Deadlock The Promise We Made

In front of St. Karen's Cathedral, Whitechapel District.

William gazed at Ophelia's stunned expression, a triumphant smile curling at the corners of his lips as he casually waved his hand.

"Open fire!"

In an instant, a barrage of gunfire rained down upon the supernaturals in the street, the deafening roar of cannons shaking the air.

Luo Wei activated his [Sigil Shield], enveloping himself and Ophelia as bullets pelted the magical barrier like a relentless downpour.

Though the shield held against the bullets, it couldn't withstand the overwhelming artillery fire. The ground trembled violently beneath them, and even Luo Wei's high-tier 6th-circle defensive magic strained under the assault.

If this bombardment continued, he and Ophelia would be reduced to nothing but ashes on the street. With that grim thought, he reached for his last mission reward—the precious teleportation runestone.

If things took a turn for the worse, he would grab Ophelia and flee immediately. No matter what, retreating to the old mansion was the safest option.

As Luo Wei dodged the explosions, his eyes scanned the chaotic battlefield.

Under such overwhelming firepower, many of the supernaturals had already fallen. The remaining elite forces, led by Sir Fred, were desperately charging forward.

"I'll kill you!" Fred roared, gripping his massive black greatsword as he lunged toward the heavily guarded second prince.

Despite his injuries, his momentum was terrifying. The moment he breached enemy lines, soldiers fell like wheat before a scythe, their ranks thrown into disarray.

"Quick! Protect His Highness!" The prince's guards rushed forward, but their efforts were futile.

Fred had fully entered a berserk state. Towering over two meters tall, he swung his greatsword with devastating force, slicing through armor as if it were paper. Guards were cleaved in half at the waist, their bodies collapsing in gruesome heaps.

As Fred closed in, William—who had been feigning composure—finally panicked, stumbling backward.

"Master Hawkins! Save me!"

The royal court's chief mage, Hawkins, finally intervened. A cold smirk played on his lips as he unleashed a surge of immense magical energy, shielding the second prince.

"Hmph, you black-furred beast. Today, you die too!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Luo Wei urgently contacted the witch outside through his enchanted ring.

"I'm conducting aerial reconnaissance now... I see a massive army, their vehicles stretched in a long line across the vassal states. They're moving fast—soon, they'll occupy the border cities!"

"Wait! Elder Margery just informed me—multiple border cities are reporting sudden disturbances!"

"Even the southern region near Brugg is mobilizing! The seas are filled with ironclad warships! The Imperial Navy has blockaded Flensa's harbor cities, using their cannons to intimidate neighboring nations!"

"I see..." Luo Wei's expression darkened. No wonder the chaos level had skyrocketed even more than before—a full-scale war had erupted without warning.

"Is this the chain reaction from destroying Weston Holy City?" Tilis sounded increasingly shocked. "How did the emperor find out so quickly? And he's acting with terrifying decisiveness... Mobilizing this many troops would normally take a month. He must have been planning this war for a long time..."

"You're right." Luo Wei glanced at Eleya, still hovering motionless in the air. "We fought her to a standstill, only for Carlton to swoop in and claim the spoils. That old schemer has been plotting this for ages."

"So what do we do now?" Tilis pressed.

"Honestly... I don't know." Luo Wei let out a bitter laugh. This scenario was impossibly difficult.

Whether it was Eleya, weaving intricate schemes for her ascension, or the old emperor, biding his time for decades before revealing his ambitions—this mission's complexity was downright absurd.

[Chaos Level: 40↑]

With the Wegnar army's large-scale military operations, the chaos level had surged to 40. According to mission requirements, if it reached 45, Luo Wei would be forced to restart.

Through the ring, Tilis seemed to sense his despair. "There has to be a way! Like always, you'll figure something out!"

"There's no time left." Luo Wei sighed.

[Chaos Level: 41↑]

Once war began, everything spiraled toward uncontrollable ruin. It was over.

Tilis had never seen him so defeated. "Snap out of it, Luo Wei! How can there be no time? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing..." Luo Wei shook his head.

"Wait for me!" Her voice was laced with concern. "I'm coming back to you right now! We'll face this together!"

"Alright."

Though she might not fully grasp what he meant by "no time left," Luo Wei still responded.

"Just stay... where you are... and wait... I'll... be there... soon..."

Suddenly, Tilis's voice through the ring became fragmented, cutting in and out.

"Tilis?" Luo Wei frowned.

"What's happening on your end?"

Her voice grew fainter, as if the signal were being jammed.

"Huh... why... can't I... locate you?"

"Luo Wei... can you... hear me?"

He tried to reply, but the ring's faint glow flickered—then the magical connection severed entirely.

"Tilis? Tilis!"

Luo Wei's mind raced. This ring was a magical artifact crafted by the witch herself—it couldn't have malfunctioned so easily. Had someone deliberately blocked the communication?

He attempted to contact Helena, who was guarding the old mansion, but the connection remained dead.

The interference had to be originating from his side. But that was terrifying—from Whitechapel to Riverside Road, nearly half of St. Karen was affected. Who could possibly block magical communication across such a vast area?

This scale dwarfed even the secluded island of the Arcane Hermitage. St. Karen wasn't just a city—it was a sprawling metropolis.

A furious roar snapped him out of his thoughts.

Luo Wei turned toward Sir Fred—and in that moment, he understood.

Fred's body was undergoing a bizarre transformation. His towering, two-meter frame shrank rapidly, his black fur withering away. Even his elongated beast-like face reverted to human features.

It was as if his corruption had been suppressed, much like Luo Wei's potions had done before. By the end, Fred could barely lift his greatsword, his movements sluggish. His supernatural strength was fading fast.

Fred, even in his berserk form, had been able to hold his own against Hawkins. But now, stripped of his formidable physique, he couldn’t even withstand ordinary bullets of medium caliber. Under the relentless barrage of the city defense forces, Fred’s body was instantly riddled with wounds, his flesh torn and bloodied. Clutching his chest in agony, his eyes widened with disbelief.

"How... how is this possible...?"

"Just... bullets?"

The next moment, a bullet whizzed through the air, piercing his skull. The sheer force of the impact sent Fred sprawling backward, collapsing into a pool of his own blood.

Just like that, one of the empire’s three mightiest superhumans had been effortlessly gunned down.

Luo Wei stared at Fred’s bullet-riddled corpse, then at his own rapidly fading magic shield, and a sudden realization dawned on him.

His magic was failing—fast.

Instinctively, he raised a hand, attempting to summon the Blood Magic technique, [Crimson Blade]. But his palm remained lifeless, devoid of even a flicker of energy.

Next, he clenched the teleportation runestone in his grip, only to find that the expected activation sequence never appeared.

Finally, in desperation, he tried casting the simplest of spells—a first-tier [Magic Missile]—yet nothing happened. It was as if the very world had been drained of mana...

So that was it.

All supernatural powers... had vanished.

This must be the trump card he had suspected Charlton II possessed. No wonder the emperor had never feared superhumans causing trouble in St. Carol. This was his true safeguard...

Who would’ve thought the old bastard had something like this up his sleeve?

Now what?

Luo Wei felt a wave of frustration, like hitting an unwinnable dead end in a game. Next time... would be his last life.

---

Meanwhile, William gazed at Fred’s lifeless body in the distance, murmuring in astonishment,

"So this is why Father told me I needn’t fear any superhuman... why he said I could act without restraint..."

Though it was Fred who had died, Hawkins’ expression was strangely conflicted. His voice darkened as he muttered, "Indeed. This is His Majesty’s [Anti-Magic Field]. While he remains in seclusion, you can purge all unstable elements. St. Carol has far too many filthy rats. The Emperor needs a stable foundation."

William was practically trembling with excitement. His mission today was simple—eliminate all opposition. And as for who exactly counted as "opposition"...

That was entirely up to him.

Almost immediately, his gaze slid past Fred’s corpse and locked onto Ophelia.

In a cold, commanding tone, he announced, "The Special Affairs Department has been wiped out. Now, only the primary instigator of treason remains—the Fifth Princess, Ophelia! City Defense Forces, heed my order—"

---

"Luo Wei..." Ophelia instinctively tightened her grip on his hand. "My powers... they’re gone. I can’t manipulate the terrain anymore..."

The two of them had been dodging the city defense forces’ gunfire, with Luo Wei maintaining a magic shield while Ophelia erected earthen walls and barriers in perfect sync. But the moment Luo Wei’s shield dissipated, her abilities vanished as well, leaving her visibly shaken.

Without their supernatural powers, they were no different from ordinary people. Facing the cold, unfeeling barrels of countless guns, they’d likely end up like Fred—riddled with bullets in the next second.

"Seems we’re going to die a rather spectacular death here," Luo Wei muttered, scanning their surroundings. Every soldier had their weapons trained on them.

"Mhm." Ophelia gave a small nod. Strangely, the thought of dying beside the one she loved didn’t fill her with as much fear as she’d expected.

[Chaos Level: 43↑]

[Chaos Level: 44↑]

At this point, Luo Wei almost hoped the chaos level would keep rising.

Being gunned down together with Ophelia sounded far too tragic. He’d rather the system force a reload...

He turned to her suddenly and asked, "Do you remember what I promised you that day in the palace gardens, when Carlton summoned us?"

Ophelia’s light-colored eyes sparkled with amusement. "Of course. I asked you—if one day, he decided to kill me, would you fight tooth and nail to get me out of here? And then you said..."

Luo Wei grinned. "I’d storm the palace with you and seize the damn throne!"

"But now..." Ophelia’s gaze flickered toward the surrounding soldiers. "We’re about to die. Looks like you won’t be keeping that promise, huh?"

"Who says?" Luo Wei met her eyes with unwavering intensity. "Next time. For sure."

Ophelia burst into laughter. "What next time? There won’t be one!"

Oh, there would be. Luo Wei silently glanced at the system panel.

[Chaos Level: 45↑]

A promise was a promise.

No matter how hopeless things seemed, he forced himself to rally.

[Game Over]

[Unable to continue. Forcing reload...]