"What is that?" A demon with a bald head covered in thorny protrusions looked up at the sky, noticing something flying toward the city. When he saw the creatures clearly, his expression gradually turned blank, disbelief filling his eyes.
"How could there be so many dragons?" The demon rubbed his eyes in astonishment. He thought his vision must be playing tricks on him. In his entire life, he had never seen so many dragons gathered in one place. These apex predators of the food chain—why were they converging in such numbers?
"Ah!" His eyes widened in horror as he witnessed a nearby scene. A hunting party that had just left the city was being targeted by the dragons. A green dragon, its body surrounded by dazzling elemental light, descended from the sky and crashed into the middle of the group.
For ordinary beings, encountering the apex of the food chain in the wild left them with only two choices: either prostrate themselves and beg for mercy, or stand their ground and die with a shred of dignity.
But clearly, no one in this hunting party had any dignity. The moment they saw the powerful green dragon, they knelt, pleading for their lives, offering to become slaves in exchange for mercy.
Unfortunately for them, the green dragon had no intention of enslaving them. Nor did it spare them due to their submissive posture. Instead, it opened its maw and unleashed a breath of pure, holy energy.
The sacred breath engulfed the entire hunting party. The hunters, no longer fully human, screamed and wailed as black smoke rose from their bodies. They were purified into nothingness by the divine flames.
"What the hell?" The demon on the city wall stood dumbfounded, staring at the scene in the distance. Thanks to his awakened demonic bloodline, he possessed excellent vision and could see everything clearly.
"Why is a green dragon breathing holy energy? Shouldn't it be acid? What kind of dragons are these?"
This question was the last thought that crossed his mind before a torrent of draconic flames consumed him. Thick, molten dragonfire drowned his body, leaving not even bones behind.
The demon never expected that he would die from a red dragon's sneak attack. Yes, he had been killed by a red dragon, and not in a direct battle but by a spatial magic ambush.
"What's wrong with you? You used spatial magic to ambush such a weak creature?" A blue dragon landed next to the red dragon, glaring at it with disdain.
"You wouldn't understand the joy of a successful assassination," the red dragon replied smugly, reveling in the excitement of having killed an unsuspecting foe.
This was a red dragon that had gone astray during its education at the Dragon Academy. It had developed a fascination with assassination!
"You idiot! Look around—everyone already knows you're here. What kind of assassination is this?" The blue dragon retorted, utterly bewildered by the red dragon's twisted logic. How could a brute of a red dragon fall in love with a profession like assassination, which required finesse?
"Oh, right. Assassination means not being discovered by the enemy," the red dragon mused, nodding in agreement. It coiled on top of the city wall and turned its gaze inward. By now, many of the city's inhabitants had noticed the commotion and were staring at the dragon in shock.
"Well then, if that's the case, I'll just have to kill everyone who's seen me. Once all the witnesses are dead, this will still count as a successful assassination."
With that thought, the red dragon leaped into the city. As it moved, the air around it shimmered with heat, and searing flames erupted from its body, burning everything nearby.
When it landed, a column of molten fire shot from its body, destroying all nearby buildings and creatures. The dragon agreed with the blue dragon's advice: true assassination meant leaving no witnesses.
The demon who had been ambushed by the red dragon never saw the devastation that followed. One by one, the dragons descended upon the city, which had a population of less than 100,000. They rained fire indiscriminately, while others swooped down, using their claws, wings, and tails to destroy buildings. The dragons gave full reign to their natural instincts.
"Oh, great dragon, I offer my child to you. Please, spare me! I will serve you!" Inside a house where a black dragon had casually smashed a wall, a previously fierce-looking man now knelt humbly, fawning as he raised a loudly crying infant above his head.
"No!" Nearby, a woman lay curled up in pain, struggling on the ground. A deep fist-shaped indent was visible on her stomach, and blood mixed with bits of her internal organs spilled from her mouth. It was clear she had little time left.
"Interesting!" The massive black dragon, whose size exceeded the man's understanding, grinned. His orders were to kill all living beings in the city, except for newborn infants.
But this black dragon was also a wizard. Despite his love for melee combat with a large sword, he still considered himself a mage. And as a mage, he prided himself on his discernment.
Muria's extermination order had been based on the fact that the inhabitants of this land had values completely incompatible with universal morality, rendering them unfit to live.
Yet this woman seemed different. "Why did you attack her?" the black dragon asked.
"Great dragon, this ungrateful woman tried to stop me from offering you the child as a sacrifice!" the man explained, his face full of servile eagerness.
"So, she was trying to protect her child?"
The man hesitated for a moment, then nodded, confused as to why the dragon would care about such trivial matters. "Yes."
"And this child—she's yours and this woman's?"
"Yes!"
"In that case, you no longer have the right to live." Having obtained the information he sought, the black dragon extended a claw and lightly tapped the man. A seventh-circle spell, *Finger of Death,* instantly killed him.
"Wah!" As the man's body collapsed, the infant he had been holding fell to the ground. Just before she hit the earth, a gentle wind lifted her and placed her next to her dying mother.
"Congratulations, insect. You and your child have earned the right to live," the black dragon said with a grin, gazing down at the bewildered woman.
"Hey, send a cloud giant over here!" the black dragon shouted at a giant approaching from afar. "There's a baby and a worthy mother here. Get them out!"
…
"A mother protecting her child—such an instinct cannot be twisted, even by an evil god." Muria watched the scene on his viewing screen, sighing. The front lines were constantly transmitting real-time footage to him, and he had witnessed the black dragon's judgment of the parents clearly.
"Pass the order: in addition to infants, any Synapse native possessing virtues such as kindness, honesty, compassion, or justice will be spared."
Muria issued an additional command, allowing some of the remaining humans in Synapse who still clung to their humanity to survive. The standard was incredibly low—anyone with even a sliver of morality would be spared.
However, in order to survive, they would need to reveal that sliver of humanity when faced with Muria's army. Otherwise, they would still meet the same fate.
Just as he finished giving the order, a storm giant entered and knelt on one knee. "Your Highness, we have discovered the lair of a legendary figure."
"Excellent. Give me the coordinates," Muria said, his expression remaining calm as he stood. This was exactly what he had instructed his forces to do.
Muria had decided to personally initiate the first legendary battle in Synapse. His legendary subordinates weren't guaranteed to kill a legendary opponent outright; such beings were notoriously hard to kill. However, Muria himself had vast experience in eliminating legends without letting them escape.
This was the first battle of the war, and it would be shameful to let an enemy escape.
…
"A legendary warlock with demonic blood," Muria muttered as he tore through space and arrived at the location the storm giants had scouted. He looked down at the dark, cloud-shrouded castle below and smiled coldly.
"Come out! If you can survive three of my attacks, I will show mercy and allow you to live."
Muria's thunderous voice echoed through the gloomy sky, dispersing the dark clouds above the castle. A middle-aged man with a sullen expression flew out from the fortress.
"Titan!" The legendary warlock stared up at Muria, his face dark with dread. He had just received an oracle from his god, but never imagined that he would encounter the very being who had enraged his deity so soon.
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