Heavy iron boots pounded against the ancient flagstones of the Mortal-Protection Bridge.
From the twin garrison towers flanking the tollgate, three thousand armored tax-halberdiers marched out in double-time. They slammed the butts of their chaos-steel polearms against the pavement, forming a tight ring around the prow of the Sovereign Aurora and the refugee arks behind it.
Heavy black chains cranked upward from the abyss, locking the rear approach gate shut.
Up on the central platform, Toll-Gate Overseer Lord Wuji smoothed his singed gold-embroidered robes and pulled a yellowed beast-skin scroll out of his spatial sleeve. Dark purple curse-runes crawled across the parchment.
“Nobody takes another step toward the First Supreme Heaven!” Wuji bellowed, holding the scroll high above his head. “You think throwing ten thousand Chaos Origin Units at that old bridge-slave buys his freedom? Read the seal on this parchment, lower-realm bumpkins!”
Beside him, a hunched, rat-faced clerk in gray robes—Tax-Scribe Master Qiu—clacked a black iron abacus and read aloud in a nasal drone.
“Item Four-Zero-Nine of the Outer-Heaven Labor Registry!” Master Qiu announced, peering over his spectacles at the Sovereign Aurora. “One hundred thousand years ago, Old Keeper Cang signed an Eternal Bridge-Maintenance Indenture Deed with the Heavenly Plunder Bank! Under Clause Seven, every crack in the bridge piers caused by chaos storms is deducted directly from his salary as an equipment wear-and-tear fee!”
