Hong Chen and the Ten Attendants walked across the wilderness.
The outline of Wolf Mountain remained in the distance, yet suddenly, the horizon split with a streak of white.
Amid the rolling clouds, a city appeared, faint and ghostlike.
Hong Chen's steps abruptly halted.
He stared at that patch of light in the clouds, whispering a name almost buried by time:
"City… of… White Clouds…"
His voice was so soft, it seemed afraid of waking something.
"Qin Feng…"
The wind suddenly grew distant.
Memories surged without warning.
At that time, he was not yet a traitor.
He was only the deputy general of the Holy City.
On the eve of the campaign, beneath the cliffside tree, the moonlight flowed like water.
Qin Feng stood beside him. The wind stirred her hair, yet could not shake the determination in her eyes.
"Do you know?"
She spoke suddenly, her voice soft.
"My mother… was once the ruler of City of White Clouds."
Hong Chen paused slightly.
Qin Feng looked toward the distance, her gaze spanning the mountains.
"Later… she married the king, my father.
But the year City of White Clouds was attacked by the orcs…"
She paused, as if restraining something.
"My mother was gravely wounded.
She could never return to that city."
Moonlight fell on her profile, cold and clear.
"Tomorrow," Qin Feng turned to him, her eyes firmer than ever,
"We will reclaim City of White Clouds."
Hong Chen did not hesitate.
He reached out, drawing her into his arms.
"We will."
Beneath the cliffside tree, they held each other tightly.
In that moment, they both believed:
Some things, once determined to take back, could always be reclaimed.
The memory stopped there.
The wind of the wilderness returned to his ears.
Hong Chen remained standing, unmoving.
City of White Clouds still lay in the distance.
And Qin Feng… was no longer in this world.
The battlefield horns of City of White Clouds thundered through the clouds.
At that instant, it seemed even the sky answered.
Hong Chen and Qin Feng marched side by side, leading the army straight to the city gates.
Reinforcements from Hong Lei were still far behind, yet the battle could no longer wait.
The gates collapsed under Hong Chen's charge.
Stone splintered, horns blared faster.
Qin Feng did not falter.
She entered the city with her blade, swift as the wind, cutting down orc soldiers as if personally reclaiming her mother's land.
Hong Chen followed closely, his blade already stained with blood.
The streets within the city were eerily empty.
Too quiet.
When they reached the city center, unease flickered in Hong Chen's heart.
But it was already too late.
The horns fell silent.
The ground trembled.
Massive forms emerged from behind the buildings.
An ambush.
Giant orc warriors, like moving walls, surrounded them.
The battle erupted instantly.
Blades clashed with axes, a deafening roar filling the air.
Hong Chen and Qin Feng fought back to back, blood and dust mingling as they pressed forward.
Until…
An orc warrior struck from the flank, raising a massive axe.
Hong Chen saw it.
"Qin Feng!"
He lunged forward.
But in that instant, time did not stop.
The axe fell.
Qin Feng's body convulsed violently, flung through the air.
When Hong Chen caught her, her strength had already drained rapidly.
Her hands were icy, no longer like a living person.
Hong Chen's vision blurred.
The next moment, a heavy broadsword pierced his abdomen, pinning him to the city wall.
His breath was ripped apart, the world tilting around him.
The horns sounded again.
But these were not the orcs'.
It was the reinforcements.
…Hong Lei led his army into the city.
When he reached the city center, his steps froze.
He saw…
Qin Feng lying in a pool of blood, barely breathing, like a candle flickering in the wind.
And Hong Chen, pinned to the wall, head bowed, armor soaked in blood, crimson drops sliding down the blade, one by one, into the dust.
In that moment, the world in Hong Lei's eyes contained only two colors:
The red beneath Qin Feng.
And the deeper red… on the city wall.
红辰与十待行走在荒野之上.
狼山的轮廓尚在远方,天际却忽然裂开了一线白色.
云海翻涌之中,一座城池若隐若现.
红辰的脚步,骤然停下.
他望着那片云光,低声念出那个几乎被岁月掩埋的名字:
"白...云...城..."
声音轻得像是怕惊醒什么.
"琴风..."
风声忽然变得遥远.
记忆,毫无征兆地涌来.
那时,他还不是叛徒.
只是圣城的副将军.
出征前夜,崖边的大树下,月色如水.
琴风站在他身旁,风吹动她的发梢,却吹不散她眼底的坚定.
"你知道吗?"
她忽然开口,声音很轻.
"我母后...曾是白云城的城主."
红辰微微一怔.
琴风抬头望向远方,目光越过群山.
"后来,她嫁给了父王."
"可白云城,被兽人攻打的那一年..."
她停了一下,像是在压住什么.
"母后身受重伤."
"没能再回到那座城."
月光落在她的侧脸上,冷而清晰.
"明天."
琴风转过身,看着红辰,眼神从未如此坚定.
"我们一定要把白云城拿回来."
红辰没有犹豫.
他伸手,将她拥入怀中.
"一定."
他们在崖边的大树下紧紧相拥.
那一刻,他们都以为
有些东西,只要想夺回,就一定能夺回.
记忆至此,戛然而止.
荒野的风重新涌入耳中.
红辰站在原地,良久未动.
白云城,仍在远方.
而琴风,已不在这个世界.
白云城的战场号角,在云海间轰然响起.
那一刻,仿佛连天空都在回应.
红辰与琴风并肩而行,率军直扑城门.
洪雷的后援尚在远处,战局却已无法等待.
城门在红辰的冲击下轰然崩裂.
石屑飞散,号角声更急.
琴风没有停步.
她提刀入城,身影如风,斩杀兽兵,一路直冲,仿佛要亲手踏回母后的土地.
红辰紧随其后,刀光却已染血.
城内街道空旷得异常.
太安静了.
当他们抵达城中央时,红辰心中掠过一丝不安.
却已经来不及了.
号角声骤停.
地面震动.
巨大的身影自四周建筑后缓缓走出.
是埋伏.
巨型兽人战士如同移动的城墙,将他们团团围住.
厮杀瞬间爆发.
刀与斧碰撞,震耳欲聋.
红辰与琴风背靠背而战,血与尘混在一起,他们仍在向前.
直到...
一名兽人战士从侧翼杀出,巨斧高举.
红辰看见了.
"琴风!"
他冲过去.
可那一瞬间,时间并没有为他停下.
斧影落下.
琴风的身体猛地一震,整个人被掀飞出去.
红辰接住她时,力量已在她体内迅速流失.
她的手,冰冷得不像活人.
红辰的视线骤然模糊.
下一刻,一把沉重的大宽剑贯穿他的腹部,将他死死钉在城墙之上.
呼吸被撕裂,世界开始倾斜.
号角声再次响起.
那不是兽人的.
是援军.
...洪雷率军杀入城中.
当他冲进城中央时,脚步猛地停住.
他看见了...
琴风倒在血泊之中,气息微弱,像风中将熄的烛火.
而红辰,被钉在墙上,低垂着头,血浸透盔甲,顺着剑锋,一滴,一滴,砸入尘土.
那一刻,洪雷眼中的世界,只剩下两种颜色:
琴风身下的红.
与城墙上的,更深的红...