The warning bell rang once.
Low.
Deep.
Controlled.
Dustwind Sect did not panic.
They moved.
Inner Disciples formed three lines at the eastern ridge. Outer Disciples evacuated supply halls under strict command. Formation flags snapped into place, locking the terrain into layered defensive zones.
Lucina stood at the center of the ridge.
"Confirm enemy composition," she ordered.
Minn's projection hovered between them, numbers scrolling fast.
"Black Iron Valley advance unit confirmed. Thirty-six combatants. Five Bone-Armor elites. One Plague Handler."
A ripple passed through the disciples.
Plague Handler.
That meant beasts.
Aurelius planted his sword into the ground.
"Do not allow them to reach the inner grounds."
Kuroi's silhouette flickered beside him.
"They won't."
The ground trembled.
From the fog below the ridge, shapes emerged—armored figures moving in disciplined silence. Behind them dragged iron chains, each linked to something breathing.
Growling.
Snapping.
Wrong.
The Plague Handler stepped forward, masked, staff dragging across stone.
"Dustwind Sect," his voice echoed. "Hand over your disciples. We will leave the buildings intact."
Lucina didn't answer.
She raised her hand.
"Formation One."
Flags shifted.
The ground lit up with faint lines as the sect's defensive art activated.
The enemy laughed.
Then charged.
The first clash was brutal.
Bone-Armor elites hit the formation like siege beasts. Shields cracked. Qi flared. Blood sprayed across stone that had never seen war before.
Jin Haru screamed as he was thrown back, ribs fracturing.
Lin Ruyin caught him mid-fall, slamming her blade into an enemy's knee.
It didn't stop.
The Bone-Armor elite backhanded her—
CRACK.
She hit the ground hard.
"Lin!" Gu Wenhai shouted.
Too late.
A beast broke free from its chain.
It lunged.
A second Inner Disciple—Chen Yu—stepped in front of her.
He didn't hesitate.
The beast's claws pierced his chest.
Chen Yu shoved his blade upward anyway.
The beast died.
So did he.
For half a breath, the battlefield froze.
Then something snapped.
Lucina's voice cut through the chaos.
"DO NOT FALL BACK."
Her aura surged.
"Dustwind does not retreat from its first grave."
Inner Disciples roared.
Kuroi appeared behind the Plague Handler like a shadow stitched to reality.
One slash.
The handler's arm fell.
The beasts went wild.
Minn's voice sharpened.
"Enemy formation destabilizing. Casualties confirmed on both sides."
Aurelius moved.
Not toward the enemy.
Toward the fallen.
He placed a hand over Chen Yu's chest.
Closed his eyes.
"…He held."
Lucina wiped blood from her cheek.
"Seal the ridge. Burn the beasts."
Fire and steel followed.
When the dust finally settled, Black Iron Valley retreated—dragging bodies, leaving blood.
Dustwind stood.
Breathing hard.
Shaking.
Alive.
Gu Wenhai knelt beside Chen Yu's body.
"He was Inner Rank Three," he said quietly. "Promoted last month."
Silence answered him.
Far above, the clouds shifted again.
Inside the Inner Sanctuary, Miyu turned slightly.
Her brow furrowed.
"…loss detected…"
The pillow pulsed once.
Outside, Lucina stared at the battlefield.
"This was only a probe," she said.
Aurelius nodded.
"They wanted to see who would bleed."
Kuroi sheathed his blade.
"They have their answer."
Dustwind Sect buried its first dead before sunset.
And the war stopped being theoretical.