Deathly silence.
A thick, deathly silence shrouded the scorched earth before the city gate.
Only the dark-red light of the sky flowed soundlessly, illuminating the corpse on the ground that still held a trace of warmth, and that black figure standing straight as a spear, as if he had come treading through blood.
Zhu Zhuqing tightened her grip on the cold dagger hidden in her sleeve. Deep within her cat eyes, Lin Xia's back was reflected, and in the depths of her icy heart, something was burning in silence.
Ning Rongrong covered her mouth, looking at the corpse on the ground, then at Lin Xia's calm profile. A chill shot up her spine, yet strangely, it brought her a twisted sense of safety.
Dugu Yan licked her somewhat dry lips, excitement and fighting spirit flashing through her emerald eyes.
Ye Lingling closed her eyes. In the perception of her Nine Heart Begonia, the cold, deathly silence brought by that newly extinguished flame of life intertwined with the malice around them that had suddenly drawn inward yet grown even darker, weaving into a suffocating net.
Meng Yiran's legs went weak, and she could barely stand, relying entirely on holding Ye Lingling's arm.
Lin Xia no longer looked at anyone. He turned and walked toward that tightly shut door, the symbol of the beginning of slaughter and despair—
Black City Gate.
Ahead, one hundred and one Black-Armored Warriors stood like statues carved from the rock layers of hell, silently cutting off the path.
Heavy swords planted against the ground, their armor linked into a black tide that swallowed the light.
The only knight seated on horseback spoke in an inhumanly cold voice from beneath his visor.
"You have violated the rules."
His voice struck a faint echo in the deathly still gate