The streets of Cameron Town were devoid of anyone but the Defense Army and the Beastmen. With their roars and the sounds of slaughter filling the air, the invading Beastmen clearly held the advantage. Their superior physique gave them the upper hand in any confrontation. For every Beastman taken down in close combat, the Forbidden Guard Army usually paid a price of two soldiers!

Large swaths of the main street were stained red with blood. The thick, metallic scent hanging in the air only served to excite the Beastmen further. They roared madly as they charged the tightly-shut storefronts of Cameron Town. To the Beastmen, the heavy doors might as well have been decorations. Shop after shop was plundered.

The residents could only hide in their homes, peering through the cracks in their doors and trembling at the sight of the rampaging Beastmen. They couldn’t understand why, out of nowhere, these terrifying demons had invaded their town!

Finally, an Adventurer in Cameron Town couldn’t take it anymore. Clutching a heavy iron sword, he let out a furious roar and charged out, yelling, "Damn it, stop playing dead! If we don’t get out there, these beasts will kill the Defense Army, and then they’ll kill us! ...SPLAT!" The young Adventurer hadn’t even finished speaking when a massive Wolf Fang Club, as thick as his own head, smashed his skull to a pulp. The enormous Werewolf wielding the club grinned, its maw dripping with blood, a mocking smile on its face. It extended a long, scarlet tongue and licked the club twice, savoring the taste.

"AHH!"

Though some were frightened by the sight, nearly every Adventurer, Mercenary, and hot-blooded resident of Cameron Town who saw or heard it could no longer hold back. When fear reaches its peak, it turns to madness!

The Beastmen discovered to their alarm that instead of dwindling, the number of fighters in the town seemed to be growing. The earth trembled as several Komodo War Elephants lumbered one by one through the open city gate. At this point, their task was no longer to inflict casualties, but... to transport goods! 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

That’s right—the vast quantities of plundered wealth needed to be carried away by the Komodo War Elephants!

The last War Elephant stopped at the city gate, not following the others inside. To the astonishment of any onlookers, a magnificent carriage was mounted on its back!

A woman with an exquisitely graceful figure emerged from the carriage, and it seemed as if the surrounding night itself grew brighter in her presence.

Her every movement was alluring, her beauty peerless. She carried herself like a highborn human noblewoman—graceful and dignified. Though it was too dark to see her face clearly, the glimpse of a wrist whiter than frost and snow peeking from her sleeve was enough to suggest a beauty beyond compare.

A few men stood on the city wall, their eyes wide as they strained to get a clear look at the woman below. Unfortunately, her face was hidden behind a veil. She turned toward a specific spot on the wall and gave a slight nod.

A sharp glint flashed in Gu Tong’s eyes. ’That woman... she must be the High Priest of the Penzes Swamp Beast Race the Crown Prince told me about. Damn it, how did a succubus like her end up with the Beast Race!’

Gu Tong narrowed his eyes, a strange heat rising in his heart as he watched the woman stroll back to her carriage. The elephant then turned and began walking away from the city. A Personal Guard beside him whispered, "Boss, is that woman the one in charge of the Beast Race? She looks human!"

"She *is* human, you idiot!" Gu Tong thought back to the letter he’d received from the Crown Prince a few days ago. Its contents had been so world-shaking that Gu Tong had suffered from insomnia for days. Even now, his eyes were still bloodshot.

The Crown Prince had written that he had already coordinated with the Beast Race of Penzes to attack Cameron Town. If the assault succeeded on its own, Gu Tong wouldn’t have to do anything. If it failed, he was to secretly open the city gates and let the Beastmen in. In doing so, his mission would be complete.

As for the group of noble students, they were to be left to their fate. The more who died, the greater the pressure on Second Prince Li Wutong. Ideally, this incident would completely ruin his reputation and strip him of any power to contend for the throne!

The Crown Prince had already arranged Gu Tong’s escape route. He was to leave with the Beast Race, travel by sea to the Zichuan Empire, and be met by contacts there. His reward would be a fortune vast enough to last several lifetimes.

From the day he first accepted the Crown Prince’s money, Gu Tong had been completely under his thumb. He was no longer his own master. So, even though colluding with the Beast Race would earn him eternal infamy if exposed, he couldn’t afford to care about that now.

He had hoped the Beast Race would be able to breach Cameron Town’s walls on their own. He never expected the town’s mayor and the Grand Commander of the Defense Army to be so insane as to haul a dozen magic crystal cannons onto the walls. They had even fired one, blasting a massive Komodo War Elephant to smithereens. Luckily, they were too pained by the cost of the Crystal Cores to fire a second shot. Otherwise, the Beast Race might have been scared off for good.

During the night, Gu Tong had brought several dozen of his trusted men, crept over, and murdered the unprepared soldiers guarding the gate. They opened it, and the Beastmen poured in like a tide. And so, the frenzied battle began.

Gu Tong’s family and those of his men had just been sent away. The Crown Prince had guaranteed that the Beast Race would not harm them, because everyone in the Beast Race obeyed the commands of their High Priest... a human woman.

The news was astonishing, but now, having seen it with his own eyes, Gu Tong finally believed. He turned to the Personal Guards beside him. "Let’s go."

"Go?" A sinister sneer suddenly echoed from nearby. "Going somewhere? You filth who collude with the Beastmen can die right here!"

A sudden chill shot up Gu Tong’s spine, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He had barely turned his head when he saw a long, fiery-red streak of Sword Qi slashing down at him.

"Ah! You’re from the Crown Pri—" Before he could finish, Gu Tong, a Sixth Rank Mad Swordsman, was cleaved in two.

It wasn’t until a river of blood began to gush down the city wall that Gu Tong’s Personal Guards finally reacted. With crazed yells, they drew their weapons and surrounded the masked, black-clad figure who had ambushed their Deputy Commander.

The black-clad figure’s eyes were filled with endless scorn. With a simple Sweeping Thousand Soldiers technique, a three-meter-long arc of fiery Sword Qi instantly sliced the dozen or so charging men in half. The figure then dispatched the remaining Guards with ruthless efficiency. Pointing a longsword to the sky, a streak of fiery red Sword Qi shot up, visible for miles in the dark night. Then, the figure leaped from the wall and vanished into the darkness in a few quick movements.

Far away, atop the Komodo War Elephant, the woman saw the red light flare up from the city wall. A beautiful smile curved her lips beneath her veil. In a melodic voice, she said, "Kill those humans. Have no other thoughts. Just kill." She spoke as if discussing a trivial matter. A cold sneer then touched her lips. "A bunch of foolish humans."

"As you command!"

Instantly, a chorus of cries and screams erupted from within the Beast Race ranks, but it fell silent in less than a moment.

"High Priest, all those humans have been killed. Their carriages were full of wealth..."

"Divide it amongst yourselves," the woman said, her expression indifferent.

"Thank you, High Priest!" With unrestrained excitement on his face, the Beastman below hurried off in that direction, eager to stuff his pockets with as much as he could carry.

「Meanwhile, at the Commander’s Mansion in Cameron Town...」

Grand Commander Paine’s face grew paler and paler as he listened to his subordinate’s report. Beside him, Mayor Leiming’s face was ashen.

Paine’s expression hardened. His thick, black, sword-like brows shot up as he said in a grave voice, "Mayor Leiming, I’m... leaving this place to you!"

"Ah... Commander Paine, you... you’re going to..." Mayor Leiming pointed a trembling finger at Paine, his face flushed with an unhealthy red from agitation.

"Mayor Leiming, what are you thinking? With something this huge happening, how could I, Paine, possibly run away? Men!" he bellowed. "Bring me my armor! I would rather die in battle than stand by and watch Cameron Town fall! Gu Tong, you bastard, pray I never see you again! Otherwise... I’ll tear you to pieces with my bare hands!"

Paine didn’t know it yet, but he was right. He would never see Gu Tong again. Or rather, Gu Tong would never see *him* again.

「Inside the Splendid Inn...」

More than two hundred teachers stood at the forefront, their faces a mixture of tragedy and valor. Xiao Lin roared, "Students! This is your chance to make history! Will you be heroes or cowards? The choice is yours! If you want to be a hero... follow me... Charge!"

"Charge!"

"Charge!"

"Charge!"