Chapter 349: Devastation

West paused briefly before smirking. "And once people start asking questions..."

"...they’ll keep digging until they find the answer."

"Right now..." West added. "...only you and your family know what happened."

"But if this battle keeps escalating..."

"...you risk turning a private humiliation into tomorrow’s biggest headline."

The words struck hard causing Renzhi to freeze.

His rage still burnt hotter than ever but another emotion surfaced beside it... dread.

West tilted his head playfully. "I’m guessing that’s not something you want."

Renzhi’s clenched his fists hard. His urge to tear West apart and erase him from existence still lingered but another rational part of him understood exactly what West was saying.

If reporters arrived and cameras began recording... when investigators started asking why two high ranked awakened were destroying half a district, the truth might not stay buried.

And if it surfaced... the shame would spread far beyond his household...

Everyone would know.

His breathing gradually slowed and after several long moments, he finally spoke. "I could still kill you."

He voiced with a low tone. "I could kill you right now..."

"...and tell whatever story I wanted afterward."

West smiled faintly. "Oh?"

"How’s that working out for you so far?"

The simple question forced Renzhi to stop.

His eyes slowly traveled across the battlefield before shifting back to West.

Only now did he truly see that his own body was battered with blood stains on his clothes.

One wing hung slightly lower than the other and several of the crimson eyes across his arms had dimmed.

He didn’t notice all these earlier because the rage had completely taken over during the battle.

Meanwhile West only had bruises, a few cuts and torn jacket.

He still stood comfortably, breathing evenly and talking as though the fight were merely an inconvenience.

A terrifying realization settled into Renzhi’s heart... West hadn’t looked cornered even once.

He didn’t even seem as though he was fighting seriously the whole time.

If this was West holding back... then what would happen if he stopped holding back?

For the first time today, uncertainty entered Renzhi’s mind.

West slowly relaxed his stance. "I’m leaving."

Renzhi’s fists trembled as he looked directly at West with hatred.

"Mark my words."

"I promise..."

"...I’ll find a way to end you."

West inclined his head in a small, almost polite bow. "You’re welcome to try."

A faint smile appeared on his face. "See where trying to mess with me has already led you."

His figure shimmered before vanishing completely from view.

Silence reclaimed the ruined street and Renzhi stood alone as wind carried dust through the broken neighborhood.

He slowly looked around, seeing collapsed homes, splintered trees, smoking craters and destruction all around.

The devastation reflected the turmoil inside him.

The rage that had sustained him finally gave way beneath the crushing weight of everything that had happened.

His wife... his daughter... his pride... all three were fucked.

And his failure to defeat West, just made him feel even worse.

His knees buckled as he sank heavily into the shattered ground.

The silence of the ruined neighborhood became the only witness as the once-unshakable grand captain of Dragon Fang sat amid the wreckage, overwhelmed by grief, humiliation, and the realization that nothing in his life would ever be the same again.

...

By the time the first emergency sirens reached the devastated district, the battle was already over.

Police drones hovered cautiously above the smoking landscape, projecting holographic warning barriers to keep civilians away from the danger zone.

News vans screeched to a halt one after another.

Reporters rushed out with microphones in hand as their cameramen struggled to capture the unbelievable destruction surrounding them.

A residential neighborhood had effectively become a battlefield.

Tall trees lay uprooted across the streets, several houses had partially collapsed and deep craters scarred the roads as if artillery shells had rained from the sky.

One reporter stood before a camera, trying to remain composed despite the chaos behind her.

"We’ve just arrived at the scene of what authorities believe was an altercation between two powerful awakened. At this time, neither participant has been identified officially, though eyewitnesses describe massive explosions, beams of crimson light, and shockwaves that could be felt several streets away."

Another reporter crouched beside one of the craters.

"The sheer scale of this damage is difficult to comprehend. Rescue personnel are currently searching nearby buildings to ensure no civilians were trapped during the incident."

Unfortunately for every journalist present... the two people they desperately wanted to interview were nowhere to be found.

West had disappeared and Renzhi had already left.

Only destruction remained behind.

---

Several kilometers away, the once-pristine mansion had been left in ruins.

The entire upper section where the confrontation had begun was open to the evening sky.

Broken walls exposed bedrooms to the outside world, furniture lay overturned and fragments of shattered glass glittered across the floor.

Silence filled the house, until Renzhi suddenly grabbed Lianhua by the neck and slammed her against what remained of a cracked support wall.

His eyes were bloodshot as he breathed heavily while his expression was a mixture of agony, disbelief, and rage.

"How..." his voice cracked. "...could you?"

He tightened his grip but not enough to injure her. "How could you do this?"

Lianhua lips trembled as she stared back at him. She wanted to explain but she couldn’t find the words.

Nothing seemed sufficient because every explanation sounded hollow in her own mind.

Tears streamed down her face. "I’m..." she couldn’t even finish the sentence.

Nearby, Mei couldn’t bear watching any longer. "Dad!"

She rushed forward. "Please!"

"Listen to Mom!"

Without thinking... Renzhi instinctively shoved her away.

It wasn’t a full-powered strike or an attack but the difference in strength between an enraged Tier Two awakened and Mei was enormous.

She flew backward and crashed into a broken cabinet before falling onto the floor.

"Ah..."

The sound immediately snapped Renzhi back to reality.

His eyes widene as he turned around. "...Mei."

The rage vanished from his face in an instant as he released Lianhua immediately.

She slid weakly down the wall before dropping to her knees.

Renzhi hurried toward his daughter instead. "Mei!"

He crouched beside her. "You..."

"...are you hurt?"

Mei rubbed her shoulder where she’d struck the cabinet. "I..."

"I’m okay..."

Seeing the redness forming on her arm... something inside Renzhi finally broke.

He sat down heavily amid the wreckage as his shoulders began trembling.

He started to cry, breaking down completely.

The pride of the grand captain was nowhere to be found at this moment.

Years of composure, authority and carrying the image of Dragon Fang’s unshakable grand captain... collapsed.

Lianhua covered her mouth.

Seeing him cry hurt more than anything else that had happened today.

She crawled toward him on her knees. "...I’m sorry..."

Her voice was lowered to nearly the point of a whisper. "I’m so..."

"...so sorry..."

She reached for his legs, gently wrapping her arms around them. "I..."

"I got fooled..."

"I believed..."

"I believed someone I never should have trusted."

Her tears soaked into his torn trousers. "I never wanted..."

"...for any of this to happen."

Renzhi looked down at her with an expression of unbearable pain.

He wanted to hate her... to hurt her... but every time he looked at her, he still saw the woman he had loved for years.

The woman who had stood beside him through hardship... themother of his children.

His heart refused to transform love into hatred but it hurt more than he had ever imagined possible.

He started to regret ever messing with West in the first place.

"I..." he swallowed hard. "I can’t..."

His voice shook violently. "I can’t stay here."

Everything here reminded him of what had happened.

He slowly stood and neither Lianhua nor Mei tried to stop him.

With a powerful leap...

BOOM!

He shot upward through the damaged roof, disappearing into the darkening evening sky.

Lianhua collapsed completely onto the floor and Mei moved beside her.

The two embraced each other tightly, crying not knowing what tomorrow would bring.

•••

•••

Elsewhere across the city, West quietly closed the door to his apartment.

The battle already felt strangely distant.

He removed his torn jacket before walking toward a small refrigerator behind the dinning.

From within, he retrieved a plastic bottle which had a thick crimson liquid within.

West opened it up and without hesitation... took several slow drinks.

Warmth immediately spread throughout his entire body.

Every aching muscle relaxed while the bruises scattered across his arms faded before his eyes.

As the cuts sealed, the soreness from dozens of direct impacts disappeared completely.

Within less than a minute... it was as though the battle had never happened.

West rolled both arms and nodded thoughtfully after all the discomfort vanished. "Hmm..."

He looked down at himself. "Testing the durability of my body by taking most of Renzhi’s attacks without fighting at full capacity..."

He rolled one shoulder experimentally. "...I’d say it’s pretty much impossible for an ordinary Tier One to damage me now."