Inside the steaming subterranean cavern five hundred feet beneath Azure Fall City, the golden-blue mist of the Earth-Heart Profound Spirit Vein drifted lazily over the white-jade floor.
Sitting up on the edge of the wide snow-fox fur bed, Alaric reached over to the low sandalwood table and picked up his sleek black Phone Artifact.
Across the glowing crystal screen, eight tiny crimson dots were descending rapidly from the high cloud layer forty miles south of the mountain ridge, dropping straight toward the outer perimeter of Iron-Blood Pass where the three-mile-long imperial convoy and Marquis General Bao's two hundred thousand soldiers were camped for the morning muster.
Beside Alaric on the furs, Noble Consort Cui Yulan pushed a lock of dark hair behind her ear and leaned over his shoulder to study the screen, her silver eyes narrowing with a veteran commander's focus.
