Building A Business Empire From Scratch In Another World-Chapter 216: The Scorched Canyon

The wind roared through the canyons, sounding like a creature in pain.

Dark clouds loomed over the cliffs, twisting under the weight of chaotic magical energy. Thunder rumbled without a flash of lightning, and the very air quivered.

The main stronghold of the Black Thorn,a vast fortress hewn deep into the canyon walls,glowed with a sinister red light from numerous mana cannons and protective runes.

And above it all, on a sharp cliff that overlooked the valley, stood Felix.

His white coat fluttered wildly in the fierce wind, his demeanor was calm, but his gaze was icy, radiating an overwhelming aura.

Behind him stood a group of Abyss Hall operatives, their faces obscured by dark masks.

They kept their distance, as the air around Felix rippled like boiling glass, thick with pressure. The ground cracked beneath him, strained by the sheer intensity of the mana that flowed from him.

He remained silent for a long time.

Then, as if releasing a storm, Felix exhaled.

The world seemed to scream.

The sky darkened in an instant, the clouds swirling in reverse. Trees bent until their trunks splintered, and rocks lifted as if gravity itself had wavered. Dust and debris swirled towards him, drawn in by the immense force of his unleashed energy.

Mana whipped around him, creating a halo of golden and crimson light.

Every Abyss Hall operative instinctively knelt, unable to meet his gaze.

Felix's voice, when it came, was soft. Too soft.

"Erase them."

With a snap of his fingers, chaos erupted.

---

High above, intricate golden and crimson magical circles blossomed across the sky, hundreds of them, intricately layered and each larger than a castle. Their runes spun in perfect harmony, pulsing with mana that made the very air tremble.

Then came the fire.

Meteor-like boulders of molten mana screamed through the atmosphere, trailing flames that cut through the night.

They descended like divine judgment, crashing into the canyon with cataclysmic force.

The ground split open. Towers crumbled into flames. Shockwaves rolled for miles, reducing boulders to powder.

Black Thorn soldiers screamed, desperately seeking shelter as the fortress blazed around them.

The first onslaught lasted less than ten seconds, but the destruction was devastating.

When the smoke dissipated, half of the stronghold lay in ruins, turned to molten rock.

Yet from the remaining portion, countless mana cannons swung upward, glowing ferociously.

"Fire!" a commander shouted below.

Hundreds of deadly beams shot toward the cliffs.

Felix casually raised his hand.

"Radiant Aegis."

Golden runes sprang into being ahead of him, forming a massive barrier spanning the sky. The beams collided with it in thunderous crashes, scattering light like fireworks. The canyon exploded with chaos but nothing penetrated the shield.

Once the barrage ceased, Felix lowered his hand, watching as the barrier faded into shimmering gold particles.

"Now," he said quietly.

He stepped off the cliff.

---

He hurtled down like a meteor, enveloped in golden flames. The air howled as he plummeted. When he struck the fortress courtyard, the impact sent soldiers flying in all directions.

Dust swirled around him. His boots crushed the molten stone beneath.

Nearby soldiers yelled and charged, their weapons alight with dark mana. Felix didn't even draw his sword at first—he simply moved.

Every strike they aimed his way missed. Every step he took shattered bones. He moved faster than lightning, a blur of lethal precision.

One moment he was in front of a soldier, and the next, the man's body was collapsing in silence.

At last, Felix reached for his weapon: a long, radiant blade, pure white with golden veins running along its edge.

He took a breath. The blade hummed as it absorbed the ambient mana.

"Solar Dominion."

Light exploded forth.

A surge of brilliant energy erupted from his position, enveloping everything in its path. Armor dissolved, and shadows disappeared. The canyon radiated with light as though a new sun had ignited at its heart.

When the glow finally diminished, the courtyard had vanished, leaving behind only a scorched pit of glass and ash.

Yet Felix remained, unharmed, his coat billowing in the fierce wind.

From the inner gates, more foes flooded out , they came in droves, knights and mages alike, their armor adorned with the Black Thorn crest.

He lifted his sword once more, his eyes flashing with contained fury.

"Come."

And they did.

Mana surged in a riot of colors. The battlefield descended into chaos — arcs of lightning, waves of fire, and the sound of steel clashing filled the air. Felix navigated through the pandemonium like the calm eye of a storm, slicing through enemy ranks as if time had slowed just for him.

Each swing of his sword was decisive. Every movement was fluid and exact.

He spun around, effortlessly taking down three men in one sweeping motion, then raised his other hand.

"Infernal Nova."

Golden flames erupted outward in a spherical blast, tinting the sky a fiery red. The shockwave roared across the field, obliterating stone towers and uprooting trees.

The noise alone shattered windows miles away.

Felix bore the force of the blast. Blood dripped from his lip, and his coat tore at the shoulder, but he hardly registered the pain.

One of the Abyss Hall operatives raced forward to help. Without glancing back, Felix raised a hand. "Stay."

The operative halted in his tracks.

"This is between me and him."

From the heart of the fortress, the earth cracked open. Runes glowed a fierce red. A towering figure emerged, clad in dark armor inscribed with demonic symbols.

An immense aura surrounded him, with his mana swirling in violent cyclones.

A Tier 8 Mythic Knight.

The Black Thorn Commander.

His voice was deep and cutting like metal. "Felix Morningstar… I anticipated a man. Instead, I see a god."

Felix narrowed his gaze. "Neither of those labels fit me."

With a furious roar, the commander swung his colossal greatsword. The strike sliced through the air, creating a shockwave that shattered the remnants of the courtyard.

Felix met the blow with his sword.

The collision darkened the sky.

A wave of raw force radiated outwards, toppling walls and sending debris flying for hundreds of meters.

Both fighters staggered back, Felix's feet gouging deep ruts into the molten ground beneath him.

Then they vanished.

They reappeared midair, swords clashing, sparks illuminating the night.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

Each strike shattered the landscape. The canyon walls crumbled, massive chunks of stone plummeting into the valley below. Waves of flames and bolts of lightning danced across the battlefield.

The commander unleashed a flurry of sword strikes, each one infused with enough mana to raze a fortress.

Felix parried them all, though each impact sent vibrations through his arm, with blood trickling from his fingertips.

"Aether Rend!" the commander bellowed.

A slashing wave of mana sliced through the air, cleaving mountains apart.

Felix barely evaded it, the attack narrowly missing him, but the force sent him tumbling through fire and wreckage.

He hit the ground, rolling through molten rock, his sleeve igniting and his skin bleeding.

For a brief moment, he felt disoriented.

But then he rose to his feet.

The commander landed heavily, laughing. "You bleed! So even the mighty Felix Morningstar can be wounded!"

Felix spat blood, a faint smile forming on his lips. "You confuse injury with defeat."

The commander charged again, blade raised high, each strike fueled by pure rage.

Felix's eyes glowed golden. "Enough."

He thrust his sword forward, luminous circles appeared behind him, spinning rapidly, their speed making the very air howl.

"Ecliptic Judgment."

Time froze.

Above them, the sky blazed white. All clouds vanished, replaced by a massive symbol of light, a sun-shaped array spanning the heavens.

The commander glanced upwards, his expression draining of color. "What..."

Felix swung down his sword.

The sun descended.

The explosion consumed everything in its path.

For miles around, the ground split open. The canyon disintegrated under the immense force.

Rivers of molten rock surged from the earth, leaving fresh scars on the landscape. The shockwave flattened mountains and sent flames sweeping across the horizon.

The fortress, the soldiers, the cannons, all obliterated. Reduced to dust and light.

All that was left was the lingering echo of the blast, a deep, unending rumble that made the sky quiver.

When the brilliance faded, the canyon was completely transformed.

Streams of lava cascaded through jagged craters. The air shimmered with heat, saturated with the scent of ash and melted metal, filling the stillness.

At the center stood Felix.

His coat was torn, blood smeared across his cheek, his hand gripped the sword embedded in the ground. The blade glowed faintly, still emitting the remnants of divine fire.

He took a slow breath.

"End the roots…" he murmured, gazing over the sea of flames. "And the thorns will wither."

Behind him, his Abyss Hall companions emerged, awestruck by the destruction.

Felix didn't turn to face them.

He sheathed his sword and walked away, the molten wind tugging at his coat. His shadow stretched long against the glowing landscape.

The Black Thorn had been wiped out.