In just a blink, Zhou Haoyu was already hovering above the memorial monument, silver Wings of Thunderbolt blazing in the murky sky.
With his Spiritual Sensory spread wide, he had long detected the cursed demi-fiends and Black Beast hidden deep within the bushes.
"Profound Yang Golden Thunder — Thunderbolt — Lightning disaster!"
Raising his right fist, Zhou Haoyu completed his star map— from his clenched hand exploded countless streaks of golden lightning!
They rained down like a meteor shower, slamming into the bushes below.
Fast, merciless, inescapable.
Thunderbolts wove a golden net of destruction, each bolt carrying enough force to annihilate everything it touched — instantly turning the hidden Black Beast into charred, unrecognizable husks.
One move.
That entire patch of shrub-land was blasted into ruin.
Every single Black Beast within it had been vaporized.
The woman in the mink-trimmed robes hiding behind the monument paled in shock. Was that really a Mid-Tier spell?
The sheer might surpassed even many High-Tier spells!
The Hua Village survivors looked on, utterly dazed — was this still the magic they were familiar with?
It was like a thunder god had descended!
Gritting her teeth, the robed Black Vatican deaconess began to cast a High-Tier spell
She knew it might alert the Ancient Capital guards, but at this point it was their only hope.
Zhou Haoyu's mouth curled slightly.
A silver sword flickered into existence beside him.
With a slight flick of his finger—
SWOOSH!
In a flash of silver, the sword pierced through the air.
He had no intention of politely waiting for her High-Tier spell to finish.
The woman looked down—only to see a silver blade sticking out of her chest, blood gushing out as terror and confusion filled her eyes.
She had activated her armor magic tool…
So how did this blade pierce her anyway?!
With their leader dead, Zhou didn't stop.
The silver flying blade streaked around the monument — stabbing through one coward beast after another.
Those cursed creatures who had survived the initial lightning strike didn't last long either.
By the time he landed, all of them were corpses on the ground.
"One deacon, seven cult priests, plus the grunts… enough to open Xu Zhaoting's chest."
After wiping out the entire Black Vatican cell, Zhou Haoyu finally descended from the sky.
The first thing he did was slice open the ropes binding Zhang Xiaohou with a casual wave of his silver sword.
"Zhou… Zhou Haoyu?!"
Zhang Xiaohou stared in disbelief — he never expected Zhou Haoyu to be the one rescuing him. They weren't even really close.
Counting the Bo City Disaster, this was already the third time Zhou Haoyu had saved his life.
Zhou just patted him on the shoulder—
Before Zhang Xiaohou could even speak, Hong Jun stumbled over eagerly.
"Young Master Zhou! Thankfully you came in time — otherwise we'd still be at the mercy of the Black Vatican— Hahaha…"
His smile was fake, stiff and trembling.
Zhou Haoyu glanced at Hong Jun — he'd nearly forgotten about that traitor.
He must have fallen over during the lightning strike and escaped Zhou's initial attention.
Without uttering a word, Zhou Haoyu merely sent a Telekinesis command.
SWOOSH!
The silver sword flashed again, piercing straight through Hong Jun's skull.
Red and white splattered over Chief Xie Sang and the villagers.
Their brains went blank.
Hong Jun… is DEAD?!
Why did he kill him?!
"You… you murdered Hong Jun—you devil! How dare you kill him!" Xie Sang shouted suddenly, righteous fury on his face.
The other villagers cried out in support.
Zhou Haoyu's eyes stayed as calm as an ancient well. He let out a cold chuckle.
"A criminal colluding with the Black Vatican dares bark at me? And shall I add harboring cultists to your list of crimes as well?"
The villagers, who had been shouting indignantly just a second ago, panicked at once.
Prison? That was the last place they wanted to end up!
"But of course," Zhou Haoyu continued coldly, looking off into the distance, "you'll have to survive first to receive your sentence."
A black ocean of undead was surging toward them at terrifying speed.
The real undead army had arrived.
Caught in it, even High-Tier mages might not make it out alive—let alone a group of civilians.
"Let's hope you live long enough to reach the city."
With that, Zhou Haoyu unfurled his Thunder Wings and sped off toward the inner-city barrier—leaving the park behind.
Fang Gu, hiding in the shadows, had witnessed the entire sequence of slaughter. His heart thumped wildly. This young man—his cruelty and decisiveness were no less than the Black Vatican's.
Back inside the inner city, Zhou Haoyu headed straight for the Clock Tower Magic Association.
Top Floor, Clock Tower
"At this point," someone said grimly, "we must detain everyone suspected of involvement."
"If it stops Salan's plan, I'm for it," another replied.
The inner city was now like a lone raft in a sea of undead. Collapse was no longer a question of if, but when.
Han Ji's proposal was to lock up even Super-Level mages if necessary—
and execute them all if the situation demanded it.
At that moment, Zhou Haoyu stepped out of the stairwell, his expression firm:
"Even if you do find Salan—those undead will not retreat."
All eyes in the room turned sharply toward him.
"Boy," scolded Chu Jia of the Hunter Alliance with a cold frown, "this is not a place where you're allowed to speak so freely."
Zhu Meng hurried forward. "Chairman Han Ji, this is Zhou Haoyu!"
"The one who ordered the outer city to be evacuated into the inner city?"
A ripple of shock passed through the room. No one had expected that near-mad evacuation command to have come from a mere twenty-year-old.
Han Ji strode forward in three steps and clasped Zhou Haoyu's hand enthusiastically. "Young friend—you saved several million souls. You are the benefactor of the Ancient Capital!"
[Activation condition: resolve the Ancient Capital calamity within one day.]
"You flatter me, Chairman Han. I only did what I should," Zhou Haoyu replied modestly.
Han Ji's eyes gleamed with appreciation. Such humility despite his achievements.
Zhou Haoyu's attention was then drawn to a graceful, mature woman among the council.
[Activation condition: kill the White-Clothed Pope.]
At that very moment, Ling Xi met his gaze and offered a charming, elegant smile—though a flash of hatred flickered deep in her eyes.
He had ruined her "apotheosis ceremony." If not for the situation, she would have torn him to shreds on the spot.
Never mind. Once the barrier fell, everyone here would die.
"Salan cannot control the Eight Undead Monarchs," Zhou Haoyu said flatly. "She merely found a chance to unleash them."
"Then what do you suggest?" asked a gray-robed advisor.
"Enter the Dark Abyss."