Chapter 624: The False Retreat

Hajin stood on the shattered observation platform, leaning on his scabbard while his spiritual duplicate crouched beside the western archway.

The clone checked the western archway’s exit line with one hand while Hajin watched the enemy position from the shattered platform.

Between them, the six physical Rings glowed with divided radiance, three resting on the summoner’s hand and three on the clone’s fingers.

"Incoming patrol from the northern gulley," the clone reported, its voice calm and steady across their spiritual tether.

"Forty heavy infantry, four battle mages, and a lieutenant clad in mirrored plate."

"He sees our divided aura," Hajin remarked with a faint, dangerous smirk.

"He thinks cutting my power in half makes me an easy target for his promotion."

Down on the approach road, the mirrored lieutenant raised his halberd, signaling his detachment to form an echelon wedge.

"Surround the perimeter!" the lieutenant bellowed, his voice amplified by a brass speaking horn.

"The arrogant summoner split his legendary rings across a fragile phantom decoy!"

"Cut off their retreat toward the lower gorge and take their severed heads back to the Incarnation!"

The infantry surged forward, their halberds leveled as they charged up the steps toward the open archway.

"Remember your assigned objective," he instructed the clone without turning his head.

"Hold the western escape lane, seal their flank guards in the gulley, and do not pursue into the tree line."

"Consider that lane locked down tight, boss," the duplicate responded with a confident grin, vanishing into the shadows of the colonnade.

He drew his single curved blade, meeting the lieutenant’s vanguard at the top of the terrace steps.

Sparks showered the flags as his weapon collided with the lieutenant’s halberd, screeching against the tempered steel head.

Instead of unleashing his overwhelming sovereign domain, the summoner feigned instability, stumbling back by two full paces.

"Your power is broken, boy!" the lieutenant gloated, pressing forward aggressively with a flurry of sweeping thrusts.

"Without your full ring formation, your legendary techniques are nothing more than pathetic amateur parlor tricks!"

"You talk like a man who has never fought outside an academy arena," he taunted, parrying each thrust with narrow margins.

He gave ground deliberately, retreating through the ruined colonnade toward the rear courtyard of the station.

Greedy for glory, the lieutenant followed in headlong pursuit, drawing his elite vanguard deep into the enclosed kill zone.

Behind them, the distance between the charging lieutenant and his supporting auxiliary mages widened into an unbridgeable gap.

"Now, close the door!" Hajin yelled, his voice echoing off the canyon walls like rolling thunder.

From the high western gallery, the duplicate erupted into the rocky gulley with explosive, terrifying speed.

Wielding its twin practice sabers infused with pure spirit mana, the clone struck the exposed flank guards like a falling comet.

"Seal the escape lane and shatter their formation!" the clone shouted, driving its twin blades through the panic-stricken ranks.

Within four heartbeats, the duplicate severed the vanguard’s rear communication line, hurling six armored guards down the rocky embankment.

The auxiliary mages scrambled to erect protective barriers, but the clone moved too fast, disarming their staves before their spells took shape.

Realizing he was trapped in an isolated courtyard, the mirrored lieutenant spun around in sudden, choking terror.

"A feigned retreat..." the officer stammered, his arrogant bravado evaporating like mist in the morning sun.

"You deliberately baited me away from my battle mages!"

"Did you really believe three of my rings were not enough to turn you into kindling?" he asked coldly, his eyes igniting with sovereign fire.

"I gave you every chance to turn back at the tree line."

"Die, monster!" the lieutenant shrieked, lunging forward in a desperate, wild overhead cleave.

Hajin did not even bother to draw a second blade from the leather scabbard at his hip.

He stepped inside the halberd’s shaft, caught the officer’s armored wrist with his bare hand, and twisted with brutal precision.

The lieutenant’s bones snapped with a sickening pop, tearing the halberd from his grip before his strike could land.

Before the screaming officer could collapse, Hajin drove his curved blade straight through the central plate of the mirrored cuirass.

The lieutenant went limp, his lifeless body sliding off the steel blade onto the cracked flagstones of the courtyard.

[ Combat objective achieved: Forward viaduct station secured ]

[ Hostile commander slain: Choral lieutenant eliminated ]

[ Flank interception complete: Auxiliary division routed by independent clone ]

[ Reconciling campaign host receipts... ]

[ Previous pending kill receipt: Ferra operator pool (+300,000 EXP) applied ]

[ Previous pending kill receipt: Rumi hunter pool (+1,000,000 EXP) applied ]

[ Previous pending kill receipt: Loccy engine cab pool (+2,000,000 EXP) applied ]

[ Direct combat experience: 16,700,000 EXP gained ]

[ Total campaign host experience awarded: +20,000,000 EXP ]

[ Cumulative host experience: 690,000,000 / 1,000,000,000 ]

[ Ring seven progression: 69.0% ]

A colossal pillar of radiant sovereign light erupted from the courtyard flags, swirling around Hajin and his returning clone in a dual helix.

All three pending experience receipts from previous battles merged into the massive twenty-million payout, flooding his core with profound power.

He exhaled a breath of shimmering aura mist, feeling the boundary of Ring Seven vibrate with tantalizing proximity.

"Six hundred and ninety million," he murmured, clenching his fist as the physical rings settled back onto his fingers.

"Only ten million more until the seven-hundred-million milestone."

The duplicate strolled over, tossing a bundle of stamped control plates onto the courtyard table with a satisfied smirk.

"Found these in the lieutenant’s command chest," the clone said, wiping a speck of dust from its shoulder.

"Three synchronized control plates... exactly what Aria needs to calibrate our three-body trial tomorrow!"

Hajin inspected the captured plates, noting the intricate tripartite engravings that matched the subterranean terminals perfectly.

"Flawless execution on the flank," he told his duplicate, clapping a hand on the clone’s shoulder.

"You held that lane better than I could have steered you from across the court."

"Told you so," the duplicate laughed, vanishing into spirit motes as it returned to his spiritual core.

High above the gorge, the celestial stream broadcast erupted into euphoric pandemonium and a tidal wave of superchats.

[ Seoul_Tactician: "Twenty million EXP for the host pool! Hajin is at 690 million total now!" ]

[ StarlightScholar: "That fake retreat was diabolical! The lieutenant thought he was hot stuff until the trap snapped shut!" ]

[ IronVanguard: "Look at the clone work! Independent flank routing while Hajin one-shots the boss, perfection!" ]

[ HearthKeeper: "All pending kill EXP from Ferra, Rumi, and Loccy reconciled into one glorious twenty-million bag!" ]

[ ShadowMage44: "Three control plates secured! Do they all have to stay pressed at the same time?" ]

Taren and the twins arrived at the station gates, escorting the supply wagons into the secured courtyard with cheerful shouts.

"The forward perimeter is secure, summoner," Taren announced, sheathing his sword with a broad smile.

"The enemy’s reinforcements scattered into the scrubland the moment they saw their lieutenant fall."

"Did anyone escape down the river road?" Hajin asked, looking toward the gorge.

"Not a single scout got past us," Rumi purred, flicking her lynx ears proudly.

"Nari and I chased down their message runners before they could even draw their signal flares!"

"Then the road to the three-heart court is wide open," Hajin concluded, tucking the plates safely into his coat.

"Before we leave, look beneath the arch," Hajin told the clone, pointing toward the service stairs hidden behind the broken station.

The duplicate checked the lower gallery while Rumi swept the runners’ escape trail, confirming nobody remained trapped under the battle debris.

Ferra separated the three control plates and wrapped each one in cloth so a single dropped pack could not return them all to the enemy.

"The stations are ours," she said, "provided we arrive before anyone replaces these locks."

Tomorrow, the second clone would awaken, and his power would reach heights the world never witnessed before.