The extraction prisoners were held in the capital dungeon. Thirty of them. Master Chen. Lian. Sen's students. All waiting for trial.
At midnight, the dungeon walls exploded.
Xin felt the shockwave through the Chorus. He was in the council building two blocks away. Ren was beside him.
"That was the dungeon," Ren said.
They ran.
***
The dungeon was gone.
Not destroyed. The front wall was blown outward. Rubble in the street. Bodies of guards on the ground. Four dead. Two unconscious.
Xin checked the guards. One was still breathing. "Who did this?"
The guard coughed blood. "Cultivators. Three of them. High Gate. They took the prisoners."
"How many prisoners?"
"All of them."
Xin stood. Looked at the destroyed wall. The street beyond was empty.
"Which direction?"
"East. Toward the
