Reinar Thamsen led his army into the portal with confidence swelling up in his chest. He liked the feeling; the feeling of conquering a ruler, and the one ahead of him was the biggest one in his life so far. An empire, though it was just an empire in the backward world, it was still an empire nevertheless.

His vision blurred for a moment before it returned to him. He saw the rising sun on the horizon which surprised him. He left The First Order Guild’s territory at night, yet it was morning here.

Reinar then started to observe his surroundings as he took a few steps forward while his army followed him from behind. He was on the open field with no one to greet him. He expected Revalor and the elven army, but there was no one.

Suspicion aroused inside him as he looked further. He realized that he was out in the open, outside the wall instead of inside the wall. There was no suspicion at first, thinking he was inside the wall, but then he started to notice something amiss when he could not find Revalor.

Reinar heard an explosion right behind him. He could not see what happened in the back as the shock wave sent him flying forward. His face plummeted to the ground as he felt the heat on his back.

Reinar Thamsen quickly got back on his feet and turned around only to find out that the teleportation portal was engulfed in an explosion. There was no need for him to think to find out what situation he was in. He fell into a trap set up by the Tang Empire, ‘Revalor betrayed me!’ That was the first thought that came to his mind.

A creature floated above the explosion, the culprit who destroyed the teleportation portal. The creature he never saw in his life even once. It had the body of the horse, the scale of the dragon, the paw of the dragon, and the head of the dragon. Regardless of what kind of creature it was. Dragon blood flowed in its vein, something he never expected.

Reinar Thamsen used Detection on the creature. His heart skipped a beat as the result came into his eyes. His face scrunched in fury as he realized he had been tricked by Revalor.

Name: ??? | Affiliation: Tang Empire | Rank: Demi-God

Revalor told him there was no God Rank in the Tang Empire, and he was stupid enough to believe that. His eyes turned toward his army. Not even one-tenth of his army managed to go through the portal. At best, he had a few thousand people with him, and none of them were Demi-God Rank. On top of that, part of his people were injured from the initial explosion.

As if the unknown dragon creature was not enough, another big shadow hovered beyond the cloud. Not just one, but two big creatures flew about the cloud. Revalor immediately looked up to the sky as the shadow hovered on him. One creature had a golden scale and a pair of wings. Another one had three pairs of wings and a white feather. He did not know the creature with the three pairs of wings, but he knew the other one, a dragon.

The first thing he did was, of course, use Detection on the golden dragon. He was relieved a little that the Golden Dragon was still juvenile. But a dragon was still a dragon, a Primordial Rank Dragon. The same rank as him, and he could not use Detection on the giant white-feathered bird. His heartbeat raced up, his chest heaved up and down.

As he was distracted by the three creatures in the sky, he heard screams from his people. He turned toward the scream and saw dozens of his subordinates were swallowed by shadow. His people disappeared along with the shadow, “Raise your weapon! We fight!” There was no choice, fight or surrender. And he would not choose surrender, he would rather die and let his father avenge him. He would not be a prisoner of the Tang Empire.

Swish!

An arrow went through the air, creating noise, and pierced through his people. Dozens of his people fell on the ground before they could fight back, and more arrows came for them. Even when his people used Bloodline Transformation, none of them could withstand more than three arrows. Just like that, his army was wiped out within less than five minutes. Even the five Legend Ranks could not withstand the barrage of arrows while sustaining the injuries.

Reinar Thamsen wanted to use his Bloodline Transformation, but he realized that was just a futile resistance. He was defeated, he fell into the trap. His scheme backfired on him, and he fell into his enemy’s hand.

“You are the first, but don’t worry, more will fall along with you. Don’t need to be ashamed,” Reinar heard the familiar voice. He turned around and saw Supreme Commander Zhang Mengyao in her black armor, black shield, and black lance. She was ready to fight.

Reinar Thamsen just stared at the woman. He could not see her features because of the helmet, but he would never forget her look. But then he realized that she was alone, with no one around her. She was alone, just thirty meters away from him. There was no one accompanying her. His face brightened up as he got an idea, an idea to get out of this situation.

‘I just need to capture her. Take her hostage and get out of here!’

From the information he received, Zhang Mengyao was just a Myth Rank. One lower rank below him. Not easy, but that was the only way for him to get her out alive. He no longer hesitated, using his bloodline transformation. His skin turned red as wings made of fire formed on his back. His eyes turned red while his spear was blazed in flame. His armor also turned into fire as a crown made of fire floated above his head.

“You will regret it coming to me by yourself!” Reinar rushed toward Zhang Mengyao, leaving a trail of fire as his figure blurred. He thrust the blazing spear forward.

Dang! 𝒐𝔳𝓛xt.𝗇𝓔t

Zhang Mengyao easily blocked the incoming spear with her shield. It created noise that resonated in the air, showing off how strong the strike was. The fire from the spear blazed, trying to reach Zhang Mengyao. However, the fire could not reach her as if there was a barrier that kept the fire away from her. With a push from the shield, she sent Reinar ten meters back.

Reinar Thamsen could not believe that he failed to push Zhang Mengyao even in the slightest. Zhang Mengyao was like an immovable fortress to him. Then he noticed the smirk on her lips, mocking him for his attack. That enraged him as he then flew to the sky, not too high as he was afraid that he reached the three creatures’ range in the sky. The fire on his body, wing, and also the spear blazed fiercely. His figure was covered in fire, and the fire formed a shape, the shape of a bird.

Screeeeechhhh!

It let out a piercing screech before the firebird dove toward Zhang Mengyao. At this point, he did not bother to capture her alive. He just wanted to win against him.

Zhang Mengyao looked up at the incoming firebird and did not have an intention to dodge the incoming attack. She remained on her spot and raised her shield toward the incoming firebird. That was her plan, to block the incoming firebird. Never crossed her mind to run away from the attack.

The firebird hit the shield, and the fire burst out. It was as if the fire was about to engulf Zhang Mengyao. However, the unexpected happened as the shield absorbed the fire. The blazing fire disappeared into the shield. The bright sky suddenly dimmed, leaving behind Reinar and his spear. He was in midair with his spear and hit the shield once more. The fire armor and the fire wing were proof that he was still in the Bloodline Transformation, but his attack was negated by a single shield.

“High-Grade Artifact,” Reinar blurted out.

“I don’t need a high-rank artifact to kill you,” Zhang Mengyao smashed her lance toward Reinar’s right shoulder, sending him down to the ground. Then she leaped into the air, pointing her lance toward Reinar on the ground.

“NOOO!” Reinar was about to get up, but it was too late. He was panicked that he did not use any skill either. The lance pierced through his thigh, destroying the thigh as a high pitch scream came out of Reinar’s mouth.

“You are no different than the other one,” She was talking about Arnor Ollsen, the man who coveted Rosalie.

Of course, Zhang Mengyao’s words did not enter his head as he was screaming at top of his lungs. Zhang Mengyao then put the shield right in front of his face. He realized that the shield was no longer black, but red. It was the same color as his fire. The shield glowed in as fire blazed out of the shield. The same screech echoed in the air, and Reinar Thamsen found out that the shield absorbed and stored the skill in the shield. Now she used his own skill against him.

Death was not something he was afraid of before coming here. The thing he feared the most was to lose his position in his family and in the Giteron Dynasty, his authority. But now he was right in front of the death door, he realized that he also feared death.

“NO! PLEASE DON’T KILL ME! I WILL DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU! PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!”