December 8, Year 9999 of the Yulan Calendar, Fenlai City.
The snow had fallen all day and all night, only stopping that morning. The entire city lay buried in a vast expanse of white, with foot-long icicles hanging from the eaves, glinting coldly in the morning light. The streets were almost empty. No one wanted to go out in weather like this.
But Linley's estate was not cold.
The blood covering the ground had melted all the snow away.
Linley stood in the center of the courtyard, his entire body covered in black scales. After his Dragonform transformation, his dark-gold pupils had grown even narrower, like two upright blades. Countless corpses lay at his feet-warriors and magical beasts, some he knew and some he did not.
He did not care.
His eyes were fixed on just one person-Clayde.
Clayde stood at the other end of the courtyard, a defensive barrier of rainbow light wrapped around him and a ring of guards surrounding him.
But his expression was grim. He had seen killing before, but never killing like this. Linley did not kill as though he were killing people. He looked as though he were chopping wood. One stroke of his sword split a person in two; one swipe of his claws opened a hole in a chest. No wasted movements, no hesitation, no mercy.
"Protect His Majesty!" someone shouted.
More people poured in. The Royal Palace guards, the nobles' private soldiers, and the Radiant Church's knights crowded into the courtyard from every direction. Thousands surrounded the estate so tightly that not even water could have seeped through. Some shouted, "Kill this demon!" Others shouted, "For His Majesty!" Some shouted nothing at all, merely charging forward and then falling.
Linley held Purple Blood in his hand. Violet sword light flashed through