Chapter 2148 2158

Chapter 2148 2158
Outside the outskirts of Phoenix City, a fleet of sleek flying transports sat idling across the fields. Drax stepped down from the lead vessel, his expression as dark as a thunderstorm.
Inside the city, massive metallic defensive walls were rapidly rising from the ground, causing the earth itself to tremble faintly.
Down below, elite operatives poured out of the transports in a steady, unbroken stream. While the invading force wasn't massive—numbering just over a thousand personnel—every single one of them was at least a Flame-Tier master or higher.
This was the true, terrifying foundation of the Eight Great Powers! Each of the ruling factions commanded upwards of a thousand Flame-Tier elites directly under their banner.
Beyond that, their affiliated regional forces had mobilized en masse. The Blood Clan alone had dispatched one Permanent-Tier elder, three peak Saint-Tier veterans, and roughly two hundred frontline Flame-Tier fighters to converge on this single point.
Troop transports continued to disgorge wave after wave of purple-grade Pioneers—war machines deployed in staggering numbers, roughly two thousand strong.
Though their total head count barely scraped three thousand, this combined armada possessed enough raw destructive power to utterly obliterate any independent faction existing outside the Eight Great Powers.
The city's defenders had detected the approaching armada long before it broke through the airspace. Now, standing atop the eastern gate tower, Gwen and the elderly woman looked out across the horizon, their faces etched with grave solemnity.
Ever since returning to Phoenix City, Gwen had received the electrifying news that Liam had successfully broken through to the Permanent-Tier and slain two Soul Pavilion elders in the process.
She had been ecstatic at the time, but she hadn't anticipated that the retaliation would materialize this fast.
"That man in the lead... must be the Master of the Soul Pavilion. He's terrifyingly strong," Gwen murmured, drawing in a sharp breath.
While the elderly woman was only a standard Permanent-Tier master, and Gwen had just recently cracked that same tier, she possessed the legacy of the Phoenix Goddess. Even so, standing against someone of Drax's caliber, she could acutely sense the sheer gap in their foundations.
Just then, her eyes caught a sudden flash of movement as a single figure dropped from the sky ahead, instantly unfurling a razor-sharp, piercing aura into the firmament.
The man looked disheveled and unkempt, a wine gourd dangling loosely from his belt. Clutching an ordinary sword, he stood his ground and fixed his gaze on Drax. "What... brings you to my disciple's doorstep?"
Gwen’s face lit up with overwhelming joy the moment she spotted the Drunkard.
The elderly woman's expression similarly shifted as she whispered, "Master Drunkard."
Up ahead, Drax locked his eyes onto the Drunkard with venomous intensity. "Geralt, Liam killed two Permanent-Tier elders of the Soul Pavilion. Today, I am going to level Phoenix City, and you can't stop it!"
"You think you can just slaughter a city because you feel like it?" the Drunkard scoffed with supreme disdain. "My disciple was away on Promise Island, and Drax followed him there. What was he even doing?"
"I simply sent Drax to deliver a message to Bella Hadid. Instead, they discovered that Stella possessed the Prophecy characteristic, so they joined forces to strike, and Liam happened to be caught in the middle," Drax replied coldly. "Furthermore, Liam protected the target holding the Prophecy characteristic. I'd say you ought to properly discipline your precious disciple."
"Since when is a Prophecy characteristic something you can just claim to see?" the Drunkard sneered. "The Prophecy characteristic is unique; it was sealed away within the ancient parchment scrolls ages ago. How could anyone possibly awaken it? Drax clearly just cooked up a flimsy excuse to assassinate Liam, only for his luck to run dry when Liam broke through to the Permanent-Tier on the spot and hacked two of your Soul Pavilion lackeys to pieces."
He let out a dry, mocking laugh. "Frankly, I haven't even brought my ledger to the Soul Pavilion to settle that score yet, and here you are waltzing right up to my door."
"I told you, you cannot stop this!" Drax glared hatefully at the Drunkard. "The three of us will pin you down here, while the rest of our forces step in and flatten Phoenix City to dust!"
The Drunkard's gaze flickered. With a blinding, fluid motion, his longsword flashed out of its scabbard and snapped back into place instantly.
As the blade settled, a deep, endlessly long fissure ripped directly across the earth between them. The Drunkard fixed Drax with a glacial stare. "No matter who you are, anyone who crosses this line dies!"
Rage burned like wildfire in Drax's eyes. He snarled, "I repeat—today, you won't be able to hold us back!"
Swish!
Right at that moment, a brilliant streak of fire tore across the sky. A longsword wreathed in roaring flames plunged into the ground right before them.
As the burning blade landed, both the Drunkard and Drax's group reacted instantly, blurting out the exact same word in unison: "Phoenix Sword!"
Simultaneously, two swift figures dashed toward the eastern wall from deep within the city. The Drunkard's lips curled into an amused, knowing smirk. "Well, well... looks like Gwen has stepped into the Permanent-Tier too."
He turned his head slightly, locking eyes with Drax once more. "So, how long do you honestly think you can last under my blade?"
"You can't kill me!" Drax growled, his voice thick with cold defiance as he raised his arm. "And I meant what I said—today, Phoenix City will fall!"
Clang!