ten centimeters, bore the phantom of a triple tiered mountain on its surface, devoid of any other ornamentation.
With a resonant "Ong" sound, a layer of light instantly emanated from the shield, enveloping Taal and the Ironclad Army behind him in protection.
The mountain phantoms atop the shield exuded an aura of invincibility, giving the impression of being impregnable. Such was Taal\'s confidence that, in this fortified state, the Ironclad Army could even confront the shadow dragon boss lurking outside Dawn City!
Regrettably, long before Rafael was afflicted with the curse that sealed his grim fate, he had already made secret preparations. He intended to use his own mortal remains to eradicate Dawn City\'s most formidable adversary—the very shadow dragon boss responsible for his curse, a creature of terrifying power at level eighty.
To ensure the complete annihilation of this boss, Rafael meticulously prepared, fearing his self detonation might fall short. Not only did he carry an alarming array of alchemical explosives, but he also mastered a family exclusive legacy skill known as [Life Sacrifice Explosion].
With multiple factors combined, Rafael\'s self destruction was nothing short of cataclysmic.
As the impending attack drew near, a needle like sense of impending doom caused beads of sweat to stream down Taal\'s forehead.
In the next instant, the terrifying platinum light engulfed Taal along with the mountain behind him.
It took but a moment for Taal to realize something was amiss.
To his astonishment, the massive tower shield he wielded, akin to a city gate, could not withstand the force for even a brief moment. With a resounding "crack," it shattered into several pieces.
This was no ordinary shield, it was extraordinary!
In a desperate move, Taal roared, "Shield Wall, rise!"
But to no avail. The soldiers behind Taal did not even hear his command before Rafael\'s self destruction shockwave reached them.
At this critical juncture, Taal could no longer hold the line. He retreated swiftly, stepping into the Ironclad Army\'s magical protection perimeter.
In an instant, the platinum light clashed against the mountain barrier.
In Taal\'s terrified gaze, the platinum light and the Ironclad Army\'s full defensive spell held a momentary stalemate.
Then, with a thunderous roar, the defensive spell collapsed, and the platinum light surged forward.
Taal\'s anguished cry of "No!" echoed as he and the Ironclad Army were consumed by the platinum light.
In the aftermath of the explosion, only two thirds of the Ironclad Army remained, and their commander, Taal, was grievously wounded, teetering on the brink of death.
Facing the direction of Rafael\'s self detonation, Taal had three inches of flesh stripped from his body.
Blood streamed down, revealing that his entire left arm and leg were missing.
Had it not been for the dual metamorphoses in attributes after reaching Transcendental Awakening, Taal would have been unquestionably dead.
Following closely was Anz, who was still airborne, making final preparations.
Although the explosive power generated by Rafael\'s self destruction had somewhat diminished by this point, it was still potent.
Anz, being of the vampire race, was naturally countered by Rafael\'s elemental attributes.
Consequently, Anz suffered the most damage among everyone.
Without even a whimper, Anz disintegrated into a cloud of ash.
Though it sounds lengthy, all this transpired within mere seconds.
Post explosion, the former City Lord\'s mansion was utterly obliterated.
Within a hundred meter radius from the epicenter, everything had turned into a barren wasteland. At the very core of the blast, the ground had transformed from soil to molten, glass like lava.
Fortunately, the preceding series of battles had prompted the residents near the City Lord\'s mansion to flee.
Otherwise, the casualty toll would have been unimaginable.
However, some stubborn souls had stayed in their homes, resulting in civilian injuries after Rafael\'s self detonation.
Combined with the wails of the wounded from the Ironclad Army, the scene was one of widespread lamentation.
Yet, even amidst such devastation, a few driven by insatiable greed, despite their injuries, cautiously approached the center of the battlefield.
Everyone knew that in such a massive battle, death was inevitable. For ordinary people, picking up even a single piece of equipment dropped by the deceased would mean unimaginable wealth.
At this moment, Dawn City resembled a scene straight out of hell.
With a heavy thud, Jeremy landed on the ground, clutching Bonnie in his arms.
Upon landing, he quickly retrieved several life restoring potions from his storage space.
Handing one to Bonnie, Jeremy downed several potions in quick succession.
Instantly, his previously critical health was fully restored.
Without hesitation, Jeremy tossed a garment to cover Bonnie\'s exposed figure and then activated his skills.
"Extreme Shadow Step, Advance!"
With the enhancement of two major skills, Jeremy\'s speed surged instantly.
With a swift motion, he shot forward, his footsteps producing a whistling sound as he arrived beside Beatrice and Nina.
In one sweeping motion, he scooped the mother and daughter into his arms and swiftly retreated.
Depositing Beatrice and Nina next to a blushing Bonnie, who was awkwardly trying to put on Jeremy\'s clothes, he vanished once more.
When Jeremy reappeared, he was standing before Heber.
Administering a life saving potion to ensure Heber\'s survival, Jeremy took off again.
In a flash, Jeremy appeared at the spot where Gold Lion Weber and his group had been.
This area, being closest to the City Lord\'s mansion, had borne the brunt of the explosion.
Now, not a single corpse remained, only a few glimmering storage rings and various pieces of equipment scattered on the ground.
Without so much as a glance, Jeremy waved his hand, collecting all the equipment into his storage space.
Jeremy then proceeded to the site where the Black Armored Knights had collectively fallen.
There, a vast array of gleaming black armor lay quietly on the ground.
Jeremy\'s eyes sparkled with excitement as he worked tirelessly, collecting every single piece of the at least one hundred black standard issue armors into his storage space.
Casting a slightly regretful glance in the direction of the Ironclad Army, he saw that the remaining soldiers had already begun methodically treating the wounded and gathering equipment.
It was evident that Jeremy alone couldn\'t hope to profit from this situation.
Pivoting swiftly on his heel, Jeremy dashed towards the area where Anz had met his end.
He vividly recalled that this master, who had also reached Transcendental Awakening, was unquestionably dead.
Without encountering any obstacles, Jeremy arrived at Anz\'s death site.
At this moment, three pieces of equipment, each emitting a radiant orange glow, nearly blinded him with their brilliance.
Jeremy\'s eyes gleamed with excitement. "Haha, three precious items!"
With a swift motion, he immediately stored the three pieces of equipment into his bag.