City of Sin (Yanyu Jiangnan)

Massacre

Twilight Oasis was the largest oasis in the deserts of the Bloodstained Lands, amongst the best in the entire region. Two streams running down from the barbarian plains merged into its basin, forming a huge lake. If the fertile land nearby was fully developed, it could support a hundred thousand people.

However, this potential to generate wealth made the lands nearby highly contested, resulting in few areas being properly developed. They were still mainly reliant on merchants travelling in from the distant human kingdoms for food.

Similar to Bluewater, a mix of individuals and groups with varying degrees of power ruled Twilight Oasis together. Unlike Bluewater, however, the hierarchy here was always in flux. There was no stable power structure, every change in leadership accompanies by the spilling of fresh blood.

One normal night, a thick mist rose from the lake and spread all around the oasis. The inhabited parts of the city nearby was completely covered with fog, with the situation even worse in areas with vegetation. In some places, one couldn’t see past ten metres. However, such fog was a common occurrence in Twilight Oasis.

Thick fog and a dark night… These were the perfect conditions for murder. This was why deadly situations were common in Twilight Oasis.

Once the fog covered a substantial area, a large black-armoured knight slowly stepped out. He was of massive build, with a magical knight and heavy weapons making him seem like a wargod. More such knights stepped out of the thick fog one by one, forming the frontlines of a battle. Every single one remained silent, pointing their weapons towards the ground. Outside of the occasional squeaks of armour rubbing against itself, nothing else could be heard.

Two mages threaded their way through the group of knights, making their way to the front of the group. They were fully covered up in mage robes, the hoods drawn over their heads making it impossible to identify them.

The fog in a fifteen metre radius suddenly gave way, as a large dark manticore descended from the sky to silently land in front of the knights. It restlessly circled the area once it landed, releasing low snarls.

Its appearance caused the bearguard knights to grow restless, while the mounts nearby were agitated. Even the knights themselves couldn’t calm the creatures down.

Sinclair, seated atop the manticore, pounded hard on its head. Her small fist was surprisingly powerful, the collision sending the creature’s head burrowing into the ground. The manticore managed to get its big head out with some difficulty, but remained subdued thereafter. It was afraid of moving about wildly like before.

Looking at the outline of the buildings in the distance, Sinclair’s breathing grew faster as her face flushed red. The great mages were familiar with her style, knowing this meant she was about to erupt. They started chanting spells in response, buffing the knights and their mounts. It was like the powerful beasts had been given an extra fang.

Sinclair was clearly gritting her teeth, her face contorting. It was strange to see her refined and exquisite face distorted in this manner, as if she had two different faces. She spoke through gritted teeth, “Oi, you bastards. Will you listen obediently and not rebel?”

“That…” one of the mages carefully picked his words, “It’s hard to avoid this. There’s so many fools on secondary planes.”

Sinclair nodded her head vigorously, her eyes growing redder and redder until even her sclera was completely crimson. She suddenly whipped out a pair of daggers, letting out a resounding shriek, “KILL ANYONE WHO DARES TO GO AGAINST ME! ATTACK!”

The bearguard knights lifted their weapons one after the other, urging their mounts on as they made their way forth without hurry. They slowly sped up, accumulating power as they approached the peak of their charge. The combined acceleration eventually erupted forth with unrelenting strength; they were impossible to stop at full charge!

Sinclair bounded off her manticore, wrapping herself within her cape in mid-air. She disappeared into the night sky, already at the edge of the city when she was back.

“KNEEL!” she commanded in a shrill voice.

The knight in charge of the garrison flew into a rage, bellowing, “We belong to the Golden Warflag! Where did you come from, you…”

Only the first few words were audible, his voice growing softer and softer as he spoke. His last few words even disappeared into the night wind. He wanted to lower his head, but couldn’t seem to do so. The world started to spin, eventually being blanketed in darkness.

Sinclair slid past the knight, her black cape fluttering in the night sky as wind blades were shot out of her cape. These wind blades were unimaginably sharp, cutting off the heads of the patrolling knights without issue.

She had no intention to use her knife in dealing with this mix of soldiers. Her silhouette appeared and disappeared everywhere on the streets, and in a flash she was concealed within the layers of buildings far away. A bloodbath ensued wherever she appeared, forming a river of blood on the ground. Almost half of the fog-covered city was quickly reeking of blood.

A dark shadow flitted across the sky yet again, and the manticore silently landed in the middle of the city. It crushed a building in front of it to the ground, exposing the room within.

Tens of knights were sleeping in these quarters, the sheer pace of these events meaning half of them were still in their dreams. Only two were quick enough to jump off their beds, but unfortunately they were greeted by a plume of poisonous fog from the manticore’s tail.

It was as if this fog had a life of its own. It enveloped the entire room almost instantly, condensing into a vapour as it left no corner untouched.

The knights all swayed about in the fog, quickly falling to the ground while frozen in stance. Their bodies twitched uncontrollably, bubbles forming on their skin as if their blood was boiling. They soon grew unrecognisable, the bones and flesh melting into a heap of boiling liquid wrapped in skin.

A short sword that had been suspended on a wall suddenly dropped down, piercing a body. It was as if it had fallen on a bag of water and cut it, leaving a flood of black liquid gushing out. The person instantly shrivelled up.

The thunderous sound of hooves rang out at the city’s borders. The bearguard knights had rushed in at that exact moment, promptly setting about a widespread massacre!

Everywhere the knights went was filled with fresh blood and broken limbs. The buildings in the oasis were no match for the massive weapons of the knights, almost seeming like they were made of paper. The violent black knights razed everything to the ground, burying anyone within alive.

Two powerful saints normally kept watch over Twilight Oasis, but only one was present in the city tonight. Sensing danger, he woke up from his slumber and was about to alert the necessary people, but he was unable to escape his own fate.

As he was gazing out his bedroom window into the city and trying to make sense of the sight before him, his odour was like a lighthouse in the dark that attracted Sinclair to the scene. She moved about in stealth, mounting a lethal attack. In a sudden and quick confrontation, she’d gotten herself a bland but still palatable heart.

Without the powerful saint’s protection, the attack on Twilight Oasis became a one-sided massacre. The fight lasted an entire hour, before things finally started to settle down. More than a thousand dead bodies lay on the floor all over, causing the thick fog that shrouded the entire city to be tainted by the putrid smell of blood.

However, this fog had helped the inhabitants as much as it had the invaders. Many had utilised its cover to escape the city, bounding out towards the rest of the Bloodstained Lands.