On this day, Prince William's army finally reached the walls of Konola City.
With a loud clang from their armor, the entire army stopped simultaneously. A narrow road opened in the middle of the formation, and a tall man wearing high-level enchanted armor strode forward.
He dragged a dark red Warhammer behind him. The weapon was so heavy that it carved a deep trail across the hardened ground.
There were many crisscrossing scars on the tall man's bald head, and one long scar ran from his forehead to his chin. Combined with his wide mouth and a row of yellow teeth, he looked incredibly menacing.
At the same time, he deliberately released his aura—the unmistakable pressure of an official-level powerhouse.
"Everyone inside, surrender immediately. If this uncle is in a good mood, I might let you have a painless death. Hmph! Otherwise, this uncle will smash every single brick of this half-broken city into powder."
After finishing his speech, the tall man—who clearly seemed to be the leader of the army—raised his Warhammer and violently slammed it into the ground.
A massive burst of dust and debris exploded outward. Some dirt even struck the walls of Konola.
When the dust finally settled in the wind, a half-meter-deep crater had formed where the Warhammer struck.
Looking at the terrified and trembling soldiers around him, Punk became even less optimistic about the defenders of Konola City.
Even ignoring the enemy's better equipment and superior numbers, these defenders had already lost psychologically before the battle even began.
Aside from the advantage of defending behind city walls, Konola City was undoubtedly in a very disadvantageous situation.
"And this enemy general…" Punk thought quietly.
"He looks less like an army commander and more like a bandit leader. Persuading them to surrender? Doesn't he understand that cutting off all escape routes only turns people into desperate fighters?"
"Or maybe…"
"He's simply extremely confident. Perhaps he never intended to accept their surrender at all. Maybe slaughtering the entire city is his real goal."
In the Pheren Plane, morality and justice existed mostly in stories. During war, massacres of entire cities were not uncommon.
"This situation is far from optimistic. I should leave as soon as I get the chance."
Punk silently increased his vigilance.
Naturally, the tall man's mocking persuasion achieved nothing.
The soldiers and professionals on the city walls remained silent. Their only response was to grip their weapons tighter, preparing themselves for battle.
Seeing this, the tall man didn't become angry.
Instead, he burst into loud laughter.
A scarlet battle qi suddenly erupted from his body, coating his armor and igniting the mysterious runes engraved upon it.
The originally silver armor turned crimson red, radiating intense heat.
Soon, the flame-like battle qi overflowed from his arm and flowed directly into the Warhammer.
The weapon instantly turned dark crimson, releasing a terrifying aura that felt almost suffocating.
"Huh!"
The tall man suddenly roared.
The shout caused Punk's ears to ring.
A scarlet ring of battle qi exploded beneath the man's feet. At the same time, a crimson shield of battle qi formed in front of him as he charged toward the city gate with terrifying speed.
He moved so fast that his body became a streak of red light, producing violent sonic booms in the air.
"Not good. He wants to break the city gate."
Punk immediately understood the man's intention.
All the previous provocations and halfhearted persuasion had merely been preparation for this sudden assault.
If the city gate were destroyed, Konola City would lose its only real defensive advantage. The battle would quickly turn into a massacre.
But how could Mage McNeesey, who stood beside the gate, allow such a thing to happen?
Punk saw Mage McNeesey raise his thin emerald staff and point it toward the ground in front of the gate.
With a series of cracking sounds, dozens of massive vines, each over five meters tall, burst violently from the earth. They glowed faintly with green magical light.
The vines twisted together, forming a dense barrier.
Not only did they intercept the tall man's charge, but they rapidly expanded into a ten-meter-wide wall, temporarily blocking the gate completely.
The tall man roared and crashed into the vines at full speed.
Many vines were instantly torn apart by the scorching battle qi shield, but new vines immediately grew to replace them, attempting to strangle the now-exposed warrior.
However, the tall man clearly realized he could not break the gate in a single strike.
With a surprisingly agile leap, he retreated backward—an acrobatic movement completely unsuited to his massive body—and avoided the vines' deadly entanglement.
At that exact moment, Mage McNeesey released his second spell.
A dark green sphere filled with terrifying magical power shot toward the tall man's head.
The timing was perfect.
The spell reached him exactly when he had just leapt backward and was still midair, unable to maneuver.
He had already used two combat techniques, leaving him no way to dodge.
Yet when he noticed the incoming spell, the tall man showed no panic.
Instead, he roared and smashed the dark green sphere with his Warhammer.
Punk clearly saw it.
The spell's intricate magical structure, filled with explosive energy, was completely crushed by battle qi.
The remaining magical fragments merely splashed across the hammer.
The official-level spell, which should have been devastating, failed to harm another official-level powerhouse.
The shattered green sphere dissolved into corrosive liquid, splashing onto the ground and burning deep black pits into the stone.
The tall man twisted in midair and landed smoothly on the ground.
Mage McNeesey did not attack again.
For a moment, the two official-level powerhouses simply stared at each other.
Although the clash had been intense and dangerous, the entire exchange had lasted only a few seconds.
Those without sufficient strength saw only red and green flashes in the air. Only trainee-level professionals could truly perceive the terrifying confrontation that had just taken place.
"McNeesey," the tall man shouted, resting the Warhammer on his shoulder.
"I can see you've improved during the time we haven't met. But your progress is far inferior to mine. Leave this muddy mess while you still can. Stay away from that willful princess, and if I'm in a good mood, I'll pretend I never saw you."
Mage McNeesey replied calmly, his voice cold and slightly mocking.
"Lunka, it seems you've improved as well. But even now, you're still not worthy to carry my shoes. If I were you, I'd quickly dig a hole and bury myself. If I'm in a good mood, I might even bring flowers to your grave."
"In that case… there's nothing more to say."
The previously carefree Lunka now wore a dark expression.
He turned around and walked slowly back toward the army.
Climbing onto the commander's platform, he sat down.
After glancing at the knight beside him, he casually waved his hand.
"Start the siege."
With that simple gesture, the sound of war trumpets echoed across the battlefield. A magically amplified command spread through the army.
From the rear ranks, professionals carrying siege ladders rushed toward the walls far faster than ordinary soldiers.
The defenders immediately unleashed a rain of arrows, but the arrows could not pierce the battle qi-reinforced bodies of the attackers.
Soon after the arrows came the spells.
Devastating magic rained down from the sky.
Flames filled the heavens.
Clusters of battle qi erupted across the battlefield.
Amid the screams of dying soldiers and the clash of weapons,
a magnificent war had begun.