Free Web NovelChapter 193: Chapter 193: The Headless Commander Statue
The Ashen Wind Captain fought like a battlefield officer that remembered formations better than death.
It did not attack first.
It commanded.
The twelve Ash Sentries split into three squads. Four halberds fixed Qin Yuchen in place. Four archers moved along elevated wall paths. Four shield sentries advanced toward Qin Mo, trying to crush formation support.
The captain remained behind them, sword raised, gray wind gathering around its broken crest.
Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.
This was not a boss to rush blindly.
"Mo, lock walls. Yuchen, hold front but do not chase. Lian, archers. I will pressure captain."
Gate Thunder Command Field activated in a tight radius.
The field felt different inside the citadel.
Command echoes pressed against it, trying to imitate its signals. The Unbroken Trust Resonance Crystal stabilized the connection. Qin Yuheng narrowed command to simple pulses: hold, shift, strike, withdraw.
No elaborate orders.
The simpler the command, the harder to distort.
Qin Lian vanished into the elevated wall paths. The archers adjusted quickly, firing ash arrows that split into wind fragments. She used the Silent Moon Shadow Cloak to blur between arrow slits, cutting bow cores one by one.
Qin Mo hammered Storm-Root Anchor Spikes into the courtyard stones. Each spike stopped a wall segment from moving, limiting the citadel’s ability to reshape the battlefield.
Qin Yuchen held the halberd line.
Qin Yuheng advanced toward the captain.
The Ashen Wind Captain finally moved.
Its sword swept downward, releasing a crescent of ash wind. Qin Yuheng met it with thunder, splitting the crescent but feeling erosion bite at his sleeves.
The captain’s chest core pulsed.
A command echo struck.
"Qin Yuchen, retreat."
False.
Qin Yuchen did not move.
The captain changed tactics.
"Qin Mo, complete the anchor."
Qin Mo froze for half a breath.
Because that command sounded useful.
Too useful.
The Team Trust Anchor pulsed: false.
Qin Mo cursed and pulled his hand back just before a wall spike would have impaled his arm.
"I hate helpful lies!"
Qin Yuheng reached the captain.
Sword met sword.
The captain’s technique was old and clean. Not as aggressive as Duan Xirong, not as analytical as Bai Yunshen, but efficient in military rhythm. It fought like someone who expected soldiers to stand around it.
But its soldiers were falling.
Qin Lian destroyed the last archer.
Qin Yuchen broke the halberd line.
Qin Mo locked the final wall shift.
The captain’s command aura weakened.
Qin Yuheng stepped inside its guard and struck the chest core.
The captain staggered.
Then the headless commander statue in the courtyard moved.
Not fully.
Its raised hand lowered slightly.
The captain froze. freewёbnoνel.com
A new command echo sounded.
This voice was deeper.
Older.
"Obey until relieved."
The Ashen Wind Captain’s broken crest flared.
Its level pressure rose.
[Ashen Wind Captain]
[State: Reinforced by Final Command Echo]
[Level Equivalent: 41]
Qin Mo looked at the statue.
"The statue is broadcasting the old order!"
Qin Yuheng understood.
The captain could not rest because the final command remained incomplete.
Destroying the captain might work, but identifying the order would likely improve evaluation and stop the citadel properly.
"Can we disable the statue?"
Qin Mo inspected through formation sight.
"Not without triggering command backlash. We need the full order."
Qin Yuheng looked around the courtyard.
The commander statue had no head.
Its hand pointed toward the command tower.
"Fragment is in the tower."
Qin Yuchen blocked the captain’s renewed attack.
"Then we need to pass."
Qin Yuheng compressed his field.
"Break formation, not captain. Move through."
The team shifted strategy.
Instead of killing the captain immediately, they targeted the sentry reinforcements and opened a path to the third corridor zone.
The captain pursued relentlessly.
Its sword strikes carried the phrase obey until relieved like a hammer.
The third corridor zone began behind the statue.
The moment they entered, the path sealed.
The captain remained outside, striking the barrier.
Qin Mo exhaled.
"Temporary separation from angry officer. Good."
The third corridor zone was the most dangerous.
It did not shift randomly.
It responded to command hierarchy.
Doors opened only to ranks.
Private.
Officer.
Captain.
Commander.
The team had no citadel rank.
But Qin Yuheng carried commander-class aura and Fourth Gate Banner Path. The corridor sensed it.
A panel appeared.
[Citadel Command Recognition Attempt]
[Unknown Commander-Type detected.]
[Accept temporary citadel command recognition?]
[Warning:
Recognition may bind old orders.]
Qin Mo immediately said, "No."
Qin Yuheng agreed.
He refused.
The corridor locked.
Alternative required solving command fragments.
They searched side rooms.
Room one contained a soldier’s diary.
The commander ordered us to hold until civilians crossed the north wind bridge.
Room two contained a medical officer’s note.
The commander fell before relief arrived.
Captain Shen kept repeating the old order, but no one knew whether civilians had escaped.
Room three contained a broken wind map.
It showed the north wind bridge collapsed after civilians crossed.
Thus, the original condition had been fulfilled.
The citadel should have stood down.
But the final order fragment was still missing.
At the end of the corridor stood the commander’s head, broken from the statue and sealed behind ash glass.
Qin Mo unlocked the chamber.
The head spoke when they entered.
"If the commander falls, the citadel shall hold until the civilians cross the north wind bridge. Once the bridge falls behind them, the defenders are relieved."
The complete order appeared.
[Original final order completed.]
[Condition fulfilled centuries ago.]
[Citadel command loop invalid.]
The third zone mapped.
[Shifting Corridor Zone mapped: 3 / 3]
The citadel shook.
The barrier behind them shattered.
The Ashen Wind Captain entered, sword raised.
But now Qin Yuheng had the truth.
He faced the captain and spoke clearly.
"Captain Shen. The civilians crossed the north wind bridge. The bridge fell behind them. The defenders were relieved."
The captain froze.
The command echo fought back.
"Obey until relieved."
Qin Yuheng raised the completed order tablet.
"You are relieved."
The Ashen Wind Captain’s chest core dimmed.
For a moment, a human-like figure appeared inside the armor.
Tired.
Old.
Still standing.
"Relieved?" it whispered.
"Yes."
The captain lowered its sword.
Then the headless commander statue outside collapsed into ash.
A panel appeared.
[Ashen Wind Captain released.]
[Citadel command loop weakened.]
[Central command hall opened.]
Qin Mo smiled faintly.
"We talked down a captain."
Qin Lian said, "With paperwork."
Qin Mo looked moved.
"Beautiful."
But the floor was not over.
The Ashen Wind Order still remained in the central command hall.
And now that the old captain had been released, the broken order’s true core had awakened.
