The light burst out, blinding all the soldiers who hadn't been quick enough to close their eyes.
The tiles trembled, expelling dust from between them, and the air thickened. Soldiers coughed without control, and many dropped to the ground to find some relief and avoid the dust.
The lights burned brighter with every passing second, to the point of swallowing people in their glare.
As suddenly as it had appeared, the light faded and filtered away through the cracks in the tiles and walls.
Soldiers carefully lifted their heads, looking around with caution and finding nothing wrong—others realized it immediately upon opening their eyes and looking around for a few seconds.
Xue Yanluo turned quickly at the sound of a soldier's body hitting the floor, another's tears as he stared at an empty spot, and a third's desolate gaze fixed on a severed arm lying in front of him.
When he understood the problem, Xue Yanluo also looked around frantically. All of his companions were there, untouched, but a couple of junior generals beside him had vanished.
"… Again?" Xue Yanluo murmured, both relieved and confused.
Huo Yanming simply looked toward where Xue Yanluo was, and after making sure he was unharmed, shifted his attention to his surroundings, checking for more traps or hidden dangers.
The junior generals did the same, though without the same skill, and finally looked toward General Huo.
General Huo stood, and the junior generals followed. His gaze swept the area one last time before he said, "Soldiers — on your feet!"
The soldiers rose slowly, and a few had no strength to continue, remaining on the ground with their heads down.
General Huo moved toward one of the soldiers still on the ground. The soldier lifted his head to look at him and said through tears, "F-Forgive me, General. I-I don't want… I don't want to continue!"
The air tensed, and all attention fell on the two of them, waiting to see what General Huo would do next.
General Huo only looked at the soldier at his feet. His jaw hardened, and his hands were closed tight. He lowered himself slowly until he was level with the soldier and said, "Take all the soldiers like you and get out of here."
The soldier hesitated a second before nodding frantically and thanking General Huo for his mercy.
The air filled with whispers among the soldiers, moved by the general's compassion and concern for them.
The soldier stood abruptly and gathered the other twelve soldiers still on the ground, and they climbed the stairs slowly, accompanied by a junior general.
"Is there anyone else who doesn't want to continue?" said Huo Yanming, looking at each soldier.
"No, General," they said in unison.
After settling the soldiers, the generals gathered to discuss their next steps and decide what to do about the soldiers who had disappeared.
"I lifted a few tiles, but there's only earth underneath," said one of the generals, striking the tiles with his spear.
"Same with the walls," added another.
"Did anyone find anything about the array that caused this?"
All the generals turned toward a general with grey hair and a long descending scar across his face that split his nose into two asymmetrical halves.
"It's… complicated, and you'll be surprised—even so, don't cut me off while I speak." The man looked at the generals before continuing. "The cause of this is… an imperial array. Or rather, two… no, three—an array of distortion, one of altered luminosity running in overload, and an unknown array with the function of concealing the distortion by using light to alter our senses, and another very well-hidden function within the array. Beyond that I can't say with what I've been able to discover."
The generals looked at each other before their voices burst out in disbelief and broke into heated discussion.
Huo Yanming struck the ground with a sharp blow, and the air went silent. No general dared continue, and all of them looked toward General Huo.
"Division General Liu, do you have anything to add?"
"No, my lord."
Huo Yanming nodded and looked at the generals before him. "You may speak."
"My lord, it's hard for me to believe there are imperial arrays in this…"
Before he could finish, Xue Yanluo cut in drily. "Be quiet—what do you have a head for if not to think? Why would Division General Liu lie?"
"Brother, we should show some respect when dealing with people," said the Fifth Prince.
Xue Yanluo held his gaze for a second, then shook his head and looked away.
The general who had been reprimanded glared at him sideways, not daring to look at him directly or say a word—he swallowed his feelings whole.
"Thank you, Fourth Prince, for defending my words," said Division General Liu with a slight bow of gratitude.
Xue Yanluo turned to look at him and smiled. He's quite sharp—it seems he's noticed something and is already acting accordingly, he noted inwardly.
Huo Yanming looked back at his generals and repeated, "You may speak."
The generals now looked at each other, each one seeming to hesitate about opening his mouth, afraid of being reprimanded in the same way.
Finally, a junior general opened his mouth and asked Division General Liu, "Can the location of the distortion be obtained from the array?"
"No — I tried to reverse its function, but the third array obscures the process. Its creator must be a genius."
The meeting ended shortly after, and the generals briefed the soldiers on the situation. They had to destroy the core first, and perhaps that would bring the missing soldiers back.
The rest of the corridor was relatively straightforward, and they came across the broken remains of traps and shattered arrays—more traps, surely.
At the end of the corridor, everyone was needed to push the door, but even that wasn't enough to open it.
One of the generals proposed striking the door, but his blows couldn't even leave a mark on the stone.
The last idea they had was to channel their energy into the door. At first the door showed no signs of moving even after a dozen soldiers used their energy.
Then Bao Qingcao and Hua Zhenfeng joined with five other soldiers, and the door began to show signs of opening, and finally the rest joined in—but the door showed no sign of opening any faster.
Xue Yanluo joined, and his energy entered the door. It shuddered and trembled without control, reacting to his energy, and the speed with which it opened left everyone surprised.
The soldiers celebrated among themselves, none of them knowing the true reason behind the door's behavior. The only ones who seemed troubled were the vampires, who had noticed the door's peculiarity.