Who do you think won?

"You are the mage cultural ambassador from Kyrenia?" The commanding male voice sounded again.

Cautiously, she looked up at the man. The mysterious figure, seemingly the soul of the "Assassinate the King" squad, stood at the rear, his broad cloak hiding half his face, making it impossible to meet his eyes directly. She could only judge him by his voice and the strand of red hair draped over his shoulder... He must be handsome... probably?

Ahem, none of that mattered. She shook her head to clear away the chaotic thoughts filling her mind, striving to focus. For some reason, his voice and stature felt strangely familiar, as if he had been present in her life for a long time, yet she was certain—at least since arriving here—that she had never encountered such a tall, red-haired, handsome man.

Could it be that his voice and figure coincided perfectly with some fictional character she once adored? She embarrassedly imagined this, but kept her composure and recited a righteous speech: "Marshal Li Yi’s army will be here soon. If you’re wise, surrender now and enjoy the benefits of a first-class prisoner—priority release, premium jail privileges. If you’re caught later, there’s only death ahead. Hurry, seize your chance: lay down your arms and you’ll be spared!"

"Heh..." The mysterious man smiled, and she relaxed. If nothing went awry, the traditional plot would unfold: the mysterious man would retort, she’d counter him, he’d find her interesting and chat about life, ideals, the plan, the mastermind, and so on. She’d have a sudden revelation, and just then Li Yi would burst in with his troops, the mysterious man would escape effortlessly, leaving behind a cryptic, sentimental line: "Believe me, we will meet again." (And if readers found this line too cliché, they could imagine something even more melodramatic.)

Thus, she would protect the king, embrace the brave soldier, resolve everything, and return triumphant—cue applause and flowers!

"Kill them all. Leave no one alive." Who could have foreseen that the mysterious man, with a tilt of his head and a casual phrase, would shatter all her fantasies.

The two would-be assassins and another accomplice at the mysterious man's side, three in total, rushed at her together. Knowing herself to be useless in close combat, she could only retreat. The soldier, still recovering from his brush with death, bravely faced all three alone.

Given his strength, it would be difficult for the soldier to handle even one of them, let alone three at once. This was forcing a straight man into a hopeless situation; anyone could see he could not withstand such an assault.

The three assailants, stronger than the soldier, received their kill order and unleashed their full power. The soldier could only use all his energy to dodge attacks, but he had to be careful not to retreat too far—behind him stood a helpless woman and the king. If he didn’t fall back, it meant more danger for her and the king. Gritting his teeth, the soldier resolutely blocked a blade aimed at her with his own body.

Blood gushed forth. The soldier had no time to wipe it away as he desperately dodged the next wave of attacks.

Fresh wounds multiplied across his body like a flood. She grew anxious, but her own situation was dire. The four attackers before her coordinated with unnatural precision, as if they shared a psychic link. The moment those three began to besiege the soldier, the mysterious man acted—he waved his right hand, a transparent magical shield shimmered, expanded, found her, enveloped her. Over.

She lost to the mysterious man without a fight.

The king, for reasons unknown—drugged or bewitched—slept through the uproar, blissfully unaware, a living Sleeping Beauty. The mysterious man strode forward lightly, sidestepped the soldier’s block with a dancer’s grace, utterly ignoring her protests, and with a grand gesture sent a fierce golden bolt of lightning straight for the king’s heart.

Meanwhile, outside the chamber, people and magical beasts clashed in chaos. Marshal Li Yi’s operation was unexpectedly smooth—his years of experience were not in vain. After briefing his troops, his loyal young warriors quickly rallied to his side and stormed the palace with him at their head.

Lance and Sang Qing, armed with intelligence, finally located the chancellor’s refuge. They thought they could kill the chancellor directly, but were stalled by the magical beast army guarding the door. Lance tried several times to charge in, but was blocked by the beasts’ bodies. Though he slew many, his progress was severely hindered.

The good news after all this was that no reinforcements for the beast army had arrived; the bad news was the chancellor might already have fled elsewhere.

Just then, the sounds of Marshal Li Yi’s army battling the palace beasts reached their ears. Sang Qing and Lance decisively abandoned their current target to assist Li Yi.

By the time they arrived, the front line had shifted from the palace gates to the garden paths behind. The magical beast army, left without command, revealed their true forms. The imperial palace now resembled a grand menagerie, teeming with rare and exotic creatures. But the White Tower Kingdom had no such thing as a "Wild Magical Beast Protection Act."

To the soldiers of White Tower, these hulking, furry beasts were the embodiment of evil and cruelty. They colluded with the chancellor, kidnapped the king, and sought to seize the entire kingdom. To leave this disgrace unavenged would be an insult to their nation!

To the magical beasts, these humans had invaded their homeland, seized their beloved Acacia (whatever attachment they held to that place…), and treated their kin as prey and trophies. It was intolerable; this battle was inevitable—if they did not fight, they would not be true magical beasts!

Enemies met, eyes blazed with fury, and both sides plunged into combat. The entire palace became a slaughterhouse, bodies of men and beasts falling alike. Where moments before it had been tranquil, the White Tower palace was now transformed into a blood-soaked prison of carnage.