A deafening screech of grinding stone tore through the night as the obsidian gate resisted, shedding a fine dust of rock. Elder Qi Mo's face was a mask of strain, tendons bulging on his forehead like cords. Sweat streamed down his temples, stinging his eyes.
Crrrrrhhhhhhhh! The agonized sound of the gate echoed again as he redoubled his efforts. Bearing the immense weight alone was a Herculean task, and the pressure threatened to crush him into the ground.
With a final, defeated gasp, his strength failed. His arms flopped uselessly to his sides and he collapsed, landing hard on the dusty earth. "Haaah… haaah…" he panted, his body utterly spent. The gate stood only half-open.
"We are too late! The alarm has already alerted Patriarch Qi Lantian!" Qi mo hissed in utter exhaustion . "If we do not hurry, we will be discovered before our mission is complete!"
A low, unified grunt of assent rippled through the five hundred men of the Beast Flame Sect. They surged forward, adding their collective strength to the impossible weight. The ear-splitting shriek of the gate resumed, a sound that felt like it would go on for an eternity.
As the opening widened, the resistance grew, and the soldiers, already pushed to their limits, began to falter. Seeing this, Qi Mo forced himself to his feet, his legs trembling violently. He had managed to restore a sliver of his energy. He focused it all, channeling a desperate surge of power into his palm.
"Move!" he roared, and slammed his hand against the unyielding dark metal.
BANG!!!!!!!!!
The gate flew open from the violent impact, but the victory came at a terrible cost. A sickening crunch echoed, and Qi Mo looked down at his mangled arm, now a twisted ruin of flesh and bone. He gritted his teeth, swallowing a scream, and hastily tore a strip of cloth to staunch the bleeding.
"Our mission is complete, Fen Juechen," he whispered into the night.
But his triumph was short-lived. A moment after the gate crashed open, a brilliant flare shot into the sky, painting the darkness in garish red light.
"Damn it!" Elder Qi Mo cursed, his face twisting into a mask of fury and fear. "Qi Lantian, I underestimated you. To place an alarm on your strongest gate..." His hope evaporated, replaced by cold dread.
He turned to see the same horrified understanding dawning on the faces of his disciples. They had been discovered.
Now, it was a race against time. If Fen Juechen and his army reached the northern gate first, they lived. If Qi Lantian arrived first, they were all dead men. A Nascent Soul expert could crush them like insects.
Escape was impossible. The signal would have put the entire Qi clan on high alert; any mass movement would be instantly detected. Their only choice was to hold their position and pray for the swift arrival of the Fen clan.
---
BOOM!!!!!
The flare bloomed in the distant sky, a stark warning Fen Juechen had anticipated. With Qi Lantian's notorious caution, a trap was inevitable.
He watched the signal fade, his expression unreadable. Turning to the twenty-four hundred warriors and the two sect masters at his side, his voice was a calm, chilling command. "We move out."
A unified, guttural acknowledgment was his answer.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!!!
The synchronized thunder of marching boots shook the earth, churning the air into a storm of dust. Fen Juechen fixed his sinister, bloodthirsty gaze upon the distant silhouette of the Qi clan estate. Their purpose was singular: total annihilation.
---
"Patriarch!"
A guard burst into the hall, dropping to one knee without waiting to be addressed. He had seen the flare.
"Are the orders being carried out?" Qi Lantian's voice was gravelly, raw from his earlier grief at his wife's grave.
"Yes, Patriarch. The garrison from the western gate is rerouting to the northern border. The forces pursuing the Sword Spirit Sect are being recalled; fifty-seven have returned so far, with more arriving every moment. The armies of the eastern and southern gates are assembled at the northern border, awaiting your command."
"Good," Qi Lantian rasped. "We wait for the full recall. We will need every blade for the war to come."
"Understood, Patriarch."
"And the garrison moving north is to hold position at the border. No scouting, no engagement. Is that clear?"
"Crystal clear, Patriarch."
"One more thing," Qi Lantian added, a flicker of desperate hope in his eyes. "Use this time to rally every available fighter. And... try to contact Elder Qi Mo. He may already be engaged with the enemy."
The guard bowed and hurried out, his footsteps echoing in the tense silence.
"Fen Juechen," Qi Lantian murmured to the empty room, his exhaustion giving way to a cold resolve. "If you are so eager to dance with a venomous snake, then prepare to be bitten."
---
Panic erupted like a virus through the Qi clan estate. The thunderous report of the signal flare had jolted families from their sleep. People spilled from their courtyards, peering nervously at the now-dark sky.
"What was that? It can't be a war signal, can it?"
"Impossible!The Qi clan stands above the other great powers. Who would dare?"
"We have a Nascent Soul expert!What do we have to fear?"
The crowd tried to reassure itself, the bravado sounding hollow in the tense air. The noise also woke the young Lethean. He gazed out his window, a deep frown on his face, sensing the ill omen for what it was.
His mother, Caiyi, hugged him tightly, her own brow furrowed with worry. "Shhh, don't worry," she whispered, gently stroking his hair. "The Qi clan is strong. This is a matter for the soldiers, not for us."
Lethean hummed in acknowledgment, closing his eyes, but his brow remained knotted with tension. He could feel it in his bones—this was not a problem that would simply pass them by. The night, once peaceful, had become a long, dark vigil, and the dawn felt impossibly far away.