The mercenaries continued fighting after the bells went silent, but the shape of the battle changed.
Martin saw it first in their leader. The man kept glancing toward the upper relays instead of toward the front line, clearly waiting for the city to reveal something that never came.
Twice, his crews deployed copied route-song devices behind portable barriers. Twice, they played stolen patterns into the Sairren network and received nothing useful in return.
No shelter route responded.
No domestic signal answered.
The second time an operator began preparing the same equipment again, the mercenary leader stopped him with one sharp gesture.
Rias noticed. "They've stopped probing."
Mireva remained beside the upper bridge, directing wardens through physical signs. "Because they learned enough?"
"No. Because we finally stopped giving them answers."
The distinction mattered.
