The City About to Fall

The fate of Konola City now rested entirely on Mainesi's battle, as their conventional forces were already doomed to certain defeat. Victory in the high-end combat was their only hope. If Mainesi won the "duel" against Lunka, Konola City would be safe until Prince William could dispatch another Formal Level expert, allowing them to at least survive a little longer.

If the two Formal Level powerhouses remained locked in a stalemate like yesterday, the enemy's "conventional forces" would breach the crumbling city walls, burn Konola City to the ground, and find the hidden Her Highness the Princess. By then, the enemy would have achieved their objective, rendering Mainesi's victory or defeat meaningless.

Of course, the worst-case scenario was Mainesi losing and Lunka not sustaining any serious injuries. In that case… it was uncertain if even a few Professionals could escape the vast Konola City!

As the first rays of dawn illuminated the city walls, the enemy's attack horns blared with fierce urgency. With their granary, which had served as bait, largely destroyed (a group of Journeyman Level Professionals sacrificing themselves with half a granary was still possible), the enemy was in a dire situation. They desperately needed to breach Konola City to plunder wealth and grain, otherwise, they would starve on the journey back.

This time, there weren't as many Professionals on the city walls to snipe the enemy's "ladder teams." Soon, ladders inscribed with faint red runes reached the top of Konola City's walls. Accompanied by the roars of the charging enemy, mangled corpses, struck by blades or magic, began to fall from the walls. Lunka and Mainesi once again clashed in mid-air. This time, their battle was even more immense, with shockwaves visible to the naked eye spreading across the sky, and the ground's violent tremors could be felt several streets away!

In a dim street corner, many refugees, clutching bags and bundles, huddled together in fear, preparing to flee. On the Faerun plane, nobles in defeated cities could "buy" their freedom with large sums of gold coins, but the commoners… would all be reduced to slaves. Most people found this fate unbearable, so even though they knew their chances of escaping the occupying forces, who were actively hunting for "slaves," were slim, they still risked their lives to run.

Punk stood quietly in a street corner not far from this group of refugees. Although his clothes were disguised to look tattered, without any skills in concealment, his demeanor was still different from these trembling refugees. Punk didn't expect his clumsy acting to fool the astute Professionals; he just needed to escape in the chaos. The enemy Professionals might target wealth or knowledge after breaching the city, but they would definitely not engage in a deadly fight with another clearly powerful Professional for no reason. Therefore, Punk was very confident about his ability to escape unscathed.

Punk frowned as he observed Mainesi's distant battle. It was clear that both Lunka and Mainesi had unleashed all their trump cards and were fighting for their lives. However, if the situation continued to develop like this… Mainesi's condition would only worsen. Lunka was now like he was on steroids, his warhammer almost a blur of red, forcing Mainesi to dodge and weave to avoid its edge.

Seeing this, Punk felt a sense of urgency. If Lunka resolved the fight with Mainesi so easily… it would be a big problem!

"Hurry up! Hand over your stuff!" a gruff voice interrupted Punk's thoughts. Two burly men in city guard uniforms blocked the street from both ends, spitting as they loudly demanded the refugees hand over their valuables, threatening to "slaughter them" if they refused!

While this robbery scene was cliché, their "slaughter" was not mere talk. The two female corpses lying on the ground were powerful evidence.

The two deserters, intending to profit from the chaos, kicked the increasingly cold corpses on the ground with a dull thud. They brandished their blood-stained sabers menacingly, threatening the refugees cowering in the corner.

Punk sneered at the sight. Setting aside the depravity of the city guards' actions, the refugees' cowardice and timidity were truly disheartening. Thirty to forty people were trembling in fear at the sight of two ordinary deserters. If they had charged forward together, they could have easily subdued the two deserters, who only had crude sabers. Even if they had an AK-47, they would have been easily taken down. But look at these refugees; besides praying to the idle, pathetic deities, all they could muster was useless pleading.

Punk shook his head and lightly walked towards the two arrogant deserters. Make no mistake, Punk wasn't here to selflessly save these refugees, whom he considered useless. He had simply thought of a way to end this passive waiting.

"You kid… get down, or are you looking to die!"

A warrior with bloodshot eyes grinned maniacally at Punk.

"Poor fools, has a bit of money made you lose your basic judgment?" Punk muttered to himself indifferently. Faint azure magical light began to appear in his pupils, hidden by his hood.

"My… damn…"

The deserter couldn't finish his sentence. Punk used Mage Hand to lift the two deserters by their necks, the pale blue giant hand making their spines creak. The deserters in mid-air turned pale and struggled desperately, but their movements were as powerless and laughable as chicks in front of the Mage Hand, which could easily lift a car.

"Viscera Divination… combined with my Journeyman Level Soul Level, plus…" Punk dangled the two deserters, who were starting to foam at the mouth, like he was holding that poor rabbit…

"…much more advanced spell components… it's bound to give me some 'surprises'."

Completely ignoring the wide-eyed, adoring refugees, Punk dragged the still-kicking deserters towards a secluded, relatively open alley. Under the terrified gaze of the refugees, he used a life magic spell to summon a small, gleaming silver knife and sliced open one deserter's stomach as easily as cutting tofu. Then, using Mage Hand, he arranged the wriggling internal organs into a bloody, terrifying, yet mysteriously profound magic array. Afterward, he lifted the remaining deserter and placed him directly above the magic array, just like he had done with the rabbit in the forest.

Regardless of the man's tear-streaked, fear-contorted face, Punk calmly raised the small knife!

"How did I only just think of such a good method…"

In the distance, Konola City began to ignite with scattered flames. As some enemy troops entered the city, screams and bloodshed erupted everywhere, and even the clouds in the sky turned blood-red, like ink splashed across a canvas, stained by the two suns!