CHAPTER 694: LET THEM COME

The entire Sky Citadel had plunged into utter chaos.

Screams, explosions, and the sound of collapsing structures blended into a deafening cacophony. Countless bodies rained down from shattered upper levels, falling like black rain onto the blood-soaked ground below.

The air reeked of blood and scorched metal.

Amid the relentless bombardment, the Emerald Castle army surged forward, tearing through defenses and storming up to the tenth level in a matter of minutes.

Unlike the lower tiers, this level was clearly a fortified stronghold.

Three Guardians appeared at once—each one a peak 18-Tier powerhouse, clad in radiant armor, their energy so intense it made the very air tremble.

But the moment Ethan stepped into view, the atmosphere froze.

He didn’t say a word. He just took a single step forward.

And the entire space shuddered.

An invisible force erupted from within him, crashing outward like a tidal wave, locking onto the three Guardians with terrifying precision.

"You three..."

Ethan’s voice was cold, sharp—like a blade slicing straight into the soul.

"...aren’t even worth my time."

He paused, a cruel smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"I’ll give you one chance to live.

Go tell your High Lord—

He’s got one option: come down here right now and hand over his throne.

From this moment on, the Sky Citadel belongs to me."

With every word he spoke, the space around him rumbled with a low, ominous growl.

The Guardians turned pale as death. Their power was completely suppressed—they could barely breathe, let alone fight back.

They exchanged a glance, sheer terror in their eyes.

There was no resisting this.

"Y-Yes, my lord!"

Before the words had even fully left their mouths, they were scrambling away, practically tripping over themselves as they fled upward toward the eleventh level.

Ethan didn’t chase them.

He stood still, eyes narrowed, as faint ripples of energy pulsed from his body.

In an instant, that power surged outward, swallowing the entire area.

The air vibrated. Energy surged like a rising tide.

Within seconds, the entire eleventh level was under his control—and even the twelfth above it was caught in the grip of his expanding domain.

"Master,"

Feylora stepped up beside him, her voice cautious.

"Letting them go like that... isn’t that risky?

What if they bring someone stronger?"

Ethan looked up, a glint of icy light flashing in his eyes.

He smiled slightly, but his voice was calm—deadly calm.

"Don’t worry."

"They won’t make it."

As the words left his lips, a terrifying wave of spatial energy burst forth again.

The sky above twisted violently, forming an invisible barrier that sealed off the entire eleventh level.

The flow of energy in the air froze, as if time itself had fallen under Ethan’s control.

Every upward passage collapsed in an instant, leaving only a single narrow fissure in the center—

Just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Ethan raised his hand and gave a small wave.

The edges of the fissure stabilized, forming what looked like a door—waiting to be opened.

"Let them come."

He turned, gazing down at the battlefield below, now littered with blood and broken bodies. His voice was low, steady.

"We’ll be right here, waiting."

The warriors of Emerald Castle instantly understood what Ethan meant. They gathered their strength and focused it on the passage he’d left behind.

It wasn’t long before a figure appeared at the edge of the fissure.

"Attack!"

Ethan’s sudden roar split the air, and in the blink of an eye, a surge of raw power exploded from him, slamming straight into the narrow passage.

The poor bastard who’d just stepped through was instantly obliterated—blown to pieces before he even realized what hit him.

And from there, they kept it up—relentless, brutal. Wave after wave of devastating energy pounded the passage. In no time, they’d slaughtered dozens of 19-Tier elites trying to force their way through.

With every kill, the Emerald Castle forces grew stronger—feeding off the chaos, sharpening their edge.

It wasn’t long before Seraphina broke through as well, ascending to 19-Tier with a burst of radiant energy that lit up the battlefield.

Time blurred. No one knew how long had passed. But eventually, the High Lord of Sky Citadel must’ve realized something was seriously wrong. A massive force of high-tier Lords was assembled and hurled at the barrier with everything they had.

Then—BOOM.

A violent explosion tore through the sky as a monstrous blast of power shattered Ethan’s barrier.

The sky cracked open, and a flood of Sky Citadel Lords came raining down like a divine judgment.

The strongest among them had already reached mid-19-Tier, and their combined power sent shockwaves through the entire eleventh level.

"You insects think getting this far means anything? You’re still gonna die!"

One of them roared, unleashing a brutal wave of energy that came crashing down like a meteor.

But Ethan just smiled—calm, almost amused.

He raised his hand, and a blinding light flared to life in front of him.

A second later, Idra appeared in midair.

Her silver-white dragon wings snapped open with a thunderous crack, tearing through the sky like a blade.

Then it hit—the overwhelming force of the Dragon God.

It erupted from her like a tidal wave, her draconic aura flooding the heavens and slamming into the incoming energy blast with unstoppable force.

"BOOM—!!"

The sky itself seemed to cave in under the impact. The entire Sky Citadel shook to its core.

Idra hovered in the air, golden eyes blazing with fierce light.

She tilted her head back slightly, a wild, satisfied grin spreading across her face.

"Finally... I’m out. Time to stretch my wings a little."

Her voice was thick with long-suppressed power, now unleashed.

Everyone below froze.

No one had expected this—the long-lost, thought-to-be-dormant Dragon Queen had returned, and she was already at early 19-Tier.

But the power radiating from her... it was far beyond that.

It was suffocating.

Like a true dragon god had just opened its eyes above the clouds.

The truth was, during their campaign in the Umbral Abyss, Ethan had been channeling a portion of the energy he absorbed directly into Idra.

He could’ve broken through himself long ago—but he chose to let her ascend first.

Because she was his real trump card.

The Sky Citadel Lords were paralyzed with fear.

They stared up at the sky, trembling.

"Th-That’s Dragon God power?! How the hell is that on the human side—?!"

But the panic barely lasted a heartbeat.

Idra’s arm slashed downward, her wings flaring wide. The air cracked.

Dozens of energy chains shot out like lightning, ripping through the enemy ranks and shredding them into clouds of blood and mist.

"RUMBLE—!!"

In a flash, every Guardian on the tenth level was annihilated.

Idra dove, her tail slicing through the air like a comet, leading the Emerald Castle army in a full-force charge up to the twelfth level of Sky Citadel.

The shockwaves from her power tore through the structures like paper. Buildings collapsed in waves. The defenders on the twelfth level didn’t even have time to react before they were swallowed by the storm.

When Ethan finally stepped onto the twelfth level, the battlefield had gone eerily quiet.

He looked up for the first time, taking in the view.

Before him stood a palace city, floating above a sea of clouds.

...