Chapter 85: Into the Ruins
The ruins of Nyx stretched endlessly before them, a graveyard of broken towers and lost history.
It had once been a city of mana research, a beacon of knowledge in the empire.
Now?
It was a corpse of stone and mana, its remains twisted by time and war.
And yet—
Even among the silence of the dead, something watched them.
Kael could feel it.
The air was too still. The shadows stretched in ways that didn't match the moonlight. Every step echoed too loudly against the cracked roads.
His hand gripped his sword hilt tightly.
Because this wasn't just enemy territory.
This was a trap.
The Vanguard Marches
The Vanguard Nine moved in formation, their dark cloaks blending with the ruined cityscape.
Kael led from the front, his crimson eyes scanning for movement.
Lucian walked beside him, his sword resting lightly on his shoulder, golden eyes burning with calm anticipation.
Behind them, Darius and Evelyne kept pace, their movements silent but coiled with readiness.
Mira and Selene moved with calculated grace, their keen eyes watching for ambushes.
Rael, Cassian, and Faelwyn took the flanks, their hands never leaving their weapons.
This wasn't a training exercise.
This was war.
"This place feels wrong," Lucian muttered.
Darius exhaled sharply. "Like something's watching us."
Evelyne cracked her knuckles. "Let's crush whatever it is before it gets the chance."
Kael nodded.
They didn't have the luxury of fear.
The first strike
It happened in an instant.
Rael vanished.
Not by choice.
But because something moved faster than him.
Kael barely turned in time—
A blade slashed through empty air, missing Rael by inches.
A figure materialized from the shadows, its black cloak blending with the darkness, its mask concealing its face.
Xelthar's assassins.
And they weren't alone.
Figures emerged from the rooftops, from the cracks in the buildings, from the shadows that had been watching them this entire time.
Then—
The first attack landed.
Kael blocked on instinct, his sword clashing against a curved dagger. Sparks flew as the force sent him skidding backward.
Lucian moved without hesitation.
His golden eyes flared as his sword met steel, cutting through the darkness like a blade of light.
Darius raised his hand—thunder roared as a bolt of lightning shot forward, frying an assassin before they could strike.
Evelyne's fist met steel, her raw strength sending her opponent flying into a crumbling wall.
Mira's sword was a blur, cutting through the air with deadly precision.
Selene spun, her daggers catching the moonlight as they whipped through the air, striking down an enemy before they could react.
Cassian dodged two attacks, his rapier weaving between strikes, his smirk never faltering.
Rael reappeared, his void-step letting him materialize behind an enemy—his dagger sank deep into their spine.
And Faelwyn—
The beast tamer wasn't afraid.
Because the moment the assassins struck, he called upon his summon.
A black-furred wolfburst from the shadows, its teeth sinking into the throat of an enemy.
The battlefield erupted into chaos.
"You should not have come here."
The words were whispered, but they echoed throughout the battlefield.
One of the assassins, cloaked in deeper black than the others, stepped forward.
Kael barely had time to process it before a surge of dark mana erupted.
The ground cracked.
Mana pulsed violently through the ruins.
Something was waking beneath them.
Selene's silver eyes widened. "They weren't here to kill us."
Mira gritted her teeth. "They were buying time."
Then—
The earth below them trembled.
And from the depths of the ruined city—
A monstrous roar shook the heavens.
The battle wasn't just against assassins anymore.
Something far worse was coming.