194: The overall situation is settled.

The thunderous sound of the magic shield shattering echoed through the clouds, as if the entire crystal firmament had collapsed. At that moment, the thousand-year pride of Holy Radiance City turned into magic dust drifting across the Sky.

The defenders on the city walls looked up at the suddenly exposed Sky and the thirty airships in the air, which looked like the chariots of death. Many of them began to tremble, weapons in hand. Panic spread through the once-orderly ranks like a physical plague.

"Hold your ground! Everyone, hold your ground!" Monk's voice boomed, carrying the pressure of a Legendary Expert, forcibly suppressing the commotion. "magic crystal cannons! Volley fire! Shoot these iron birds down for me!"

On the city walls, over two hundred magic crystal cannons let out deafening roars. Thick pillars of energy tore through the air, weaving a web of destruction that lunged toward the fleet in the Sky.

However, when those energy beams—powerful enough to topple mountains—hit the translucent blue shields surrounding the airships, they only triggered ripples. They vanished without a trace, like a clay ox entering the sea. The most powerful defensive weapons of the Aolai Kingdom were unable to shake these war creations from a higher technological level.

Monk's heart sank to the bottom.

"Disperse the formation and attack the wall defenders at will," Linn's cold voice spread through the fleet via magic. "skydome, aim at the main city gate and blow it open."

As the order was given, the floating steel behemoths began to maneuver. They were not clumsy aerial fortresses; their flexibility far exceeded imagination. The thirty warships scattered like a flock of hunting eagles. The secondary battery ports on their hulls and decks lit up one after another. Searing beams, condensed frost, explosive arcane missiles... a variety of magic attacks poured down like a torrential rain, precisely covering every section of the wall filled with defenders.

Explosions, fire, screams, and the sound of collapsing structures merged instantly. The sturdy city walls cracked under the saturated magic bombardment, and the meticulously arranged defensive works turned into ruins. Soldiers in heavy armor were torn apart like paper in the energy impact. This was not a battle; it was a one-sided slaughter.

Meanwhile, the largest flagship, "skydome," slowly adjusted its bow. At the front of the hull, three layers of decks slid open like petals, revealing a giant magic main cannon that emitted heart-palpitating fluctuations. Deep blue energy converged and compressed frantically inside the barrel, and the space around the muzzle began to distort slightly.

"Fire."

A deep blue pillar of light, over ten meters in diameter, shot out like a thunderbolt spear thrown by a Heavenly God. Silent yet faster than the eye could follow, it instantly pierced through space and slammed hard into the main city gate of Holy Radiance City, which was cast from fine gold and mithril and covered with reinforcement runes.

There was no earth-shattering explosion. At the moment of contact, the heavy city gate and the several-meters-thick enchanted wall behind it vanished silently, vaporized like a pencil drawing erased by an eraser. All that remained was a terrifying giant hole with melted, mirror-smooth edges, and a long, bloody path behind it. The residual energy of the main cannon had evaporated all obstacles in a straight line behind the gate—be they chevaux-de-frise, barricades, or unfortunate soldiers.

On the plains outside the city, the Star Sea Territory army, already lined up and waiting, let out a heaven-shaking war cry.

"Attack!" Yilman drew his longsword and took the lead. "The Duke has ordered! Those who surrender shall be spared!"

"Surrender and live!" The army of four hundred thousand roared in unison, their voices like a rising tide.

A torrent of steel began to surge. The cavalry, like arrows released from a bow, were the first to rush into the giant hole of the city gate, followed closely by the infantry phalanxes marching with heavy, rhythmic steps. Most of the resistance crumbled instantly. After witnessing the peerless power of the airships and the terrifying sight of the city gate being instantly erased, many defenders' spirits broke. They threw down their weapons, some collapsing to the ground and others kneeling to beg for mercy.

However, the most loyal and brave royal Guard Army and some officers began to organize sporadic resistance after the initial chaos, attempting to use the city's streets and alleys for sniping.

The bloody street fighting within the city began.

High in the air, the hatch of skydome opened once more.

Linn's figure slowly floated out, his black magic robes fluttering in the gale. He was surrounded by visible, majestic fluctuations of magic power. The pressure of a Legendary Advanced Grand Magus was released without reservation, pressing down on the entirety of Holy Radiance City like an invisible mountain.

His gaze locked onto a certain spot on the city wall! There, deep blue battle qi rose into the Sky like burning flames, condensing into the phantom of a golden griffin that let out a silent roar. It resisted the pressure from the Sky and rallied the fighting spirit of the remaining defenders around it.

Monk Aulai, the eight-hundred-year-old Kingdom Marshal, held a massive Legendary battle-ax named "mountain splitter." He stood on the ruined battlements, his hair and beard bristling, his eyes as defiant and unyielding as a dying lion's. He knew the siege was lost. But as a Legendary Expert and a royal marshal, his war was not yet over.

"Linn!" Monk's roar pierced through the din of the battlefield. "Do you dare to fight me?!"

Linn's answer was to dive straight down. He didn't use any fancy magic; he simply wrapped his highly condensed magic power around his body. Like a black meteor trailing a long tail of magic flame, he crashed toward the section of the wall where Monk stood.

Monk roared and charged forward instead of retreating. The bricks of the wall beneath his feet shattered as he shot into the Sky like a cannonball. The mountain splitter battle-ax swung in a half-moon arc that tore through the air. His deep blue battle qi condensed into a near-solid form, meeting the falling Linn with a resolute Aura capable of cleaving mountains.

The ultimate strength of a Legendary Warrior collided head-on with the terrifying magic power of a Legendary Grand Magus in the Sky above Holy Radiance City!

BOOM!!!

A visible shockwave exploded in a spherical shape, blowing away and shattering everything within a radius of hundreds of meters—broken battlements, scattered weapons, and even soldiers who hadn't had time to dodge. At the center of the collision, space itself seemed to distort for a moment, letting out a strained hum.

The magic barrier around Linn fluctuated violently, and his figure paused slightly in the air. Monk, on the other hand, was slammed back onto the city wall by the massive counterforce. His feet sank deep into the masonry, creating a large, cracked crater. A sweetness rose in his throat, but he forcibly swallowed the blood.

"Decent strength," Linn said plainly as he hovered in the air. "But that's all."

He reached out his right hand and made a grasping motion. In the air, countless ice-blue magic magic runes were instantly generated and linked together. The surrounding temperature plummeted below freezing, and the moisture in the air condensed into ice crystals.

"【Divine Wood Cage】."

Crack! Crack!

Massive divine tree vines appeared out of thin air, locking onto Monk from all directions. They not only coiled around his body but also began to solidify the space, slowing down all his movements.

Monk shouted fiercely, his battle qi burning like a flame. He swung his battle-ax, sending wood chips flying as he destroyed the first few vines. But the runic magic was inexhaustible; the broken vines regenerated instantly, and even more vines pierced out from the ground to restrict his movement. A Legendary Warrior's powerful physique and battle qi could resist, but his movements were inevitably delayed.

"What kind of skill is hiding in the Sky playing with magic!" Monk was enraged. He suddenly slammed his battle-ax into the ground, gripping the handle with both hands as his entire body's battle qi flooded into it. "【Griffin Earth-Rending Wave】!"

With the battle-ax as the center, a circular shockwave—a mix of battle qi and vibrations—erupted violently. It struck upward in a fan shape, shattering vines and ice shards in its path. It even caused ripples in space, attempting to force Linn down from his safe casting distance.

Linn's eyes narrowed slightly, and he pressed his left hand down. "【Gravity Well】."

Above Monk's head, space suddenly collapsed, forming an invisible area of super-gravity. The Earth-Rending Wave that was surging upward hit an invisible, heavy wall; its speed dropped sharply, and its power was rapidly dispersed and consumed.

Taking this opportunity, Linn changed his right hand's seal and chanted obscure syllables. Behind him, complex phantoms of multiple magic circles appeared, with fiery red, bright white, and deep purple lights flashing alternately.

"Try this. 【Trio: Solar Flash】."

It wasn't a giant fireball, but three extremely condensed high-level single-target attack Spells of different colors: one was brilliant white like the noon sun, an ultimate Flame Burst Ray; one was dark red like clotted blood, a Soul-Burning Flame carrying a powerful mental shock; and one was bright purple like void lightning, a Purple Flame Thunder Bolt with intense penetration and paralysis effects.

The three attacks were launched almost simultaneously, yet they skillfully followed different trajectories in the air, sealing off all of Monk's large-scale evasion space.

Monk's pupils constricted as he felt a fatal threat. He let out a wild roar and swung his Legendary battle-ax into a dense, light-tight blue-gold screen. He poured out his deep blue battle qi without regard for the cost, forming multiple layers of shields in front of him.

Boom! Boom! Zzt—!

The Flame Burst Ray and the battle qi shield neutralized each other violently. The Soul-Burning Flame pierced through part of the defense, causing Monk's mind to sting with a momentary trance. The Purple Flame Thunder Bolt found a gap; although it was parried and deflected by the battle-ax, the exploding lightning still caused a sharp, paralyzing pain in the arm he used to hold the ax.

Monk let out a muffled groan, and a trickle of blood finally escaped the corner of his mouth. He retreated several steps, leaving deep footprints on the city wall. The arm holding the ax trembled slightly, and the webbing between his thumb and forefinger had split.

The gap in their power was clear.

For a Legendary Mid-tier Warrior to face a Legendary Advanced Grand Magus—especially an opponent like Linn, who had deep magic reserves, consummate mastery of Spells, and equally rich combat experience—holding his own became exceptionally difficult once he lost the initiative and the advantage of terrain.

"Marshal!" Several loyal lieutenants and guards saw Monk get injured. Their eyes nearly split with rage as they rushed forward, disregarding everything to help him.

"Stand back!" Monk barked hoarsely. He wiped the blood from his mouth, the fire in his eyes burning even more fiercely. He knew he likely wouldn't survive today, but his dignity as a royal marshal would not allow him to shrink from battle in front of his subordinates.

He took a deep breath. The sound of battle qi surging like a rushing river came from within his body, and blood-red patterns faintly appeared on the surface of his skin. He was burning his life Origin to gain an ultimate boost in power for a short time.

"Linn! Take my final strike!" Monk raised the mountain splitter battle-ax high with both hands. All his battle qi, his will, and even his burning life force were poured into it. The battle-ax hummed, its blade glowing with a blinding gold-blue light, as if it had truly come to life, transforming into a griffin that wanted to strike at skydome.

"【Aulai's Glory: Griffin Heaven-Fall Strike】!"

He and the battle-ax seemed to merge into one, turning into a gold-blue comet that surged toward the Sky. With a tragic Aura of charging forward regardless of the cost, he pierced straight toward Linn. This strike exceeded the limits of a Legendary Mid-tier and even touched the threshold of the High-tier. Space was carved with thin black lines by this death-defying, sharp energy.

In the Sky, Linn finally showed a hint of solemnity on his face when facing this life-burning strike.

But he did not dodge.

He hovered in place, his hands coming together in front of his chest. Countless dark and deep magic powers were drawn from the void, condensing and compressing between his palms. A tiny black dot that made the Soul tremble quietly emerged, then quickly expanded into a slowly rotating dark sphere that seemed capable of swallowing all light.

Inside the sphere, one could vaguely see the terrifying sight of stars being born and destroyed and space being shattered.

"【Miniature: Dark Matter Singularity】."

Linn softly spoke the name of this forbidden Spell and gently pushed the dark sphere forward.

The gold-blue comet and that all-consuming darkness collided silently.

There was no earth-shattering explosion as expected.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment.

In the next instant, with the point of collision as the center, light, sound, magic, and even space itself began to collapse and distort frantically inward. The gold-blue battle qi light was swallowed as if by an invisible, giant mouth, quickly dimming and vanishing. Monk's resolute figure, in the face of the dark singularity's terrifying power that ignored defense and disintegrated matter, was like a wave hitting a reef—it shattered instantly.

The mountain splitter battle-ax let out a final wail and snapped inch by inch.

A generation's Legendary Marshal, the pillar of the Aolai Royal Family, Monk Aulai—along with his final, life-burning strike—was completely annihilated within that all-consuming dark singularity, leaving no trace behind.

Only a few fragments of that Legendary battle-ax fell powerlessly from the air, clattering onto the ruined city wall and quickly losing all luster.

Linn slowly withdrew his hand, and the dark singularity in the Sky dissipated. His face was slightly pale; casting a Spell of this level was a significant drain even for him.

He lowered his head, looking down at the Holy Radiance City defenders who had fallen into complete chaos and despair due to Monk's death, as well as the street fighting raging within the city. Yilman's shouts of "Surrender and live" were coming from all directions, and more and more defenders were beginning to give up their resistance.