“Tsk. That damned Holy Light turtle-shell is a pain.” Edgar Warren’s brows knotted like storm-twisted ropes; he’d thrown every trick he had, yet the shield held like moonlit stone.
“Blood Soul Break.”
A shrill clang split the sky, and a massive blood-red blast streaked after the two fleeing figures like a comet, swelling mid-flight until it slammed against Starfate City’s ward with a thunderous shudder.
The two slipped away like fish into reeds.
Fine. Let them hide inside that shell; I’ll cut them down with the rest later. The thought was cold as iron, then turned to intent. Next—raise the barrier.
Resolve burned in him first, then action. Edgar’s first move was to torch the loathsome outfit clinging to him like fox musk; the perfume stung like wilted flowers.
Bloodflame blossomed across his skin like crimson petals, and in a blink his dress and the wig went to nothing, not even ash; when the flame guttered out, it revealed his perfect, bare form like marble under dusk.
Nearly naked, Edgar Warren watched the city he meant to ruin with lake-still calm, then snapped his fingers like flint striking steel.
Two beautiful female blood thralls slipped from the shadows like night water, carrying a full formal suit; they dressed him with reverent, quiet hands.
“It’s time.”
…
Inside Heavenly Melody Academy, Qingsheng Tangxue and Qianya carried today’s ingredients along the path toward our lakeside cottage, sunlight winking on ripples like silver scales.
Worry came first, then words. “Qianya, what’s wrong? Since Xuewei… the teacher left, you’ve seemed unsettled, like leaves in a restless wind.”
“No…” Qianya forced a smile that cracked like thin ice.
Her expression collapsed in the next heartbeat; a blood-scented gale rolled from Starfate City like storm tide, and the clear sky dimmed to ink, with the air thick as iron and rot.
“What… what’s happening, Qianya?”
She didn’t answer. She sprinted toward the City Lord’s manor like an arrow loosed from a taut bow.
“At least tell me first!” I scratched my head, then ran after her, feet drumming the road like rain. “Wait for me!”
City Lord’s mansions rose like stone cliffs. The crowd, a tide of bodies, had already ringed the place, and even moving fast, we couldn’t get past the outer edge.
I knew Starfate’s City Lord—well, the me from before did. He’d struck me as capable, a steel spine under silk—also, he hated seafood like it was bad luck.
Details beyond that were fog. Back when I planned to hunt down Dreamsound, I remember him flushed and tearful, grateful to his bones; how he later became Starfate’s lord, I don’t know, like a page torn from a book.
Starfate City belongs to the Radiant Empire on paper, but it runs itself like a free harbor; the Empire barely meddles, which is why Heavenly Melody Academy planted its banner here, open to the whole continent.
Autonomy doesn’t mean weakness. Starfate’s military stands like a small nation’s spear. And now it’s under attack—an insult tossed at the continent’s top powers, the Radiant Empire included; the Academy put money here, too, like a stake hammered into the ground.
“City Lord! What do we do?” A guard’s voice shook like a drum. “Almost ten thousand outside, and more gathering like storm clouds. The gate sentries are buckling!”
“City Lord, my caravan’s trapped out there!” A merchant’s face was paper-white. “Who are they? How did Starfate get hit by a full-scale assault? Isn’t this the safest city on the continent?”
“City Lord…”
“Enough!” The brown-haired man at the center raised his voice like a bell. “Send the city knights to reinforce the gates immediately. Kain, contact the Adventurers’ Association—summon all adventurers and issue an emergency call. Starfate City is under an overwhelming attack. We request broad support!”
He steadied them first, then laid out the truth. “I don’t know the cause outside. The enemy struck without warning, but the momentum’s immense; clearly, this is the move of a large nation.”
“We’ve tried to contact the Radiant Empire, but a barrier seems to enclose the city like frost on glass—messages can’t get out. Starfate is besieged. We can only wait for the Empire to notice and send aid.”
“But don’t panic. When Starfate was designed, half the budget went into defense. Even if they were gods, they’d need days and nights to crack this shell. For now, Starfate is safe. Wait for rescue.”
Silence held for a breath, then the hall burst like a shaken hive, everyone talking, most about the army outside.
“Enough! If you want to argue, do it outside.” The City Lord’s tone was a steel edge. “I’ll go to the front line myself later. If you care about the fight, go look near the gates.”
Confident, or naive? I couldn’t tell; letting non-combat folk drift toward the front felt like throwing moths at a lantern.
The crowd thinned like fog in sun; Qianya bit her lip at the manor, then didn’t go in. She turned, seized my hand with fingers cool as stream water. “Come on. Let’s see the front.”
“Oh. Qianya, are you okay? What’s really happening?”
Her eyes were dark as a storm well. “Vampires. A terrifying Vampire. He’s here for me.”
My pupils tightened like drawn knots. A Vampire, then…
If she hadn’t said he was after her, I’d have thought he was royal kin of the Vampire King come to hassle me, like old debt knocking on a door.
I squeezed her hand, then smiled, light as a flicked leaf. “If he’s here for you, I’ll smash him flat.”
“Fool. You can’t beat that thing.”
“You don’t know till we try. Heh~ I was super strong before!”
“Then let’s go to the front. And bring Lan’er.”
“Mm!”
Sorry. This time I might not make it to class with you both…
Outside Starfate, wave after wave of blood thralls oozed out of the shadows like a slow, dark tide. Most shambled like husks; a few carried minds like cold knives, driving the thrall army against the city’s shield.
“I want to see how long you cower inside this shell, Blood Elf.” Edgar Warren’s voice was ice over fire.
He flicked his hand, and another blood-colored giant claw crashed into the energy ward, setting it trembling like struck glass.
…
“Bad.” Qianya’s face was the color of ash. “It’s worse than I thought.” She stared at the shield, ripples pulsing like a pond under hail.
“Qianya…”
“Lan’er, don’t be scared.” I kept my voice warm as a hearth. “The bad men outside can’t get in. We’ll be fine.”
“Mm. Tangxue, I trust you!”
Can they really not break through? Doubt chilled me first, then thought. The ward looks strained, edges fraying like wet paper; the energy’s being pared away, probably by that outer barrier choking us like a net.
“Qianya, why are we going to the city edge?”
“To help.” I jumped in before she could answer, warmth turning to iron. “We’re Tier Four professionals. We can’t hide behind the old and young like common folk.”
“Mm…” Qianya’s voice drifted, thin as mist.
If we don’t kill that Vampire, this city will fall like a candle in wind.
