stair''s eyes were locked firmly on John as he drew his de, a mocking smile curling at the corners of his mouth.


    "Do you really think that with that you can kill me?"


    stair''s power began to swell increasingly, as if just one more second would lead to a catastrophic explosion.


    He was like a balloon stretched to its limit, a single touch away from bursting—an entirely unstable force.


    John chuckled lightly.


    "Then try it!"


    Godyer de—


    One of his most powerful techniques!


    He had refrained from using it until now because the sess rate was not particrly high and the repercussions were severe.


    But now, he was at the point where he had no choice but to use it, so he hesitated no more.


    The Bloodthirsty de reflected a chilling light amidst the snowstorm.


    His red eyes seemed to sparkle and focus intensely on the prey before him.


    stair didn''t want to waste any more time but continued to umte power within his body.


    He was determined to ensure they all perished here!


    All of them, right here!


    John gripped the Bloodthirsty de tightly in his hands.


    His eyes fixed on stair in front of him, and then he took a step forward.


    The de shed through the air, a fierce sword qi cleaving towards stair!


    And at that very moment, stair was about to self-destruct!


    Everyone''s eyes were glued to the scene unfolding before them!


    Their entire attention was captured by the events unfolding!


    The moment the intense sword qi made contact with stair''s body!


    stair detonated himself!


    The two powerful forces collided and then explodedpletely!


    Boom!


    Boom boom!


    A massive shockwave swept across the field, and even those hiding far away felt a sharp wind sting towards them!


    Everyone instinctively ducked to take cover, but the biting cold scattered all the snowkes around them.


    Moreover, some who hadn''t fully ducked to the ground felt a severe pain on their heads, only to touch and discover that arge patch of scalp had been nearly sheared off!


    If they had been just a bit taller, it would have been their entire heads that were shorn off!


    Shocked and terrified, they hurriedlyy t on the ground.


    Some were in excruciating pain, but they just had to endure it!


    They dared not do anything else but bear it!


    They would wait for this storm to pass before seeing what had happened; for now, the most important thing was to stay alive!


    The wind and snow around them grew increasingly fierce, but tremors were also emanating from the icy ground.


    Everyoney tense on the ground, wanting to flee but daring not to, knowing they could not outrun the tempest.


    For them, the only chance of survival was to hide right here.


    The gusts, mingling with the snow, turned even the thinnest ke into a de sharp enough to slice through skin.


    They felt searing pain as their skin wascerated, their warm clothing torn to shreds, their HP visibly dropping at an rming rate.


    Support yers rapidly deployed healing skills, but it was too little, toote.


    Everyone was frantically consuming HP recovery potions.


    Otherwise, they couldn''t regain HP fast enough; the rate of HP loss was terrifying!


    Isabe wanted to see what exactly was happening, but the storm was too intense, making it impossible to even lift their heads.


    The powerful storm swept across the entire Northernmost Realm!


    It even carried the snowkes and the biting cold of the Northernmost Realm across to the other side of the continent in a wild frenzy!


    In the First Fortress, Archibald keenly felt a slight tremor in the ground, followed by the sound of a massive explosioning from the north, causing their protective shield to shudder.


    Everyone inside the fortress couldn''t help but stare in horror.


    What on earth was happening?


    What had transpired there?


    Had John seeded?


    Why was there such a loud explosion?


    If it originated from the Northernmost Realm, that was thousands of kilometers away from their location!


    It was almost as if the entire secret realm was spanned, yet now, the events urring there were sharply felt here.


    It was a testament to the terrifying situation unfolding.


    Archibald gripped his staff tightly, his eyes fixed towards the north.


    He had no idea what had urred there and could only glimpse a clue from John''s current HP on the panel.


    But John''s metrics showed no change, not even a drop in HP.


    What was going on? Surely, with such a huge explosion, something must be wrong on John''s end.


    Yet, it seemed that the reality waspletely different from what he had expected.


    John, you must be alright!


    Leopold also felt the force of the immense explosion, his heart involuntarily contracting.


    It was terrifying, truly terrifying.


    Everyone was clueless about what exactly had happened there, but they could only specte that something monumental had urred.


    And whatever it was, it was definitely a cmity they couldn''t avoid.


    Otherwise, such a disturbance would never have urred.


    Everyone''s gaze was fixed in the direction of the Northernmost Realm.


    ...


    The crowd outside was anxiously staring at the silver mirror.


    In the next second, the mirror turned dark again!


    "What on earth is going on?"


    "Principal Sophia, what is happening? Why can''t we see anything again?"


    "What''s wrong on John''s end? Can he survive? Can my child still make it out?"


    "Principal Sophia, you must give us an exnation for this incident."


    Countless parents were shouting incessantly, desperate to understand what was happening, only to find themselves plunged into darkness once more.


    Just when there was a glimmer of hope, just when it seemed John might prevail, now it appeared utterly different from what they had imagined.


    What exactly had happened to John?


    Principal Sophia was also staring intently at the pitch-ck mirror.


    Such incidents had never urred before.


    Could it really be because of the power of control?


    It shouldn''t be…


    Even if it were due to the power of control, as a former master, she should be able to sense what was happening inside!


    But now it was different.


    Now, she couldn''t feel anything at all happening inside, and it seemed like all connections with the entire secret realm had been severed.


    Geoffrey wiped the sweat from his forehead, wanting to speak, but found himself at a loss for words, forcibly holding back.


    Percival''s eyes were fixed on the dark expanse.


    His family also had members inside on a trial, although he had never mentioned it.


    Benedict couldn''t help but feel anxious.


    Victor had such high hopes for that kid.


    That must mean the child really had something special!


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have caught that young man''s attention.


    But the situation this time was dire, facing a semigod-tier opponent!


    And what skills did he possess to actually contend with a semigod-tier adversary?


    Was he really throwing his life away?


    ...


    Inside the secret realm.


    John only felt a massive energy shockwave explode from the point of their contact!


    He then had a remnant of the power of control protecting his body, but it was useless!


    The huge shockwave instantly shattered the protective shield on his body.


    The blood shield stored in the Bloodthirsty de waspletely drained in an instant!


    But it still couldn''t withstand it.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    How could the self-destruction of a semigod-tier adversary be so easily resisted?


    Even with the help of the power of control, he was still facing a tremendous shockwave at this moment.


    John felt as if all his organs were shaken in that instant!


    He uncontrobly fell backward, flying several meters away!


    But the next second, his Bloodthirsty de harshly stabbed into the ice, sliding several meters backward before finally stopping his motion.


    Pfft...