"Mr. Knight, you..." the Bishop was somewhat surprised.

"It's been years since I've heard that title," the old man's face showed a hint of nostalgia, "Do you know why I asked His Majesty the former king to let me come to this place to be the tax officer?"

The Bishop shook his head, wondering how he could possibly know. Why would anyone want to come to this place to be a tax officer? Given the old man's illustrious military service, he certainly shouldn't have been relegated to this post.

"Few people know that I grew up here," the old man slowly explained, "I lost everything on the battlefield, so the memories of this place from my youth are the only treasure I have left."

"Go," he patted the Bishop on the shoulder, "the fleet is in your hands now. Let me stay here alone, for I have nothing left to lose."

The Bishop was completely stunned.

He couldn't help but watch as the old man slowly walked forward and raised his hands, allowing his servant to drape the tax officer's robe over him—a garment he hadn't worn since the day he took office.

And the old man slowly fastened the silver buckle on his collar.

From that moment, he was no longer the 'muddleheaded' old man, or the titular 'noble lord'; he would be the kingdom's tax officer, second in command only to the Guardian of this very place.

And Toragotos had already left the city, so here, only he could shoulder this responsibility.

The shock wave had already spread throughout the entire city.

In front of everyone's horrified gazes, the towering spire in the city center suddenly emitted a crisp cracking sound—

Then it broke from the middle and plummeted down, crashing into the square below, a mass of buildings collapsing, and a cloud of dust rising dozens of meters high. People still looked at each other in disbelief, as if they could not accept that the 'castle' of their Guardian could be so shattered.

Where was the Guardian?

The earthquake's aftershocks didn't care about the people's thoughts; they rolled relentlessly outward, spreading through the continent towards the overseas, and what the citizens and sailors in the Port District saw next was a spectacle—

The clouds were retreating.

Layer by layer they rolled back, and for an instant, it appeared as though the Cloud Sea surrounding Fenris Isle had vanished.

Beneath the Sky Sea, a vast Abyss emerged as though a colossal mouth had opened, seeming to have something rising from below.

It wasn't until a good while later that someone let out a terrified scream: "The Abyssal Sea!"

To directly face the Abyssal Sea was one of the most terrible omens in legends, often signifying that the extended lifespan of a Floating Continent was nearing its end. What would follow was destruction and despair.

Just like the downfall of Aithelin.

People finally realized what was happening and began to frantically climb away from the harbor, as if a monstrous sea creature lurked beneath, the further the better...

...

Inside the Holy Sanctuary of the Commercial Goddess, communication was restored after a moment.

Next to Sophie, the image of the underground scene, somewhat distorted, reappeared, while behind her, the figure of Su Changfeng flickered several times before stabilizing. His expression was somber as he asked, "Sophie, what's happening over there?"

"Not too sure," Sophie shook her head, "seems like there was an earthquake."

As she gave that response, she kept her gaze fixed on the Holy Icon—God's Omen. The Princess of Silver Weslan knew in her heart that the matter couldn't possibly be that simple. How often had God's Omen descended in the last hundred years?

"I just received a message from your Guild," Su Changfeng said, "They can no longer contact the Fenris Isle branch. It seems something has happened at Cloud Harbor, and they asked me to tell you—if possible, to immediately abort the mission and leave Fenris."

"Abort the mission?" Sophie was startled, "How is that possible, everyone is still below, how can I ask them to leave?"

"But the directive from your Guild is to prioritize your own safety."

"Dad," Sophie called out, "stop joking, what do you think your daughter is!?"

Su Changfeng shook his head, "It's not my opinion, it's an order from your Guild."

As he spoke, he suddenly paused and glanced at his Communication Crystal, his face changing abruptly as he announced, "Internal message, I can only repeat it once—there is a change in Fenris Isle, all stationed members must leave the island within twelve hours, without delay."

Sophie was taken aback; of course, she understood what 'all stationed members must leave the island within twelve hours' meant—it was the level of military mobilization, the most severe state of affairs was nothing more profound.

"What exactly happened?" she couldn't help but ask.

"One of your 'Crows' genius predictions came true," Su Changfeng replied gravely, "Although we have not observed any revival of the Deities so far and thus don't know the full extent of the impact, the current omens don't look promising—"

"What do you mean by 'my Crows' genius'?" Sophie retorted irritably, glancing back at the underground scene before shaking her head. "But everyone is down there, I won't leave, and besides, in twelve hours, I think we can still hold out."

Su Changfeng looked at her, asking, "Have you really thought this through?"

Sophie nodded.

Su Changfeng, upon hearing her answer, didn't get angry; instead, he looked at his daughter with admiration. He then raised his hand and tapped his Communication Crystal, casting a hologram that appeared next to Sophie.

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