When the outline of a city appeared ahead, Qin An frowned.
Before him lay ruins. Everywhere he could see was gray, steeped in an oppressive gloom.
Gray smoke still rose from the city walls. The scene looked desolate, as though the end of the world had come.
"What happened here?" Qin An's expression turned grave.
He gripped Cold Star and soared toward the city walls at tremendous speed.
The closer he came, the stronger the smell of burning grew.
It poured from the city as though it would never end.
With it came great clouds of dust. A single breath left his whole body feeling wretched.
Through the dust, the city's outline looked so ravaged it stirred his heart.
Thud!
A dull sound rang out.
As Qin An landed atop the wall, the scene beyond it came into view.
Ruins stretched as far as he could see: collapsed houses, shattered streets, burning timber, and charred corpses strewn across the ground.
The bodies bore horrific signs of death. These people had plainly died by cruel means.
Every corpse still held a weapon. Some had even died with their weapons raised. They had fought the enemy to their last breath without retreating a single step.
Qin An could sense their auras. They were Holdouts.
But who could have killed so many Holdouts at once?
After a moment's thought, Qin An suspected the Betrayers.
He drew a deep breath and rose into the sky again. Hovering high above the city, he surveyed it.
He wanted to find anything unusual—or whatever this place might be hiding.
As his gaze swept across the city, he spotted something.
A body shifted within the ruins.
Qin An realized at once that the person was still alive.
He became an Afterimage and dropped from the sky, landing steadily