The entire capital city was already in chaos, and Hobbes's master, the Emperor, had been diverted by various hidden forces.
He himself was drawn into the quagmire of the front-line battle, leading his powerful legion to the city of Madus, the closest to the front line, to inspect and comfort his front-line legions and generals there.
Perhaps in the heart of Emperor Charaire Caesar II, as long as he and his powerful legions loyal to him still existed, the Empire would remain stable internally, not to mention that he had also left General Kyle, who was loyal to him, to guard the Imperial Capital with the city's garrison.
And although he had led the Royal Archmage Corps to the front line, his close friend of many years, Archmage Erfaro, was also in the Imperial Capital closely monitoring those mages who might make a move.
Moreover, there were those nobles loyal to him; although most nobles were fence-sitters, as long as he still existed, they would pledge their loyalty to him.
But this Emperor seemed to have underestimated human nature, and the turn of events exceeded his expectations.
The ambitious individuals lurking in the shadows far exceeded his imagination.
The private armies of countless nobles, having been prepared long ago, quietly infiltrated the Imperial Capital, finally revealing their true colors today.
They wore their respective family crests, tied identifying ribbons, donned their armor, and picked up their finely crafted weapons, beginning to surge towards the mansions of those nobles loyal to the Emperor.
Pedestrians on the street had long since fled back to their residences under this unusual atmosphere, closing their doors and secretly peeking at the changes outside.
William Clarence had been on a roll recently; not only had he gained a peerage through his own abilities, but he had also won the appreciation of the Emperor, becoming the head of the Knight Order.
Although this Knight Order was mostly a place for noble scions to gain experience, being able to join this Knight Order and serve as its head proved that he had gradually stepped into the core threshold of nobility.
He was currently pondering in his study; he had his own grand goals and was not satisfied with his family's rather impoverished ancestral land, so he, like most nobles, began to circulate among the noble circles, socializing and conversing.
But the distant shouts and commotion from outside his mansion startled him; a hint of displeasure rose on his face, and he frowned, stood up, and instructed his servant, "Go, see what's happening outside, and see who dares to cause trouble in my place."
Soon, the servant ran back in a panic, gasping for breath, "It's bad, Master William!Our mansion has been surrounded! Outside are the private armies of other noble families, trying to break in."
"What?!" William Clarence was both shocked and enraged; although he still didn't understand what was happening, a noble mansion couldn't withstand an attack for too long—it wasn't a castle in the family territory.
William Clarence took a deep breath, his expression settling; he knew that the best option now was to abandon the mansion and the inconvenient female relatives, leading his private warriors to break out and rendezvous with the Knight Order, then act according to the situation.
"Go, gather the family warriors and charge out with me," Will ordered the servant. He himself also donned his fine armor, took out his magical weapon, and stood in the courtyard, waiting for the warriors to arrive.
Soon, nearly a hundred fully armed elite family warriors gathered, following him as they charged out through the back door of the mansion.
As soon as the door opened, a volley of arrows rained down, and the warriors hastily raised their small shields to block the incoming arrows.
Occasionally, a few unlucky ones were shot in the thigh and fell to their knees, but the others did not stop to care for their comrades; instead, they drew their weapons and followed Will Clarenceout.
William Clarence unleashed his full power; the power source within him—Bronze Proof—stirred up immense strength, and he wielded his magical greatsword, making him unstoppable for a time.
With William Clarence, a high-tier transcendent warrior, leading the charge, this group lost only a dozen family warriors before breaking through the private armies of other nobles who had not yet arrived as reinforcements.
Just as William Clarence was rejoicing at escaping the encirclement, a True Dragon, riding the howling wind, descended from the sky with anger and ferocity.
Bang!
Kalon's massive Dragon body arrived, enveloped by the fierce wind. His thick, powerful Dragon claws trampled on the tall wall, and his sharp Dragon claws dug deep holes into the sturdy wall, firmly embedding themselves in the wall built of hard stone.
His broad and powerful wings spread, and the shadow cast by his massive body in the sunlight covered the entire street, his crimson vertical pupils coldly looking down at the tiny humans.
The Dragon Clan also landed with the Red Dragon; several scattered Dragons crouched on the tall walls on both sides of the street, surrounding William Clarence and his group in the open space in the middle, their vertical pupils filled with desires for destruction and brutality.
Klenaya, meanwhile, landed on the street, trampling several warriors who couldn't dodge in time, their flesh turning into a bloody paste that splattered from beneath the furious female Dragon's feet.
As for the Dragonkin monsters, they glared menacingly at the other noble private armies that were closing in from behind, as if preventing anyone else from interfering.
Especially the Dragonborn Wolf, who, having somehow unhinged an iron gate, held it diagonally with one hand in his thick arm, his eyes turned crimson, staring threateningly at the noble private armies.
"William Clarence, I have been waiting for this day for a long time," Kalon's voice boomed through the street, filled with uncontrollable bloodlust and excitement.
He finally understood why villains always liked to deliver a monologue during their final appearance—because anything less wouldn't sufficiently vent certain emotions within.
"Red Dragon, since you've escaped, why are you still lingering here? You should flee this city as soon as possible."
William Clarence's golden hair fluttered, and his heart couldn't help but sink, plummeting into an abyss. But he still held a glimmer of hope, thinking that this evil trus Dragon was a common enemy, and he only needed to stall for a while to find a chance to survive.
"Heh heh, you don't need to fantasize; your hopes have already been dashed. Those people are all preoccupied now," the Red Dragon said, shattering William's false hope. He was already impatient.
His wings flapped, stirring up a fierce wind that, along with his words, surged towards William Clarence, "I once thought of crushing your corpse and then abandoning it in the wilderness for wild dogs to gnaw on. I think that's a very good idea."
The Red Dragon's power descended with his words; his massive body directly crashed into the crowd, his strong, powerful wings like sharp blades easily slicing through the warriors who tried to block the Red Dragon with their shields.
Under the Red Dragon's immense power, these iron-clad shields were as fragile as tofu, and their bodies were no sturdier than the shields in their hands.
And the other true Dragon's also swooped down from the wall, their gleaming white fangs aimed at the warriors who had dodged the attack, like tigers entering a flock of sheep, tearing these warriors to shreds.
For a moment, agonizing screams filled the entire street; a massacre had begun.
And the Red Dragon's dive continued unabated, his hard, ferocious head smashing towards the poised Will Clarence; Kalon decided to crush his opponent with brute force.
Bang! The magical greatsword in Will's hand erupted with an intensely bronze aura, held horizontally across his chest, and the enchanted armor on his body also glowed with a magical light, helping him resist the Red Dragon's terrifying power.
But at this time, the Red Dragon had already passed its infancy and was a juvenile Red Dragon; his strength had increased further, not to mention that this Red Dragon was an existence beyond normal specifications. How could his power be something William Clarence could withstand?
As soon as the thick, winding true Dragon horns on the Red Dragon's head collided with the magical greatsword, Will Clarence felt himself being sent flying by the Red Dragon's terrifying power, utterly without resistance.
The magical greatsword was instantly shattered, falling to the ground with a crack, and the magical light on his enchanted armor dissipated. With his internal organs severely shaken, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood, mixed with some small pieces of internal organs.
Fortunately, William Clarence was a high-tier warrior; although he had only just entered the preliminary stage of high-tier transcendence, his vitality was still strong enough, coupled with the protection of the power source within him, which prevented him from dying on the spot.
But perhaps this was not a fortunate outcome. Kalon folded his wide wings; although the street was wide enough, his wingspan at this moment was too astonishing. The city now felt like a confinement to him.
The Red Dragon walked in front of William ,his cold vertical pupils looking down at his opponent, who had once been able to pressure him, but was now a character he could easily crush.
Ah, a tragic cry of pain. William Clarence's legs were crushed and broken by his Dragon claws, and his hands were severed by the Red Dragon's sharp claws.
"Spare me, spare me," there was no trace of Will Clarence's former spirited demeanor on his face; beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. He struggled against the intense pain in his body, pleading with the giant true Dragon before him like that of a prey that is at deaths door.
"My family will ransom me with large sums of gold, if only you spare me, Great Red Dragon."
"Don't die immediately, William," the Red Dragon opened his mouth full of fangs, laughing ferociously, "You haven't seen how I will destroy your family, crush your relatives one by one, burn your family to ashes. Just hold on a little longer."