The air inside the secret room stagnated.

The candlelight stopped flickering, and the sound of breathing stopped as well.

Andrew and Thor, who had been standing silently in the rear, could not help but change their expressions.

The muscles in Andrew's cheeks twitched, and his right hand gripped the pure gold scepter tightly.

"Domoko! Do you know what you are saying?"

Andrew lowered his voice, "As a cardinal of the Holy Church and a top-tier powerhouse of the Freedom Federation, how can you utter such treasonous words!"

Facing Andrew's oppressive aura, Domoko was unconcerned.

He shrugged, shook his wine flask, and smiled, "Old friend, don't try to suppress me with your hypocritical Church demeanor. I am merely speaking the truth."

"The Holy Lord is eighty-five years old this year."

Domoko lowered his eyelids, his tone low, "Eighty-five years old is already an extremely rare and advanced age in this world of Classer who lick blood from the edge of a blade and overdraw their Origin. Both of you and I know very well that in recent years, in order to find a way to extend his lifespan and break the shackles of the rules, he racked his brains and even spared no effort to use the foundation of the Federation to explore those extremely dangerous ancient Forbidden Land."

"But what about now?" Domoko sneered, "He has completely changed his usual behavior. He ignores the drastic changes in surrounding countries, remains indifferent to the disappearance of one million people in two cities, and even that frantic craving for the continuation of life has vanished without a trace."

"Where there is an abnormality, there must be a demon. This is perhaps... the sign that his lifespan is coming to an end and he knows nothing can be done to save the situation!"

"Enough!"

Andrew interrupted Domoko with a cold face. He stared at the knight before him, "Domoko, did you make a special trip to find me today just to say these heart-piercing remarks?"

"Of course not."

Domoko shook his head, hung the empty wine flask back on his waist, and looked at Andrew.

"My main purpose in coming this time is to ask a favor of you."

"Ask a favor of me?" Andrew looked at him with a strange expression. This stubborn donkey who always only believed in the dragon spear in his hand actually had a time when he asked for help? "What kind of favor could you ask of me?"

Domoko smiled and looked out the window.

"If I go to Losga City and Newt City this time... and cannot come back."

Domoko said, "Please help me take good care of Ike. Right, Ike is that golden holy dragon outside."

"In this utterly rotten holy city, I cannot trust anyone else. Once its pure Dragon Race bloodline loses my protection, I don't know how many greedy fellows will skin it and strip its bones... I can only hand it over to you, Andrew."

Andrew frowned.

"What on earth do you mean by that?" Andrew stared closely at him, "Did you already obtain some secret intelligence about those two cities before you came? Or did you sense some fatal trap targeting you?"

Domoko smiled noncommittally and did not directly answer the question.

He stood up, walked in front of Andrew, patted his old rival's shoulder, and lowered his voice to say, "Andrew, we have fought for half our lives, but I have always respected you as someone who exhausts his efforts for the Federation. If the Holy Lord really dies, throughout the entire Freedom Federation right now, the only ones who can inherit his mantle are you and Heresy Inquisitor Augustus."

"Although I don't get along with either of you and find your hypocritical faces disgusting."

"But in comparison..." Domoko said, "you are more worthy of my entrustment than that lunatic who only knows slaughter and sacrifice."

"I have said all I can. I hope you, too, can make preparations early. This sky... is about to change."

Having said that, Domoko paid no more attention to Andrew, turned around, and beckoned to Thor.

"Let's go, kid. It's time to go to work."

Andrew watched the backs of the two as they left. The secret room restored its silence once more, with only the candlelight reflecting on the face of this archprelate.

...

"Rooaar—!"

Accompanied by a dragon roar, the golden giant dragon Ike spread its wings, whipping up a violent gale that carried Domoko and Thor into the sky.

The massive dragon body turned into a golden stream of light, speeding away through the clouds. In just the blink of an eye, it flew out of the holy city that symbolized supreme power.

The fierce wind howled in their ears.

Gazing at the outline of the holy city below that was growing smaller and gradually blurring in his vision, Thor suddenly spoke.

"Lord Domoko..." Thor's voice was somewhat ethereal in the howling wind, "Will we really die this time?"

Domoko leaned against the dragon's spine, pulled out a small wine flask, pulled out the stopper, and took a sip of ale.

"Ha... Probably."

Domoko wiped the wine stain from the corner of his mouth, "The Freedom Federation is no longer the federation of the past that promoted light and freedom."

He turned his head and sighed as he looked at the young man beside him, who used to be full of vigor and ambition, but whose eyes were now filled with gloom.

"Kid, you are still young, and the road ahead is long. If you want to save your life, you can leave now. I can have Ike let you down, just consider it as you fleeing from battle. If the Holy Lord blames you, I will shoulder it for you."

Hearing this, Thor froze.

He looked at Domoko and raised his head.

He shook his head vigorously, "No, I am not leaving."

"I am a member of the Holy Knights Order! Past failures have already made me lose all face, but in the creed of the Holy Knights Order, there are never the two words 'retreat'!"

Domoko looked at him, stunned for a long while, and then burst into hearty laughter.

"Hahaha! Good! Good kid! That's more like the Thunder God!" Domoko patted Thor's shoulder heavily, "Then let us go and see together what kind of freaks and monsters this so-called divine punishment really is!"

...

When it grew dark, night fell.

The golden giant dragon Ike glided silently and arrived above the once bustling Newt City.

Just as the intelligence stated.

Overlooking from high above, the entire city was dead and lifeless.

The street lamps on the streets were still lit, emitting a pale, cold light; the traffic lights at the intersections were still flashing alternately in a mechanical manner; one could even see the neon signs of some shops lingering on their last breath in the night wind.

However, there was no sound.

There was no roaring of cars, no hustle and bustle of pedestrians, not even the bark of a dog.

In the entire city, there was not a single human.

All buildings, vegetation, and infrastructure in the city had not suffered any damage. There were no explosion craters, no raging fires, and even less traces of blood smeared about.

The more than one million people living in this city had vanished into thin air!

This kind of quietness was even more spine-chilling than facing a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

"I will go down and take a look."

With a solemn expression, Thor gripped mjolnir, leaped down from the dragon's back.

In mid-air, his entire body transformed into a blue thunderbolt, shuttling back and forth through the empty city!

Blue electric light flashed constantly across the streets, alleys, residential buildings, and sewers.

About an hour later.

"Zhi la—"

Accompanied by a flash of thunder, Thor returned to the dragon's back once again.

Frowning, he reported to Domoko, "Nothing! There is nothing!"

"In the entire city, not even a single survivor can be found! Not even an infant or a disabled person!"

"What's even more terrifying..." Thor swallowed hard, "I carefully inspected the garrison of the city defense forces and the branches of major guilds. There are no traces of any battle! Weapons are neatly placed on racks, defense Formations are in standby mode, and some people's coffee on their desks is even still warm!"

"It is simply unimaginable! What kind of heaven-defying method can make a city's population of one million directly vanish in an instant without even leaving room for resistance? This is simply not something humanly possible!"