Kael's movements made both the black-armored man and Lucian raise their brows. Having witnessed the Arcane Crystal Cannon's devastating power once, they reacted instantly—blinking away to a distance of several dozen meters the moment Kael made his move.
Cain was no exception. Though arrogant, he wasn't foolish enough to underestimate the mysterious cannon in Kael's hands. Even as he chanted his spell, he began weaving through the battlefield, attempting to evade its lethal blast.
"Useless." Kael smirked and shook his head. The cannon had a critical feature: single-target homing. No matter how Cain dodged, the projectile would relentlessly pursue him.
Of course, if Cain could escape the cannon's attack range entirely, that would be another matter.
But within the confines of the Water Dragon Vault, nowhere was beyond its reach.
The cannon trembled slightly before unleashing another crimson flame, streaking toward Cain like a bolt of death.
Cain's face twisted in horror. Despite moving at his fastest speed, the eerie weapon locked onto him without fail.
That overwhelming pressure surged again, freezing his blood.
"Stormwater Divine Dragon!" Desperate, Cain unleashed his prepped composite magic. The spell roared forth—
Yet the cannon's flame pierced through it like a bullet, leaving a trail of gaping holes in the magic's structure!
Then came Cain's bloodcurdling scream.
When the smoke cleared, Cain lay motionless on the ground, his body charred black as coal, faint wisps of smoke rising from his remains.
"Holy shit… he's dead?!" Arjun's voice trembled, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at Kael.
Indeed—Cain had been obliterated!
Cain lay limp on the ground, his body charred black, wisps of smoke still curling from his lifeless form. He was dead—utterly, irrevocably dead.
With this, the Arcane Crystal Cannon's terrifying power had been proven beyond doubt. It was a weapon of unfathomable lethality!
Of course, Kael had paid a steep price for this victory. His heart ached at the loss—nearly twenty monster cores, most of them eighth-tier, had been consumed.
In other words, just two shots had cost him tens or even hundreds of thousands of gold coins. The thought alone made his stomach twist.
Yet the cannon's performance left him satisfied. Despite its exorbitant cost, its firepower rivaled a full-force strike from a ninth-tier expert—though this was largely due to Kael loading it with seventh-tier and higher cores.
The black-armored man and Lucian exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting identical dread. To them, Cain had been a legitimate powerhouse—a ninth-tier mage ranked fifty-sixth on the Continent's Wind and Cloud List. Yet Kael had obliterated him in a single blast.
Worse, Cain had died without even understanding what had killed him. The injustice of it was almost poetic.
Lucian's hair stood on end. The boy he'd dismissed as insignificant had suddenly become an enigma—and a deadly one at that. That cursed cannon in his hands was incomprehensible, yet Kael wielded it with terrifying precision.
"Brother Idris, that was brilliant!" Arjun cheered, exhaling in relief beside Kael. Had Kael not acted decisively, they'd have been hounded like stray dogs—or worse, slaughtered by Cain.
The black-armored man remained silent, though his eyes flickered with calculation.
As things stood, Kael now possessed both the Arcane Crystal Cannon and the Darkmoon Divine Armor—one for offense, the other for defense. Combined, they elevated him to a threat on par with ninth-tier experts!
Thus, the balance of power had shifted back to a three-way standoff, just as it had been with Cain—except now, Kael had taken Cain's place.
"Brother, we're all here for the treasures of the Water Dragon Vault. Why not each take what we need?" Lucian spoke calmly, having weighed the situation. After a moment of contemplation, he offered Kael a faint smile. The Water Dragon Secret Realm was teeming with experts, and this was a time for gathering treasures—fighting now would only benefit others.
"Brother Idris, since this cannon of ours is so powerful, why not just kill them all and take their loot? Let's finish off that black-armored bastard and Lucian while we're at it!" Arjun whispered, his voice dripping with mischief. His suggestion wasn't unfounded—both the black-armored man and Lucian were extraordinary, ninth-tier experts whose wealth would undoubtedly be staggering. Eliminating them now could mean a windfall.
Kael sighed inwardly. The thought of turning the cannon on Lucian and the black-armored man had crossed his mind. After all, they were formidable rivals, and in the Water Dragon Secret Realm, mercy toward others was cruelty to oneself.
But there were two problems: first, the cannon's exorbitant consumption of monster cores, and second, Kael wasn't confident he could eliminate both of them in one strike.
After witnessing Cain's fate, Lucian and the black-armored man were on high alert, making it nearly impossible for Kael to catch them off guard. A stalemate was the only outcome.
Faced with Lucian's proposal, Kael paused briefly before replying, "Agreed."
Lucian and the black-armored man exhaled subtly in relief. It wasn't fear that stayed their hands—simply pragmatism. If they crossed paths later in the secret realm, bloodshed might be inevitable.
Had Kael shown even a hint of weakness, Lucian and the black-armored man would have struck without hesitation. But the unpredictable might of the Arcane Crystal Cannon left them wary, forcing them to abandon the idea—for now.
Kael understood this perfectly. Their restraint wasn't out of goodwill. It was pure fear of the cannon in his hands.
The three of them remained wary of each other as they began ransacking the treasures of the Water Dragon Vault. When it came to looting, Kael was an absolute professional. While Lucian and the others had been busy fighting over a single magic crystal staff, Kael had already secured two legendary artifacts—one of which even allowed him to rival ninth-tier experts!
"Idris, which items here are the real prizes?" Arjun, recognizing Kael's expertise, cut straight to the point.
"No time to identify them now—just shove everything into your spatial rings!" Kael replied coolly. Time was of the essence. The cultivators outside had already breached the vault's outer chambers, and though they were still squabbling over lesser treasures, they would eventually push inward. Every second counted.
Lucian and the black-armored man finally caught on, their faces twisting in frustration before they, too, began frantically looting.
"Holy shit, Idris! How do you have so many spatial rings?!" Arjun's eyes nearly popped out of his skull as he watched Kael pull out over a dozen spatial rings, swiftly stuffing every nearby treasure into them.
Arjun was dumbstruck—and deeply impressed.
"Brother Idris, you're a goddamn legend! I thought I was the master of highway robbery, but you're on another level! No way I'm falling behind!" A sense of urgency surged through Arjun as he redoubled his efforts.
Unfortunately for him, Kael was far quicker—and his knowledge of artifacts was unmatched. Within minutes, several of Kael's rings were already full, brimming with spoils.
"Damn it, they're breaking in!" Just as the group was in the midst of their plunder, a swarm of cultivators flooded into the chamber, putting Kael and Arjun on high alert.
The newcomers were numerous, though most were either below eighth-tier or had only just reached it. Still, they represented the largest faction currently active in the Water Dragon Secret Realm.
"We've got enough. Time to go." Kael's voice was ice-cold. With so many people flooding in, chaos would erupt—and their haul already made them prime targets.
But the moment the words left his mouth, the Water Dragon Vault suddenly trembled violently…