From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

"You were already dead!"

Marquis Vlad couldn't believe it!

Byrne remained silent; it was certainly deliberate—every time, he summoned those projections that could shock the enemy.

While there was no direct damage, the mental impact was quite useful.

Marquis Vlad looked at the former Cyart King with disbelief and uncertainty.

"Your Majesty! You are actually still alive. I thought you had already..."

The projection of the former Cyart King suddenly opened its eyes, glinting with golden light.

Marquis Vlad instantly sensed hostility and became angrily alert.

"What exactly are you?"

His battle experience was very rich, and he keenly sensed something was amiss.

Then, the projection of the former Cyart King suddenly cut his own palm, and golden blood slowly flowed out from the wound.

This blood, full of the power of salvation, was not the ordinary red but shone brilliantly like liquid gold.

As the golden blood flowed out, the old king's projection chanted ancient spells, a voice deep and powerful as if it could penetrate all obstacles, and the golden blood began to coagulate into a powerful energy wave.

The energy wave grew denser and eventually formed a huge golden halo.

The halo shone with an unbearably dazzling light, turning the entire sky gold.

The projection of the former Cyart King suddenly waved his arm, and the halo instantly turned into countless golden rays that scattered in all directions. These golden rays, like sharp blades, cut through the air with a piercing whistle. Where they passed, even flames were sliced and consumed.

The golden light attacked like a sweeping deluge over the Volcano Dragon; Marquis Vlad was powerless against this incredibly strong force and could only watch as he was consumed by the golden light.

"What's going on!"

He stared angrily at Moore, the recent "Judgment" had weakened part of the Volcano Dragon's defensive power!

Though it judged only a portion of sins, it still consumed a lot of Moore's spiritual power, and he was nearly brought to his knees by Marquis Vlad's furious gaze.

"Aaaahhhhhhh!"

The Volcano Dragon roared incessantly. Its powerful defensive power and life force could not stop the attack of the Blood of Salvation, and those troublesome droplets of blood were gnawing at its flesh and spreading rapidly.

In the end, the entire battlefield was covered with golden light, and the old king's projection stood tall and alone in the sky.

Just as with the previous mismatch, although Marquis Vlad's power of Bloodline restrained Chris, he was likewise countered by the "Blood of Salvation."

Byrne had long understood in his heart that the true strength of summoning past projections with extraordinary power lay in the fact that as long as he was knowledgeable enough, he could always produce a powerful force that restrained the enemy!

However, his spiritual power was soon exhausted, and the projection of the former Cyart King disappeared.

The golden light also completely dissipated, and Marquis Vlad, nearly killed, fell heavily to the ground, his massive body like a volcano causing a tremendous noise as it struck the street!

"Is that some kind of extraordinary power? A projection?"

His eyes were filled with bitterness and determination, yet he still didn't give up, scouting the surroundings as if searching for a chance to turn the tables.

Even facing a desperate situation, Marquis Vlad still maintained the pride and dignity of the "Flaming Blood Proud Dragon."

But this time Marquis Vlad was gravely injured again. His wings, once sweeping thousands in the battlefield, now hung weakly, and his tail dragged powerlessly on the ground.

It was clear that if the battle dragged on, he was doomed.

Marquis Vlad analyzed decisively. His spiritual power was nearly depleted, and the Fischer family's army was already rallying to their aid; he must escape the city now.

The great body of the Volcano Dragon trembled continuously, each breath accompanied by heavy gasps. The steps it took after rising were heavy and slow, each one resonating deeply. Its scales were scarred, some still oozing blood—marks of today's shameful retreat.

"Damn Fischer!"

Byrne and Chris had both expended a lot, but the Fischer family's reinforcements were quickly catching up, and Lilian had already risen again to heal them with the "Spirit-returning Tree."

The scales of victory had completely tipped.

The next moment, Marquis Vlad suddenly turned into numerous pure white bubbles and vanished. The white bubbles scattered for a long time in the sky, slowly dispersing.

Upon seeing this, Byrne furrowed his brows and said, "Did he use some Forbidden rare artifact or alchemical tool?"

Chris nodded slightly in agreement but said nothing.

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He scanned the vast expanse with the powerful perception common to Consecution Extraordinary Exponents of the 5th Rank and did not detect any trace of Marquis Vlad. The latter must have escaped to a place beyond tracking.

Byrne fell into deep thought, regretting not having killed Marquis Vlad; however, the defeat would likely deter him from returning.

"However, it is certain now that Marquis Vlad harbors a rebellious mind, and that is indeed a good thing," he mused.

For the Fischer family at present, defeating a mid-level Monarch Extraordinary powerful expert was not a challenge at all. They had yet to use their trump card, the power of sacrificing life force to summon divine miracles.

"Should we call upon the great Lord of the Lost, he could be killed in an instant. Moreover, there are more than ten devout followers of the Dawn Church in Nasir City alone, so we wouldn't even need to expend Lilian's limited lifespan."

Shaking his head, he murmured to himself:

"But let's keep this trump card hidden for now. After all, our enemies are not limited to Marquis Vlad alone; we cannot lay all our cards on the table at the onset of war."

At that moment, the black mist of the Lord of the Lost emerged once again, and in the blink of an eye, Byrne and Chris were dragged back to the city of Banyoles, thousands of miles away.

——

In a city within the territory of the "Flaming Blood Proud Dragon" Castleton family in Glenborough Province:

Underneath the peaceful exterior, an undercurrent was surreptitiously stirring—the once-busy and orderly streets suddenly filled with a tense and restless atmosphere. The citizens were no longer their usual composed selves; their eyes flickered with an anomalous glow, as if each person had been ignited by an indescribable emotion.

What started as isolated voices of protest soon spread like wildfire among the crowd. These voices began softly but quickly swelled into a flood that swept through the entire city.

"We need more bread!"

"We support Marquis Vlad as the new king! Noah is unworthy!"

"Marquis Vlad, he should be our king!"

"Down with the Salvation Church! They're just a bunch of tax-collecting dogs over our heads!"

The citizens took to the streets, shouting various slogans of dissatisfaction that rose and fell in waves. As the crowd gathered, the once orderly city descended into chaos.

Shop windows were smashed, street trees set ablaze, and in moments, everything was a shambles with anger and discontent written on the people's faces.

This insurrection came so suddenly, like an unforeseen storm, thoroughly disrupting the city's order—no longer were the citizens docile townsfolk, but now they were angry warriors!

Soon, many forces within the city mobilized to suppress the insurrection, with people injured and arrested, but many more chose to stand firm.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The city's nobles and officials were puzzled at the sudden support for Marquis Vlad as king and the cries to overthrow the Salvation Church; such rumors could lead to a terrible mess if spread.

What was most frightening was the complete lack of warning before the rebellion—it was as if everything had happened all at once.

And those resisters, they were equally mystified...

As a distant relative of Marquis Vlad, the mayor in the council hall suddenly shouted, "Quick, bring the leader here! The Flaming Blood Proud Dragon family had no such plans, why would they do this!"

After some time, the nobles and officials in the council hall met with the leading figure.

It was an extremely elderly man with a stooped back and a black cloak, possessing only one eye and purple hair.

He took out a black heptagram carving.

"The 'gift' He bestowed upon me still holds fifteen 'places', and you here just happen to number fifteen—clearly, everything is preordained," he said.

"Let you become one of us!"

The mayor was stunned.

"Stars Embrace Order..."

That was the heptagram representing the Stars Embrace Order!

This is not good!

Although he wanted to do something, it was already far too late.

The next moment, including the mayor, everyone in the council hall uncontrollably moved to the window and looked up at the sky in unison!

A massive black constellation appeared beyond the sky!

That black constellation, dotted with numerous gigantic eyes, looked down upon the world with eminently strong malevolence, its chaotic power seemingly endless, and the feeble will deep within the people of the council hall instantly plunged into frenzied chaos!

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!"

Their hands bore the mark of the Stars Embrace Order, a black heptagram filled with the breath of chaos!

The one-eyed old man silently gazed upon this scene and said calmly, "There's no doubt about it, now is the best time to overthrow this nation, let the situation descend into ultimate madness!"

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