Yan Xing did not exterminate the surrendered enemy soldiers. He left ten Griffons to watch over the prisoners as they flew toward the Envoy Mansion. He himself led the remaining Griffons to pursue the fleeing remnants of the enemy's ground forces.

The routing forces that had been attacking the Envoy Mansion now rushed into another residential area. As a result, the cannons inside the Envoy Mansion ceased their bombardment due to the loss of clustered targets.

In such a short time, those mercenaries could not possibly organize a counterattack. Yan Xing needed to locate their commander and carry out a decapitation strike. This would completely dismantle the mercenaries' threat to the Envoy Mansion.

Yan Xing, mounted on Feiying, hovered above the residential area where the mercenaries were hiding, with Griffons circling him.

"Chui Chui, are your drones still tracking the enemy commander?"

Several small drones skimmed at low altitude through the residential area as Chui Chui presented their camera footage, replying to Yan Xing, "Master... the enemy commander is hiding in this area. He's inside a room; I can't pinpoint his exact location."

"Can the Envoy Mansion's cannons reach here?"

Chui Chui swiftly completed the data calculation, answering, "They can, Master."

"Then bomb it. Blast this guy out for me," Yan Xing ordered.

"As you command, Master."

Chui Chui marked the area where the enemy commander was hiding on the map, then transmitted the data to the various artillery crews.

The cannons in the Envoy Mansion launched another volley.

From Yan Xing's position, he could clearly see the trajectory of numerous cannonballs arcing in from a distance. Reaching their apex, they accelerated downwards, whizzing beneath the Griffons before slamming into the housing district below.

The intense bombardment directly demolished the buildings. Amidst the dust and smoke, only rubble and shattered walls remained.

Just as one round of shelling ended, a second immediately followed. Round after round of fire blanketed the relatively small area.

At this moment, Gale was filled with regret. To secure the mission of leading troops to attack Yan Xing's Envoy Mansion, he had made a significant donation to the Temple. He had thought he could make a substantial profit after taking down the Envoy Mansion. Now... all he wanted was to survive and escape. He had never imagined that escaping could be so difficult.

He had hidden in a civilian home. But from inside the Envoy Mansion, those immensely powerful weapons seemed to descend from the sky with unerring accuracy. Before he could even react, the house had collapsed. If not for his Defense Magic, he would have died pathetically in these ruins.

Yet the nightmare had only just begun.

Just as Gale extricated himself from the rubble, he heard intense rumbling from the direction of the Envoy Mansion. He knew that following the rumbling, cannonballs would rain from the sky.

The surrounding houses collapsed. Gale, unable to find cover in time, immediately conjured a magic shield facing the direction of the Envoy Mansion.

Then, with a loud BANG!

The magic shield was violently struck, and Gale was thrown from the pile of debris. He quickly scrambled to his feet, his head buzzing from the impact, his vision blurring and seeing double. He stumbled, trying to leave the area, but another artillery barrage thundered from the direction of the Envoy Mansion.

Gale didn't dare to keep moving; he turned back and conjured another magic shield.

BANG! BANG!

This time, two cannonballs struck his shield. The shield instantly shattered, and the cannonballs, having lost their momentum, rolled across the ground. Gale was knocked flat, blood seeping from his nose and ears.

But he dared not delay. He had to escape to safety during the interval between barrages.

But where was safe?

Gale was stunned by the scene around him. All the surrounding houses had collapsed, bricks and rubble blocking the already narrow roads. He was exposed in a small open area. Nearby mercenaries fled in panic, none daring to rescue a commander they barely knew.

The direction of the Envoy Mansion erupted once more with a continuous, thunderous roar.

Gale saw the swarm of black cannonballs bearing down like a plague of locusts. He also saw Yan Xing, mounted on his warhorse, hovering in the sky and looking down at him.

He activated his magic shield and was then submerged in the dense rain of falling cannonballs.

"Master, the enemy commander shows no signs of life," Chui Chui reported.

"Hmm..." Yan Xing, still hovering in mid-air, had watched the enemy commander endure round after round of artillery fire. He remarked with some surprise, "I didn't expect him to withstand so many direct hits from the cannonballs head-on. He was a formidable hero. It's just a shame; his body probably can't even be pieced together now. Let's go, withdraw. Eddie's Guild Mercenaries should be arriving soon."

After confirming the enemy commander's death, Yan Xing led the Griffons back toward the Envoy Mansion.

From beginning to end, Yan Xing never knew that the one leading the attack against him was his old friend, Gale. He remained unrecognized only because the smoke from the cannonballs was too thick and Gale had died too quickly.

While Yan Xing led his forces to scatter the enemies attacking the Envoy Mansion, battles in other parts of Nuta City continued fiercely.

Donald, leader of the Farsight Mercenary Corps, personally led a team of elite mercenaries in search of the Elf Envoys.

The Temple had no idea why Lady Karol had invited the Elf Envoys to Nuta City, nor for what purpose. However, any discussion between the Silvermane Principality and the Snow Elves was considered detrimental to the Empire, especially at this critical juncture. The Orcs were about to break into Storm City, which would also eliminate a major northern threat to the Empire.

Now, if he killed the Elf Envoys, everything they had discussed with Lady Karol would be nullified. The animosity between the Snow Elves and the Silvermane Principality would intensify, accelerating the Principality's loss of the Wildwind Highlands.

The Farsight Mercenary Corps' plan was not to occupy Nuta City. Instead, they aimed to create chaos, forcing the city into lockdown to trap the Elf Envoys inside. Then, they would take advantage of the turmoil to find and kill him.

Donald hadn't expected the Jufeng Mercenary Group to strike at him first. However, since the attack occurred around the same time as the Farsight Mercenary Corps' planned operation, Donald seized the opportunity to incite a citywide uprising. Accomplishing this would earn him at least an Imperial viscountcy.

The Empire, wary of the ambitious Silvermane Principality, had planted numerous spies. This was especially true in a crucial city like Nuta City, which was teeming with informers. The Temple knew the approximate hiding place of the Elf Envoys.

With the City Defense Force overwhelmed, Donald led his men to conduct a dragnet search in the area where the Elf Envoys were concealed.

The Rose Court, while fending off mercenaries, also deduced the true purpose behind the Temple's orchestrated unrest. Previously, Lady Karol had not brought the Elf delegation into the Rose Court due to diplomatic sensitivities. Now, they could only commit all available resources to rescue Prince Erelado.

At this moment, the Assassin's Guild emerged from the shadows where they had long been hidden. They employed all their means, setting up decoys and obstruction tactics, to hinder the Farsight Mercenary Corps' search for the Elf Envoys.

Within the short period since the uprising began, every major and minor power in Nuta City had been drawn into the conflict.

At this time, an army riding Chocobos entered the city from Nuta City's North Gate.

Having anticipated the chaos, Count Theodore had kept the garrison on the north side of Nuta City firmly under his control. Thus, Eddie's Guild Mercenaries entered the city smoothly.

The moment he entered, Eddie took over the defense of Nuta City's North Gate. He instructed the guards there to go to the Lord's Mansion and report the truth to Count Theodore.

"My master will explain to Lord Earl; you're free to go," one of Eddie's men told the departing guards.

After dismissing the North Gate guards, Eddie divided the five hundred cavalry he had brought into three teams. One team was to guard the city gate and receive the subsequent forces of the Guild Mercenaries. Another was to patrol along the city walls, preventing anyone from scaling them to escape and focusing on apprehending individuals suspected of being Elves.

Eddie then led three hundred cavalrymen toward the Envoy Mansion.

Along the way, Eddie witnessed the tragic devastation the riots had inflicted upon the city. Bodies of Griffons and people fell from the sky, crashing to the ground; gang members looted shops and homes along the streets; buildings and towers collapsed; and magic conjured whirlwinds, firestorms, ice crystals, and flying debris. Flames were rampant, and the smoke-filled air was thick with shouts and cries.

The scene before his eyes intensified Eddie's concern for the Envoy Mansion. Although Chui Chui had informed him via walkie-talkie that the Master had already led his forces to repel the invaders, the number of defenders at the Envoy Mansion was still too low. He didn't know how many enemies were involved in the riots.

Eddie urged his men to quicken their pace toward the Envoy Mansion. He drew his double-barreled cavalry gun and fired at the figures ahead. The mercenary cavalry opened fire, forging an unstoppable stream of horsemen down the road.

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