The air cracked with pressure.
A shadow tore across the skies above the capital—massive wings blotting out the twin moons as the first wave of Zerg descended with a shriek that split the heavens. The city's defenses flared to life, energy shields gleaming, sirens screaming through the dusk.
And at the heart of it all, standing on the battlefield in gleaming armor with a cloak like dragonhide flaring behind him—was Marshal Sheng Long.
"Let them come," he growled, voice low and dangerous. "We've waited long enough."
---
**Deep within the palace**, traitors watched from hidden corridors, smug smiles on their faces.
"The city will fall before sunrise," one whispered.
"Once the Zerg breach the walls, the Marshal will be too busy. We'll take Xiao Lin and force him to nullify the core barrier. The Zerg queen wants him alive."
An Li stepped forward in ceremonial black, eyes glowing with unnatural light. "Move the forces. Now."
But as they stepped outside their hidden chamber, they were met with an unexpected sight.
A wall of armored soldiers in crimson and silver, faces grim.
Yan Shuo stepped into the torchlight, dragging a traitor by the collar. "Going somewhere?"
Lu Jian smirked beside him. "The Marshal figured you snakes would slither out tonight. He sends his regards."
Screams echoed as the special unit stormed in, arresting the palace conspirators as planned—weeks of counterintelligence and planted misinformation paying off in one swift blow.
---
**Outside the city walls**, Xiao Lin stood back to back with Sheng Long, silver threads of his fox form glowing beneath his robes as his whip-like tail flicked with tension.
"You promised me a battlefield view," he said, breathless after deflecting a Zerg with a pulse of light.
Sheng Long cleaved through three creatures in a single strike, smirking. "And you promised not to get hurt."
"No one *promised* that."
Another Zerg lunged—and Xiao Lin leapt onto Sheng Long's back, using his elevated height to launch a focused blast from his palm. The beast exploded in a wave of psychic light.
"I think I deserve a kiss after that," Xiao Lin quipped with a grin.
Sheng Long's ears went a bit red. "You're *ridiculous*."
"I'm charming."
"You're a menace."
"Then stop staring at my tail and fight."
They danced between death and laughter, an elegant chaos of destruction and flirting—like twin stars refusing to dim.
---
Elsewhere, Yan Shuo and Lu Jian were a blur of motion.
"Twenty-four!" Lu Jian shouted over the din.
"Thirty-one!" Yan Shuo barked, firing a bolt of lightning into a cluster of Zerg.
Lu Jian pouted. "You counted the babies!"
"Still counts!"
Xiao Lin, dodging nearby, yelled, "You two are *so loud*! We're in the middle of a WAR!"
Sheng Long, amused despite himself, muttered, "We might need to separate them next time."
"Why? They're good motivation."
---
As night fell, the tide turned in the humans' favor. Sheng Long's trap worked—cutting off the Zerg from their reinforcements, arresting the traitors, and shattering the first major offensive.
But it wasn't over.
In the dark beyond the battlefield, something massive stirred beneath the surface.
A queen was coming.