"Why do you attack me?" Thoren asked, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.
"Hahaha!"
The only woman among the group threw her head back and laughed without the slightest concern for her image.
The four men beside her did not join in, but sneers tugged at the corners of their mouths, their gazes filled with mockery and disdain.
"You've offended many powerful people," she said, her laughter tapering into a sharp sneer. "Did you truly expect there to be no retaliation?"
As she spoke, her playful expression slowly hardened. Her eyes narrowed, gleaming with killing intent. "Today, you will pay for your sins…with your life."
The space around them trembled faintly, as if responding to her words.
The tension in the narrow mountain passage thickened, heavy enough to suffocate. The five awakeners stared at Thoren as though he were already a corpse lying at their feet.
