A desolate wasteland stretched before them, lined with towering, withered trees.
At the center of the path, an army advanced at a brutal pace.
They stood like men but bore the visages of wild dogs—massive, muscular, their bloodshot eyes gleaming with primal hunger. Each gripped a spiked club, their fur matted with dirt and dried blood.
These were the Warhounds of Gou Quan, the elite force that had carved their kingdom from the bones of weaker races. Every soldier among them was a Sixth Heaven powerhouse—capable of slaughtering a hundred ordinary men without breaking stride.
"General, thirty li more—Tai Cang's capital lies ahead."
A scout panted as he caught up to the lead commander, a towering figure whose black fur marked him as superior to the common gray-coated warriors.
The Warhound General sneered. "Thirty li? Then we rest here. Let the Ravagers catch up."
The thousand Warhounds obeyed instantly, collapsing onto the ground and curling up like common strays. Soon, a larger force arrived—five thousand Ravagers, their lesser status evident in their hunched postures and worn gear.
Their commander approached, bowing deeply. "General, the Ravagers await your orders."
The Warhound General's disdain was palpable. "Tai Cang is already dead. Without their Wei Army or King Ji Shang, they're nothing but fish on a chopping block. A thousand of us could flatten them—your rabble is just excess weight."
The Ravager commander's eyes flashed with resentment, but he remained silent.
"Before, we held back," the general continued, "fearing the Wei Army and that old monster Ji Shang. But now? Their land will be our pasture. Their adults, our slaves. The rest—" His tongue lolled hungrily. "—our larder for the Solar Silence."
The Ravager commander's muzzle twitched in anticipation. Two months of perpetual night loomed ahead—a time when food grew scarce. Sixty thousand Tai Cang humans would feed their kind for years.
"Should we scout the city's defenses?" the Ravager ventured.
The general barked a laugh. "Defenses? Their eight thousand Cang Shou are all that remain. The other six thousand are pinned down by the Zhou Qing monkeys. What could those livestock possibly muster?"
With a final snarl, he raised his club. "Forward! Let our claws crack open Tai Cang's gates and feast on all within!"
Back in Tai City, Grand Archivist Zhao Qu watched as Ji Xia and Ji Qianqing finalized their plans.
"If we've already uncovered one spy," Zhao Qu asked, "why imprison all the officials?"
Ji Xia didn't look up from the map. "Can you guarantee there's only one?"
Ji Qianqing added, "That hound used drugs to mimic human form and outran even me. We can't risk our only advantage leaking."
"The Warhounds don't know about the Yin Soldiers," Ji Xia said. "Surprise is our blade. But if even one more spy remains..."
Ji Qianqing studied him. "You truly are the Wind's Chosen, aren't you?"
"Why else would the Nether Army obey me?"
She shook her head. "Summoning spirits isn't unheard of among greater nations. I thought you'd stumbled upon some lost art. But now..." Her lips quirked. "Only the Great Wind could turn a coward into a man bold enough to jail his own court."
Before Ji Xia could retort, the War Bell tolled nine times.
A scout burst in. "The Warhounds have reached Green Plains—ten li from our walls!"
Ji Xia exhaled sharply and raised the Royal Decree.
"Generals, hear your orders!"
The eight thousand Cang Shou stamped their weapons in unison.
"Zuo Kun—take two thousand archers to the walls. Rain death the moment they enter range."
"Chu Jiao, Meng Yan—each command a thousand, ambush from the flanks."
"General Ji, Rong Lu, and I..." He gritted his teeth. "...will lead the remaining four thousand in the center."
Ji Qianqing's eyebrow shot up. "You're volunteering to die?"
"You saw me kill that hound, didn't you?"
"That was a Fifth Heaven runt. You have no spiritual energy. One stray arrow, and—"
"I know." Ji Xia's smile was grim. "But if those monsters get their claws on a royal, they'll skin me alive just for fun."
As he turned to leave, Ji Qianqing vanished—leaping straight off the tower.
Ji Xia glared at the empty space. "Showoff."