At this moment, within Skydragon City, the citizens had evacuated in an orderly manner, dispersing into the territories of the Rainbow Moon Empire and Sheardal Empire.
Prior to this, the city lord’s mansion had informed the millions of citizens and even conducted partial drills, making the evacuation relatively smooth.
Now, within the city, aside from eighty to ninety thousand guards and seven to eight thousand Skydragon Dark Guards, there were also tens of thousands of warriors.
These included staff from various departments of Skydragon City, disciples from sects, guards from prominent families, and some independent cultivators.
Stephanie Stuart had previously emphasized the current perilous situation to everyone, allowing them to choose whether to stay or leave.
The result was that no one left; determination shone in their eyes as they vowed to live and die with the city.
Stephanie Stuart did not force them to leave, understanding that every additional strength increased their chances of success.
Meanwhile, the city’s protective barrier had been activated, enveloping Skydragon City in a massive shield.
As Billy had mentioned before, this barrier could not be breached by anyone below the Holy Realm unless they understood arrays.
However, those above the Holy Realm could forcibly break it even without understanding arrays.
A few minutes later, Billy and a flying beast arrived at the central square where Stephanie Stuart and others had gathered.
“Billy, are you alright?” Stephanie Stuart asked upon seeing Billy.
She was already aware of Billy refining the beast core.
“Mom, don’t worry, I’m fine!” Billy reassured his mother with a calm look.
“Good!” Stephanie Stuart nodded slightly.
“Boss, they’re here!” Casey pointed towards the void ahead with a serious tone.
Everyone looked up to see a dark mass of people occupying half the sky, numbering a hundred thousand and blocking out the sun.
Soon, all one hundred thousand descended onto a large open space outside Skydragon City’s east gate.
Leading them were four men, the Sect Masters and Vice Sect Masters of the Blood and Devil Sects.
This time, they were determined to capture Billy and Skydragon City.
After all, their own lives depended on it.
For these four men, today was a matter of life or death!
“Surround them!” Valentin Fuller, the Blood Sect Sect Master, commanded loudly with a wave of his hand.
“Yes, sir!” The members of both sects responded in unison and quickly spread out.
Half of them scattered along the city walls while tens of thousands divided into four groups to guard the four city gates.
Meanwhile, Billy and Stephanie Stuart led a thousand elite Skydragon Dark Guards to the east gate outside the city.
The protective barrier could only withstand attacks from those below the Holy Realm. Billy knew he couldn’t just sit inside and wait for death.
If they allowed the enemy to attack freely, the barrier would be broken within minutes.
Besides them, there was a special group that even caught the attention of the flying beast for a while.
On one side stood twenty to thirty ‘bamboo section men,’ each two meters tall and holding bamboo swords!
The flying beast circled these ‘bamboo section men’ curiously for quite some time.
“Are you Billy?” Valentin Fuller asked Billy in a deep voice.
As he spoke, he glanced at the flying beast and the ‘bamboo section men,’ utterly confused.
Even those behind him wore puzzled expressions, unsure of what was happening.
Having a flying beast in their ranks was somewhat understandable if it was at the Sacred Beast level, comparable to a Sacred Realm expert.
But what were these ‘bamboo section men’?
Were they here for comic relief?
“You two must be the Sect Masters of the Blood and Devil Sects? State your names,” Billy said calmly to Valentin Fuller and Vance Delaney while releasing his spiritual power to probe their cultivation levels.
His heart skipped a beat as he couldn’t detect Valentin Fuller and Vance Delaney’s cultivation levels.
Even with his bloodline power activated, making him a first-rank Holy Realm cultivator, he couldn’t sense their aura.
Clearly, they were at least fifth-rank Holy Realm!
Following Valentin Fuller were two other men; one was at late third-rank Holy Realm and the other at fourth-rank Holy Realm.
Aside from these four, there were two more first-rank Holy Realm experts among their high-end forces. The rest were mostly dead by now.
Among the remaining forces, the highest cultivation levels were two half-step Holy Realm experts and dozens of mid-to-late Sacred Realm members, mostly Elder Pavilion members.
Behind them were hundreds of elite disciples from both sects with nearly a hundred at Sacred Realm and others at Divine Realm.
The remaining nearly ten thousand were ordinary disciples with varying cultivation levels.
“Blood Sect Sect Master, Valentin Fuller!”
“Devil Sect Sect Master, Vance Delaney!”
Valentin Fuller and Vance Delaney responded succinctly.
“Judging by your stance, you don’t intend to leave any survivors in Skydragon City?” Billy glanced at them.
“What do you think?” Vance Delaney responded coldly. “You killed so many of our Blood and Devil Sects’ people; you should have expected this day!”
“If you cripple your cultivation and come with us, I might spare your life!” Valentin Fuller added.
“As for everyone else here, sorry, but none will leave alive today!”
“Really?” Billy’s eyes narrowed slightly. “It’s not that you want to spare me; it’s that your master wants me alive, right?”
The forces behind Blood and Devil Sects aimed for the ‘Spiritual Line Origin.’
They wouldn’t let him die easily before obtaining it. Otherwise, if something went wrong and he perished with the ‘Spiritual Line Origin,’ all efforts would be wasted.
“I have a question I’m curious about,” Billy continued. “You know those behind you have ill intentions. If they take the ‘Spiritual Line Origin,’ they won’t treat you well.”
“They might even destroy it. If that happens, this planet’s spiritual energy will gradually deplete.”
“Even if they help you unify this planet by then, what would it mean for you?”
“That’s not your concern!” Vance Delaney responded coldly. “Since you know we’re here for the ‘Spiritual Line Origin,’ let’s not beat around the bush.”
“If you hand over the ‘Spiritual Line Origin’ and have everyone here cripple their cultivation, I might consider sparing their lives.”
“Haha, do you believe that yourself?” Billy chuckled lightly. “We killed so many of your people; would you really let us go?”
“So you’re planning to resist?” Valentin Fuller sneered. “With just these people and that useless barrier behind you?”
“How will you know if you don’t try?” Billy retorted.
“As you wish!” Valentin Fuller’s tone turned grim. He then looked at Vance Delaney. “Shall we? Let’s end this quickly to avoid complications!”
“Agreed!” Vance Delaney nodded.
“Attack!” Valentin Fuller commanded. “Everyone, kill!”
“Yes, sir!” Nearly ten thousand voices responded in unison.