Linley and Wharton looked up at the same time.
Then they saw a sight they would never forget.
A gigantic ape-like magical beast dropped from the clouds. No, it wasn't falling. It was diving, crashing toward the center of Fenlai City like a meteor, straight at the Radiant Church's Holy Island. The beast was covered in golden fur, its eyes flashed purple, and it stood over thirty meters tall. The ground shook with every step it took.
A Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape. A Saint-level Magical Beast.
Then the sky was blotted out. Not by one, but by a horde: Winged Bird Dragons, Two-Winged Pegasi, Thunder-Winged Pegasi, Jade-Eyed Thunderhawks... Tens of thousands of flying magical beasts formed a vast, dark army, swarming toward Fenlai City from every direction. An eighth-level Golden Sun Eagle darted through their ranks, and there were true dragons too-not lesser dragons, but pure-blooded dragons whose beating wings whipped up gales that threatened to topple the city's buildings.
"What... is that?" Wharton murmured.
Linley was speechless too. The sight was beyond his comprehension. Saint-level Magical Beasts attacking the city? And more than one?
The answer soon came.
The ground began to shake. It wasn't the kind of shaking caused by the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape's footsteps, but a denser, more violent tremor, as though something enormous was surging forward.
A crowd burst around the street corner, screaming and crying, stumbling and scrambling along. Behind them, a gray tide swept over the street. No, not a tide, but wolves. Tens of thousands of Wind Wolves, eyes red and fangs dripping with saliva, came surging in like a hungry flood. Behind the pack were even larger figures: mammoths, Earth Dragons, Iron-Armored Beasts... Countless magical beasts poured through breaches in the city walls, killing every person they saw and smashing into every building.
Fenlai City, one of the most prosperous human cities on the Yulan Continent, became hell in a matter of minutes.
Screams, wails, explosions, collapsing buildings, and the roars of magical beasts-all the sounds merged into a maddening din.
"What is that?" Linley suddenly remembered the name Grandpa Doehring had mentioned.
As if in answer to his question, the horde of magical beasts in the sky suddenly parted.
An uncanny young man came walking through the air. He looked to be in his twenties, with a face too handsome to be mortal and a vertical mark on his forehead like a closed third eye. He wore a simple cyan robe and was barefoot. Ripples spread through the air with every step he took.
The young man stopped above Fenlai City and looked down at the purgatory below. His gaze swept over the burning streets, the fleeing crowds, and the soldiers fighting desperately to resist, before finally settling in the direction of the Radiant Church's Holy Island.
"Humans."
The young man's voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly, drowning out all the clamor.
"I am Dylan. From today onward, the will of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts shall return to the Yulan Continent. Half the territory of the Holy Union and half that of the Dark Alliance shall serve as a home for my kind. Anyone who objects-"
He extended a finger and pointed downward.
A massive black vortex appeared above the Radiant Church's main cathedral, in the direction of Holy Island. It spun, devouring light, sound, everything. A few seconds later, it shrank to a point and vanished.
The cathedral complex vanished with it, along with the clergy, knights, and believers who had failed to escape in time. It had not collapsed; it had disappeared completely, leaving only a bottomless crater with edges as smooth as a mirror.
"-will share its fate."
Dead silence.
Even the magical beasts stopped roaring.
Everyone stared at the crater, at Dylan standing in midair, and at the endless army of magical beasts on every side.
Then panic erupted in full.
"Run!"
"The magical beasts are attacking the city!"
"Saint-level! They're all Saint-level Magical Beasts!"
The crowd went mad, trampling one another, screaming and crying. The royal city guards had long since collapsed. Soldiers threw down their weapons and fled alongside the civilians. Noble carriages rampaged through the streets, crushing those who fell, only to be overtaken by magical beasts and torn apart, horses and all.
Chaos. Utter chaos.
Linley and Wharton stood halfway down Maple Leaf Street, surrounded by corpses and pools of blood. But for the moment, no magical beasts had noticed them-farther away, more living humans were drawing the beasts' attention.
"Brother..." Wharton's voice was a little hoarse. "What... do we do now?"
Linley looked toward the palace. It was burning too. Magical beasts had already broken in, and he could faintly hear the palace guards fighting back and screaming as they died.
"Let's use the chaos to get out," Linley decided. "Fenlai City is finished. Staying here means certain death."
The brothers were about to leave when a mounted group suddenly came charging from the end of the street.
They weren't magical beasts, but humans. More than thirty of them wore the armor of the royal guards and were desperately escorting several carriages toward the city gates. The knight in the lead swung his spear, sweeping aside everyone in his path-civilians and low-level magical beasts alike-and carving a bloody route through.
The carriages bore no royal insignia, and their curtains were tightly drawn, but their wheels left deep tracks in the stone paving. They were carrying something heavy, most likely the wealth the royal family had amassed.
"The royal family's escape party," Linley immediately realized. "He wants to take the treasure away in the chaos."
The group drew closer. The knights were clearly well trained. When scattered magical beasts attacked, they formed ranks to resist, fighting as they retreated with great efficiency. At this rate, they might actually make it out of the city.
Wharton looked at Linley. "Do we stop them?"
Linley stared at the carriages, his eyes flickering. Killing Clayde was a personal vendetta, but the wealth the royal family had amassed over a thousand years... If he could get his hands on it, it would be a tremendous help in rebuilding his clan and opposing the Church in the future.
Besides, in the current situation, who cared if a few more royal family members died?
"Stop them," Linley said. "Leave the treasure. Kill everyone."
The brothers split up without another word and hid in the shadows of the buildings on either side of the street.
The convoy drew near.
The leading knight was a burly man with a scarred face, an Eighth-level Warrior. His spear whistled through the air as he drove it through the head of a fifth-level Wind Wolf and flung the corpse aside. He shouted, "Quick! Stay close! Once we're out of the city, we'll be safe!"
The moment the words left his mouth, a black shadow swooped down from the rooftop on the left.
Bebe.
The Shadowmouse's targets were not the knights, but the horses pulling the carriages. He darted among the four horses like a bolt of black lightning, leaving a gash deep enough to expose bone in each horse's leg. The warhorses screamed and dropped to their knees. The carriage lurched to a halt, and the people inside cried out.
"Ambush!" the scar-faced knight roared. "Form a circle!"
The knights reacted quickly, immediately closing ranks around the carriages with their spears pointed outward. But their formation was meant to defend against magical beasts, against a frontal charge.
Linley and Wharton came from above.
Linley leaped from the rooftop on the right, drawing Slaughter while he was still in midair. The blade flashed like a falling blood moon as it slashed at a knight on the outer edge. The knight raised his spear to block, but its shaft snapped like rotten wood before Slaughter. The blade continued through his armor, cleaving from his shoulder to his waist.
Amid the screams, Linley landed and rolled. His second slash severed another knight's horse's legs. The warhorse collapsed, throwing its rider, and Linley crushed the knight's throat beneath his foot.
Wharton charged in from the left. He had none of Linley's agility, only brute force. His heavy sword swept sideways, sending three knights riding abreast flying, horses and all. The sounds of breaking bones, shattering armor, and dying screams mingled together. He stepped forward and brought the sword down again, cleaving open the body of a carriage.
Flying splinters exposed wooden chests stacked inside. Several broke open, spilling gleaming gold coins and gemstones of every color across the ground.
"Treasure!" a knight cried.
But the scar-faced knight kept a clearer head. "Forget the treasure! Kill the enemy, or we'll all die!"
He wheeled his horse around and thrust his spear straight at Wharton's back. The strike was swift and vicious, Battle-qi gathering at the spear tip as it shrieked through the air.
Without turning around, Wharton swung his heavy sword behind him. The flat of the blade struck the spear shaft, and the terrifying force split the skin between the scar-faced knight's thumb and forefinger, knocking the spear from his grasp. Only then did Wharton turn and kick the horse in the belly.
The warhorse screamed as it and its rider flew backward, knocking two of their comrades over.
The thirty-strong escort lost more than half its men within ten seconds of the brothers' ambush. The remaining knights finally realized these were no ordinary bandits, but powerful opponents they could not hope to match.
"Run!" someone shouted.
The surviving knights turned their horses, trying to flee. But Bebe guarded the end of the street, and anyone who dared charge past him would have his throat slit.
The slaughter continued.
Linley's saber and Wharton's sword moved through the crowd like two meat grinders. Every slash was fatal, every sword blow shattered bone. Blood sprayed, severed limbs flew, and screams rose one after another.
Two minutes later, the battle was over.
All thirty-four knights were dead. Dozens more corpses now littered the street, and the growing pools of blood mingled indistinguishably with the blood of Clayde's guards.
There were still people in the carriages. Linley walked over and lifted a curtain with his saber.
Inside sat three women and two children, all dressed in splendid clothes, their faces pale as they trembled. At the sight of Linley's blood-covered face, one woman fainted on the spot.
"The royal consorts, princes, and princesses." Wharton walked over. "Kill them?"
Linley looked at the two children. The older was seven or eight, the younger four or five. They clung tightly to each other, tears streaming down their faces, but neither dared cry aloud.
He remembered the estate in Wushan Town, remembered his father teaching him swordplay when he was a child and his mother watching gently from the side. The sunlight had been warm then, and the breeze gentle.
"Forget it." Linley put away his saber. "Let them go."
Wharton did not object. He walked to the carriage and told the people inside, "Get out and run for your lives. If you survive, you'll be lucky."
The women and children scrambled out of the carriage and ran without looking back, disappearing at the end of the burning street.
Linley began inspecting the carriages. There were five in all, three carrying people and two carrying cargo. The cargo carriages were packed with chests: gold coins, gemstones, magical materials, precious medicinal herbs, antiques, works of art... By a rough estimate, they were worth at least ten million gold coins.
"We've struck it rich." Wharton whistled.
The brothers began gathering the valuables. Linley had a spatial ring, but its capacity was limited, so he could only take the best portion. Wharton found several sturdy leather bags, filled them with magic cores and gemstones, and tied them to his body.
While they were busy, a deafening roar suddenly sounded from the sky.
They looked up and saw an even more stunning sight: more than a dozen Saint-level Magical Beasts were hovering in a circle above Fenlai City. They came in many forms-a cyan dragon a hundred meters long, a jet-black tiger, a giant lion with wings on its back, a thunderhawk wreathed in arcs of electricity...
The aura emanating from each one made Linley feel suffocated. It was a crushing disparity in the level of their existence, like an ant looking up at a dragon.
And at the center of the Saint-level Magical Beasts stood Dylan.
The uncanny young man stood with his hands behind his back, gazing down indifferently. Facing him were seven figures standing in midair: Heidens, the Pope of Light, and six Saint-level experts-Useno, the chief inquisitor; Fallen Leaf, leader of the Ascetics; Leiming, leader of the zealots; two Saint-level knights; and an old man in white robes whom Linley did not recognize.
Seven human Saint-level experts faced more than a dozen Saint-level Magical Beasts and the unfathomable Dylan.
"Dylan, from today onward, I will set the rules. Half the territory of the Holy Union and half that of the Dark Alliance. You have two choices: accept, or die."
Heidens was silent. The Saint-level experts behind him were livid, especially Useno, whose gaze was dark enough to drip water.
But none of them dared make a move.
With that single gesture, Dylan had made the Church's main cathedral disappear. That kind of power had already surpassed the Saint-level and touched the realm of the gods.
"We..." Heidens finally spoke, his voice bitter. "Accept."
The words seemed to drain all his strength. The pope appeared to age ten years in an instant.
Dylan nodded. "All humans are to leave the designated areas within three days. Anyone who remains after the deadline will be killed without mercy."
With that, he turned and walked away. The dozen or so Saint-level Magical Beasts followed him, disappearing into the clouds.
But the army of magical beasts on the ground did not withdraw. They continued to rampage, continued to slaughter, continued to turn Fenlai City into purgatory.
Heidens and the other Saint-level experts took one last look at the burning city, then turned and left as well. They had to preserve their strength, rebuild the Church, and prepare for a future counterattack.
As for the civilians, nobles, and soldiers in the city... they could only pray for their own survival.
"So this is Deity-level..." Wharton murmured. "They see all living beings as ants."
Linley tightened his grip on his saber. Everything that had happened today had completely overturned his understanding. He had thought that as a Level Seven Mage and Seventh-level Warrior, with Dragonform as well, he was already a powerful figure in his own right. But before a Deity-level expert, before Dylan, he was laughably weak.
And then there was the Radiant Church. They could sacrifice his mother, disregard the lives of countless civilians, and abandon the Holy Capital to preserve their strength. How could he stand against such a force, alone with a single saber?
"Brother," Wharton said suddenly, "we have to go. The magical beasts are almost here."
In the distance, a flood of magical beasts was advancing down the street, leaving nothing alive in its wake.
Linley took one last look at Clayde's corpse. The king was dead, his eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace. Then he looked at the treasure scattered across the ground, the treasure they could not take with them.
"Let's go."
The brothers turned and raced toward the outskirts of the city. Bebe cleared the way ahead, tearing low-level magical beasts apart and going around the higher-level ones.
On both sides of the street, buildings burned and corpses piled up. Survivors ran for their lives, crying and screaming, only to be swiftly overtaken, knocked down, and torn apart by magical beasts. The hellish scene repeated itself before their eyes.
Two hours later, they finally fought their way out of Fenlai City.
Looking back, they saw that the once-prosperous Holy Capital was now a sea of fire. Black smoke billowed, blotting out the sky, and the roars of magical beasts and screams of humans drifted faintly to them, like an elegy for the end of days.
"It's over," Wharton said, panting.
"No." Linley looked at the burning city, his eyes cold. "It's only just begun."
Clayde was dead, but the Church remained.