CHAPTER 192 — THE NINE
Five cities had fallen.
Not damaged.
Not partially collapsed.
Erased, crystallized, folded into emerald silence.
The Jade Dragon moved like a continent deciding to walk.
Missiles had failed. Railguns had failed. Naval fleets had vanished beneath jade tide. The military had done what humanity could.
It had not been enough.
Deep beneath the capital, inside a reinforced chamber designed for extinction-level events, the final protocol was activated.
General Arvind Rao stood beneath low white lights, hands clasped behind his back.
No theatrics.
No speeches.
"Summon the Nine."
The air shifted.
Nine encrypted lines opened simultaneously.
Nine of the strongest individuals in the country.
Not an organization.
Not a team.
Nine singular forces who normally did not stand in the same room—physically or politically.
One by one, their projections formed around the circular chamber.
1 - Dean Xu Canglong
Azure Dragon Academy
