Mainesi's Defeat

Following the guidance of "Viscera Divination," Punk arrived beside a dilapidated wooden house, half-crushed by a massive boulder. This area was on the eastern side of the city. Since the main battlefield was to the south, it was much quieter here, with only a few refugees sitting by broken walls, weeping.

Punk stood on a cracked piece of granite. Dry bloodstains dotted the ground around him. He was getting closer to the location where two Formal Level powerhouses had fought. The intense tremors caused small stones on the ground to constantly crumble and fly.

The divination spell indicated that this was the most likely place to "encounter" an opportunity to escape. Although Punk didn't quite understand why escaping, which wasn't a particularly difficult task, required seizing an opportunity, he chose to trust "Viscera Divination." While the spell exuded an eerie and terrifying aura from start to finish, he had to admit that its effects were indeed the best among the divination spells he had mastered, even though it was just an Apprentice Level spell!

"It seems something unexpected is about to happen," Punk muttered, shaking his head slightly. He tried to clear his mind of the strange sensation left by casting "Viscera Divination." As his magic power circulated, the unpleasant feeling of his brain being wrapped by slippery tentacles gradually faded. He took a deep breath, tilted his head slightly, and watched the battle between the two Formal Level powerhouses in the sky.

Waves of intense shockwaves tore through the clouds. Even with Punk's reaction speed, he could only see a red and a green streak of light colliding and separating in mid-air in an instant. As the battle intensified, the terrifying tidal wave of energy even affected large parts of the city. The corrosive green energy easily turned sturdy brick and tile houses into shimmering mist with a sizzling sound.

Punk leaped back two steps. He carefully replenished the energy for his Mage Armor. The aftershocks from these Formal Level powerhouses' attacks were not something he could withstand in his current state, so he had to be cautious.

The flames near the city walls burned brighter and brighter. Since most of the houses in Konola City were made of wood, and various magical flames were highly contagious, large sections of the city were easily engulfed in fire. Several densely packed streets had even turned into fiery dragons, with rolling black smoke momentarily obscuring the brilliance of Mira and Chikasa.

"The city has fallen! The city has fallen!"

A voice, clearly amplified by magic, echoed from the south gate, which was filled with the clamor of battle. Punk glanced over with considerable displeasure.

"Is it the enemy trying to demoralize us... No! It's not. The city gate has really been breached!"

Punk's pupils contracted slightly. The incompetence of the city guards exceeded his expectations. Not even half of the morning had passed, and the vast Konola City had already fallen. In that case... should he escape in the chaos now, or... Just as Punk was hesitating...

BOOM!!!

A massive explosion sounded nearby. A humanoid figure completely encased in vines plummeted from the sky like a meteorite. The entire eastern street transformed into a giant "meteorite" crater, with dense smoke and dust forming a massive mushroom cloud. Large swathes of land cracked and shattered, and everything in the area was instantly pulverized and scattered.

"Damn it!"

As several large rock fragments were hurled into the air along with him, Punk's expression changed drastically. After casting a lightness spell, he continuously leaped between the tumbling debris. The Aether Energy, emitting a faint white glow, attached itself to the soles of his feet. After a few agile dodges of the flying debris, Punk landed back on the ground. The first thing he needed to do was to get away from the "humanoid object" that had fallen from the sky, because... he could clearly sense a soul energy fluctuation that had been specially recorded by the System. Without a doubt, the "person" wrapped in vines was Mainesi!

"This is really a big problem!"

Although Punk's face remained expressionless, he was gritting his teeth internally. If Mainesi were to "perish" like this, who would stop Lunka?

"Wait! Lunka!" Punk quickly looked around for Lunka's whereabouts. Now, he could only hope that Lunka wasn't still so "spirited." Preferably, he was already severely injured or even "killed in a mutual destruction," otherwise... he couldn't imagine how he could escape from the pursuit of a Formal Level powerhouse.

Fortunately, things hadn't reached the worst possible state. Punk spotted Lunka on the already occupied city wall. It seemed that although Lunka had defeated Mainesi, he had paid a great price himself. With Punk's eyesight, he could clearly see that one of Lunka's arms was missing, his left leg was severely swollen, and something even seemed to be slowly wriggling inside his leg. It was likely Mainesi's curse. A Lunka suffering such injuries wouldn't be able to "lead the charge" anymore.

However, Punk's brow did not relax because of this. The situation remained extremely tricky. With Lunka in command, the soldiers and Professionals entering the city would not be able to plunder property wantonly as they would without a commander. They would only be able to carry out orders obediently. In other words, the enemy's cleanup of the city would have "order," which was very unfavorable to Punk's "escape" plan.

Moreover... Punk didn't need to think to know what orders the enemy would issue. Strictly speaking, the defeated Konola City and all "living things" within it were now Prince William's "spoils of war." Coupled with the Princess, whom the enemy was determined to capture... blockading the city or even... a massacre could be considered "reasonable" choices.

As expected, less than ten seconds after Lunka arrived at the city wall to take command, an enemy soldier in ornate armor climbed onto a prominent watchtower. Instead of planting the usual golden-bordered flag signifying occupation, he...

The soldier raised a magnificent sword high and plunged it diagonally into a crack in the city wall. All the Konola City guards and civilians who were watching the city wall widened their eyes in terror, because in the Faerun plane, such an action by an occupying force had only one meaning—massacre!

In a world like Faerun, where "humanitarianism" did not exist, massacres were often used as a means for rulers to display their "authority." Now, perhaps to prevent the Princess from escaping, or perhaps Lunka wanted to vent his anger from his injuries, he had issued the cruel order of massacre! He intended to kill all nearly 200,000 "rioters" in Konola City!

With Lunka "commanding" the operation, it was not difficult to imagine that these "elite" soldiers of Prince William would transform into the most ruthless and efficient killing machines. Punk was certain that at least one squad of Professionals would have secured all the city gate passages. If he tried to force his way through alone, it would undoubtedly lead to a fate worse than death!

"Alas! Mr. Mainesi, I hope you have some way to help!"

Although Punk desperately wanted to stay away from the mess involving Mainesi and the Princess, the current situation was too overwhelming. He still had to go and help Mainesi. Combining the fact that the Princess had never appeared and the hint from the "divination," Punk was certain that Mainesi must have a backup plan for retreat. Without a life raft, Punk couldn't leave Mainesi's "makeshift raft" yet. Moreover... he could sense that Mainesi still had a trace of vitality, although that flicker of life was as precarious as a candle in the wind, flickering in and out.