The spell of dread broke. Soldiers moved on instinct, stepping into their practiced positions. Shields locked with a heavy clang, and spears lowered like a forest of steel.
The beast stirred, a low, grating creak rumbling from deep within its body as it began to uncoil from the pillar.
Segnted plates shifted against one another with a sound like grinding stone, and each hooked leg tore furrows into the ancient column.
The shriek of claw against rock echoed harshly through the chamber, raising gooseflesh on every soldier's arms.
Dust sifted down from above, shaken loose by its movent, and the air itself seed to grow heavier.
As the massive form descended, a suffocating pressure spread through the room, squeezing lungs and freezing muscles.
Even the veterans among them couldn't hide the shadows in their eyes. They exchanged grim, silent looks, the sa unspoken thought etched into every face.
This was no ordinary ruin creature.
The pressure it gave told them enough. Its power rivaled that of an Astral Bloom stage ascendant, a being who could erase entire armies with a thought.
But comparisons were almost aningless here. Within these ruins, monsters were not bound by the sa rules. So bent the environnt to their will, others wielded ancient instincts no ascendant could predict. So could even slay enemies stronger than themselves, and this abomination looked born for such slaughter.
Then it dropped.
The impact was cataclysmic.
Stone cracked and roared under the monster's weight, the force shuddering up through the floor.
The vaulted chamber shook like it had been struck by a hamr, loose shards of rock raining down from above.
Several soldiers stumbled, struggling to keep their footing as the quake rolled through them.
"Hold ranks!" generals barked sharply, dragging their troops back into order.
"Front line, brace!" another shouted, voice cutting through the noise.
The monstrosity wasted no ti. With terrifying speed that belied its massive size, it surged forward, body rippling in a steel tide.
Countless limbs, each ending in a bladed claw, lashed outward in a blur of motion. The edges glead faintly, razor sharp, ready to shear through tal and flesh alike.
But the soldiers were not green recruits. Drilled endlessly for monts like this, they moved as one.
A flare of white light burst into being before the formation, rising in the shape of a barrier.
The creature's first flurry crashed against it, each strike ringing out like hamrs against iron.
The chamber reverberated with the sound, deafening and relentless.
The barrier quivered under the storm of blows, rippling outward like water disturbed by falling stones. But it did not break.
Snarling, the creature unleashed another furious volley. Blade-arms rained down in a storm, each impact hard enough to dent steel.
The barrier only shivered, holding fast against the tide. No cracks appeared, no splinters spread across its surface.
And then the monster paused.
Its crimson eyes swiveled, hunting across the battlefield before fixing upon a single point, Reynold's unit. Unlike the Yan army, no visible barrier before them.
To the monster's gaze, they stood naked, defenseless.
It lunged.
A blur of black and crimson streaked through the gloom, body undulating with terrifying power.
Its hooked limbs screeched through the air, swordlike forelegs scything downward at the seemingly unprotected n. But the soldiers remained unfazed.
And the creature's blow never landed.
The chamber rang with another deafening crack. The creature's montum stopped mid-swing, as though it had slamd into an invisible wall.
For a heartbeat, nothing seed to hold it back, yet its claws refused to advance an inch further.
Then ca the sound: sharp, jagged snaps, echoing in rapid succession.
Several of the creature's limbs fractured at the joints, twisted, and were broken. Pieces of armored claw clattered to the stone floor, leaving the creature's strikes crippled and incomplete.
A faint shimr rippled in the air, there for only an instant before fading again.
Unlike the Yan army's barriers, his was unseen and integrated seamlessly into the air itself. It did not flare or glow but bent space subtly, denying entry to anything that sought to cross.
Derived from Reynold's personal domain, it was a shield and a weapon both, twisting the very fabric of the ruin to repel intruders.
And the centipede-like monstrosity had just learned that its prey was far from defenseless.
The monster hissed, its body recoiling as it drew its broken limbs close.
The sound was sharp and grating, like rusted iron being dragged across stone.
For a mont, it appeared to falter, but then, like a tide retreating before the next wave, it slid back with shocking speed.
Its long, segnted body slithered toward the base of the colossal pillar, coiling around the ancient stone like a grotesque guardian serpent.
There it waited. Its eyes locked onto the gathered armies. Every soldier could feel its gaze pressing down, as if the creature were not simply watching them, but weighing their very souls.
Within the Yan army's glowing barrier, a soft vibration filled the air.
At first, it was only a hum, like a distant temple bell, but then voices rose in unison. The soldiers moved as one, their stances steady, their lips forming an ancient chant that resonated deep within the chamber.
From each soldier's body, strands of radiant white light erged, thin as spider silk yet steady as flowing rivers.
They drifted upward, drawn together as though compelled by invisible threads, converging at the center of the formation.
There, their general stood tall, a commanding figure clad in layered red armor that glead faintly.
His presence alone radiated authority, but what caught every eye was the weapon he now held.
In his hands shimred a bow, its elegant fra ford entirely of light.
A faint halo trailed from the string, glowing brighter as the gathered radiance poured into it. The weapon pulsed as though alive, the chamber filling with its holy aura.
Watching from the side, the elder narrowed his eyes. His long white beard shifted as he slowly stroked it, studying the weapon with grave interest.
"A holy artifact," he muttered, his voice carrying the weight of certainty.
Ling Yan, who stood at the front of her forces, gave a calm nod. "We brought it just in case."
The elder's lips curled upward into a faint smile, approval flashing in his eyes. "It's perfect for ruin exploration, after all."
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