City of Light, Council Hall.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! The Centaur race is preparing to attack!"

One of the guards rushed inside, his face filled with exhaustion and overwhelming anxiety.

"Calm down, man. What’s new about that? They’ll attack for a while, fail to break through the formation, then retreat again."

Gao sneered mockingly while admiring the decorations on the ceiling.

"No, it’s different this time! They brought—"

Before the messenger could finish...

BOOOOOOM!

The earth shook!

A tremendous impact echoed throughout the entire City of Light!

BOOOOOOM! Earthquake!

BOOOOOOM! Earthquake!

BOOOOOOM! Earthquake!

"What was that?! What’s happening?!"

Every councilor, including the Crown Princess Elena, shot to their feet in alarm.

"That’s exactly why I came! This time, the Centaur race brought ten gigantic catapults with them!"

The guard shouted, unable to hide the terror written all over his face.

BOOOOOOM! Earthquake!

BOOOOOOM! Earthquake!

"To the walls, now! Let’s see what’s happening!"

Thandria gritted her teeth as beads of sweat gathered on her forehead and her hands began trembling uncontrollably.

Fear had already taken hold of her, but she desperately suppressed it.

No one could be allowed to see her fear.

If the city’s protector showed fear, what would happen to everyone else’s morale?

What she didn’t realize was that someone calmer had already noticed everyone’s tension and fear, yet remained silent.

That person was the Crown Princess herself.

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On the walls of the City of Light.

BOOOOOOM! Earthquake!

BOOOOOOM! Earthquake!

"Etham, what’s going on here?"

Councilor Etham, with his white hair, stood atop the city walls, staring at the blazing catapult projectiles crashing into the defensive formation like falling meteors in a scene resembling the end of the world.

At that moment, Gao’s voice came from behind him, pulling him out of the nightmare he had been imagining if those catapults ever breached the barrier.

"They stayed quiet for a long time, but now they’ve returned with these gigantic catapults. I don’t know where in the name of the sacred trees they got them!"

Etham shouted, unmistakable fear visible in his eyes.

"If this bombardment continues at this pace, the formation will be exhausted within six hours at most."

The Crown Princess spoke calmly as she walked past Etham and stood at the very edge of the wall without the slightest sign of concern on her face.

"What should we do now, Your Highness?" Etham approached Elena and asked nervously.

BOOOOOOM! Earthquake!

"Does anyone have any suggestions?"

The Crown Princess already knew the answer before asking.

And just as Elena expected, an entire minute passed without anyone speaking.

"Then we’ll wait. If this barrier falls today, every person is responsible for themselves. Don’t worry about anyone else, and don’t look back. Focus only on escaping. Inform everyone in the city."

The Crown Princess spoke in a voice utterly devoid of emotion, as though it were a stone speaking rather than a living being.

Outwardly, she stood as steadfast as a mountain against raging storms.

But inside, those same storms were tearing her apart.

She knew exactly how many women stood behind her.

How many children longed for safety.

How many elderly and young people were praying for a miracle to end this nightmare.

Yet she also knew that the moment the barrier disappeared, resistance would become meaningless.

Fighting would accomplish nothing except hasten their deaths.

Only by scattering and fleeing in every direction would there be any hope that some might survive and allow the Elf race to rise again.

"Was my prophecy false this time...?"

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The minutes passed one after another.

Then the hours.

With each passing moment, tension and terror spread further through the Elf race until despair completely engulfed the City of Light.

BOOOOOOM! Earthquake!

BOOOOOOM! Earthquake!

Amid the waves of fear and panic caused by the deafening impacts of the giant catapults, elsewhere those same sounds resembled the finest symphony in the world.

Inside the Centaur camp stood eight beings whose upper bodies were human while their lower halves were horses.

They were the Centaur race.

And these eight were the third-level Masters leading the invasion.

"Hahaha! At this rate, that damned formation won’t last more than another hour."

One of the eight commanders spoke as the killing intent he had suppressed for months surged to its peak.

"Compared to the other races, Elf women are unmatched in beauty. Especially that Crown Princess—I heard she’s the most beautiful woman on the continent."

Another commander spoke with a lustful grin, his meaning perfectly clear.

"I wonder how that bitch Thandria will feel when my cock pierces her. I bet she’ll spit on Elf men with their tiny cocks once she sees my giant one! Hahahahaha!"

Another commander laughed obscenely, making vulgar jokes as the others joined in.

"Hahahahahaha!"

"Shhh... Do you guys hear that?"

Not every Centaur commander was mocking the fate of the City of Light or cracking filthy jokes about its people. This particular commander was one of the few actually paying close attention to the battlefield.

"Yeah, I hear it. It’s the sound of the catapults smashing their defensive formation—and the sound of Elf virgins cursing their useless men! Hahahaha!"

One of the others mocked him before continuing to laugh alongside his companions.

"Damn you bastards, I’m not joking! There really is some strange sound!"

The commander roared angrily and nearly grabbed that fool by the throat before another commander redirected everyone’s attention.

"Look over there! What the hell is that thing falling from the sky?"

He pointed toward an enormous gray cloud plummeting downward at terrifying speed.

Its destination...!

FWWWWWWOOOOOSH!

The commander who had first heard the strange noise looked from the descending cloud to the largest concentration of Centaur soldiers.

His eyes slowly widened.

He sprinted forward with all his might and screamed at the top of his lungs!