Chapter 863: Fear Domain

Ten-ring Spell—Ultimate Arcane Fireball!

Flaniss Floating City's most powerful attack spell, it is the ultimate form of the three-ring spell "Arcane Fireball," a highly condensed high‑temperature Arcane fire that is harder to extinguish than pure fireball magic. When it explodes, the lingering flames continue to burn everything, even the void is scorched into a hollow, until all spell energy is consumed.

The power of the Ultimate Arcane Fireball ranks low within Ten-ring Spell, and its blast radius is relatively small.

But it has one advantage: its casting speed is fast.

Tim*Kenan, while building Flaniss, chose the ultimate Arcane Fireball, intending to raise Fu Kong Cheng's attack frequency.

With only four to five casts, Fu Kong Cheng can raze the Shi Wa Ji Palace to the ground, making survival impossible for everyone inside.

That's Fu Kong Cheng's deterrent power!

The massive blue‑purple fireball, over five meters in diameter, resembled a small sun, falling straight from the sky in an instant as if a meteor struck the ground.

Boom!

The Ultimate Arcane Fireball detonated over the Shi Wa Ji Palace, but the expected towering flames and shockwave never appeared; it was blocked by a layer of pitch‑black energy shield.

The fireball seemed to sink into quicksand; its explosion produced a deafening bang that only made the energy shield quiver briefly before vanishing without a trace, the scene looking worse than a seven‑ring Flame Burst spell.

The Shi Wa Ji Palace remains intact.

The Empire troops within Fu Kong Cheng stared dumbfounded at the scene.

Tim*Kenan's eyes also widened in surprise.

The next second, a wave of painful wails rose from Banbei City, three million residents clutching their heads and screaming, rolling in homes and streets, faces twisted, weeping miserably as if enduring unimaginable torment; the whole city resembled a nightmare hell.

The three Holy Soul Wizards and several well‑versed individuals turned pale.

Tim*Kenan said gravely, "Fear Domain!"

Lei En also recognized it.

It is one of the most famous Divine Techniques of the Black Emperor Ban Ke, mimicking part of His divine realm power, absorbing the soul energy of creatures within range—especially the emotion of "fear"—to create a Divine Technique domain.

The more creatures affected, the more intense the fear, the stronger the domain's power, and the larger its effective range.

The primary function of the Fear Domain is to nullify spells.

This is very similar to an anti‑magic field, but in essence it does not "counter" magic; it "weakens" magic.

Banbei City has over three million residents; their collective fear is so massive that even Ten-ring Spell is weakened to about seven‑ring level. Spells below seven‑ring likely cannot be cast, mirroring the effect of an anti‑magic field.

"Hahaha……"

A burst of mad laughter echoed from the palace: "Great Ban Ke, wise and divine! Fear is a force stronger than steel!"

It was the voice of Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya II.

He was smug, shouting loudly: "Invaders of the Oriense Empire, if you wish to breach Banbei City, come at me!"

"If I die, my people shall be buried with me!"

As Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya shouted, all six gates of Banbei City suddenly exploded, massive stone slabs falling and sealing the gates completely. The two harbor piers also shook with a boom, destroying most berths and the ships attached.

Instantly, Banbei City's main exits were blocked, trapping and killing the three‑plus million inhabitants inside.

Lei En instantly understood Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya II's malicious intent.

On the platform, Tim*Kenan, Yin Xing Duke, and Storm Queen, along with a host of Flaniss's legendary Wizards, wore grim expressions.

The Fear Domain extracts the soul energy of Banbei City's residents.

If Fu Kong Cheng continues its assault, each Ultimate Arcane Fireball will damage the souls of all Banbei City residents.

Such soul wounds are irreversible; even if the Fear Domain is finally breached, fewer than a hundred out of the three‑plus million could survive, leaving the city a dead zone.

Even if these people are not Empire subjects—hundreds of thousands are not even human—the Empire army cannot stand by. Causing over three million deaths will become an indelible stain on the Oriense Empire.

Anyone who orders the continued attack will be nailed to the pillar of historical shame, their name cursed for eternity.

Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya II used millions of lives as his shield.

"He's gone mad!"

Many shouted in anger.

Someone shook their head helplessly, murmuring: "Those who worship the Black Emperor Ban Ke are nothing but lunatics. Throughout history, which bewitched king or tyrant ever cared about his subjects' lives? To them, people are merely consumables."

Everyone looked at Tim*Kenan, awaiting his command.

Tim*Kenan remained silent, then suddenly waved his staff, and Fu Kong Cheng emitted a strong magical surge again.

People jumped, assuming GreyEagle Duke was about to ignore the fate of over three million and continue attacking the Fear Domain.

Then they realized this time Fu Kong Cheng was not releasing an Ultimate Arcane Fireball.

A massive stone pillar was teleported to a point five hundred meters above the Shi Wa Ji Palace; it was over fifty meters long, about three meters in diameter, rough‑shelled, likely cut temporarily from somewhere inside Fu Kong Cheng, its weight immeasurable.

The pillar, once in the sky, fell immediately.

This is not a spell, but by purely using the pillar's mass and its falling speed, it can generate power equivalent to a Ten-ring Spell.

The pillar accelerated as it fell.

After about ten seconds, the massive pillar smashed into the palace, and the black energy shield reappeared.

Boom—

The pillar struck the shield with a deafening bang, shattering instantly into pieces. Though the shield seemed fragile, it was tougher than steel walls; countless fragments were flung outward, sliding down the hemispherical surface, while the palace inside remained unmoved.

The cost of repelling this attack still fell on Banbei City's residents.

Millions of Banbei City residents wailed in agony; at least ten thousand, whose souls were already weak, suffered fatal injuries and died on the spot.

Most of them were children and the elderly.

Tim*Kenan's face was as still as water; the Fear Domain not only nullifies spells but also defends against physical attacks.

This strike was not without gain; the Fear Domain was fully revealed, its shield protecting only Shi Wa Ji Palace. Outside the palace, casting is interfered with—spells below seven‑ring are virtually impossible, and even seven‑ring and above become extremely difficult.

The lives of over ten thousand people were sacrificed for this information; the cost was too great.

Tim*Kenan felt it was a thorny problem, unsure how to respond. The two Holy Soul Witch women and the Eight‑Leaf members beside him were pondering solutions.

Banbei City now functions as a massive anti‑magic field.

Most of the Empire's corps rely heavily on magic; sending troops in would severely weaken their strength, and Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi's "Super Sun Corps" has over thirty thousand men who have long been prepared. With this attrition and the enemy's increase, the Empire's army is likely to suffer a heavy loss.

If Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi retreats into the palace, even though the Empire army corps numbers nearly eighty thousand—more than double the enemy's—so long as that shield remains, even ten times more troops would find it hard to break through.

Even capsizing in a gutter could happen.

Moreover, Luo Xi's followers are watching from the shadows.

Silence lingered on the platform for half a minute, then Ou Ti Lu Ke, a member of the Eight‑Leaf, spoke: "Title: Duke, we must lift the Fear Domain without harming Banbei City residents."

Tan Sen beside him asked, "How do we lift it?"

Ou Ti Lu Ke replied, "Destroy the Banerko altar that extracts soul energy."

The Fear Domain consists of numerous Banerko altars, each drawing the souls and emotional energy of nearby creatures; a city as large as Banbei City requires at least hundreds of altars to cover it completely.

Building that many altars cannot be accomplished in the short term.

Obviously, Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi had the altars ready long ago; worship of Banerko cannot see the light, so he could only build them in secret, choosing the most concealed spots—either hidden deep beneath Banbei City or disguised as ordinary structures.

Banbei City spans several hundred square miles, with tens of thousands of densely packed, chaotic buildings, plus extensive slums.

Finding the secret altars among them is extremely difficult.

Perhaps a few could be found, but their impact on the entire Fear Domain would be limited, and even a single undiscovered altar would cause massive casualties among nearby Banbei City residents.

All altars must be located and destroyed to fully lift the Fear Domain.

It cannot be accomplished in less than ten days and half a month.

Flaniss Floating City and the Empire army corps cannot remain in Banbei City for that long; the longer they stay, the greater the risk.

Tim*Kenan and the Eight‑Leaf members all shook their heads; Bi Ge Bai's proposal is unrealistic.

Ou Ti Lu Ke seemed to have anticipated this and said, "Then there is only one way left: evacuate all Banbei City residents."

"It's not a few hundred or a few thousand, but over three million people!"

Storm Queen wore an impatient expression and retorted, "How long would it take to evacuate them all? One month or two? And where do you plan to relocate them? Banbei City is bounded on three sides by the sea, with the north a mountainous wilderness on a peninsula; if millions flee to the hills, they will slaughter each other, starve, and many will die."

"Do you think these foolish people would listen to you and willingly leave the city?"

"Do you think Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi would let you drive out the city's residents, and that those Luo Xi followers would just watch quietly?"

Storm Queen's doubts gained the majority's support.

Evacuating over three million people is harder than locating the Banerko altars; Banbei City residents view the Empire army corps as invaders, and even knowing the king is a dark‑god follower who tortures them with tyranny and Divine Technique, they will only hate the Empire people more.

Not to mention evacuation, the Empire troops could be attacked en masse by millions.

Ou Ti Lu Ke's face turned embarrassed, yet he persisted with his proposal: "Your Majesty, however difficult, we must evacuate; we have no other way."

"Stupid!"

Storm Queen shouted the insult without courtesy.

She ignored Ou Ti Lu Ke, turned to Tim*Kenan and said, "GreyEagle, since Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi treats his own people as cannon fodder, we needn't worry about that; just attack directly, after all there are few Empire people in Banbei City."

With those words, everyone's expression turned subtle.

Tim*Kenan's eyes flickered, probing, "Your Majesty, then will you lead the initial attack? Flaniss pulls back to the Empire, and we replace it with Aglaron Floating City to strike?"

"Uh…"

Storm Queen hesitated immediately, "My floating city must guard Huoha Wen Kingdom, where over a hundred thousand people live; it cannot be withdrawn quickly, unprepared, and there's no time to teleport to Banbei City."

Everyone saw her evasion, but did not expose it.

Silence fell again on the platform.

The Empire army corps on Eight‑Leaf Square had waited long without receiving an attack order, exchanging uneasy glances as morale wavered.

"Hahaha…"

Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi's laughter rang out again, full of endless smugness and arrogance: "Hypocritical invaders, why haven't you acted?"

The tyrant kept cursing incessantly, sounding extremely foul.

He had enough of insulting the Empire, quickly began to hurl God's Curse at the God of Magic, instantly causing the floating city's people to erupt in anger.

Silver Star Duke and Storm Queen's faces turned ashen.

Devout goddess followers, inflamed, shouted loudly, "Title: Duke, let's act!"

Tim*Kenan gave no reply, his mind wavering in dilemma.

He is the leader of this revenge operation; if three million die, his lifelong reputation will be ruined, but if he fails to avenge, or even withdraws to the Empire without breaching Banbei City, he will be ridiculed and labeled "incompetent."

Facing the increasingly agitated Empire army corps, the Eight‑Leaf members were caught between a rock and a hard place.

They also saw the Duke's dilemma.

"What shall we do?"

Tim*Kenan's thoughts raced; his gaze swept over the two Holy Soul Wizards, the legendary Wizards, and the Empire's Saint Rank elites, hoping someone could devise a countermeasure.

However, the two Holy Soul Wizards remained silent.

Among the Eight‑Leaf members and Empire councilors, some bowed their heads, unwilling to meet his gaze; some furrowed brows, seemingly pondering solutions; some wore blank faces, yet their eyes betrayed nervousness, looking to him for a decision.

Tim*Kenan snorted coldly inwardly, "They're all a bunch of uselesss!"

He resolved decisively, opting for a full assault.

Compared to ordering the execution of three million as the "executioner," Tim*Kenan is even more unwilling to be seen as an "incompetent."

A butcher inspires fear, while a coward only draws ridicule.

He would rather be feared than mocked, and must give the Supreme Council and the Empire an answer.

Having been decisive in killing all his life, the lives of three million are but a single word to decide!

Tim*Kenan was about to issue the order when he suddenly saw Lei En on the square; his gaze lingered, noting Lei En's calm, composed expression, even a faint, barely perceptible smile at the corner of his mouth, and when Lei En sensed his stare, he returned a suggestive glance.

He's waiting for my help!

He has a way!

Tim*Kenan instantly grasped Lei En's hint, his heart leapt with joy. Without hesitation, he shouted, "Lei En, do you have something to say?"

(End of chapter)