The Ashes Sovereign

Chapter 8

Smoke of campfires dotted the distant mountain ridges.

The sect host drew closer every hour. Drums echoed across the hills. Inside Azure Ruin Valley, every soul prepared. Civilians moved supplies deep into underground shelters. Fighters stood to arms. Those who carried shared fragments of the legacy power meditated, strengthening their will to resist the old sovereign’s ghostly whispers.

Outer stone barriers were raised high all along valley entrances. Ash‑stone ramparts blocked narrow passes. Scouts kept watch day and night.

When the huge army finally came into view, it stretched across hill after hill. Rows of robed cultivators, battle banners waving. At the front rolled the iron‑reinforced carriages housing the suppression relics.

The army halted just outside valley borders. Once more, one of the high council envoys called out across the distance, offering one last chance to surrender.

Lin Yue stood upon the highest rampart. Beside him stood the other warriors who each held a piece of the ancient mist‑power.

“There will be no surrender,” Lin Yue shouted back. “This valley is home for those who have nowhere else.”

The envoy’s face hardened. He gave the signal.

Thousands of sect soldiers charged forward. At the same time, the carriage lids swung open. The suppression relics ignited. Pale sickly beams shot forth, slamming into Azure Ruin’s outer domain shield.

The silver‑grey protective veil shuddered. It dimmed. The relics had been built to drain power from a single source. But now the legacy was split among dozens of warriors. Instead of one well of strength, there were many. The draining effect lost much of its bite.

“Unleash your fragments!” Lin Yue roared.

Dozens of warriors released their shared mist‑power at once. Countless streams of silver‑grey fog wove together, reinforcing the failing shield. The domain barrier flared bright again.

Sect soldiers crashed against the stone ramparts. The great battle for Azure Ruin Valley had begun.