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Looking at the dark mass of soldiers behind him, the middle-aged man's face was grim, and he didn't utter a single word.

He knew that this mission would not be so simple.

Kane the Dragon Slayer was a renowned name within the Xialuo Kingdom. Born into a military family in the north, he rose to the rank of general at a young age. The title "Dragon Slayer" came from a battle he won after an unexpected encounter with a whelp during a mission. Kane himself was a thoughtful and courageous soldier. Like other soldiers, Kane had little interest in politics, but this time, even he, as oblivious as he was, sensed the royal family's predicament.

Casablanca is no small city, yet it fell completely overnight. This news brought not only shock but also widespread fear to the surrounding cities. Now that Casablanca had fallen, who knew who would be next? Under such pressure, they had to make an immediate decision and adopt a tough stance. Otherwise, if the ruling class remained silent in the face of such a serious situation, the people below would quickly become disaffected. These inland cities, unlike those on the frontier, had virtually no experience or awareness of warfare. If the enemy launched a full-scale attack, their first reaction would undoubtedly be to turn and run, not to defend their homeland.

Therefore, after a brief meeting, the Xialuo Kingdom immediately decided to send 100,000 troops to attack the enemy forces located in Casablanca!

Although the order sounded reassuring, Kane knew very well that these 100,000 men were a combination of the garrison troops from various cities in Casablanca and the regular army of the kingdom under his command. Otherwise, no matter how swift the action, it would be impossible to mobilize 100,000 men in three days. Moreover, two-thirds of these troops were not under his command; they had all set out from their own cities and agreed to meet on the plains outside Casablanca.

Kane considered this reckless move extremely dangerous. Although there were many garrisons in various places, most of them were just like the ragtag troops in the cities they were protecting. In this situation, if they were defeated one by one, all their efforts would be in vain. However, he also knew very well that the important reason for making this choice was not to eliminate the "enemy army" whose appearance he didn't even know, but to reassure the other cities. After all, seeing so many soldiers mobilized and hearing about the impressive plan of a "joint attack," the civilians would feel somewhat at ease, preventing the cities from descending into chaos.

This "brilliant" military plan was fundamentally aimed at political stability, not military stability.

Kane had little interest in politics, but he knew that as a soldier, he couldn't escape it. So when the order came, he didn't even protest; he immediately turned to reorganizing his army—it was better to improve his troops' combat effectiveness than waste time arguing with these idiots.

As for the situation regarding the so-called "enemy forces," Kane was arguably the most knowledgeable among all the soldiers. The other junior officers and soldiers only knew that the enemy had captured Casablanca City and utterly destroyed it. Only Kane had the authority to learn the truth from the upper echelons of the royal family. In fact, after hearing what they said, Kane even wondered if he had misheard, and whether those above him were still in their right minds.

Magic Empire?!

Kane was all too familiar with those four words. Even though he was a soldier, he had still studied the history of the continent. But no one could have imagined that, a thousand years later, that country would reappear. Not in a storybook, but in reality. Moreover, the enemy's forces were not composed of ordinary humans, but a massive legion of undead creatures!

If the Magic Empire was merely an abstract concept, then the undead posed a real threat. Therefore, Kane quickly sought out the Temple's priests and successfully obtained Temple aid: fifty priests and a thousand paladins... this was practically all the assistance he could get. Furthermore, Kane made specific preparations based on the characteristics of the undead. The undead's only weakness was fire, so Kane had prepared ample oil, rockets, and torches.

While having a mage's help would be ideal, it seems that mages across the continent are no longer as obedient as they used to be.

"My lord, we are about to reach the territory of Casablanca City... Should the soldiers rest?"

An adjutant jogged up to Kane and whispered a reminder. Unlike other armies, Kane's army had marched directly from the capital and was traveling at a rapid pace. After all, their legion did not belong to the surrounding cities but was directly under the command of the capital, so the distances were much farther than those to other cities. To arrive at their destination on schedule, they naturally had to speed up their march.

"OK."

Kane nodded, then gave the order.

"Once we reach that hillside, everyone rest. Meanwhile, send out scouts to patrol and reconnoiter the surrounding area. Judging from our current distance, the other armies should be arriving soon... Go and check if there's any sign of them around."

"Yes!"

"This damn weather..."

Kane looked up at the dark, gloomy clouds overhead, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. Although he knew this would be no easy battle, his heart was pounding fiercely, as if his instincts were warning him of a formidable enemy before him.

It exists in a way that is unimaginably dangerous.

After crossing the hill, the Casablanca City finally came into view.

The once beautiful pearl city is now shrouded in wisps of black smoke. Even amidst the overcast skies, the column of black smoke is clearly visible. Although the city fell three days ago, this wisp of black smoke seems like the city's final groan, evoking a sense of heartache.

What about that city?

Kane subconsciously looked up at the sky, but he didn't see the legendary floating city. If such a large city were truly floating in the air, there must be some trace of it.

To deal with this floating city, Kane even brought over a dozen catapults, which could hurle heavy stones into the air. Originally designed for siege warfare, these machines posed little threat to aerial targets. But bringing them along was at least a gesture of goodwill.

However, with such thick clouds, no floating city can be seen right now.

Maybe those people are just scaring themselves.

Kane frowned at this thought. A city floating in the air? That was just a pipe dream; how could such a thing possibly happen?

Standing atop the crumbling city wall, Li Lin, a mocking smile on his face, gazed at the dark mass of troops, though they were still far away. Li Lin had already detected their presence via satellite surveillance. Even the armies dispatched from other cities were already within Li Lin sight. To lull these troops into a false sense of security, Li Lin specifically ordered Anna to activate the concealment spell of the Garden of Silence, using dark clouds to once again hide the vast city area. Angela's undead creatures were also already in place, now simply waiting for these unwelcome guests to enter the city.

"This time, I will make sure you don't leave alive, you lackeys of the five kingdoms. This time, I won't let you break through this defense so easily... even though there's nothing worth defending behind it."

Li Lin spoke in a low voice, then slumped into a comfortable chair. These were all things he had salvaged from the ruins, and their owners certainly wouldn't complain anymore.

"They're just a bunch of useless trash, even if you had a hundred times more, they'd still be useless."

Angela lay on Li Lin's lap, squinting her eyes like a kitten, enjoying Li Lin's caresses.

"Master, you don't need to deal with these trash yourself. Just leave it to my garbage disposal team, isn't that enough? What merit or honor do these guys have to die at your hands?"

"That's not how it works, Angela."

Li Lin reached out and tapped the little guy on the head.

"This is what I must do. As Arcane Mage, it is my responsibility to expel enemies. Sometimes, I must also deal with unfriendly guests like these... It is what I should do, and it is what I must do. Back then, the second of the thirteen Arcane Mage — Aotenade —died here while trying to stop the combined forces of the Five-Nation Alliance. He was also the first Arcane Mage we lost. I must admit that we were too careless at that time. Only after that did we truly take it seriously..."

At this point, Li Lin suddenly paused, gazing ahead with a hint of bitterness in his eyes.

"Angela, aren't we being incredibly foolish?"

"Indeed, Master."

Angela answered Li Lin's question without even opening her eyes.

"It's utterly foolish... Even the lion, the king of beasts, uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit. Although I didn't experience that war, your choice is certainly not wise."

"We were too confident in the power of Arcane Mage."

Faced with Angela's blunt reply, Li Lin gave a wry smile.

"Back then, we didn't even know that Magic Controller existed... The natural enemy of mages, that's truly terrifying..."

Li Lin offered no explanation. The attack on the Magic Empire stemmed from the Arcane Mage's overconfidence and poor judgment, putting them at a disadvantage from the start. Although they later Arcane Mage and began to fight seriously, they ultimately succumbed to defeat. There was no point in hiding it; if they had made every step correctly, how could they have failed? The failure stemmed from mistakes—their mistakes—but that didn't prevent Li Lin from returning now to correct them.

"Speaking of which, I am quite curious, Master."

At this point, Angela suddenly opened her eyes and stared intently at Li Lin.

"If there are still those Magic Controller like you described hidden among humanity, what would you do?"

Li Lin paused for a moment.

"Don't treat me like a fool. Although I've only lived on Earth for a little over a decade, I haven't wasted those years. In fact, I discovered the weaknesses of Magic Controller at the very end of that previous war; they aren't omnipotent. Even those who control magic have their limits. I've already devised a way to deal with these spellcasters. Of course, if possible, I still hope you can help me eliminate these threats."

"Of course, Master."

Seemingly satisfied with Li Lin's answer, Angela closed her eyes again.

"I simply don't want to see you stumble over the same stone again; that would be too foolish."

I have no such intention.

Li Lin shrugged in response to Angela's words. He understood the little girl's thoughts quite well and naturally knew what she was planning.

Just then, on the other side, a small, soft arm wrapped around Li Lin's arm.

"Father... hug me..."

"Anna, it's a deal, that area is yours, don't even think about taking over my territory!"

"Anna... just want a hug..."

Clearly, Anna didn't take Angela's angry complaints seriously.

"... Don't... good morning bite..."

"You are also your master's weapon, aren't you? How about being a little more obedient? What weapon is as greedy and demanding as you?"

Angela no longer seems to be planning to get Anna into Li Lin's bed. In the little girl's eyes, Anna is a very troublesome enemy. At least in terms of combat, the two are evenly matched, and Anna's possessiveness is also very strong. Once Anna experiences the pleasures of being in bed with her brother, Angela might lose her precious "rest time." Therefore, unlike Nia, the little girl is determined to adopt a strict strategy of guarding against Anna. As long as their relationship is limited to father and daughter, anything further is absolutely forbidden!

"Have they always been like this?"

Looking helplessly at the two little ones in his arms, head to head, neither of them willing to give way, Li Lin turned to Nia and asked her a question.

"No?"

Upon hearing Li Lin's question, Nia smiled and answered.

"Li Lin, they got along really well when you weren't around."

"Unfortunately, I can't split into two people."

Li Lin shrugged helplessly, sighed, and then looked into the distance again—at this moment, the number of troops there was increasing, not only in front of him, but also in several other directions.

The allied forces dispatched by the Xialuo Kingdom finally arrived in time.

"A total of 100,000 troops dispatched from the six cities?"

Li Lin sneered.

"As expected, each generation is worse than the last. Back then, at least they dared to send out five million, but now, they only have one hundred thousand left?"

The Magic Tattoo reappeared, but unlike before, no one noticed. In the dark, cloud-covered sky, the same runes also faintly appeared, hidden within the clouds, shrouding the entire area, coldly awaiting the arrival of the enemy.

Temporary Mythal.

It has already bared its fangs, ready to crush all obstacles at any moment.

Kane, at this moment, was completely unaware of this.

The arrival of the armies from the six cities seemed to give the general some courage, finally allowing him to put his previous inexplicable worries to the back of his mind. After counting the number of troops, he ordered the entire army to stand by in place. Then he waited for news from the scouts, but when he received the news, the answer left the general somewhat bewildered.

According to the scouts, the entire Casablanca City was deserted, with not a single person in sight on the city walls. Only two city gates were completely destroyed; otherwise, the place was utterly empty.

This immediately gave General Kane a very bad feeling.

We've traveled a long way to get here, could it be that the enemy has already retreated?

This wasn't impossible; in fact, from a military perspective, it was the most logical course of action. However, this enemy was exceptionally strange. Not only did they come from the air, but they were also a formidable foe never before encountered. Furthermore, Casablanca's location wasn't particularly important or militarily valuable. Kane couldn't understand why the enemy would target such a city. After all, Casablanca City was surrounded by flat terrain, making it very easy to besiege. If the enemy had occupied a mountain city, wouldn't it have been even easier to defend and attack? As it was now, he could easily enter the city by simply blasting open a hole at any of its four corners.

Regardless, the enemy has likely already deserted the city, which is obviously not good news for the army, whose fighting spirit is high. Many of them are from Casablanca City and rushed here almost in desperation after hearing about the brutal purge of their hometown. Now that the enemy has withdrawn, their angry punch is like hitting thin air, with nowhere to land.

Since things had come to this point, Kane had no choice but to change his original plan of action.

"Order the catapults to prepare immediately! Begin attacking the city walls!"

Issuing this order was certainly partly a precautionary measure (besides, although Casablanca was a border city a thousand years ago, it is now a central city, so it doesn't matter if it's damaged and not repaired immediately), and Kane also intended to use this opportunity to test the waters and see if there were any ambushes inside. After all, undead creatures aren't very intelligent, and if they are indeed hiding inside, such a huge noise and damage might force them out.

In truth, deep down, Kane felt a faint sense of relief. Although he was a soldier, and fighting was a soldier's duty, humans are instinctively afraid of the unknown. While there were many legends about the Magic Empire on the continent, rumors tend to become more exaggerated over time, and everyone spoke as if it were the truth, which initially made Kane feel uncertain.

Now that we don't have to fight, it's certainly easier, although it's a bit embarrassing...

The order was quickly relayed, and the armies in each city, who had been resting in place, had already rebuilt their rudimentary catapults. Upon receiving the order, massive stones flew in arcs, crashing into the walls of Casablanca with tremendous force. Although Casablanca's walls were considered sturdy, they couldn't withstand such indiscriminate destruction for long. Soon, cracks of varying sizes appeared on all four walls. Kane then ordered a halt to the attack, commanding his vanguard to enter through the cracks and assess the situation inside. However, he remained cautious, leaving the majority of his troops outside.

The search took a long time, and even the sky grew dark. Kane's response was that he hadn't seen a single person in the city, neither alive nor dead!

This situation is indeed strange, after all, there is blood everywhere in the city, and you can even clearly see the traces of struggle and fighting. But there is not a single corpse in sight, which is rather odd. Casablanca City is not that big, but it has a large permanent population. Even if they burned it all down, it's impossible that there wouldn't be a trace left.

Faced with these strange and unprecedented events, even Kane himself was unsure of what to do.

In the end, he still gave the order.

"Advance! Enter Casablanca City and begin search and defense!"

Now that the other side has retreated, the priority is to find out exactly what happened and how it happened. Besides, it's not safe in the wild, at least not in the city...

Kane looked up at the sky again, but he didn't see the magical radiance that flashed through the clouds.

At that moment, on the ground behind them, tiny altars silently appeared...