Within a millionth of a second of the fission occurring, before the explosion could ascend, light had already been produced!
A massive amount of high-energy rays generated from the impact surged in all directions, which then struck the sturdy reflective layer.
According to the law of ellipses, any ray emitted from one focus, upon reflecting off the elliptical surface, will converge upon the other focus.
And at the other focus was precisely the fusion fuel!
A more terrifying force emerged within the core of the nuclear blast, devouring the firelight created by the fission, to then burst forth with a strength ten times greater!
Minutes earlier, on the empire's border, Tessis led twenty thousand imperial soldiers who, under the cover of Divine Arts, quietly set out, detoured through a valley, and then cautiously and fearfully stepped into this deadly region.
"Hurry... keep up, we're approaching the Land of Death. Everyone, make sure your protective gear is on, and let's move through here at top speed!" Tessis commanded with a voice bolstered by Divine Arts in everyone's ear.
In fact, he didn't need to remind them, as the imperial soldiers already had their hearts in their throats.
Beneath their feet was cracked barren soil, surrounded by grossly disfigured views, as huge charred tree trunks lay over the blood-stained mud. It was imaginable that before destruction, this place was a dense forest, yet now it was leveled ground!
The closer they got, the more the imperial guards felt terrified. The interior of the Land of Death was empty, lacking even debris, as if entering a desert, but the ground beneath them shimmered with pieces of glass under the sunset glow, not sand.
Just minutes into their walk, signs of crumbling morale began to subtly appear within the troops.
Rumors about the Land of Death had spread throughout the empire during the past two months.
There were rumors that wizards had opened the gates to Hell right at the center of the Land of Death, and others believed the wizards had pulled stars down from the sky...
Tessis's heart was pounding, but he still forced himself to speak calmly.
"Do not fear, according to our scouts' reports, this is a Heavenly Disaster known as volcanic eruption, not any wizard's magic. The protection bestowed upon you can resist all evil, remember, God is with us!"
Tessis said assertively, his words not only meant to comfort the soldiers but also to bolster his own confidence and morale.
And just as Monroe had said, after entering the Land of Death, he felt no discomfort whatsoever nor saw any guards or patrolling aircraft...
Everything was going so smoothly. Once through here, they could bypass the wizards' defenses, break into the kingdom, conduct raids, and force the wizards to split their forces to come to the rescue, thus creating a favorable scenario for the empire to launch a major offensive.
Just as Tessis fantasized, a Divine Knight suddenly spoke from beside him.
"Lord Tessis, it looked like a meteor..."
Tessis looked up in surprise but saw nothing. The Divine Knight quickly added, "It moved too fast, it was just in my line of sight..."
Tessis did not question the other's words, but a trace of unease began to rise in his heart. This unease continued to grow, and the warhorse beneath him started to neigh restlessly.
In the distance, the afterglow of the setting sun slowly fell on the horizon, and suddenly, a much bigger Sun began to rise before them!
All present were terrified, staring at the incredible scene before them—the Sun was so immense and magnificent, beyond description with any words. Its intense light instantly filled their entire field of vision...
The Divine Arts originally bestowed upon them to protect their eyes were instantly torn apart.
An imperial guard's eyes were instantly blinded, but he no longer felt any pain, screaming in terror, "The Sun, the Sun has fallen down..."
Tessis felt a chill shoot straight from his feet to his heart.
"No... this isn't right, this isn't the Sun, this is the Wizards' destruction magic!"
"Retreat, run for it!"
Tessis cried out hoarsely, then without hesitation spurred his warhorse to wildly flee back the way he had come.
The neatly arranged twenty thousand legions of the Empire instantly descended into chaos. At the moment the 'Sun' rose, everyone who looked up into the sky was blinded and could only flee in panic in all directions.
Countless soldiers were knocked down and trampled by their comrades; the air was soon filled with screams and screeches, and the stench of blood permeated the entire Land of Death.
But no one cared about the fate of these people anymore; everyone was desperately running for their lives.
However fast they ran, they couldn't compete with the blast wave of the explosion. The first to be engulfed by the flames were the Imperial soldiers who had been knocked down and trampled by their comrades.
The process was painless; in less than a tenth of a second, their bodies had been vaporized by the high heat, and immediately after that, they were torn into pieces by the force of the blast.
Tessis frantically whipped his horse, the steed almost casting afterimages with its hooves under the enhancement of Divine Arts. Yet even so, he could feel death creeping closer step by step, and his back was completely numb, likely already seared...
"Monroe... I curse you!" Tessis incessantly spewed the most venomous curses at a certain church spy.
This is what you called a Heavenly Disaster?
Tessis was so furious he almost fell off the horseback; he believed more in the likelihood of it being a comprehensive trap than a mere intelligence failure!
Monroe must have betrayed the church, betrayed the great Lord, and conspired with those evil Wizards to orchestrate this scheme, aiming to annihilate himself and the tens of thousands of the Empire's elite troops.
Like Tessis, the Divine Punishment Knights who were spurring their horses in a frenzied race were also swept into the horrendous flames one by one.
Faster... even faster... Tessis, with a crazed expression, continually pummeled the body of his horse. Ahead of him was the valley they had entered through, which also meant he was leaving the Land of Death.
Suddenly, his warhorse let out a painful scream as it collapsed to the ground, exhausted by the relentless sprint, its body twisting as it fell, hurling Tessis terrified onto the ground...
Just before the blast wave completely devoured him, Tessis's angry roar carried for kilometers. However, it was quickly drowned out by an explosion that sounded like the earth was shattering.
The intense fire enveloped everything, erasing all traces of the more than twenty thousand Empire's legion without stirring the slightest ripple.
Only after everything settled down, at the edge of the Hydrogen Explosion zone, a charred warhorse struggled to move, as the Deputy of the Divine Punishment Military, Miller, bloody and with his hands burnt red by the scorching ground, felt his brain tremble ceaselessly from the violent shockwave.
Dead, all dead... Miller sat collapsed on the ground, staring wide-mouthed at everything around him, completely breaking down in despair.
Tens of thousands of men had vanished before his eyes, and the only reason he survived was by being the rear guard and starting his escape at the first sign of trouble.
No one could think of resisting after watching a Sun rise before them... Miller was no exception, barely saving his life through the greater safety distance, the protective shield of Divine Arts, and using his horse as a shield.
But that was only a temporary reprieve. The terrified Miller felt even the air had thorns, stirring inside his lungs like blades each time he breathed.
It was now too late to mourn his superiors and many comrades; Miller crawled and stumbled towards Holy City, he must bring this news back!
The church's spy, Monroe, had been corrupted by the Wizards!
He had forsaken the faith of the Lord and lured the Empire's legion into the Wizards' trap!
Leading to the complete annihilation of tens of thousands of the Empire's troops!