While the throne room burned in golden fire, the lower levels of the citadel were a chaotic war zone. Team 5 had reached the Great Holding Pen, a cavernous room where the kidnapped civilians were being held in cages made of soul-chilling ice.
"They're fading!" Lam shouted, his tactical visor flashing red. "The cages are linked to a life-support sap. If we don't break the connection in three minutes, their hearts will stop!"
Red King stepped to the front, his red cloak glowing with a faint, dangerous light. He looked at the hundreds of Icerian soldiers pouring into the room.
"Listen closely, Team 5," Red King said, his voice calm amidst the storm. "This is what you trained for. You handle the civilians. I will handle the wall."
"But there are hundreds of them!" Asadullah shouted, his lightning crackling.
"Then I'll kill hundreds," Red King replied. He vanished.
The Red Slaughter
The brothers watched in awe. Red King didn't just fight; he performed surgery on the battlefield. He moved so fast that he created "Red Afterimages." Every time an Icerian raised a spear, a red blur would pass, and the soldier would shatter into a thousand pieces. He was a whirlwind of precision, keeping the entire army at bay so his students could focus.
"Move! Now!" Lam barked.
Lam deployed his "Science-Calculated" drones. Each drone attached to a cage, emitting a high-frequency sonic vibration. "Asad! Hit the drones with a 0.5-millivolt pulse! Use them as conductors!"
Asadullah understood instantly. He fired precise sparks of golden lightning. The drones amplified the energy, shattering the ice cages instantly without burning the people inside.
Krodh and Bayu worked in tandem. Krodh smashed the falling debris before it could hit the civilians, while Bayu used his wind to create "Safe Paths," lifting the wounded and gliding them toward the exit. Draz stood at the center, his hands raised, maintaining a massive "Aura Shield" that protected the group from falling icicles and stray arrows.
It was a perfect tactical display. The "Ten Lions" philosophy was working. One by one, the shivering civilians were led out toward the transport ships.
The Shadow of Glod
As the last civilian cleared the door, the temperature in the room didn't just drop—it died. The air turned a dark, bruised purple. A localized blizzard erupted in the center of the hall, so powerful it pushed even Red King back.
Out of the frost walked a figure that looked like a living diamond. He was smaller than the Duke, but his presence was ten times more suffocating. This was Glod, the Diamond Sentinel.
"The Duke was a fool who loved his throne," Glod said, his voice like grinding gemstones. "I am a soldier who loves the sound of snapping bone."
He looked at Team 5. His eyes weren't blue; they were pitch black. He raised a hand, and a blade of "Dark Diamond" grew from his wrist. He swung it casually, and the shockwave alone sliced a 50-foot pillar in half.
Red King narrowed his eyes, his hand finally gripping the hilt of his own weapon. "Boys... get back. This isn't an Icerian. This is a monster."
CLIFFHANGER:
As Glod took a step forward, the ground beneath him didn't crack—it turned to dust. Lam's gauntlet began to glitch out, showing a power level that exceeded the scale.
At that moment, the scene shifts briefly to the Five-Armed Man walking away from the burning citadel. He pauses, sensing the dark energy of Glod.
"Ah..." he whispers to the wind. "A Diamond King. Now that might actually require me to use a third arm."