Chapter 2162

Sharp as lightning, the arrow lost all its power the moment it fell into that slender, jointed hand. A golden light flared and dispersed the muddled black fog entwined around the arrow. On the city walls, every pair of eyes stared stunned at the man who'd suddenly appeared. If they remembered correctly, this was Lucan, the commander Benjamin had appointed to lead the battle at Southsea. But they wondered… Why was the man supposedly in Southsea here in the royal city? Plus, from the way he'd appeared… Who was he? Lucan had no intention of explaining himself. Holding the arrow, he felt the malice lingering on it, and his gaze darkened. Looking up, he gazed beyond the city wall at Hundar, standing behind Lucius. It was a figure only he could see and invisible to all people present. As Golden Dragon Guardian of Celestria, he'd sensed the emergence of the Doomscourges long before anyone else. So, when chaos erupted in the royal city of Celestria, he'd been the first to react. Hundar liked to attach itself to evil souls. Wherever wickedness festered, its presence followed. It was the Doomscourge most attuned to human malice. Out of the Doomscourges, Hundar was not the strongest, but undoubtedly the most difficult to deal with. It rarely acted and used its muddled presence to manipulate people from the shadows. Perhaps the army at the gates and frenzied hearts within the city were all its doing. Or perhaps, there were other forces at play… Regardless, he would protect Celestria and its people. Lucan's gaze hardened. With a flip of the arrow in his hand, he hurled it toward Hundar without hesitation. Golden dragon energy surged over the arrow and propelled it with terrifying momentum as it shot straight at Hundar. At the same time, Lucan's toes tapped. He launched into the air and rose with the arrow, shooting toward Hundar. His shocking entrance had shaken the traitorous army below. Now, seeing him soar into the air with the arrow, they faltered even more. As if a blade had plunged into their morale, Lucius and his army began to waver. Soon, they realized Lucan's target wasn't either of them. As the arrow flew into the air, Lucan seemed to grasp something and soared. Then, he vanished into the clouds above in the blink of an eye. Lucius didn't understand what had happened, but he quickly calmed down. Now that that obstacle was gone, there was no way he'd let this perfect chance slip by. He barked out orders, which his troops responded to by regrouping and preparing to storm the city. On the city wall, Malcolm and the officials saw this and immediately sprang into action. War was just a trigger away. … Though Benjamin had stationed garrisons outside the capital, the unrest within the city had spread to the garrison, so the approach of Lucius' traitorous army had gone unnoticed. Now that they were disordered and thrown into sudden battle, the defenders were quickly overwhelmed. Cries of pain echoed as bodies fell in heaps. Soon, the base of the city wall was lined with the dead. Seeing the tide turn, many courtiers tugged at Malcolm and urged him to retreat for defense. But Malcolm roared, "If the city gates fall, the palace gates can never hold!" It was all the same. If Celestria was doomed to fall today, he would fall with it at the front lines! Refusing to leave, he strode to the war drums, grabbed the mallets, and began to beat them himself to rally the troops. Outside the city, sounds of battle shook the heavens. Inside, the panic of a defenseless city overtook the citizens and brewed malice in their hearts. The city had become a burning hellscape before the gates had yet to fall. … Beyond the clouds, Lucan had taken his true form as a golden dragon. He was locked in a ferocious battle with Hundar, but from the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the chaos below. Within it, the malice of the people gathered like a monstrous beast that threatened to consume all of the royal city and Celestria. At last, he understood that everything that had happened—the emergence of the Doomscourges and the calamity of Celestria—all came from malice.