Chapter 30: Arriving in the Peace Realm
After casually slaying the Giant-Eyed Stench Rat that had recklessly pounced at him, Jing Wuji continued walking toward the remaining three demons.
Finally, the Blood-Marked Giant Demon Rat couldn't hold back any longer and charged at him in a frenzy.
"Tch."
Jing Wuji still moved with unhurried calm, sidestepping, weaving left and right, dodging each of the Blood-Marked Giant Demon Rat's attacks. With every dodge, his sword-wielding wrist would tremble violently several times.
"Pfft—Pfft—"
As Jing Wuji evaded the rat's assaults, he had already left several wounds on its body. Blood splattered everywhere.
A remnant soul emerged from the Blood-Marked Giant Demon Rat's corpse and was absorbed by the little deer pendant.
The two remaining Giant-Eyed Stench Rats, like foolish brothers trying to save each other, charged one after another.
With just two swings of his arm, Jing Wuji brought them down, leaving behind two more corpses.
Two more remnant souls slipped from the bodies and were also absorbed by the little deer pendant.
The whole encounter lasted less than twenty seconds. Four demon corpses lay on the ground, while Jing Wuji hadn't even been splashed with a single drop of blood.
This was the power of the "Heart Eye"!
Without much use of magic energy, Jing Wuji had forcibly fought his way through three kilometers of demon-infested land.
Wherever he passed, demon corpses piled up like mountains, and rivers of blood flowed.
Crossing the bridge, the massive, wall-like barrier of light finally came into view.
Several mages wearing the emblem of the Mage Association stood guard there.
Soon after entering the Peace Realm, Mo Fan and the others arrived as well. Seeing that Jing Wuji and Ye Xinxia were safe and sound, Mo Fan rushed forward and gave Jing Wuji a tight hug.
"I knew you'd be fine!" Mo Fan said with a joyful smile, though tears streamed from his eyes.
"Mm." Seeing the emotional Mo Fan, Jing Wuji didn't know what to say, so he just gave a gentle nod.
Behind Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou stood silently with his head down, looking lost and helpless.
"Him?" Jing Wuji motioned with his chin. Although he hadn't often played with them growing up, he still cared about his childhood companion.
"Him..." Mo Fan's voice grew heavy. "He Yu... was killed by a dark beast while saving him…"
"If I were stronger... if I could use intermediate magic proficiently... this wouldn't have happened…" Mo Fan was grieving. As the team's intermediate mage, he hadn't been able to protect everyone — a bitter failure.
Jing Wuji said nothing, only patting his shoulder.
The atmosphere instantly turned somber, and even Ye Xinxia's smile faded into sadness.
"People... always have to look forward," Jing Wuji said slowly.
"Yeah. I'll make the Black Vatican pay for every drop of blood!" Mo Fan, never one for sentimentality, was reinvigorated by Jing Wuji's words.
"Where's my dad?" Jing Wuji asked.
"At the Xuefeng Mountain outpost. It's very safe there."
"Oh right, here, take this." Mo Fan glanced around to make sure no one was watching and carefully took out a small bottle. It held only a shallow layer of liquid.
"What is it?"
"Holy Spring of the Earth," Mo Fan whispered into Jing Wuji's ear.
"Oh." Jing Wuji took the Holy Spring. The deer pendant on his chest gave a subtle response, though nothing dramatic.
Jing Wuji instantly understood its meaning — it could absorb it, but it wasn't particularly valuable.
Receiving the message from the deer pendant, Jing Wuji opened the bottle and poured all of the Holy Spring into it to be absorbed.
This thing was troublesome — better to get rid of it as soon as possible.
Just as Mo Fan was putting the empty bottle away, a military mage arrived.
"Which one of you is Mo Fan?" asked the man, who wore the military emblem on his chest.
"I am," Mo Fan raised his right hand.
"Come with me. The commander wants to see you," the man said.
Mo Fan followed the military man, while Jing Wuji nudged Ye Xinxia and Zhang Xiaohou to go along.
After entering the Peace Realm, Lin Yun'er formally thanked Jing Wuji before going off to find her sister.
The group climbed a temporary watchtower made using earth magic. As they reached the top, Jing Wuji was stopped.
On the other side, Zhan Kong had already seen him and waved for the guards to let him through.
"You're alive — I'm glad."
"Thank goodness you told me about the anomaly inside the cave. That's what made me suspicious of Bai Yang."
Bai Yang — the summoner of the Shadow Wolf Beasts.
"Oh? I thought you'd scold me. What about the Holy Spring?"
"Drank it."
…
The two — one tall, one small — talked for a while. Zhan Kong didn't press further about the spring's whereabouts.
"Oh, right, Jing Wuji — do you know where the demons came from?" Zhan Kong suddenly asked.
"An abandoned construction site," Jing Wuji replied succinctly.
Only by combining all the intelligence he had could he barely deduce that location.
Clad in a green windbreaker, Zhan Kong stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sharp like a sword, locked on the Skywing Wolf circling above the Yinmao Building.
"The military will remember your contribution. From here on... leave it to me."
"Stand by for orders!" With eyes like lightning, Zhan Kong shouted.
Several military mages instantly snapped into formation, exuding a deadly aura that filled the air.
"Kill the Skywing Wolf! No retreat, no surrender!" Zhan Kong raised his arm and called out.
"Kill the Skywing Wolf! No retreat, no surrender!"
"Kill the Skywing Wolf! No retreat, no surrender!"
"Kill the Skywing Wolf! No retreat, no surrender!"
On the ground, the soldiers were filled with righteous fury, itching to charge out and slay the Skywing Wolf on the spot.
Zhan Kong then stepped forward, his green military coat billowing high in the wind.
In the next instant, he leaped from the tower. Within seconds, a pair of ivory-white wings suddenly came into view in the distance—
Wings of Wind!
The magic that allowed a person to soar freely through the skies.
Under the gray and gloomy sky, above a bloodstained city, between heaven and earth—
a lone figure, held aloft by the Wings of Wind, was the very image of proud, unrestrained defiance.
As Zhan Kong took to the skies, his subordinates followed suit, leaping into the air one after another.
Soon, nine white giant eagles appeared in the sky, flying swiftly toward the Yinmao Building.
These were Sky Eagles—mounts reserved for high-ranking officers, typically granted only to intermediate-level mages and above.
Watching the figures of Zhan Kong and his nine mages fading into the distance, a thunderous cheer erupted within the Peace Realm.
This disaster was finally coming to an end!
Since the Crimson Alert had begun, humanity had played the roles of prey, of refugees, of the fearful and the weak—but that was never all that humanity was.
Among humans, there exists another kind—mages.
Their sacred duty is to protect the people within the city.
In the Peace Realm, a brown-haired young man stood frozen, gazing in awe at the figures of Zhan Kong and the others. He was completely captivated by what he saw.
Ever since He Yu's death, the light in Zhang Xiaohou's eyes had vanished.
But now, a fire had been lit in his heart—burning bright.
This... this is what he was meant to do in the future!
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