"Tell me, who is behind all this?" Jacob clung to Zachary's sword-hand and demanded with defiance.
Zachary didn't answer, coldly pulling his sword out of Jacob's chest and beheading him with one swift strike.
"Ask in hell."
Hoisting up Jacob's bloodstained head, Zachary shouted out, "Jacob is dead! Any of you dare to resist?"
The faces of a few East Sea Heroes changed drastically.
Meanwhile, during the time Zachary bought, a cloudy white light lit up around Rose, healing her injuries almost instantly.
"Ethan, you bastard, just watched me get hurt like that, I'll make you pay." Rose grumbled about Ethan, who had helped her secretly, as she rushed towards Lucas with murderous intent.
Knowing Ethan was nearby, Rose felt emboldened.
Despite being an assassin, she charged directly at Lucas.
"Too arrogant." Lucas wasn't unaffected by Jacob's death, but facing Rose's bravado, his killing intent deepened.
This was an opportunity!
If he could kill Rose here, the death of a guild leader would deal a far more significant blow to Riverside than Jacob's death.
This was a chance to turn the tide!
His longbow was drawn to the full again, a magic arrow formed, targeting Rose.
With his strength, this arrow would surely pierce through Rose's chest before she could get close.
However, something strange happened.
A white magic circle appeared under Rose, who was on the move, and she vanished from Lucas's sight.
The next moment, Lucas felt a chill at his heart. Rose's dagger had already pierced through his chest.
"Space magic... how is this possible..." The disbelief in the archer's eyes was palpable.
The classes of assassin and magician were incompatible, and he hadn't detected any magic from Rose.
How had she managed to appear behind him and land this fatal blow?
At the brink of death, his gaze locked onto a tall youth in a black robe amidst the crowd. His pupils contracted sharply.
The youth stood amidst the battlefield but seemed to be detached from it.
He leisurely strolled through the battle as if everyone around him was ignoring him...
Lucas felt an indescribable fear well up within him.
This indicated an absolute disparity in power.
Then he saw the youth casually stroll up to Adam, and his hand, flashing with electric light, effortlessly pierced through Adam's chest.
From start to finish, Adam hadn't noticed the youth.
Keep in mind, Adam was a Rank A Hero. So, what was the rank of this man?
"S..."
Lucas wanted to alert everyone on the battlefield, wanted to relay the information about this Rank S enemy, but Rose's dagger had already shattered his heart before he could speak.
With a thud, Lucas's body toppled onto the ground. Just before his last breath, he locked his gaze onto the young man, his golden vertical pupils.
"Dark Lord..."
Lucas died, his eyes wide open even in death.
And with the death of the three Rank A Heroes from the East Sea side, the balance of the battle instantly tilted. The Heroes of East Sea started to retreat. Once one started, the retreat turned into a rout...
That's the way with Heroes, when the winds are in their favor, they band together and can explode with multitudes of their usual strength. But once the situation turns grim, they crumble faster than any NPC army, after all, they don't hold any patriotic beliefs.
The Heroes left the battlefield, leaving the ones they once looked down upon, the regular army of East Sea, at the frontline.
Then, faced with the emboldened Heroes of Riverside, even the most tenacious of the East Sea's army could only add more needless bodies to the battlefield...
Many among them had thought about how they might die, but none ever thought... they would die not at the hands of the Dark Lord, but at the hands of their own allies, the so-called Heroes.
On the side of East Sea, the high-ranking officials of East Sea paled instantly.
They hurriedly approached Louise, saying, "Lady Louise... we are losing, and it's not looking good for us. You are too valuable to risk, we should retreat."
"Riverside openly slaughters their own, they are unforgivable. I will surely report them to the Empire."
"My lady, we must leave!"
A group of officials implored Louise, none of them wanted to die.
Unlike the soldiers and Heroes, they had countless beautiful wives and concubines at home, wealth that couldn't be spent in several lifetimes, they couldn't just throw away their lives here.
In the face of the advice from her officials, Louise looked like she lost her soul, staring blankly at the battlefield... A slow, beautiful curve formed at the corner of her mouth.
"Lost? How could we lose?"
"We still have... that gentleman..."
"What gentleman?" Hearing Louise's nonsensical talk, several high-ranking officials turned pale.
They all thought that Louise had been traumatized by the fierce battlefield and was talking nonsense.
However, when they were about to forcibly order a retreat, using protection of the city owner as a reason to take Louise away by force, a terrifying roar erupted from the center of the battlefield.
"Roar!"
The noisy battlefield instantly fell silent, and everyone instinctively looked over, only to see a terrifying shadow covering the center of the battlefield... Then, a gigantic golden dragon, without any warning, appeared in the center of the battlefield.
It simply let out a Dragon Flame, instantly taking countless Hero lives.
Louise somehow stood up, enveloped by a golden light that lifted her into the air.
Her voice echoed across the entire battlefield.
"All Heroes and soldiers of East Sea, listen to my command. Lord Ethan is our reinforcements!"
"Slay all Riverside beasts!"
"Kill all those who fear battle!"
The Heroes and soldiers of East Sea all paused, stopping their fleeing...
At this moment, most of them were stunned, not sure whether to follow Louise's command.
But the next moment, the dragon sweeping the battlefield quickly told them what to do.
Rose, touted as Riverside's top Hero, was smacked by the golden dragon's claw, spewing blood and being sent flying backward.
With the power of one dragon, he pierced through Riverside's entire camp, then he slowly turned around, his cold vertical pupils looking at the Heroes of East Sea.
The implication was clear as day.
"Kill..."
"Kill them all!"
Heroes snapped back to reality, raising their weapons and charging towards the Riverside heroes.
They weren't sure who this dragon was, but since Louise claimed him as an ally of East Sea, they knew better than to ignore her command.
If they did, they would meet their end under his Dragon Flame.
And thus, the bloody battle between the two factions of heroes broke out again.
Rose, severely wounded, struggled to her feet and cried out loudly, "East Sea's leader, Louise, is in cahoots with the Golden Dragon, the Dark Lord, brutally massacring our Empire brethren. They are beyond redemption! All soldiers and heroes of the Empire, heed my call! Join me in slaying these traitors!"
With Rose's words, the battlefield descended into chaos again.
Many East Sea soldiers glanced at the nearby dragon, then at their far-off leader Louise, and without hesitation, they turned their weapons towards the dragon.
Between the Dark Lord and their city lord, attacking the Dark Lord was their top priority.
Soon, strife broke out among the heroes of East Sea.
Many heroes sided with justice and began to attack Ethan.
Meanwhile, Rose's body was once again enveloped by a Holy Light.
Her wounds healed rapidly, and she charged towards the dragon, sword in hand.
Magic circles began to appear under Rose's feet, allowing her to appear instantly in any direction around the golden dragon.
This gave the illusion that Rose was an invincible magic assassin, pushing the dragon into a corner...
The morale of the heroes was immediately boosted.
Ethan, overlooking the battlefield, found this group of spirited heroes amusing.
The fight with Rose was essentially him fighting against himself.
He was using spatial magic to constantly teleport Rose, creating the illusion of her valiant onslaught.
Regardless, this wasn't his first rodeo.
Once again, Rose collided with the dragon in mid-air.
Her petite body was thrown backward, she spat out blood and collapsed...
Ethan's neck was marked with a terrifying wound.
Various skills from heroes came whizzing, making Ethan's massive body an easy target.
Feigning defeat, Ethan growled lowly and flapped his wings.
A gust of wind quickly swept up Louise and others from the battlefield, retreating.
Watching the dragon fly away, the Riverside heroes and NPCs, still terrified, erupted into cheers.
They had once again repelled the dragon.
Carrying the severely injured Rose, Zachary led a group to cover the retreat, and the crowd orderly retreated back to Riverside.
On the other hand, the huge shadow of Ethan's dragon form shrouded East Sea.
The city's Defense Barrier was under Louise's control, so without any hindrance, Ethan's massive body descended right into the city center.
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