The mountain trembled like a dying beast. Cracks split the snowfields, red light pulsing from depths like a wounded heart. The Abyssal Flame Wyrm had fully awakened—its roar shook the northern peaks, sending avalanches crashing into valleys. Trade routes choked with panicked caravans. Refugees huddled in academies. Foreign kings' tribute waggons fled south.
I stood at the fractured ridge, Eternal Sovereign's Fang humming at my hip. "No more waiting," I said. "We go in."
Yue Zhilan nodded, spear gleaming. Mo Han's flames roared eagerly. Vulcan hefted reforged chains. Lin Dao marked the descent. But mortals couldn't face a divine wyrm alone. We needed eyes in every shadow.
That's when General Meiyin arrived.
She melted from the blizzard like smoke—tall, dark-haired, with eyes as cold as midnight. Behind her, no thunder of boots. Just whispers. Twenty thousand Moon Shadow women stood in perfect silence, veils fluttering faintly, curved blades hidden. No banners. No dust. They were ghosts in snow.
"Sovereign," Meiyin bowed. "Legion divided as ordered."
She snapped her fingers. Shadows shifted.
Mist Eyes—five thousand veiled scouts—vanished eastward. "Foreign kingdoms," she said. "Wu spies, Huang envoys, Freeport ships. We'll blind their eyes before they strike."
Silent Hands—seven thousand killers—melted southward. "Internal threats. Li princes, noble houses. Princes who send gold to traitors die first."
Illusion Veils—eight thousand guardians—blended into cities below. "Civilians, trade, academies. No panic spreads. No saboteur strikes."
No one noticed them leave. Farmers kept ploughing. Caravans rolled guarded. Children trained qi sparks. The legion was air itself.
"Find the puppeteer," I commanded. "Wyrm doesn't wake alone."
Meiyin smiled faintly. "Already hunting."
We plunged into depths. The mortal army held the surface—farmers on walls, blacksmiths with barricades. Below, Divine Assault led me, Yue Zhilan, Mo Han, Vulcan, and Silver Drake squeezing through tunnels.
Lava rivers glowed. Wyrm's breath scorched stone black. Roars echoed endlessly. The beast loomed ahead—mountain-sized, scales cracked obsidian, eyes twin infernos. Chains dangled broken from ancient wars.
"Flank it!" I shouted. Mo Han charged, Hellfire Legion erupting from cracks—five hundred demons clashing wyrm claws. Vulcan hurled chains, runes igniting mid-air. Silver Drake breathed lightning from above.
Yue Zhilan blurred forward, spear weaving moonlight nets. Wyrm thrashed, flames melting stone to slag. I swung Eternal Sovereign's Fang—the blade bit deep, fate-energy severing a scale. Blood boiled rivers.
But the beast laughed, its voice shaking caves. "Mortals... you woke me for this?"
Then Meiyin's whisper ghosted my ear—legion link active. "Puppeteer found. Hidden sect: Crimson Void Cult. Sealed here for millennia, using a wyrm as a weapon. Mist Eyes tracked their altars in Wu caves. Silent Hands gutted their Li spies. Illusion Veils poisoned their city cells."
I grinned mid-swing. "End them."
Across continents, shadows struck. Wu palaces bled quiet—cult leaders vanishing mid-meal. Huang sects crumbled; elders were found with throats slit. Freeport ships sank with veiled assassins aboard. Li princes woke chained, confessing gold trails.
No armies marched. No wars declared. The cult died in whispers.
Back in the depths, Wyrm faltered—puppeteer links severed. "My masters!" it bellowed.
Vulcan's chains snapped tight, runes blazing. Mo Han's flames poured into wounds. Yue Zhilan's spear pierced eyes. Drake's lightning-chained jaws shut.
I leaped to skull, blade plunging heart-deep. "Sleep eternal."
Wyrm convulsed once, then stilled. Caves quieted. The red light faded.
The surface shook a final time. Snow settled. Mortal cheers echoed faintly.
We emerged bloodied but whole. Refugees rushed forward—not kneeling, but embracing farmers-turned-soldiers. Caravans resumed, richer for cleared roads.
Foreign kings sent frantic pleas: 'Shadows struck everywhere. Cultists dead. Wyrm silenced. Alliance eternal?'
Lin Dao smiled at Maps. "Sect broken. No war follows."
Meiyin reappeared, the legion reforming silently. "Puppeteer gone. Kingdoms blind again."
The system chimed.
"Ding! Wyrm Sealed. Cult Eradicated. Legion Perfection Achieved. Reward: Shadow Realm Access—Legion portals instantly anywhere. National Loyalty: 99%."
I sheathed my blade, snow crunching underfoot. "United we dove. Divided shadows won."
Yue Zhilan leaned on a spear. "Mortal-divine. They learn together."
Mo Han laughed. "Wyrm tasted hell!"
Below, cities lit lanterns—victory quiet. Trade boomed unbroken. Foreign kings knelt unseen.
The beast tide's master died in the dark. The nation stood stronger.
Shadows beneath snow proved deadliest.