Linyue's knees wobbled under the weight of the barrier. Her lightning flickered again, but the other barriers stayed strong. Four lights overlapped and glowed as one. Fire. Shadow. Charm. Lightning. They stood shoulder to shoulder as the sky split open once more.
The masked man simply raised his hand for the next strike.
They had to hold. Just a little longer. Until every soldier was inside. Until the gates shut.
Linyue bit her tongue so hard the sharp taste of blood filled her mouth. It stung but it kept her awake. Focused. She couldn't let the barrier fall.
CRACK—BOOM!
The sky threw another tantrum. Lightning crashed down. The ground shook violently. Dirt flew into their faces.
Song Meiyu let out a very undignified squeaky scream and crouched low. Her hairpin rattled like it was about to fall out.
He Yuying choked on his battlefield snack and smacked his own chest. "I swear if I die choking—" he muttered between coughs.
Shen Zhenyu didn't say anything. His face was calm. But Linyue saw the truth. His legs were shaking. His arm too. He was pushing past his limits.
The barrier crackled louder. Flickering dangerously.
Linyue's jaw clenched. She bit harder until blood dripped down her chin.
And then Prince Lu's voice cut through the chaos. "EVERYONE'S ALREADY INSIDE!"
That was it. The cue they needed. Linyue didn't wait. She refused to let him strike first again. Her eyes burned as she raised her hand and sliced it through the air. Lightning surged up from her core, thick and hot, humming with raw rage. It shot into the sky, coiling and twisting until it spread wide over the battlefield. The energy above her pulsed, growing denser, brighter, louder with every breath. The air trembled. Then she brought her arm down.
A rain of blue lightning fell. It slammed into the earth with deafening force. The ground cracked and steamed. Every bolt carved deep scars into the battlefield. Smoke and light burst in every direction.
The masked man's dome-shaped barrier flickered as her lightning hammered it again and again. The strikes rained down mercilessly, pounding against his shield like a hundred angry fists. But she didn't stop. She didn't wait to see the result. In one sharp breath she dismissed her own protective barrier and leapt forward.
The air screamed around her as she moved. The ground blurred beneath her feet. Her lightning wrapped around her like a second skin. Blue streaks spiraled around her legs and arms. Every step left sparks dancing on the dirt. And she wasn't alone.
Footsteps echoed behind her.
"If I die, I'm haunting all of you," He Yuying grumbled darkly, sprinting after her.
"Wait for me!" Song Meiyu yelled, hairpin flapping wildly. "I'm not letting you fight this creepy lightning scarecrow alone!"
Shen Zhenyu was already there, moving in silence. His fire sword burned bright, his breathing ragged but steady.
Together they ran forward. Into the storm.
In the middle of the lightning rain, the masked man didn't move an inch. The bolts slammed into his barrier again and again, but his posture stayed calm. Almost bored.
Linyue's heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst. Her sword hummed, the handle slick in her grip from sweat. Her legs screamed with pain. Her chest burned with every breath. But she didn't slow down. She couldn't. Not when behind her were the people who stayed. Who followed. Who believed. Even if this battle ended in tragedy, she refused to be the first one to fall.
The lightning rain faded. Slowly, the masked man's barrier shimmered and cracked. Then it disappeared completely.
Shu Mingye lunged forward in a surge of fire, his sword glowing bright as he slashed down hard. Linyue followed right behind him. Shen Zhenyu's flames flickered beside her. Song Meiyu and He Yuying charged in too.
Five against one.
Unfair? Maybe. But it didn't feel unfair at all. Not when they could barely keep up. Even with all of them together, they were still losing.
The masked man didn't draw a weapon. No sword. No fan. Nothing but his hands, his feet, and lightning that snapped through the air. He dodged smoothly. One step left. Another step right. Each movement precise and controlled. When he struck back, it wasn't flashy. It was deadly. Short arcs of lightning whipped out from his fingers and arms, zapping forward.
CRACK—! Shu Mingye blocked one with his flame blade but gritted his teeth as the force sent him skidding back across the dirt.
ZAP—! He Yuying cursed as a bolt caught his shoulder, forcing him to roll out of range.
Shen Zhenyu swung his blade, fire roaring, but the masked man ducked under it with ease and sent a blast of lightning at his chest. Only a quick barrier saved him from being thrown across the field.
"Ugh! He's like a walking thunderstorm with legs!" Song Meiyu shouted.
Linyue forced herself to keep moving. She tried to find his rhythm, to read the flow of his movements, but he was too fast. Her blade struck only air again and again. Every missed swing sent a jolt of pain through her arms. Her fingers felt stiff. Her knuckles burned from gripping too tight. The weight of his spiritual energy pressing down made it harder to breathe.
Then it happened.
A mistake. Small. Almost nothing. But enough.
Shu Mingye's blade clipped the edge of the masked man's sleeve. The strike was shallow, barely a graze, but flames curled at the cloth. It burned quickly, leaving a blackened hole. And something slipped out.
A jade pendant.
It fell to the ground with a faint clack.
Linyue's eyes flicked to it. She recognized it. That pendant. The one she had seen once before. Long ago. The one carved with his name.
The masked man slowly lifted his burnt sleeve and tilted his head downward, eyes hidden behind that blank white mask. Then he looked up again. And everything shifted.
The air changed. A cold gust swept the battlefield, as if winter had arrived in one heartbeat.
Red. Not the warm red of fire. Not the bright red of sunset. But deep blood-red energy began to curl from his hands. It rippled like smoke, bleeding into the wind. It coiled around his body, pulsing and alive. The pressure slammed into them.
Linyue's lungs locked up as if the air had turned solid. She gasped sharply and forced her feet to stay planted. The ground cracked beneath her boots from how hard she pressed down.
Shen Zhenyu's calm face twitched for the first time. He stumbled one step to the side. He Yuying swayed, muttering something under his breath that even he probably didn't hear. Song Meiyu clutched her chest with wide eyes, her voice caught in her throat. Even Shu Mingye shifted back half a step. His eyes narrowed. His fire dimmed for a moment.
It wasn't just weight on the body. It was weight on the mind. Like a thousand needles poking into your thoughts. Whispering, pushing, and tearing.
Linyue's sword shook in her grip. The hum of her spiritual energy faltered.
Shu Mingye's brows tightened. He had felt strong spiritual energy before. He had faced monsters, demons, vengeful ghosts. But this… this was different. This didn't just crush the body. It crawled under the skin. Sat heavy on the chest and asked, "Why do you still fight?"
The battlefield went still. No wind. No clashing swords. No screaming demons.
And then the masked man raised his arm.
A wave of dark red energy burst from his body like a tidal surge. The pressure hit them all at once. Fast. Merciless. Unforgiving.