The sudden invaders were like the final straws that broke the camel's back, shattering the peaceful slumber of Farum Azula's Ancient Dragons.
Awakened by the uproar, the Ancient Dragons stared in astonishment as the Golden Faction also descended into frenzy. This invasion had ignited chaos throughout the entire City in the Sky.
From the high towers of every district, urgent bells rang into the clouds, their piercing sound cutting through every corner of the city.
Red and black banners unfurled in the wind from above, embroidered with the crest of the Ancient Dragons, as though warning the city's last remaining inhabitants that things were beginning to spiral out of control.
The Beastmen heard the bells and saw the banners, and immediately understood the urgency of the situation.
They sprang into action. On the streets, Beastmen quickly formed ranks, the larger ones leading the smaller ones as they surged in from every direction like a tide.
In the fissure at the center of the city, a massive tornado spun at astonishing speed, its winds growing faster and faster, like a colossal dragon rising into the sky, roaring with bared fangs and claws.
The Beastmen were not foolish enough to run straight into it. They advanced in orderly lines along the streets, gathering their forces from every direction.
The larger Beastmen took on command, while the smaller Beastmen followed closely behind. In moments, the roads were packed so tightly that not even water could pass through.
A scene so vast and stirring had not appeared in Farum Azula for hundreds of years.
Ever since the Ancient Dragons sealed off the City in the Sky, this place had remained quiet and peaceful.
The last time such a massive disturbance occurred had been when Maliketh came here.
That had truly been a brutal battle.
The Ancient Dragons, like a meteor shower blotting out the sky, led swarms of Flying Dragons until the heavens were completely covered.
The Beastman army, meanwhile, surrounded the enemy with the ferocity of starving wolves.
Maliketh led an army clad in golden armor, pressing forward like a golden torrent, fighting bloody battles without retreating.
Arrows flew wildly through the air like a plague of locusts. Longswords whistled as if they would tear the air apart. Banners snapped endlessly in the wind.
Across the entire battlefield, both sky and earth were dyed a deep crimson.
Yet that fierce war ultimately ended in the failure of the Golden Order Dynasty's invasion.
Maliketh and his Golden Knights were forced to withdraw to the Ancient Dragons' temple district, and from then on, the two sides entered a period of relative peace that lasted for hundreds of years.
But that so-called peace was nothing more than a pleasant facade the Beastmen and Flying Dragons had dressed up for their masters.
In truth, that war had been an enormous humiliation for the Ancient Dragons.
Not only had they lost control over nearly one-third of Farum Azula, their dignity and honor had also been trampled as never before.
The war started by the Golden Order Dynasty had not truly failed. It had simply not succeeded completely.
Though they failed to fully conquer the Ancient Dragons, they had already achieved their goal. They had seized a place where death could be sealed away.
Under the impact of both the Dread Dragon's betrayal and the Ancient Dragon War, the Ancient Dragons had indeed entered an unprecedented period of weakness, to the point that they could do nothing even when bullied on their own doorstep.
Beneath the surface lay a subtle and complicated relationship between the two factions. They restrained each other, constantly making compromises and deals.
The Ancient Dragons remained highly vigilant toward Maliketh, always guarding against his every move.
Maliketh likewise would never let go of any opportunity to secretly infiltrate and erode the Ancient Dragons' territory.
Sethlin had once said that anything capable of alarming the Ancient Dragons had to be "a matter of the utmost importance," and anything related to Maliketh clearly fell into that category.
If the ones invading openly this time had been Maliketh's forces, then without question, the Ancient Dragons would never have sat back and allowed the situation to develop unchecked.
However, it was clear that the current invaders were not yet important enough to make the Ancient Dragons take action.
For precisely that reason, Maliketh decided to add more fuel to the fire.
Since the unknown intruders had already put the Ancient Dragons on alert, he might as well push things along and make the situation even more chaotic.
And so, Maliketh's men began to act.
They started causing disturbances in northern Farum Azula, then rapidly expanded the chaos until even eastern Farum Azula was pulled into the turmoil.
For Ancient Dragons who liked acting like rocks, such a grand stage and battlefield offered nothing but endless noise and boredom, apart from the chance to witness fearless and valiant warriors.
But none of this affected Nolan and Sethlin's detective game. Nolan was an invited guest, so he did not need to obey the Ancient Dragons' orders.
As for Sethlin, she had never been obedient anyway, so no one bothered controlling her at all.
The Ancient Dragons were quite busy now. The Golden Faction's movements were far more important than the two Godskins. After all, in this city, they represented Maliketh's will.
Nolan and Sethlin did not go to the front line to help, and the Ancient Dragons did not send anyone to look for them either.
It was obvious that the Ancient Dragons had great faith in this combination of the Merciful Lord and the problem child. Even if they did not expect the two to help, they at least believed they would not make trouble.
"Big Brother, I've already taken you all over the eastern district. What exactly are you looking for?"
Sethlinsax was beginning to feel that Nolan was tricking her. Blood, fewer people, this and that, and after searching in circles, they had found nothing at all.
This guy was clearly using her as a free guide, dragging her into every dark, cramped corner he could find.
Maybe once he had the place figured out, he would bring people back and conquer Farum Azula too.
But even though she worried about the Ancient Dragons' future, there was nothing she could do. He was her Big Brother, after all, and his punches really hurt.
Sethlin wore a miserable look, but Nolan was in no hurry. As they walked, he kept examining the area. The passage was too dark to see clearly, so he used the Lord Soul of Light as a lamp.
With the sound of tap, tap, tap, they followed the stairs all the way down into the depths below.
Sethlin lightly tapped the wall a few times. The sound of gears turning reached their ears, and then the wall suddenly opened with a heavy rumble.
Behind the wall was a platform, and a long ladder led farther upward.
Seeing it, Nolan was just about to step onto the ladder when Sethlin suddenly looked up. Her expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly reached out to pull him back.
"Big Brother, don't go any farther. Up ahead is Maliketh's territory."
"This whole city belongs to the Ancient Dragons. Doesn't that mean Maliketh's territory is Ancient Dragon territory too? What are you afraid of?"
Nolan frowned. "But from the look of it, we came too late. Maliketh has already left."
"You don't know what it was like. With that old man Placidusax gone, that stinking wolf bullied us terribly."
Halfway through speaking, Sethlinsax suddenly froze, then said in shock,
"Big Brother, were we looking for Maliketh just now? How did you know he was here?"
"From the traces of battle. I've seen the battle traces left behind by Messmer and Gurranq. They're almost exactly the same."
"Who is that Gurranq? What does he have to do with Maliketh?"
"Gurranq is Maliketh's avatar. Although you can tell Maliketh did his best to restrain his power, these attacks were clearly made by the same person."
Nolan crouched by the wall, looking at the corpse of a large Beastman nearby as he spoke.
Beastmen of this size were elites, even heroes, among their kind. Yet this one had still died without the slightest chance to fight back.