A Catastrophe No One Can Bear

Two gladiators, having satisfied their lust, emerged from a residence, laughing loudly as they discussed the voluptuousness of the lady of the house. Behind them, a trickle of crimson blood seeped from the door's crack, the house within deathly silent.It seemed like a slight noise, like a breeze, came from behind. When the two gladiators turned their heads, they were scared out of their wits. They could only let out an "Ah" before their heads were sliced off by a swiftly spinning wind blade, their heads rolling on the ground like two balls. Blood gushed out from their yet-to-fall necks."These damn beasts, these demons, deserved death." The young magician in the mage robe was pale, though the act of killing for the first time made him uncomfortable, he felt no fear. Such inhuman beasts should be completely exterminated.It wasn't just this one magician; gradually, more magicians appeared from streets leading to the palace, and their numbers kept growing. They completely ignored the fate of the gladiators and attacked directly with magic... Wind blades, fireballs, ice arrows, earth spikes. Though they refrained from using larger spells to avoid affecting surrounding houses, these basic spells were more than enough to kill gladiators without combat qi defenses.Marquis Delta and Count Holly had been at the end of the street. Upon hearing the anguished screams of gladiators from all directions and seeing those previously arrogant fellows fleeing back in terror, over a thousand gladiators had already been killed.Marquis Delta felt his heart sink, realizing the worst scenario had come to pass. It was too late to intimidate those frenzied gladiators; the academy magicians had found out. The academy wouldn't interfere in royal family disputes, but it would never stand by and watch innocent civilians be massacred. Whichever side harmed innocents would become the academy's enemy. At this moment, Delta had destroyed the advantageous situation Duke Lind had created. Only one phrase could describe it: "A teammate as dumb as a pig!"Most of the academy's magicians had not shown up; only some junior magicians or magic apprentices were present, led by Grand Magician Belinda. Upon seeing Belinda, Delta decided to flee immediately... The teacher of King Colereck had arrived, and he had personally given her a reason to intervene. How could Belinda not help her student? Even if Duke Lind breached the palace at this moment, it would be meaningless because he was about to lose the academy's support.Without the academy's approval, even public support from an Audria prince would be useless.Delta was shocked to find that old Holly had disappeared. Cursing under his breath, he knew he couldn't care about anything else now. Having caused such a disaster, neither King Colereck nor Duke Lind would welcome him; they would both likely want him dead. His only lifeline now was Prince Alvin of Audria. If the prince valued the fact that Delta had offered him his wife, he might protect him! With that thought, he ran, not caring about the remaining gladiators.Belinda waved her magic staff, releasing a blue magic orb that exploded near Delta. Fortunately, Delta was an Earth Knight, and his qi shield was enough to withstand Belinda's hastily cast intermediate spell. Though he fell, sprawling and eating dirt, he quickly got up and fled.Sela, who had been following Belinda, couldn't stop laughing. "Yes, teacher, kill him! How dare he betray the kingdom, he deserves to die! Then Sister Seline will be free!"Belinda's face showed no expression. Sela's laughter stopped abruptly, unsure why her teacher was unhappy. "Sela, go with them to check the nearby residences and look for survivors. Do your best to help them!" The old lady sighed and said.Sela, ashamed, blushed and, with a whispered "I'm sorry, teacher," joined the other magic apprentices to enter the houses ravaged by the gladiators to look for survivors. It was a shocking experience; these future magicians, who had always stayed in their ivory tower, had never seen such horrifying and tragic scenes. Many couldn't bear it and ran out, vomiting.There were almost no survivors. The innocent civilians had been brutally murdered, and women, regardless of age, had been violated. Those bloodthirsty beasts seemed to have unleashed all their brutality at once.Initially sympathetic towards the remaining gladiators, some outraged magicians rushed out and cast spells upon them, feeling better only after seeing these demons killed.Belinda didn't stop them. A magician must see real bloodshed to truly grow; this was a necessary experience.Hundreds of civilians had died, and there were hardly any survivors. The gladiators had been thorough. Belinda hesitated about whether to go to the palace for aid. The Magic Academy adhered to its principles, and killing the gladiators could be justified by their attack on innocent civilians. But the direct conflict between Lind and Colereck at the palace was something the academy was not allowed to intervene in.While in a dilemma, a distant furious and desperate roar reached her ears, causing Belinda's face to change... The person who roared had immense power; what had happened there?Belinda quickly made a decision, instructing the others to stay and continue searching for and eliminating any remaining gladiators while she and Sela hurried towards the direction of the sound...The King's trusted aide, Urban, did not let them down, safely escorting the three princes and little Princess Claire through the underground tunnel into the Magic Academy. He had collapsed part of the tunnel, making it temporarily impassable for pursuers. When Urban pushed open the stone slab overhead and peeked out, he was taken aback... He saw an old, ugly beastman with a face full of wrinkles and fur!Old beastman Zachary was equally startled. Though he knew about the secret passage between the academy and the palace, Bartus hadn't told him its exact location. Having just finished erasing traces left by the beastmen in the sewer, he had barely relaxed when a table behind him was suddenly overturned and a head popped out.They stared at each other for a long time before realizing they recognized each other. "Urban, why did you crawl out from underground?" Zachary, who often accompanied the King on visits to the old dean Bartus, naturally knew him well and asked in surprise."Sigh, Zachary, the outside world is in chaos. Don't pretend you don't know!" Urban, holding the little princess, climbed out of the tunnel. Zachary hurried over to help pull up the three princes. "What's going on? What happened?" Zachary indeed didn't know about the commotion outside, having been focused on erasing the beastmen's traces in the sewer."It's Lind. That exile launched another rebellion tonight. Damn Shaomberg is married to his illegitimate daughter... Almost the entire city guard, nearly ten thousand men, were bribed by Shaomberg to attack the palace. The King and Queen are trapped in the council hall. They told me to escape with the princes and princess. Zachary, help me find Grand Magician Belinda and ask her to look after the princes. I must return. If His Majesty is in danger, I should be with him." Urban set down the exhausted, sleeping Claire and resolutely stood up to leave.At that moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the academy. Old Zachary opened a window in the magic tower and saw many magicians gathering. He shouted, "What's happening?""That damn Marquis Delta allowed his gladiators to massacre civilians. Many civilians are fleeing here, and we're going to kill those damn gladiators." Someone responded before hurriedly leaving with the group."Great! That damn Delta, he slaughtered civilians." Urban suddenly shouted in joy, grabbing Zachary's arm. "Zachary, Delta is Lind's accomplice; he's also a rebel. He allowed the gladiators to massacre civilians, breaking the rules. Your academy now has a reason to intervene directly. Quickly, activate the palace's magical defense shield. Protect the council hall; as long as it's protected, the King will be safe."Urban rushed out of the magic tower, familiar with the academy's layout, and ran towards the Douqi Academy.Though it was part of the academy, Holy Mage Ingor once said, "The academy is sacred and transcendent. All within it should not engage in royal affairs," thus prohibiting Douqi Academy and other literary faculties from involving themselves in politics or royal matters... at least until graduation.But today, those concerns were forgotten. Those in Douqi Academy would join the royal guard upon graduation anyway; they might as well start serving the King now! Urban hoped they would heed his call.Meanwhile, in the palace, the hesitant Lind gritted his teeth. Regardless of what happened, having breached the palace, he decided to kill Colereck first. Once he became the King of Paddington, everything else could be resolved. Even if Prince Alvin got hurt, he could compensate him with half of Paddington's treasury—Lind didn't believe anyone would dare harm an Audrian prince!Due to that unsettling roar, the city guard's attack had slowed, allowing the few remaining royal guards to block the door to the council hall. They had to regroup their Douqi warriors to assault the sturdy metal door. Just then, the building housing the council hall was enveloped by a force, with intricate carvings on the ground emitting a strange power, forming a protective shield around the hall. No matter how the Douqi warriors attacked, they couldn't break through the bubble-like glow!"Damn it! Why did the academy activate the magical defense shield? Why... Are they violating their rules to intervene in Paddington's royal affairs?" Duke Lind raged, on the brink of madness. Victory was within reach, only to be thwarted at the last moment, driving him to fury."Duke Lind, we must flee. We can't stay any longer. The academy's magicians are coming to kill us." Old Holly, panting, finally arrived and shouted at Lind from a distance, not caring how this affected the city guard's morale."Why? Why are the magicians intervening?" Lind muttered, his eyes losing focus."It's all that idiot Delta's fault. He let his gladiators rampage, killing civilians and bringing the academy's wrath." Old Holly shouted angrily.Lind spat out blood, never expecting such a lapse. At this moment, he wanted to kill Delta more than Colereck. "Damn Delta, you've ruined my best chance to reclaim the throne. I will kill you!"General Shaomberg remained the only clear-headed one. The situation was dire, and there was no time for complaints. The academy's magical defenses made it impossible for ordinary men to breach the council hall quickly. The rebellion had failed, and an escape plan was necessary. "Duke, there's no more chance. We must flee.""No, let's find Prince Alvin. If he agrees to let his guards help, four Sky Knights combined with all our might can break this defense shield. Once Colereck is dead, how can the academy intervene in royal affairs?" Lind, eyes bloodshot, refused to accept defeat and insisted on seeking Prince Alvin. General Shaomberg, helpless, agreed to continue the palace siege.Lind's path was blocked by the loyal Urban, who brought nearly a hundred Douqi Academy students and several faculty members.Exhausted after a night of fighting, the arrival of nearly a hundred Douqi warriors was a formidable force. With a loud shout, Urban led them in, "For King Colereck, kill the rebels!"General Shaomberg decided immediately, dragging Duke Lind away. The arrival of the academy's Douqi warriors was terrifying; if the magicians also arrived, they would have no chance to escape!