After Van Buren’s decaying body turned to ash, Roland immediately gathered his partners inside the house.

He inspected the area carefully and confirmed the Array had been completely destroyed, rendering it powerless. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

However, the strange phenomenon he had just witnessed replayed in his mind.

"What’s wrong, Roland?"

Avril, noticing the unusual look on his face, asked with concern.

"It’s nothing, it’s just..."

Roland shook his head gently, his gaze falling upon the Round Ring in his hand.

The ring was extremely plain, just a simple band of silvery-white metal.

It wasn’t set with any gems. The only feature was a series of fine, ancient, almost imperceptible patterns carved into its surface, which seemed to shimmer faintly in the dim light.

"Suren’s keepsake? Maybe... it’s one of those ’Treasure Tools’ you mentioned!"

A faint fragrance drifted past his nose as the Purple-haired Witch leaned down, curiously examining the Round Ring in the young man’s hand as she spoke softly.

"Mr. Roland, what are your plans now?"

"While Dean Graham is tied up with that Witch Demon..."

Considering Shire’s presence, Roland chose not to put the Round Ring on his finger, instead cautiously placing it in his waist pouch.

"We need to investigate the High Tower in the Demon City Center as soon as possible."

"Although the core of the Array has been destroyed, to ensure it can’t be reactivated, it’s best to demolish it completely. But considering its towering height, we should probably..."

Just as Roland was laying out his plan, a sound suddenly exploded by his ear.

The sound cut through the air, low and incredibly piercing.

Roland’s brow furrowed instantly, his expression turning grim.

"Freddy, support Mr. Jia Xiu!"

He commanded urgently, his gaze shooting like lightning toward the source of the sound as he bolted out the door like an arrow loosed from a bow.

That sound—he could never mistake it.

Although it was much fainter than the roar he had heard back in Wuxi Town, the trace of ancient pressure it contained was proof...

It was, without a doubt, a Dragon Roar.

With this in mind, Roland moved cautiously through the crumbling ruins.

Only after failing to find the massive body he expected did his tense nerves relax slightly.

He rushed past a collapsed archway, and the view suddenly opened up before him.

In a clearing amidst the ravaged ruins, two figures were locked in a fierce battle.

One of them, a slightly gaunt figure, was wreathed in a sickeningly dense cloud of Negative Energy.

A pitch-black Shield flickered in and out of existence before him like a living thing, precisely parrying every lethal blow.

An ominous, violet-black light danced on his fingertips as Death Arrows and chilling Negative Energy Rings struck at his opponent like vipers.

With every teleporting dodge, the rubble where he landed instantly decayed into ashen powder, leaving behind footprints that radiated a deathly chill.

’That must be the mastermind behind the Truth Church... the Witch Demon!’

In an instant, Roland had identified the gaunt figure.

But as his gaze shifted, his heart sank.

’Is that... Graham?’

The Graham before him was completely different from the Knight he knew.

An interwoven aura of Molten Gold and incandescent white Fighting Spirit enveloped his burly frame, radiating a terrifying heat.

Where he merely stood, the rock beneath his feet sizzled and melted into a pool of crimson magma.

Dark gold Scales were brutally bursting from beneath his skin, covering his neck and arms.

His hands were twisted and deformed, his fingertips extending into terrifying, horny claws.

But even more shocking than his mutated appearance was the Power Graham now displayed, which far exceeded Roland’s understanding of him.

His movements were faster than human limits, each Charge accompanied by a shriek that tore through the air.

Wherever his blade passed, whether it was a half-toppled stone pillar or massive chunks of architectural wreckage, it was silently melted through and sliced apart, the cuts glowing crimson.

Even the Witch Demon’s seemingly unbreakable Negative Energy Shield, in Roland’s eyes, trembled violently under the frenzied slashes, emitting a piercing, cracking sound.

The dispersing shockwaves even caused the surrounding, already crumbling walls to shed debris, sending shattered stone flying like shrapnel.

’Bloodline alienation?’

Seeing Graham’s almost inhuman appearance and the familiar-looking Scales on his skin, Roland instantly recalled what Galvis had once told him when explaining what a Warlock was.

Naturally, Roland wasn’t the only one to notice the roaring sounds of the battle.

A moment later, his partners arrived at his side.

Watching the fierce battle in the distance, horrified expressions appeared on everyone’s faces.

Even Avril and Vanessa, who were usually unfazed by anything, had a grave look in their eyes.

"Dean Graham, is this the... ’true strength’ you were talking about?"

Remembering the boasts the Dean of the Knight Academy used to make while drinking, Jia Xiu’s mouth twitched, his eyes filled with disbelief.

And with the halt of the Magic City Jiles’s revival, the tireless Magical Guide Structures gradually ceased to operate.

After a short while, Reggie arrived at the edge of the battlefield, leading the several thousand remaining soldiers.

"Roland!"

After a moment of shock, Reggie raised a hand to greet Roland, then gave a slight bow to Jia Xiu, who was leaning against a broken pillar nearby.

"Lord Jia Xiu."

"Long time no see, Reggie..."

The two of them shared an unspoken understanding and didn’t suggest going forward to help Graham fight.

They knew that a battle of this level...

was far beyond their ability to participate in.

Joining rashly would only make them a burden to Graham and disrupt his combat rhythm.

Therefore, after coughing a few times and spitting out a mouthful of blood, the heavily injured Assassin finally asked a question.

"Where are the reinforcements Lord Derek sent? Are you the only one?"

Hearing this, Reggie shook his head, then raised the object in his hand.

It was a metal cylinder, with faint black smoke drifting from its opening.

Seeing this item, Roland’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He recognized it.

According to what the Half-Elf Hobbit said, it was called a Smoke Emitter, a recent invention of the Dwarves. Its main purpose was to be lit when facing trouble at sea, using the smoke signal to attract rescue.

Reggie had clearly already lit it, which meant...

At this thought, Roland’s eyes turned toward the River Domain Kings’ Capitals.

In his field of vision, where the dense fog had dissipated, neat rows of soldiers’ formations appeared on the horizon, dyed orange by the twilight glow.

They wore blue and white armor, their military bearing impeccable.

At a rough glance, there were at least ten thousand of them.

And at the head of the army were the figures of several leaders.

Although their builds varied, judging from the powerful aura each of them exuded...

Roland let out a long breath, the last trace of worry in his heart finally vanishing.

Every single one of them...

was an Extraordinary Professional Powerhouse.

Meanwhile, as Roland and the others were talking, time passed, and for the first time, a clear look of astonishment and gravity appeared on Ellis’s cold face.

He was forced into high-speed movement, losing his previous composure. His figure flickered and teleported wretchedly as he was pursued by the Melted Gold Light Blade.

Streams of death rays that were originally aimed at Graham’s head were dodged as he twisted his body at unbelievable angles.

A ray grazed a Giant Stone, and it instantly turned into loose, smoking sand.

"ROAR!"

Graham’s low roar was like rolling thunder, giving his opponent no chance to breathe.

His Molten Gold Fighting Spirit surged again, roaring as it lunged toward the Undead that desecrated the living.

He even abandoned his weapon, swiping his claws with space-rending force, viciously clawing at Ellis’s chest.

"SHRRRIP!"

The sharp tips of his claws tore through the Shield around Ellis and narrowly grazed the Magic Robe on his chest, leaving several charred scorch marks.

Shattered fragments of Negative Energy scattered and drifted down like black snow.

The Witch Demon was knocked backward by the pure physical force, his feet plowing two deep, smoking trenches in the ground as the light in his eyes flickered violently.