CHAPTER 194 — THE ROAR OF FOUNDATION
The battlefield went quiet.
Not calm.
Heavy.
The Nine hovered in the sky above the shattered plain, surrounded by the fading aftermath of their combined strike. Solar fire flickered in dying embers across broken terrain. Steam from Commander Rafael Ibarra's tidal attack still curled upward into the dim golden sky.
For a brief moment—
There had been hope.
The crack had appeared.
The dragon had shifted.
But now the smoke had cleared.
And the Jade Dragon stood.
Unmoved.
Its emerald scales glowed brighter than before, veins of luminous jade pulsing beneath the crystalline armor like a heartbeat deep within the earth itself.
"Correction complete."
The voice rolled across the battlefield like a mountain deciding to speak.
None of The Nine moved.
They all understood the same truth at the same time.
Their best coordinated attack—
Had meant nothing.
