*Crunch.*
Sophie blinked at the handful of glossy black feathers in her palm. *Oops.* Too engrossed in imagining crispy buffalo wings, she'd plucked them without thinking.
"These are *fallen angel* feathers! A keepsake from my precious daughter!" She beamed, tucking them into her Phoenix Pouch under everyone's dumbfounded stares.
*Close call.* Admitting she'd been checking for marinade would've earned her a beating—pregnant or not.
Agatha rubbed her sore wing. "That *hurt*!"
"Mommy's sorry! No more plucking, I swear!" Sophie raised her right hand solemnly.
"...Fine. But I demand a *Manchu Han Imperial Feast* as compensation!" Agatha licked her lips, recalling the legendary spread—though Charles usually hogged most of it.
"Deal!" Sophie grinned, resisting the urge to pat Agatha's head (now level with her own).
---
**Meanwhile, at the Border: Jadeite City**
The air twisted like taffy as Colonel Kelvinaire stepped through the spatial rift, inhaling the scent of grass and hearth smoke. In the distance, Jadeite's walls stood serene under the sunset.
*This is what we'll reduce to rubble.*
Behind him, ranks of demon soldiers materialized—the vanguard of an invasion force.
---
**Inside Jadeite:**
Lord Moses, the city's rotund governor, paused his evening stroll. A chill slithered down his spine—*battlefield instincts he hadn't felt in thirty years.*
Yet the streets seemed normal:
- Old Newman, the resident beggar, gnawed on a rare meaty bone in his usual alley.
- Children chased each other past bakeries wafting cinnamon.
- The blacksmith's hammer rang steady as a heartbeat.
Climbing the watchtower (a heroic feat for his girth), Moses' blood froze.
The distant grove *swarmed* with black-armored figures.
---
**Emergency Measures Activated:**
1. **Eagle Post:** Five missives launched skyward—likely doomed.
2. **Secret Weapon:** His pet mole-rat, Bubbles, entrusted with a message and his signet ring. "Go underground to Castner City. Our kingdom's fate rests on you!"
3. **Mobilization:** Every citizen armed—from grandmothers with rolling pins to children donating *their dolls* as ammunition.
When panic threatened to consume the streets, Moses climbed onto a roof, voice amplified by magic:
"Jadeite doesn't cower! We hold for *three days*—reinforcements *will* come!"
The crowd stilled. Then—
- Market stalls transformed into barricades.
- Chamber pots became "biological weapons."
- Even toddlers clutched kitchen knives.
As demon war cries echoed, a little girl pressed her beloved doll into an artilleryman's hands. Tears streaked her face, but she stood firm.
The artilleryman wept.
---
**Final Countdown:**
- **Demon Forces:** 8,000 bloodthirsty veterans.
- **Jadeite Defenders:** 3,000 civilians + 500 retired soldiers.
- **Wildcard:** One determined mole-rat tunneling through bedrock.
**Can a sleepy border town withstand the coming storm?**