Chapter 100: The Hundredfold Forged and the Anvil of Flesh
I. The Awakening of the General
Dawn in the Bronze Citadel brought no light, only a grayish mist mingled with the smoke of industrial forges. The air smelled of coal and dirty opportunities. In his room at the "Silent Gear" inn, Kael Morningstar opened his eyes.
He had not slept deeply. His instinct, sharpened after weeks in the Sea of Beasts and the Swamp, prevented him from ever lowering his guard. He sat on the edge of the bed, bare-chested. The recent scars from the journey were already closed—fine white lines across his hardened skin.
—"Samael..." he whispered, looking at his own hand.
He clenched his fist. His veins darkened for a moment, the Crimson Dragon Bloodline responding to his call. He did not feel the presence of a father, but the heavy absence of his elder brother. He remembered Samael's back against the wall, holding up the sky so they could run.
—"Hold on a little longer, brother," Kael promised himself. "We are no longer the children you had to protect. Now, we are the ones bringing the medicine."
The door to the adjoining room opened. Elara entered silently. Her presence brought an immediate drop in the room's temperature; a thin layer of frost formed on the doorknob at her touch.
—"They are here," Elara said. Her voice was calm, like morning mist. "They have surrounded the inn. Thirty men."
Eris sat up in the other bed, stretching. Her golden eyes glowed, and the air around her vibrated with heat, countering Elara's cold. —"The Iron Vipers?" Eris asked, cracking her knuckles. "Do we burn the building and leave?"
—"No," Kael said, putting on his shirt and tightening his leather bracers. "If we burn the inn, we become criminals wanted by the guard. If we defeat them at their own game, we become the masters of this territory."
Kael slung his greatsword over his back. The weight of the weapon was comforting. —"Elara, cover the exits with your mist. Eris, keep the destruction to a minimum; I don't want to pay for repairs. Violeta..."
The sister of space stood by the window, observing the street with analytical eyes. —"I've already marked the distances," Violeta said. "They won't get close enough to touch us."
—"Let's go," Kael ordered. "It's time to introduce ourselves formally."
II. Mist and Steel
The street in front of the inn was cleared of civilians. The shutters of neighboring houses were bolted shut. Thirty men armed with chains, rusted sabers, and crossbows formed a semicircle. In the center, a bald giant with serpent tattoos leaned a massive war hammer against the cobblestones.
—"Come out, swamp rats!" the giant roared. "I am Bonebreaker, lieutenant of the Vipers! Come and pay your blood debt!"
The inn door swung open. Kael stepped out first, walking with a calm that unnerved the bandits. To his right, Eris walked with her hands in her pockets, though the ground beneath her boots smoked slightly. To his left, Elara and Violeta advanced as if floating.
—"You make a lot of noise for such an early hour," Kael said, stopping five meters from the giant.
—"Are you the leader?" Bonebreaker spat on the ground. "You look like a kid playing soldier. Hand over the weapons and the girls, and maybe I'll let you keep your teeth."
Kael sighed. —"Elara."
There was no need for further orders. Elara exhaled softly. Suddenly, a dense, frozen mist erupted from nowhere, covering the street in seconds. It was not normal mist; it was condensed Frost Qi. The temperature dropped ten degrees instantly. The bandits began to shiver, and condensation froze on their crossbow sights, making them useless.
—"What sorcery is this?!" one of the men shouted, swinging his saber blindly into the whiteness. —"It is not sorcery," Elara's voice whispered from everywhere and nowhere. "It is winter."
—"Attack!" Bonebreaker ordered, swinging his hammer to dissipate the mist with wind force.
Four men lunged toward Kael's silhouette. Kael did not unsheathe his sword. He activated his Dragon Blood. His pupils split vertically. When the first saber came down, Kael blocked it with his Qi-hardened forearm. The metal clanged as if striking a rock. Kael grabbed the man by the collar and threw him against his companions with raw strength.
—"Eris!" Kael signaled. —"With pleasure!" Eris snapped her fingers.
A small sphere of black fire shot toward a group of bandits trying to flank them. The sphere did not explode; instead, it imploded on contact with the ground, creating a burning vacuum wave that disintegrated the attackers' boots and sent them flying with second-degree burns. It wasn't fire that burned skin; it was Destruction energy that devoured resistance.
Bonebreaker, seeing his men fall, roared and charged at Kael. The hammer came down with enough force to crush an armored carriage. Kael planted his feet.
Sword Physique: Mountain Stance.
Kael raised both hands and caught the hammerhead in mid-descent. BOOM! The impact drove Kael a few inches into the pavement, but he did not budge. His hands, reinforced by sword essence, were as hard as diamonds.
The giant's eyes widened in terror. —"How...?" —"You are strong," Kael said, looking him in the eye. "But my elder brother held up the sky with one hand. You can barely hold a hammer."
Kael released one hand, balled it into a fist, and struck the hammer's handle, snapping it in two. Then, with a fluid motion, he kicked the giant's knee. The crack was dry. Bonebreaker fell, screaming.
The mist slowly dissipated, revealing the scene: twenty men on the ground groaning from cold or burns, and their leader defeated at Kael's feet.
III. The Auction of Hope
Kael grabbed Bonebreaker by the collar of his armor and lifted him until his feet dangled. —"Listen well," Kael said. "I don't care about your gang. I care about information. I know there is an important auction in this city. An auction where they sell things that cure the incurable."
The giant, mind clouded by pain, nodded frantically. —"The... Jade Serpent Auction... the day after tomorrow... Governor's mansion..." —"What are they selling?" Kael pressed. —"Items from forbidden zones... and the grand prize... an Earth Phoenix Tear."
Kael's heart skipped a beat. Eris and Elara exchanged looks of awe. The Earth Phoenix Tear. It was legendary. It didn't just heal the body; it reconnected the soul with the earth. It was the perfect antidote for someone whose spirit had been eroded by the Void, like Samael. It was the medicine they were searching for.
—"How do we get in?" Violeta asked, approaching. —"Only... only with a golden invitation... the clans... the alchemists..."
Kael released the bandit, letting him fall like a sack of trash. —"Go. And tell your bosses that the Morningstars do not seek war. But if you block my path again, next time I won't use my fists. I'll use my blade."
IV. The Price of Entry
—"We need that invitation," Kael said once they were alone. "And I know who has one."
They went straight to the shop of the alchemist they had dealt with the day before. The old man tried to hide when he saw them enter, but Elara blocked the door with a wall of fine frost.
—"We want your invitation to the auction," Kael said directly, leaning his hands on the counter. —"You're crazy!" the old man shrieked. "Those invitations are worth thousands of stones! You can't pay for it!"
Kael pulled a jade box from his spatial ring. He opened it slightly. An electric blue flash lit up the shop, and the smell of ozone filled the air. It was a Scale of the Thunder Beast.
—"Pure essence of a sovereign beast," Kael said. "With this, you could refine pills that would make you famous across the Empire."
The alchemist's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Greed overcame fear in an instant. —"Deal," he said, tossing them a golden card. "But go in disguise. If you cause trouble, I don't know you."
V. The Oath
Back at the inn, with the invitation on the table, the atmosphere was solemn. Kael looked at his sisters.
—"We have crossed deserts, jungles, and nightmares to get here," Kael said. "Samael is in that tower, waiting in the darkness. The day after tomorrow, we get that tear." —"Whatever the cost," Eris said, her fist wrapped in soft flames. —"For the Patriarch," Elara added. —"For our big brother," Violeta concluded.
Kael nodded. The Hundredfold Forged was ready. The Dragon was awake. The rescue mission was entering its final phase.
[End of Chapter 100]