Capri Plains.

Under the scorching sun, the weed-covered land was baked until it cracked. The hot wind kicked up yellow sand, making it almost impossible to open one’s eyes. A group of a dozen or so wizards in wide black robes poked at the ground with bone staves. It was a comical sight, yet their grim faces and the heavy pressure emanating from them made the scene somewhat eerie.

Maia pressed her bone staff to the ground, concentrating on probing the Power of Darkness beneath the earth. Suddenly, her peripheral vision caught a black shadow flying toward her. She subconsciously dodged, and a bleached-white leg bone flew past her shoulder.

If she hadn’t moved just now, that leg bone would have smashed directly into her head. Maia frowned. The only person who would do something so childish was that person. She turned to look in a certain direction, where Sunny was glaring at her fiercely, clutching a bone staff.

There were quite a few young elders in the Sethite clan, but this person always loved to pick fights with her, comparing herself to Maia in every matter. Their discord was known throughout the entire Sethite clan.

The Vampires’ attack on the Elf Race had ended in a disastrous defeat. The Grand Elder had also failed to gain any advantage from the God Race, even abandoning some of their own people to escape. Meanwhile, they had occupied the Capri Plains for a long time but had yet to find the exact location of the Temple of Darkness. The atmosphere within the clan grew heavier by the day. At a time like this, Maia didn’t want to stir up any more trouble.

She waved her bone staff, burying the leg bone that had fallen to the ground, then calmly averted her gaze, pretending nothing had happened.

She didn’t want to cause trouble, but Sunny felt that Maia was ignoring her. She let out a cold snort, swung her bone staff, and a chilling black whirlwind flew toward Maia. “It’s all your fault for suggesting we go after the God Race. You bear the primary responsibility for the Grand Elder’s injury.”

Although they could manipulate the Power of Darkness and use powerful dark magic, their bodies were still very fragile. The Grand Elder’s entire right hand had been corroded away by the Power of Light, and no matter how effective the ointment, it was impossible for the hand to grow back.

Not to mention, besides the Grand Elder’s injury, they had also lost so many of their people. And all of this was because of Maia’s proposal to deal with the God Race.

The black whirlwind forced Maia back a few steps. She raised her bone staff and summoned a whirlwind of her own to counteract it, then explained patiently, “I only made a suggestion. The decision was made by the Grand Elder.” She paused for a moment before adding, “I also didn’t expect the Vampires to be defeated.”

Sunny didn’t listen to her explanation at all, shrieking, “You did it on purpose! You traitor, did you collude with the God Race and the Witches?”

“Otherwise, why didn’t you go with us to fight the God Race?”

“I’ve already said, I didn’t expect the Vampires to be defeated.” The Vampires had fallen so quickly that the werewolves and Cynthia had time to rush to the God Race’s aid. If Cynthia hadn’t been there at the time, the God Race should have been easy to swallow.

“I don’t believe you.” Sunny angrily raised her bone staff and continued to chant a spell.

A fellow wizard wanted to intervene, but Sunny was in a fit of rage and wouldn’t listen. Ever since aligning with the Lasombra Vampires, this was the first time they had been in such a sorry state. Accustomed to despising other races, Sunny simply couldn’t accept the fact that they had lost to the God Race, so she could only direct her anger at Maia, whom she had never liked.

A chilling Power of Darkness gathered at the tip of the bone staff. The bright sky instantly darkened, and the fierce wind howled even louder. Spikes formed from the Power of Darkness shot mercilessly toward Maia.

It was just a manipulation of the Power of Darkness, yet the sky had turned gloomy along with it. Maia keenly sensed that something was wrong. She looked up at the sky, where dark clouds quickly devoured the azure blue, and the light vanished from her eyes, bit by bit.

Sunny’s Power of Darkness was not yet at a level to cause this. Something was wrong… Maia’s eyes flickered. She waved her bone staff, summoning a barrier to block the incoming spikes, then roared at the wizards beside her, “Quick, go back and find the Grand Elder…”

Her voice was suddenly drowned out by a low dragon’s roar. The gales turned into hurricanes, and a wizard was swept into the sky, leaving behind only a blood-curdling scream. Maia’s eyes widened in shock. One by one, dark green Magic Dragons flew in from the horizon, their massive bodies blotting out the sun. They breathed down frost-covered dragon’s breath, and the cracked earth instantly turned into deep craters.

Sunny was startled by the dragon’s roar. She turned around just as a Magic Dragon flew over her head, its sharp claws scraping toward her shoulder. Her expression froze. A black light flashed around her, and she suddenly turned into a scarecrow, which was reduced to ashes under the dragon’s claws.

Sunny reappeared not far away, patting her chest with lingering fear, her forehead covered in a cold sweat. She muttered to herself, “What is going on…”

Why had so many Magic Dragons suddenly appeared to attack them?

Cynthia and Olivia stood on a bridge woven from vines. Several Magic Dragons flew over their heads, and the long hair whipped up by the fierce wind added a splash of color to the gloomy sky. Cynthia rested her hands leisurely on the bridge’s railing, her golden eyes watching the backs of the Magic Dragons as she said with a smile, “This place is quite suitable for the magical beasts.”

She turned to Olivia, her gaze gentle. “What does Her Majesty the Queen think?”

Olivia met her gaze, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly as she let out a soft laugh. “Not bad.”

The Sethite wizards scattered across the Capri Plains had all spotted the Magic Dragons and were trying to use dark magic to fight against the dragon’s breath raining down on them. A powerful dark aura instantly reclaimed half the territory from the Magic Dragons as the Sethite wizards all gathered in one place.

Backed by the Vampires all these years, the Sethite wizards had indeed grown powerful quickly.

“How did you know they were here?” Olivia asked, looking at the Sethite clan confronting the Magic Dragons.

The bridge beneath them was high enough that, with her excellent vantage point, Cynthia could also easily see the dense, dark mass of Sethite wizards. The Magic Dragons were enormous, covered in hard scales, and their bodies were suffused with the same Power of Darkness as the Sethite wizards. When the dark magic they used landed on the dragons, it could only unleash half its power.

“I found out by chance while investigating the witches.” Cynthia’s red lips curved into a smile, her tone casual. “The Sethite clan’s collusion with the witches wasn’t entirely to deal with the God Race. They wanted to use the witches’ divination to determine the location of the Temple of Darkness.”

“The Temple of Darkness?”

Cynthia nodded, her voice low. “The Temple of Darkness is submerged somewhere on this plain.”

From the memories of the Sethite wizards, she saw that they had learned the Temple of Darkness was in the Capri Plains from the Vampires, but the Vampires hadn’t told them its exact location. Instead, they had to search for it themselves.

What a fragile and laughable “alliance.”

“What is their purpose in looking for the Temple of Darkness?” Olivia’s brow furrowed. It didn’t sound like they wanted to destroy it. If they did, the Vampires would surely have told them the location, and the Sethite clan wouldn’t have needed to approach the witches to pinpoint it.

Although there were elders among the captured Sethite wizards, when it came to the clan’s secrets, only a few senior elders and their confidants knew the full details. The others wouldn’t be too clear on them, so the information Cynthia obtained was also vague. “It seems they’re looking for the Temple of Darkness for some kind of array.”

Cynthia shook her head and said softly, “But after searching for so long without finding it, they probably have no fate with the Temple of Darkness. It’s better to do a good deed and give it to the magical beasts.”

“They don’t look like they want to do this good deed,” Olivia said coolly, glancing at the Sethite wizards who were still confronting the Magic Dragons, unwilling to retreat.

Cynthia shrugged. She turned and leaned against the railing. Another Magic Dragon flew over their heads, its shadow enveloping her but failing to conceal her shining silver hair. “Whether they do it or not isn’t up to them.”

In any case, she didn’t mind giving the magical beasts a little help.

The Sethite wizards had destroyed a large part of the Slade Sea Region, and most of the God Race had lost their ability to fight. How could the Sethite wizards not pay a price for that?

The Power of Darkness within the Magic Dragons was dissipating even when they stood still, let alone when they fought fiercely. The fear brought on by the gradual loss of their power had already made these once-belligerent Magic Dragons timid. They circled in the sky, merely spitting mouthfuls of dragon’s breath at the Sethite wizards below, rarely mustering their Power of Darkness.

Dragon’s breath was a unique attack method for dragon-type magical beasts. It consumed very little Power of Darkness but was incredibly powerful. With dozens of Magic Dragons spitting their breath together, the Sethite wizards soon found themselves unable to withstand it.

Their attacks on the Magic Dragons were only half as effective, while they couldn’t nullify the dragons’ attacks. Coupled with the dragons’ massive size, this battle was putting them at a great disadvantage.

Losing his right hand had severely weakened the Grand Elder. Although his Power of Darkness was formidable, his body was ultimately human. Old age, weakness, and pain all affected him. He stood at the forefront of the group, but he only stared grimly at the Magic Dragons in the sky without making a move, his expression complex and unreadable.

“Grand Elder, what should we do?” Sunny’s arm had been hit by dragon’s breath, and she could no longer hold her bone staff. She retreated to the back and asked, biting her lip as she watched her clansmen being suppressed.

The Grand Elder remained silent.

Maia had already assessed the situation. A direct confrontation with these Magic Dragons was not a good choice right now. “Let’s retreat for now, Grand Elder.”

“Retreat?” Sunny looked incredulous. “We haven’t found the Temple of Darkness yet. How can we retreat?”

“We can’t afford any more casualties,” Maia said with a frown. “We’ll retreat temporarily. We can ask the Vampires for help with these Magic Dragons.”

“We can handle them,” Sunny said, unwilling to give up. “It’s just a few Magic Dragons.”

“We can’t afford any more casualties…”

“Enough.” The Grand Elder cut off their argument, ordering in a hoarse voice, “Listen to Maia. Retreat.”

They truly couldn’t afford any more casualties. Besides… the Grand Elder’s gaze passed over the Magic Dragons, looking toward the distance, but the sky was too dim, and he could see nothing but darkness. The sudden appearance of these Magic Dragons was definitely not a coincidence. The Grand Elder lowered his gaze, concealing the dark glint in his eyes. Who was targeting them, going so far as to use these magical beasts?