Chapter 137

Chapter 137

Ning Chan swiftly exited the newly opened passage and stood at the entrance where he had entered. He raised his head to glance at the "magnificent" castle before slowly lowering his gaze. With a light flick of his hand, a fireball tumbled from his fingertips. With a hissing "whoosh," it seemed to ignite something, and the flames quickly vanished from sight.

Before long, a thunderous explosion erupted in the distance, followed by violent tremors in the ground and the panicked screams of people inside the city.

"What a shame," Ning Chan remarked with feigned regret, his expression cold and devoid of any trace of pity.

Beneath that "magnificent" castle lay countless skeletons, their accumulated resentment finally erupting—wasn’t that only natural?

Who knew how many of those malicious royalty and their lackeys would crawl out from the wreckage? In any case, the king wouldn’t survive—Ning Chan had personally crafted those high-powered explosives, and they were far from mere firecrackers for fishing.

By now, many buildings in the city had cracked or collapsed from the tremors. Cries, curses, and prayers filled the air.

"Your Majesty—the palace is gone!" An old man stumbled out of his house, his gaze dazed as he gaped at the site of destruction.

"A curse—this is a curse! Their sins were too great. This is divine punishment!" A woman with blood trickling down her forehead let out a manic laugh before her vision blurred, tears welling in her eyes.

"We have to flee! If we don’t, we’ll be next!" Those who were less injured frantically gathered their valuables, desperate to escape this place and distance themselves from the cursed palace.

As a flood of people surged toward the city gates, the guards tried to stop them, but the crowd refused to listen, their only thought being escape.

When news of the coastal battles had spread, nobles and wealthy merchants had already fled to the larger cities with their riches and servants. Among these, the royal capital was considered the "safest," so ordinary families had long been driven beyond the city walls. Even if Ning Chan had blown the entire city sky-high, few innocents would have been harmed.

Thinking this, Ning Chan pulled out a cannon from his dimensional storage and aimed it at the drawbridge just as it was about to lower. With a deafening boom, half of the thick wooden bridge was obliterated, the remaining half slamming down straight into the moat.

Now, those who lived near the palace were mostly those whose hands were stained with blood. Dying under collapsing buildings was a mercy—it spared them the toil of hard labor camps later.

Faced with this new disaster, the crowd at the gates froze in shock, their minds blank.

What did this mean? Had the gods forsaken them, trapping them inside to perish on their own?

A few who hadn’t been stunned followed the direction of the explosion, searching for Ning Chan. But by then, he had already packed up and melted into the forest, leaving no trace behind.

An invisible dread spread through their hearts, leaving them uncertain of what to do to avoid further misfortune.

They remained cowed into submission in the city for a while, but when nothing else happened, thoughts of escape resurfaced. After all, those with food stores could hold out longer, but supplies wouldn’t last forever with so many mouths to feed.

Without outside provisions, chaos had already begun to spread. If they didn’t act soon, some would starve to death. Many eyed the moat's crocodiles hungrily, as if contemplating who might devour whom.

The will to survive temporarily overshadowed their fear of divine wrath. They prayed desperately for mercy, for a chance to live.

They laboriously patched up the drawbridge and sent their servants across first. When one servant safely reached the opposite bank, some of the onlookers burst into tears, feeling hope rekindled.

More and more people crossed over. Seeing the distant villages with their wisping smoke, they felt freedom return. All they wanted now was to retreat to their estates, where livestock and crops thrived.

Just as they prepared to disperse and seek their own manors, a startled cry made their hearts leap again.

"Look—the words on this stone tablet!"

A massive stone monument, like a wall, blocked the road, facing the palace gates with an ominous presence.

"When did this appear? Was it placed here during the divine punishment?" Such a colossal stone couldn’t have been moved by human hands. And besides, where else could such a flawless slab come from if not the gods?

Though Kane’s side had widely adopted the use of cement, its production was tightly controlled by the authorities. Babylonia had yet to acquire the formula/technique, so most people remained unaware of concrete slabs.

Of course, the king of Babylonia was aware of such information, but what did it matter? For a hedonistic ruler, fine food, beautiful women, jewels, and fancy clothes were far more appealing than dull gray cement.

Not to mention, cement was typically used for road construction and building factories—he wasn’t about to waste money on that for his people.

But now that he was gone, cement didn’t matter anymore.

The others gathered around the inscribed stele, carefully examining the terms on this obviously special artifact.

"What... what does this say?" Although the language system here was similar to Kane's, there were still some differences in detail, so not everyone could read it.

Fortunately, there were people who knew languages; having dealt with various nations, they knew multiple languages and could decipher the meaning.

The erudite scholar, with everyone watching eagerly, quickly skimmed the stele's contents. The beginning was manageable, but upon reaching the last line of fine print, his throat went dry.

"What’s wrong? Don’t just stand there—tell us!" Seeing the scholar’s increasingly grave expression, the others grew nervous too. Someone even tugged at his sleeve, urging him to speak.

The scholar licked his dry lips and began explaining the contents.

"This is a legal stele, listing numerous statutes. Oh, and at the very bottom, it states that our royal family met its fate today because it violated multiple laws, incurring divine wrath. A new ruler will govern Babylonia. If we persist in resistance and continue breaking the laws, the gods will reclaim this land, so nothing would ever grow here again."