Gao Wu: You have science, and I have magic!

Hecate screamed and summoned an ice storm.

Gareth stood in front of Ye Qingzhou, and the holy scar behind him glowed with golden light to form a shield: "Go and save them!"

Ye Qingzhou rushed to the incubator operating table and split the control crystal with his sword.

The hatches opened one after another, and the unconscious hostages slid out. He quickly checked and found that several of them were wearing the badges of the Alchemy Association.

“Wake up!”

He slapped the face of a white-haired old man, whose badge on his chest showed that he was the chief alchemist.

The old man woke up with a cough, and a golden light flashed in his cloudy eyes: "...Sun...bloodline...stop them..."

There was a loud noise from the other end of the hall.

Hecate was cornered by Gareth, and suddenly tore open the black robe on her chest - a beating crystal heart was embedded in her chest. "Let's die together, you lackeys of the Holy Sun!"

The crystal heart began to flash at a high frequency.

“Gareth! Back off!”

Ye Qingzhou threw the sword with all his strength.

The moment the ice-blue blade pierced Hecate's throat, the old man suddenly grabbed Ye Qingzhou's wrist and said, "Hurry up! She is going to detonate the Seed of Eternal Night!"

Ye Qingzhou carried the old man and shouted to Gareth: "Take the hostage out! Now!"

He tore off the necklace pendant and crushed it, and the ice crystal powder formed a teleportation array that enveloped the awakened hostage.

Hecate's body began to expand and turn into ice crystals, and the temperature of the entire hall dropped sharply.

Gareth grabbed the two nearest children and rushed to the exit: "Roland! Barrier!"

The ground shook violently, and an ice storm swept in from the explosion point of Hecate's corpse.

At the critical moment, a golden light descended from the sky—Roland jumped into the hall, and the Holy Nail Giant Sword pierced the ground: "Sanctuary of Sanctuary!"

Following Roland's summons, the twelve holy nails broke away from the sword and floated in the air, forming a golden barrier.

The ice crystal storm hit the barrier with a teeth-grinding sound.

Celeste flashed out from behind Roland and smashed the last Ice Knight with her flail: "Chapter 9, Section 4 of the Holy Scripture..."

“Now is not the time to chant!”

Ye Qingzhou dragged the last few hostages into the teleportation array, "Everyone bow your heads!"

The earth-shattering explosion blew off the entire dome of the hall.

The moment the holy light barrier was broken, the teleportation array was finally activated.

The last thing Ye Qingzhou saw was Roland using his body to protect the children, and the blood-red runes on Celeste's flail suddenly lit up...

Half an hour later, the rescued hostages were being guarded by the paladins.

Gareth leaned against the charred trunk, bandaging his wound, his blond hair matted to clumps by the blood.

"Where's Roland?"

Ye Qingzhou stretched his soft muscles and bones. His body was still too weak. To him, it was like a fragile piece of porcelain and had to be handled with caution.

"The old stubborn one is fine."

Gareth nodded into the distance.

At this time, the ferocious judge was scolding several knights who tried to put shackles on the alchemist: "...They are victims, not heretics! Put away these damn torture instruments!"

Ye Qingzhou noticed that Celeste was standing alone at the edge of the ruins, hiding something inside her armor.

As he approached, the female knight turned sharply, her flail humming threateningly.

“You’re hurt.”

Ye Qingzhou pointed at the blue liquid seeping out of the gaps in her armor - that was not blood, but some kind of magic potion.

The pupils of the cross behind Celeste's visor shrank violently: "The Holy Scripture... Chapter..." Her voice suddenly got stuck, and the circulation of the fighting spirit in her body became jerky and sluggish.

"Lane!"

Gareth's shout broke the eerie atmosphere, his expression extremely solemn: "We found this in Hecate's laboratory!"

The tattered parchment contained horrifying information: the Council of Eternal Night was developing a plague that could transform the followers of the Holy Sun into bloodthirsty monsters, and the formula required the bone marrow of the "Sun Bloodline".

The signature at the bottom made Ye Qingzhou's blood freeze - Bishop Victor, one of the high-ranking officials of the Holy Sun Church, and also the highest-ranking person in charge of the entire Holy Sun Church in the north.

"It seems that there is a big borer in your church."

Ye Qingzhou rolled up the parchment and stuffed it into his arms: "Leave these hostages to me. They need professional alchemical treatment."

Roland stared at him for a long time with his one eye, and finally nodded: "The Holy Sun Church owes you a favor, demon hunter."

After Ye Qingzhou led the alchemists away, Gareth approached Roland and said, "Just let him take the Sun Bloodline away? The Church has been looking for them for hundreds of years..."

“What did the old alchemist say when he woke up?”

Roland asked back.

“It seems like… stopping them?”

The Chief Judge looked at the collapsing Shadow Dome and said, "The Council of Eternal Night wants more than just a few alchemists. Victor's betrayal means..."

He suddenly stopped talking because he suddenly had a bad feeling.

In the meeting hall of Frostiron City, the giant sword "Winter's Oath" forged from meteorite steel was inserted in front of the throne, and the frost runes on the sword emitted a faint blue light.

Aurelion Morningstar's fingers drummed on the hilt of the sword, and each blow was like an ice hammer hitting the heart of everyone present.

"Bishop Victor surrendered to the vampires?"

His voice was colder than the cold wind in the north: "Lian, do you know what your accusation means?"

Ye Qingzhou, standing in the middle of the hall, met Aurelian's gaze with a calm expression.

He was wearing simple travel leather armor and had the unremarkable "Morning Glory" knight sword at his waist, which formed a sharp contrast with the fully armed family knights around him.

"It means that the Holy Sun Church has been infiltrated."

Ryan replied calmly: "It means that the Eternal Night Council is about to launch a general attack."

He took a step forward, his boot heels clicking against the marble floor. "It means civil war is inevitable."

Aurelian's brows raised slightly.

Ye Qingzhou took out a roll of parchment from his arms and unfolded it in front of everyone. Lady Serena, who was sitting on the side seat, suddenly stood up and the "Frost Law Codex" in her hand automatically flipped through the pages.

"Is this... a blood clan rune?"

A rare look of shock appeared on her beautiful face.

"Found in Hecate's laboratory."

Ryan handed the parchment to his mother: "It has the signature of Bishop Victor. They plan to use the 'Sun Bloodline' to refine a plague specifically targeting the followers of the Holy Sun."

Aurelian suddenly drew out his greatsword, and the temperature in the entire hall dropped sharply.

"The Flamescale Family."

He said in a deep voice: "They are the only ones in the North that have enough alchemists."

“That’s not all.”

Ryan pointed to a tiny mark on the corner of the parchment - a pattern of flames and scales. "The secret emblem of the Flame Scale Family. Madam Monica is clearly more involved than she appears."

Someone raised an objection: "What can this prove? Maybe it's a frame-up..." "Because the Flame Scale Family is the second-ranked family in the North."

Ye Qingzhou suddenly raised his voice, with a coldness that was not in line with his age: "It is the biggest threat to us. And..."

He turned to Aurelian and said, "The only legendary warrior left is already very old, and they have not yet produced a second legendary warrior. They are the most likely force to cooperate with the vampires."

The hall fell into deathly silence.

Aurelian stared at his second son, who had suddenly become a stranger, with a glimmer of approval in his eyes. He slowly raised his greatsword: "Lion."

"exist."

"In the name of the Lord of Frost Iron City, I order you to lead the Flame Dragon Cavalry Regiment."

Pointing the giant sword to the east, Aurelian issued an order with murderous intent: "Before dawn tomorrow, I want to see the rebellious flag of the Flamescale family fall in the snow."

Many people in the family objected to the hasty decision to start a war: "Grand Duke! Shouldn't you find out the truth first?"

"enough!"

Aurelian's roar shook the crystal chandelier. "Lian brought back key intelligence. We can't give the other party a chance to react."

Ryan knelt on one knee and placed his right hand on his chest: "In the name of the Morning Star."

When he raised his head, he met his mother's eyes for the first time.

There was no surprise in Lady Serena's eyes, only deep worry.

Above the Frost Mountains before dawn, a formation of fifty fire dragons tore through the clouds.

Ryan rode on the back of the leading flaming dragon "Little Fire", and the cold wind made his cloak flutter.

This young male flying dragon was a gift from his father to his brother Kane on his tenth birthday, but now it belongs to him, representing that the family's resources are tilted towards him.

"Flamescale Castle, three miles to the left."

Adjutant Calvin approached on his dragon and reminded, "Master Ryan, according to the plan, we will break through from the east."

Ryan checked the "Morning Glory" on his waist. He stroked the dragon's neck and said, "Xiaohuo, it's your turn to show your skills."

The dragon purred in response.

"Attention, all troops!"

Ryan raised his left hand, and the Fire Dragon Knights of the Cavalry Regiment immediately tightened the reins: "The first squadron will dive with me and destroy the arrow tower on the east side. The second and third squadrons will disperse and outflank and intercept any messenger dragon riders who try to escape. Leave no one alive."

Calvin frowned: "The Lord only said to destroy the rebel flag..."

“War is not a tournament, it’s a life-and-death gamble.”

Ryan's voice suddenly became unusually cold: "If you let a messenger go today, the women and children of Frost Iron City will pay the price tomorrow."

Without waiting for the adjutant to respond, Ryan lowered his body and said, "Small fire, blazing fire!"

The flaming dragon let out a deafening roar, folded its wings, and rushed towards the castle like an arrow.

The other flaming dragons followed closely behind, and the magic crossbows on both sides of the dragon saddle began to charge, emitting a dangerous buzzing sound.

The guards of Flamescale Castle apparently did not expect the attack to come so suddenly.

When the first rocket hit the east arrow tower, the alarm horn sounded belatedly. Ryan controlled the small fire to glide along the city wall, and the stone wall melted like butter as the dragon flame spewed.

“Break the door!”

The small fire turned sharply, and the dragon's tail hit the rising cast iron gate heavily.

With the harsh sound of twisting metal, the gate got stuck in mid-air.

Ryan jumped off the dragon's back, the sword flashed, and the two guards who rushed over spurted blood from their throats.

“East Gate Control!”

He blew the dragon bone whistle, and the Fire Dragon Knights immediately poured into the castle from various breakthrough points.

The well-trained warriors of the Morning Star Family quickly occupied the commanding heights and aimed their magic crossbows at the main castle of the inner city.

Ryan was about to move forward when he suddenly felt a sharp pain - the scar under his left eye began to heat up without any warning.

He instinctively rolled sideways, and a scarlet lightning brushed past his shoulder, melting a smoking pit in the ground where he had just stood.

"The Morning Star kid."

A hoarse voice came from the shadows: "Aurelian is finally willing to send his son to die?"

A hunched figure walked out slowly, leaning on a flaming staff.

Chaos Flamescale, the patriarch of the Flamescale Family, the "Fire Devil" who once dominated the North, is now an old man in his twilight years.

But those eyes - Ye Qingzhou's heart shuddered - those were definitely not the eyes of a dying person, and an unnatural vitality was beating in those scarlet pupils.

"Lord Chaos."

Ye Qingzhou saluted with his sword, his movements were impeccable: "I swear to the Morning Star that I have come to collect evidence of the Flame Scale Family's collusion with the Eternal Night Council."

The old noble laughed like an owl: "Evidence?"

He slammed his staff to the ground, and countless blood-red runes suddenly appeared on the ground in the castle courtyard. "This is the evidence you want!"

The moment the rune lit up, Ryan felt dizzy.

The burning pain in the scar of his left eye intensified, and an icy blue light leaked out of his pupil uncontrollably. He hurriedly suppressed the abnormal movement, but Chaos had already keenly noticed the abnormality.

"interesting……"

The old man licked his cracked lips. "How interesting. Did Aurelian know that his youngest son had completely transformed the Sun Bloodline in his body?"

Ye Qingzhou stopped talking nonsense, unsheathed "Chenhui" and went straight for the opponent's throat.

Chaos tapped his staff lightly, and a wall of fire appeared out of thin air, but Ryan passed through it at an incredible angle - his sword skills were not the "Winter Swordsmanship" inherited by the Morningstar Family at all, but some kind of purer and more refined sword skills.

“You are not Ryan Morningstar.”

Chaos laughed as he retreated, his voice gradually becoming younger and more excited: "It is impossible for a young man to possess such refined sword skills!"

Ye Qingzhou's sword suddenly accelerated, leaving a wound deep enough to see the bone on the old man's shoulder.

But what flowed out was not blood, but some kind of sticky black liquid.

Chaos's face began to distort, and the wrinkles fell off like shedding skin, revealing the pale, waxy skin underneath.

"The secret technique of the blood clan..."

Ye Qingzhou's pupils contracted: "You transformed yourself!"

"How can you short-lived people understand eternal life?"

Chaos - or rather the being that occupied Chaos' body - opened his mouth and revealed his sharp fangs: "How noble is the Morning Star Family? Your deal with the Eternal Night Council..."

Ye Qingzhou raised his hand and pierced its throat with a sword.

But the monster was still giggling, and the black liquid spread up the sword: "Do you think... only the Flame Scale Family... has fallen? No one can refuse eternal life, even if that person is the Grand Duke of the North..."

The icy blue light in the left eye could no longer be suppressed and burst out.

Ye Qingzhou grabbed the monster's face with his left hand and chanted a magic spell: "Star Ice Explosion!"

The cold air rushed along his palm, instantly freezing the monster into an ice sculpture.

But just before the ice covered the monster's entire body, its lips moved and uttered the last few words: "...Kane...brought back the Holy Blood...and your father...did not refuse..." (End of this chapter)