The Silvermoon Knight would die in the mountains of the orcs, not in the desert.
Known destiny was immutable—an absolute law. Therefore, no matter how hard Anbaixiu tried, it was impossible to slay the Silvermoon Knight here.
That was why Anbaixiu had been scared out of his wits at first. If he went against an old man who simply could not die, any struggle on his part would be utterly futile.
Yet he soon realized something crucial. Since the Silvermoon Knight did not meet his end here, the trial from the Goddess of Fate could not be asking Anbaixiu to kill him.
The moment that clicked, Anbaixiu calmed down at once, which led him to notice another detail.
The Silvermoon Knight had unleashed only a single sword strike, and he had not followed up with an attack.
Currently, about a dozen figures were flying in the sky. Six of them were bathed in holy radiance, presumably Ryan's legendary paladins, while the remaining dozen or so were legends from the Dwarf Kingdom. Anbaixiu didn't know specifically who they were; he only knew that the two sides had originally been evenly matched, but after that single stroke from the Silvermoon Knight, the Dwarf Kingdom's forces had been instantly cut down by a third.
That terrifying old monster had butchered four or five legends in one swing. It was downright absurd.
Beyond having an overpowered figure like the Silvermoon Knight on their side, Ryan's other legendary paladins were formidable as well. They were thrashing the surviving dwarven legends, beating them into utter disarray.
Aside from the aerial combat, the sounds of marching troops echoed outside Sweetdew City. Alarms wailed ceaselessly atop the ramparts, and magitech cannons roared. Clearly, Ryan's army had also arrived outside the walls.
Caught in a pincer attack from above and below, the fall of Sweetdew City seemed only a matter of time.
That raised the question: did Sweetdew City truly fall?
When Anbaixiu had crossed paths with Harvey in his original timeline, it had been in Sweetdew City. In other words, months from now, Sweetdew City would still remain under the Dwarf Kingdom's control.
So how had Sweetdew City survived such a ferocious onslaught?
"We are the fated variables," Anbaixiu said to Catherine. "The trial fate has given me is to defend this city."
"Defend the city? Are we supposed to stand on the walls and help them fight?" Catherine frowned slightly. While that would be straightforward, wouldn't it dramatically increase their chances of exposure?
Anbaixiu shook his head. "Don't worry. You won't need to lift a finger in this battle."
Catherine wanted to ask why, eager to know where Anbaixiu found the confidence to preserve Sweetdew City in the face of the Silvermoon Knight's assault. But Anbaixiu gave her no time for explanations, soaring straight toward the sky.
Catherine watched his ascending figure, her heart filled with worry.
Anbaixiu, however, was brimming with confidence. Midair, he opened his private extradimensional space and summoned Naomi.
A massive silver dragon emerged from the dimensional portal, letting out an earth-shattering roar that startled everyone on the battlefield.
Where had a silver dragon come from?
Having rested for so long, Naomi had regained most of her strength. Traveling through time and space again might still be beyond her, but joining a battle was no longer a problem.
Mounted on Naomi's back, Anbaixiu charged directly into the aerial fray.
An elongated magitech rifle materialized in his hands—a weapon modified who knew how many times, its firepower far outstripping the original model.
He pulled the trigger, and the muzzle spat out a rapidly spinning white bullet.
No matter how chaotic the battlefield or how fierce the high-altitude winds, the power of a legendary ranger allowed Anbaixiu to strike targets with pinpoint accuracy in any extreme condition.
The round hit a paladin who was hacking relentlessly at a dwarven legend. The bullet failed to pierce the armor, but upon shattering, the white bone powder within rapidly proliferated. In less than a second, it grew into a cage of bone, trapping the paladin inside.
Bone spurred by this virus was fragile; a legendary paladin could shatter it with a casual ram. But Anbaixiu gave him no such opening.
Round after round struck home, thickening the bony enclosure.
No sooner had a Divine Smite cleaved through one layer than a second cage formed. Relentlessly layered, the bone prison kept the legendary paladin firmly locked within.
The trapped paladin tried to detonate the bone with Holy Light, but this was no necromancy—it was biotechnology from the City of Alchemy. Holy Light had little effect, far inferior to simply hacking it apart with his sword.
By subduing a paladin right off the bat, Anbaixiu made his allegiance clear. The dwarven legends immediately recognized him as an ally. Though they had no idea where this silver-armored dragon knight dressed like a paladin had come from, now was not the time to ponder it. They had to seize the opportunity to counterattack.
The dwarven legends rallied together, filling the sky with dazzling flashes of light and shadow that erupted like brilliant fireworks.
Anbaixiu was soon targeted by Ryan's paladins. A Divine Smite came slashing in from the flank, aiming straight for his head.
Without sparing it a glance, Anbaixiu remained focused on using his magitech rifle to harass the other paladins and help the dwarven legends regain the upper hand.
As for the Divine Smite hurled at him, it struck nothing but empty air.
With a single flap of Naomi's wings, she carried Anbaixiu away at unbelievable speed.
A time dragon's body was permanently imbued with the effects of Haste. Despite Naomi's massive bulk, her speed far outmatched these paladins. That was precisely why Anbaixiu had brought her along—a ranger going into combat naturally needed an animal companion; otherwise, he couldn't unleash half his fighting potential.
Having dodged the paladin's Divine Smite, Naomi whipped her head around and unleashed a mist-like breath weapon.
A time dragon's breath was no ordinary fire, but a special energy infused with the power of time. The surging breath spanned an immense area, leaving the paladin no room to evade as he was engulfed by the silver mist.
A clattering racket rang out as pieces of the paladin's armor began dropping away.
The once-gleaming silver-white plate became mottled with rust, as though centuries had passed.
Such was the power of time. A time dragon's breath caused the target to randomly leap forward in time. With good fortune, only a day or two might pass; with poor luck, one would end up like this paladin—instantly aged by decades, his armor turned to junk.
Even so, finishing off a legendary paladin wasn't that simple. The Holy Light around him flared like a miniature sun, burning away all adverse conditions. He reverted from a white-haired elder to a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties.
Yet while the status ailments were purged, most of his armor had crumbled, and the longsword in his hand was still pitted with rust.
Anbaixiu showed no mercy. Raising an arm, he unleashed a streak of cold light from his palm, thrusting straight toward the paladin.
Without armor, the paladin's defenses were halved. Faced with Anbaixiu's sneak attack, he had no choice but to erect a shield of Holy Light and raise his rusted blade to parry.
The razor-sharp glint of cold light punched through the rusted sword first, cleaved effortlessly through the Holy Light barrier, and impaled his body.
The paladin felt as though a black hole had been punched into him. The vast well of Holy Light within his body was drained away through the wound, leaving him sapped of strength. Worse yet, the spike punctured the Fly spell sustaining him, leaving him to plunge from the sky.
Anbaixiu was thoroughly satisfied with the result. This was Catherine's anti-magic weapon.
It was a legendary boon the Elven Queen had acquired upon advancing to a legendary ranger, purpose-built to shatter all energy defenses. Anbaixiu had nearly suffered at its hands himself; even the magical barrier generated by the Golden Throne had been punctured with a single thrust.
That alone wasn't absurd, since Catherine had originally been the only one capable of crafting such weapons.
Yet who could have foreseen that the Elven Queen would also awaken a legendary boon like Selfless Sharing? The elves had gained countless artisans capable of forging anti-magic weapons, equipping their troops en masse. Had it come to an all-out war, the elves would have been invincible before their self-destruction. The Silvermoon Knight's moonlight strike was indeed unblockable, but against tens of thousands of elven archers, how many anti-magic arrows could he possibly deflect?
Right now, the elves were only just preparing to invade the City of Alchemy, so these anti-magic weapons were likely still unknown to the wider world.
Using this extravagant gear, Anbaixiu had taken down a paladin, and Ryan's side immediately sensed that something was amiss.
Throughout the preceding clash, Ryan had maintained the upper hand against the dwarven legends. With the Silvermoon Knight anchoring the line, they had felt invincible.
Who would have guessed a dragon knight would suddenly appear out of nowhere, wielding such terrifying combat prowess?
Without a moment's hesitation, the old man hovering in the distance flew toward the falling paladin, caught him securely, and barked an order: "Retreat!"
The remaining paladins hesitated not a bit. They hurled every magic item they could muster, using whatever means necessary to disengage, then followed the Silvermoon Knight in his withdrawal.
Watching the old man's departing back, Anbaixiu finally let out a sigh of relief.
His gamble had paid off. The old man only had enough in him for that single strike. After taking out several legends with one blow, he could do nothing but spectate from afar. Perhaps at death's door he could muster another burst of formidable combat power, but so long as he wasn't backed into a corner, he wouldn't force himself.
Cheers erupted around Anbaixiu as the surviving dwarven legends vented their lingering terror and fury with all their might.
With the battle in the sky concluded, Ryan's ground forces seemed to halt their offensive as well. The people of Ryan treasured their troops dearly and would never squander them pointlessly. Since the clash of legends had failed to yield an overwhelming victory, their only option was to pull back and regroup.
At that moment, a dwarf flew over to Anbaixiu's side, his voice brimming with gratitude. "Thank you so very much, Sir Dragon Knight. Please, tell me your name. I, Hoffman O'Lai, must know who saved my life."
"Hoffman?"
Anbaixiu turned to look at the dwarf hovering beside him.
The dwarf's armor was battered and ruined, scorched with burns left by Holy Light. His right arm was severed clean at the elbow, blood still welling from the stump.
Could this be... Hoffman Ironfist?
Looking at the shivering dwarf, Anbaixiu found it hard to imagine that this man would become the future Hand of the King in the Dwarf Kingdom.
After a moment's thought, Anbaixiu replied, "My name is Davion—just a passing dragon knight."
Chapter 221