Hajin counted four thousand citizens moving in step toward the Eastern Reach canal, though nobody called a marching order.
Hajin searched the line for anyone resisting the march before choosing where to strike the compulsory signal.
Across the sluggish canal waters, the loudest and most vibrant mercantile district in the entire metropolis went completely silent.
Four thousand men and women marched toward the embankment, their shoulders squaring on an unspoken and terrifying collective count.
Hajin stood upon the raised stone levee, feeling the unnatural pulse throbbing through the saturated soil beneath his feet.
Aria's diagnostic interface flickered before his eyes, tracing thousands of vibrant blue command filaments connecting the civilian formation.
[ Warning: Compulsory resonance layer active ]
[ Combat pattern: Synchronized metropolitan phalanx ]
[ Civilian infiltration rate: 100% ]
