The defenders were starting to realize their command structure was collapsing. Panic spread through the ranks as soldiers witnessed their leaders being systematically eliminated by two demons who fought like living catastrophes.

"HOLD YOUR POSITIONS!" A voice boomed across the ramparts—deeper than human, amplified by what had to be magic. "THEY'RE ONLY TWO! CONCENTRATE FIRE!"

Liam turned toward the voice and saw someone different from the standard Commanders. Taller, more heavily armored, with holy symbols that blazed with actual divine light.

"High Priest," Lilith said, and for the first time since the fighting began, she sounded cautious. "They brought one of their religious elite to the defense."

The High Priest raised his staff, and light erupted across the ramparts—not wild holy fire, but structured, controlled power that created barriers and blessed the defenders around him. Paladins who'd been wavering rallied. Battle-priests who'd been fleeing returned to positions.

"Finally," Liam muttered. "A real challenge."

He Phase Shifted directly toward the High Priest, planning to close distance before the man could fully establish his defensive position.

The priest was ready for it.

Holy fire erupted from his staff in a concentrated beam that tracked Liam's movement. Not area-effect, but precisely targeted, following his phase-shifts with preternatural accuracy. Liam felt the heat of it sear his right shoulder, consecrated power burning through his armor.

[Health: -8%]

The pain was sharp and immediate. Liam Phase Shifted again, trying to get an angle the priest couldn't predict, but the man was good—decades of fighting demons had taught him to track their movement patterns.

"YOU DARE DEFILE THIS HOLY CITY?" The High Priest's voice carried divine authority of its own. "YOU DARE BRING YOUR DARKNESS TO THE RADIANT CAPITAL?"

"Yes," Liam said simply, and hit him with everything.

Infernal Conflagration. Sovereign's Dominion. Phase Shift used not for mobility but to appear directly in the priest's defensive perimeter. Abyssal Plate formed into something like claws, reaching for the man's throat.

The High Priest blocked with his staff, and the impact sent shockwaves across the rampart. Holy light blazed, pushing back Liam's darkness. For a moment, they were locked in a contest of pure power—consecrated divinity against stolen demon authority.

Then Lilith arrived and kicked the High Priest off the wall.

The man fell thirty feet, crashed into a group of Paladins below, and didn't get back up.

"You were taking too long," Lilith said, dusting off her hands.

"I had it under control—"

"You were burning Essence fighting someone I could handle in seconds." She gestured at the chaos below where the demon army was pouring through the breached outer wall. "Save your strength. The real fighting hasn't started yet."

As if to punctuate her words, horns blew from the city's interior—not Radiant defensive signals, but something else. Something that made the remaining defenders on the ramparts hesitate.

"What is that?" Liam asked.

"Mobilization signal," Lilith said, her expression darkening. "They're calling in their reserves. Which means..."

"Which means they're done trying to hold the walls," Liam finished. "They're committing everything to a final defense."

Below them, the second wall was beginning to crack under sustained demon assault. Commander Koth's voice thundered orders, Legion One pouring through gaps while Legion Two pushed from a different angle.

The Radiant defenders were being overwhelmed by sheer numbers, their organized resistance fragmenting into isolated pockets.

But from the city's heart, Liam could see new formations moving—thousands of fresh soldiers, moving with the discipline of elite troops rather than city garrison.

"Grand Commanders," Lilith said quietly. "They're deploying their best."

"How many?"

"Sanctum Lux usually keeps six stationed in the capital. Each one leads about five thousand elite troops." She turned to look at him. "You struggled against Grand Commander Orin when you killed him. These will be just as skilled, possibly better, and there are six of them."

Liam calculated quickly. Six Grand Commanders. Thirty thousand elite troops. Plus whatever remained of the garrison forces that were already engaged.

Against a demon army that was already exhausted and had taken over ten thousand casualties just breaching the outer walls.

The mathematics were still impossible.

"Then we kill the Grand Commanders first," Liam said. "Cut the head off their defense before it can organize properly."

"We?" Lilith raised an eyebrow. "You want to take on Grand Commanders plural? Simultaneously?"

"You said it yourself—you're significantly stronger than me. We work together, we can drop them faster than they can respond."

Lilith studied him for a moment, then smiled—a rare, genuine expression that transformed her face. "You're learning. Finally understanding that leadership doesn't mean doing everything alone."

"I have excellent teachers," Liam said, which earned him another almost-smile.

"BREACH CONFIRMED!" Commander Torven's voice carried across the battlefield. "SECOND WALL FALLING! ALL UNITS ADVANCE TO THIRD WALL!"

The demon army surged forward, a tide of dark steel and desperate purpose. But Liam could see what was coming—the fresh enemy troops moving to intercept, the Grand Commanders coordinating defensive positions, the careful preparation of a force that had defended this city for three thousand years.

This was where the real battle began.

Everything before had just been the warmup.

"Ready?" Lilith asked, settling into a combat stance that somehow looked both relaxed and lethal.

Liam channeled Essence, feeling his reserves burn as power flooded through him. His shoulder still ached where the High Priest's holy fire had scored it. His ribs protested with every breath. Exhaustion was a weight that never lifted.

None of it mattered.

"Ready," he said.

They dropped from the ramparts together, landing in the midst of the advancing enemy reserves. Paladins surrounded them immediately, consecrated blades raised, holy prayers on their lips.

Lilith moved like a storm given flesh, and the Paladins died like wheat before a scythe.

Liam Phase Shifted through their formation, Infernal Conflagration burning everything he touched, Sovereign's Dominion breaking morale wherever it reached.

And somewhere ahead, six Grand Commanders prepared to meet them.

The breach was won.

The real battle was just beginning.

And Lord Azra, the Originator of Sin, was done holding back.

[Synchronization Index: +2%]

[Current Essence: 67,890]

[Nameless Litany: 1,015 → 1,067 members]

[Casualties: 10,924 dead, 7,341 wounded]

Eighteen thousand casualties to breach two walls.

Sixty thousand more enemies to kill before they reached the city's heart.

Six Grand Commanders between them and victory.

The countdown had become a death toll.

And the synthesis deepened with every impossible demand met.

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