Chapter 202 : Chapter 202
Chapter 202. A Gamble, and a Watching Gaze
William nodded. He understood what his father meant. They had to seize this opportunity to expand their territory. After the two of them discussed a few more details, they ended the communication.
After thinking for a moment, William contacted Ancestor Fenlilan as well. The other party pondered for a long time before finally agreeing.
“William, the Kroll Kingdom has now advanced two more people to the Domain level. Including the Dragon Mother, we have ten Domain-Level Powerhouses. The Kroll Kingdom will take this great gamble. In two days, we will arrive at Despair Fortress.”
After saying that, he ended the communication.
William held the Communication Crystal and remained silent for a long time. Then he raised his head, looked outside, and summoned a messenger. He ordered the Fourth and Fifth Gold Legions to depart and return to the Royal Capital. The messenger accepted the order and left.
Three hours later, he walked to the fortress watchtower and watched the banners of the Fourth and Fifth Gold Legions move across the wilderness. They were like two golden torrents, heading far away toward the Royal Capital.
The chance to expand their territory would vanish in the blink of an eye. His father’s decisions had always been ruthless, and William also needed to seize the opportunity.
Three days later, the first burst of magical light exploded above the ruins of Zu’Aman City.
The golden torrent of the Holy Light collided with the dark-purple Dou Qi of Blackgold amid the broken walls and ruins. The aftershock of a Super-Tier Spell lifted half a tower into the air, sending shattered stones and broken wood flying together with blood.
The Bishop personally took command at the front. The Holy Light in his palm condensed into a giant spear, and every time he threw it, Blackgold soldiers fell in swathes.
Meanwhile, the dark-purple Dou Qi commanded by Mog transformed into black mist, continuously corroding the Holy Light Barrier. Both sides attacked and counterattacked, and the cries of slaughter shook the entire valley.
Just as the Holy Light and Blackgold were locked in a fierce stalemate, with exhaustion beginning to show on both sides, the sky was suddenly covered by a layer of blazing golden light.
Thirty-two figures broke through the clouds. The woman at their head wore gilded armor, and her golden hair burned like flames beneath the sunlight. It was none other than Pandora of the Radiant Sun Empire.
With a swing of the longsword “Dawn” in her hand, a blade of light that spanned heaven and earth instantly descended, tearing open a gap through both the Holy Light and Blackgold battle lines at the same time.
“You dare steal what belongs to me?”
Pandora’s voice carried a metallic coldness. Thirty-two Domain-Level Powerhouses orbited around her like satellites, their majestic auras pressing down until even the air trembled.
The Bishop had just been about to throw a giant spear of Holy Light when it was blocked by two Domain-Level Powerhouses beside Pandora. The golden spear of light shattered instantly.
Before Mog’s black mist could coil around his opponent, it had already been ground to powder by three streams of Radiant Sun Dou Qi.
In only a single exchange, the formations of the Holy Light and Blackgold began to loosen.
“Pandora, does the Radiant Sun Empire intend to face both of our sides at once?”
The Bishop roared as he drove even more Holy Light forward, only to discover that the other party’s Domains were like walls of bronze and iron. No matter how he attacked, they did not budge in the slightest.
Pandora sneered. Her figure suddenly vanished from where she stood, and when she reappeared, she was already in front of Mog. Her longsword stabbed straight toward his throat.
Mog hastily gathered Dou Qi to block, but the impact forced him back again and again. The web between his thumb and forefinger split open, and scarlet blood dripped onto his black crow cloak.
“Both of you?” She turned her wrist, and the edge of her blade swept past Mog’s neck, bringing up a string of blood beads.
“Do you think you are worthy?”
Thirty-two Domain-Level Powerhouses launched their attacks at the same time. The blazing Dou Qi unique to the Radiant Sun Empire fell like a rainstorm. The Holy Light Barrier was battered until it teetered on the verge of collapse, while Blackgold soldiers fell in great swathes.
The battlefield that had originally been evenly matched instantly turned into a one-sided crushing by the Radiant Sun Empire.
The ruins of Zu’Aman City trembled on the verge of collapse beneath the collision of the three forces.
The air was filled with the mixed aura of divinity, the scorching heat of the Holy Light, the chill of Dark Dou Qi, and the Radiant Sun Empire’s tyrannical power, which was as overbearing as the sun itself.
On the watchtower of Despair Fortress, William gazed at the surging radiance on the distant horizon. He had not expected the Radiant Sun Empire to arrive so quickly.
However, the plan still had to continue.
He flipped onto Darwin’s back. The giant dragon let out a low chant, spread his wings, and soared straight into the clouds.
The wind howled past William’s ears. He looked down at Despair Fortress, which was gradually shrinking below him, and tightened his grip on the sword at his waist.
Pandora’s forceful intervention had disrupted his arrangements. Now, he could only take things one step at a time.
Dragon Mother Daenerys’s Red-Gold Dragon was crouched on a hill outside the fortress. Its golden scales flowed with a molten radiance beneath the sunlight.
Seeing William arrive, she leaped down from the dragon’s back. Her purple-gold robe brushed over the shattered stones on the ground, and her gaze was as sharp as an eagle’s.
“Pandora brought thirty-two Domain-Level Powerhouses? The Radiant Sun Empire’s ambition is even greater than we imagined.”
“They do not only want divinity.”
William landed on the ground.
“They also want to directly produce a Demigod in Zu’Aman City. What I do not understand is why the Radiant Sun Empire would choose Pandora, an Elf, as the candidate to become a Demigod.”
Daenerys’s fingertips brushed over the scales of the Red-Gold Dragon, and the giant dragon let out a low roar.
“Who knows? Perhaps she sold her body for it.”
At that moment, familiar footsteps came from the other side of the hill. Fenlilan slowly walked over, followed by Lynn and two members of the Royal Family Secret Realm.
The Ancestor’s gaze swept across the sky, where the energy fluctuations were still violent.
“Let us go. We will take a look.”
William nodded, his gaze meeting Fenlilan’s.
The sharpness in the Ancestor’s eyes matched his own thoughts exactly.
“Our target is that mass of Impure Divinity.”
He said in a deep voice, “Pandora wants to use the divinity to advance. The Holy Light and Blackgold have not given up either. When all three sides restrain one another, that will be our opportunity to act.”
“Originally, I planned to gradually devour the various kingdoms of the Southern Continent, but the expansion of the Three Great Empires has already left us no chance to develop slowly.”
“Now, we can only take a shortcut. Whether or not it proves too much for us to swallow, we must eat it first.”
Ancestor Fenlilan slowly nodded. His voice carried the resolve of one who had smashed his cauldrons and sunk his boats.
“Let us go and take a look. Once they have fought enough, it will not be too late for us to show ourselves. This time, we must seize that divinity. Relying on others is never as good as relying on ourselves. As long as Lynn advances to Demigod, our Kroll Kingdom can be considered to have secured its foothold.”
The group followed Fenlilan toward Zu’Aman City.
The closer they drew to the center of the city, the more scorching the surging energy fluctuations became. It was as though countless invisible threads were pulling and colliding with one another. Even the stone slabs beneath their feet trembled faintly.
In the distant sky, halos of various colors exploded from time to time. Those were the aftershocks produced when different powers clashed. Muffled roars rolled over with the wind, pressing so heavily against their chests that breathing became difficult.
Fenlilan raised his hand and released a pale-gold barrier, isolating the restless energy outside. He warned them in a low voice.
“Be careful. There are quite a few ‘hidden additives’ mixed into this chaotic energy. Do not fall for them.”
William nodded. His fingertips subconsciously pressed against the hilt of the sword at his waist, and his gaze remained fixed on the district ahead, which was shrouded in light.
There, the sounds of slaughter, collisions between magic artifacts, and furious roars were tangled together like a pot of boiling lava, waiting for the moment someone lifted the lid.
Fenlilan’s group hid behind fractured rocks. Dragon Mother Daenerys’s giant dragons restrained their auras, and their scales glimmered dully in the shadows, almost blending into the surrounding rocks.
Lynn’s gaze, however, remained fixed on the high sky, his brows twisting into a knot.
“What is it?” Fenlilan noticed his abnormal reaction and tapped his cane lightly against the ground. “Is there movement in the sky?”
Lynn shook his head, then nodded again. His voice carried uncertainty.
“I cannot say… I just feel that something is wrong.”
He raised his head and looked toward the cloud layer muddied by the energy turbulence.
“It feels like something is hanging up there. It is completely still, but it makes my skin crawl even more than the killing intent on the battlefield.”
William followed his gaze. There were only rolling gray clouds high above. Occasionally, golden light from Radiant Sun Dou Qi or streams of Holy Light flame tore through the cloud layer. Other than that, there was nothing unusual.
“Could it be an illusion created by the collision of energy?”
“The Domains of the powerhouses from all three sides are nearly tearing space apart. It is inevitable that there will be abnormal fluctuations.”
Yet Lynn did not relax. The feeling coming from high above was like a fine needle stabbing into the space between his brows.
“It is not a fluctuation… It is a ‘gaze.’”
He gritted his teeth.
“It feels like a prey being watched. Cold, icy, and carrying… greed.”