Terrifying airwaves surged outwards like a wall, their affected range growing ever wider.
Countless soldiers near the Royal Palace's center felt the intense tremors and witnessed the horrifying sight of the airwaves forming a destructive wall.
Every single one was utterly terrified, scattering and fleeing. But the air wall advanced too quickly, engulfing too many fleeing soldiers. This sent countless others scrambling desperately, fearing they'd suffer the same fate as the unlucky ones.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
"Quick, retreat! Everyone evacuate from the Royal Palace, it's no longer safe!" Arlan, seeing a crack extending to his feet, hastily ordered a retreat. He knew that if his captain unleashed some of his super-powerful ultimate moves, the entire Royal Palace would be affected, perhaps even leveled.
...
Royal Palace center.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you...!"
Saxon was drenched in blood, looking like a madman. His longsword flashed, sending more than ten blue slashes flying.
"Hahahaha... You're getting weaker! You're starting to get weaker!"
Aeridar laughed maniacally. Facing the dozen slashes, he didn't retreat but instead lunged forward, unleashing a direct punch.
Whoosh!
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The air became chaotic, a fierce wind emerged, and a visible shockwave, like a white halo, burst forth, indiscriminately destroying everything in its path, effortlessly shattering the slashes.
"No!"
Saxon's eyes widened as he watched the shockwave envelop him. He was like a straw in a hurricane, instantly swept away and sent flying hundreds of meters, buried under a pile of rubble.
Boom!
Thwack!
Barely seconds later, the rubble hundreds of meters away violently exploded, sending countless broken bricks and shattered wood flying in all directions, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
Simultaneously, a massive blue slash soared out. The hundreds of meters flashed by, but Aeridar, who had anticipated it, easily dodged. The slash continued for a thousand meters, leaving a long fissure in the ground.
...
Second Training Ground, a Thousand Meters Away.
Three figures quietly appeared before the assembled armies.
"Dragon's Breath of Frost!!!"
Accompanied by a low roar, a vast amount of chilling white mist spread out like a cold current. The previously warm temperature plummeted, as if winter had arrived in an instant. Hundreds of soldiers were enveloped by the white mist, frost quickly creeping up their bodies. In one or two breaths, they were completely frozen solid, their breathing ceased.
"Hey, hey! What's going on?!"
Vito bared his teeth. Having narrowly dodged the chilling mist, he gasped at the sight of hundreds of people instantly frozen solid.
Seeing this, the armies on both sides instinctively paused their fighting. Many stared in horror at the three newly appeared figures.
"What a pity... Such a beautiful Royal Palace, ruined by my foolish brother. He really wastes things," said one of the lavishly dressed, golden-haired young men, scanning his surroundings with a hint of regret in his voice.
Vito was about to ask, but was interrupted: "Who are you...?"
"You... You are His Royal Highness, the Fifth Prince?!" Kagu Moro, the commander of the Third Legion, stared in disbelief at the golden-haired youth before him, hardly trusting his own eyes. How could that infamous wastrel prince of the kingdom possess such formidable power?
"Ah, it's Commander Kagu Moro. My First Royal Brother and Second Royal Brother are both dead. Why don't you consider pledging your allegiance to me?" Benson turned his head, asking with an exaggerated expression.
"Pledge allegiance to you?" Kagu Moro was stunned.
"Yes, why not pledge allegiance to our master?"
Suddenly, a somewhat familiar deep voice sounded beside Kagu Moro, and at the same time, a dark shadow enveloped him.
"You... Colby Genno... You?"
Kagu Moro stared in astonishment at the five-meter-tall, dwarf-giant-like strongman beside him.
This burly man, with a robust upper body, slender lower body, five meters tall, dark-skinned, and clad in leather armor, carried a massive spiked club. He stared wide-eyed, bending at the waist, mockingly looking at Kagu Moro.
Colby Genno, 31 years old, was the kingdom's greatest warrior. He had originally served in the First Legion but had come to the Royal Capital a month ago to escort taxes and was subsequently reassigned to the Third Legion.
"Commander, pledging allegiance to His Highness is the wise choice," a knight draped in a red cloak, holding a still-dripping spiked mace, walked past, his face expressionless.
"Even you..."
Kagu Moro's heart turned cold. Even this Vice-Commander was the Fifth Prince's man.
"Commander, it's time to make a decision!"
Then, more than a dozen knights stepped forward.
Hiss!
Kagu Moro sucked in a cold breath. These knights were all officers of Captain rank or higher, and there were several Commander-ranked officers among them. He hadn't realized he had been undermined for so long; if not for today, he would have remained completely in the dark.
'Just how deeply has this Fifth Prince been hiding himself?' A chill crept up Kagu Moro's spine. He stared deeply at Benson, his eyes even showing a trace of fear.
The entire scene fell silent. Vito and the officers under the Third Prince's command had never imagined that there was an even deeper hidden big boss who had just emerged. The crucial point was that this big boss's identity was incredibly hard to believe, and his methods were terrifying.
"Have you decided?" Benson asked with a smile, his arms crossed.
"I have decided."
Kagu Moro lowered his head and nodded, then abruptly stepped forward, unexpectedly thrusting his sword towards Benson's heart.
Whoosh!
Thump!
Just as Kagu Moro made his move, a massive spiked club, imbued with fierce, imposing power, slammed heavily into Kagu Moro's body. The blood-stained spikes instantly pierced through his armor, and the terrifying force instantly sent him flying.
Rumble!
A black silhouette shot through the air, crashing into a half-collapsed stone wall, smashing directly through it. The wall then collapsed, burying the silhouette under bricks and rubble, raising a cloud of suffocating dust.
"Seeking death!" Genno snarled, placing his spiked club back on his shoulder and spitting.
"Heh heh heh..." Mando chuckled.
"It doesn't matter. I knew all along he was someone Father entrusted to my First Royal Brother, a truly loyal man," Benson said with an indifferent smile.
Kagu Moro was the first military official Dasco XI had arranged for Byrd, and Kagu Moro himself was a very loyal man who basically would not betray.
With Kagu Moro's death, and most of the military officers belonging to Benson's faction, the present army largely submitted to Benson. There was no resistance.
"Unbelievable, I didn't expect there'd be an old monster guarding the pass, hidden so deeply," Vito muttered, his heart still pounding. In the blink of an eye, these armies had changed masters—the methods were truly formidable.
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