You promised to wreak havoc on the dungeon, but instead you've got Dragon Slime!

Ron did not despair; he simply raised his head and looked at the approaching figure in the distance.

The Black Crow Merchant Guild made the first move.

"Release the chains and drag that corpse out!"

Dozens of black chains were flung into the void, wrapping around Ron.

The Red Claw mercenary sneered, and with a flash of his blade, he cleaved several chains in two.

"Trying to take it all for yourself? Did you even ask us?"

The two sides fought fiercely on the spot, and blood splattered on the ruins.

The members of the Abyss Order did not intervene. They formed a circle, chanting low incantations. As the incantations rang out, the remnant souls in the ruins gathered as if summoned, transforming into vengeful shadows that rushed towards Ron's direction.

Ron's fingers tightened, and he tried to stand up, but he almost fell over.

Just then, a dark shadow flashed by in the distance.

Viser.

He wasn't dead. His heavy armor was shattered, leaving only half of it intact. He was covered in blood as he cleaved the charging shadow with his sword and stood with his back to Ron.

"It's not over yet."

He was panting heavily, but the heavy sword remained held horizontally in front of him.

On the other side, Claudia staggered over, her face deathly pale, with only a few talismans left in her hand. She swayed with each step, but still stood in front of Ron, pushing open the last of the Shadow Scales.

Ron paused for a moment, then whispered two words:

"you……"

There was no more nonsense.

In the center of the ruins, the sounds of battle from three forces shook the heavens. Chains flew, blood-stained blades danced wildly, and vengeful shadows rolled about, turning the scene into a complete carnage.

Amidst the chaos of battle cries, the ruins were filled with the sounds of fighting.

Chains of the Black Raven Merchant Guild swung through the air, blood-stained blades of the Red Claw Mercenaries flashed, and the vengeful shadows of the Abyss Order swarmed through the void. The three forces tore at each other, yet all were closing in on the same point—Ron.

Viser held his broken greatsword horizontally in front of him, his feet sinking into the ground, making him stand like an iron wall. His armor shattered, and blood flowed from the cracks, but he remained motionless.

Claudia slapped out the last few talismans, and talismanic flames exploded around her, barely creating a barrier. Her face was deathly pale, and her fingers trembled, but she still desperately protected Ron.

Besides them, there were five other surviving soldiers.

One was missing an arm, one was lame, and one had half his face burned off—all were severely injured. But none of them retreated; they all raised their broken weapons and stood in a circle with their backs to Ron.

A deadly formation.

The Black Crow Merchant Guild was the first to charge. Dozens of black chains lashed out simultaneously, locking onto Ron.

"Stop!" Viser roared, hacking away with his greatsword, severing several chains. The remaining chains wrapped around him, digging into his flesh. He gritted his teeth and pulled, managing to break the chains, his shoulder exploding with blood and flesh.

The Red Claw mercenary's blood-red blade then slammed down. It was a barrage of blades formed from a mist of blood, covering the sky and slicing through the air.

Several remaining soldiers rushed forward and used their bodies to block the attack. Their armor was ripped open, and flesh and blood flew everywhere. They didn't even have time to scream.

Claudia gritted her teeth and forced open the Shadow Scales, pressing down a layer of blood blade. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, her face turning a frighteningly white, but the color didn't fade.

The vengeful spirits of the Abyss Order surged forth one last time. Hundreds of ghostly figures lunged forward, screaming as they tried to tear Ron to shreds.

Viser tossed aside his sword, grabbed the two wraiths, and ripped them apart with a single, forceful tear. His entire body was instantly scorched by the wraiths, his flesh rotting, yet he remained standing.

Soldiers fell one after another. Some had their intestines ripped out, yet they still crawled and brandished their knives. Some had half their bodies gone, yet they still clutched broken guns in their hands.

They did not back down.

Claudia swayed precariously as the last talisman was applied, bursting into a curtain of light. She knelt on the ground, her fingers bracing against the ashes, muttering, "It's...not over yet..."

Viser's body was a bloody mess, his legs bent, yet he refused to fall. With his last strength, he roared, "If you want to touch him, get past me first!"

Ron leaned against the bone stone, his vision blurred.

He watched the group of people fall one by one.

A flame flickered in my chest.

The system notification reappeared:

External threat exceeded limits detected

[Ember Form Advanced Option: Soul Burning]

[Should we sacrifice our remaining lifespan and burn completely?]

Ron stared at the chaotic scene of carnage ahead and slowly uttered a single word.

"Yes."

The ruins fell silent for a moment.

Ron's body burst into black flames, his flesh crumbled bit by bit, and he transformed into a blazing black flame.

The soul returned to ashes, burning completely.

The moment the black flames ignited, the entire ruins came to a standstill.

All three forces froze. The Black Crow Merchant Guild's chains trembled in the air, the Crimson Claw Mercenaries' blood-stained blades stopped in mid-air, and the Abyss Order's vengeful shadows stiffened as if held down by some force.

Ron stood up.

His body was already mangled beyond recognition, flesh and blood falling away like ashes, bones exposed. But black fire burned fiercely within him, supporting him to stand upright.

The system notification boomed in my mind:

【Return to Ashes: Lifespan completely burned out】

[Effect: Temporarily gains power a hundred times greater than the host's limits]

[Side effect: After burning completely, it turns to ash]

Ron did not hesitate.

He raised his hand.

Black flames gathered, and the blade shadows reformed, more terrifying than ever before. It was neither iron nor blood, but pure incineration.

"roll."

He gave a low shout and brought his sword down.

boom! ! !

The ruins split open, and dozens of chains belonging to the Black Crow Merchant Guild, along with their handlers, snapped, turning the cloaked figure into ashes instantly. The Crimson Claw Mercenary Group's Blood Blade was incinerated with a single strike, and dozens of mercenaries, before they could even scream, were burned to ashes by the black flames.

The vengeful shadows of the Abyss Order charged forward with shrieks, only to be extinguished upon contact. Black flames burned directly up their bodies, igniting even the bones beneath their black robes.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of people from the three factions were wiped out.

The ruins returned to silence, with only the burning black flames illuminating the surroundings.

Viser lay on the ground, half of his body rotten. He looked up and a flicker of shock crossed his eyes.

Claudia leaned against the broken rock, her mouth full of blood. Her hands were trembling, but she still gripped the talisman tightly, as if afraid that this was not reality.

Ron stood in the very center, his entire body engulfed by black flames, his bones cracking and his flesh crumbling away bit by bit.

He knew that the Soul Burning Technique only lasted a short time.

The system prompts you to continue:

[Soul Ignition Remaining Time: Fifty Breaths]

He wasted no time; with a single step, black fire engulfed the entire ruins, burning all the remaining souls to ashes. The curses that had once weighed down the wasteland were reduced to ash.

In the distance, the gray fog had completely dissipated.

The earth was bathed in the first clear light.

Ron stopped in the middle of the ruins, where black fire was burning and everything was brightly lit.

Last system notification:

[After the Soul Returns to Ashes ends, the host will completely dissipate.]

He whispered, "At least...it wasn't a wasted death."

When the black fire burned to its fullest extent, it seemed to illuminate the entire world.

When the black fire burned to its last breath, Ron was nothing but a skeleton.

Flesh and blood turned to ash, and bones were slowly cracked by the black flames. Each breath felt like tearing apart one's own soul.

The system message indicated that the process had been coldly completed.

【Return to Ashes: Countdown 0】

[Host Vital Status: Terminated]

boom--

The black flames exploded violently, illuminating the entire ruins to their fullest extent. The sky was completely torn apart, the gray mist churned and dissipated, and sunlight shone on the wasteland for the first time.

The gloom that had lingered for hundreds of years vanished in an instant.

In the center of the ruins, only a pile of scattered ashes remained, drifting in the wind.

Outside the wasteland, on the distant city walls, countless people witnessed this scene.

They saw the bone tower collapse and the light of day descend. Some stood frozen in place, some wailed and wept, and some even knelt down and kowtowed.

No one knows what happened inside; all they know is that the calamity that had been weighing on them was gone.

The wasteland came to life.

Deep within the ruins, beneath a broken piece of bone, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared.

The light was faint, but very steady.

A system notification quietly appeared:

[Residual host will detected]

[The Ember Form has ended, triggering the backup module - Ashes Spark]

[Status: Soul continues, body is being reconstructed...]