It didn’t take long at all for the flames to become completely gilded as a result.

The flames not only appeared more regal and pure, they also packed intense heat capable of melting down gods and demons alike if they even existed. 𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝒎

The ink from the melted body of the panther wasn’t any different either. It began to sizzle in the presence of the golden flames as if it was being boiled in the presence of the intense heat being generated.

Even the stones and the ground around Luna began to turn into molten goo under the devastating flames. From the effect on the surroundings, it seemed that Luna didn’t have enough power to control the flames of such a high caliber. She needed to increase her strength more if she wanted to master the golden flames.

The golden flames began to fill the space within the ink cocoon gradually. Luna kept emitting the flames and condensing them within the small confines of it. As a result a huge bomb was in the making but nobody witnessing the situation could tell what was happening.

The small sun with Luna as the center repeated the big bang that formulated the universe amidst the darkness of space. A huge explosion akin to the one that formulated the universe took place and violent shockwaves were released that devastated the forest surrounding Luna in the radius of hundred meters around her.

The ground wasn’t the only thing affected in the aftermath of the explosion, the firmament itself was pierced through and the cloud ceiling broken into pieces as if something had tipped over the world in a matter of seconds. The scene from before and after the explosion revealed too drastic a change to be attributed to the natural entropy of matter.

Zach and his group were quite a distance away from the ground zero but the fierce winds that were the result of the explosion were so strong that they almost lifted him off the ground with sheer force and the shockwaves almost sent him flying into the distance.

It could only be imagined what became of the others when even Zach suffered to deal with the shockwave. The Special Forces team members and the normal guards were unable to stand their ground and were flung off into the distance. The lucky ones were stopped by the trees early on while the unlucky ones flew for a few tens of meters before making their fall.

Even Kolt, Sarah and Barry who were still far away from Zach and his group heard the thundering sound and felt the ground shaking profusely in the aftermath of the violent explosion. They could only wonder what was happening on the other end since they were still out of the visual range to tell.

Zach only felt the connection that he had just established with Luna weaken suddenly as if a chunk of it had been torn away from it by someone. He grew worried at the thought of Luna suffering in the aftermath of the explosion and rushed towards the center of the explosion that shook the earth a few minutes ago.

Zach did not care about the danger to his own life as he searched around for Luna. Had Luna not taken care of the possible threat already, he would have delivered himself in the hands of danger himself due to his recklessness.

Only after walking around blindly for a little while did he use the connection between him and Luna to guide him towards her. It didn’t take him long to reach her afterwards.

In the midst of a completely scorched and singed patch of the forest lay two bodies strewn on the ground like corpses. One belonged to her assailant the panther and the other was Luna. Unlike the badly burned corpse of the man, Luna was still alive and breathing thanks to the last burst of strength that she received out of nowhere.

Zach thanked all the gods there were for he was able to find Luna in time. She was fortunately still breathing even if it was faint and weak.

Zach pulled of his clothes and wrapped it around her naked body so as to avoid putting her indecency on display for everyone to see as he carried her on his back. She was as light as a feather and hardly made it difficult for Zach as he made his escape deeper into the heart of the forest. Even if the panther had been taken care of, there were still enemies chasing after him and Zach needed to take that into account as well. He figured that he would only stop once he was safely away from his pursuers.

With Bruce and Diana in tow, Zach maneuvered his way towards the exit of the forest that led them away from the forces chasing after them.

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The Macrae family had placed all their chips with Zach this time after their last failure at the product launch ceremony of the Luther family. Due to their reactive approach, they had lost the initiative to the Elizabeth family. But this time they were determined to earn the favor of Zach so they could enjoy the same benefits as the Elizabeth family.

As such, Sarah had set out with the fighters and mages of the family to facilitate Zach’s escape from the royal forces while Calvin hadn’t acted along with her. Instead of fighting the royal forces and pitching the entire Macrae family against the Royal family, Calvin decided to use another method to help Zach. Despite lacking in the planning and strategizing department, Calvin was an experienced leader of the top most family of Elizabeth city. He knew the workings of the royal family quite well and knew that Zach would find it hard to escape the Mesore state even if he somehow managed to escape Elizabeth city.

As soon as Kolt announced Zach to be a traitor to the human kind, there would be severe repercussions. Zach would probably be hunted across the empire and the manhunt for him would probably begin in the state of Mesore. Zach needed to move beyond the Mesore state fast if he wanted to throw off the pursuit of the royal family.

Therefore, Calvin had set out to find some fancy wagons that could help Zach. As things stood, trucks would become too conspicuous and the royal family wouldn’t allow any trucks to escape the state until they found Zach. There were too many checks along the path and government controlled most of them. With each city gate manned and guarded by the forces loyal to the royal family, not a single bird could enter or exit the Mesore state if the royal family didn’t want it to. Due to the influence of Prince Kolt and his fervent desire to control Zach, the gates would probably be guarded more heavily than usual with random checks and increased number of patrols along the path that Zach and his group were expected to follow.

To avoid unwanted attention, the trucks couldn’t be used for travelling. Therefore, the only way to move still available to Zach and his group was to use the outdated carriages which were slow compared to the trucks but inconspicuous in comparison.

Calvin had prepared some fancy carriages during the time his daughter fought against the royal forces and was waiting at one of the exits in Elizabeth city. These kinds of carriages were mostly used by the elite families of the empire and were usually not checked by any guards at the city gates as long as the carriage drivers provided enough identification. The guards too were afraid of offending the people they couldn’t afford to disrespect. Therefore, most of the guards wouldn’t even bother to check the people inside. Even if they did, no one would suspect Zach as his image had yet to be disseminated to all the guard posts and city gates. It would still be some time before the royal family managed to do so. For the time being, Zach and his group would be able to safely travel along the exit route.

Calvin wasn’t quite used to doing things proactively like this. He was more brawn than brains compared to the intellectual Sarah. While his daughter made plans and battle strategies, he liked to head into the battlefield with a clear and calm mind as he improvised according to the situation. But this time he had decided on a proactive approach to arrest initiative for the advancement of his family.

But what Calvin hadn’t expected was that he wasn’t alone in thinking of such a plan. There was another group of carriages heading towards the same city exit as him and the person leading them on horseback was none other than his old friend George.

Alongside him was his almost married daughter Christina. She was sweating and gritting her teeth from time to time as she winced in pain. It was obvious that she had taken a part in battle just like his daughter Sarah. And from the situation, Calvin could deduce that the girl was probably seriously wounded. There were bandages visible on her abdomen as her blood soaked a greater portion of them. There were several other minor cuts and bruises along the length of her arms and her face but nothing that made her look ugly. The bruises made her look more valiant and courageous. They were medals of honor that she displayed proudly. Rather than the marks of her defeat, they were the evidence that she had stood her ground against an opponent that was far stronger than her in order to help her husband to be.