Arian''s mind raced as he sprinted toward the palace, the smoke from the explosions still thick in the air.

    He knew the capital would be attacked—but not this fast. Not without warning.

    His father was there. Ruby too. And he didn''t want either of them to die.

    They weren''t prepared for this kind of assault. Adrian never had the chance to warn the King. Now, people were going to die. Maybe hundreds.

    "Ariana!" he shouted.

    Up ahead, the silver-haired girl skidded to a halt.

    They were close now—just a few meters from the palace gates. But the scene before them froze the blood in Adrian''s veins.

    Hundreds of armed men stormed toward the palace. The bridge had already been crossed—the outer guards crushed. The battle had already begun.

    The capital''s defenses were falling, and the inner circle would soon be under siege.

    If they charged in headfirst, they''d get torn apart like paper in a storm.

    Adrian rushed to Ariana''s side.

    "Let''s move quietly toward the entrance," he said.

    "But Adrian—"

    "I know, Aria. But if we want to save them, we need to stay sharp. We can''t fight hundreds by ourselves."

    She stopped. Her eyes flicked toward the burning skyline, then back to him. After a breath, she gave a tight nod.

    "What''s the plan?"

    He signaled her to follow.

    Staying low, they reached the tall wall by the palace''s side. Adrian asked for her help.

    Ariana crouched and cupped her hands and Adrian jumped high to climb the wall.

    He peeked over the edge—and felt the bottom of his stomach drop.

    The front of the palace was wrecked. Rubble and flame everywhere. Screams pierced the smoke. The few soldiers who hadn''t been killed were locked in desperate combat, their movements sluggish, blood staining their armor.

    Bodies were crushed beneath debris. Some still moved. Most didn''t.

    Adrian scanned the battlefield—and there he was.

    His father.

    Bleeding from the shoulder, surrounded by seven enemies. Behind him, Melissa lay unconscious on the ground.

    There was no time.

    Adrian pulled his revolver, loaded a special round, and took aim—not at the crowd around his father, but at a lone soldier.

    He fired.

    The gunshot was swallowed by the roar of clashing steel.

    The bullet hit.

    The man glowed faintly—just for a second.

    "Ariana!"

    He fired the empty chamber at her.

    She saw the terrorist falling, with no hesitation, turned, and drove her fist into the glowing terrorist''s chest—shattering bone, muscle, and pride in a single motion. His body crashed into the wall, cracked it, and slid down without a sound.

    Dead.

    Adrian didn''t stop to breathe.

    Because the war had just begun.

    Adrian didn''t need to tell her. She already stripped the terrorist and wore his uniform over her gown.

    She pulled the cap as Adrian dropped from the wall.

    Cupping her cheek, he gave her a brief kiss and told her, "Be safe."

    She nodded before her figure blurred.

    Adrian looked to his left and decided to go inside through the back door.

    He rushed towards the backside and found a tree, tall enough to help him climb over.

    He climbed the tree and peeked inside.

    There were four soldiers, chasing a woman.

    She was crying, crawling away from them.

    They have slashed her ankles, to prevent her from running.

    "Please...someone help!Robert...." She raised her hand, trying to grab onto something. Sear?h the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The men grinned, their eyes fixated on her curves.

    They had enough time to have some fun with her.

    One of them stepped forward, crouched, and was about to tear her clothes off—when suddenly something erupted.

    "Huh?"

    "What the—"

    The other three men were shocked upon seeing their comrade falling to the ground.

    They instantly raised their swords and started to look around.

    "Who is there?!"

    "Show yourself, coward!"

    They shouted, now no longer in the mood to play around.

    Suddenly, they heard someone chuckling from behind, "Funny how you, who was about to assault a helpless girl, are calling me a coward?"

    Adrian saw the girl crawling away. Nice~

    He stuffed his pistol away and took out a spear.

    "Let''s see what I can do without the gun."

    "Fuck you!" A soldier cried and dashed forward.

    Adrian activated Aqua-Step, a tier-two movement spell etched into his boots. The spell compressed water beneath his soles in rapid bursts, releasing it in controlled jets that pushed him forward with sudden acceleration.

    The nearest man tried to swing his sword, but Adrian ducked low and drove the spear straight through his gut—twisting it hard before ripping it out through the side.

    The man howled, blood pouring out as he collapsed to the ground, twitching.

    One of the others charged with a roar.

    Adrian raised his armament, and suddenly, the range of the spear elongated—a whip emerged and wrapped around the soldier''s neck.

    "No, leave him!" The third goon cried, putting his hand inside his shirt, "...or I will trigger this and we all will die."

    Adrian frowned...suicide bombing eh?

    The terrorist gained confidence as he slowly stepped forward, "You won''t move or I will make you explode, understand that?!"

    Adrian growled...this is bad. He doesn''t know how fast the explosives trigger so he can''t pull his gun out in time.

    "Fucking leave me!" The other terrorist, who had his neck wrapped, liberated himself and took a few steps back.

    Adrian narrowed his eyes...fuck this.

    "Hey, what are you doing?!" The terrorist cried in alarm as suddenly a long wooden staff appeared in Adrian''s hand.

    Adrian raised the staff, and just then the terrorist pressed something—

    Adrian hurriedly tapped the staff on the ground and the goon disappeared.

    "W-What did you do?!" The remaining one asked but he soon got his answer.

    **BOOOOOOOM**

    A huge explosion occurred in the sky.

    The last terrorist instantly looked upward; horror written on his face.

    "I-Independent magic..." He muttered under his breath, just then,

    *Tap* *Tap*

    He felt two taps on his shoulder.

    Turning, he found a round muzzle pointed at him.

    *THWACK*

    Adrian shot the man from point blank—no enchantment just pure lead.

    Heaving a sigh, he looked at the staff in his hand.

    ''Let''s see what can I do with this...''

    °°°°°°°

    A/N:- Thanks for reading.