The streets of Rising Sun City were alive with chaos, though none of it was truly random. Fires roared from barrels in the merchant quarter, sending plumes of smoke skyward. Shadows danced across the walls as illusionary figures moved among the crowd, talismans embedded in the cobblestones triggering bursts of light and sound. From a rooftop, Liang Chen surveyed the orchestrated chaos, his sharp eyes noting every movement. Beside him, Yue Rong adjusted a talisman, ensuring the illusion of a secondary fire on the eastern street drew the city guards away from the Auction House.
"Timing," Liang Chen murmured, "is everything. If this goes wrong, Team One is trapped before they even step inside."
Below, Team Three moved like shadows. Each member carried a bundle of prepared talismans and small elemental charges—tools of diversion rather than lethal force. They weren't here to fight; they were here to control perception. The city needed to believe a riot had broken out, a threat too immediate for anyone to investigate the Auction House directly.
A shout echoed from the western street—a staged altercation between two masked figures. Smoke from a nearby fire talisman filled the alley, sending guards stumbling into false threats. From the rooftop, Liang Chen activated a set of directional talismans, and bursts of light shot into the air, mimicking flares of magical energy. Citizens screamed and ran, giving the illusion that the chaos was natural and uncontrollable.
Yue Rong's hands moved gracefully, tracing the air as she activated a line of hidden sigils across the alleyways. The sigils emitted pulses of energy that mimicked the staggered, disoriented movement of injured citizens. "Keep it steady," she whispered to her squad, eyes flicking to the timing device that synchronized their chaos with Team One's entry.
Alaric, observing from a safe vantage point, gave a subtle nod. The Auction House was now isolated, its surrounding streets clogged with panicked guards and lower-tier cultivators. "This should give Alex a clear path inside," he murmured, voice low but firm. Even in the controlled chaos, the precision required for this mission was immense; one misstep and a stray guard could recognize the pattern.
Fires popped, smoke rose, and illusionary shadows darted. Talismans designed to mimic false reinforcements activated in staggered intervals, creating an impression that the city's defenders were fracturing and disorganized. Team Three had to maintain the deception without drawing real attention to themselves, all while keeping clear lines of sight to signal Team One and Two.
"Three minutes to go," Liang Chen said, checking the synchronization rune. "Once Alex moves, we extend the eastern route. The second diversion begins." He touched the rune embedded in his palm, activating a new layer of illusions: spectral figures charging toward imaginary threats, flames leaping higher, the sounds of distant clashes amplified by sound talismans.
The streets below were a controlled storm. Guards yelled, citizens screamed, and yet no real harm came to anyone—except the perception of danger. Every movement was orchestrated, rehearsed, and timed to perfection. Team Three flowed seamlessly from one vantage point to the next, each member ensuring that nothing broke the illusion.
Alaric's eyes scanned the scene. He could see faint outlines of Team One moving in the shadows, Alex and his strike team weaving between alleys and debris, their path perfectly clear thanks to the diversions. A minor explosion to the east, a burst of smoke from the north—each action strategically plotted to funnel attention away from the Auction House.
Liang Chen's voice was calm but sharp: "Hold. Wait for the signal."
A subtle ripple of light from a hidden talisman—a signal rune—passed across the rooftop. The chaos had reached its peak. Every illusion, every fire, every scream synchronized to create a perfect mask. Alex had crossed the threshold of the Auction House, and Alaric could see the subtle shifts in the crowd: guards moving too late, citizens scattering in precisely calculated panic.
"Good," Alaric said quietly, a rare smile touching his lips. "Team One has the opening. Let's keep this going until the signal to withdraw."
For the next several minutes, Team Three maintained their orchestrated storm. Smoke, fire, illusions—all working in harmony. They moved from rooftop to rooftop, alley to alley, correcting small inconsistencies in the chaos, ensuring that the path to the Auction House remained uninterrupted. Every second counted; every motion was a thread in the fabric of this perfectly timed distraction.
Finally, as Alex and his team secured the interior and Team Two prepared to control the exits, Liang Chen and Yue Rong signaled the end of their diversion. Talismans were deactivated, fires extinguished, and the shadows receded. The streets of Rising Sun City slowly returned to normal—or at least, to what could be perceived as normal after a sudden outbreak of chaos.
Alaric observed quietly from the edge of the rooftops. The distraction had worked. The opening had been secured. And in the shadows below, the city itself would never suspect the precision, the planning, and the skill that had made this operation possible.
For a brief moment, he allowed himself to exhale. The real fight was just beginning.