What happened...?
What happened?
"An earthquake! The earth dragon—the earth dragon is turning over!"
It had happened so suddenly that, at this hour, almost no one was awake besides the patrolling soldiers. The instant the earth dragon turned over, some light sleepers jolted awake, still foggy-headed, only for the ground beneath them to split and collapse as flames shot into the sky.
The fire was fearsome.
Wherever it touched, it burned.
The Ten Crows capital followed the example of the states within the passes, and its core buildings were mostly made of luxurious, precious timber. Families of somewhat more modest means carefully stitched together layers upon layers of treated cowhide and sheepskin, then hung heavy curtains inside.
Families with even less means used coarse cloth that had been dried and stiffened, smearing on several layers of oil to keep out wind and rain.
In short, everything was flammable.
The earth dragon turned over, and a fire dragon burst forth. Worse still, countless sparks the size of fists rained down from the sky, covering nearly the entire inner city. The fire wasn't "a single flower blooming alone"; it was "flowers blooming everywhere." There was no time to put it out, and things grew even worse as the shaking intensified. Many people were crushed in their sleep by collapsing tents and roof beams, and the flames pounced on them like bloodthirsty beasts catching the scent of blood.
"Wake up! The earth dragon is turning over!"
"Ahhhhh—"
"Help!"
"Fire! Fire! Fire!"
Even those lucky enough to crawl out were driven to flee with their heads in their hands by the fire raining from the sky. The earth dragon kept thrashing, making it impossible to stay on their feet; one misstep and they could go sprawling. Terror spread in an instant, and the city