City of Destruction

"Clemens F. Metternich?"

Bartholomew frowned at the unfamiliar name of the person in the black robe.

But clearly, now was not the time to investigate this person's origins.

At this moment, he seemed to discover something, and his nose twitched as he sniffed.

In an instant, Bartholomew's composure vanished, replaced by an expression of extreme disgust. He said menacingly, "Damn it! I smell the stench of filthy vampires too!"

Upon smelling the scent of blood, the silver wolf's fur exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and a low growl rumbled in its throat.

He paused, then fixed his large, bell-like eyes on the members of the Oma royal family opposite him and sneered, "What, have you two great empires, Oma and Xid, joined forces to deal with me?"

The fact that he felt such a strong threat meant that the vampire who had arrived must have a high bloodline, at least a "Prince" level Bloodline!

If the Oma royal family members before him were merely enemies with differing stances for a werewolf, then those filthy vampires were ancient enemies with whom they had fought for thousands of years, sworn enemies to the death!

In the vast Xid Empire, how many Prince-level Bloodlines were there?

It was puzzling that a first-rank Prince would lower his status to ambush him on Oma Empire territory.

The Oma royal family and the Xid royal family had been sworn enemies for hundreds of years; why would they suddenly join forces?

Neither his identity as one of the "Top Ten Legendary Demon Hunters" nor his position as "White Wolf Bandit Group Leader" should warrant the combined efforts of two great empires.

In that instant, Bartholomew's mind raced with countless conspiracies, but all of them seemed unbelievable.

But strangely, Everyone on the Oma Empire's side seemed to turn a deaf ear.

No one responded to Bartholomew's previous statement, and the matter of vampires seemed to not exist at all.

Rein, standing on the second floor of the drafty tavern, wore an expression of utter despair, having been forced to witness the development of this entire "major event."

He was trembling and unable to move, crushed by the aura of the powerful figures clashing.

Anyone present was a significant figure who could crush him, a mere newly awakened extraordinary, with a single finger.

He wanted to slip away, but his feet wouldn't obey.

It felt like an ant beneath the feet of a herd of elephants; any slight movement would result in being crushed to smithereens!

"I can't believe this..."

Rein was truly speechless.

More than a year of hellish imprisonment had made him sick of the harsh realities of life.

He had painstakingly played the fool for a year, and only then had he finally escaped the control of the "Weasel Bandit Group" and the schemes of that cunning old fox, Piscis.

And now, he had just escaped one dragon's den only to fall into a tiger's lair?

Was this level of conflict something a small fry like him could get involved in?

Meanwhile, the heavily armored Grand Knight Commander Rhine entered the ruins.

He helped up the severely injured Princess Ymir and said softly with an apologetic tone, "Your Highness, you should leave this place first. Metternich has passed down the Emperor's secret order, and I can only comply."

Originally, he was the only one who knew Princess Ymir's purpose for venturing to the "Black Market Trade Fair," and he also knew how much effort the eldest princess had put into this matter.

But due to the imperial order, he now had to participate in the ambush of Bartholomew, ruining the princess's meticulous plan.

This feeling of betrayal made him feel very guilty.

Ymir shook her head, not letting Rhine continue.

In the current situation, how could she not understand? The Empress in the palace was getting impatient.

Ymir did not linger any longer, nor did she offer any explanation. She clutched the wound on her chest that had been shattered by wolf claws and resolutely turned to leave.

Only Rhine, who was closest, saw the fleeting sadness in her eyes.

Meanwhile, the entire trade fair erupted in chaos.

"Damn it, the Oma royal family has come to our doorstep! Brothers, grab your weapons, and let's take down those sons of bitches together!"

"I'd like to see who has the guts to try and ambush our Guild Leader!"

"Too arrogant, we absolutely cannot let those guys leave alive."

"Mechanical City, pressurize boilers, prepare cannons..."

"..."

The commotion at the "Hyacinth Tavern" was immense. Soon, countless bandits, brandishing weapons and cursing, gathered around.

Bandits, accustomed to raiding and plundering, reacted swiftly in battle.

As strong enemies approached, those steel fortresses whirred and clanked, and cannons were aimed towards the Hyacinth Tavern.

Especially the three "War Elephant-class" Mechanical Cities, which were equipped with hundreds of siege cannons. This kind of widespread artillery fire could pulverize even top-tier extraordinaries.

It was as if the situation had suddenly reversed.

Bartholomew, who had been surrounded and attacked by several masters just moments ago, suddenly found himself on the side with the numerical advantage.

If it were just these few members of the Oma royal family, even with "Enma" Blackmoss, another of the "Top Ten Legendary Demon Hunters," present...

No one who comes today will ever return!

Outside the Hyacinth Tavern, the confrontation continued.

The side with fewer people stood firm as a mountain, while Bazel's larger group didn't rush to attack.

The White Wolf Bandit Group had many experts of various ranks besides their leader, Bazel. Even if their extraordinary cultivation wasn't as terrifyingly exaggerated as the Oma royal family members present, they were confident in their ability to kill with numbers alone.

But for some reason, as Bazel watched his fellow bandits and brothers flocking to the scene, he felt no sense of security. Instead, his heart grew increasingly uneasy.

Werewolf bloodlines inherently possessed a talent for sensing danger.

As time passed, he felt the sense of crisis intensifying.

"What's going on? Where does the confidence of these guys come from?"

Bazel stared intently at the calm enemies before him, filled with confusion.

He had originally thought his old rival, [Enma] Blackmoss, would be the greatest threat. But for some reason, the less famous, minor aide kept drawing his attention.

It was as if that fellow possessed a magical aura, making him seem like a demon from the abyss—cold and deadly!

"Finally, I'm saved."

While the bandits' commotion grew, Rein, on the other hand, felt his life was finally secure.

More and more bandits surrounded them, and the tense atmosphere between the tavern's powerful figures was broken by the noisy commotion.

As the crowd grew and pressed closer, naturally, no one paid attention to a certain small fry who had quietly slipped away.

Having overheard the entire "verbal sparring" match, Rein was perhaps the bystander most aware that a life-or-death battle was about to ensue.

He hadn't had a chance to escape when all the big shots were staring at him, but now that the opportunity had arrived, he wasn't going to hesitate. He immediately took off, melting into the crowd.

Rein didn't delay at all, breaking into a run, wanting to escape the center of the event as quickly as possible.

He, a mere small fry, didn't care who among the big shots lived or died.

He had no interest in delving into the conspiracy behind the events.

He knew his place; he couldn't afford to get involved in such a spectacle. It was life-threatening!

"Everyone, attack later, attack later..."

As Rein ran, he prayed to all the gods and deities not to let him get caught up in this.

Large-scale wars were like meat grinders, and you wouldn't know how you died getting caught in the eye of the storm.

However, an accident still occurred.

"Boom!"

A sudden artillery blast stunned everyone.

Without any warning, a cannonball flew from somewhere and struck one of the White Wolf Bandit Group's main mechanical cities.

Then, with a "boom," it exploded in a fierce burst of flames, blasting a terrifyingly large hole through the thick armor!

The power was astonishing!

"What's going on? Who's firing randomly? Where the hell are they shooting!"

"No, this power... it feels like a super-large caliber cannon?"

"Look quickly, in the lake, there's a steel monster in the lake!"

"That tonnage... it's a Behemoth-class Lord Mechanical City! Oh no, that's the Oma Royal Academy's top mechanical city—'City of Destruction'!"

"..."

In an instant, a super steel monster, dozens of times larger than a War Elephant-class mechanical city, slowly revealed its ferocious armor from the waters of Storm Lake. The muzzles of its densely packed, exaggeratedly large super-caliber cannons simultaneously lit up with fire.

The prelude to the great war had begun.

Don't forget to vote for recommendation tickets~ Votes are very important for new books, please, please~