Chapter 417: Long Street Charge

Lei En almost fell off the dragon's back.

The Silver Star Duke actually summoned a Dragon Demon, and it was an Ancient Dragon Demon!

Dragon Demons are neither dragons nor demons, yet they possess a giant dragon's body and tail; their upper half resembles a Fear Demon King, with powerful arms and a chest like a rock wall, and a pair of curved black horns sprout from their heads.

Overall, a Dragon Demon looks like a fusion of a great dragon and a demon, but it has no wings and cannot fly.

In the demon‑soul classification, it is categorized as a giant monster.

Dragon Demons are living legends; they are said to be among the oldest beings in the world, predating the birth of trolls, almost as ancient as the world itself.

They are wondrous products of natural creation.

As they age, Dragon Demons grow larger without limit. Most terrifying is that they may be immortal; their power scales directly with their bodies, allowing limitless growth. The oldest Dragon Demons are as massive as real mountains, supporting a whole realm of sky and earth.

The Dragon Demon before me is exactly like that.

Its body length exceeds a hundred meters; its limbs touch the ground, dragging a roughly fifty‑meter‑long thick tail. A row of huge bone spines protrudes from its back, its gray‑blue skin is extremely rough, and a half‑meter‑thick shell covers it, forming solid armor.

Its demonic upper half stands over thirty meters tall, clad in black torso armor, bound with massive iron chains, and wielding a colossal single‑edged cleaver.

This weapon, forged of unknown material, is also thirty meters long!

Lei En estimates its weight at two hundred thousand pounds, yet when gripped by the Dragon Demon it requires little effort; the blade edge is not honed, nor does it need to be.

Such a massive creature left him stunned.

A Dragon Demon's size signifies its age and strength: below Legendary are Small Dragon Demons, Legendary are Large Dragon Demons, and above that are Ancient Dragon Demons, also called Shage's Dragon Demon, equivalent to Ancient Great Dragons or Holy Soul Wizards.

This Dragon Demon lived at least three thousand years in its lifetime!

They symbolize slaughter and destruction, possess average intelligence, yet are innately masterful of thunder and lightning, often seeking lightning rites in the mountains to stimulate their growth.

Lei En sensed the Element of Lightning Form in the Dragon Demon.

Although the Soul Eye cannot pierce Holy Soul rank, thanks to his extensive experience he can still infer that this Dragon Demon possesses certain Elements; it has at least two Lightning Forms, its resistance to spells is extremely high, yet its power remains the most terrifying.

Lei En surmises that this Ancient Dragon Demon's power exceeds Level 12, certainly a Legendary Element, perhaps even higher—Level 13 or Level 14 power is possible!

With such dreadful power, who could withstand it?

In any case he dares not engage directly; he probably couldn't even endure a single slash from the Dragon Demon.

Lei En couldn't help but glance at the Silver Star Duke in the sky, the world's only Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard to surpass Level 20; truly unfathomable, it broadened his horizons.

So many summons, totaling nearly thirteen hundred, and they are all her inner souls!

A single Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard can match an entire legion; indeed, it's no joke.

After the Silver Star Duke summoned the Ancient Dragon Demon, she halted, casting no further spells. She stayed outside the attack range of the Wizard Tower, directing her summons to assault the tower from ground and sky in all directions.

This is the Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard's safest combat method; unless absolutely necessary, she never risks herself.

Anything that can be dealt with via summons requires not even a finger's movement.

Since summons are inner souls, once slain they return to the Soul‑Gathering Tower and can be summoned again instantly; as long as the wizard's soul power never wanes, the fight can continue endlessly.

Fire‑crow swarms, poison‑mist wolf spiders, Chimera, hill giants…

And the Wind Lord hidden within the wind.

The summoned army quickly closed in on the Solar Eclipse Tower standing in the city; beneath the tower lies the wealthy district, once the safest spot in Matzos City, now the first to suffer.

Boom, boom, boom…

The Ancient Dragon Demon tramples forward like a mountain; each step triggers a minor quake, leaving footprints several meters deep, turning everything it passes into ruins with countless casualties.

Its pace quickens, eventually it runs, and half of Matzos's residents feel the ground shake.

Energy converges atop the towering Wizard Tower; within a few hundred meters of ground beneath, countless runes illuminate, activating a massive magical array.

A semi‑transparent shield expands outward from the tower's body as its center.

Simultaneously, dozens of spells shoot from the tower's tip—fireballs, lightning, stone spears, rays… each with power above five rings, bursting through the shield toward various enemy targets.

Over seventy percent of the spells strike the running Ancient Dragon Demon; among them an eight‑ring disintegration ray, as thick as a pillar, hits its chest like a cow sinking in mud, having no effect. The other spells are like tickles, leaving not a single wound.

Bang!

The Ancient Dragon Demon lunges, crashing into the shield; countless people seem to hear something shatter, and the shield collapses outright.

The Chimera and fire‑crow swarms in the sky immediately swoop toward the tower.

The Dragon Demon shakes its head, continues the charge, braving spell after spell, and after a few strides reaches the tower; with agility mismatched to its massive body, it suddenly accelerates, leaps forward, lifts the heavy great cleaver, and slashes the tower.

Lei En's keen eyes spot lightning coursing over the great cleaver from afar.

Boom—...

A blinding burst of light erupts, like a seven‑ring spell "Thunderstorm", countless lightning bolts ravage, accompanied by a deafening explosion; the resulting shockwave spreads outward, toppling trees within a kilometer radius.

The lightning fades, and the Solar Eclipse Tower still stands where it was.

The tower not only remains untoppled by the Ancient Dragon Demon, but bears no trace of damage, no wound or sway, solid as a reef in the sea.

A solid layer of protection covers the tower's exterior; it looks thin and transparent, yet is indestructible.

Lei En can't help but gape in astonishment.

This is the might of a Wizard Tower: with endless energy support, soul power nearly limitless, and meticulously arranged rune arrays, the legendary wizard stationed inside can not only repel enemies but also spar with a Holy Soul Wizard.

Of course, that's all there is.

If a Holy Soul Wizard attempts to capture a Wizard Tower, and there is no equal‑rank opponent inside, it may take time and tactics, but it will certainly succeed.

Beneath the tower, the Ancient Dragon Demon swings its weapon again.

Other summons also launch fierce attacks around the tower.

Lei En stops watching the Silver Star Duke's battle and looks toward another part of the city, where fierce fighting erupts at one of the entrances to the Luo Xi Temple.

Flink has already led people to act.

Ahead, the Lord's Residence is already in sight, only two or three miles away.

Lei En lets the Golden Three‑Headed Dragon ease its pace, waiting for the Silver‑clad Knight Order to catch up; when they draw within a mile, he senses a hint of danger.

The Matzos City Lord's fortress is extremely sturdy; surrounding it are several barracks, each equipped with watchtowers and artillery, totaling dozens of steam crossbow cannons in strict formation, all aimed at the sky.

There are a few more turrets hidden in the shadows, but they cannot evade the Soul Eye's search.

Borqi is not afraid of the steam crossbow cannon, but the Flame Dragon is.

This steam‑driven crossbow bolt rivals a spear; a single shot could take down a Flame Dragon. Extreme Warriors have little issue with armor protection, but if they fall, their own weight could easily cause serious injury.

Lei En decides not to take the risk.

The optimal solution is, of course, to use range advantage and destroy those steam crossbow cannons in advance.

"Take out those turrets first."

Through original‑body symbiosis, Lei En orders the Extreme Warriors: the Flame Dragon slows down, and the Extreme Warriors grip the upgraded Lambo's Spear, lift the black canvas, reform their aerial formation in the sky, and select targets in squads of four.

The Flame Dragon flies into Lambo's Spear's range, which is eight hundred meters.

The steam crossbow cannon's lethal distance is only about five hundred steps, roughly four hundred fifty meters; the guards operating the turrets are extremely nervous, yet they have no idea what strike awaits them.

"Fire!" Lei En shouts loudly.

The words fall, and gunfire erupts, as dense as raindrops.

Clack clack clack clack…

The gunfire blazes like fire; invisible high‑speed bullets instantly pierce the guards, tearing their bodies to shreds.

After Lambo's Spear switched to shell‑less rounds, its rate of fire increased, since no casings need to be ejected; the gun's structure became simpler with fewer parts, making shooting more stable and accurate.

The guards watching the great dragon and the flock of flying dragons from afar had no clue what was happening before they suffered a devastating blow. The bullets not only killed people but also destroyed the steam crossbow cannons; after a few seconds of metal storm, they turned into a heap of scrap.

Amid the roaring gunfire, turret after turret is pinpointed and eliminated.

The Flame Dragon keeps more than five hundred meters away, circles the Lord's Mansion once, taking a few minutes, and removes the threat to itself.

The Silver Armored Knights finally arrive during this interval.

Amid the ground tremors, the main gate of the Lord's Fortress bursts open, and a massive Transcendent Army pours out, led at the front by hundreds of Pige Berserkers.

These low‑intelligence Pige lack any concept of fear, wear no armor, their eyes blood‑shot, entering a berserk state, brandishing crude heavy weapons—various spiked clubs, massive axes, war hammers—charging like wild boars down the long street, howling, and meeting the charging Silver Armored Knights.

Behind the Pige Berserkers follow even more Ratfolk, at least two or three thousand.

The Ratfolk are short, never taller than one meter fifty; they stand upright, brown‑gray fur, tiny eyes filled with blood‑thirsty desire.

There are also Kobolds and Serpent‑folk warriors, swarming from alleys, side streets, and all directions.

The Lord does not appear.

However, the Lord's guard shows up; they are a group of Transcendent beings of dark‑skinned Dilarvida, all junior rangers, wielding long bows, clad in enchanted leather armor, marching out of the fortress in perfect unison, driving four reckless lowborn toward the Silver Armored Knights for a charge.

Captain Tian inhales deeply and shouts loudly:

"Prepare!"

"Spear flat!"

The Silver Armored Knights lay their spears flat, gripping the shafts tightly while steering their silver‑scaled horses to run steadily, keeping formation with their comrades.

Their gazes are steadfast, showing no trace of fear toward the impending clash.

The Pige Berserkers have closed to within a hundred paces; both sides can see each other's faces—one frantic, one calm—but at such high speed there is little difference. On this jam‑packed street, neither has a way to retreat.

One hundred paces, seventy paces, fifty paces…

When the distance shrank to only thirty paces, at the hair‑trigger moment, a louder volley of gunfire roared overhead, so close it seemed a cascade of thunderclaps exploded beside their ears.

(End of chapter)