Su Rou scrambled backward across the bloodied sand, her torn lavender silk tangling around her legs as she reached into her inner robes with trembling, frenzied hands.
"Stay away from me, you filthy beast!" she shrieked, her aristocratic voice cracking into a raw, feral scream that echoed off the granite walls of the coliseum.
She withdrew a thick stack of yellow talismans inscribed with dense vermilion cinnabar, each parchment carrying the gold leaf seal of the Grand Alchemical Pavilion. These were third tier offensive wards purchased from the master shops on Riverbend Way, worth thousands of silver coins and designed to level stone fortresses.
"Burn to cinders!" Su Rou yelled, throwing five talismans into the air while channeling every drop of her remaining spiritual core into the act
