Madeline's injury was very serious but under the control of the Book of Nalu, she had to comply with Marvin's order and open a Teleportation Door.
Marvin held his breath, coldness flashing through his eyes.
He left only for so long and something like this happened to his territory?
Even seriously injuring Madeline?
The South Wizard Alliance was indeed a puppet of Dark Phoenix.
He had overlooked this point before. After all, White River Valley was a genuine territory of the Alliance in name.
The Alliance gave Marvin his power and without him making a mistake, they couldn't easily strip him of it.
But this time, with Dark Phoenix working behind the scenes, everything changed.
Most of the Legend Wizards didn't know about the upcoming disaster.
Only a small minority knew some inside information, while the rest of the Wizards of the Alliance were tricked by Dark Phoenix.
This time, there were two Legend Wizards putting pressure on White River Valley, and there was military suppression from both the east and the west.
This was something neither Marvin nor the others had anticipated.
The entire Jewel Bay was alarmed and rumors were spreading that Viscount Marvin had offended a heavyweight of the Alliance, because otherwise there definitely wouldn't be such a situation.
Some even whispered that Viscount Marvin had already died, claiming that his corpse had been seen. Because he betrayed the Alliance, he had been punished by a higher-up.
This rumor was most likely the work of Dark Phoenix. Due to the Book of Nalu, she had seen Marvin dying to the fake Hathaway.
But he hadn't expected that Dark Phoenix wouldn't be satisfied after supposedly killing him, still aiming at White River Valley.
They attacked on the basis of requiring Marvin to return the Southie, but Marvin knew that even if the Southie was given back to them, the Alliance would still act against his people.
When the time came, the soldiers wouldn't be able to avoid fighting.
Marvin quickly bid farewell to Ivan and returned to River Shore City with Madeline.
The current River Shore City was also in a depressed mood due to the incoming trouble.
Many nobles had left the city at the call of the Alliance.
A huge army had been formed from the forces of the great nobles in Jewel Bay and the soldiers were already approaching River Shore City.
They demanded that Madeline open the main road since their target was White River Valley and not River Shore City.
That point was understandable.
The Alliance was controlled by Dark Phoenix and wouldn't attack an unrelated Legend Wizard for no reason.
But Madeline was unyielding and wouldn't allow any of them through the main road.
Because the Shrieking Mountain Range separated White River Valley from Jewel Bay, the army could only get to White River Valley through River Shore City.
River Shore City turned into a barricade to hold back the northern power.
But this barricade wasn't secure.
The one leading the army was Dark Phoenix's disciple, Legend Wizard Monica.
She had gotten a lot of pointers from Dark Phoenix and was regarded as one of the strongest people of the South Wizard Alliance.
Madeline had become a Legend quite recently and was then stripped of her evil side by Marvin, leading to her strength decreasing substantially.
Both of them fought outside River Shore City and Madeline got injured while going all-out to block the army.
She couldn't hold on for too long.
On one hand, she was already wounded and on the other hand, her Barrier over the city wouldn't last more than three days.
Two days had already passed when Marvin called for her.
Another day and Monica's army would likely have invaded the city.
The situation in River Shore City was rather unstable right now.
Many people had already fled.
Most of those left behind were the people too poor to leave who could only resign themselves to their fates, and the rest were Madeline's most loyal subordinates.
And this wasn't the worst news.
The Alliance was attacking White River Valley from both sides.
On the sea, there was a fleet led by the White Elephant Chamber of Commerce, including slave-trading ships repurposed into warships, and even the shadow of the Black Sails Fleet.
The Pirate King had even appeared in person.
This news coming from Jewel Bay spread wildly to both White River Valley and River Shore City.
It was clear that they were preparing to land in Sword Harbor and pincer attack White River Valley.
This kind of move startled the entire South.
Everyone was speculating about the true motives.
What was the South Wizard Alliance doing after all?
Marvin was the most prosperous noble lately. He had met many Legends and had personally gotten rid of an Evil Spirit Plane!
This kind of person could be called a hero… and the Alliance was acting against his territory?
This was very baffling.
But not everything had an answer.
All they knew for sure was that this time, White River Valley was really in danger.
And at such a critical juncture, a piece of information came from White River Valley: Viscount Marvin truly wasn't in his territory.
That guy had left for some unknown place.
In the tower, Madeline managed to recover somewhat and told Marvin roughly what had happened.
After Marvin finished listening, his expression was heavy.
For Dark Phoenix to do so much, she must have a goal.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have broken her millennium of lying low and enduring.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this move by the Alliance was Dark Phoenix suppressing Marvin.
And a few people had realized that Hathaway was sealed in ice in the Black Coral Islands.
Everyone could only sigh at the fate of Viscount Marvin and White River Valley.
If Hathaway was there, even if Dark Phoenix wanted to make a move on White River Valley, it would have been more complicated.
At least three Legend Wizards of the Alliance stood on Marvin's side:
Ashes Tower's Hathaway, Thunder Tower's Leymann, and Madeline.
Unfortunately, Leymann had been sent on to a very dangerous place on an assignment, which was said to be a task given by Dark Phoenix herself.
With Leymann sent away and Hathaway frozen in ice, only Madeline was left, but it was hard for her to withstand alone.
Furthermore, Dark Phoenix chose the best moment to attack.
Before the Great Calamity, the Alliance's strength could be exploited.
And after the news of the upcoming Great Calamity, the Legends who had been staying in White River Valley had left to start their preparations.
They all had friends or forces they needed to contact.
O'Brien went north to gather all the Night Walkers to the Thousand Leaves Forest. The old Shadow Thief went north, the Heavenly Deer disappeared, and the Great Druids also rushed north to the Migratory Bird Council. Even Constantine went to the Saint Desert to notify the remaining Sha clans of the upcoming danger.
White River Valley was facing a major crisis.
Moreover, the place was like a headless dragon, as Daniela and Wayne were unable to make the people feel at ease.
It could be said that White River Valley needed Marvin now more than ever.
But Marvin didn't panic.
He thought about the situation carefully and then asked, "You said that your Barrier will fail tomorrow and Monica will be able to charge in at that time?"
Madeline nodded sharply.
Marvin revealed a cold smile. "In that case, Monica is dead."
Madeline looked at Marvin in disbelief. The latter took out the Shadow Diamond.
His aura began to rise continuously!
His gaze was extremely firm.
It was time!
Advancement, Ruler of the Night!