Chapter 374: Hidden Quest

The first Aetherium Cannon Ball detonated.

BOOM!

A violent wave of energy erupted from the center of the distribution junction, instantly tearing through the surrounding machinery. The enormous wires and pipelines began shaking violently as cracks spread across their surfaces, and soon, streams of unstable energy burst from several damaged sections.

Kai felt a little nervous since he was still basically within the Floating Citadel.

"That was only one..."

Before he could say anything else, the second Aetherium Cannon Ball exploded.

BOOM!

Then the third...

BOOM!

The fourth followed almost immediately.

BOOM!

The entire chamber began to collapse as the explosions overlapped with one another. Massive pieces of machinery were torn from their mounts and thrown across the room, while the energy distribution system began releasing a terrifying amount of power.

Kai quickly turned around.

"Chamber, how long?"

[ The primary energy network is entering a critical state. Complete system failure is imminent. ]

"That’s not what I meant!"

[ Estimated time until catastrophic failure: twenty-seven seconds. ]

Kai’s eyes widened.

"Twenty-seven seconds?!"

He immediately activated Titan Step.

His body surged forward as he rushed toward the corridor.

Behind him, the remaining Aetherium Cannon Balls continued detonating one after another.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The explosions were no longer limited to the distribution chamber.

The destructive energy was spreading through the Citadel’s internal systems, causing entire sections of the fortress to lose power.

Lights started weakening before shutting down completely... Just like that, doors opened and closed without control, and several machines suddenly stopped moving as their energy supplies were interrupted.

Emergency alarms activated throughout the fortress.

At the same time, the twelve Ascendant Units finally entered the destroyed chamber.

They stopped almost simultaneously.

Their mechanical bodies were surrounded by the flashing red emergency lights as they looked toward the rapidly collapsing energy distribution system.

Then another explosion erupted.

BOOM!

The entire chamber shook.

The Ascendant Units immediately moved forward.

However, there was no longer anyone there.

Kai had already disappeared into the corridor.

"Chamber, give me the fastest route out."

[ Calculating. ]

Kai didn’t wait for the answer.

He activated Neural Acceleration.

His perception instantly heightened as the chaotic environment around him became much easier to understand. Even though the Citadel was shaking violently, Kai could still identify the safest paths through the collapsing corridors.

Several sections ahead were already beginning to collapse.

Kai immediately changed direction and saw a massive metal beam crashed down in front of him.

He activated Shadow Dash.

His body disappeared and reappeared on the other side before he continued running.

Another section of the corridor collapsed.

Kai activated Titan Step and surged forward, narrowly passing beneath the falling debris.

Behind him, the Ascendant Units continued pursuing.

They were much faster than Kai had expected.

One of them suddenly accelerated through the corridor, its enormous body tearing through the damaged structures as if they weren’t there.

Kai glanced backward.

"These things are persistent!"

[ The Ascendant Units are maintaining pursuit. ]

"Yeah, I noticed!"

Kai gritted his teeth and accelerated again.

Then Chamber finally responded.

[ An emergency launch route has been identified. ]

Kai’s eyes lit up.

"Where?"

[ Approximately one hundred and eighty meters ahead. The route leads to an external maintenance hatch located on the western side of the Citadel. ]

Kai immediately understood what Chamber was implying.

"Perfect."

He changed direction. The western side of the Citadel was facing away from the densest sections of Cameron City.

If the fortress exploded there, the majority of the debris would fall outside the city.

Kai continued rushing through the corridors while the entire Citadel began shaking more violently.

The energy destabilization was reaching a critical point.

BOOM!

Another explosion erupted somewhere above him.

The ceiling cracked and Kai didn’t slow down.

He activated Shadow Dash and just like that, his body disappeared and reappeared farther ahead, allowing him to bypass another collapsing section.

Then he saw it... A large mechanical hatch was positioned at the end of the corridor.

"That’s my exit."

He rushed toward it as the hatch suddenly began closing.

"Chamber!"

[ The emergency system is attempting to seal the hatch. ]

"Can you stop it?"

[ Negative. ]

Kai cursed as he realized that the hatch was already halfway closed.

He immediately activated Titan Step.

His body exploded forward with tremendous force.

BOOM!

Kai slammed into the narrowing opening and forced himself through just before the massive metal door completely sealed.

Thud!

The moment he emerged, the enormous Citadel appeared above him.

Kai stared upward and confirmed that the fortress that had looked so imposing only moments ago was now covered in cracks of unstable energy.

Sections of its outer armor were beginning to break apart, while several explosions erupted across its surface.

The Citadel was dying.

Kai immediately summoned the Dragoon from his inventory.

The moment the jet-ski-like vessel appeared beneath him, Kai jumped onto it and activated its propulsion system.

"Let’s get out of here!"

The Dragoon shot forward and Kai didn’t fly directly toward Cameron City.

Instead, he immediately turned toward the western outskirts, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the massive fortress.

Behind him, the Citadel began losing altitude.

Its enormous engines started dying as unstable energy spread through its internal systems.

"Come on... Don’t explode until I’m far enough away."

Chamber remained silent for several seconds.

Then a notification appeared.

[ Critical energy failure detected. ]

Kai’s expression changed.

"How long?"

[ Three seconds. ]

"Three?!"

Kai immediately activated Shadow Dash.

The Dragoon vanished with him and a moment later, it reappeared hundreds of meters away.

Kai barely had time to stabilize the vessel before the Citadel exploded.

BOOOOOOM!

A gigantic sphere of energy erupted across the sky.

The explosion was so powerful that it illuminated the entire battlefield, temporarily turning the night sky bright enough to resemble daylight!

The Citadel’s outer armor was blown apart as massive pieces of metal were thrown in every direction. Several of its enormous structures broke away from the main body before being consumed by the expanding explosion.

The shockwave spread outward.

Kai immediately lowered the Dragoon and braced himself.

The force of the explosion reached him moments later.

BOOM!

The Dragoon shook violently.

Kai held on, and thankfully, he managed to keep control.

Despite the enormous destruction unfolding behind him, he couldn’t help but laugh.

"Hahaha! It actually worked!"

The Citadel was no longer a fortress.

It was a burning wreckage falling from the sky.

Kai was still laughing when a series of system notifications suddenly appeared in front of him.

[ Ding! ]

[ You have successfully destroyed a Floating Citadel. ]

[ You have fulfilled the hidden conditions of the Hidden Quest: Citadel Breaker. ]