The black, dragon-shaped miasma suddenly sprang to life, darting through the air. Several menacing missiles froze mid-flight, their momentum halted. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—supersonic fighter jets streaked overhead, dropping those very missiles. Normally, the Black Death Emperor never fought back, so these jets would just swagger past without a care. But today, they got a lesson they won’t forget.
Pale, slender fingers gave a casual upward flick, and the missiles vanished on the spot.
Boom—just like that, the fighter jets turned into explosive fireworks in the blink of an eye.
“Uh…” Staring at the Black Death Emperor’s back, Yang Qi was all question marks. Why did Old Black suddenly make a move? Wait, is he… protecting—me?!
Absolutely ridiculous!
“Actual hostile action! Actual hostile action! All units on alert—the target has finally launched a real attack against us!”
Before the announcer’s panicked voice even faded, a massive bomber was already flying right over the Black Death Emperor’s head.
Yang Qi’s sharp instincts picked up the bomber’s itching urge to attack, sensing the terrifying killing intent brewing in its steel belly. Whatever weapon was loaded in there, if it dropped, it’d be a game-changer.
But the Black Death Emperor made another move.
His left hand stretched out, palm up, perfectly calm. Suddenly, a mysterious black ring appeared in midair, looping around the entire bomber like a magical shackle. The massive bomber froze instantly, all its signals cut off. No matter how hard its jet engines roared, the plane didn’t budge an inch.
Like swatting away a mosquito, the Black Death Emperor’s pale left hand flicked from the sleeve of his black imperial robe. With that single gesture, the airborne behemoth—over eighty tons empty, more than two hundred tons at max takeoff—shot off like a dart, skipping the whole acceleration thing and reversing direction in a blink.
Yang Qi’s pupils contracted, her mouth slightly open. With one wave from the Black Death Emperor, the plane accelerated to a terrifying Mach 20—so fast the aircraft’s own materials just disintegrated!
Boom! Beyond the horizon, below the curve of the earth, a massive warship was smashed to flaming bits by the bomber-turned-dart. The powerful weapons onboard exploded, turning everything within five hundred meters into a wasteland.
“Fire! Fire!” Terror gripped the hearts of captains near and far as batteries opened up on the Black Death Emperor. They didn’t care if their firepower was useless—they just needed to vent their despair.
But when the Black Death Emperor really made a move, endless fear crushed their spirits.
But the barrage did absolutely nothing.
Fwoosh—a black flame ignited in the Black Death Emperor’s hand, miasma burning like wildfire.
He looked at the black fire in his hand, then glanced at Yang Qi, almost as if he was showing her something. In that moment, Yang Qi sort of got it—but not really. What’s Old Black up to? Why did hitting his back trigger such a huge change? She didn’t get the deep stuff, but she could feel it: since she showed up, this mindless god seemed to sprout a tiny bit of will.
Like a dragon that’s always kept its eyes shut, suddenly cracking them open just a sliver. Not fully awake, but no longer just a lifeless shell.
What on earth caused this change?
Uh... Me?
Wait, what—is this some CEO drama? I’m not a Mary Sue!
Before she could figure it out, explosions covered everything around her. But then, she saw the black flame leap—and every blast froze, even the firelight itself locked in place. Blackness spread through the flames, turning ordinary fire pitch-black in a blink, as if the black fire had devoured it all.
The Black Death Emperor waved his hand again.
Suddenly, a massive black flame bloomed like a flower, shooting countless black sparks into the sky. The firestorm soared, then crashed down, shrouded in the shadow of despair. In an instant, black fire rained down and blanketed the entire battlefield.
Ssssss—all the battleships that attacked the Black Death Emperor, every last one, were swallowed whole by the black fire.
Black flames roared, devouring everything.
No screams, nothing—because every ordinary human, even the weaker Chosen, were burned to ashes in an instant.
Actually, not even ashes were left. That stuff was devoured by the black fire, erased from existence, turned to pure nothingness. Yang Qi suddenly thought of those skyscrapers near the Mag City blast zone—the ones that looked like someone took a bite out of a banana. What happened to those ships was exactly the same.
It’s the miasma—definitely the miasma at work.
But the next moment—splash, splash, splash—several figures tumbled into the sea, screaming from within the black fire.
Those were Chosen! Whether from All Under Heaven’s side or the 'Divine' faction, as long as they hadn’t attacked or tried to attack the Black Death Emperor, every Chosen was totally unharmed. The annihilating black fire surged around everyone, but inside the flames, there was zero heat or harm. The terrifying power showed itself silently, but spiritually, it didn’t feel dangerous at all.
Is the Black Death Emperor trying to show off how to use miasma? Or is he saying he’s completely mastered and tamed it?
No clue.
Yang Qi was totally lost.
Off in the distance, the self-proclaimed second strongest giant was feeling all sorts of complicated.
“I never thought the Black Death Emperor would actually change because of you—damn!” The giant remembered last time, that photo they hyped up. In it, he looked like he was facing off with the Black Death Emperor, but in reality, the Emperor didn’t give him the time of day—totally above it all, didn’t even see him as a person. But this woman, she could actually get a reaction out of the Black Death Emperor. Am I really that much worse than her?
Rage boiled up inside him. The path of greatness never backs down, so the giant readied himself to charge.
But a signal snapped him back to his senses.
“A signal? Right, we’re close to the US mainland. Good!” The giant pulled out a communicator and sent a secret message to his people in the rear.
New York, underground cavern—the Chosen left behind by the 'Divine' exchanged secretive glances, then quietly moved toward the people from Pergamon. The huge round platform kept rumbling and spinning; the spatial anchor device, that was the giant’s goal.
Staring at the woman in the distance, the 'Divine' narrowed his eyes: “No matter what, I have to drag you into the battlefield I choose.”
Back on Yang Qi’s side, she was totally frazzled.
“Hey, Old Black, if you’ve got something to say, just spit it out, okay? I’m kinda in a rush!” As she spoke, another tsunami of psychic pressure crashed down. Yang Qi clutched her head: “Ow—dammit, not again! My head hurts!”