Nikopolas, like an arrow in mid-air, shot directly towards Fang Hong. However, just at the critical moment, the latter suddenly turned around, raised his right hand, and faced Nikopolas with the back of his hand. Before the claws of Lady Dark Giant Dragon could reach him, a golden radiance emanated from there.

Lady Dark Giant Dragon seemed to have hit a shockwave head-on, and within the light, there appeared to be something that terrified her immensely. She screamed and was pushed back, crashing heavily into the center of the square.

Fang Hong was not spared either, being hit by the residual impact and sent flying into a row of stalls at the edge of the square, tearing down a large swath of canvas before he finally came to a stop.

He felt as though he had been hit head-on by a train; his back felt as if it had split open. Looking down, he saw numerous splinters embedded in his arm, the pain piercing to the bone. But Fang Hong still clenched his teeth and immediately grabbed at the debris around him to stand up, feeling not panic but a sense of relief: "It really worked—"

He glanced at his right hand—the gaze seemed to penetrate the glove, seeing the half of the Crown Mark there.

He remembered that back at Traveler's Rest, this mark had once defended him against an attack by the Dark Giant Dragon. In fact, Fang Hong had since harbored a suspicion that this mark—or what Nikopolas had once mentioned, 'Pale Glory'—was somehow inherently connected to the Dark Giant Dragon.

He faintly felt that this mark seemed to possess the power to oppose them, but there had never been a chance to test it since there weren't as many 'Dark Giant Dragons' in the world as people imagined.

And it wasn't until today that Fang Hong truly confirmed this idea.

It must be said that he was thankful to another 'Nikopolas', but unfortunately, this is the advantage of having prior information. What Nikopolas saw and heard thirty years later couldn't affect her projection from thirty years earlier.

This was exactly his opportunity.

He looked again at the mark—

Although he was still unclear about the origin of this mark, its capabilities were gradually starting to show some signs. It seemed to manifest only at critical moments, so during Nikopolas's previous attacks, as they did not threaten his life, it remained dormant.

At this moment, an extremely angry roar came from the direction of the square: "Pale Glory!" The sound was so piercing it seemed as if it came from the depths of the Netherworld, and even Fang Hong, a bystander, could clearly hear the hatred in it.

He instinctively turned back and the sight nearly scared his soul away.

Because he saw from a distance, at the square, Nikopolas was painfully lying on the ground, with dense black smoke seeping from under her skin, inflating her like a balloon. The once-white skin was now overlaid with layers of black jade-like scales.

Her form was incessantly changing, quickly losing the shape of a human and transforming into a true Giant Dragon. Her wide-spread wings pointed towards the sky, from claw tip to wing tip stretching up to the height of six or seven stories, her massive frame now far exceeding what he had seen in Traveler's Swamp, almost blocking the night sky over the square.

Only then did Nikopolas lift her head, letting out a clear and long howl, which stirred up a gale and even swept the dust off the ground, causing Fang Hong to stagger and nearly fall. He hurriedly steadied himself against a wall.

At this moment, Nikopolas had already bent her head down; the three sharp horns in the night sky seemed particularly menacing, her golden eyes flickering, and amidst the dense black mist, there was a faint sense that brought Fang Hong back to the feeling of being at Traveler's Rest.

Only she was too big, massive beyond a mortal's imagination, this dark giant dragon almost occupying the entire Grey Oak Square.

What surprised Fang Hong was that the Nikopolas in front of him did not, as rumored, have a blinded eye. Although she indeed had a broken horn, both of her eyes were still intact, completely different from the form he had seen at Traveler's Rest.

Fang Hong was stunned for a second, then suddenly realized.

He finally understood what lay hidden beneath the ruins of Dolifen—the Dragon's Golden Eyes, that is, Nikopolas's lost Golden Star Pupil. Everyone was wrong, Xiuyuede's blinded eye had not ended up in the hands of his descendants, nor had it been forged into any Ring of Golden Flame.

As Nikopolas herself had said, it was merely an imitation, a mere deception.

Although Fang Hong still did not understand why Mazak famously claimed so, Nikopolas's truly lost eye had been here all along, under this city. He felt a sudden clarity in his mind; no wonder, no wonder this city was always enveloped in such a huge Phantom Realm—it was one of the power sources of the Dark Giant Dragon, capable of binding the tens of thousands of Resentful Spirits within this narrow area, never to find peace.

This also explained why the believers of the Dragon Worship Sect were always lingering here.

They were searching for the same thing.

But the question was—who, using illusions, buried the truth, deceived the believers of the Dragon Worship Sect, and bound Nikopolas's power here?

Three scenes, three pieces of equipment that once existed within these ruins, with the help of the Adventurer's Strength, repeatedly defeated the Dragon's Golden Eyes of Nikopolas. Fang Hong faintly saw the truth of this arrangement, like a giant chess game; anyone entering this city, the moment they entered that scenario, unwittingly stepped onto the chessboard.

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