Chapter 414: Unforeseen Changes

Looking at the six people surrounding him, Rod wore a playful smile. There was no tension as expected, no frozen atmosphere—instead, he seemed relaxed, even more so than whenever he faced enemies before. His bloodthirsty smile and cold gaze gave people a chilling sense of foreboding.
The people around them had already stepped back, staying far away from this group! Such a battle was beyond their reach and involvement.
Silence—an eerily quiet atmosphere that made breathing difficult. Looking at Lucy and Aida’s group in the distance, unusually, they too showed no signs of worry; only solemnity and seriousness filled their expressions as they stared at the tens of thousands of troops across from them. Their eyes were icy! This atmosphere was strange. At least in the past, if Rod were in such a situation, these people would surely be nervous.
As the atmosphere grew tense over time, the people on this side also prepared themselves, but they didn’t rush to act. The battle on Rod’s side was the key. Everyone knew that the outcome of that battle would directly affect this battlefield. Even though the pro-war faction had a significant advantage with their thirty thousand troops, if Rod won, it would be extremely difficult for them to achieve ultimate victory.
“Cyril, are you sure you can kill me?” Rod asked calmly, looking at the grand elder directly across from him. This grand elder of the pro-war faction held authority even comparable to that of the clan leader. Rod had no intention of letting him leave alive—once he left this place, he would become the biggest trouble.
“Rod, you’re spouting nonsense at the brink of death. You refuse to take the path to heaven and insist on barging into hell—don’t blame us if we’re ruthless! Attack!” With a cold shout, the grand elder roared at the people beside him before charging forward like an arrow leaving the bow, aiming straight at Rod.
His fist was clenched tightly, and with the infusion of combat energy, it seemed to grow several times larger, covered in a glow of combat energy. It tore through space, tracing a long trajectory as it headed toward Rod’s chest.
Behind him, the other five people were also busy. As soon as the grand elder moved, they hurriedly followed.
The speed was incredible. In the blink of an eye, the grand elder’s fist was about to strike Rod’s chest. The full force of a martial artist at the later stage of the Yin Yellow realm—its power was unimaginable. Yet Rod showed no sign of trying to dodge it.

This puzzled Cyril as well as those watching from the sidelines. Rod didn’t seem like the kind of person who would sit idly by and wait for death. Even though Elder Cyril was extremely powerful, he was still only at the later stage of the Yin Yellow realm, whereas Rod had already entered the Yang Mysterious realm. Could he really be so arrogant as to think he could easily withstand Elder Cyril’s full-powered strike?

Little did they know that even a warrior at that legendary realm might not be able to easily counter such a strike in an instant.

Yet Rod remained completely still, not even shifting his stance, with a disdainful smile on his face, hinting at amusement—something utterly unfathomable!

As the punch wind howled, Rod could clearly feel his clothes tearing apart, revealing the armor beneath. His exposed skin burned from the surging combat energy, but even so, he remained unmoved, as if none of this concerned him.

“Big brother!” Lucy cried out softly below.

A hand covered hers. Turning around, she saw Ada’s comforting gaze, and her face showed little worry.

From the opposing army, bursts of astonishment and smug expressions could be heard. It seemed they already imagined Rod’s fate, already saw him falling.

At this point, it would be impossible for Rod to dodge, even if he could avoid Elder Cyril’s strike—could he escape the combined attack of those five people behind him?

In their eyes, Rod had been careless and arrogant all along. This time, he was doomed.

But just then, when everyone seemed to have seen the outcome, something unexpected happened.

“Boom…” A dull sound echoed as a figure was flung sideways, sent flying far away, leaving a trail of blood droplets in the air.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events, their eyes wide in disbelief.

Ah… Someone exclaimed in shock after realizing what had happened.

“Damn you! You… Third Elder, Fourth Elder, what the hell do you wolves want?” The officer leading the pro-war faction shouted loudly after realizing what had occurred.

The one who was flung away was none other than the Third Elder, who was about to succeed. He had been knocked aside—not by anyone else, but by those five people behind him: two Wolf Kings and three elders from the pro-war faction! Five powerful warriors at the Yin Yellow realm. Instead of attacking Rod, they had attacked the Third Elder.

The five of them launched a full-force attack on Cyril when he was unprepared. One could imagine what happened—Cyril had no chance to react at all and was sent flying, crashing violently onto the streets in the distance. After a dull thud, his body twitched once before going still. His eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief as he stared backward until his death. He never understood what had happened, why he was being attacked, or why his comrades would turn on him.

“Hehe, you war advocates, today is the day of your doom!” Without answering the officer or even glancing at the lifeless Cyril, the two wolf kings sneered. Their voices echoed throughout the West Gate. “Elder Three, Elder Four, Elder Five, you…” The two wolf kings changing their plans mid-battle might have been somewhat acceptable to the officer, but it was hard to believe that their own three elders would do the same. “Wolf clan, don’t forget—we’re all in this together! What do you want?” he snapped at the two wolf kings.

“All in this together? Hehe, our wolf clan has never been on the same side as you war advocates! As for your elders… hehe, go ask them yourself!” The lead wolf king said coldly, looking at the officer with a puzzled expression, as if nothing had happened.

“You…” The officer was furious, his face red as he shouted loudly, but it had no effect at this point. The soldiers behind him seemed to realize what was happening only then, causing chaos. The sudden turn of events was too shocking for them to believe. But before they could process it, the situation changed again—chaos ensued, followed by screams of battle and cries of pain. The rear fell into disarray as the six thousand wolf warriors turned on their former allies, attacking the unprepared war advocates. In just an instant, blood flowed like rivers, and these poor soldiers died at the hands of those who had once been their comrades, not even understanding why. Meanwhile, Aida and the others on the other side also retreated quickly. From the once quiet houses, countless arrows were shot forth, causing more screams as countless people fell in their blood.

The streets on both sides had become strongholds for the opposition soldiers by this time. The pro-war soldiers standing on the streets had no cover at all, suffering countless casualties with no place to escape. For them, entering the side alleys was a dead end as well. Some did try to rush into houses, but under the dense rain of arrows, they had no chance. Soon after, arrows rained down from all directions—surrounded on all sides, with enemies both ahead and behind, these 30,000 soldiers seemed trapped in a desperate situation. “It’s our turn to act!” Rod, who was watching from afar, said calmly at that moment. “Hehe, it’s time to act. After waiting for half a year, we’ve finally reached this day!” The Wolf King, standing beside Rod, licked his lips and spoke with a bloodthirsty tone. “The armies of the Dragon and Wolf clans should be arriving soon too!” Rod said slowly, with a sigh. “Hehe, don’t worry! The Wolf Emperor and the Dragon Emperor have already hidden over a hundred miles away. The fireworks just now were a signal for both the enemy and us. Chaos will likely start outside the city soon.” The Wolf King remained full of confidence. They had prepared for this plan for a whole year, and now it was time to reap the rewards—anyone would be excited. After this battle, the balance of power in the Dark Source would surely change drastically. In the next moment, people like wolves and tigers rushed into the ranks of the pro-war soldiers. At the same time, Melon, Sognar, Lilith, and others from behind also charged in. Dozens of them, like a sharp dagger, were unstoppable wherever they went, leaving rivers of blood in their wake! At that moment, the Ximen area turned into a hellish realm—lives were crying, and demons were singing. Rod and his companions were messengers sent from the Netherworld, mercilessly harvesting lives and enjoying the pleasure brought by blood. In the chaos, the pro-war soldiers, already hit repeatedly, had no strength to fight back. The battle progressed smoothly, with screams filling the air. Soon, surrenderers appeared—first one, then another, and another. Rod and his group didn’t exterminate them all; in such circumstances, in the blink of an eye, the remaining 20,000+ soldiers surrendered as well. A massive disaster came to an end after the sacrifice of thousands of lives, concluding with such a dramatic outcome. But this was just the first step. How could a plan prepared for over a year be so simple? This was only a portion of the pro-war forces—what about outside? Outside was the real battlefield.