"Stop right there! Who the hell are you?" A voice rang out from atop the city wall. The speaker looked like he might be from the dragonkin—his eyes locked onto them with a predator’s focus. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵 He didn’t seem all that powerful himself, but the bow in his hands was a different story. It radiated a fierce, domineering energy. Probably forged from Umbral Abyss materials. Nothing else would give off that kind of pressure. Ethan’s lips curled into a strange, almost amused smirk. A glowing orb of light formed in his hand—and without hesitation, he hurled it forward. Caught completely off guard, the dragonkin took the hit square in the chest. The blast knocked him clean off the wall. Just as Ethan was about to charge through the gate— A sudden, terrifying surge of power erupted right in front of him. Two figures stepped out from the shadows of the gate, their presence heavy and dangerous. "Whoever you are, don’t take another step," one of them growled. "Or we’ll take your heads right here." Ethan didn’t even slow down. He stepped forward, and the power around him rippled outward like a shockwave. "Attack!" someone shouted. The two guards flinched, clearly startled, but quickly recovered. They stepped back, raised their weapons, and lunged at Ethan. The moment their powers clashed, the city gate groaned under the pressure, wood and stone creaking like they might give way. These two weren’t just any guards—they were elite. The energy rolling off them was intense, almost suffocating. And their weapons... Ethan narrowed his eyes. They were infused with the power of a Bloodlust Core. He didn’t hesitate. A surge of raw force exploded from his body, slamming into the two guards and sending them crashing into the gate behind them. Elira moved in perfect sync. Behind her, the massive phantom of a Skytear Demon Moth unfurled its wings, beating them with a thunderous roar. The gate didn’t stand a chance—it was obliterated in an instant, reduced to nothing but dust and splinters. The two of them stormed into the city like a pair of unleashed beasts, cutting down anyone in their path. "Shit! We’re under attack!" A sharp cry tore through the night sky. Chaos erupted in the streets of the castle. Figures poured out from every direction, the clatter of iron boots on stone echoing like a war drum. At the shattered gate, Ethan and Elira had fully unleashed their power. Wind and energy swirled around them, colliding and merging into a storm of light. Their auras resonated, fusing into something new—something twisted and overwhelming. Black-gold streams of energy spiraled around them, snarling like living creatures. Dozens of guards rushed to form a blockade, trying to seal off the path ahead. But the moment the front line was hit by the shockwave, they were torn apart like paper. Blood sprayed. Dust rose. "Fall back! Fall back!" "We’ve got intruders!" The shouts came from every direction, panic spreading like wildfire. From the direction of the clocktower deep within the castle, a low rumble echoed out—heavier, darker energy was rising from the heart of Skygate. Ethan looked up, frowning slightly. "They’re reacting faster than I expected." Moments later, five figures shot into the sky from the castle’s center. They landed with a thunderous impact, the ground trembling beneath them. Each one wore rune-etched armor that shimmered with power. Their weapons varied—glaive, twin blades, staff, axe, and a ring-blade—but the pressure they exuded was the same: the crushing weight of 17-Tier elites. As they touched down, glowing runes lit up beneath their feet, spreading out in lines that connected across the entire plaza like a web of light. In the blink of an eye, a massive six-pointed star array flared to life beneath their feet. Pillars of energy shot skyward, locking Ethan and Elira inside a blazing cage of light. The energy swirling within the array was like a molten vortex, pressing down on them with crushing force. Ethan’s eyes narrowed as he quickly analyzed the structure. "Energy feedback array... Not a barrier. It’s a counter-kill formation." He steadied himself, took a deep breath, and began forming seals with both hands. His internal energy reversed flow, spiraling into a vortex in his palms—he was trying to siphon the array’s power source, to drain it from the inside out. "Just give me thirty seconds..." he muttered under his breath. But before he could finish the process, the sky suddenly darkened. A blinding beam of golden light came crashing down from above, trailing a shockwave that split the air. The six-pointed array exploded in an instant. The energy pillars shattered into thousands of searing fragments, erupting outward like a tsunami. Ethan and Elira were both blasted back, flung dozens of meters through the air before crashing hard into the rubble. Dust and debris still hung in the air when a small figure slowly descended from the sky. Its movements were stiff, mechanical—precise. It landed without a sound, but the pressure it exuded was bone-chilling. "You filthy little insects..." The voice was sharp, metallic—barely human. "...You dare trespass into Skygate Castle? Tired of living, are you?" The figure was no taller than a teenage boy, but its body was made of dark bronze metal, etched with glowing runes and segmented seams. The joints in its arms rotated with a low mechanical hum, and in the center of its palms, dozens of intricate glyphs pulsed in a steady rhythm—like a mechanical heart beating. "A mechanoid?" Ethan activated his system scan. [Scan Complete: Mechanical Guardian — Tier 17 (Mid Stage)] "Shit," he muttered under his breath. But Elira was already airborne. "Let me handle this." Behind her, the massive phantom of the Skytear Demon Moth unfurled once more. Its wings spread wide, summoning a howling gale that kicked up dust and debris in a violent swirl. With a flick of her wrist, dozens of glowing energy orbs lit up in the air around her, then rained down like a meteor shower toward the mechanical guardian. The mech let out a cold snort. The runes on its right arm flared to life. Click— A sharp sound rang out as a short blade snapped out from its mechanical forearm. The blade was covered in intricate symbols, glowing with a pulsing red light. It slashed through the air, leaving behind jagged trails of energy. When the blade collided with Elira’s energy barrage— The explosion tore through the entire street. Fire, shrapnel, and raw magical force erupted in a storm of destruction. The very fabric of space twisted and cracked like shattered glass. Elira’s pupils dilated in shock. She hadn’t expected that kind of power from a machine. The blast hurled her backward, her body spinning through the air before she finally managed to stabilize herself. Ethan’s brow furrowed deeply. He hadn’t expected this either. A single mechanoid, and it was putting out that kind of raw, violent force? A new figure suddenly appeared in the sky. It dropped like a meteor, slamming into the ground with a thunderous impact that shook the earth.