Strange Happenings at Dongting Lake

Biyi City lay on the southeastern edge of the Dongting Lake plain, run along near-military lines in every respect. The vast majority of its residents were there to serve the Biyi Military District in some capacity.

The district was home to vast numbers of Military Mages, whose primary duty was to maintain a standoff against the Lizard-Skull Giant Demon Tribe of Dongting Lake. The city served as one of the most critical defensive barriers between the lake's tribes and the cities to the east.

Beyond the Safe Zone, a formation of snow-white figures swept across the open sky toward Biyi City at tremendous speed, descending onto the rooftop landing platform atop the military fortress.

The formation numbered roughly twenty. After handing their Celestial Eagles over to the beast-handlers, the group moved immediately into the main conference hall of the fortress.

Nine Military Commanders were already seated along the long table inside, their gazes fixed on a projected map of the Dongting Lake plain covering the far wall.

"Reporting in!"

"Speak." The Military Commander standing beneath the projector looked up as the survey team leader rushed in.

"Everything checks out. Large numbers of Lizard-Skull Giant Demon corpses have been found on the western side of Dongting Lake. We've brought back samples — results should come quickly." The survey team leader snapped a military salute.

"Grand Commander Qiu Xin, if their Lizard-Skull Giant Demons want to die, let them die. Why all this fuss over an investigation? More likely than not, a new Giant Lizard Pseudo-Dragon has been born and is asserting dominance over the competition. Internal Clan power struggles within the Lizard-Skull Giant Demons are hardly unprecedented. Why call all of us in for this?" said a Military Commander whose manner was decidedly unhurried.

Grand Commander Qiu Xin had a face like rough-hewn rock, but he ran things with extraordinary care. No matter how minor the anomaly anywhere near Dongting Lake, he investigated it thoroughly. Behind the Great Shield Fortress of Biyi City lived tens of millions of civilians — failing to prepare for and predict a tribal assault could mean casualties on an unthinkable scale.

The Military Commanders waited a short while. The military physician arrived before long and delivered his dissection findings.

"Based on the full sample set, the Lizard-Skull Giant Demon corpses fall into three main causes of death. The first: incineration by flame — quite a few were likely reduced to ash outright. The second: death by lightning, single-strike kills — clean and precise. The third..." He paused around a cough. "The third shows bodies torn apart entirely. Whatever was responsible had enormous claw strength and raw physical power."

"Fire, lightning, and brute force?" Grand Commander Qiu Xin fell into thought, turning those three elements over in his mind, searching his memory for any creature that could command all three at once.

As far as he knew, nothing within the Dongting Lake region fit that description.

"Anything else?" he pressed.

"Yes — the field survey team noted that the kill zone was remarkably clean."

"Remarkably clean?"

"No spirit remains. As a rule, when an area is saturated with enough yin energy and death, Undead Creatures begin to coalesce — and this site had tens of thousands of corpses. Yet not a single wandering spirit was found. That means whatever killed these creatures didn't just destroy their bodies. Their souls were shredded or consumed as well." The physician laid out his conclusion carefully.

"That's... deeply unsettling. The western Clan of the Lizard-Skull Giant Demons wiped out without warning — and even their souls obliterated..." Female Military Commander Ah Li Man murmured.

"Honestly? Something out there is cleaning up Lizard-Skull Giant Demons for us, and I couldn't be happier. Kill another hundred thousand and we can coast for years." Military Commander Zhao Mang gave a languid grin.

"We continue monitoring. I'll release this information and see if anyone out there knows the truth of what happened." Grand Commander Qiu Xin declared.

The meeting broke up quickly. Qiu Xin moved to contact other military districts and began reaching out to the public for leads.

When it came to strange and inexplicable events, the Hunters' Alliance was always the first place to ask — their operatives were everywhere, going where even the military dared not set foot.

"What do you think is out there? Lizard-Skull Giant Demon corpses have been showing up continuously for a week now — even some Clan-level specimens."

"No idea. Whatever it is, it's immensely powerful. Just counting the kills — we'd need to send an entire army to match that body count."

Military Commander Ah Li Man's brow was tight, a shadow of unease crossing her striking features.

She had no patience for unexplained phenomena. All too often, they were the opening act of a catastrophe.

"Team leader — give me the location. I'm going to investigate this personally." Ah Li Man rose from her seat, her tone not a suggestion.

"Ma'am, perhaps we should wait—"

"I don't wait." She cut him off flat.

She was already hauling the team leader by the collar out of the conference room before he could finish the sentence. Those left behind exchanged glances and quietly shook their heads.

The Iron Queen of the military — not a scrap of that temper had softened. A western Clan power struggle, most likely nothing more, and she was going in person. Then again, perhaps it was simply in her blood — something wilder and more relentless than most men — and sitting idle in Biyi City felt more like rotting than resting. Why rust in garrison when there was trouble to be found?

*Tch.* This was a woman who lived for the rush.

Military districts shared intelligence freely. The information Grand Commander Qiu Xin released spread quickly to the southern military district.

The south was primarily engaged in holding the line against the Demon Wolf Clan, and normally the Lizard-Skull Giant Demon situation at Dongting Lake was none of their concern — but Military Commander Zhankong had been watching it closely all along.

He'd only just returned from the fortress when the report came in. The door to his room barely had time to settle before someone hammered on it.

"Who is it?"

"It's me — Zhang Xiaohou." The voice on the other side was barely holding back excitement.

"Figured you'd show." Zhankong snorted. "Get in here."

Zhang Xiaohou burst through the door, face alight with barely-contained energy. "There's news of Brother Fan, isn't there? I just heard about the strange activity over at the Dongting Lake Tribe — and connecting it with what you told me before, I really think it could be Brother Fan—"

"I don't know yet. I'm sending someone to look into it. Cool down." Zhankong's tone was blunt.

"How am I supposed to cool down? He's the only big brother I've got."

"Go back to your quarters. I'll let you know if something turns up."

"No — Zhankong, I'm asking you. Let me go to Dongting Lake. We finally have a lead, even the smallest one. Whatever it takes, I need to bring Brother Fan home." Zhang Xiaohou's expression had gone completely serious.

"This isn't your call. And with your current strength, going to Dongting Lake just means feeding yourself to the lizards."

"It is my call... I can look after myself." Zhang Xiaohou said quietly.

"Idiot. Train another ten years and you'd still be walking to your death." Zhankong pushed him out the door without ceremony.

The Dongting Lake plain — of all places.

Even Zhankong himself couldn't promise he'd come back from there without a scratch. Zhang Xiaohou, one Intermediate-Level Mage, going somewhere like that wasn't bravery.

It was a death wish.