And along the way, Mo Han frequently spotted patrolling soldiers rigorously inspecting all suspicious individuals. Every city Mo Han passed through was the same, and he was checked numerous times throughout his journey. However, thanks to the token from the Church of Light, Mo Han managed to avoid too much trouble and proceeded relatively smoothly.

In just a few days, Mo Han arrived at the outskirts of Tianlong City. But since it was already completely dark and the city gates had long been shut and placed under strict guard, Mo Han decided it would be better to enter the following day.

Given Mo Han’s prowess, entering would have been a simple matter. Yet, due to the outbreak of war, Tianlong City was riddled with magical traps, and even above the city, mages were constantly patrolling. It was said that not even a fly could slip in unnoticed. Mo Han was not entirely clear on the locations of these magical traps; a quick scan with his divine sense revealed countless magical fluctuations from traps. To avoid unnecessary complications, Mo Han opted to rest outside for the night and enter the city early the next morning.

But just as Mo Han was resting and meditating.

Suddenly, he felt a surge of powerful magical fluctuation emanating from the west side of Tianlong City, and it was growing increasingly intense.

Mo Han inwardly grimaced, for he clearly sensed this magic was the fire-element forbidden curse, the 'Crimson Lotus Prison Fire,' and its target was unmistakably the nearby Tianlong City.

As a Saint Magister, Mo Han was perfectly aware of the destructive power of the fire-element forbidden curse, the 'Crimson Lotus Prison Fire.' Once unleashed, its might would be astonishing. However, despite the immense power of this curse, the casting distance had to be no more than a thousand meters from the target. Any further,

and the accuracy of the magic could not be precisely controlled, thus failing to cause the intended destruction.

But if that were the case, the mages casting the spell would fall squarely within the attack range of the city's catapults. The massive destructive force generated by catapults was something human strength alone could not fully withstand, and no one could guarantee the safety of those mages. They would be unable to cast their spells in peace; any slight mistake could lead to magical backlash.

The consequences of that would be extremely severe.

For this very reason, high-level mages generally would not choose this method to cast magic; it was practically equivalent to suicide.

Otherwise, when sieges occurred, the enemy only needed to dispatch enough mages to cast a single forbidden curse. Even if the city was protected by a barrier, a few such curses would overwhelm any shield, and the city would fall without a fight.

Why would there need to be such arduous fighting between the two sides, often lasting a year or more for a single war?

But why would these casters engage in such a foolish action? Did they not realize they were walking to their deaths? Just then,

Mo Han suddenly conceived a terrifying possibility: if the enemy casting this spell right now belonged to the Dragon Clan, their objective might very well be achievable. With the Dragon Clan’s terrifyingly strong magical aptitude and supreme skills, their sinister plot could very well succeed.

Caught completely off guard, the mages within Tianlong City would surely suffer losses. And Daili and the others were still inside the city.

Wouldn't that be dangerous? Thinking of this, Mo Han immediately channeled his Dou Qi to its limit, transforming his entire body into a streak of black light as he raced toward the west of the city.

At this very moment, the mages inside Tianlong City clearly felt the threat of the fire-element forbidden curse. A flash of yellow light shimmered, and in moments, the entire Tianlong City was enveloped in a massive yellow barrier. This was the signal activated by the mages responsible for protecting Tianlong City from magical assault, showcasing their swift response capability.

Simultaneously, several enormous flares suddenly shot up from within Tianlong City, soaring toward the west, instantly illuminating half the city. From time to time, mages from Tianlong City used levitation spells to ascend and observe, presumably to pinpoint the enemy's location for the city's catapults. Sure enough, after a short while, several sounds of catapults launching echoed from within the city. Several colossal dark shapes erupted from Tianlong City, flying out towards the west, delivering a fatal strike against the enemy.

Following that, the western gate of Tianlong City opened, and a contingent of cavalry clad in yellow armor poured out—the renowned Tianlong Knights of the Tianlong Empire. These Tianlong Knights, completely worthy of their title as the empire's ace legion, showed no signs of panic, maintaining perfectly aligned ranks as they charged toward the enemy outside the city. The very ground trembled beneath the synchronized gallop of their warhorses.

Normally, a counterattack of this magnitude should have been more than enough to interrupt the enemy mages’ casting process. However, seeing this, Mo Han’s unease grew, as he distinctly felt the increasingly dense fluctuation of fire-element magical energy in the air. According to conventional wisdom, if enemy mages encountered such a situation, they usually had only one option: interrupt the spell before it reached an uncontrollable stage.

Otherwise, proceeding would lead to irreversible disaster. Any slight misstep would guarantee a magical backlash, and those mages would perish without exception from the resulting feedback, with the more powerful the spell, the more enormous the backlash energy generated.

Back then, Mo Han’s master, Mo Xiuyi, was ambushed by the Bone Dragon leader just as a spell was nearing completion. This caused the magical energy to spiral out of control, resulting in an explosion that rendered everyone—both the Nether Race and humans on Blazing Flame Island—unable to escape the might of that divine curse, all perishing under the spell’s power, including Mo Xiuyi himself.

But the current situation was the exact opposite. The casters were not only continuing to cast the spell, but the aerial fluctuation of fire-element magic was growing stronger, as if they were completely unconcerned about the massive stones from the catapults or the approaching cavalry affecting them. This left only one possibility: Mo Han’s initial apprehension was correct. Those casting the forbidden curse were indeed the Dragon Clan, which is why they were confident enough to withstand Tianlong City's counterattack.

Things unfolded exactly as Mo Han suspected. As the giant stones launched by the catapults neared their targets, several figures swiftly darted into the air, intercepting the massive projectiles. The weapons in their hands left streaks of light as they swung at the stones targeting the mages. These individuals were focused solely on dealing with the boulders that threatened the mages; they paid no mind to stones that missed their mark. The two-meter-wide boulders proved incapable of resisting these figures’ attacks; they shattered into fragments upon impact, posing no threat to the mages. Besides the Dragon Clan, who else possessed such robust and monstrous physical strength?

Mo Han couldn't help but worry silently. At that moment, a deafening dragon roar echoed through the clouds, shaking the heavens. Although Mo Han had never heard a dragon roar firsthand, he was certain this immense sound belonged exclusively to the Dragon Clan, as he distinctly felt the immense pressure carried within that roar, compelling an urge to worship. However, this influence had little effect on Mo Han given his current cultivation level, but for ordinary people and animals, the effect would be extraordinary.

Indeed, Mo Han watched as the warhorses, which had been running moments before, all collapsed limply to the ground upon hearing the roar, overwhelmed by the innate pressure of the Dragon Clan’s imperial aura. The knights of the Tianlong Knights, caught completely unaware, were thrown from their saddles, crashing to the ground in a heap. Due to the inherent weight of their heavy armor, once fallen, the knights struggled to get back up; their protective gear instantly became their most fatal burden.

They could barely manage to stand, let alone attack the enemy, and naturally, the cavalry charge collapsed.

At this point, even if more cavalry were sent out, it would be too late to stop the enemy's magic. And even if they could arrive in time, if the Dragon Clan unleashed another roar, the outcome would be the same.

Meanwhile, the massive stones were being accurately intercepted by the figures hovering mid-air, posing no threat to the mages behind them.

Sure enough, after a few more moments, a colossal ball of flame slowly materialized in the sky above Tianlong City. It then descended with immense power toward the city center, landing precisely upon the protective barrier above Tianlong City. A thunderous explosion erupted as the two immense energies collided, sending a violent shockwave surging outward in all directions. Even Mo Han, far from Tianlong City, could feel the power of the fierce impact, which shook the very ground surrounding the entire city.

Leaping up—