Chapter 1056: Commenting on the Princes (Part Two)
"No wonder Your Majesty has been kind toward the Chambord Kingdom both secretly and publicly. Given the poor strength of Chambord three years ago, its privilege of being an affiliated kingdom should have been stripped away, and it should have been turned into a minor territory. Also, when Alexander was crowned as the official king, Your Majesty even sent the Elder Princess to perform the ceremony. Later, the King of Chambord did many controversial things during the competition between all affiliated kingdoms, and many nobles wrote letters to denounce him. However, Your Majesty resisted all pressure and didn't scold or punish him. Now looking back, it seems like Your Majesty has been trying your best to favor Chambord without attracting too much attention."
Many things that Akinfeev couldn't understand before all became clear to him now.
"Yeah, a few years ago, to compensate the Third Prince, I sent his big sister to his kingdom to meet him. However…" Emperor Yassin said in pity, "However, Dominguez and Arshavin messed with each other so much that they battled during the crown ceremony. I was there in person, but my third son gave me a big surprise. He took care of everything himself, so I didn't have to show myself."
"Since the Third Prince restored his genius physique, those small things couldn't bother him. However, even though the Elder Prince and the Second Prince have been fighting with each other, and they used different methods and created their own groups and alliances, they are still very respectful to Your Majesty. They never did anything that crossed the line. Fights between princes can't be avoided in any royal family. Your Majesty, you don't have to worry about these things too much."
The princes and princesses grew up under Akinfeev's watch. This man was a tough figure in front of other nobles, but he cared for Yassin's children and treated them as his nephews and nieces. He liked them equally, and he was worried that Emperor Yassin might scold the two princes when mentioning the fights between them. Therefore, he tried to comfort Emperor Yassin and resolve the situation.
Emperor Yassin smiled and looked at this man who was his youngest study buddy and had been aggressive. Perhaps he was in a great mood since he revealed the secret that he held inside his mind for 20 years, Emperor Yassin said jokingly, "Huh? The aggressive blockhead now also knows how to comfort others?"
Akinfeev only lowered his head and snickered.
Emperor Yassin nodded and said, "You are right. They are all respectful toward me, and they can work together when the empire is in danger. They can prioritize the important matters, and I'm pleased. After Jolie passed away and our child went missing, I was struck and blamed myself. I later found our child, and this experience moved me. I have five sons and six daughters. If they fought like this before, I would have severely punished them. However, after that incident, I'm able to see through everything. My relationship with my children is more important, so I wouldn't interfere unless absolutely necessary. I'm an emperor and a father. I hope they can all understand my effort."
"I see. This must be the reason why Your Majesty suddenly allowed Fourth Prince His Highness' request to guard the western gate, right?" Akinfeev could understand the effort of a father.
"That is right. How can I not know that my fourth son is arrogant and not that talented? He made many mistakes, and I'm disappointed in him. However, he is my son after all, and I have to give him an opportunity. I hope that he can use this opportunity and contribute to the empire. After when the Third Prince inherits the throne, they will be able to co-exist," Emperor Yassin said with a sigh.
Akinfeev nodded and was about to say something, but he suddenly realized what Emperor Yassin had said. He asked in shock, "Your Majesty, you mean… you are going to let the Third Prince inherit the throne?"
"That is right. The Third Prince is the best choice in terms of reputation, strength, virtues, vision, and abilities. Out of my five sons, Elder Son Arshavin is a genius commander but is also narrow-minded, Second Son Dominguez is not of proper background and doesn't have the influence, Fourth Son Chrystal is reckless and can't do anything useful, and Fifth Son Torbinski is playful and can't be trusted with big responsibilities. Only my third son is the most like me, and he is the best candidate to inherit my throne," Emperor Yassin sounded proud as he said that.
Chapter 1057: Last Chance (Part One)
Akinfeev thought about it and felt like it was true.
Although there were some talented young people in this generation of Zenitians, they were nothing compared to King Alexander of Chambord who was like a monster. Even the citizens of Zenit in other regions admired the King of Chambord, let alone the people in the Chambord Kingdom. It was previously thought that the King of Chambord couldn't become the emperor of Zenit due to his bloodline, but now that this barrier was removed. Since he was the Third Prince of Zenit, he was the best candidate to inherit the throne.
Besides, from Emperor Yassin's tone, Akinfeev heard that the emperor was pleased with the son that he had with the Queen of Radiance, and he loved this son the most. Therefore, there was no question of who was going to be the next emperor.
The only thing was…
"Then, how is Your Majesty going to connect with the King of Chambord and re-establish the father-son relationship? If Your Majesty wants Alexander His Highness to inherit the throne, his identity as the Third Prince has to be officially confirmed." Akinfeev voiced the most urgent matter.
"Eh, after the war with Barcelona." While saying this, Emperor Yassin looked a little anxious just like how an ordinary father would behave in this situation. "I wonder if this kid is willing to return to my side. Would all this be a little too abrupt and sudden for him?"
If it were anyone else, they would be thrilled and overjoyed after discovering that they were the son of Emperor Yassin who was a supreme ruler of the land. However, it was different for the King of Chambord who was a supreme master. While ignoring all other factors, Chambord's current strength and reputation weren't inferior compared to the Royal Family of Zenit. In fact, Chambord was more powerful in these aspects. Also, the King of Chambord was a reckless character, and it was hard to say that he was going to accept Emperor Yassin as his father for sure.
Akinfeev laughed and said, "Your Majesty, since you are too invested in this, your mind isn't clear. As long as Golden Lion Lampard who is 100 percent trusted and respected by Alexander His Highness validates the claim, everything can be explained, and the Third Prince will believe you. Besides, even though Your Majesty didn't reveal his royal identity, you have been caring for him. The bond between a family is strong and can't be wiped away. Also, the Third Prince isn't someone extreme and stubborn; he will accept you for sure."
"I hope so. The only thing is that those old enemies will discover the truth, and they will focus their attention on Alexander," Emperor Yassin sighed and took out a scroll from his storage ring. This scroll was perfectly sealed by his demi-godly power. He handed it to Akinfeev and said, "This is my secret edict, and you must keep it a secret and protect it. If anything happens in the empire, it might be of use."
"Your Majesty, you…" After accepting the edict, Akinfeev suddenly felt something ominous.
In the past, Emperor Yassin was heroic and dominating, glancing around without fear and standing on top of the peak like a celestial immortal. He had never been so emotional and chitchatted like this before.
It seemed like Emperor Yassin descended in the mortal world and talked to Akinfeev for a long time, and he sounded a little dispirited.
Akinfeev thought to himself, "Could it be that this demi-god vaguely sensed something about his fate? Is this why he is having this long conversation with me in his palace?"
After carefully putting away the edict, Akinfeev looked up subconsciously and was shocked to find that Emperor Yassin looked a little aged and lethargic. He grew even more worried, but he didn't know what to say.
Then, Emperor Yassin and Akinfeev talked about many things.
Chapter 1057: Last Chance (Part Two)
They recalled their younger years where the nine of them rode on horses and traveled the region, being reckless and brave. After such a long time passed by, both heroes and ordinary people's lives were filled with regrets and reminiscence. Now, looking back, they wanted to change many things but couldn't.
Three hours later, a rare tired expression appeared on Emperor Yassin's face, and Akinfeev stood up and bowed before leaving.
Seeing this old study buddy of his leaving the palace, Emperor Yassin heaved a long sigh and closed his eyes as if he was savoring something. After a while, he opened his eyes again, and sharp glints flashed.
His energy was restored, and that dominating and overbearing aura of a genius emperor re-appeared.
"Come out."
As soon as Emperor Yassin said that, a series of ripples appeared in the air. A black-armored guard who was covered in a black cloak tore open space and walked out. Then, he single-kneeled and reported his mission in detail.
After hearing everything, Emperor Yassin waved his hand, and the guard in black bowed and turned into a cloud of black smoke, disappearing from the palace.
"Ah, such an incapable man! As soon as he got control of the western gate, he became this arrogant and dared to do such things. Using the magic crossbows for city defense to threaten an important general. He sure disappoints me! Disappoints me!"
Emperor Yassin frowned and thought for a long while. In the end, his love for his children won, and he loosened his tightly-gripped fists.
"Alright, I will give you the last chance. If you still can't grab this opportunity, then don't blame me for not considering our relationship as father and son. Even when your third older brother inherits the throne, he probably can't allow a lazy and incapable prince like you to stay around!"
It was midnight outside the palace, and the grand St. Petersburg fell into a long period of darkness.
…
-Meanwhile, in Chambord that was more than 1,000 kilometers away-
After traveling for about half a month, Fei's guard, Torres, and a few orc masters finally traveled across the ocean and through the Endless Sea of Forests, getting back to Chambord City using the Ancient Path of Blood of Behemoth.
"What? Barcelona invaded Zenit? They are outside St. Petersburg? Constantine was captured? Luffy His Highness and Reverse Whale Battleship [King Alexander] can't be found?"
Torres was shocked when he heard about the crucial situation that Zenit was experiencing from Brook. Only about 40 days had passed between the king's departure and Torres' return, but the situation on the continent changed so drastically.
Torres was both angry and shocked.
"Now, the Barcelonans are overbearing, and they sent out several demi-gods. In Chambord, both Mr. Hazel Bank and Lampard had to travel to St. Petersburg for defense, and Strategist Old Aryang led 1,000 elites of Chambord and traveled to the southern battlefield with [Black Pearl] and [Cyclops]. Although they tried their best to minimize the losses, the high level of casualties wasn't avoidable." Brook smiled bitterly and sighed, "Although the flames of war haven't touched Chambord yet, it isn't far away. Right now, the situation is dire, and no one knows how long St. Petersburg can last. When can His Majesty return?"
"This… it would take a month at the fastest." Torres got anxious as well. Even if he returned to the [Banished Land] to inform the king, one round trip would take at least a month if nothing happened on the way.
"We must inform Alexander His Majesty. Right now, the flames of war are spreading to the Northern Region of Azeroth, and we need him to return and command everyone!" Head Minister Bast was impatient, and he wished that Fei could instantly return to Chambord. The Chambord Kingdom could operate on its own without Fei, but when he was missing at critical moments, people felt like the backbone was missing, and they lacked confidence.
"I will immediately return to the [Banished Land] to inform His Majesty!" Torres didn't dare to waste a second.
Chapter 1058: Getting Ready for Battle, and the King's Status (Part One)
"Wait for a second, we need to discuss this a little and not make a rushed decision." Brook blocked Torres and said after thinking for a while, "Since Alexander His Majesty decided to stay in the [Banished Land], it means that there is something more important for him to finish. Torres, you can first tell us the rough situation at the [Banished Land]. Since His Majesty sent you back, he must have something for you to do."
"You are right. Damn it! I almost forgot about it."
Torres patted his head, and cold sweat appeared all over his body; he almost forgot something important and ruined Fei's grand plan. Although Torres was thoughtful and careful during normal days, he would get anxious when experiencing something major.
After hearing what Brook said, Torres calmed down. He took out the letters that Fei wrote to Brook and Bast as he explained the king's plan to them.
The secret chamber was extremely quiet under the illumination of the orange magic lights.
After about half an hour, Bast and Brook finally finished reading the king's letter, and they both heaved a sigh of relief. They looked at each other and saw the seriousness and joy in each other's eyes.
"This time, His Majesty is after something big!"
"According to the king's plan, if we can really turn the behemoth orcs into an allied force, then this tribe that has hundreds of demi-gods and potential a few true gods is powerful enough to help Zenit wipe through the Northern Region of Azeroth and unite the area. Even Barcelona would be overrun and wouldn't be able to return. The only thing is that it seems like there isn't much time."
"We need to buy as much time as possible for His Majesty. We have to last until His Majesty's return."
"If the situation gets really critical, we must ask Batistuta and other masters of [Black-Cloth Shrine] to go and assist the Royal Family of Zenit. Although the military of Chambord is filled with elite soldiers, they are limited in number, and there aren't any supreme masters. They can't pose a real threat to the troops of Barcelona."
"It is unfortunate; the 500 mystical gold war puppets that the king left for us before his departure can only receive basic commands and protect Chambord City; they can't be sent to St. Petersburg. Otherwise, these 500 war machines might be able to crush the Barcelonans.��
"I wonder how everything is going at the Capital of Anji. How are Professor Cain and Akara doing? Later, we will send Inzagi His Highness to the Capital of Anji and pass His Majesty's orders to the two professors. Also, we need to inform Ms. Charsi's team in the arsenal at [Sky City]. They might need to work overtime. If we want to teleport that many orcs back to the Azeroth Continent from the [Banished Land], we would need at least 5,000 super-long-distance teleportation arrays, and they have to be the portable teleportation arrays that the Mad Scientists' Laboratory improved."
"That is right! This situation is urgent! We must get busy!"
After Brook and Bast urgently discussed this, they quickly created a detailed plan. After going over every step in detail again and making sure that there weren't any mistakes, Brook quickly walked away. As a nation, Chambord started to operate like a well-oiled machine. Thousands of officials, the military, and the various secret departments started to work at a fast and orderly pace.
Bast opened a magic recording scroll and repeated the situation that the Zenit Empire and the Chambord Kingdom were currently facing in detail. Then, he listened to it and added a bit more details before sealing it and giving it to Torres.
Chapter 1058: Getting Ready for Battle, and the King's Status (Part Two)
Bast said, "Since the situation is dire, you and the behemoth orcs should immediately return to the [Banished Land] and give this recording scroll to His Majesty, letting him make the decision. At the same time, please inform him that we will get everything that orcs need for the migration within 20 days."
"Head Minister, please take care." Torres turned around and left. After finally coming home, Torres didn't get the chance to go back and see his loved ones and relatives, and he didn't even get to eat a hot meal. He and the orc masters instantly turned into beams of light and disappeared into the Endless Sea of Forests behind Chambord.
After Torres and the orc masters left, Bast suddenly thought of something and patted his forehead with his palm. He murmured, "I was too busy thinking and forgot! Damn it! It seemed like the orc masters beside Torres were all powerful. I should have asked a few of them to stay; they could be free fighters. Hehe, if some of them are injured while fighting with Barcelonans, grudges between the two forces will be created. By then, Chambord won't even need to get the orcs to hate on the Barcelonans; they will fight each other when seeing each other! I made a mistake!"
This old man was quite cunning.
The six orc masters who were accompanying Torres back to the [Banished Land] all sneezed and shivered as if they sensed a chill.
…
-Diablo World, the grand godly realm behind the purple teleportation gate-
With his eyes tightly closed, Fei was still inside that mystical state of epiphany. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, and he also didn't know what was happening in the outside world.
Faint-yellow power of faith flowed to him from all directions, and it was getting thicker and thicker. Like silk, Fei was entirely enveloped in it. The cocoon-like energy sphere was in two colors, silver and yellow, and it expanded and shrunk repeatedly like the heart of a giant.
Every time this cocoon of light that wrapped around Fei expanded and shrunk, it felt like a long and mystical cycle passed, emitting an invisible yet grand power. The entire godly realm was slowly changing because of it.
Fei had been in this state for more than 20 days.
Right now, inside the giant godly realm, the grass was still green, the plane was still wide, the rivers were still rapid, and animals were still active. However, an indescribable atmosphere had appeared. If this giant world felt holy, ethereal, and unapproachable before, now it seemed like it was welcoming intelligent creatures, and it turned into a vivid world that humans could live in.
Perhaps this was what that mysterious voice meant when it said that Fei had to refine this godly realm.
As time passed by, more and more power of faith dashed through space and time and appeared around Fei.
The reason was simple.
First, Barcelona invaded Zenit, killing many people and burning down many towns to annihilate all Zenitians. As the situation grew more and more dangerous, more and more citizens of Zenit prayed and hoped that the Imperial Martial Saint would appear and turn the tables. After all, the king had appeared many times before when Zenit was in danger, and the volume of the power of faith that the citizens of Zenit offered Fei reached an all-time high.
Second, Dark Demonic Armor Basturk and other magic puppets like [No.1] saved more and more orcs within the [Banished Land] and promoted the king's kindness and greatness. Also, as the rumor that Fei was Beast God Rexxar's reincarnation got passed around, more and more orcs believed in Fei.
"Huh? It looks like Alexander can refine the grand godly realm in advance!" that mysterious voice sounded in the godly realm.
Of course, Fei who was in a critical state couldn't hear this.
Chapter 1059: Chaotic Continent and Changes on the Battlefield (Part One)
[TL Note: This is a 2-in-1 chapter, so 4 parts.]
Time quickly passed by.
Like a volcano that had been quiet for thousands of years, chaos finally broke out on the Azeroth Continent. The Eastern, Western, Northern, Southern, and Central Regions all became a mess.
-In the Eastern Region of Azeroth-
The greedy Manchester City Empire was envious of the dwarfs' forging techniques, and they used all kinds of methods including kidnapping to control the forge grandmasters of the dwarfs. Also, gnomes who loved inventions and adventures became the targets for humans. Especially after humans discovered that these races which had disappeared for a long time had many warrior energy and magic energy cultivation techniques from the Mystical Era and could create powerful war machines, they started to raid and rob these races without restraint.
As if it had opened Pandora's box and released terrifying demons and plague, what Manchester City Empire did led the way for other powerful human empires in the Eastern Region of Azeroth to copy it. The Liverpool Empire, Manchester United Empire, and Arsenal Empire all got a good taste of this type of operation. They all moved many soldiers into this operation to capture dwarfs and gnomes.
Such despicable actions angered the dwarfs and gnomes who didn't want wars.
A large-scale war exploded in the Eastern Region of Azeroth. In the first month, the greedy, proud, and conceited human troops paid a large price. Facing the sharp weapons of dwarfs and magic machines of gnomes, tens of millions of human soldiers were killed.
Like gasoline on fire, hatred was burning and permeated the air unstoppably.
…
-In the Western Region of Azeroth-
The Barcelona Empire and Madrid Empire were mortal enemies for thousands of years, and the war between them reached a boiling point. Almost all the empires in the Western Region were involved; about 40 empires had to join either side, and the flames and smoke of war traveled across the region.
After the initial peaceful adaptation, the Elf Empire that resided in the primitive forest experienced a shocking change as humans tried to get into their empire and pull them to their sides. The Elf Empire broke into three clans, which were Green Elves, Blood Elves, and Night Elves. The ferocious blood elves joined the Madrid Empire, and vicious and cunning night elves joined the Barcelona Empire. These two elf clans walked out of the poor primitive forest and slowly adapted to human society while forming powerful troops.
Only the peace-loving green elves stayed behind in the cold primitive forest. It was heard that this clan was the strongest, and it reserved the most strength. Recently, a descendant with the golden elf king bloodline appeared, and he was supported by the Moon Godly Temple and the Godly Temple of Nature, obtaining the title of Elf King.
This new elf king's origin was passed around by the elves, and his story sounded legendary. Although there were many rumors, one thing was for sure; this new elf king wasn't from the former Elf Realm, and he was a young man who grew up on the Azeroth Continent.
It was heard that this was the reason why the Elf Empire split. Except for the peace-loving green elves who were the most faithful and devoted believers, the blood elves and night elves who only respected powerful masters refused to accept this young man as the elf king, and they split with the godly temples and broke out of the Elf Empire.
…
-In the Southern Region of Azeroth-
The Southern Region of Azeroth was only slightly more powerful compared to the Northern Region which ranked last in terms of strength. Facing the crazy, greedy, and cruel goblins who had insane reproductive ability, the humans in the region were slowly pushed into a disadvantage.
These little short and ugly creatures that had the same level of alchemy and magic civilization as gnomes started their crazy expansion in the Southern Region of Azeroth. They walked completely against humans. In fact, they even treated humans as food. They were monsters in humans' eyes.
Chapter 1059: Chaotic Continent and Changes on the Battlefield (Part Two)
In the end, the human alliance led by empires such as Bayern and Ormond had to stop their internal battles. They sat down together and started to discuss the details of an alliance and how to fight back against the Goblin Empire.
Everyone could see that if the humans in the Southern Region continued to fight amongst themselves, they were going to be wiped out by goblins sooner or later.
The good thing was that at this dire moment, something finally happened on the mysterious Continental Martial Saint Mountain. Continental Martial Saint Maradona, who was said to be the most powerful man on the continent, and his disciples finally moved to help their race. Dozens of disciples who were peak Burning Sun Lords and demi-gods were sent to the Southern Region to help the human empires.
It was heard that the Bayern Empire and the united empires headed by the Ormond Empire were only able to put down their weapons and sit down together to discuss the future of the region because Continental Martial Saint Maradona personally went to their royal palaces to smooth things out.
…
-In the Central Region of Azeroth-
The war between the Dragon Clan and the Holy Church was still on-going.
No one knew why dragons had to fight with the Holy Church that was the most powerful force on the continent. However, the strength of the Dragon Clan was as powerful as the rumors stated. Except for the Holy Church, these dragons could easily wipe out any human empires on the continent. However, they focused on the Holy Church and attacked aggressively.
It was heard that this was due to the deep grudges from the Mythical Era, and the dragons were attacking the Holy Church this ferociously since they wanted to take back the corpse of the Godly Dragon who was killed here.
Others guessed that many treasures and resources were buried under the Holy Mountain on Sicily Island, and anyone who got their hands on them would become the ruler of this world and even other planes.
All kinds of rumors were passed around, and no one could tell the truth from the lies.
In the last half a year, many masters died on both sides. The sky was almost torn apart, and the Mediterranean Sea which wasn't affected by wars in the last 1,000 years became a terrifying death zone.
Many corpses of masters sunk to the bottom of the ocean, almost killing all living creatures in the water. Also, the sky above the sea was littered with powerful energy seals that the fallen masters left before death.
This region now became a forbidden zone. Anyone below the Sun-Class Realm would be instantly turned into shattered bones and thick blood if they walked in!
Also, it was heard that the gods who the Holy Church believed in came back to life.
Many people said that they saw angels participating in this war against the Dragon Clan, and these angels had wings and swung lightsabres.
Both the Dragon Clan and the Holy Church found their allies.
The Dragon Clan allied with the Inter Milan Empire and AC Milan Empire, and the Juventus Empire turned around and worked with the Holy Church. The former Holy Alliance against the Holy Church collapsed.
Without exaggeration, the Central Region of Azeroth became the most terrifying zone. Although relatively few people were involved in the war, all kinds of supreme masters and top-tier weapons appeared. Almost all the land was shattered, and almost all the civilians had died!
Chapter 1059: Chaotic Continent and Changes on the Battlefield (Part Three)
In comparison, even though wars were happening in the Northern Region, it was much calmer compared to other places.
The war between the Zenit Empire and Barcelona Empire attracted many people's attention.
After Barcelona quickly swallowed the southern region of Zenit, the Barcelonan soldiers were stuck outside St. Petersburg for 20 days. Several demi-gods moved, but they couldn't break through St. Petersburg's defenses. Both parties fought many battles where Zenitians guarded the defense wall and Barcelonans tried to siege, and more than a million soldiers were involved. Outside the [Goddess of Earth's Protection], the land was lowered by about four meters.
On the endless grassland, broken sieging equipment and horse-drawn carriages, chipped blades, torn armor, and dried blood were everywhere. To prevent a plague from happening, Barcelonans would burn the corpses of the soldiers and animals together. The surging flames and smoke looked like an angry volcano was erupting.
Countless grudge-laden souls roared and shouted in the dark sky as they ascended with the smoke.
A stinky odor permeated the air. Anyone who inhaled felt like they sucked in a mouthful of rotten flesh and blood. Vultures that were feasting could be seen everywhere, and they chirped as they dashed down. As if they were copying humans, they used their sharp beaks to break the corpses and start another round of merciless killing as they fought with each other for the food.
As the sun lowered into the horizon, it looked blood-red, dyeing everything in the world that color.
Battle shouts continued to sound on the ground, and screams could be heard non-stop.
Granello was covered in blood. He had broken more than a dozen top-tier steel sabers, and a human life disappeared whenever he struck out. His arms were completely swollen.
This man couldn't remember how many times the Barcelonans attacked. Blood already soaked his hair, making his hair stick to his forehead. Blood also dripped into his eyes, blurring his vision and making everything seem like it was soaked in blood to him.
This defense battle lasted for close to three hours.
Finally, retreat bugles sounded from the Barcelonan campsites, and the Barcelonan soldiers backed away like falling tides.
Tink!
The steel saber in Granello's hand dropped to the ground; its blade was also curled a little. If he weren't supporting his body by leaning against a battlement, he would have fallen to the ground. The retreat of the enemies meant that he could finally get some rest.
Granello breathed heavily, and he felt like pepper powder was tossed into his lungs. The soldiers around him felt the same.
Hundreds of groups of soldiers were moved onto the defense wall in the last 20 days.
With a rough estimate, more than 100,000 Zenitian soldiers had died on the defense wall.
Right now, a blazing fire was burning in the Military Burial Field day and night. All soldiers below the rank of Battalion Commander couldn't be properly buried. Their corpses would be burned in the fire with everyone else, and their families could only come and pick up their ashes.
After taking in a few mouthfuls of air that was filled with the smell of blood, Granello finally felt like some of his strength had recovered.
Just as he was about to switch the soldiers on the defense wall, loud noises sounded in the direction of the western gate. Then, he saw about 1,000 Star-Level Warriors of Zenit jumping off the defense wall with the aid of ropes, chasing after the Barcelonans who were backing away.
"Again! This damn idiot! During the battle, he hides inside the watchtower. Now that the battle is over, he is forcing the soldiers who haven't gotten a chance to breathe to chase after the enemies? Are other people's lives not worthy in his eyes? How dare he force the elite soldiers to do such things? He is committing a crime! He is killing our warriors! How many times had he done this? How many times? Do the lives of our soldiers worth less than the damn military merits?" Granello was enraged.
Chapter 1059: Chaotic Continent and Changes on the Battlefield (Part Four)
Such things had happened more than ten times.
To encourage the soldiers to fight against the enemies, the Royal Family and the Imperial Military Headquarters issued a new order. Anyone who decapitated an enemy would receive some military merits, and they would be rewarded after each battle.
This order came from a good place.
However, someone shameless came up with an idea and suggested the dumb Fourth Prince to select a few elite soldiers on the Star-Level and force them to go out of the city and decapitate the enemy soldiers who already died. This was one way of accumulating military merits.
In the beginning, the Fourth Prince got many benefits from it.
Since the Fourth Prince had more military merits compared to the other three gates, and he was a prince, the officials in the Imperial Military Headquarters didn't get strict with him and instead gave him quite a few rewards.
Without a doubt, this pushed the Fourth Prince to do more of this shameless act, forcing the elite soldiers to do more risky things.
However, such actions enraged Barcelonans.
During one retreat, Barcelonans set up a trap and sent out many masters, killing half of 1,000 elite soldiers who came out of St. Petersburg. If it weren't for Golden Lion Lampard who showed up and saved them, the rest of the elite soldiers would have been killed as well.
In such cruel battles, the life of a well-trained ordinary soldier was precious. However, due to this idiotic prince's selfishness, 500 elite soldiers of Star-Level were killed. These 500 people were all mid-tier officers in a main battle legion! Losing one of them in such a fashion would be a big loss.
Although the soldiers and officials were angry, what could they do to this prince who seemed to be trusted by Emperor Yassin?
What enraged people more was that after the big loss, the Fourth Prince didn't stop his idiotic behavior. He organized more Star-Level Warriors to do similar things. For his own gains, he forced the elite soldiers to do the dangerous deed. It was truly detestable.
It was heard that to force the elite soldiers to go down the defense wall and decapitate the corpses, the Fourth Prince killed a few officials who dared to go against his order, and he used these warriors' loved ones as threats. He was truly despicable.
"No! I need to meet the Second Prince! I need to go into the Royal Palace and meet Emperor Yassin! I can't let this idiot continue to kill the warriors of Zenit!"
Granello couldn't hold it back anymore, and he roared.
At this moment, sudden changes occurred outside the defense wall.
The 200 elite soldiers of Zenit who were chasing after the retreating Barcelonans were suddenly attacked. About 40 mages suddenly emerged from the crowd, and they chanted and released terrifying offensive magic spells. Flames and thick smoke engulfed the battlefield, and roars and whines sounded from the smoke. Blood spilled in all directions, and broken limbs flew into the air.
"Quick! Send people to reinforce them!" Granello roared while his heart bled. The meaningless death of every Star-Level Warrior of Zenit infuriated him.
"Sir, there is no need! Look! We won!" Just as Granello was about to leap down the defense wall and reinforce his peers, his deputy commander suddenly grabbed him and pointed at the battlefield.
Granello looked up and saw that the dust had settled. More than half of the 40 Barcelonan mages died, and the rest escaped. About 50 elite soldiers of Zenit died, but they won this small skirmish. Right now, they were leaving the battlefield and retreating.
In a flash, about 150 people got below the defense wall and quickly climbed up using the ropes.
Granello heaved a sigh of relief. At the same time, an ominous feeling hit him. He felt like he missed something.
In the next moment, four powerful figures flew into the sky from the campsites of Barcelona, and they dashed toward St. Petersburg with powerful auras. At the same time, the retreating troops of Barcelona suddenly turned around and shouted while charging back.
"Damn it! We fell for their trap!" Granello finally understood the situation, and his expression changed.
Chapter 1060: Where Are the Other 50 People? (Part One)
Before others could react, shouts sounded on the defense wall in the west. Those 'fortunate survivors' got back onto the defense wall, but they suddenly turned around and raised their sabers at their peers. Those 'elite soldiers of Zenit' were attacking their own!
"Those people… are Barcelonans in disguise! Damn it!" Now, everyone realized what was going on.
When the mages suddenly appeared, they created a ton of smoke and sent dust into the air, blocking everyone's vision. In the battle, all 200 elite soldiers of Zenit were killed. Under the cover of smoke and dust, the warriors of Barcelona quickly switched to the military uniforms of Zenit and pretended to be Zenitian warriors.
Such a tactic fooled everyone, and those imposters easily climbed onto the defense wall with the ropes and suddenly attacked.
At the same time, the troops of Barcelona started to siege the city in coordination with these 150 imposters.
Above the troops of Barcelona, four supreme masters flew in the sky.
Except for Busquets who recovered from his injuries, Mascherano and Elves showed up as well. In fact, even Pedro who was once severely injured also appeared.
These four supreme masters emitted terrifying power that smashed against St. Petersburg like a tsunami. The [Goddess of Earth's Protection] looked like the surface of a lake when a tornado was blowing over it. Terrifying ripples appeared, and it seemed like it was going to be shattered at any time.
Clearly, this was a full-on attack. Barcelona had never invested so much force into one attack.
This scheme was long in the making.
"Quick! Deputy Commander! You command the battle on the southern gate. Elite reinforcements! Come to the western gate with me!" Granello was anxious, and he instantly rushed toward the western gate with hundreds of elite soldiers.
This man knew that the turning point in this war was the western gate.
If those Barcelonan imposters controlled the mechanisms in the western gate and opened the gate, or if they destroyed the magic weapons and mechanisms for the defense of the city, all Zenitians would be in trouble.
As to the four supreme masters of Barcelona in the sky, Granello didn't need to worry about fights on that level. People like Emperor Yassin and Lampard would handle that.
Just as he expected, streaks of powerful auras shined inside St. Petersburg. Four radiating flames shot into the sky; they were Emperor Yassin, Hazel Bank, Lampard, and another master of Chambord. It was heard that this man was from the [Black-Cloth Shrine], one of the shrines of the Holy Church.
The eight powerful masters battled in the high sky.
While loud explosions sounded, it felt like the end of the world was coming. Streaks of black cracks appeared all over the sky, looking like a painting that was torn apart before being knitted again. The terrifying warrior energies collided and created many mushroom clouds as if nuclear bombs went off.
As his long hair and red beard fluttered in the strong wind, Granello arrived at the western gate as fast as he would with the hundreds of elite soldiers.
However, the scene before them stunned Granello and the reinforcements.
"What is going on? Where are the enemies?"
Chapter 1060: Where Are the Other 50 People? (Part Two)
The scene where warriors of Zenit fighting with enemies didn't appear. Instead, the corpses of soldiers lay all over the ground, and the Fourth Prince stood behind the watchtower in fear as black-armored guards surrounded him and protected him. More than half of the invaluable defensive magic weapons that were made in Chambord got destroyed, and the broken components were all over the ground.
"Where are the enemies?" Granello shouted.
"Kill… we killed all of them!" a commander guarding the western gate got scared seeing Granello's angry expression, and he stuttered as he replied.
"Killed all of them? Did you count the corpses?" Granello frowned; the intense sense of danger was still lingering in his mind.
"Humph! You again! Granello, who do you think you are? How dare you issue commands in the zone that I have control over? Go away!" Seeing Granello, the terrified Four Prince shouted like a scared chicken. Clearly, what happened had petrified him.
"Who the f*ck are you? You idiot! What did you do? Huh? Forcing the elite soldiers to go outside the city and kill enemies? Don't you know that it is the most rookie mistake when defending a city? For your greed over military merits, how many brave warriors died? Now, many magic weapons for defense are broken. How are you going to make up for this? You…"
Granello shouted at the Fourth Prince before everyone without holding back at all.
Hearing such shouts, all the soldiers felt like the pent-up frustration in their minds got vented a little.
"You…" Fourth Prince Chrystal was enraged, and he pointed at Granello and didn't know what to say. After taking a few deep breaths, he sneered and replied, "So what? The magic weapons are damaged; we can just ask the arsenal of Chambord to make another batch and hand them to us. What's difficult about that? Now that the empire is in danger, is the King of Chambord going to ignore all this?"
Granello was about to explode, and he thought, "These magic weapons are all invaluable! It is expensive to make them; how can they be that easily made? This idiot still can't see through the situation? Does he still want to pressure the Chambord Kingdom with the orders of the Royal Family? Can't he see that Chambord isn't a force that the Royal Family can command anymore? Is this idiot's brain full of sh*t?"
Granello was so angry that he almost went over to whip this idiotic prince. However, the officials around him quickly pulled him back, avoiding an even more explosive confrontation.
After forcing himself to calm down, Granello said to the soldiers around him, "Quick! Count the corpses and tally up the numbers."
"Yes."
The soldiers quickly counted the corpses on the ground and also separated the enemy corpses from the corpses of Zenitian soldiers. Since Barcelonans and Zenitians looked quite different and had different physiques, it was easy to tell them apart when looking in close-range. The soldiers got the numbers in about ten minutes.
"Sir, 571 soldiers of Zenit died, and we confirmed their names. Also, there are exactly 100 Barcelonan corpses."
"What?" Granello was shocked. "100? Where are the other 50? I clearly saw that about 150 Barcelonans climbed onto the defense wall in disguise! Where did they go?"
Hearing Granello's words, others also remembered that.
There were at least 150 Barcelonans who got into the city through the ropes, but how come only 100 corpses could be found? Where did the other Barcelonans go? There were about 50 of them; were they still hiding in the crowd?
[TL Note: Some intense moments are going to take place in the next while. Make sure you stick to the end! It is all worth it.]
Chapter 1061: Severe Punishment (Part One)
The atmosphere instantly became intense.
The Barcelonan warriors who snuck into the city attacked the Zenitian soldiers on the defense wall, and it brought everyone a nightmare. If more enemies were sneaking around the city…
Everyone looked around and observed the people around them in suspicion.
Everyone felt nervous and anxious.
"Granello, what nonsense are you spurting? The soldiers have already bravely killed all the Barcelonans who snuck into the city under my command! There is no way that there are still enemies in the city! Don't try to lie and shake the confidence of our people!" The Fourth Prince's expression changed, and he accused Granello of wrongdoing since he was a bit too nervous himself.
"You? Brave?" Granello sneered in disdain as he said, "What a joke. When the Barcelonans got onto the defense wall, did Your Highness step out of the watchtower? Now that 50 elite soldiers of Barcelona disappeared, do you know what this means? If they snuck into the city, they can cause a ton of destruction. If they are able to communicate with the enemies outside, they can destroy the core components of [Goddess of Earth's Protection]. By then, the entire city will be conquered!"
"You… you dare do throw dirt on a prince? Granello, you continue to stain the honor and dignity of the Royal Family. Are you jealous that the soldiers under my command killed and decapitated more enemies than you, or are you… just like that love child Dominguez? Up to no good and want to rebel?"
Clearly, the Fourth Prince didn't think that he made a mistake, and he was so enraged by Granello's words that he instantly accused the latter of committing treason.
"Enough!" At this moment, a majestic voice suddenly resonated in the sky above the western gate.
Then, everyone felt like their vision blurred and a tall, straight figure appeared outside the watchtower on the western gate.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Tsunami-like cheers sounded, and everyone on the defense wall kneeled respectfully.
This man who suddenly appeared was Emperor Yassin.
The battle between the eight top-tier masters ended. Except for Emperor Yassin, people like Lampard already returned to St. Petersburg.
The Barcelonan troops outside St. Petersburg seemed to have noticed that the suicide squad which rushed into the city wasn't as effective as they anticipated. After they dashed within ten meters of the defense wall and got into the attack range of the archers, they suddenly sounded the retreating bugle and pulled back.
"Royal Father…" Seeing Emperor Yassin, the Fourth Prince was pleasantly surprised as he kneeled.
Just as Chrystal was about to say something, Emperor Yassin's angry gaze landed on him like two giant mountains.
"Shut up!" Emperor Yassin said in anger, and Chrystal screamed and collapsed onto the ground under the enormous invisible pressure.
People like Granello and others also instantly felt like the gravity on them increased by several times. Their bodies felt heavy, and they didn't even dare to breathe heavily.
The anger of an emperor could turn millions into corpses!
Very few people had ever seen Emperor Yassin this angry.
"You disappoint me too much!"
The intense disappointment couldn't be hidden in Emperor Yassin's eyes as he looked at the Fourth Prince. Even the soldiers and generals who were kneeling with their heads lowered sensed strong frustration and disappointment in Emperor Yassin's tone, and they felt it in their souls.
"No, Royal Father, I was framed…" The Fourth Prince felt cold, and he tried to talk himself out of it.
Chapter 1061: Severe Punishment (Part Two)
"Framed? For what? Do you really think that I don't know what you have been doing? Arrogant and greedy for merits, you ignored the lives of soldiers and commanded them without thinking. You treated the soldiers viciously and…" Emperor Yassin's gaze and tone got angrier and angrier, and he continued, "You are useless! Fine! I gave you opportunities one after another, but you never knew how to cherish them! I've decided! From now on, Fourth Prince Chrystal will be stripped of all military authority and demoted to a level 6 noble. He will never be promoted again either in the administrative branch or the military branch!"
"No! Royal Father!" The Fourth Prince never thought that his father would say such merciless words to him.
Stripped of military authorities! Never promoted again!
Since these words came from Emperor Yassin himself, they were edicts! It wiped all the Fourth Prince's future potential. From now on, he would only be an idle person, and his status would be even lower than the king of a level 6 affiliated kingdom. He could only live in such a condition for the rest of his life.
"Go away!" Emperor Yassin shouted. Without giving the Fourth Prince a chance to talk, this supreme ruler struck out and sent the Four Prince flying from the tall defense wall, landing in an unknown location in the city.
Although Emperor Yassin meticulously controlled his force as a demi-god and didn't injure the Fourth Prince, the fact that he struck a prince before tens of thousands of soldiers showed how angry he really was.
"It was me who used the wrong person, making the loyal warriors of Zenit die outside the city for nothing. I'm sorry!"
Emperor Yassin glanced at the soldiers and generals who were kneeling around him, and he said apologetically, "Please get up! You have all worked hard for the empire!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"We are willing to battle to death for Your Majesty!"
"We will protect Zenit with our lives! We will guard Your Majesty until we all die!"
Emperor Yassin's apology and caring words that recognized their hard work moved all soldiers and generals including Granello, and they felt their blood boiling. They wanted to jump down the defense wall and battle the despicable Barcelonans for good! Their felt like the fatigue was gone, and even the injuries didn't hurt as much.
Other people couldn't understand how Zenitians admired and worshipped Emperor Yassin.
To the citizens of this northern-bear-like empire, Emperor Yassin was a majestic god, and he had unparalleled influence. Even people like Granello who served Second Prince Dominguez held admiration toward Emperor Yassin that came from their souls. It was a faith and a belief.
Especially seeing Emperor Yassin scolding and punishing the Fourth Prince for the ordinary soldiers, such an apology and comforting words moved people even more.
Some veterans already sobbed in excitement with tears on their faces.
"Granello, you did well. From now on, I command you to move the best scouts in Imperial Patrol and find the Barcelonan spies that snuck into Zenit in the shortest amount of time. Don't give them the time and opportunity to cause destruction in the city." Emperor Yassin's gaze slowly turned back to Granello as he said, "I give you the authority to move any troops in the city to aid your search."
"As you wish! I'm willing to serve Your Majesty!" Granello nodded in excitement.
"Ok." With that said, Emperor Yassin suddenly disappeared from the defense wall.
The soldiers and generals all kneeled again, seeing Emperor Yassin off with respect.
Right now, it was between battles, and the soldiers finally got a short moment to rest, restore their stamina, and clean their weapons.
With a team of elite soldiers, Granello went down the defense wall and instantly returned to the headquarters of Imperial Patrol. Then, he started to move people around to do the city-wide investigation. The sense of danger intensified in his mind as if something terrifying was about to happen.
Chapter 1062: Mystery and Danger (Part One)
Granello moved the elites of Imperial Patrol and many soldiers to do the city-wide net-style search.
The appearance, bone size, and skin of Barcelonans greatly differed from Zenitians. Also, these 50-or-so Barcelonan spies who snuck into St. Petersburg probably weren't familiar with the buildings and terrain, and they didn't have hideouts.
Normally, these spies should be easily spotted. However, until the morning of the second day, Granello still didn't get any clues or leads.
This discovery made everyone confused.
Emperor Yassin asked Imperial Patrol to find those Barcelonan spies as fast as possible. Although there was no set time limit, Granello still felt a ton of pressure.
On the one hand, Granello strengthened the protection of hundreds of magic nodes in the city. On the other hand, he increased the number of people who were searching for enemies all over the city.
After a morning of zero results, Granello couldn't sit back anymore. He had to risk disturbing the Second Prince who was still healing from his injuries and went to Dominguez's estate.
"Did you encounter something difficult?" The Second Prince who looked healthy only judging from his complexion walked to the grand hall under Demonic Woman Paris' assistance and met up with Granello.
Except for Demonic Woman Paris, there was also Strategist Old Aryang of Chambord.
Without daring to hide anything, Granello told these people about what happened in detail.
However, the Second Prince didn't look surprised. It was clear that even though this prince didn't leave his estate since he was healing up, he knew everything that was going on outside
"This is the first time in more than ten years that Royal Father got that angry, right?" Dominguez leaned back in his chair and pondered.
"That is true. Ever since I followed Your Highness, I have never seen Emperor Yassin so angry. The Fourth Prince overdid it. Even in such a dire situation, he continued to go against the rules and killed close to 1,000 elites of Zenit. His Majesty… got so angry because he loves his children!" Although Granello despised the Fourth Prince, it seemed like he returned to his normal self before Dominguez. He seemed logical and chose words carefully like a low-profile and intelligent commander.
Dominguez nodded and didn't say much.
In the prior battles, he was injured by the residual power of top-tier masters. Although the injuries had healed, the distorted laws of nature still existed in his body. It was fortunate that this condition was discovered early, and Emperor Yassin healed him personally. That cured all lethal injuries and didn't allow the distorted laws of nature to harm Dominguez's core energy. However, the Second Prince still had to rest and recover, and he couldn't battle with others. Therefore, he was forced to stay in his estate by Emperor Yassin, and he didn't join the defense battles.
Granello opened his mouth several times, but no sounds came out.
Dominguez was pondering to himself. When he looked up and saw [Red Beard] Granello behaving like this, he smiled and said, "Tell us what you want to say."
Granello looked at the Demonic Woman and Old Aryang, and he finally asked the question that troubled him for a long time, "Now that the situation in St. Petersburg is this dire, how come Elder Prince Arshavin who is known as Zenit's God of War and Elder Princess Tanasha who is known as Goddess of Intelligence still haven't appeared? Also… also…"
"Also what?" Dominguez asked with a smile.
Second Prince Dominguez' attitude made Granello calm down a little, and he asked, "Also, in the last two years, the empire recruited many soldiers. Just the number of main battle legions under the Elder Prince's command reached 20, and there are close to one million soldiers. However, fewer than 400,000 soldiers remain in St. Petersburg, including the 100,000 royal guards and the defeated soldiers who retreated from the southern region battlefield. It means that less than 200,000 regular soldiers are guarding the Capital. Where are the other 800,000 elite soldiers?" Granello asked all the questions on his mind without stopping.
"Yeah, where did Royal Brother and the 800,000 elite soldiers go? They should be in St. Petersburg. I'm also curious about that," Dominguez murmured to himself. It seemed that even he didn't know where Zenit's God of War went.
A shocked expression appeared on Granello's face.
Chapter 1062: Mystery and Danger (Part Two)
"The official statement is that the Elder Prince is inside the Imperial Military Headquarters making plans, and Elder Princess is recovering from her illness inside her estate. However, many pieces of evidence show that the Elder Prince isn't in the Imperial Military Headquarters, and the Elder Princess isn't in her estate. The two of them aren't inside St. Petersburg, and the 800,000 elite soldiers that should be inside the Capital already secretly left St. Petersburg before the Barcelonan invaders arrived at the bay of the Byzantine Kingdom. This process was secretive, and almost no one discovered it."
Demonic Woman Paris finally spoke, and what she said shocked Granello.
After a pause, Paris giggled and said, "Only one person can allow 800,000 soldiers secretly pull out of St. Petersburg and not let anyone notice."
"Emperor Yassin His Majesty?" [Red Beard] wasn't a fool, and he instantly understood what Paris meant.
Since the conversation got to this point, it couldn't continue anymore. It involved His Majesty, so they shouldn't try to guess and doubt the ideas of the supreme ruler. For a moment, the atmosphere was quite subdued.
Second Prince Dominguez smiled and broke the silence, and he said with a faint smile, "Those 50-or-so Barcelonans are interesting. With their clear features, they are still able to hide from the massive search efforts. Could it be that they transformed into Zenitians?"
"Your Highness mean…" Granello's eyes lit up as he thought of something, and he said in joy, "Your Highness, I got it now! Thank you for your advice!"
After saying that, Granello cupped his hands and bowed at Paris and Old Aryang before saying farewells and leaving.
Dominguez and Old Aryang looked at each other and smiled.
"Paris, you need to speed up as well and try to get ready as soon as you can," Dominguez said lightly as he closed his eyes.
"Your Highness, don't worry. I got this." Paris nodded, and her expression rarely looked this solemn.
…
Time quickly passed by.
Soon, two days had passed.
Barcelona's sieges and attacks grew more and more aggressive. The four demi-gods of Barcelona appeared from time to time to harass, and supreme masters on the side of Zenit such as Emperor Yassin were ready and fought back.
The good thing was that both sides had great self-discipline and followed the ancient traditions of war that were unwritten rules on the Azeroth Continent. The supreme masters all didn't attack ordinary soldiers.
Granello's investigation and capture operation finally obtained some results.
On the afternoon of the second day, the masters of Imperial Patrol finally caught a Barcelonan spy.
Zenitians were shocked to find that this spy wasn't a Barcelonan or a Zenitian; he was a member of the Eindhoven Empire! After receiving special training from Barcelonans, he snuck into St. Petersburg.
Since the Eindhoven Empire was adjacent to the Zenit Empire, the citizens of the two empires had similar features and weren't too different from each other. No wonder the prior operations didn't yield anything.
Now, the situation seemed even more difficult.
The people of Eindhoven, A.K.A Eindhovenans, had a tightly-managed and strict system in St. Petersburg, and they colluded with Barcelonans.
Granello wanted to strike the iron while it was hot, and he sent out even more soldiers to search through the neighborhoods. Although his orders were fast, they had limited results; they only caught about a dozen insignificant people.
These captured spies were all sent to Imperial Patrol to be interrogated, but they all seemed extremely tough and stubborn. Even when a portion of their flesh was turned into meat paste, they didn't reveal a word.
Granello got more and more anxious as time passed by.
When the sun was about to set, the interrogations finally yielded results.
After hearing about the whole plan, Granello sweated profusely, and cold sweat appeared all over his body.
While sending people to inform the Royal Family, the Imperial Military Headquarters, and the Second Prince, Granello rushed toward the direction of the No.1 Magic Tower in the center of the city.
The core of the [Goddess of Earth's Protection], which was a magic array that was protecting the entire city, was located in that magic tower.
If this magic tower were destroyed, the entire magic array would stop working, and Zenit would fall into an unimaginable disaster.
Chapter 1063: The Giant Bear in the North, Roar! (Part One)
It was already midnight. Due to the war, all the streets were shut down as the curfew order was active.
While feeling anxious, Granello whipped his horse forcefully, trying to dash to the No.1 Magic Tower in the city with hundreds of elite soldiers as fast as he could. Due to the rush, they didn't show care to the horses and only wanted to get to their destination fast.
Like a tornado, this group of people flashed through the streets, and the loud clip-clop noises made by the horse hooves sounded like thunder in the night.
The cavalryman in the front raised the golden token of Emperor Yassin and shouted, "Imperial Patrol is on duty! We have His Majesty's golden token! Move out of the way!"
As the loud noises that the horse hooves made sounded in the sky, the soldiers all moved the checkpoints on the street to not block the way.
Shouts and noises continued to sound from the directions of the four defense walls.
Barcelonans were fighting the most fiercely at this moment in the night.
In a flash, the No.1 Magic Tower was in Granello's view.
This was the most magnificent building in St. Petersburg next to the Royal Palace, the Martial Saint Mountain, and the Imperial Knight Palace. Streaks of orange-yellowish rings of magic energy surrounded the magic tower like tangible objects, and they slowly rotated around this giant, spear-like black tower. Many magic traps were set up around the area, and more than 5,000 elite soldiers were stationed close by.
Seeing that No.1 Magic Tower was intact, Granello heaved a sigh of relief and sped up.
"Stop! If you move forward for 100 meters, we will shoot!" A fortress that was about five meters tall appeared ahead, and the guarding soldiers heard the clip-clop noises made by the horse hooves and instantly shouted a warning. At the same time, they got ready to attack.
"His Majesty's golden token is right here!" the cavalryman of Imperial Patrol who led the charge raised Emperor Yassin's golden token, and the team got to move forward.
Granello rode the horse to the fortress, and he calmed down a little seeing that the defense mechanisms were intact, and it didn't look like anything was attacked. He casually asked, "Before we got here, did anyone else enter?"
"Sir, about 15 minutes ago, the Fourth Prince came here with about 50 guards, and he said that he was following His Majesty's order and needed to enter the No.1 Magic Tower!" the military officer who was guarding the first checkpoint replied respectfully.
"What?" Granello was shocked, and he said, "The Fourth Prince was already demoted by Emperor Yassin His Majesty, and he isn't going to be used for anything. Everyone in the city knows that! How can he be following His Majesty's order? Damn it! Why didn't you stop…"
Boom!
Before Granello could finish speaking and dash forward, the ground started to shake violently.
It felt like a giant prehistoric beast was underground, and it was about to break out.
The horses that the cavalrymen were riding got scared, and they neighed and raised their front legs. They became violent and anxious as if something terrible was about to happen.
At this moment, people like Granello no longer had time to focus on the horses.
The ground was shaking more and more.
As booming noises sounded, the tough ground became as soft as the surface of a lake, and it was hard for people to stand still on it.
More terrifying was that the giant, miracle-like No.1 Magic Tower 1,000 meters away started to shake as well, and the streaks of orange-yellowish rings of magic light that surrounded the tower which soared into the sky started to break and shatter, disappearing under people's eyes.
Chapter 1063.2: The Giant Bear in the North, Roar! (Part Two)
"The magic tower… is about to collapse?" the guarding soldiers also looked desperate.
Everyone knew what it meant for Zenitians if the No.1 Magic Tower collapsed at this moment. This represented the complete destruction and death.
Boom!
In the next moment, the statue of Emperor Yassin swinging a sword, which was placed at the top of the No.1 Magic Tower, fell from the sky. This symbol that represented the empire's power smashed onto the ground, sending dust into the air.
Then, the No.1 Magic Tower that was said to be indestructible started to break down. Visible black cracks appeared all over its body, and eye-piercing orange light flames shot out of the cracks!
Suddenly, an ear-piercing siren sounded in the sky above the city.
This noise made the entire city fall into a state of uncontrollable terror and chaos.
"Damn it! What happened?" Granello felt cold inside.
"Sir, please retreat! The energy inside the magic tower is in a state of disorder, and the tower is about to explode!" a military officer shouted into Granello's ears.
"Retreat? Retreat to where?" Granello's face was pale, and he smiled tragically as he said, "The city is about to break, and Barcelonans surround us from all sides. We have no place to retreat to. I'm the guiltiest person in the empire. I'm a bit too late! I'm responsible for all this!"
While Granello spoke, the orange-yellowish [Goddess of Earth's Protection] which covered the city and represented safety and warmth started to break down. The magic shield that could endure full-force attacks of demi-gods shattered like a broken eggshell, and the orange-yellow magic energy turned into pieces and fell from the sky. Before they could get to the ground, they disappeared in mid-air.
The magic shield broke!
St. Petersburg was done!
Without the [Goddess of Earth's Protection], St. Petersburg was like a naked woman before an ill-intentioned man. Barcelonans now could do whatever they wanted.
"If I were able to figure out those damn Eindhovenans and realized that they are spies for Barcelonans, the situation wouldn't have gotten to this devastating degree. Now, everything is done for! I've let down His Majesty's trust, and I let down the millions and millions of citizens in St. Petersburg. I did all this…"
Granello wanted to cut his throat and use his death to punish himself. However, the little bit of logic that he had left made him control his impulse.
After thinking for a bit, Granello dragged over a henchman whispered something into this man's ear.
"Sir, please take care! Go!" This cavalryman nodded along, and he jumped onto his horse and whipped it before dashing away and leaving the area that was shaking the most.
Granello pulled out the longsword on his belt and looked at his brothers who followed him here. He said, "Warriors, the destruction is about to arrive. If you leave here and escape, you aren't a coward. However, if you choose to stay, it is the moment to show our loyalty to the empire. Let's turn our fear into anger! Follow me and charge into the tower! Let's kill all the spies who destroyed the tower! This is the last thing that we can do for the empire and our loved ones!"
Radiant warrior energy flames burned around Granello.
Since the ground was shaking more and more, it was impossible to ride the horses.
Granello got off his horse and dashed toward the magic tower that was collapsing.
"Sir, we will follow you until death!"
The rest of the members of Imperial Patrol didn't hesitate, and they all dashed into the collapsing magic tower like moths to a flame.
Right now, out of about 5,000 elite soldiers who were guarding the tower, more than half of them were either dead or severely injured.
However, none of them chose to escape. They all drew out their swords and followed the cavalrymen while singing the anthem of the empire.
"Even the lowly lives have dignity. Our glory is written in the history of the empire that is filled with hardships. Wars can never make Zenitians retreat! The giant bear of the north, roar!"
The tragic song resonated in the messy and chaotic night.
Chapter 1064: Broken City (Part One)
"What is going on?"
In the Royal Palace, Emperor Yassin instantly sensed the strangeness, and his face changed color. He was always calm, but a shocked expression appeared at this moment. He turned into a streak of light and dashed through the ceiling of his palace before shooting toward the magic tower in the center of the city.
"Hahaha! Yassin, you only discovered it now? Don't you think that it is a bit too late?" a series of arrogant laughs sounded in the air like rumbling thunder.
It was Alves, a demi-god of Barcelona.
The short, bearded Alves looked vicious, and his green eyes looked violent. While his energy flames burned around him, he stood in mid-air and blocked Emperor Yassin's path.
The demi-gods' speed was insane. Without the blockage of the [Goddess of Earth's Protection], demi-gods could appear above St. Petersburg with a thought.
It was clear that everything was under Barcelona's control.
"F*ck off!"
Emperor Yassin didn't want to waste time. With a roar, his Realm of Swords instantly opened. Then, he made a hand gesture, and a giant sword of light shot out of his arms, tearing through space and chopping down on Alves' head murderously.
Alves laughed proudly and released his power of realm. His arms crossed before his head, and a giant orange-yellowish energy shield appeared. It looked tangible, and radiant and mystical runes flashed on its surface.
Boom!!!
Emperor Yassin's sword of light and Alves' energy shield collided together, and an earth-shaking noise resonated in the sky.
"Haha! Huh? How is this possible?" Alves still looked proud a moment ago, but his expression changed drastically in the next second.
The orange energy shield above Alves' head shattered, and an indescribable sharpness cut through his Realm of Defense and forcefully struck his body. Alves was pressed onto the ground, creating a giant crater that one couldn't see the bottom of. All the houses and buildings in the area shattered and disappeared like collapsing sand sculptures.
Although they were demi-gods, Emperor Yassin actually struck Alves and sent him flying with one move!
Without having time to deal with his opponent who he just knocked away, Emperor Yassin rushed toward the No.1 Magic Tower that was collapsing while feeling anxious. He had to rush to the magic tower right away and try to repair it before it completely collapsed. Otherwise, St. Petersburg, a city with a history of hundreds of years, was going to be completely destroyed.
Unfortunately, someone didn't want Emperor Yassin to do that.
"Stop here; this path isn't open," a calm and cold voice sounded.
The second demi-god of Barcelona, Mascherano who was muscular and silent, tore open space and walked out of the void, blocking Emperor Yassin's path.
Whoosh!
Without talking, Emperor Yassin instantly attacked. His Realm of Sword was opened to the maximum. With a wave of his hand, many destructive swords of light formed before Emperor Yassin, and they shot toward Mascherano like raindrops in a storm.
The latter didn't dare to act arrogant, and he opened his realm at full power.
Many orange ancient mountains with runes flashing on them appeared before Mascherano. Compared to Alves, The power of Mascherano's realm was even more focused on defense, and his realm was tougher and more powerful.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Terrifying energies exploded continuously and radiated in the sky, completely engulfing Mascherano.
Without wasting any time, Emperor Yassin dashed forward and bypassed the explosion zone, flying toward the magic tower in the center as quickly as he could.
Chapter 1064: Broken City (Part Two)
However, two more figures appeared and blocked him with powerful energy flames burning around them; they were Busquets and Pedro, the last two demi-gods of Barcelona in the region.
At the same time, Alves and Mascherano who Emperor Yassin left behind him also slowly approached and surrounded him with the other two demi-gods.
Right now, Emperor Yassin was locked in the center of a square formation.
The five demi-gods emitted radiant energy flames, and it felt like five suns appeared in the sky at the same time, lighting up the sky and making it feel like noon.
Right now, tens of millions of residents in the buildings that stretched into the horizon all walked out. Some of them didn't even have time to put on their clothes, and they rushed out of their homes anxiously. In fact, some people even got stomped after falling.
Further away, flames already burned on the defense walls on all four sides, and a few sections of the defense walls already collapsed. Countless soldiers of Barcelona rushed into the city through those collapsed sections of the defense walls. Like evil demons, cries, fire, blood, and corpses appeared wherever they went.
Emperor Yassin slightly sighed in his mind.
"We are only one step away from achieving that plan. How come an issue appeared at such a moment? How did Barcelonans destroy the central magic tower? How come the elite troops, mage groups, and various traps and mechanisms didn't show any warnings? How come we didn't have any time to react? It is all too late now."
What confused Emperor Yassin more was that supreme masters such as Hazel Bank and Lampard still hadn't appeared yet. With such a big situation happening in St. Petersburg, there was no way that people like them didn't detect it. What was going on?
…
"What happened? The [Goddess of Earth's Protection]… the magic array…"
In the Second Prince's estate, Dominguez who was only wearing a thin white robe rushed out of his bedroom in barefoot. Seeing the shattered orange magic energy shields falling down from the sky, Dominguez was shocked to his core.
At the same time, everyone inside the Second Prince's estate became frantic.
The people who were sleeping all screamed and got up, and they quickly put on their clothes as they looked for their weapons and armor.
The guard team instantly rushed to the Second Prince's resting palace, surrounding Dominguez and protecting him from all angles. Also, his close guards quickly brought over the Second Prince's magic armor, weapons, and other equipment, and they helped him put the equipment on.
"Your Highness…" A knight in red armor rushed in and said, "The central magic tower collapsed, and Granello sent me here to inform Your Highness. St. Petersburg can't be saved. Your Highness, please charge through the enemies in the north and get to Chambord…"
This knight was the henchman who Granello sent back to pass the message.
"Where is Granello?" Dominguez gradually calmed down at this moment.
"Your Highness, Mr. Granello said that he is doing to redeem himself. He already charged into the magic tower that is about to explode with others, and he is going to die with the Barcelonan spies." While he said that, a sad expression appeared on this knight's face. "Mr. Granello… he… he might already…"
"He isn't dead!" Dominguez said with determination, "I won't retreat as well! Stand up and follow me! We will battle the enemies!"
While Dominguez said that, a loud noise sounded in the sky. Everyone looked up and saw Emperor Yassin chopping Alves away with a strike.
Chapter 1065: Realness During Crisis (Part One)
"His Majesty is unrivaled!"
"His Majesty is unrivaled!"
Such a motivating scene excited all Zenitians and pumped their confidence.
However, after Emperor Yassin knocked away Alves, several masters of Barcelona appeared and blocked Emperor Yassin. Seeing this, the Zenitians realized that Emperor Yassin couldn't turn the tables around tonight all by himself. If they didn't want to become ghosts under the blades of Barcelonans, they had to raise their weapons and fight the invaders to the death!
Second Prince Dominguez rushed onto the street with his guards.
At this moment, the entirety of St. Petersburg was a mess.
Zenitians who were anxious, helpless, and frantic were everywhere on the street, and they were crying nonstop. With the shattering of the [Goddess of Earth's Protection], even a three-year-old child knew what it meant for this city. The devils of Barcelona who had killed hundreds of millions of Zenitians in the southern region could directly dash into the city, and the Zenitians in St. Petersburg were going to be slaughtered and assaulted by Barcelonans.
"Mom, Mom, where are you?" a little girl who had a doll in her arms cried in the crowd. She was with her family, but they lost each other in the giant crowd.
"Dad, Dad!" a young man was shouting.
Further away, a weak old man got pushed around and fell to the ground. While his forehead bled, he couldn't get up anymore. His son was shouting about five meters away, but he was getting pushed further and further away by the moving crowd and couldn't get close to help his father to stand.
In just a few seconds, this old man disappeared in the crowd, and the young man couldn't do anything about it.
Everything was a mess.
Dominguez rushed out of his estate with soldiers, but he ran into the messy crowds after moving for about one kilometer. Civilians rushed out like waves in a tsunami, and cries and whines could be heard from all directions. This scene merged burning flames and screams sounding from the defense walls, and it looked like the end of the world.
"Quick! Organize people and make them calm down! They can't panic!" Dominguez shouted at the soldiers around him.
Nothing was more terrifying than being inside a chaotic crowd.
Some Star-Level Warriors jumped onto buildings and statues, and they shouted under the empowerment of warrior energy, continuing to comfort the frantic civilians in the crowd. Gradually, this landslide-like chaotic situation got slightly controlled.
"Quick! Lead them to the northern gate! Let them escape in the direction of Chambord City; that is the only way that they can survive," Dominguez shouted and ordered the soldiers, letting cavalrymen open the path and lead the civilians toward the north."
"Paris! Paris, where are you?" Seeing the situation getting controlled, Dominguez roared and called out.
Like a white rose that was blooming in the midnight, the Demonic Woman dashed over by stepping on statues and walls.
"How is everything with the plan?" Dominguez shouted and tried to overpower the noises in the area so that Paris could hear him.
"Everything is ready, Your Highness." Paris also shouted back as sweat dripped down her face.
"That is good. Now, lead these people to the northern gate with all the elites of Imperial Patrol! Go to the northern gate right now! You must control the situation over there. Kill through the enemies and release the civilians…" Dominguez took out a golden token from his breast pocket and threw it to Paris.
Chapter 1065: Realness During Crisis (Part Two)
"Your Highness, what about you?" Paris vaguely guessed the Second Prince's mind.
"Hahaha! I'm going to teach those bstards of Barcelona a lesson! Quickly go! Don't be naggy at this moment. Take out the cold-blooded and merciless presence as the Demonic Woman. If you can protect and allow one million civilians to walk out of the northern gate safely, you will be a hero of the empire. Of course, if you can leave the Capital alive and see that bstard Alexander, tell him that even though he didn't appear when St. Petersburg needed him the most, I forgive him. I believe that he isn't able to come here for an important reason!"
At this critical life-and-death moment, Dominguez who looked sleepy all the time and seemed to not care about anything finally showed the bravery and courage that Zenitians didn't lack.
After saying those things to Paris, bright warrior energy flames burned on Dominguez' body, and he turned into a beam of light and shot toward the center of St. Petersburg alone.
"Your Highness… take care!" Paris whispered in her mind before going to Imperial Patrol to move the elites with the golden token.
…
-In the noble residential area of St. Petersburg-
This high-level zone was usually tightly guarded and lively, but it was chaotic and messy at this moment.
"Quick! Close the gate for me! Active the magic defensive arrays! Don't let anyone come in!"
Some nobles chose to stay inside their large estates that had tall walls and tried to defend. They ignored what was going on outside and stayed inside like turtles as if this could get them through all tragedies.
"What is going on? Why did the city get conquered? What should we do? Damn it! What was the military doing?"
Some people became frantic and didn't know what to do.
"Haha! It is done! Zenit is done! Let's die together! Let's get devoured by burning flames!"
Some nobles became crazy due to fear. They didn't want their wives, daughters, and sons to be assaulted and humiliated by Barcelonans, so they killed them and ignited their estates by magic, dying together amongst the flames.
"Quick! Gather all the guards of the family and place treasures on carriages! Protect the Madam and His Highness! Let's charge out of here!"
Some people didn't have the courage to die and decided to try to break out.
"Brothers, today, our courage and honor are on the line! Pick up your swords and sabers! Let's go and teach those b*stards of Barcelona a lesson! Let them know the power of the giant bear in the north! Even before death, the brave Zenitians aren't going to back down!"
Among the nobles who enjoyed privileges and wealth, there were hot-blooded warriors. Hundreds of young and passionate nobles gathered their guards and soldiers and formed a temporary troop before charging toward the streets where flames were burning and cries were sounding.
Right now, although the noble residential area wasn't as chaotic as the civilian residential area, people were feeling anxious.
…
-Imperial Knight Palace-
Ten black knight towers surrounded the giant black tower in the middle. Compared to the noisy outside, it was peaceful here.
The ten executive knights of Zenit all appeared in the giant central tower fully-armed.
Knight Captain Akinfeev who was in battle armor on the stone throne looked at his ten most loyal subordinates who were single-kneeling.
Akinfeev's expression was strangely calm. Under the illumination of the flickering flames of the two torches on the two sides, brightness and darkness continued to move on Akinfeev's face.
Chapter 1066: The Will of Battle Skyrocketed on the Martial Saint Mountain (Part One)
"Tonight might be the last night that the Imperial Knight Palace is going to exist in this world. The final moment is here. Tell me, are you afraid and scared?" Akinfeev's voice was as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice.
"We are not afraid; we will live and die with the empire," the ten execution knights responded in unison.
Some of these knights side with different princes and participated in the battle of the throne, some of them had conflicts with the Imperial Martial Saint and became villains in King Alexander of Chambord's legend, and some of them were new after some of the older execution knights died in battle.
Tenth Execution Knight Piazon, the Silver Moon Knight, was someone new after the former Tenth Execution Knight, Golden Sun Knight, joined the Martial Saint Mountain.
Piazon was only 18 years old, and he was a rare young genius.
However, regardless of how old these execution knights were and what their characters were like, none of them looked afraid before foreign enemies. When the empire was in danger, they all showcased the fearlessness and bravery of Zenit, the giant bear in the north.
The bravery that real warriors showed before death had nothing to do with their personality and character.
"Ok, go and summon your retinues. I will give you three minutes to arrange all personal matters," Akinfeev said as he stood up from his stone throne, "Tonight, let's battle alongside each other and bleed for the empire until the last moment."
"Yes!" The ten execution knights stood up and walked toward their own knight towers as their red long capes fluttered. They had to use precious time to get prepared.
"Silver Moon Knight, stay for a bit." Akinfeev suddenly thought of something.
Piazon who was the youngest among the knights turned around with confusion on his face.
The Knight Captain looked at this handsome and dashing young knight, and he suddenly felt like he saw himself from 50 years ago. Back then, Akinfeev was just as fearless as Piazon, and he followed Emperor Yassin and charged at the foremost in battles. He dared to face all enemies to prove his ideology, honor, and bravery. Time passed by, and everything changed.
"Come here."
Akinfeev beckoned and called Silver Moon Knight Piazon over to him. Then, he took out a sealed magic scroll from his storage ring and placed it in the hands of this young knight. He said seriously, "Don't go to battle. Change into the attire of a civilian and escape the city with this scroll. Make sure you deliver it to King Alexander of Chambord."
"Sir, this…" The young Piazon was confused.
"You will understand everything later. Young man, remember, this scroll concerns the future of Zenit. Zenit might have a chance to rise from the ashes. This scroll is more important than your life. I don't care what method you use, you have to personally deliver this scroll to Imperial Martial Saint Alexander. No mistakes can be made!" Akinfeev's tone was extremely serious.
"Sir, I…" Piazon was shocked by this. He was young, and he would rather grab his sword and battle Barcelonans alongside his peers instead of running away like a coward.
"This is an order. You are young and new to the Imperial Knight Palace. Therefore, the Barcelonans don't know much about you. I need you to pretend to be a civilian, a beggar, a kid, an idiot… I don't care what method you use. Even if you have to temporarily swallow your pride and surrender to the enemies, you need to personally deliver this scroll to the Imperial Martial Saint. You will be the greatest hero in the history of Zenit if you can complete this mission!"
Chapter 1066: The Will of Battle Skyrocketed on the Martial Saint Mountain (Part Two)
"Yes, Sir!" The young Silver Moon Knight finally nodded and took the scroll before carefully putting it into his pocket.
"Here are two more things for you." Akinfeev thought for a moment and took out a silver scroll and a golden scroll. He said, "The silver scroll can create a prison of light capable of imprisoning anyone who isn't a demi-god. The golden scroll contains one full-force attack of Emperor Yassin His Majesty. They will be useful to you in critical moments. Quickly go now!"
"Sir, you… please take care!"
Piazon didn't decline and took the scrolls.
While single-kneeling, he bowed and turned around before walking out of the palace.
Seeing the Silver Moon Knight walking away, Akinfeev heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed a bit. Then, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
Akinfeev thought, "Kid, you are still young, and your talent is almost on par with Third Prince Alexander. It isn't worth it to die in this unrecoverable battle. Go find His Highness with the secret inheritance scroll that His Majesty drafted. If you can be valued by the Third Prince, you will become a bright star of the empire. The future of the empire depends on young people like you. It is about time for old people like us to exit the stage."
Soon, the other nine execution knights returned with their knight retinues.
Although these knights were confused when they didn't see the Silver Moon Knight, they didn't say anything.
"Let's go! Let's proceed to our final battle!"
Knight Captain Akinfeev of the Imperial Knight Palace of Zenit, the warrior who was called Emperor Yassin's most loyal henchman by people in later generations, slowly walked down his stone chair. With his blood-red cape sliding behind him on the smooth floor, Akinfeev walked into the last battle of his life with his subordinates.
…
-On the Martial Saint Mountain located in the center of St. Petersburg-
As soon as the [Goddess of Earth's Protection] shattered, the former Golden Sun Knight Chris Sutton who was cultivating cross-legged by the cliff sighed and opened his eyes.
"This day finally arrived?"
Sutton slowly got up, and sadness appeared on his face as he saw the No.1 Magic Tower further away collapsing irreversibly.
Soon, about 60 powerful figures appeared behind Sutton. They were the members of the Martial Saint Mountain and the disciples of the former Martial Saint Krasic.
"Sir, what should we do now?" a disciple asked.
"Battle!" Sutton's answer only consisted of one word.
As soon as he said that, Sutton reached out his hand, and a knight lance made of black gold appeared in his palm. Then, he beckoned at his mount, a wolf beast, that was resting not far away, and it broke the chain and got to him while licking him with its dark-pink tongue and rubbing against his body with its head intimately.
"Old Friend, help me again today, for the last time!" Sutton looked up at the smoke that was soaring into the sky from all directions as flames burned on the defense walls, and he looked down at this demon beast that grew up with him and was like his brother.
While caressing this beast's head, Sutton didn't know what emotion he was feeling.
"Send someone to take care of Luffy His Highness' mother. If possible, make sure to protect the Madam and bring her to Chambord." Sutton suddenly thought of something and said to one of the members of the Martial Saint Mountain.
"No need," a calm and gentle female voice sounded as a woman walked out from the trees further away on the peak of Martial Saint Mountain. She was the wife of [One Sword] who was the former sword genius of Zenit.
Chapter 1067: Martial Saint Mountain & Letter Office (Part One)
This beautiful woman who was born in an ordinary civilian family showed shocking calm at this life-and-death moment. Right now, she even had a gorgeous smile on her face.
With a cold longsword in her hand, she said lightly, "General Sutton, don't let the masters of the empire waste their time and energy on an insignificant woman like me…"
"Madam?" Sutton was surprised and asked, "But you alone…"
This woman slightly shook her head and showed her beautiful and gentle profile. She said, "My son has Mr. Alexander as his master, and he will be taken care of. I don't have any regrets in this world. The warriors of Zenit shouldn't escape from battle and lose their honor because they must protect an insignificant woman like me. Warriors, please battle to your hearts' content."
After saying that, she cut her throat with the blade and committed suicide. Blood spilled around her.
A beauty passed away just like that.
No one expected her to be so brave and make such a decision.
This young woman lived an ordinary life and didn't leave any shocking stories. After she died, not many people would remember her aside from her family.
In fact, until death, she didn't know that her son, Luffy, sunk into the depths of the ocean with [King Alexander] during the battle at the Bay of Byzantine, and no one knew if he was still alive.
This ordinary woman used the most shocking method to end her flower-like life. She knew that if she fell into the hands of Barcelonans, death would even be better than the treatment that she would get. The same went for all Zenitian women.
After freezing on the spot for a moment, Sutton sighed and struck the ground, creating a deep crater. Then, he carefully placed this woman's corpse into it to give her a proper burial.
After doing that, Sutton jumped onto his wolf beast and shouted, "Let's battle!"
This warrior turned into a beam of light and dashed toward the southern gate of St. Petersburg where the largest number of Barcelonans were at.
With solemn expressions, the about 60 members of the Martial Saint Mountain changed into armor and grabbed their swords. Then, they jumped off the mountain with anger flashing in their eyes and warrior energy flames burning around their bodies, and they headed toward the locations where the enemies were packed.
…
-Inside an ordinary-looking residence in St. Petersburg-
Compared to the people around this place who were frantic and running around, this residence was extremely quiet. More than a dozen warriors in black armor stood in the shadow in the courtyard, and they had caution written on their faces. Like statues, they merged with the darkness as they paid attention to what was going on outside.
Inside the main room, the magic lights were lit, and more than a dozen black-armored warriors were guarding it as well.
Many magic array paths that were hard to detect blinked on the green-stone-tiled floor, and this magic array connected to a secret chamber about 100 meters underground.
This secret chamber was about the size of a soccer field, and many cabinets, weapons, and various items were placed in here.
Also, there were about 300 warriors and mages who looked solemn and had powerful presences.
The 13 warriors standing at the foremost were unique. Their auras were deep, steady, and hidden. They were all Moon-Class Elites who were masters in the region.
These people were facing a young man who was about 20 years old. This young man was thin, and he looked handsome with his long blond hair. With a calm and calculative aura around him, he read all the reports and lightly sighed.