The battle outside the castle had ended. Ruby couldn''t kill Grom and had to give up, leaving the area.


    Eighteen Lords hade, and seventeen were dead. They had formed an alliance to attack Alex, but as soon as they arrived, Alex cut off their escape route.


    Twenty-three castles had stood in the Barren ins, but within a few hours, only four remained.


    Grom reverted to his human form. Though uninjured, he was drenched in sweat, his gaze fixed on the spot where Ruby had disappeared, his expression grim.


    Meanwhile, outside the southern swamp.


    "There are traces of dark magic here."


    Flying in the air, Rapha suddenly sensed a magical fluctuation below and stopped with Drake, descending to the ground.


    The damp, ck soil was barren, looking unremarkable at first nce.


    There were subtle signs of disturbance, barely noticeable unless closely examined.


    Drake crouched down, digging out a ck stone emitting magical energy, and showed it to Rapha.


    "The energy inside is flowing in another direction. This must be part of a magic circle."


    Quickly, they unearthed all the enchanted stones in the area, revealing the magic circle. Without hesitation, Drake destroyed it, breaking the alchemy magic''s concealment effect and revealing Chi-Chi''s hidden castle.


    "So, it was hidden here."


    Their efforts paid off. Drake didn''t care if this was Alex''s castle or not. Hidden so well, it had to be significant. They had searched the surroundings and found no other castles.


    "The w in this magic circle is quiterge. If one part is found and destroyed, the entire circle loses its effect."


    Rapha and Drake approached the castle. Destroying it would ensure Alex''s death. Rapha smiled, confident that Alex wouldn''t have expected her castle to be found and attacked.


    Suddenly, Rapha and Drake stopped in their tracks as someone emerged from the castle.


    A stunning woman in a ck dress stood at the entrance, calmly watching them.


    Three more women soon joined her, standing by her side.


    Clearly, another Lord was present. The two hadn''t expected the castle to hide an ally.


    But victory was within reach, and they wouldn''t give up easily. Drake didn''t take the neer seriously, though Rapha''s intuition sensed something unusual.


    "Go kill the man," Lilith said calmly, her voice neither loud nor soft, but audible to Rapha and Drake. Drake sneered, but their expressions soon turned to shock.


    The three women behind Lilith stepped forward, their eyes glowing red. ck wings sprouted from their backs, ck feathers drifting to the ground.


    Some donned ck armor, others grew strange horns, and one even transformed into a male.


    The three fallen angels, each unique, exuded a powerful and ominous aura. Fallen angels could take human form upon reaching Monarch level, but Lilith preferred them to remain female.


    Drake was stunned. Three Monarch-level beings!


    "What are they, angels or demons?!"


    "Fallen angels," Rapha replied calmly. Despite the four Monarch-level opponents, she showed no fear.


    Drake had never heard of fallen angels, but now wasn''t the time for questions.


    His hands hardened into massive dragon ws, his body covered in fine, earth-colored scales. Four curved horns grew from his head, and his eyes turned into yellow slits.


    Drake charged at the fallen angels, dragon''s might radiating, cracking the ground.


    Rapha faced Lilith, the two locking eyes. Though meeting for the first time, they felt like lifelong enemies.


    This enmity, etched in their blood and souls, couldn''t be reconciled, even as Lords. From the moment they met, they were destined to be foes.


    Rapha no longer hid her angelic identity. Almost simultaneously, ck and white wings unfurled behind them.


    Rapha radiated holiness, surrounded by holy light, her face bing indistinct. She held a golden, glowing holy sword, her feet lifting off the ground as she ascended.


    Lilith, unlike other fallen angels, retained her original appearance even after transforming. Her eyes turned purple, her aura more noble and menacing. Darkness enveloped her, and she wielded a sword shrouded in ck energy, its outline obscured.


    They rose into the air, facing each other, not exchanging a single word. Below, Drake and the fallen angels'' battle was ignored.


    In an instant, they unleashed their domains, gripping their weapons and charging at each other.


    Their weapons shed silently, but the immense shockwaves roared outwards.


    Their domains shed continuously, the sky erupting in blinding light.


    Drake and the fallen angels paused, looking up at the duel above.


    The sky was split, one half a dazzling gold, the other a devouring ck.


    Gold drove back ck, ck devoured gold.


    Drake looked down. Rapha''s domain had made grass and flowers sprout, bathed in holy light, full of life.


    Across from him, the barrennd turned even grayer, tainted with ck, as if to corrode everything.


    At that moment, Rapha seemed to forget her mission, fully engaged with Lilith.


    Drake wanted to destroy the castle, but the fallen angels blocked him. Fallen angels weren''t ordinary troops; Drake knew angels'' terror, and fallen angels were no different.


    Facing three fallen angels, Drake wasn''t sure he could win.


    Destroying the castle today seemed impossible.


    Drake formed a yellow energy ball, gathering more energy until a massive beam shot out.


    One armored fallen angel stepped forward, a ck shield blocking the beam, splitting it and dissipating it.


    The other two fallen angels attacked Drake from the front and back.


    Drake backflipped, spreadingrge, earth-colored wings, flying into the sky, the fallen angels in pursuit.


    Drakecked the self-healing abilities of his allies, relying on his scales'' defense. But the deep gash on his chest showed his scales weren''t invincible, cut by a fallen angel''s sword.


    Drake could only avoid closebat with the opponent. With a p of his ws, two massive earth dragons burst from the ground, lunging at the two fallen angels. Then he swiftly turned around, his ws encased in thick rock, forming a massive fist, smashing at his enemy in front of him.


    A thin ck beam shattered the earth dragons, and a fallen angel, caught off guard, was punched to the ground.


    Drake quickly turned to the other two fallen angels, his pupils contracting as they began to petrify, slowing down.


    But this seemingly powerful skill was ineffective against equals. The fallen angels ignited in mes, reversing the petrification.


    The ordinary-looking mes were anything but simple.


    In the brief skirmish, Drake could hold off the fallen angels, but his disadvantage grew over time.


    In the sky, Rapha and Lilith shed, white and ck feathers falling around them.


    Rapha raised her holy sword, her wings spread wide, the brilliant gold light brightening the dawn, making everything holy.


    A town-destroying attack swept towards Lilith, unavoidable.


    Lilith''s ck wings wrapped around her, forming a ck cross, mes igniting at the tips, enveloping her in fire, blocking Rapha''s attack.


    Sss—


    Rapha''s holy light didn''t cut through Lilith but was corroded, hissing.


    Lilith''s wings lost some feathers, looking disheveled but unharmed.