Blood dripped from the jagged stone ceiling.Chase stood in the pitch black shadows of the Eastern Ridge access tunnel. The freezing rain washed over the rocks outside but the interior of the cavern was dry and silent. Kugar and a dozen Vanguard scouts crouched in the dark behind him. They wore dark gray cloaks to blend into the granite walls.The primary resource vault of the summit sat fifty yards ahead. Two heavy iron gates blocked the passage. Four loyalist enforcers patrolled the entrance with heavy mechanical crossbows.The usurper stored the vast majority of his winter grain and advanced beast cores inside this specific mountain fortress. If the Vanguard destroyed this stockpile the loyalist army would starve in less than a week. The tactical mathematics were simple and brutal."They rotate the perimeter guard every hour Lu Chen," Kugar whispered. The giant enforcer breathed quietly through his mouth to hide the sound. "We have twenty minutes before the next patrol marches down

Ten thousand boots struck the ancient stone steps in flawless unison. The rhythmic sound rolled up the steep incline like thunder and shook the morning mist from the dark pine trees. Lin led the massive army up the primary artery of the mountain. Elder Sima and Elder Teng flanked her with their respective captains. Chase Lu walked one pace behind her right shoulder."Killian disarmed the remaining summit patrols in the lower sectors," Sima reported. The older manager struggled to catch his breath on the steep stairs. "The loyalist army fractured. The men who did not surrender scattered into the eastern valleys.""They recognize a dead empire," Teng added pragmatically. "Yuan has nothing left but the grand courtyard and the men trapped inside it.""We must reorganize the Kaelen laborers once we take the throne," Sima suggested between heavy breaths. "We cannot have five thousand untrained men roaming the upper peaks without supervision. My pavilion can absorb a thousand of them into th

"Save the True Sect Master!" a Kaelen laborer screamed from the front rank of the army.The desperate cry shattered the suffocating silence of the grand courtyard. Sect Master Yuan stood over the bleeding body of Lin and raised his fist for a lethal strike. Chase Lu gripped the hilt of his obsidian sword and stepped forward. He prepared to cross the marble plaza and end the usurper.A heavy silver broadsword blocked his path.Elder Teng stepped in front of the billionaire. Elder Sima, Elder Yin, and Elder Shen flanked the Eastern master. The four pavilion masters drew their weapons in perfect unison. Their faces were grim and pale in the morning light."Stand down Lu Chen," Teng commanded. "Do not take another step."Chase looked at the silver blade resting inches from his chest. "Your commander is dying on the floor Teng. She needs help.""She needs her sect to defend her," Yin corrected him. The Northern master pointed his spear toward the center of the plaza. "You won the outer pea

The red curved blade met the obsidian sword with a deafening crack.Chase drove his entire calcified weight against the center assassin but the Manifestation aura acted like a solid brick wall. The loyalist guard did not yield a single inch of muddy ground. The collision created a vacuum of air that rustled the dark pine branches above them."You hit like a falling rock," the center assassin noted behind his featureless iron mask. "But a rock is far too slow to catch the wind."The other two Shadow Guards bypassed the duel entirely. They blurred into motion and slammed directly into the Vanguard shield wall. The twelve laborers braced their shoulders against the stolen iron shields and screamed in unison to hold the line. They were mortals fighting ascended masters.The red curved blades sliced through the forged iron like dry autumn leaves.The left assassin spun through the narrow gap and drove his weapon into the neck of the nearest scout. Bright red blood sprayed across the gray g

Clatter! A hundred forged steel swords hit the ruined marble floor in perfect unison.The loyalist central guard surrendered. They looked at the shattered defensive arrays and the bleeding pavilion masters standing in the center of the grand courtyard. They saw the sheer destruction of the western ridge and realized the war was lost. Killian unbuckled his iron chest plate and let it drop to the wet stone. The remaining captains followed his lead and dropped to their knees in the cold rain.The Mountain Viper Sect was finally unified under one banner.Lin stood in the center of the carnage. Her gray tunic was soaked in blood and her breathing was ragged. She did not smile or celebrate the victory. She looked at the kneeling soldiers and understood the terrifying burden she just inherited.Elder Teng approached her slowly. The Eastern master clutched his broken ribs but maintained a rigid posture. He reached into his robes and pulled out a heavy jade ring carved in the shape of a coiled