The golden trumpet's sound echoed thunderously across the heavens, as if it were a divine signal from the skies.
The royal procession of the Pharaoh emerged from the distant end of the road.
Rows of royal guards clad in gleaming golden armor marched in formation, their brilliance reflecting the desert sun.
Arched stone pillars and banners bearing the royal insignia fluttered above the procession, a symbol of the supreme authority of this land's ruler.
The Pharaoh himself
A man crowned with a golden headdress adorned with glowing red gemstones
His amber-gold eyes glinted under the sunlight, fierce and piercing.
He raised a hand, commanding everything to halt.
Gracefully, he ascended into the air, lifted by the power of the Creator.
He hovered above several destroyed homes,
His face at first filled with alarm, but then shifted into a cold, unreadable calm.
"What has happened here?"
His voice thundered like that of a god.
A middle-aged woman mother of a dark-gray-haired girl
rushed forward and fell to her knees before the Pharaoh.
Tears streamed down her face, though her eyes brimmed with deceit.
"Your Majesty! I beg your mercy… My daughter was brutally attacked by this strange woman without reason!
Had you not arrived in time, my child would be dead by now!"
The Pharaoh sharply turned his gaze toward Liang Yi.
His razor-sharp eyes swept her from head to toe,
golden irises glowing faintly with depth and wisdom,
the kind borne of millennia of divine reign.
As his solemn expression grew more pronounced,
his thin lips pressed into a firm line a subtle signal of distrust.
His gaze settled on the girl's hair
Jet black, with tips dyed an eerie flaming red,
like cursed fire from a forbidden land.
It was not a color anyone of this realm should bear.
Moreover, her garments were entirely unlike anything local.
Neither the patterned woven cloth of the natives
nor the cloaks favored by dwellers of the ancient necropolis.
Instead, it was a tightly-fitted, elegant outfit, foreign and distinct
suggesting a background and skillset far beyond that of a commoner.
The Pharaoh crossed his arms slowly across his chest,
his gaze wary, piercing through her.
Was she an invader?
Or someone hiding a dangerous secret behind those sharp, unwavering eyes?
"Where exactly do you come from…
to dare stir chaos in my sacred land and clash with our people?"
The Pharaoh's voice rang with a thunderous force,
each word steeped in pressure like an unseen storm crashing over the land.
Every syllable struck like a sharp spear at the hearts of those present,
causing the surrounding villagers to flinch
though not directly reprimanded,
they felt the heat of his displeasure boiling beneath the surface.
Yet Liang Yi was unmoved.
She stood firm at the center of the courtyard, undaunted by the overwhelming aura closing in.
Her sharp eyes met the Pharaoh's with unwavering calm
Not in defiance, but in composed confidence,
reflecting a strength that needed no words to prove itself.
A moment of silence hung, heavy and breathless,
before the Pharaoh raised a hand high and shouted with resounding authority:
"All villagers!
Withdraw from this area at once!"
His command roared like a lightning strike from the heavens.
The villagers recoiled in panic.
Fear and confusion overwhelmed their faces.
They scrambled away without so much as a glance back.
Footsteps pounded frantically against the parched sand,
echoing across the ceremonial ground.
The chaos swelled with weeping children,
elders shouting warnings urging all to flee.
The Pharaoh stood with unshaken majesty amidst the uproar,
his solemn expression unmoved.
He raised his hand again with commanding force,
his voice like a divine thunderclap:
"Royal Guards! Remove this outsider at once!
If she resists kill her!"
At his final word, two elite guards sprang into action
A man and a woman launched into the air in unison,
their movements perfectly synchronized.
Golden spiritual energy burst from their bodies,
glowing like twin suns plummeting toward the earth.
Their forms shimmered brilliantly,
as though cloaked in sacred armor forged of divine steel,
blended with the sacred sands of the desert.
Their aura crushed the air around them
These were no ordinary guards,
but trained executioners
elite warriors bred to eliminate any threat to the Pharaoh.
But just as their bodies were about to strike at Liang Yi
A streak of blue light slashed across the sky!
Swift and powerful, like lightning tearing through heaven!
The roar of the energy silenced all other sounds in an instant.
Lan Chanzhun, dressed in a pale yellow robe,
and Bai Wangyan, serene in white
appeared like spirits descending from the skies.
They shot forward and blocked the path between Liang Yi and the guards.
Their auras burst forth without restraint,
compressing the air until time itself seemed to stop.
The two stood tall in the center of the sand-filled square,
under the stunned gaze of all who still remained conscious.
In that fleeting moment…
The winds of war began to blow without warning.
"I won't let anyone lay a hand on my sister,"
Bai Wangyan said in a calm, level voice.
His eyes were still and tranquil, like the surface of a winter lake
Yet beneath that quiet,
was a crushing pressure so intense
that anyone who met his gaze felt an irrational fear
as if the shadow of a beast loomed behind him.
Lan Chanzhun stepped beside him.
He glanced at the Pharaoh and the royal guards, assessing the situation,
before speaking in a firm, razor-sharp tone:
"You are mistaken…
But unfortunately, there's no time to explain right now."
No sooner had he spoken than the air split with a sharp, whistling sound!
Bai Wangyan clashed directly with the male guard, fearless.
With a gentle flick of his bare hand,
the air around him rippled outward
A wave of clear blue energy surged forward,
crashing against the guard's golden armor with a deafening clang.
The guard growled lowly,
then unleashed a punch coated in blazing energy,
like a volcanic boulder erupting with fury
But every strike missed him by mere inches!
Bai Wangyan's movements were subtle and effortless,
as if he were floating in the breeze.