Zhou Chen picked up his pen, wrote "Obtain one kilogram of gold" on the first line, and passed the form over.

Without a word, the teller tossed the form into a transparent box that looked like it was made of crystal. The form was instantly engulfed in flames, burning away into nothing without even leaving any ash.

The next second, Zhou Chen felt a sudden weight on his lap. Looking down, he saw a glittering bar of gold, a full kilogram, had appeared out of thin air.

A bar of gold appeared on the Plague Doctor’s lap as well.

One kilogram was the maximum amount of gold one could acquire in the City of Dreams.

At the current market price, one kilogram of gold could be sold for sixty thousand US dollars. For the two of them, that was a hundred and twenty thousand US dollars, which was a considerable sum.

Without giving it much thought, the two of them took the gold and returned to the real world.

In the car, the gold glittered mesmerizingly in the moonlight. Ahead was no longer the fantastical City of Dreams, but a stretch of barren, wild mountains. Farther in the distance were the bright lights of City No. 19, about five kilometers away.

Zhou Chen gave the gold to the Plague Doctor, telling him to put it away in his Storage Artifact. He then started the car and drove toward City No. 19.

「11:47 PM.」

Two fighter jets in Invisibility mode flew over City No. 19, bombing important targets like the municipal government and military district. As the missiles slammed into the ground, columns of Fiery Fire, symbols of destruction, rose from the earth. The unprepared Government Army was caught completely off guard. The municipal building, the military district, and other vital areas were instantly reduced to rubble, buried in a sea of fire.

Ear-piercing air-raid sirens blared through the brightly-lit city as people flooded the streets, running frantically toward the nearest air-raid shelters.

Amidst the scorched ruins, BOOM! A deformed suit of Dashing Pegasus Armor smashed through the rubble and shot out from underground, hovering a hundred meters in the air. Its faceplate opened, revealing a handsome, blood-stained face—it was Ockham, the nephew of the President of North Carolina.

He stared furiously into the distance and saw a black tide flooding in from outside the city. It was not black water, but the raiding Salvation Army!

"Damn it! How did they get to City No. 19? How dare they!" Ockham gritted his teeth. ’City No. 19 is behind the Government Army’s front lines. Aren’t they afraid of being surrounded and wiped out for pushing this deep?’

Suddenly, a rocket flew toward him, trailing a long tail of fire. With a single thought from Ockham, a violent gust of wind swept out, condensing into a sharp Qi Blade that split the rocket in two, causing it to explode in mid-air like a firework.

Immediately after, dozens, then hundreds of rockets rose from the ground. The dense lights filled the sky, seeming to set the entire night on fire and rain down bloody destruction.

Ockham clapped his hands together forcefully. A hurricane, even more furious than before, swept out with him at its center. One after another, sharp blades of wind sliced through the rising rockets, blowing them up. As a Tier Three Wind Element Ascender, the sky was his primary battlefield; there was no way he would be hit by rockets.

’I need to get out of here. Since the Salvation Army decided to risk attacking City No. 19, they must be dead set on succeeding. They’ll have deployed a large number of Ascenders. The military district has suffered heavy losses and probably can’t hold. I’m a Wind Ascender, I can still make a run for it...’ Ockham’s thoughts raced. A pair of rapidly spinning Wind Wings formed behind him. Just as he was about to flap them and escape, a cold chain suddenly snaked around his ankle.

He snapped his head down to look. The taut chain spanned a hundred meters, extending up from the ground.

On the ground below, the Plague Doctor gripped the Chain of Sin and, together with Zhou Chen, gave it a powerful tug, yanking the unsuspecting Ockham from the sky.

THUD!

Ockham crashed heavily to the ground. He reacted instantly, a powerful shockwave erupting from his body to blast Zhou Chen and the Plague Doctor away.

He shot skyward like a cannonball, having no desire to fight, only wanting to flee. But to his horror, he discovered more dark chains had wrapped around his body. The chains writhed and tightened like sinister vipers, binding his legs firmly, then his waist. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not break free.

Ockham flapped his Wind Wings with all his might. He could unleash terrifying, supersonic speed in an instant, yet the ends of the chains seemed to be anchored deep within the earth, holding him fast.

The Purifying Fire ignited on the Chain of Sin, burning the wickedness in Ockham’s soul and making him shriek in agony. The moment his struggles weakened, Zhou Chen and the Plague Doctor combined their strength and dragged him from the sky.

More and more Chains of Sin appeared with the grinding of steel. As if he’d fallen into a snake pit, Ockham was trussed up in the writhing chains, unable to move. As the chains constricted, his Dashing Pegasus Armor shattered with a CRACK. The Plague Doctor walked up, summoned the Sword of Law, and cut off Ockham’s head in one swing.

This battle was over, but the one elsewhere was just beginning. It, too, ended quickly.

The Government Army was caught unprepared by the missile strike. Key areas like the military district were torched in the bombardment, leaving few survivors. Those who were lucky enough to be alive were mostly severely wounded or crippled. The Salvation Army smoothly cleaned up the remaining resistance and occupied City No. 19 in under half an hour.

By the time the North Carolina Government learned what had happened, it was already too late.

After occupying City No. 19, the first thing the Salvation Army did was have its Warriors go to sleep in batches to try and enter the City of Dreams.

The Salvation Army had sent a regiment this time, three thousand people in total. Five hundred of them went to sleep in each batch.

In truth, it wasn’t easy to qualify for the City of Dreams. The high spiritual aptitude requirement alone was an extremely high threshold.

After more than an hour, only seven of the three thousand people were qualified. They successfully entered the City of Dreams and each brought out a kilogram of gold.

"Counting the two of us, that’s nine kilograms of gold. At sixty thousand US dollars per kilogram, that makes five hundred and forty thousand US dollars. That’s quite a lot," Zhou Chen said.

"Other regiments will be arriving in succession. Hopefully, there will be more qualified people among them." Having secured so much military funding, the Plague Doctor was in a rare good mood.

Meanwhile, the North Carolina Government finally received the news that the City of Dreams had appeared in City No. 19. They finally understood why the Salvation Army had suddenly attacked the city. Many were so angry they ground their teeth, certain that the Star Association had told the Salvation Army this secret.

「Government Army Headquarters.」

Iron-blooded Colonel Jason stared impassively at the intelligence report on the "City of Dreams," not speaking for a long time.

After a long while, he tossed the intelligence file aside and issued an order: "Divert at least one-third of the army to attack City No. 19."

The Salvation Army clearly intended to use City No. 19 as a temporary base to obtain enough gold from the City of Dreams for their war chest.

Furthermore, City No. 19 was located at the flank and rear of the Government Army’s Northern War Zone. Letting the Salvation Army successfully occupy it would have a huge impact on the Northern War Zone, like a dagger pointed at their side. They could absolutely not be allowed to get their way.

However, this was also an opportunity for the Government Army. After conquering a city, the Salvation Army would typically leave only a small force to maintain order while the main body advanced, sustaining their war effort with their spoils. Without a stable base of operations, it was difficult for the Government Army to find an opportunity to heavily damage the Salvation Army’s main force outside of a frontal assault.

Now that the Salvation Army was trying to turn City No. 19 into a base, they would not retreat easily. This was the perfect opportunity to strike them.

"Report! Satellite surveillance has detected the Salvation Army’s latest movements. Two more of their corps are heading toward City No. 19, and the first group of Salvation Army troops that arrived there is now advancing toward City No. 18!" a soldier reported.

"It seems they intend to use City No. 19 as a springboard to push directly into the heart of the Northern War Zone."

Jason said calmly, "Have City No. 18 prepare for battle. Reinforcements will arrive soon."