You promised to wreak havoc on the dungeon, but instead you've got Dragon Slime!

"Today, what I want is not friend or foe, but the throne."

The air in the square suddenly tensed up as soon as the Chief of Parliament finished speaking.

Bone Dragon One let out a low growl, flapped its wings and slammed its giant claws heavily onto the obsidian surface, causing the council guards' formation to shake.

Ron stepped onto the stairs, his longsword spinning in his hand, the light of law emanating from its blade flickering erratically.

"Open the door."

The Bone Serpent Assault Team rushed to the giant gate, their fangs biting the hinges. With a muffled explosion, the obsidian gate of the Council Tower collapsed and shattered into dozens of pieces.

The interior of the tower is larger than it appears from the outside, spiraling upwards, with the surrounding walls inlaid with magical runes.

The corridors on each floor were lined with defensive troops—archers, mages, and heavily armored soldiers—densely packed together, forming a three-dimensional network of firepower.

The first wave of arrows rained down.

Ron raised his hand and released a law barrier, deflecting all the arrows. The bone shark swarm and tentacle ghosts climbed up along both sides of the corridor and charged directly into the crossbow formation.

The mage's fireball and lightning spells fell in a flurry, but were frozen into ice shards by Belin's icy tide, which made a crisp sound as they hit the ground.

On the third floor of the spiral corridor stood several high-ranking councilors from the capital, each with a illusory image of a Dharma body behind them, wielding independent laws and powers.

They attacked simultaneously, with flames, frost, gales, and rock spikes surging towards Ron from all directions.

Ron advanced instead of retreating, his blade flashing like lightning, shattering flames, dispersing frost, and breaking rock spikes.

He charged into the ranks of councilors, his blade slicing through the air, and the first councilor, along with the prime minister, was instantly cleaved in two.

Bone Dragon One charged up from the bottom of the tower, the wind pressure from its giant wings forcing the remaining councilors to lose their footing. The Bone Serpent Assault Team took the opportunity to tear them apart one by one.

Upon reaching the main hall at the top of the tower, the final barrier blocked the way.

This is the core magic circle of the main city dungeon, shaped like a floating crystal heart, with light surging inside and more than a dozen elite guards surrounding it.

The council chief stood before the magic circle, his robes fluttering in the wind: "Ron, this is the heart of the capital. If you destroy it, the entire city will be reduced to ruins."

Ron's expression was cold: "Then let's see if it deserves to stay."

He raised his hand and ordered: "All troops, break through the formation!"

Inside the tower's main hall, a suspended crystal heart, like a giant eye, pulsates slowly amidst a swirling stream of light.

Each pulsation caused the entire capital city to tremble slightly.

The magic circle guards stood in a semi-circle around the heart, their armor reflecting a cold light, their spears pointing directly at Ron.

They were the Council's last line of defense, all elite dungeon raiders, their aura heavy as an iron wall.

Bone Dragon No. 1 flapped its wings and swooped down, its dragon breath like a raging torrent, directly engulfing the outer ring of the protective formation.

The first rank of guards was burned so badly that their armor was deformed, and they fell with a dull metallic sound.

Ron drew his longsword, and the light of law condensed into a compressed arc of light on the blade.

"break."

As the blade slashed down, the spears of the second row of guards snapped in two, their breastplates were cleaved open with deep gashes, and black phantoms escaped from the cracks—a sign that their bound dungeon power had been severed.

The Chief of Parliament stood before his heart, his hands raised high, the light of the magic circle surging faster between his palms.

"Ron! Destroy it, and you'll plunge the entire capital into ruins!"

Ron approached step by step, without the slightest hesitation in his eyes.

Ruins can be rebuilt.

But your parliament, once it falls, will never be the same again.

He waved his hand, and the lurking creature emerged from the mud, attaching the bone spike pellets to the energy conduit at the bottom of its heart.

The tentacle ghost climbed up along the stream of light and sealed several key nodes with its tentacles.

"Detonate."

boom!

The impact of the explosive instantly tore open the lower half of the crystal heart, and huge cracks spread upwards, with light gushing out from within like a torrent.

Bone Dragon One pounced from the flank, its giant claws gripping the sides of the crack, and with a powerful tug—

The entire heart was torn in two.

A system notification rang in Ron's ear:

[Main city dungeon core successfully destroyed]

[Control of the capital city's main city rules is in progress]

Outside the tower, the entire radiant shield of the capital city completely disappeared, and the power supply of the magic array was completely cut off.

The defensive forces on the streets scattered, and the people stood frozen, staring up at the light that burst from the top of the tower.

Ron stood before the shattered heart and slowly sheathed his sword.

"From today onwards, the capital city will change its flag and banner."

The light of the core magic array in the main city went out completely, and the only sound in the tower's main hall was the low hum of the Bone Dragon No. 1's wings flapping.

The Chief of Parliament knelt before the shattered crystal heart, his robes stained with blood and dust. He watched Ron slowly approach, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Ron stopped in front of him and whispered, "From today onwards, there will be no parliament in the empire, only orders."

He gestured to Viser to escort the remaining high-ranking councilors to the plaza below the tower.

In the square, the flags of the three dungeons were raised simultaneously.

The black bone flag of the Black Language Cave, the gray sand flag of the Throat of the Abyss, and the dark blue flag of the Dark Sea Abyss fluttered in the morning light.

The onlookers whispered among themselves; some retreated in fear, some had complicated expressions, and others looked relieved.

Ron walked to the center of the platform, his voice echoing throughout the square: "I don't care if you are human, monster, or former enemy."

From this day forward, the capital will be a city that obeys orders.

If you follow the rules, you'll live better than before; if you act recklessly, you'll fall faster than parliament.

There were no grand pronouncements, no inflammatory rhetoric, only cold, hard facts.

The Iron Fortress was renamed the Northern Defense of the Imperial Capital, serving as the gateway for the Black Language Alliance to enter the Northern Territory;

The Dark Sea Abyss takes over all waterways and ports in the main city and is responsible for maritime trade and defense.

The lower passages and mineral veins controlled by the Abyss Throat transport resources directly into the city;

The Black Language Caves established a command center in the main city to coordinate military and political affairs of the three dungeons and the capital.

Belin was in charge of restoring order to the main city, Claudia took over finances and resource allocation, and Viser continued to oversee frontline defenses.

A system announcement sounded.

The Black Language Alliance controls the Imperial Capital city instance, ranking first in the Empire instance power rankings.

[World Mission: Overthrow the Black Language Alliance (Optional)]

Ron looked at the announcement with a calm expression.

He knew very well that this position would make him prey in everyone's eyes, but he also understood—

The difference between prey and hunter is often just one rule card.

He turned to look north, towards the desolate borderlands beyond the empire.

"I've finished playing the game here."

Next, let's switch to a larger chessboard.

The situation in the capital city had just stabilized when intelligence from the border came back.

On the northern wastelands, the banners of the Outland dungeons fluttered in the wind and snow. They belonged to "Ripprock Fortress" and "Blood Valley City," two dungeon forces that had long been hostile to the Empire, from beyond the border.

Viser laid out the latest map in front of Ron, the border marked with black symbols, showing that the Outland instance's sphere of influence was closing in on the Empire from multiple directions.

"They know the capital has changed hands and are gathering troops. They may launch an attack while you are still establishing your foothold."

Belin sneered from the side: "They see an opportunity, I see a battlefield delivered to my doorstep."

Ron pointed to two coordinates on the map.

"Rock Rift Fortress is located at the junction of the mountains, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack; Blood Valley City is located in a desolate canyon, with weak defenses but a treacherous terrain."

First, attack Blood Valley City to cut off their supply lines to Riftrock Fortress, then launch a counter-attack to encircle them.

Department

The Dark Abyss is responsible for transporting troops from the northern river channels to the lower reaches of Blood Valley City via a waterway.

The Abyss's Throat seeped along the fissures beneath the wasteland, directly entering the heart of Blood Valley City;

The main force of Black Language Cave and Bone Dragon No. 1 pressed forward head-on, forcing Rift Rock Fortress to send troops to its aid.

Claudia was responsible for mobilizing the garrison in the capital city to defend the northern border and prevent a counterattack from the outer regions.

Three days later, the Black Language Alliance's battle flag appeared on the Northern Wasteland.

Amidst the wind and snow, Bone Dragon One spread its wings and swept across the frozen plains, its dragon breath transforming into a burning trail that pointed directly towards Blood Valley City.

Viser reported via communications: "The reconnaissance team has made contact with scouts outside Blood Valley and confirmed that their defenses are weak."

Ron simply replied, "Then let's strike through in one blow, leaving nothing behind."

When Black Language's troops advanced to within five miles of Blood Valley City, the sound of muffled war drums echoed through the wasteland.

The city gates slowly opened, and the garrison of Blood Valley City marched out in formation, their blood-red cloaks standing out starkly against the snow.

Their leader rode a colossal, heavily armored beast of the wilderness, looking down at Ron.

"Ron of Black Language, welcome to your death."

Ron simply gripped his longsword tighter, his voice icy: "No, I'm here to send you all to your graves."

Outside Blood Valley City, the snow trembled in waves as the war drums shook.

The city gates swung open, and the Blood Valley defenders poured out like a crimson torrent, their cloaks fluttering in the wind and snow, each step of the armored behemoth beneath their feet causing their faces to sink an inch.

Ron stood at the front line, slowly drawing his long sword, the blade reflecting the cold, blinding light of the snow.

"The throat of the abyss, flanking from the left; the abyss of the dark sea, cutting off the retreat from downstream; the main force of the Black Language Cave, breaking through the formation head-on."