...

...

Moon Wolf City, at the edge of the city walls, atop the watchtower.

A young priest dressed in a white robe stood on the platform at the top of the tower.

It was Morian, who had been following Bishop Salido earlier.

Morian’s gaze slowly swept over the city walls that had been baptized by flames.

Many places were still burning, the charred bodies of soldiers lay scattered, and debris from the giant crossbows was everywhere.

Morian’s face remained calm, as if he was indifferent to all of this.

He raised his head, gazing at the night sky, then lowered his eyes to look at the darkness outside the city.

At this moment, a Holy Temple Knight clad in silver armor quickly ascended the watchtower.

"The mark has taken effect, Priest Morian."

The Holy Temple Knight reported respectfully upon reaching Morian’s side,

"We can track the location of those two dragons at any time."

"Hmm."

Morian nodded slightly, a hint of pride in his smile,

"That Luo De would not know,"

Morian lowered his head, looking down at the wrecked debris of the giant crossbows,

"We had anticipated the dragons would come to destroy these giant crossbows, so we placed a destruction mark on each one."

The destruction mark is a very subtle magic that does not harm the trigger and releases no magic fluctuations.

Only those with high spiritual power and strong perception can detect it.

And the sole effect of the destruction mark is that the spellcaster can track the trigger’s trail.

No matter where they flee, they can be found within a hundred miles.

"Notify our people and the knights of the Moon Wolf family to be ready, bring all preparations."

Morian ordered, "In a while, we’ll go and find those two dragons."

"Yes, Priest Morian."

The Holy Temple Knight nodded vigorously, turned, and quickly left the watchtower to convey the orders.

Morian stood in place, chanting obscure spells in a low voice.

Golden runes, the size of a baby’s palm, slowly emerged in the air.

Flickering with a faint glow, they hovered to Morian’s left front.

This indicated the general direction of the two dragons at that moment.

The Dawn Church had invested significant manpower and resources in Moon Wolf City for this operation.

On one hand, to assist Prince Jin Chui in withstanding the advance of Luo De’s army.

On the other hand, to hunt those two legendary creatures.

The Dawn Church knew that it could not control the dragons.

But even in death, the bodies of the dragons were extremely precious.

They could be used to make armor, magic wands, magic potions, magic jewelry, and more.

As long as they could kill these two dragons, the Dawn Church’s participation in this war would not have been in vain.

And to deal with those two dragons, Morian had made ample preparations.

He not only brought the Church’s elite Holy Temple Knights and deacons, but also all kinds of magical jewelry and scrolls.

Morian was very confident. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

With a wave, he dispelled the runes in the air and turned to exit the watchtower.

As he just stepped out of the watchtower, shouts came from within the city.

The voices were unclear, carried intermittently by the night wind.

Morian ignored them and continued toward the stairs.

The shouts came closer and louder.

Even though he couldn’t make out what was being shouted, Morian could hear the urgency and fear in the voices.

Morian stopped, standing in place, tilting his head to quietly catch the drifting sounds in the air.

Finally, he deciphered the content of the voices, and his brow furrowed involuntarily,

"Catch the assassin!"

...

...

Moon Wolf Castle.

Inside the council hall.

The Moon Wolf Count, clad in ornate armor, lay in a pool of blood, a shocking bloody hole in his throat.

The blood had not yet coagulated, forming a large dark red pool on the ground.

The Count’s eyes remained open, retaining the terror from his dying moments.

Near the door not far away, the bodies of two Guards and a Knight also lay.

The Guards’ throats were slit, the wounds clean, appearing to have been cut by an extremely sharp blade.

There were no signs of a struggle on the ground, indicating they’d been killed before they had a chance to react.

Only around the Knight’s body was there some mess, suggesting he had struggled.

"There are traces of magic here."

Morian stood in the center of the hall, frowning as he surveyed the scene before him.

Then he slowly crouched down, raising the left hand of the Moon Wolf Count.

The Count’s index finger bore a clear white mark, indicating a ring had once been worn there.

"His guardian ring’s magic was triggered."

Morian sighed slightly, "It blocked something, but ultimately couldn’t stop the assassin’s blade."

"And they even took the guardian ring."

The value of the guardian ring needs no elaboration; it can automatically trigger an energy shield when the wearer suffers a lethal attack.

But apparently, the assassin anticipated failure and conducted a series of continuous attacks.

This wasn’t something one person could accomplish.

Morian didn’t know how to judge; were these people assassins or thieves?

Until he saw the words written in blood on the table

—Blood for blood.

"This is Luo De’s revenge."

Morian’s voice became deep, staring at those bloody words.

His target should have been the Dawn Church’s people, perhaps he couldn’t find me.

"Priest Morian."

The previous Holy Temple Knight walked swiftly into the hall, his expression serious.

He approached Morian, lowering his voice to report, "Not a single heir of the Moon Wolf Count survived, all were killed."

The Holy Temple Knight paused, "Maybe only those illegitimate children sleeping in the warehouse are still alive."

"No, illegitimate children hold no value."

Morian shook his head with a sullen expression. "They cannot intimidate the army, nor stabilize the situation."