Chapter 1297: The Siege Of Lyra [Part 4] "Useless tricks!" Regulus shouted after regaining his balance mid-air. "Kill everyone in sight!" Just as his subordinates were about to move, the shields above the city shattered into countless pieces, making the Celestial sneer. The shield protecting the city was very troublesome, so he was happy that it finally fell apart. With it out of the way, their fleet could charge into the city and annihilate everyone blocking their path. However, just as he thought he had finally won, the Great Killing Array expanded and stopped targeting the airships. That wasn’t good news for them. The array simply switched targets, unleashing a barrage inside the city, aiming for the invaders who weren’t wearing the teleportation crystals Thirteen had imparted to all the defenders guarding the city. Plan B was the strategy they prepared just in case the enemies successfully bypassed their defenses and entered their city. The magic cannons placed around the palace, as well as the Great Killing Array, would immediately target all hostile forces inside the city. But it didn’t end there. The moment the tower Thirteen and his subordinates had been at earlier got destroyed, the second phase of Plan B was activated. Regulus, as well as his subordinates, found themselves in the middle of a killing zone that forced them to go on the defensive. The Great Killing Array might be weaker than the one in the continent of Antares, but it was still strong enough to threaten Archons. Regulus found it annoying, and the High-Archons felt pressured. On the other hand, the Archons were on high guard after realizing that a direct hit from a single golden sword could give them serious injuries. The Archons were already hard-pressed, let alone the Monarchs and the Thrones who were with them. Forget avoiding injuries—they were fighting for their dear lives. This was Thirteen’s trap for the enemy when they entered the city. The High-Ranking Warriors might survive, but anyone below the rank of Archon would find themselves teetering between life and death. Only those who had the teleportation crystal that the young man prepared were safe from the deadly bombardments. In fact, anyone who attacked those who possessed them would find themselves the receiving end of concentrated fire from the Great Killing Array. Regulus gritted his teeth as he used his defensive artifacts to protect himself and his subordinates from the unreasonable trap Thirteen had set for them. "It looks like Plan B is working," Rhovan muttered as he stood beside the teleportation gate. The moment he activated his teleportation crystal, he was immediately sent within its vicinity. The Naga Patriarch also felt thankful that he managed to live another day. Just like everyone else, they didn’t expect that the enemy would be able to teleport inside the city, bypassing their defenses. From the start, they already expected that they might fail defending the city from their enemies. They planned to simply decrease the enemies’ numbers so that when the fight was brought to Velgrande, the opposing forces would be much more manageable to defeat. Simply put, the City of Lyra was only meant to become a slaughterhouse. Although the airships were still outside the city, the High-Ranking Warriors trapped inside it were getting a beating. Rocky emerged on the ground beside Rana, with Thirteen standing on top of its head. The Great Killing Array was set into Auto-Kill Mode, so he didn’t have to control it manually. "How’s the evacuation so far?" Thirteen asked Rana. "It’s going smoothly for now," Rana replied. All the soldiers teleported to their side, then entered the teleportation gate one by one. The moment the city was breached, the outcome was already set in stone. They had no choice but to evacuate and prepare for the final battle, which would take place in Velgrande. For now, Rana, the two High Archons, and the Archons in her command stayed put by the teleportation gate, ready to defend it at all costs. Thirteen’s officers, namely Queen Xeres, King Valtheron, Rhovan, the Naga Patriarch, and a few others, had stayed behind to oversee the evacuation process. The soldiers manning the magical cannons in the royal palace also made sure that they put enough pressure on their enemies, allowing their comrades to evacuate safely. "Where is Azrael?" Rana asked anxiously. "I don’t see him." "He is keeping Castor company," Thirteen replied. "Relax. He is strong." Thirteen sounded calm, but deep inside, he was also very worried about Cranky. He trusted Cranky’s strength, but he also knew that Castor and Regulus couldn’t be underestimated. After all, they had been Celestials for a very long time. This meant that they had accumulated enough treasures and resources to create their own trump cards, which they were now showing in today’s battle. "Fortunately, we now know they can teleport inside barriers," Rana said softly. "If not, we might suffer terribly in Velgrande." Thirteen nodded in agreement. Now that he knew that their enemy could do something like that, he could find a way to counter it with Rune Magic, preventing them from entering Velgrande using extraordinary means. "I thought the battle would last longer," Zen Avior commented. "Also, most of their forces are safe since the airships were still outside the city when Plan B was executed." "Look at the bright side," Rana smiled. "At least we now know their tricks. Besides, we suffered no casualties—unlike the enemy. Only a few, but significantly more than ours." The screams of the Monarchs, Thrones, and even a handful of Archons had reached their ears. Some of them had been obliterated by the Golden Swords, while the rest were annihilated by the magical cannons that were still firing nonstop. "Activate the Barriers!" Thirteen ordered. As soon as he finished giving his orders, everyone realized that the airships had already reached the city walls and were now unleashing a barrage in their direction. The barrier protecting the teleportation gate and its surroundings came to life, enduring the attacks that were now coming from the bulk of the enemy’s army. "Speed up the evacuation!" Thirteen ordered. "We need everyone inside that teleportation gate now. Queen Xeres, evacuate the Jinns as well. We will take it from here." The beautiful Queen of the Jinns nodded and ordered her people to speed up the evacuation process. "You said that nothing will get past you, right?" Thirteen said to Rana in a teasing tone. "Can you put your word to the test?" "We’ll see." Rana smiled faintly as she pressed her hands together as if she were praying. Rana wasn’t someone who specialized in offensive attacks. No, she was a Celestial who specialized in defense! This was the reason why she had been appointed the City Lord of Lyra, which was meant to protect the fortress and thus prevent anyone from attacking the capital city of Velgrande. —------- A/N: I’m terribly sorry that I wasn’t able to post Chapters yesterday. I felt so sick that I thought I was about to have a fever. My head was hurting so bad, and I just couldn’t write even if I wanted to. I didn’t want to get my condition to get worse, so I decided to take a day off from writing System’s POV because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to give it justice in my state. —------