Chapter 235: The Appearance of the Dragon Clan

The battle raged on. Seeing his plan unfold smoothly, Rod breathed a sigh of relief. The crisis was temporarily averted. Watching the several squads charging back and forth in the city and the reinforcements arriving one after another, Rod inwardly marveled at the abundance of strong fighters here. There were already no less than twenty warriors at the Saint and Quasi-Saint levels, plus dozens of Imperial-level powerhouses—such a lineup was unprecedentedly strong. Seeing them made him realize once again his own insignificance.

Fortunately, the mask concealed his face; otherwise, he didn’t dare imagine the consequences of his identity being exposed here.

“Argh…” The repeatedly defeated magical beast army grew increasingly irritable and frenzied. Under the assault of humans, they fell one after another, gradually scattered, eliminated, and driven back, which fully unleashed their beastly nature.

The battle grew more intense, yet they still failed to gain any advantage. It was already pitch black. Under the cover of night and the cool breeze, the battlefield appeared especially desolate and mournful.

…

“Find out who he is! Use whatever means necessary—get it done as quickly as possible!” Domio ordered an apparently frail-looking officer beside him, staring at Knightrod, who was holding Nagran at a distance. His tone was commanding, leaving no room for doubt.

“Understood. I’ll go now! I’ll give you an answer right away!” After giving a deep glance at the young man who kept issuing new orders from afar, the frail officer replied in a low voice before turning and leaving.

“Who exactly are you? Someone like you can’t possibly be hidden among the crowd!” Having been at the battlefield for some time and observing the battle, Domio continued to mutter to himself after the officer left.

From his arrival here until now, he had been watching the battle and every order given by Knightrod—each one was perfectly timed. He believed even he might not be able to do better. As for Nagran, he was likely completely overwhelmed by Knightrod. Domio began to admit defeat, as evident from Knightrod’s performance. Otherwise, with his Imperial-level strength, along with a few guards and the aid of a Saint-level warrior, Nagran should have had a chance to escape. Now, he could only let the young man do as he pleased, having seen the results he brought.

Domio knew this young man must be extraordinary—impossible for him to miss any information. Someone like him, even lost in a sea of people, would be like a diamond that could be spotted instantly; his uniqueness was undeniable. Moreover, such abilities and a decisive, experienced personality couldn’t be innate; they must have been forged through countless trials and efforts.

He had just sent the man sent by the empire to investigate, believing he would surely bring back the results he hoped for. If even that man couldn’t provide a satisfactory answer, he couldn’t imagine who else on this continent could, let alone who this young man was and what kind of extraordinary powers he possessed to prevent that man from finding any clues. After all, that man was the head of the Empire’s Secret Service and the information department—nothing he wanted to know could remain hidden.

“General…” A soldier’s voice pulled Domio back to reality. Seeing the soldier’s astonished expression, he quickly looked ahead. In the next moment, his expression changed drastically, with fine sweat appearing on his forehead.

The pitch-black night was now pierced by light—red, green, and blue rays illuminating the darkness. Three figures were speeding toward them, growing larger by the second. As they approached, Domio, the soldiers around him, and everyone else’s pupils dilated rapidly, filled with disbelief.

……

“Damn it, hurry! Pull the men back immediately! Send reinforcements—every soldier below the city walls, come to help! Prepare the reserve troops for continuous support! Get the medics ready with emergency plans!” The moment he saw those three figures rushing toward them, Rod widened his eyes, cursed, and quickly gave orders.

“You guys, hurry up and get oil and firewood—as fast as possible! The more, the better. Bring it all here! If you don’t want the city to fall, stop talking!” Cutting off the people in front of him, Rod hurriedly instructed them, releasing Nagran from his control. “You know this area well—assign people to prepare. Once the oil and firewood arrive, scatter them all below—more the better. Let me know once it’s done!”

At this moment, Rod was more serious than ever. Big drops of sweat streamed down his forehead, and his back was already drenched with sweat without him even realizing it.

Chaos began to reign in the city. Under Rod’s orders, the people below the city walls ignored everything else and rushed upward toward the city walls swiftly. Screams filled the air, and in such chaos, the magical beasts managed to maintain their formation.

“Ao…” A long howl soared into the sky, filled with immense dominance and fury. In an instant, it reached a distance of a hundred meters from the city walls. Their giant bodies were as massive as mountains. Even from a hundred meters away, their powerful aura could be felt by everyone. Sensing this aura, the army of magical beasts suddenly fell silent, standing still as if waiting for something.

Stopping their advance, the three figures trembled slightly. Gazing at the city walls ahead, they let out another howl amidst the pervasive scent of blood. An aura of the five elements spread out in all directions, merging together and sweeping across the area.

The once frenzied magical beasts, now silent, lay down collectively on the ground, seemingly worshipping their king with utmost reverence. There was no noise at all, only the sound of heavy breathing.

Everyone on the city walls turned pale, struggling to breathe. Under the overwhelming pressure of this aura, some soldiers could barely stand, collapsing to the ground and gasping for air. It felt as though their throats were being squeezed, making each breath extremely difficult.

The three figures that arrived were none other than dragons! Yes, the most powerful magical beasts in legend—the dragons. The dragons they had seen before were a fire dragon, an ice dragon, and a wood-type green dragon!

As soon as the three dragons appeared, they unleashed their powerful breaths and auras, which made it hard for anyone to breathe. This aura alone rendered those below the rank of golden warriors incapable of fighting, greatly reducing everyone’s combat effectiveness.

“Ao…” Apparently satisfied with its appearance, the fire dragon let out another howl and flapped its wings, seemingly showing off its prowess.

While the fire dragon was pleased, everyone’s hearts sank. The appearance of dragons meant one thing very clearly: even a holy-grade dragon was enough to fight two holy-grade humans. Moreover, ordinary adult dragons possessed god-grade strength, and even if they were still growing, they usually had holy-grade capabilities! The arrival of just one dragon could turn the tide of battle, let alone three at once.

The appearance of the three heads undoubtedly sent shock through everyone, chilling their hearts. Once those three began attacking, aside from other magical beasts, just their abnormal defense and strength, along with their devastating attacks and dragon speech magic, would be enough to destroy the defensive walls and invade the city. So far, no god-tier warriors had appeared on the battlefield, and without such warriors to lead the defense, it was impossible to hold back their assault.

Rod also furrowed his brows. The last time he had dealt with a fire dragon, two saint-tier warriors had failed to gain any advantage even against his weakened state, let alone now. He had personally experienced the terror of dragon speech magic. Back then, when the fire dragon was enraged and attacked the city alone, it had thrown Iron Bar Town, a once impregnable fortress, into chaos, causing heavy losses. What about this time?

“All those below bronze warrior rank, retreat immediately. Those above bronze warrior rank, stand up! Those who don’t want to die, resist and buy time! Mages, deploy magic to protect the city walls—don’t let them be destroyed! Hurry!” Yet, having experienced many critical situations before, including similar perilous scenarios in games, he remembered that even when leading teams to fight the strongest bosses, things were far riskier. It was always his calm command that brought about success. So after a brief moment of tension, Rod regained his composure, focused his mind, and quickly gave orders to everyone.

Bronze warriors could stand firm under the dragon breath, though it was difficult; they wouldn’t be crushed outright. The main reason they were left behind was to deal with any magical beasts that might launch attacks. If the dragon breath signaled an attack and all magical beasts joined forces with the three dragons to assault the city, those bronze and silver warriors were essential. After all, they were the most numerous and formed the backbone of the defense force.

Following Rod’s orders, everyone braved the intense pressure and took action. Though scared and distressed, they had been fully prepared even before arriving here. Only those willing to fight to the death would voluntarily come to Iron Bar Town, the most dangerous and highly scrutinized place in the entire continent, so they weren’t yet scared enough to give up.

“Let’s go down too. Have all the bodyguards join the battle! Hold off the dragons and buy time for Nagran and the others!” In the distance, Domio also wore a stern expression as he gave orders to the officers around him, then slowly made his way toward Knightrod under the dragon breath.