Black Duke (First Update)

"Tap, tap, tap."

Rotting leather boots trod across cracked flagstones. The lantern in the Warden's hand swayed gently, its abyss-dark wick swallowing every trace of light that spilled through the windows.

Neither the Warden nor the Evil Spirit soldiers noticed Xia Lun's hazy figure.

Xia Lun gripped his sword hilt tight. His heartbeat slowly quickened, and the dryness in his mouth sharpened his focus.

Though all light had vanished from the corridor, adrenaline and the oxygen surging through his veins made every detail in his field of vision clearer and more vivid.

Closer. Closer...

The Evil Spirit jailers behind the Warden came to a halt. They watched him solemnly, every eye on their faces seemingly filled with obedience and reverence.

Unlike theirs, Xia Lun's gaze was unreadable, as though focused on nothing at all.

He fought to suppress his excitement and anticipation, held his breath, and waited in silence for the perfect moment to strike.

"Tap, tap."

The lantern swayed with each footstep. The Warden and his personal guards walked slowly to the breach, where a bitter wind howled in and whipped his black robe behind him.

Suddenly, he stopped. A twisted, hazy shadow appeared in the reflection on his icy blade.

Without warning, pitch-black fire erupted along the blade. The reflection vanished beneath the roaring Black Flame, whose heart was dark and terrifying.

Had he been spotted?!

The instant the thought arose, Xia Lun sprang into action. Light and shadow churned as he lunged upright, bursting through the murky gloom. Dim light and bits of stone pattered against the jailers.

"Anti-Saint Fu protect us! Long live the Black Duke!"

Almost the moment Xia Lun struck, the shadows at the breach surged. An unfamiliar hooded figure leaped out of the darkness, shouting the slogan and lighting a stick of Blood