The stipulated six hours had gone by!
Levi did not reach his destination, and the Erudian Banner was not erected at the highest point of Mount Drago.
Alas, Levi had not risen, and Erudia had lost!
It was a sorrowful day for Erudia; she had little hope of recovering from this devastating blow.
The whole of Erudia was eerily silent, and colors had been drained from their world.
“I hereby announce that Erudia had failed to accomplish her mission within the stipulated time, as such…”
Just then, the announcement was interrupted by a chorus of noisy chatter.
“Look!”
All eyes were fixed on the screen.
Just before the countdown reached zero, a red dot rose at the peak of Mount Drago.
A close-up revealed it to be the Erudian banner!
The playback showed a frail Levi dragging his feeble body along, struggling to stand up. The man slowly raised the bloodied banner and erected it at the peak!
The Erudian banner was flying high!
And Erudia had actually emerged victorious!
“We won!”
“Erudia won!”
“I’m so proud to be a Erudian!”
Instantly, Erudia erupted into a noisy celebration!
It was a historic day they would be proud of in years to come!
Despite the fact that they contributed nothing to the win, the Erudians were elated! Winning this battle meant Erudia was elevated to the status of a superpower, and no one in Bayview could dispute that.
Back in North Hampton, the Lopez family was in a joyous mood!
Other than their affiliation to Erudia, they were celebrating the achievement of the Crown King, whom they saw as their backer. The bigger his achievements, the brighter their prospects for the future.
Prince William and Kuro Dragon were crestfallen. They thought they had it all covered, yet they failed.
“This…”
“I cannot accept this!”
“We invested so much into this, yet we failed, and he won!” Kuro Dragon howled furiously.
Prince William’s ego was badly bruised too.
“No! I have never failed, let alone fail so miserably. I cannot accept this!” he roared.
“Useless! Trash! How could a million men not stop one man!”
A murderous look flashed across Kuro Dragon’s eyes, and he hollered, “I cannot swallow this insult! I will not let him live!”
“Me too!”
“I will accept that Erudia has won in name, won the respect of many, and positioned herself as a superpower, but I will not forgive Crown King! He shall not leave this place!”
Prince William threw all caution to the wind and ordered, “Convey my order. Bomb the place and raze Mount Drago to the ground! I do not want to see anything left alive on Mount Drago. Not a single life!”
His subordinate hesitated and meekly asked, “Prince, our men are still on Mount Drago. Should we order them to retreat first?’
“We don’t have time! Just bomb the place!” he barked.
Just as the Erudians were still harboring hopes that Levi could make a safe return to Erudia to join in their celebration, a shocking event happened.
Rumble, rumble, rumble…
Boom, boom, boom!
Mount Drago was carpet-bombed!
One round after another, the bombing went on relentlessly. It was obvious nothing could survive this incessant bombing.
Mount Drago was on fire and razed to the ground!
The fluttering Erudian banner was nowhere in sight, and even stones would have been pounded into tiny fragments, let alone fragile bodies of any humans or animals.
There was no chance Levi could have escaped from that darned fate, as they had heavily targeted the zone he was in.
