When the first gleam of dawn appeared in the east, Dorolia Castle fell, and the news of the rebel siege spread throughout the inner city...

Billowing smoke engulfed the ancient Royal City, with all streets leading to the outer city occupied by enraged citizens and mutinous troops.

Heavy Magic Crystal Cannons were rolled out and placed on the high grounds of Dorolia Castle, spewing angry fire towards the inner city’s walls, causing ripples on the Divine Arts Barrier...

The barely-started Divine Arts Barrier, already teetering due to the lack of outer city nodes, flickered under the cannon fire, seemingly ready to shatter at any moment.

On the city walls, watching the endless swarm of rebels converging from all directions, and observing the massive Magic Crystal Cannon aimed at the inner city from Dorolia Castle, the nobles of the Empire were horrified and anxious.

"Madmen! This group of madmen! They dare to truly initiate a rebellion!"

On the city walls, amidst the rebel artillery fire, Duke Correns was furious.

He glanced hatefully at the overwhelming number of attackers outside the city and grabbed a Noble Knight to ask:

"What do they say? What will make them withdraw?"

"Du... Duke, my lord... They say unless the Imperial Council is dissolved and the nobility system abolished, surrender Your Majesty and the cabinet ministers who persecuted the Life Church, and revoke the Eternal Church’s religious status in the Empire, otherwise... they... they will never retreat."

The Noble Knight, who had communicated with the rebels, stammered.

Duke Correns’ eyes widened with instant rage:

"Absurd! Dreaming! Just a bunch of mobs, do they really think they’re somebody?!"

"Then... Duke, my lord, what should we do? The priests at the Eternal Cathedral say the Divine Arts Barrier is severely depleted in energy, and may not last much longer..."

A noble asked in horror and bewilderment.

"Depleted in energy?! Impossible!"

Duke Correns instinctively retorted.

"Duke..."

A noble who knew some inside information spoke bitterly:

"Previously, when the Eternal Church expanded the Judgement Army and communicated with the True God, much of the centuries-old faith power accumulated in the Holy Hall was consumed..."

Hearing this, Duke Correns’ expression changed, his face turning pale.

To maintain a balance between the nobility and the royal family, nobles within the inner city were not allowed to bring too many private soldiers, nor could they bring weapons such as the Magic Crystal Cannon into the city.

In other words, the combat strength within the entire inner city was extremely hollow.

Apart from the nobles themselves, they did not have much power to resist the rebels.

And the number of rebels was simply too great.

Even if Duke Correns was a Legend, even if he could gather all the nobles located within the inner city from the Imperial Council, even if adding the three thousand Imperial Guard from the Imperial City... it would be difficult to defeat the rebels with Magic Crystal Cannons in the case of a shattered Divine Arts Barrier.

Duke Correns was already old.

He was not a mage whose power increased despite aging, but a warrior whose battle strength relied heavily on physical prowess, even as a Legend, his strength had already passed its peak.

Especially with Dorolia Castle breached, and those kept inside released, many joined the ranks of the rebels.

Although many of those people had not reached Legend, they were still enough to pose a threat to him.

"Where’s Bishop Wenstar? Where’s Lord Daniel? Where are they?!"

Correns thought of the other two Legends.

"Lord Wenstar and Your Majesty have gone to the Eternal Holy Temple to manage the Divine Arts Barrier, but Lord Daniel... Lord Daniel seems to have gone missing..."

The Noble Knight hesitated.

"Miss... Missed?"

Correns paused.

Then, furious:

"I knew it! That old man was never reliable! His eyes only see his own magic research!"

Just as he finished speaking, another elemental bullet landed on the Divine Arts Barrier, bursting into brilliant fireworks...

The intense energy waves shook the walls, causing soldiers to stumble and nobles to lift their heads in fear, staring at the increasingly unsteady Divine Arts Barrier, growing more anxious.

"My lord Duke, we won’t be able to hold much longer, perhaps... perhaps we should surrender first... it’s just a rebellion, once the church’s army hears of it, or the local nobles hear of it, they’ll send reinforcements to suppress them."

A noble suggested.

However, he was quickly kicked flying by the furious Duke Correns:

"Fool! Noble honor must not be desecrated! Do mere commoners think they can make us bow?! Or do you truly believe if we surrender to these foolish commoners, they’ll spare you?!"

After speaking, his gaze swept over the endless rebels in the streets outside the city and over the nobles with varied expressions on the city walls, he sighed lightly:

"Angry citizens are the most senseless and the most insane. If we fall into their hands, the fate will likely be grim, my lords... think of those nobles attacked by mobs in the past."

His words made the nobles’ faces change color.

In the Empire’s history, there have been no shortages of impoverished civilians rebelling against their Lords for various reasons, some even causing significant disturbances.

And those small nobles whose castles were breached by civilians usually met bad ends.

Of course, the ultimate outcome of these rebellions was suppression by higher-ranking nobles.

However, those were small rebellions, unlike this one which swept through the entire King City. Even the well-versed nobles of the Imperial Capital had never seen such a scene.

Moreover, this time even the Guards and mercenary groups had switched sides.

And their current identity was not "the suppressors" but "the unlucky ones trapped in the castle."

After understanding many things, the nobles’ expressions grew increasingly unsightly.

Observing their ever-changing expressions, Correns shook his head slightly.

And at that moment, accompanied by a piercing screech, several elemental bullets landed on the inner city’s defense barrier.

They were like the last straw that broke the camel’s back, crashing open cracks on the Divine Arts Barrier.

Immediately, the Divine Arts Barrier in the sky, overwhelmed, finally shattered into pieces amidst a series of explosive sounds...

"Bro... Broken! The Divine Arts Barrier is broken!"

Seeing this, the nobles suddenly became chaotic.

"What’s with the chaos? Quiet! Stay calm!"

Watching the chaotic nobles, Duke Correns frowned and admonished.

Then, with a solemn expression, he drew his Longsword, pointed it to the sky, and shouted:

"Nobles of the Empire!"

"Rebel mobs threaten us, the situation is dire, behind us are the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Council, there’s no way back!"

"For the honor of the nobles! For our ancestors’ glory! Let us fight to the end and carve a bloody path!"

However, just as Duke Correns raised his Longsword to boost morale, an unprecedented sense of danger swept over him.

He tightened inside and instinctively dodged to the side, only to hear a sharp explosion behind him.

"Boom—!"

Duke Correns felt a pain in his chest.

He slowly lowered his head and saw a blood hole appear on his chest, with bright red blood continuously flowing out.

He turned around, looking behind him, only to see one of his most trusted Court Counts lowering the royal-gifted Legendary Magic Gun with cold indifference.

"Sorry, my lord Duke..."

"The mobs are settling scores with the cabinet, I don’t want to die along with you."