The blood-red twilight spilled over the scorched earth, illuminating a landscape of ruin.The mountains and fields were eerily silent, save for the ragged breathing of the Twelve Stars and the soft, creeping sounds of the encircling demon army.
Miexing and her companions huddled together, their bodies stained with dust and blood, their Starstones dim and flickering.Among them, the Ninth and Eleventh Stars looked especially pale, blood dripping from their arms and painting dark, winding trails on the ground.
The First Star stood at the forefront, his expression cold and grim.He leaned heavily on his spear, his voice low but unwavering:"Form the formation. Prepare for the final stand."
Miexing lifted her head silently.All around, hidden among the hills and trees, the demon army was slowly closing in.The demon soldiers' eyes gleamed with a feral hunger as they dragged their heavy weapons across the ground, step by menacing step.
Atop a rocky ridge stood the black-armored demon general, unmoving, a grim sentinel of death.And beside him, at last, another figure appeared—the Demon King.
He was a tall, striking figure with flowing silver hair, his face both beautiful and terrifying.Dressed in black and gold armor, his eyes were deep and cold like an ancient frozen lake.Even wounded, he exuded a suffocating aura that pressed down upon the entire valley.
Miexing tightened her grip on her sword, her knuckles turning white.
The pressure was overwhelming—as if an invisible giant hand was bearing down on them, crushing every breath from their chests.
"This time..."she thought silently,"...we might really die here."
And yet, not a flicker of retreat appeared in her heart.
The First Star was the first to move.With a light step, he shot forward like a streak of light, his spear roaring with the fury of thunder, aimed straight at the Demon King.The other Stars followed instantly, unleashing their full strength without hesitation.
In mere heartbeats, the battlefield exploded into chaos.
Explosions, sword-light, spear-shadows, and spiritual energy clashed into a roiling storm.Each collision shook the very air, the sounds of flesh, bone, and steel colliding forming a deafening symphony.Severed limbs and broken weapons filled the smoky air, while the dust was stained a deep, sickening crimson.
Miexing moved like a phantom within the battlefield, her sword striking swift and deadly arcs.Time and again, she sought to reach the Demon King, but each attempt was blocked by the black-armored general.
That general's strength was monstrous.Every time Miexing's sword clashed against him, the backlash nearly shattered her bones.
The battle quickly spiraled out of control.
The Seventh Star fell under a demon's blade, their Starstone immediately darkening.The Twelfth Star was skewered through the shoulder, barely clinging to consciousness.Even the steadfast First Star was blasted backward by a single palm strike from the Demon King, his chest caving in, blood spewing from his mouth.
The lights of the Starstones fluctuated violently—
Fading, flickering red, on the brink of extinguishing.
High above, the Celestial Lord watched the unfolding battle with a furrowed brow.His gaze was heavy, shadowed with worry.
These children—he had forged them with his own hands.They were essential pieces of his long-laid plans.He could not allow them to fall here.
Yet he also knew—
This trial,this abyss of blood and pain,was something they must cross themselves.
Even if it meant bleeding,even if it meant death.
"Hold on,"he murmured to himself, fingers twitching imperceptibly, yet he withheld his hand.
This was their moment to break through—or be broken.
The earth beneath the Stars was soaked with blood, the air thick with the stench of iron and ash.They stood barely upright, their bodies battered and torn, but not one of them retreated.
And just as the battle was about to collapse completely—
Miexing spotted a crack.
A tiny gap opened as the black-armored general shifted position next to the Demon King.
Without hesitation, Miexing surged forward.Her blade tore through the air with a high-pitched shriek.In that moment, her Starstone flared brilliantly, like the first light before the breaking dawn.
"Haahhh!!"
The sword slashed through!
The Demon King tilted his head, narrowly dodging a fatal blow, but a deep gash still ripped across his left shoulder, blood blooming through his shattered armor.
For a fraction of a second, time seemed to freeze.
The demon army halted mid-step, stunned.
The Demon King looked down at his bleeding shoulder, then slowly lifted his gaze toward the Twelve Stars—at their battered, bloodied, yet still unyielding figures.
A cold, slow smile curled his lips.His voice, low and rough as grinding ice, cut through the air:
"It seems... we now have enough leverage for negotiations."
As his words faded, the black-armored general withdrew, signaling the demon army to slowly fall back.
They did not press the attack.
They had already obtained what they wanted—The blood of the Twelve Stars, the reaction of their Starstones, the proof of their true strength.
—Enough for the demons to reenter the game of this world,to sit at the table of power.
High in the sky, the Celestial Lord slowly closed his eyes.
And in the ruined wasteland below, only the faint, trembling breathing of the Twelve Stars remained—like dying embers struggling against the smothering darkness