this formation to aid them in battle against the outsiders.”
Sickness bubbled up from Mercy’s stomach.
They hadn’t been listening to her at all. The Matriarch had been stringing Mercy along, and now she was taking the signs of the Dreadgod’s coming as evidence that there was no Dreadgod.
Mercy hovered there on her staff, cold wind whipping her hair, as she fought with her choices.
The Golds wanted to leave, and she couldn’t blame them. While she still had them, they could tear the gates of the Li clan open and let the average citizens free.
She could grab the Matriarch herself and fly her up to where the Dreadgod was visible, but depending on the Titan’s location, that could take hours.
And—as the Fourth Elder had reminded Mercy repeatedly over the last day—the Wei clan could craft convincing illusions. Just seeing with one’s own eyes was not necessarily evidence.
There was no guarantee she could convince them, but if she just captured the clan and dragged them off, they would work against her.
She couldn’t avoid the question that slipped out from the depths of her heart: What would my mother do?
Mercy knew exactly what Malice would do in this situation. Her exploits were practically myths in the Akura clan. Her approach would work, too.
Mercy just didn’t want to do it.
But it would save lives…
With more time, she could come up with a better plan. If only she didn’t need to act now.
With a sudden burst of speed, Mercy zipped up to the edge of the flat roof where the Matriarch was speaking. She was up and over as the first Jades were spinning at the feel of her spirit, pulling up their venomous techniques.
Mercy had already landed, staff whirling.
Two Jade elders went to the ground in the first instant, one clipped across the head and the other with her feet swept out from under her. An Iron Enforcer went over the edge of the roof, and she webbed a second guard to the floor with Strings of Shadow.
A Forged arrowhead of venomous madra crashed into her chest, shattering on her bloodline armor. She broke the wrist of the Jade who had used that technique and buckled the knees of another.
The Matriarch had begun a Ruler and Striker technique at the same time, venom aura condensing over her shoulder as green light twisted in her hand.
Mercy’s staff came up as a bow, the violet-eyed dragon’s head glaring at the Matriarch. Her arrow’s point gleamed black.
“Drop your technique,” Mercy commanded.
The Matriarch’s eyes shifted as she took in the situation.
Mercy released her bowstring.
The arrow pinned the Jade’s wrist to the wall behind her. She grunted in pain, and her two techniques puffed to nothing as her madra was overwhelmed by shadow.
When the arrow was removed, there would be no wound in the woman’s flesh, but as long as it was embedded here, it would still hurt.
Mercy leaned closer, tapping into her bloodline legacy just enough to make sure her eyes were shining. “When I give you an instruction, you do not hesitate to obey. Do you understand?”
Behind her, one of the Jades started forming another technique.
She shot Strings of Shadow out blindly, and the technique stopped.
“Answer me.”
“I understand,” the Matriarch said quickly. “You have defeated me, but it will take more than you alone to conquer the Li clan.”
“No, it won’t.” Mercy triggered a communication construct inside her pocket in a prearranged signal. “But why would I waste so much time?”
Only a second later, the first Akura rose into the sky outside the Li clan walls. The other fifty followed suit a moment afterwards, spreading out in the sky.
The Matriarch inclined her head. “You are very strong. But we in the Li clan are not without our own—”
Mercy used her communication construct again, and this time she spoke a command. “Unveil.”
It took a moment for the message to reach the others, but when it did, the Akura Golds revealed the full extent of their power immediately.
The Li Jades gasped, and the Matriarch’s eyes bulged in their sockets. “Jades? All of them?”
“Scan me,” Mercy ordered.
When the Matriarch hesitated, Mercy lifted her bow again.
Immediately, a scan shivered through Mercy’s spirit. This time, the older woman’s breath caught. Color drained from her skin, and she dropped to her knees. Awkwardly, as her wrist was still pinned to the wall behind her. “Gold,” she breathed.
The others on the roof were face-down in moments.
“No,” Mercy corrected. “Gold is what they are.”
“Forgiveness, please. This one has offended you. If only you had revealed yourselves,