A red halo gathered before San Mu.
There was no sound, no warning.
The instant the halo condensed into a scorching mark, a dragon-shaped torrent of blazing heat slammed into the pale blue light barrier outside the city walls. A transparent thread of law flowed through the heart of the flames, and the air crackled as though being torn apart wherever it passed.
The light barrier of the city-protecting formation trembled violently. The point of impact caved inward, sending out dense ripples. Then, white, spiderweb-like cracks burst from the center of the ripples. The cracks spread with astonishing speed, covering several yards in the blink of an eye as the barrier let out a shrill screech like shattering glass.
Crack—
The distinct sound of breaking pierced the ears of every guard atop the walls. At the end of the second breath, the pale blue barrier collapsed into countless drifting blue motes. A perfectly round hole, its edges still flowing with molten light, appeared above the city wall.
The moment the barrier shattered, two figures passed through the hole and landed on the solid black stone of the battlements.
The city wall fell deathly silent.
The soldiers holding halberds stood frozen, all color drained from their faces. A leopard-headed, humanoid general clad in Xuan Se scale armor pushed aside the stunned personal guards before him and stepped forward. The fur around his neck was slightly singed, burned by the heat that had escaped when the formation shattered.
The leopard-headed general's gaze swept over San Mu before quickly settling on Zhang Tie. He made no attempt to draw his weapon, nor did he call for the soldiers to form ranks. Something resigned settled within those brownish-yellow beast eyes.
He raised a hand and took an object from the lining beneath his armor—a