The night was pitch-black ink. The gilded lights of Fontaine cast shards of jade upon the waters of the Seine, yet none knew that iron hooves from another dimension were already tearing through the clouds.
Xu Rong, vanguard general under Lü Bu, reined in his steed Dark Cloud Treading Snow. His scarlet cloak billowed in the night wind like blood — three days prior, he had received the Marquis of Wen's order, leading three thousand Bingzhou Wolf Riders through a spatial rift, their target fixed on this glass city floating upon the water.
"General, the southern watergate has been breached."
The vice-general's voice drifted over, damp with mist. Xu Rong lifted his gaze to the palaces nested beneath crystal domes. Fontaine's defenders still patrolled in routine; their silver armor glinted under the moonlight like unsheathed swords, utterly unaware that death had crept ashore with the rising tide.
"Beat the drums."
Xu Rong drew his ring sword, its edge slicing through the cold, humid air.
"Tell the men: three days of unbridled plunder once the city falls."
The sudden thunder of hooves shattered the night's peace. The iron hooves of the Bingzhou Wolf Riders crushed the bluestone streets, startling waterbirds into flight from the river. At first, Fontaine's guards mistook them for fellow night patrols — only when the first wave of arrows whistled through the air did the silver-armored soldiers realize in screams: these were wolf-tooth arrows from the eastern battlefields, their tips poisoned with wolf dung, burning into flesh on impact.
"Enemy attack!"
The garrison commander's roar was drowned in the tide of cavalry. Xu Rong charged at the forefront. Where his ring sword swept, crystal railings and soldier throats alike broke apart. Spilled blood snaked like rivers across the glassy ground. Fontaine's proud water-element barriers were little more than paper before the heavy cavalry. Whenever a rider's spear pierced an elemental shield, a string of dying wails followed.
By the time the inferno of news reached Palais Mermonia, Neuvillette was reviewing revisions to the Tidal Code.
In the Hydro Sovereign's pupils, the sudden blaze outside the window reflected. Water arrows had barely formed at his fingertips when the palace doors shattered under brute force.
"Who dares intrude?"
Neuvillette's voice remained calm, currents coiling into a shield around him.
"Xu Rong, under Lü Bu."
The visitor's armor was caked in blood, his spear pointed straight at the Hydro Sovereign's throat.
"By order of the Marquis of Wen: your head."
A Hydro Dragon phantom loomed behind Neuvillette. Waters throughout the palace boiled in an instant. Yet an even more terrifying killing intent erupted behind Xu Rong — the neigh of the Red Hare pierced the palace walls, the Sky-Shattering Halberd sliced through the void, and Lü Bu's figure crashed between them like thunder.
"Why butcher a chicken with an ox-cleaver?"
Lü Bu's laughter carried a metallic ring. His halberd swept, cleanly cutting Neuvillette's condensed Hydro Dragon in two.
"Such a deity — I alone am enough."
For the first time, shock flashed in Neuvillette's eyes.
He summoned the water elements of the entire city, seeking to whirl the madman into a vortex. But every swing of Lü Bu's halberd bore unrivaled force; water elements shattered the moment they touched its blade.
When the crescent edge of the halberd pressed against Neuvillette's throat, the Hydro Sovereign finally understood: his foe was no native of this world — he was an Asura risen from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
"Fontaine's justice shall not be…"
The last word died in his throat. Warm blood splattered across Lü Bu's Red Hare mane.
The Hydro Sovereign, wielder of judgment, never even saw the second strike.
Meanwhile, Furina was being escorted by guards through a burning corridor. The mage He Chizhe erected a runic light barrier before her, deflecting falling embers.
"Your Excellency, Palais Mermonia has fallen. Lord Neuvillette he…"
The captain's voice choked, only to be cut short by Furina's sharp shout:
"Silence! To the tram station!"
Her skirt was dusted with ash. Her once-lively eyes now held only panic.
He Chizhe froze the pursuers' steps with ice magic, yelling:
"General Guan's men are at the eastern gate! We must circle around!"
Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade sliced a cyan arc through the firelight. The heat of its wind could ignite falling sparks. His five hundred elite swordsmen formed a formation, holding the wolf riders back at the station entrance. The red-faced, long-bearded general glanced back at Furina and rumbled:
"Board quickly! I shall hold them off!"
"General Guan!"
Clorinde sprinted over with dual swords, an arrow in her left shoulder, blood soaking her knight's uniform.
"Escort His Excellency first. Leave this to me."
Guan Yu frowned to protest, but He Chizhe tugged him:
"No time! Xu Rong's main force is closing in!"
The steam whistle of the tram pierced the night sky. The moment Furina stepped aboard, she looked back and saw Clorinde turn to charge the pursuers.
Her dual swords whirled into silver blossoms. Every clash numbed her palms. She could parry the riders' spears, but not the arrows pouring from all sides.
The first arrow pierced her right shoulder. The second, her left leg. When the third nailed her chest, Clorinde leaned against a broken wall, watching her blood pool into a small puddle by the tracks.
"For Fontaine…"
She took one last look at the direction the tram had vanished. Her swords slipped from her grasp, and consciousness sank into endless darkness.
The tram raced through the tunnel. Furina slumped in her seat, staring blankly at the fleeting fires outside.
He Chizhe used runes to stem the bleeding on his arm. Guan Yu closed his eyes, wiping blood from his blade.
Only the hiss of steam pipes filled the carriage — until Furina suddenly let out a low, bitter laugh, tears mixing in her voice:
"He always said… Fontaine's justice was unbreakable…"
He Chizhe handed her a clean handkerchief, gazing out at the gradually brightening sea beyond the window.
The lighthouse of Opulent Harbor glowed in the distance.
But all knew: this invasion from another dimension had only just begun.