The Black Water River ferry crossing was as busy as ever.

The setting sun burned the sky a magnificent orange-red, and the river’s surface glittered as if sprinkled with flecks of gold.

A few ferry boats plied their way slowly between the two banks. The calls of the boatmen, the chatter of travelers, and the cries of livestock mingled together, creating a bustling scene.

Not far from the crossing, several cargo wagons covered with heavy canvas were parked at the edge of the woods, looking like a merchant caravan waiting to be loaded onto a boat.

The coachmen gathered in twos and threes, talking and laughing in low voices and occasionally taking a swig of ale. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

Ed, who had already broken through to the rank of Sky Knight, was among them. He wore common linen clothes, his face bearing the perfect look of exhaustion and numbness, just like an old coachman who had been on the road for years.

His gaze, however, never left the opposite bank.

A ferry slowly approached the dock on the opposite shore, and a new group of travelers boarded.

Just then, Ed’s pupils constricted slightly. Master Herast had blessed him with a Magic Spiritual Eye, allowing him to see the truth behind certain disguises.

Two people.

One was a tall man clad in black Leather Armor designed for easy movement, with a slender Thrusting Sword hanging from his waist.

His face was plain, the kind that would get lost in a crowd.

The other was a woman—or rather, a creature with the appearance of a woman.

She had a graceful figure and an exquisitely beautiful face, but behind her, four folded wings possessed a deathly, ashen color, like withered leaves.

"Thorns" Graves, "Withering" Sela.

They walked onto the ferry as if it were the most natural thing in the world, standing at the bow.

Strangely, the other passengers on the boat—be they merchants pushing cargo or women holding children—paid them no mind, as if they were nothing but thin air.

The boatman even brushed past them without the slightest flicker of an unusual expression.

The Power of a Domain had distorted the mortals’ perception.

Ed’s hand quietly gripped the Horn hidden beneath him, but he did not blow it.

The ferry pushed off from the shore and began sailing toward the Black Stone Territory.

The middle of the river, where the current was most turbulent, was also where the view was most open.

Ed hesitated no longer. He swiftly raised the Horn to his lips and blew the prearranged signal!

BLAT!

The short, piercing blast of the horn shattered the tranquility of dusk.

WHOOSH!

At almost the exact same moment, the canvas covers on the dozen or so cargo wagons by the woods were violently torn away. What lay beneath was not cargo, but rows of menacing Giant Crossbows!

The thick arms of these Giant Crossbows glinted with a cold, metallic light. The tip of each arm-thick Crossbow Arrow was coated in a disturbing, dark green substance.

Master Barnaby’s masterpiece: "Sigh of the Giant Dragon."

"Fire!"

Ed roared.

The soldiers, who were already on standby, triggered the mechanisms without a moment’s hesitation!

THRRRUMMM!

A dozen taut steel cables snapped loose in an instant, letting out a hum that set one’s teeth on edge.

The air was torn apart. A dozen bolts of death streaked across the dozens of meters, shrieking as they flew straight for the two figures on the ferry!

This sudden attack finally shattered the Domain’s illusion!

"You’re courting death!"

Graves’s expression darkened. A terrifying aura erupted from his body like a tangible shockwave, instantly sweeping across the entire ferry.

The people on the boat, who had been oblivious to them, were sent flying by this power before they could even scream. They plunged into the turbulent river one after another.

But the Four-winged Angel of Death, Sela, reacted even faster.

The moment the Crossbow Arrows were loosed, the four ashen wings on her back abruptly unfurled. A vast wave of energy shot upward, forming a barrier.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The poisoned bolts of the Giant Crossbows slammed into the barrier, erupting in violent explosions.

The barrier shook violently, its light dimming in an instant. Clearly, blocking a volley from a dozen Giant Crossbows at once was no easy task for her.

"The sky!"

Graves yelled sharply.

Sela snapped her head up. High above, the clouds were churned by an invisible force as a massive golden figure emerged from behind the orange-red haze.

It was a dragon!

It was a hundred meters long, its body entirely covered in scales that looked as if they were forged from gold, reflecting a blinding light in the setting sun.

The Golden Dragon, Sun!

For the first time, a grave expression appeared on Sela’s face.

She let out a silent shriek, her Spiritual Power forming a blade that stabbed toward the Giant Dragon in the sky.

With a powerful beat of her four wings, she transformed into a streak of black light. Instead of retreating, she advanced, taking the initiative to charge straight at Sun!

She knew that in such an open environment, being targeted by a Giant Dragon meant that running was the most foolish choice. Only by striking first—by heavily injuring or even killing this Giant Dragon—would they have any chance of escape!

As one of the Four-winged Angels, the sky was a battlefield she excelled in.

Graves, however, didn’t look up at all. He stomped heavily on the deck, unreservedly pouring his Domain Power into the ferry beneath his feet.

The fragile wooden boat groaned under the strain, and the water at its stern was violently shoved aside as if by an invisible giant hand. The entire vessel shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, ignoring the river’s current as it charged madly for the Black Stone Territory’s crossing!

As long as he could get ashore, he was confident he could handle any trouble with his "Thorns" Domain!

Everything seemed to be going according to their enemies’ predictions: one would handle the aerial threat, while the other secured a beachhead.

However, the situation changed in an instant!

The instant the Angel of Death Sela launched into the air, the sky directly above her split open without warning!

It wasn’t a spatial rift torn by Magic; it was more like a curtain being slashed open by a sharp blade.

Immediately after, a Giant Dragon slightly smaller than the Golden Dragon Sun, but with a far more violent and ferocious aura, burst out of the rift!

That dragon was covered in azure scales, the edges of which flickered with a blinding electric light. With every breath, visible arcs of electricity shot from its nostrils.

A Thunder Dragon!

The symbol of the Thunder Dragon Duchy!

A burly figure stood on the Thunder Dragon’s back. He wore heavy Full-Body Armor and wielded a Two-Handed Giant Sword as massive as his own frame. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

He didn’t even give Sela time to react. The instant the Thunder Dragon appeared, he leaped!

Gaius!

Like a Celestial Deity descending to the mortal realm, he plummeted with unstoppable momentum, his Giant Sword raised high, its tip aimed straight for Sela’s head!

The terrifying pressure made the very energy in Sela’s body stagnate for an instant.

And that wasn’t all!

On the opposite side of Gaius, space rippled once more, and a majestic Thunderbird quietly materialized, bearing the figure of a Mage.

Herast!

He gave the Magic Staff in his hand a gentle wave. There was no earth-shattering roar of Magic Power, no dazzling display of light and shadow.

An invisible ripple of Magic spread out from him as the center, instantly enveloping the airspace where Sela was located.

In the next moment, that patch of space seemed to turn into a thick mire.

Ethereal Magic Ropes materialized in the air. Like living things, they coiled around Sela from all directions, binding her limbs and restraining her four proud wings!

Sela let out an furious shriek and struggled desperately. Her energy surged wildly, but this only caused the Magic Ropes to constrict even tighter.

Her speed plummeted, and for a fatal moment, she was frozen in mid-air.

For a top-tier expert of the Domain Level like Gaius, a moment’s pause was a death sentence.