The pitch-black banners of the central command tent swayed heavily in the wind, their snapping making hearts tighten.
Hundreds of yards from the tent, layers upon layers of restrictive wards were already in place. Faint glimmers vanished into the air, betraying no outward signs, yet exerting an invisible pressure.
The moment Qin He and the others stepped onto the bluestone platform a few yards away, two silver-armored cultivators raised their hands to stop them.
"Halt."
Their voices were cold and hard, without a trace of unnecessary emotion.
Only registered high-ranking functionaries and soldiers had ever been allowed into the central command area. Temporary reinforcements assigned to the periphery like them were not even qualified to approach it.
The elder from the Fire God Hall leading them remained calm. Rather than argue, he simply raised a dark-red hall token.
Along the way, Lin Yan had already noticed that this clearly was not the elder's first time escorting newcomers into camp.
Quite a few of the Divine War Department cultivators passing by recognized him.
Some nodded in greeting as they passed. Others swept their gazes over the group, undisguised contempt and mockery in their eyes.
"Another batch to plug the front lines. There must have been dozens these past few days."
"Their foundations look awful. Each batch is worse than the last."
"If those bastards at the recruitment office are no use, we might as well send them up to plug the lines."
"Just useless chicks and mongrels making up the numbers."
The scattered sneers were quiet, but every word reached everyone's ears clearly.
Many of the younger cultivators flushed red. Some clenched their fists, but none dared voice a rebuttal.
The Divine War Department was the Divine Court's principal combat arm. Its cultivators spent year after year fighting bloody battles, possessing