Dingdaer Country.
Amid the rolling mountains, earthen houses stood scattered among the yellow soil and lush greenery. Each building's exterior was coated with a faint gray substance—a method Attis used to control these Lords.
If they made any unusual moves, these houses would instantly transform into precise spiderweb barriers, turning the buildings into sealed coffins and burying the Lords within. And not only the houses—these Lords had also been branded with Godseals.
Yet at that very moment, the Godseals flickered a few times like lamps losing power. Then, the faint gray abruptly dimmed, and the savage marks became lifeless, as though the chains around their necks had completely snapped.
"What happened? Lord Attis's marks have failed?"
The strongest member of this group, an elderly man in white robes, gazed into the distance against the wind, toward the far end of the vast land.
That was the territory of another Lord, Smedley. Though both sides belonged to the Saint Hall, they normally never interacted. The Lord of Lust kept a close watch over his pets.
Boom—!
Suddenly, an earth-shaking sound erupted from that territory. At the same time, shrill alarms exploded beside their ears. Something had happened to the Saint Hall!
"Retreat! That Yang God Lord from the Xia Kingdom is here! He has descended in person, and he intends to destroy the Saint Hall!"
A bird flapped across the high sky. Halfway through its flight, it transformed into a human figure and tumbled to the ground—a pale, frail woman.
Yet the elderly man in white robes did not respond.
At that moment,
the old man clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He raised his head and looked up at the sky with aged eyes, saying bitterly,
"Too late."
"The Yang God Lord... is already here."
Rumble—!