In just a few moments, explosions lit up the streets as the Chaos Beast and the guards of the city fought back with their Spells, Formations, Circles, summoned creatures, and their Magic Weapons.

As for the Immortals, they had to retreat to their last line of defense, the Shadow Castle… After all, the Arcanists and the civilians only had to worry about the Chaos Beasts, and although they were terrifying with their numbers, they could still be killed by the Magic Automatons, especially the elite units led by Arthur, Denise's very first Automaton…

They knew that the Chaos Immortals wouldn't dare to attack mortals after all. At the very least, not until Mennena replaced the Will of the Realm.

"Fall back!" Orden shouted, rallying the defenders. "Protect the castle!"

Ryzoir flew overhead, launching firestorms to slow the advance.

"Vale should be hurrying by now… We can't hold this without him."

Ash and Lylia formed a wall of vines to block a charging Chaos Beast, but it broke through with brute force after the Chaos Immortals assisted.

Soon, they were also attacked by the Immortals and could no longer help the defenders of the city… They also had to return to the castle…

"They're everywhere!" Lisa muttered as she frowned at the sight of the city being burned down by the Chaos Beasts…

Right now, the only safe areas are the Shadow Castle, the Marshall Academy, and the area where the 16 Towers are located.

Merlin slammed his staff against the floor, activating emergency runes of the castle… "We need to regroup. The massive eye in the sky changes everything."

Lotus and Yvaine also retreated… Though they could summon the portal once more, it would be useless until that eye was removed from the sky.

What was even more troubling was the fact that the Chaos God's Eye was still pressuring the Dragons!

Although it couldn't directly attack them, their eye were powerful enough to weaken the Dragons. Perhaps, they were already regretting helping this human realm!

***

The Shadow Castle was immediately surrounded.

The Chaos Immortals had ignored the Marshall Academy entirely, leaving its professors and students nervous about the situation as they were unable to help.

Of course, they had also spared the sixteen Arcane Towers, not out of mercy, but out of greed. Those towers were to be claimed intact… They believed that the Towers would be their prized relics of power, and Kent intended to bind them to his dominion once the city fell.

But the castle was different.

It was the heart of resistance, the last stronghold of the Shadow Domain's defenders, and the place where Vale's allies had gathered.

More than two hundred Chaos Immortals now encircled it. Even without attacking, their auras pressured the Dragons and other Immortals easily…

Constance's barrier trembled faintly around the castle walls. It was a masterpiece of layered defense that she had created for several years... She had poured everything into it, including her essence, divinity, her blood, and her treasures… but it wasn't enough.

The Chaos God's eye in the sky just glanced at it, and with a single wave of energy, the barrier shattered.

The explosion of the barrier sent shockwaves everywhere as it happened so abruptly...

Constance staggered as blood trailed from her lips due to the backlash…

The defenders inside the castle, the dragons, Celestials, Arcanists, and other Immortals, watched in silence as their last shield dissolved into nothing.

Now, they were truly exposed.

Even Adam, the Golden Immortal, remained at a distance. He watched from a nearby mountain range with his Sacred Knights hidden in the shadows.

"They're done… It's a pity, but I can't help you, Vale." He muttered to himself. He could only sigh as he also felt helpless about their situation.

Still, his gaze wasn't on the castle. It was on Mennena. She was hovering beside Kent, and she seemed to be planning on staying there…

Soon, Kent's voice was heard by the Immortals and the citizens of the city.

"You've fought well, but this is the end… Serve me, and you will live. Resist, and you will be erased."

He then turned toward the dragons…

"You will not be harvested… As long as you surrender, we will not harm you…" Kent said, though, in his mind, he planned for them to be bred and obtain a lot of Dragon Babies and farm them.

It was definitely a great setup up and he didn't plan to reveal it yet. That could be done once he already had full control of the situation.

Inside the castle, panic spread among the servants… They were worried about what would happen once the castle was taken over…

Constance, still recovering, turned to Merlin. "We need to escape. Now."

Merlin nodded grimly. "Cypher?"

In the corner of the war chamber, Cypher, the Time Manipulator, stood with three others.

This chamber was filled with temporal and energy as they had been preparing for the signal to escape…

"We're ready," Cypher said calmly… "We've been waiting for this moment."

He raised his hand, preparing to activate the escape sequence.

But then, everything changed… He felt a familiar aura with several more powerful auras appear within the castle… It happened almost instantly and without any signs of the portal being opened at all…

At this point, the Chaos God's eye also shifted as its gaze turned away from the castle.

"Hmm?"

Kent paused, sensing the change. He turned his head slowly, looking for something…

"What is it?" Nyssa asked.

Kent didn't answer as he paused and stared at the balcony of the castle… It had been empty just moments ago.

However, in an instant, six figures stood there.

At the very front of the group was a man cloaked in black and silver…

His presence, including the others, was suppressed. No Chaos Immortal could determine whether they were Immortals or just Grand Arcanists…

But soon, Kent's eyes widened. He recognized the face of the Shadow Immortal!

"That's him?"

Kent then turned to Mennena. Even without asking, the latter knew what Kent wanted to ask…

"That one is real," she said. "That's the true Shadow Immortal."

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