“It’s here.”

Within the protective Magic Array of Starfall Island, from the third floor of an inn, The Indestructible Fang peered through the window at the Golden Emperor Dragon that loomed in the sky, its oppressive aura pervasive, silhouetted against the light as if it were eclipsing the sun itself.

“The protective Magic Array of Tevel Duchy has been reinforced and improved generation after generation by a multitude of Casters. When powered at full capacity, regardless of the expense, it can even withstand the strikes of legendary beings for a short time.”

“Not yet legendary yourself, how do you plan to break through this national defense array?”

The Indestructible Fang’s gaze was piercing, murmuring to himself.

He was certain that Saga would be able to break the protective Magic Array of Starfall Island; he was merely curious as to what means Saga would employ to do so.

“And once this national defense array is breached…”

“Its original creator should sense it and make an appearance.”

The Indestructible Fang’s expression turned excited and serious, issuing instructions to his team members to lie low and not act rashly, to be ready to rise up with him and commence the hunt.

Meanwhile, the Golden Dragon hovered in the sky, its gaze falling upon the vast Magic Array below, taking in the entire scene of Tevel Duchy’s protective array and the streets filled with terrified commoners and guards who, despite being fully armed, could not hide the fear in their eyes.

Suddenly, Saga’s gaze shifted, turning towards another direction.

A Caster, surrounded by a dense aura of elemental brilliance, appeared in Saga’s field of vision, standing atop a towering spire, also looking up at the Golden Dragon in the sky.

Heat, high temperature, and an aura of explosion surrounded the Caster, causing the air around him to unnaturally distort.

This was a ninth-tier fire Caster.

Even in the face of the King of the Near Seas, who led the five-nation legion in a crusade, the troops dispatched by Tevel Duchy had not exhausted all their strength, guarding against the possibility of internal problems should their powerful forces be fully deployed. They had left a ninth-tier powerhouse in their rear base, and as it turned out, Tevel Duchy’s concerns were not unfounded.

“There’s also a high-ranking ninth-tier presence.”

Saga stared at the fire Caster below, thinking to himself:

“Some small duchies would be lucky to have one ninth-tier being, but Tevel Duchy has already shown three in succession.”

“Curse Mage, fire Caster, Soul Warrior… none of them are the most common or ordinary of professions.”

In the Near Seas nations, Tevel Duchy was regarded as the most powerful duchy, and not without reason. In a few decades or a century, if they had the opportunity to cultivate more high-ranking beings and give birth to a few legends, they would qualify to ascend to a kingdom-level power.

However, even the weakest kingdom has more than one legendary being. Tevel Duchy is upper-class among duchies, but there is still a significant gap in all aspects from a kingdom.

“King of the Near Seas… you come alone to our national airspace, as arrogant as the rumors say.”

The fire Caster looked up at the Golden Dragon and said in a deep voice.

“I gave you a chance, but you did not seize it. Now, I have come. Are you ready to face the arrival of destruction?”

The corners of the dragon’s mouth curled up, revealing a toothy smile as it spoke.

The Caster below fell silent for a few seconds, then spoke:

“King of the Near Seas, I know you possess great strength, enough to make you act with impunity. Our national defense array may not be able to stop your attack, but I can tell you clearly here that once the array is broken, you will also meet your end.”

“Remember, no matter how strong you are, you are not yet legendary. Perhaps you can sweep through all beings below legendary, invincible among them, but that is not enough to allow you to run wild on the territory of Tevel Duchy.”

The voice paused, and the fire Caster said earnestly:

“Leave here, or die here. These are your only two choices.”

Hearing the warning tone of the Caster, Saga narrowed his eyes and said:

“From your tone, it seems that your duchy does indeed have a legendary being.”

Without a trace of fear on his faceplate, Saga continued: “But if there is a legend, why has it not shown itself when I have already invaded your national airspace and your country is in grave danger?”

“Does this mean that your nation’s legendary being cannot act at will?”

“Otherwise, it should not be you standing before me.”

The dragon’s tone was very certain.

Saga had thought that upon entering the airspace of Tevel Duchy, he would encounter the legendary being of this nation, but what he saw instead was the fully powered protective Magic Array and a ninth-tier fire Caster who had jumped out to threaten him to leave.

This meant that either the so-called legendary being simply did not exist, and Tevel Duchy was bluffing, or their legendary being could not act at will and could only show its power at critical moments of survival. So even though Saga had already appeared menacingly in the airspace of Tevel Duchy, he still had not seen the legendary being at the first opportunity.

Below, hearing Saga’s words, the fire Caster’s face darkened.

This dragon’s mind was so meticulous… The fire Caster had thought that their nation was facing a dragon with great power but arrogant and contemptuous of everything, just like most dragons.

But now it seemed not to be the case.

After just a few simple exchanges, the danger of the Golden Dragon in front of the fire Caster’s eyes rose sharply.

If the opponent had a meticulous mind and was not purely arrogant, it meant that, knowing the situation of Tevel Duchy, he still dared to come here alone, surely with sufficient confidence, and not without considering the consequences.

After taking a deep breath, the fire Caster’s gaze pierced through the faint glow of the national defense array and stared directly at the Golden Dragon hovering in the sky, slowly saying: “King of the Near Seas, your thinking is very sharp, seemingly different from the dragons I know.”

After a pause, he continued: “I can tell you clearly.” Pointing to the protective Magic Array that covered the entire Starfall Island, the fire Caster said in a deep voice:

“This national defense array is only activated when Tevel Duchy faces a crisis. Once it is broken, a legendary Duke from a previous generation who has reached the realm of legend will awaken from his slumber and eradicate the enemies threatening Tevel Duchy.”

Hundreds of years ago.

A Duke of Tevel Duchy with decent talent successfully broke through to legendary status, but with his talent, he could only reach the first tier of legend.

There are gaps between legends, just as there are layers of power below legend. The legendary hierarchy is also divided into nine tiers, and above the ninth-tier legends are a few beings at the pinnacle of this world, who can turn clouds with a flip of the hand and rain with a cover, the demigods.

After reaching legend, the gap between each tier is even greater than below legend.

After being stuck at the entry level of legend for a long time, Duke Tevel, in order to break through to the second tier of legend and go further, collected many rare treasures and magical resources as the ruler of a nation, using the power of the entire country to help himself break through the bottleneck, and he succeeded.

This is the benefit of running a power.

Unlike legends who wander the world alone, those with their own organizations and powers can more easily gather the resources they need. For example, in the many empires that dominate this planet, what the high-levels want, they don’t even need to actively say; just let out a hint, and there will be plenty of people rushing to deliver.

However, this kind of breakthrough assisted by a large amount of magical resources is often not very safe and is considered a risky act against the heavens.

Duke Tevel succeeded, but not completely.

He did indeed break through to the second tier of legend, but in the process of using magical resources, he also burned most of his life force. After all, he only had a duchy under his command and could not produce perfect, side-effect-free magical resources.

Within the legendary hierarchy, each breakthrough should theoretically extend one’s lifespan.

However, Duke Tevel, who had reached the second tier of legend, ended up with only a decade or so of life left due to the problems encountered during the breakthrough.

Afterward, the legendary Duke left behind the protective Magic Array and then sealed his power into slumber, only to awaken from slumber when Tevel Duchy faced a crisis that the national defense array could not withstand, using his remaining life to continue to protect his territory.

Saga was not very clear about the specific situation.

However, the most important point was that once the protective Magic Array was broken, the legendary Duke would jump out, and he now knew this.

At the same time.

After hearing what the fire Caster said, the Golden Dragon’s faceplate showed no fear, but rather eagerness.

“This is exactly what I want. If the existence of a legendary being in your Tevel Duchy is just a fabrication, then I would be disappointed.”

The fire Caster’s heart sank.

In his view, after the legendary Duke awoke, it would not be a problem to deal with a dragon below legend, but every awakening of the legendary Duke would consume his limited life force, bringing him closer to death.

The high echelons of Tevel Duchy were reluctant to awaken the legendary Duke unless absolutely necessary.

“King of the Near Seas, are you seeking death?”

The fire Caster stared intently at the Golden Dragon, his gaze stern, and said:

“Yes, you can sweep through thousands of troops with few against many, invincible below legend, and this may have given you some delusion, making you think you can challenge legend from below.”

“But you overestimate yourself and underestimate the power of legend. The chasm between legend and non-legend, even you cannot cross.”

For Tevel Duchy, the best outcome would be a pyrrhic victory, and the fire Caster still hoped to persuade Saga to retreat and leave, his words full of threatening intent.

Saga, who had already considered the legendary being as a hypothetical enemy, was indifferent to the fire Caster’s threats. He no longer paid attention to the Caster and turned his focus to the huge protective Magic Array that covered the entire Starfall Island, looking it over from side to side.

With a flap of his wings, Saga’s altitude gradually decreased, coming close to the protective Magic Array.

Extending a dragon claw, he raised a sharp finger and poked at the Magic Array in front of him.

Buzz!

At the point where Saga’s sharp finger touched, ripples of energy spread out like ripples, and a large number of magical runes appeared around him, no longer hidden, but solidified into reality.

As Saga continued to exert force, more ripples spread further away.

After lightly poking the Magic Array a few times, Saga retracted his dragon claw and then stepped back a few paces, taking a deep breath while clenching his right dragon claw into a fist.

On the other side, the fire Caster’s expression changed, and his voice became more urgent:

“Do you really want to end up with both of us suffering? What good does that do you?”

Ignoring the other party’s meaning, Saga’s massive dragon body stood upright, slowly twisting his waist to gather strength, and inch by inch, he contracted his dragon fist. During this process, a large number of gravitational arcs that were invisible to the naked eye continuously converged on Saga’s dragon fist, making the giant fist covered in golden dragon scales increasingly heavy.

The power of Saga’s Superheavy Dragon Punch was not fixed.

When facing a movable target, in order to be able to hit the opponent, Saga would not gather strength for too long, allowing his Superheavy Dragon Punch to have considerable power while maintaining an excellent attack speed.

There is also the case of wanting to destroy a fixed, immovable target.

Saga could completely abandon attack speed, concentrate, and control more gravitational arcs to gather on his fist, gathering strength for a relatively long time, and then when the mass of the dragon fist reached a point where he could barely bear it, he would punch out, achieving the peak level of destructive effect.

At the same time.

Staring at the Golden Dragon’s movements, although he could not see the changes in the gravitational arcs, the oppressive feeling was overwhelming, almost solidifying the space around him, causing the fire Caster, who kept talking, to have difficulty breathing, opening his mouth but unable to make a sound.

Taking a deep breath, the fire Caster’s heart gradually calmed down, and then he began to concentrate and control the protective Magic Array.

This ninth-tier Caster, who did not exist in the public eye, was the controller of the protective Magic Array. If it were not for Saga’s arrival above Starfall Island, and now that Tevel Duchy’s defensive forces were depleted, the vast majority of Tevel Duchy’s citizens would not have had the chance to see this ninth-tier Caster, who usually hid in the shadows.

Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…

As the fire Caster focused his attention, the energy patterns of the originally faint protective Magic Array became clearly visible, countless magical runes wandering and floating in the air like stars fallen to earth.

A few seconds later.

The Golden Emperor Dragon calmly swung out the Superheavy Dragon Punch.

With a weight that was extreme, causing the surrounding air to unnaturally distort, the Superheavy Dragon Punch pressed down inch by inch with an unstoppable force onto the protective Magic Array of Starfall Island.

Boom!

A muffled sound like thunder exploded instantly.

The supposedly indestructible protective Magic Array now seemed to have been struck hard under the impact of the Superheavy Dragon Punch. At the point of impact, with it as the center, large cracks spread out like branching lightning or spider webs towards the distance, forming a huge depression inward, countless magical runes lighting up with dazzling brilliance, and then cracking and shattering continuously, one after another collapsing and disappearing.

Below.

Within the coverage of the protective Magic Array, many citizens who were hiding in their houses but still couldn’t help but peek out to observe the situation of the dragon in the sky, saw the scene unfolding before them, and couldn’t help but show expressions of extreme terror.

No matter how you looked at it, the protective Magic Array seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

“Oh my god, the King of the Near Seas is going to break in! Wasn’t it said that the protective Magic Array could stop attacks from legendary levels? Why does it seem so fragile?”

“Who can stop it?”

“Why oppose such a terrifying creature?”

“Emperor of the End, Emperor of the End… has the day of doom for our nation come?”

Inside Starfall Island, chaos ensued.

At this time, the protective Magic Array, which had almost covered the entire Starfall Island, seemed to have completely disappeared in other areas, all the magical runes seemingly concentrated in front of Saga’s Superheavy Dragon Punch.

Tevel Duchy’s protective Magic Array was not fixed in place; under the will of the controller, it could concentrate more defensive power into a specific area to withstand the attacks of powerful beings, as well as defend against large-scale strikes.

This protective Magic Array was of high quality, with a defensive effect capable of withstanding attacks from legendary beings, but that was the limit, and it could not withstand many hits. If it really faced a true legend, such an array would be broken in a few strikes.

Without a peer to stop them, legendary beings could move unobstructed anywhere in this world.

Moreover, Saga’s Superheavy Dragon Punch, after a long period of gathering strength, had reached a peak in physical impact that was beginning to show the style of legend.

With this punch.

As the controller of the protective Magic Array, the fire Caster’s face instantly turned pale, and his brain throbbed with pain, as if being pricked by needles.

The intensity of Saga’s attack exceeded the fire Caster’s imagination.

A being that was not to say infinitely close to legend, and even had not reached the ninth tier, was able to deliver such an explosive, nearly legendary heavy blow.

At the same time, looking at the violently fluctuating, collapsing, but not shattered protective Magic Array, Saga raised his eyebrows and murmured in admiration:

“Not a bad Magic Array.”

After a pause, the dragon changed his tone and said: “But that’s all it is.”

Both golden dragon fists were raised, and then under the watchful eyes of the fire Caster, whose gaze was violently fluctuating, Saga’s forelimbs swung out a flurry of afterimages, pounding non-stop on the already severely depressed protective Magic Array like a pile driver, instantly unleashing a terrifying offensive like a storm.

Although the power of these rain-like strikes was not as peak as the first strike, they were still not to be underestimated. Striking the already near-limit protective Magic Array, each hit was like a direct blow to the fire Caster’s heart, almost suffocating him.

After a mere three seconds.

Saga’s Superheavy Dragon Punch was raised and then fell heavily, landing on the protective Magic Array that was already full of cracks and severely depressed.

At this moment, under the focus of countless gazes, time seemed to stand still, all the magical runes of the entire protective Magic Array simultaneously froze, no longer flickering, and came to an abrupt halt.

Then…

Crack! Crack! Centered on the area where Saga struck, thousands of cracks extended out like lightning, shockingly spreading across the entire protective Magic Array, and then along these cracks, the huge protective Magic Array suddenly shattered, like a broken mirror, countless points of light scattering in all directions like a celestial maiden scattering flowers, raining down light over Starfall Island.

The fire Caster let out a wail, and his vision went dark.

With his spirit and will mostly invested in the protective Magic Array now shattered, the fire Caster was severely injured, falling to the ground amidst the light rain of the collapsing Magic Array like a bird with broken wings.

With just one glance at the fire Caster, Saga withdrew his gaze and looked solemnly towards a certain place on Starfall Island.

Now, with the protective Magic Array no longer in the way, Starfall Island lay bare before Saga’s eyes.

Under the shadow of the dragon that blotted out the sky, countless citizens of Tevel Duchy felt as if they were on the brink of an abyss, panicked and at a loss.

And just as the protective Magic Array collapsed, an exceptionally vast aura rose almost at the same time, appearing in Saga’s perception.

At the same time.

On the western side of Starfall Island, beneath a small hill hundreds of meters high with no man-made structures around.

In a chamber that had been sealed for a long time, a pair of murky eyes lit up from the darkness, gradually becoming sharp and piercing.

“Who is it that has shattered the protective array I left behind?”

The hundreds of meters high hill shook violently, with rocks tumbling down.

At the same time, a voice like metal scraping, as if speaking for the first time in hundreds of years, echoed through the sky, overpowering the noise of the rolling stones.