A biting wind swept across the icy wasteland as a figure in a black trench coat staggered forward step by step. Through the thin mist in the distance, the outline of towering city walls loomed faintly.
"Aurora City... That's Aurora City."
Xi Renjie's eyelashes were crusted with ice. The moment those walls came into view, his vacant pupils finally regained a trace of clarity.
His chapped lips parted, exhaling a wisp of white fog. Every bone in his body felt frozen stiff, and the two wounds from the steel sword had long since gone numb.
He didn't know how he'd made it this far. In this endless expanse of ice and snow, his very existence seemed to have been worn away. If not for the lingering thought of Aurora City driving him forward, he would have collapsed long ago... And now, the city of his dreams stood before him.
As he drew closer, the mist thinned. He could see the shimmering auroras flowing across the sky beyond the walls, like a dazzling gem suspended in the air.
Beneath that gem, countless kites danced faintly in the breeze.
Xi Renjie stared blankly at the scene, momentarily entranced. He reached out as if to grasp those soaring kites, only to clutch at the frigid wind and snow.
"Aurora City... I'm here."
Limping to the base of Aurora City's ramparts, a blinding spotlight swept across the snowy ground from atop the wall, locking onto him. Xi Renjie frowned and instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes.
"This is Aurora City," a low voice echoed from speakers along the battlements. "Present your entry documents."
Xi Renjie inhaled sharply and shouted into the wind and snow, "I am Xi Renjie, Judge of District Three, reporting for duty!"
The speaker fell silent briefly, as if verifying something.
After a short wait, the massive city gates slowly creaked open before him. A gust of wind brushed his cheeks as several figures emerged calmly from within.
They were all clad in identical black trench coats but unlike Xi Renjie's, the hems of their garments bore at least four gleaming insignias. The leader's coat had five.
Seeing such a formidable reception, Xi Renjie's eyes widened in shock. He'd only come to enter the city, why dispatch so many high-ranking judges?
"You're Xi Renjie," the lead man stated.
"Yes."
"Why are you alone? Where are the law enforcers you were supposed to bring?"
Xi Renjie opened his mouth, then rasped, "Dead... All dead in District Three's Calamity uprising."
"All thirty of them?" The man's eyes narrowed.
"Yes."
"And Chen Ling? Did you kill him?"
"...Yes."
The man gave a slight nod and said nothing more.
"Sir... may I enter Aurora City now?" Xi Renjie ventured cautiously.
"Of course."
The man raised his gun and fired at Xi Renjie's knees without hesitation.
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots. Two blossoms of blood.
Xi Renjie never expected the attack. Before he could activate [Iron Clad], the bullets shattered his kneecaps. He screamed and collapsed to the ground.
The other judges swiftly moved in, clamping dark shackles around his wrists while pressing icy blades to his throat. The slightest pressure would send his head rolling.
Kneeling in the snow, blood from his wounds staining the earth, Xi Renjie's face twisted in pain and disbelief.
"Why?! There must be some mistake—I came at Aurora City's orders! I'm on record!"
The lead man smirked and stepped forward, pressing his gun to Xi Renjie's forehead.
"Shall I call you Xi Renjie..." he said coolly, "...or Chen Ling?"
Xi Renjie froze.
"...What? I'm Xi Renjie! Just check the records—my face can't be faked!" he retorted angrily.
"Your face can't be faked?" The man spoke leisurely. "Are you sure?"
"Am I—?!"
"Heretic Chen Ling possesses a face-stealing ability. Even flaying you wouldn't confirm your identity... So tell me, how do you prove you're Xi Renjie?"
Deep confusion surfaced in Xi Renjie's eyes as he stared at the man's smug, composed expression.
"Chen Ling single-handedly slaughtered every other participant in the Soldier's Ancient Repository. His strength must exceed the second tier... Yet you, a two-insignia judge with no talent, somehow killed him?"
"I..." Xi Renjie's face drained of color.
"No... That's not... You knew I couldn't beat him. Why give me that order?!"
A realization suddenly struck him.
"You used me as bait?!"
"Enough acting, Chen Ling," the man said calmly. "Let me recount what happened... Judge Xi Renjie received orders to eliminate you, but given his strength, how could he possibly succeed? You easily defeated him, learned Aurora City had uncovered your identity, and decided to kill him and assume his face to infiltrate the city..."
"This way, not only could you enter, but you could continue lurking within the law enforcement system under Xi Renjie's identity... For you, it was the simplest, most efficient method."
"Chief Tan Xin delivered Xi Renjie to you precisely to make you take the bait. We worried you might kill him and disappear... But it seems you've bitten."
The man's words crashed over Xi Renjie like thunder.
Now he understood, Aurora City's message had omitted Chen Ling's background and the reason he was branded a heretic because if they'd revealed Chen Ling's feats in the repository, Xi Renjie would have recognized the insurmountable gap in their strength and abandoned the mission.
From the very beginning, Aurora City never intended for him to kill Chen Ling. They'd sacrificed him as a pawn to lure Chen Ling into a trap.
"...No, I didn't kill him!" Xi Renjie protested desperately. "I couldn't—not after he saved District Three! I just drugged him! I swear I didn't—I only wanted to..."
His voice trailed off. He knew any explanation now was futile.
From the moment Aurora City sent that message...
He had already been a discarded pawn.