On the third morning after the Flame Festival, before the sun had even crested the horizon, a suffocating tide of iron surged from the edge of the world.
Cloaked in dust and murderous intent, it roared toward the Amber Corridor.
At the peak of the Amber Corridor’s watchtower, a succubus scout stumbled out of the shadows and collapsed heavily near Ryan.
Her body was a mass of blood, pierced by several holy silver arrows.
A broken voice squeezed from her throat, “Lord! Emergency report from the scouts — the main force of the Atonement Legion, formed by the Human Realm’s Royal Court and the Church, is bearing down on us! They are 800 strong! They … they are marching under the banner of ‘purifying heretical apostates.’ They intend to completely purge the Amber Corridor!”
As the scout was quickly carried away for treatment by the guards, Ryan Marces raised a telescope with one hand.
His wine-red hair whipped wildly in the bitter morning wind like a burning flag.
A faint scarlet glint flickered in his eyes — a primal reaction of his emotional perception talent under extreme alertness.
In his vision, it wasn’t just an army advancing; it was an overwhelming, tangible wave of greed and killing intent.
“There is a powerful roar of Source Crystal reactors in the distance. That frequency … I’m afraid it is …” His voice was low, each word forced through gritted teeth. “To even bring out a forbidden weapon like that, they intend to level this place to the ground.”
He spun around, his voice exploding like erupting lava.
“Orders to the entire territory — activate the emergency evacuation plan immediately! The elderly, women, and children have priority for the tunnels! Horned Demon heavy cavalry, move to grade-one combat readiness! Imp casters, activate the barriers! They want to use the excuse of ‘purifying heretics’ to wipe us out completely! Leave no one behind!”
He stared at the rolling black haze in the distance — a storm of death kicked up by the marching army.
Within the storm, he could see the faint, silvery glint of their formation.
A bloodthirsty sneer curled his lips.
“The Demon Realm’s Amber Corridor is not your backyard. You want to come in? Then leave your lives behind!”
The shrill alarm sounded, and the pulse of the entire city began to throb violently.
Order was their only card for survival.
There was no crying and no shoving.
Years of exile had taught the residents of the Amber Corridor how to survive in desperate situations.
The succubus shopkeeper tore down the sign for “Flame Weaving Workshop,” revealing toxic mist bombs and phantom powder hidden within the walls.
Her former smile was replaced by a look of resolute defiance.
Orcs shouldered bone spears and formed squads with small imps, their youthful faces masks of grim determination that didn’t match their age.
They gripped their weapons tightly, prioritizing the escort of children and the elderly into the tunnels.
Imp casters knelt in the center of the square, using their blood as a catalyst to summon bone golems.
Even several demon children climbed onto rooftops, blowing whistles to give warning and helping to organize the orderly evacuation of civilians.
Inside the “Moonlight and Flames” shop, Xue Yin was flipping through a ledger when she heard the alarm.
Her fingertips paused over the fresh ink.
Those lines recorded the laughter of the festival two days ago, Jin’s sincere cooking, and the warmth of everyone sitting together.
Now, it all felt so distant.
Xue Yin’s right hand tightly gripped the Waxwood Wand.
The wood felt warm, but it was vibrating faintly, as if sensing the approaching storm.
Jin suddenly pushed open the shop door, his black hair tied high with a strip of cloth.
“Master, Lord Ryan reports that the Human Realm’s army is attacking! Shadow Blade Guards have been spotted at the western watchtower! The main army is right behind them. They’ve made their move!”
‘It must be me … it must be because I sang on stage during the Flame Festival …’ Xue Yin’s voice carried a trace of nearly imperceptible trembling.
It was the shock of a sudden reality check after a long period of peace.
‘This brief tranquility gave me an illusion. I thought we could live like normal people. I’m the one who dragged them into this. An apostate high priestess and a runaway magical girl … we make the perfect “Chosen Twin Sacrifices” to provide them with the ultimate excuse for total war.’
Jin clenched his fists.
“The war faction of the Royal Court wants to expand the conflict under the name of ‘purifying heretics.’ If they win the war and gain political power —”
Sadness numbs the senses, guilt slows the feet, and reflection and regret are the most useless luxuries on a battlefield.
In a blink, the turmoil in Xue Yin’s eyes was forcibly smoothed over, replaced by a resolve harder than ice.
“Don’t say another word. Let’s go!” Xue Yin slammed the ledger shut and rushed toward the door. “You said there were traces of the enemy to the west? There’s no time to dwell on things now. We have to go support them!”
“Yes!” Jin followed closely behind, his figure blurring like the wind as they surged out of the shop.
—
The 800-strong Atonement Legion of the Human Realm, led by an Archbishop, officially drew up their ranks outside the Amber Corridor.
They were a disciplined, murderous force, their silver armor reflecting the cold sunlight like an insurmountable wall of iron.
And in their center stood three terrifying war machines — forbidden objects created by the Human Realm’s Magic Association with exhaustive effort.
One was a Source Crystal Suppression Tower, carved entirely from pure Source Crystal.
Standing 30 meters tall, its body was engraved with complex mana-nullifying runes that rotated slowly, emitting a low hum.
Once activated, it could forcibly drain the majority of free elemental mana around the enemy, turning the area into a silent vacuum.
The other two were Magic Guide Cannons.
Their pitch-black barrels emitted a faint blue glow, compressing unstable, high-energy mana within until the surrounding air distorted.
They didn’t need to aim; they only needed to lock onto coordinates to fire a destructive beam capable of leveling an entire block.
They were the ultimate weapons for siege and conquest.
Each machine was maintained by twelve high-order casters.
The bases were connected to heavy Source Crystal power carts.
Though they moved slowly, once they took root, they were an impassable chasm.
At that moment, dozens of elite Shadow Blade Guards from the Royal Court moved like black ghosts.
Under the cover of the dust haze, they had already infiltrated the edges of the Amber Corridor’s urban area.
They wore no heavy armor, only tight-fitting night gear, and carried poisoned short blades and grappling hooks.
They moved without a sound.
“Shield wall — close!” an Orc Centurion roared.
Fifty orcs charged with shields raised, their bone spears forming a forest of points.
However, the Shadow Blade Guards did not charge head-on like ordinary soldiers.
Their forms blurred as they used grappling hooks to scale the walls, vaulting directly over the orcs’ shield wall!
“Watch your heads!”
Just as a small imp looked up, a cold light flashed, and his throat was silently slit.
The Shadow Blade Guards specifically sought out gaps in the defensive line, using walls and smoke bombs as cover to strike at the rear.
A succubus poisoning team threw “Quiet Nerve Powder” from a second-story window, filling the alley with white mist.
They had been intelligence officers, dancers, and apothecaries; now they were warriors.
Poison was their last line of defense and their most resolute mercy.
The Shadow Blade Guards began to move sluggishly, their eyes losing focus.
“It worked!” the succubus captain started to laugh, but in the distance, a Shadow Blade Guard raised a church Purging Lantern.
As the holy light shone, the toxic mist evaporated and vanished without a trace.
“They were prepared!” the captain gasped, only to have her throat pierced by a holy silver arrow.
As she fell, she still clutched a packet of Dream Powder.
She had planned to make a new dress for her sister once the war was over; now, it was a permanent regret.
The pink powder scattered beside her cooling body.
Just as the defensive line was about to be torn apart, Xue Yin and Jin arrived.
Support was not easy.
The humming of the Source Crystal Suppression Tower deep in the battlefield felt like a heavy hammer striking the nerves of every spellcaster.
Though Xue Yin’s mana reserves as a magical girl were far beyond normal and she possessed the ancient bloodline of the high elves, the invisible suction in this bloody purgatory still made her lungs feel like they were on fire.
The mana in her body turned into thick mercury; every attempt to channel it felt like pushing against a torrential flood.
“Wind … Blade!” she nearly shrieked the incantation.
Invisible wind elements were forcibly compressed and distorted under the extreme pressure, finally turning into several crude but lethal vacuum blades that staggered toward the distance.
The enemies at the very front didn’t even see the source of the attack before their throats were severed, blood spraying into the air.
Next, she slammed the tip of her wand into the ground.
Under the suppression of the Source Crystal Tower, the earth had become as hard as iron and difficult to resonate with.
Xue Yin had to overdraw her life force to forcibly pry into the ley lines.
As warm liquid leaked from her nose, countless sharp rock spikes finally burst from the ground.
Though slower than usual, they still accurately impaled the feet of two Shadow Blade Guards, pinning them to the floor.
Jin’s figure darted through the maze of rock spikes, the daggers in his hands shimmering with black flame.
Every swing took a life.
He was like the sharpest scalpel in Xue Yin’s hand; she was responsible for creating the cage, and Jin was responsible for the execution.
However, there were too many enemies.
The remaining foes braved the wind blades and rock spikes, throwing themselves at the defensive line with no regard for their lives.
They were less than 10 meters away from Xue Yin.
Xue Yin took a deep breath, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
She raised the Waxwood Wand with both hands, frantically compressing her own mana into the tip until the point of blue-purple electricity emitted a scream on the verge of exploding.
“Get back!” She took a violent step forward and thrust the wand out like a spear! The moment the unstable high-pressure arc touched a guard’s breastplate, a massive explosion occurred.
The skin between Xue Yin’s thumb and index finger tore, blood flowing down the wand.
The recoil made her arm go numb, but she didn’t even flinch.
Using the shockwave of the blast, she followed up with a backhanded gust of wind pressure that sent the lunging remnants of the enemy flying.
Jin surged from behind a broken wall, moving like a wraith.
He no longer relied solely on brute force — during this time, he had perfectly integrated the movement techniques Ryan had taught him.
He moved through the narrow ruins like formless wind, avoiding direct confrontations to strike at vital points.
His dual daggers danced, cold light flashing as every strike claimed a soul.
Jin’s silhouette drew an elegant arc through the ruins.
His daggers were like the Grim Reaper’s scythe, precisely harvesting the lives of his enemies.
His movements were clean and efficient, without a single wasted motion.
A Shadow Blade Guard lunged from the shadows but died with a line of blood across his throat before he could even react.
“On the left!” Xue Yin shouted.
Jin understood instantly.
Moving like lightning, he appeared beside two guards preparing an ambush.
His daggers crossed, a flash of light followed, and the two casters’ wrists were severed, their ritual tools hitting the ground.
One of the enemies tried to trigger a rune using the silver ornament on his severed wrist, but Jin’s second strike arrived, the dagger piercing his heart and ending any possibility of a counterattack.
Meanwhile, the orc defensive line was suffering the most violent assault.
An orc who was only 15 or 16 years old, his face still showing traces of youth, had already taken up the heavy burden of a protector.
His bone spear was broken, so he used his shield to sweep, forced the enemies who had breached the line back by sheer strength.
“Hold the line!” the aging Orc Centurion roared.
His left arm had been pierced by a dagger, and blood stained half his body, yet he remained standing.
He swung his bone spear with his right arm, buying time for his comrades.
The members of the succubus poisoning team also showed incredible resilience.
Despite losing their captain, the remaining succubi coordinated perfectly, firing poisoned crossbow bolts while others threw their last mist bombs.
A young succubus girl, despite being hit by several arrows, crawled forward to throw a packet of phantom powder into a cluster of enemies, creating an opening for her allies to counterattack.
“There’s a gap on the right!” Jin yelled, his body blurring as he rushed toward the failing defensive line.
His daggers traced lethal paths in the sunlight, instantly dealing with three guards who had broken through.
Though Xue Yin’s mana consumption was enormous, she forced herself to keep supporting her comrades.
She created walls of fire at key positions to slow the enemy’s advance, buying time for her allies to adjust their formation.
“Now!” the Orc Centurion bellowed.
The orcs and the bone golems summoned by the imps struck simultaneously.
Bone shields locked together, forming an indestructible mobile fortress that forcibly pushed back the intruding enemies.
The battle entered its most brutal, white-hot stage.
Every inch of ground was contested; every life was burning.
The air was thick with the smell of blood and dust.
The sounds of shouting, screaming, and the clashing of weapons intertwined to create a portrait of the end of the world.
Finally, after paying a heavy price, the last wave of Shadow Blade Guards was completely annihilated.
Only the heavy breathing of survivors and the groans of the wounded remained on the battlefield.
Xue Yin panted heavily, the blood on her hand already dried and staining the Waxwood Wand a mottled dark red.
She quickly scanned the battlefield, her gaze landing on the blood-soaked Orc Centurion nearby.
He was using a broken spear to prop himself up as he directed his able-bodied kin to move the wounded.
“Centurion!” Xue Yin’s voice was hoarse and fast.
“The battle inside the city is mostly settled, but this isn’t the end. Recount your numbers immediately and get everyone who can move into the tunnels! Do not stay in the open! Take care of these people — don’t let them die here!”
The Orc Centurion wiped the blood from his face.
A flash of respect showed in his clouded eyes as he nodded heavily.
“Understood. As long as I have breath in me, the tunnel entrance will not fall.”
As Xue Yin turned, she caught sight of a charred wound on Jin’s arm — a mark left by a grazing holy silver arrow.
She pulled a potion from her waist and handed it over.
“It’s a potent one. Drink it quickly.”
Jin took the bottle but frowned at the tear in her hand.
“Master, your injury is clearly worse. Let me bandage it for you first!”
“There’s no time, Jin!” Xue Yin turned toward the main battlefield of the Amber Corridor.
There, the real hell was only just beginning.
“Lord Ryan is still holding the line outside. The enemy’s Source Crystal Tower and Magic Guide Cannons haven’t been destroyed yet. We need to hurry!”