Flames surged upward. The temple's great dome burned fiercely, and the acrid smell of scorching drifted down with the rain. Wooden supports between the stone arches splintered in the superheated steam, and an arch carved with acanthus patterns came spinning down!
Bang!
The arch struck the ground, scattering hot sparks and dust. The next instant, a spray of scarlet blood shot through the air and splashed onto the flames, hissing into a cloud of bloody mist.
Thud.
A Temple Guard in silver-plated scale armor clutched his throat and collapsed before the fire. His face was twisted, his eyes still filled with resentment and despair. Flames spread across his body, their light illuminating the invaders' faces and pinning their warped, frenzied shadows to the wall.
With the entire Golden City focused on the Green Wall, few guards remained in the Temple District. Now only one Temple Guard was left inside this building, and he had been driven into a corner.
"Pour the oil! Light it up! Let this symbol of the slave owners' crimes burn to ash!" The dark-skinned female leader of the Unassigned shook blood from her blade. Her full red lips spread into a grin as she shouted, "Burn it all! Leave nothing standing!"
"I surrender!" The last Temple Guard threw down his weapon and begged, his face ashen. "Don't kill me!"
The dark-skinned leader paused. A glimmer of hope had just appeared on the guard's face when she suddenly sneered.
"When slaves begged you for mercy, did you spare them? You never spared anyone, so how dare you expect mercy from us? We are the souls of vengeance!" she declared fiercely, then waved to the people behind her. "Burn him alive. I want to watch him scream in the flames—" Before she could finish, thunder cracked. A deathly