The border prison of the Fierce Claw Empire was reduced to ruins in a single heartbeat.
The shockwave of the explosion ripped through iron walls, shards of the magical barrier scattering like falling stars. A massive crater scarred the earth while thick smoke and dust blotted out the sky.
Far away in the imperial capital, Guardian General Firegun · Mias stood atop the city walls overlooking the entire empire. At some point his long spear had been gripped so tightly that shallow dents marred the shaft. His beastman senses were extraordinarily keen: the acrid stench of ozone from scorched wiring, the gunpowder reek of shattered magi-crystals, and—faint but unmistakable—the coppery scent of a young beastman's blood.
His nostrils flared. A flicker of alarm passed through his eyes.
"This was no ordinary explosion," Firegun · Mias murmured, his voice low and resonant as a war drum. Far on the horizon, fragments sliced through the moat, water droplets glittering like scattered stardust beneath the moon. Suddenly he remembered ten years ago, when Kayla's father vanished on the battlefield beneath the exact same eerie light.
He turned and strode toward the palace.
The bronze doors of the council hall slammed open. King Nuti · Ursa was studying border defense maps. The wolf-head emblem on his crown glinted rust-red beneath the magical lamps. When he heard the words "border prison," the quill in his hand snapped and fell, ink bleeding across the parchment like a twisted claw mark.
"Mias, are you certain it was the prison?" King Nuti · Ursa's voice was deep and regal, yet laced with worry. "The one who was held there…"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The scale of the blast and the magical fluctuations all point to the border prison. The person imprisoned there was Kayla." Firegun · Mias knelt on one knee, his armor clanking dully against the floor. "Your Majesty, permit me to personally lead the Iron Claw Knights to investigate."
When he raised his head, rare entreaty shone in the depths of his eyes—something only the king knew: this unyielding general of the Fierce Claw Empire only ever lowered his pride for those he considered family.
King Nuti · Ursa pondered in silence, then removed a crystal-forged beast emblem from the arm of his throne. "Take five hundred Iron Claw Knights. Depart before dawn." The emblem grew warm in his palm—the ultimate military authority of the Fierce Claw Empire. "Remember: no matter who is behind this, the honor of the empire will not be stained."
When Firegun · Mias accepted the emblem, his fingertips brushed the dents in its surface. He suddenly recalled Kayla at ten years old, covered in mud in the barracks yard after secretly practicing claw techniques, biting back tears. "Uncle Mias, I'm going to become a general like Father."
That girl's voice still rang in his ears, yet now she might be buried beneath the collapsed prison.
The Steel Knights' Pursuit
Before the dawn mist had lifted, Mias and five hundred elite Iron Claw Knights arrived at the prison site. Each rider sat astride a mechanical warhorse, clad in heavy armor inlaid with living magi-iron. Every time their hooves struck the ground, runes on the plate glowed ghostly blue, turning the riders into moving iron wraiths. Their weapons—long spears and battle-axes—were embedded with mana crystals capable of unleashing devastating energy in combat.
Mias's mount, "Wolf Fang," was a pure-blooded hellwolf. Flames licked from its nostrils, and its eyes locked on the roiling dust ahead.
The scene before them left even Mias stunned.
The prison walls had completely collapsed. Exposed steel rebar twisted outward, molten metal dripping from broken ramparts and hissing on scorched earth. Shattered weapons and armor fragments littered the ground. The air reeked of smoke, blood, and battle.
"This was not a simple prison break," Mias growled. He crouched, brushing his fingers over claw marks in the dirt—golden beastman fur caught beneath his nails. Kayla's. "There are traces of high-tier magic… and the scents of humans, elves, and dwarves."
He stood, gaze sweeping the ruins until it locked on a broken stone slab bearing a familiar rune—a secret mark known only to the empire's highest generals.
"Kayla's mark?" His heart lurched. Kayla was his missing comrade's daughter, the empire's Fifth General. She had been falsely imprisoned, and he had long suspected a conspiracy.
"General, we found something." An Iron Claw Knight approached, presenting half a breastplate etched with the distinctive molten-fire insignia of the dwarves, then a broken earring—silver chain set with a star-shaped sapphire. Mias recognized it instantly: the sixteenth-birthday gift they had prepared for Kayla.
He took the insignia, suspicion deepening. The Steel-Forged Alliance was the dwarven nation, relations with the Fierce Claw Empire complicated. The presence of their emblem meant this jailbreak reached far deeper than imagined.
"Track the fugitives," he ordered, voice dropping two octaves. "Spread out—especially southwest." He paused, tail lashing against a broken wall. "Bring them back alive… or bring back the bodies."
Wolf Fang suddenly growled low, nose pressed to a collapsed prison door. The number "A-26" was warped but still legible—Mias remembered it as Kayla's cell. On the wall behind were countless shallow claw marks forming the legion emblem, her father's name, her family's names, and one small line:
Uncle Mias, I never betrayed the empire.
His vision blurred. He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his fingers came away wet. He had not cried since Kayla's father vanished.
"Wolf Fang, track this scent." He tore off his bracer, revealing an old scar on his forearm—the wound he took protecting a young Kayla. "Use the purest beastman bloodline. Tell me where she is."
Hiding and Watching
Meanwhile, Fa and her team hid inside a concealed cave, still panting from their desperate escape.
"We can't stay long," Fa whispered. Her right eye—the Star Eye—flickered with faint silver light. "I sense someone tracking us."
Arya nodded, gripping her longbow. "I hear movement in the distance too. Beastman noses are terrifying. They'll find us soon."
Tisk rubbed his warhammer, worry in his eyes. "Fight our way out?"
Kayla shook her head. "No. We're too few. We observe their intentions first."
At that moment Fa shot to her feet, Star Eye flashing. "They're here!"
The team slipped deeper into the cave, watching through cracks.
They were already surrounded in a ring by five hundred Iron Claw Knights—steel and magic saturating the air… and one presence in particular.
Fa turned to Kayla. Kayla's nails dug into her palms, dried blood still under them from the escape.
Metal clanked outside. Someone had set down their weapon.
"Kayla, I know you're in there," a low voice called, trembling almost imperceptibly. "It's Uncle Mias. Before your father disappeared, he poured his last drink over my iron boots and told me, 'Take care of the little ones.'"
Silence.
Then the soft rustle of cloth. "Now I'm returning this to you."
A copper badge rolled into the cave mouth, glinting warmly in the moonlight. At its center: crossed battle-axe and spear. Around the edge, tiny engraved words: Fierce Claw Empire Legion · Eternal Guardian.
Kayla's chest felt struck by lightning. Breath caught. It was the badge her father never removed—she had traced its battle scars countless times while hiding in his tent as a child.
"When they made me put the curse-bind cuffs on you during the trial…" The voice outside softened, as if afraid to startle a wounded prey. "Your blood dripped onto my gauntlets, hotter than magma. That night I smashed three spears in the armory until my palms bled before I could face myself in the mirror."
Kayla's eyes blurred.
She remembered being twelve, when her father, the rest of the family, and Mias went ice-lake skating. Mias used his flame spear to bore fishing holes, saying, "A true general must learn to find hope even in despair." Later, when Father vanished, it was Mias who stitched the clan emblem onto her battle coat without flinching even when the needle pierced his finger. "Does it hurt? she had asked. He laughed and waved his bleeding hand.Compared to the agony of waiting for news, this is nothing.
The Badge and the Truth
When Kayla stepped out of the cave, dawn mist still clung to the ruins.
Firegun · Mias knelt on one knee among the rubble, armor chains on his armor trailing to the ground like a beast that had shed its iron skin. When he looked up, the scar at the corner of his eye glowed soft pink in the early light—the mark earned protecting her father.
"Uncle Mias…" Her voice cracked.
He extended the badge with a hand that—hands that once lifted hundred-pound flame spears—now trembled so badly he could barely hold it. When their fingertips touched, two pulses of magic rippled through the air: Mias sent steady earth-aspect mana, thick and warm like her father's embrace; Kayla's remaining mana was fractured, threaded with fear and hope.
"You really… didn't come to arrest me?"
Mias nodded, sorrow in his eyes. "Kayla, I know you were framed. Grum's faction has infiltrated the entire council." His voice dropped to a furious whisper. "When they used your banner as false evidence, I…" He turned away, watching crows wheel in the distance. "I should have stormed the courtroom like I once stormed the elven magic array. But I didn't. I was afraid they'd snuff out even your last sliver of hope."
Kayla clenched her fists, rage flaring. "That bastard Grum—I'll expose him!"
Mias nodded. "I know your resolve. But we're too weak right now. I suggest you head to the border and find General Ironwall · Balg. He, your father, and I were once called the 'Three Titans of the Fierce Claw.' He commands a hundred thousand beastmen at the border. If you join forces from within and without, we may yet topple Grum and his cronies."
Kayla thought for a moment, then nodded. "Understood, Uncle Mias. I'll go find General Ironwall · Balg."
Mias turned to Fa and the team, expression grave. "Protect Kayla with your lives. If anything happens to her, I will personally lead the entire beastman empire's army after you."
Fa met his gaze steadily. "We will guard her. You have our word."
Mias nodded once, then turned and left, the Iron Claw Knights vanishing into the distance behind him.
Kayla watched his retreating back, emotions surging. This escape was only the beginning. The real war still lay ahead. But with Mias's counsel and support, a spark of hope now burned in her chest.
"Let's go," Fa said. "First to the Mor Shi Mountains, then on to the border to find General Ironwall · Balg."
The team nodded and set off on their new journey.