Chapter 48: The War Begins 

The blood moon hung high in the sky, shrouding the entire Royal Capital in an eerie red light.

The current battle had reached a fever pitch — countless black shadows wearing wolf-head masks surged from fissures in the ground, clashing violently with the Blood Clan soldiers.

Kiz’s scythe carved one arc of death after another beneath the blood moon.

Every swing of her blade sent three or five heads flying into the air, accompanied by the spread of a massive crimson mist.

The Little Princess’s long white hair had already been dyed red by the spray, and a cold murderous intent burned within her blood-red pupils.

“Eleven,” she whispered.

She counted as her scythe descended once more, turning another enemy into ash.

At that moment, three wolfmen pounced toward her back simultaneously. However, Kiz’s body underwent a strange twist, driving her scythe in a horizontal sweep that instantly severed the three attackers into six pieces.

Elia stood three paces away from her side.

Every beam of light she released accurately pierced an enemy’s heart. The wolfmen she hit screamed as they burst into flames, turning to ash within seconds. Her movements were elegant and composed; she even had the leisure to glance at Kiz’s situation and offer a reminder, “Three on the left.”

Hearing this, Kiz spun her scythe, sending the three wolfmen who had just rushed up straight to the afterlife.

“Five on the right,” Elia added.

Kiz’s body spun, driving the scythe to draw a perfect circle. At least ten enemies fell simultaneously.

The two coordinated seamlessly on the battlefield. Despite having known each other for less than three months, they fought as if they had stood side by side for countless years.

On the other side of the square, Lisa moved like a black shadow weaving through the enemy crowd. Her weapons were a pair of short swords. In addition to hacking down her foes, Lisa used a form of mind-control magic to force enemies to attack their own teammates.

Catching a glimpse of this from the corner of her eye, Elia thought, ‘Holy crap! A Charm Mushroom!’

As for Vian… she stood in the center of an enemy encirclement, surrounded by blood-colored flames. Those flames seemed to possess a life of their own, automatically chasing down any enemy that drew near. The wolfmen touched by the fire found no way to extinguish it, and could only watch helplessly as they were reduced to charred corpses.

Furthermore, her fire appeared to be infinite. Elia, who had just ripped someone’s head off, watched in shock as Vian sat on a chair she had pulled from who-knows-where, calmly drinking black tea in the middle of the enemy’s encirclement.

‘That is legitimately god-tier. She isn’t even trying to hide it anymore,’ Elia thought.

Of course, they were not the only four on the battlefield. The Blood Clan soldiers were also resisting the “The Wolf” organization’s offensive with everything they had.

In one area, a young soldier was being besieged by three wolfmen. His sword pierced the chest of one enemy, but he was cut down from behind by the other two. Before dying, he roared and grabbed the leg of one attacker, creating an opening for his comrades. “Kill!” he screamed.

“Kill! For Princess Kiz!”

“For Princess Kiz! For the Blood Clan!”

“For the Blood Clan!”

The shouts of the Blood Clan soldiers echoed one after another, shaking the sky. Although their individual strength was inferior to the elite wolfmen, they were utterly fearless. For every soldier that fell, two more stepped up to take their place.

Blood stained the square red, gathering into small streams that flowed into the cracks in the earth. The soldiers in the North, South, East, and West districts were even more desperate. In some weakened areas, the soldiers even used their own bodies to form a defensive line.

Ultimately, “The Wolf” had failed to successfully occupy a single area of the Royal Capital.

***

Over by Kiz, she wiped the blood from her face and looked toward the Wolf King standing at the edge of the fissure — the tall figure wearing a silver mask. From beginning to end, he had not moved a single step, merely watching the battlefield with cold indifference.

“So, what is he waiting for?” Kiz asked through gritted teeth.

“Waiting for us to show a weakness, perhaps,” Lisa’s voice drifted from the shadows. “Or waiting for a specific moment to strike.”

“Then let’s kill him first!” Vian said, looking ready to charge.

However, dozens of wolfman death-soldiers immediately blocked her path.

Elia narrowed her eyes. Golden light condensed into a dazzling orb in her palm. “Kiz, cover me,” she said.

Kiz understood her intention immediately. She swung her scythe, clearing the surrounding area. Elia then raised the orb and threw it with all her might toward the Wolf King. The orb traced a golden trail through the air; wherever it passed, the wolfmen scrambled to get out of the way.

But the Wolf King simply raised a hand, using a barrier to block the orb.

*Boom!*

The resulting violent explosion shook the entire region. When the dust settled, the Wolf King was still standing in the same spot.

“The Saint’s light magic is indeed impressive… but it’s still a bit lacking if you want to wound me.”

Elia tilted her head and smiled. “Is that so?”

Before her voice could fade, the ground beneath the Wolf King’s feet suddenly exploded. A pillar of golden light erupted from below, engulfing his figure in an instant.

“Did you think I only threw one?” Elia said softly.

When the light pillar dissipated, the Wolf King was seen kneeling on one knee. Cracks had appeared on his silver mask.

“Interesting,” he said, slowly standing up. “As expected of the Saint…”

He then raised both hands and began chanting an incantation that no one could understand. The surrounding air suddenly froze, and a terrifying surge of magic power erupted from deep within the fissure, stronger than anything felt before.

“This is bad! It looks like he’s summoning something!” Lisa shouted.

Kiz tried to rush forward to stop him, but at that moment, dozens of wolfman death-soldiers threw themselves at her like madmen, using their bodies to block her path. Elia waved her hand, releasing a massive wave of Holy Light to clear the area, but even more wolfmen surged in to fill the gap.

The chanting grew louder and higher in pitch.

Simultaneously, a heaven-shaking roar echoed from within the fissure. The roar caused the earth to crack rapidly, and surrounding buildings collapsed one after another. A massive claw reached out from the fissure… then a second, and a third…

When the colossal entity finally crawled completely out of the crack, everyone present gasped.

It was a magical beast nearly 100 meters tall, covered in pitch-black scales with three pairs of massive bone wings on its back. Its head resembled a dragon’s, but it possessed six blood-red eyes. Its tail was dozens of meters long, ending in a heavy bone mace.

“Is that… the 12th Order abyssal magical beast… the Abyss-Devouring Magic Dragon?” Vian’s eyes widened as she muttered to herself. “Is this thing even killable?”

The 12th Order was the absolute peak level of this world. Among hundreds of millions of people, one might not find a single powerhouse capable of using 12th Order magic.

A 12th Order magical beast was even more of a statistical anomaly, as the base level of magical beasts was naturally higher than the magic levels of the ten great races. In essence, this magic dragon should be viewed as a “12.5 Order” or “13th Order” entity.

The Abyss-Devouring Magic Dragon opened its massive maw, and a large sphere of pitch-black fire began to condense in its throat. The heat radiating from that fire alone began to melt the surroundings.

If that breath were released, the entire Royal Capital would likely be reduced to ashes.