### Chapter 9: Southern Line (12)
==============================
Lilith’s long legs gracefully sauntered along the city wall, and even the Emperor, who was used to the beauties of his clan, found himself spellbound at that moment.
But the soldiers on the wall quickly snapped back to reality.
The enemy leader was right in front of them; how could they let this woman strut around in front of the Emperor without reacting?
With a command, over a dozen A-class warriors, buffed up by the Harpist, took a synchronized dive at their target armed with knives.
Yet, the golden-haired beauty, with her enviable silhouette, showed no signs of resistance. She presented her back, almost as if she were inviting them to take a whack at her. It was as if she were asking for a one-way ticket to the afterlife!
Just as their sharp blades were about to make contact with Lilith, an astonishing event unfolded.
Her solid body suddenly appeared as if it were made of smoke, and the knives glided right through her chest without encountering any resistance whatsoever.
It was like that golden-haired gal had morphed into a legendary ghost—those mortal weapons couldn’t touch her at all!
“What the heck! What’s going on here?!”
“Is this a ghost story or what?”
The warriors panicked; it had been years since they encountered anything this bizarre.
“Fall back!”
The Emperor roared. “We can’t embarrass ourselves in front of everyone!”
Lilith chuckled, “Oh, Emperor, if you want to leave this Subspace, you’ll have to pass my test first. Otherwise, I don’t mind keeping you here forever in this bizarre realm where everyone can see you but touch you not.”
“Hah, you think this is still 800 years ago?”
The Emperor whipped out an exquisitely compact magic staff from his robe, and slowly levitated back into the air.
Bolstered by the power of faith, his spellcasting looked as holy as a ritual, as if interrupting him would be a sin of epic proportions.
Lilith didn’t attempt to stop him; rather, she smiled brightly as the Emperor completed his casting at breakneck speed.
“Demon Lady, you’ve given me no choice! Prepare to meet your doom!”
The moment the words left his lips, a volley of golden fireballs rained down from above, fast enough to leave anyone dizzy.
Whether it was the soldiers on the walls or the citizens below, they all stared in horror at the apocalyptic scene of meteors crashing down.
The sheer magnitude of power seemed ready to obliterate the entire Imperial Capital.
People screamed and scrambled to escape the danger zone, trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the massive fireballs.
But alas, it was too late.
Before the panicked masses could take even a few steps, the meteors slammed down, accompanied by the cacophony of their terrified yells.
“Boom! Boom!”
With a series of explosive sounds, anyone near the center of the blast thought they were done for.
But to their surprise, aside from a few bruises from their own chaotic retreat, they stood unharmed. The fire pits that appeared in front of them were indeed fiery, but they didn’t feel a tad bit warm at all!
This left them slack-jawed, utterly bewildered as to what had just happened.
No one had the answers.
The barrage of fireballs had drained most of Bel’s strength.
Though the expenditure was steep, the effect was certainly remarkable.
Lilith’s original location was engulfed in flames, and she had seemingly vanished, as if the fire had turned her to ash.
Bel wiped the sweat from his brow and, after confirming with his surroundings that she was indeed missing, finally let out a sigh of relief.
Hah, turns out she was just a big talker; he wasted almost all his faith power. Had he known, he would’ve saved some for a rainy day!
But then, he quickly realized something was amiss.
If Lilith were out of the picture, this Subspace should also be dissolved.
So why, amidst the remnants of the meteors, were there mischievous little boys jumping around, seemingly discovering a new land while untouched by the flames?
Dammit!
The Emperor suddenly felt a strong pang of anxiety.
Without a second thought, he rolled forward, ungraceful as hell, but he didn’t care about dignity at that moment.
Lilith seemed to materialize out of thin air, standing at the exact spot Bel had just vacated, brandishing a dagger, utterly silent.
She licked her lips in disappointment. “Didn’t expect your reaction speed to be somewhat decent.”
“d*mn it! d*mn it!”
Bel was utterly blindsided; how had his mighty meteor barrage, which had required almost all his energy, not touched her? Fury washed over him, mingled with a sense of defeat.
“Emperor, your ancestors plotted to eliminate Hardy’s descendants—one of the Four Warriors—because they feared the assassin’s lineage would threaten your throne.
But on this demon-infested land, there’s more than just Hardy who’s skilled in the art of assassination.”
Lilith whispered softly.
Bel furrowed his brows tightly. “Impossible! Only those of the Four Warriors bl**d can practice high-level occupations other than warrior. Unless you’re a stray descendant of Hardy!”
“Ha! That’s laughable! You think I’m a descendant of Hardy? Pfft! I’ve never even looked up to those so-called Four Warriors!”
Suddenly, Lilith let out a howl.
From within the massive Beast Legion, four enormous beasts identical to the first emerged.
Each of them towered as high as the city wall, and with every step they took, the ground trembled.
Everyone’s expression changed drastically.
They had thought the beast the Emperor had slain was the enemy’s ace in the hole, but to their shock, there were several more identical giants within the ranks of the enemy!
It was as if they understood Lilith’s command; they didn’t head south to attack but instead circled east towards the statues of the Four Warriors that had stood for thousands of years, which loomed like massive beacons. Each traveler arriving in the Imperial Capital was awed by their greatness and the irreplaceable value they held for the Empire.
Then, in an instant, all four massive beasts accelerated.
Their target was unmistakable.
In the face of the near-desperate cries from the crowd, the four beasts simultaneously crashed into the center of the statue with all their might.
“Crack! Crack!”
Cracks began to spread across the statue’s surface, and in just a couple of seconds, the four massive figures split in two, top halves crashing down in pieces.
All that remained were four pedestals, still partially holding on to the lower sections of their legs.
To the people of the Imperial Capital, who had been accustomed to the Four Warriors statues standing proudly outside the walls, it was like a part of their lives—they hardly paid attention to them.
In fact, many among them had become so immersed in their faith in the God of Light that they had forgotten the true significance of the Four Warriors to the Empire.
But just moments ago, when the statues came crashing down, they suddenly realized that their hearts felt hollow, like a thread connecting them to thousands of years of legacy snapped in an instant.
“d*mn it! What have you done?!” Bel nearly lost his mind.
Lilith responded with a cold laugh, “What’s so strange? Aren’t you the son of the God of Light? Why are you concerned about the Four Warriors?”
