The True Objective

With that, Ultear walked straight to the bedside, gently suspending the crystal ball in the air in front of Chiba, wisps of magic emanating from it and flowing into Chiba's body.

She had indeed followed the two of them all the way, and she even saw Chiba transform into Chiba Tailed Beast Transformation and the giant dragon address Feiyin as Queen.

Although Feiyin converted the Magic Divine Crystal into Yang Power to restore his body, this required a certain fusion process. Her Arc of Time magic could accelerate this fusion process.

Time passed slowly, and as Chiba slowly opened her eyes again, Ultear's magical input decreased.

Chiba's gaze swept around, landing on Mira, who stood silently with her eyes lowered, and... Ultear, who sat on the crystal ball with her snow-white legs crossed.

"Big sister?! What are you doing here?!" He sat up abruptly, exclaiming in surprise.

Ultear said calmly, "This is the battlefield between the Magic Council and the Dark Guilds. Why can't I be here?"

Chiba was somewhat confused. "Although it's a dark guild... this is the battlefield between the Shadow Skull and the Magic Council. Aren't you Grimoire Hearts sworn enemies with the Shadow Skull?"

Ultear smiled and said, "It seems their intelligence gathering was quite effective..."

Chiba sensed something was wrong, so he struggled to get up, but aggravated his wound and fell off the bed.

"Ugh..."

Mira quickly came over, picked him up, and gently placed him on the bed.

"Your entire body's skin and flesh cells are cracking due to the immense energy. I never expected you to risk your life for a war like this. What? Is there a girl you cherish in the Magic Council?" Ultear revealed a mocking expression.

Chiba murmured, "Why do you say it's a girl..."

"Oh..."

Ultear gave him a disdainful look, then said calmly, "In short, we cooperated with the Shadow Skull, and the information you received was deliberately leaked by us."

"Cooperation? What are the conditions?" Chiba asked.

Ultear extended her slender index finger and said, "A town."

She continued, "The nearest town is our target. We want to kill everyone in it and destroy the town. Shadow Skull knows this, so he offered to cooperate with us to help us eliminate the town."

"What... did you say?" Chiba seemed to have forgotten his injuries. He rolled off the bed, placed his hands on Ultear's shoulders, and seemed to be breathing fire from his throat.

Ultear was surprised by his reaction; it was the first time she had seen such an expression on the boy's face.

The veins around his eyes bulged like snakes, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was as ferocious as a beast, yet his eyes were filled with gray despair.

Ultear, unusually, didn't slap his hands away, but instead said in a serious tone, "I'm the supervisor of this operation. They launched a general offensive against that town simultaneously after the main battlefield's war began. Judging by the timing, they may have already taken that town."

Chiba staggered back two steps, then gritted her teeth. "I want to go there!"

Ultear frowned. "What are you going there for? In your current physical condition, you should just stay in bed."

"Summoning Technique!"

But Chiba didn't listen to her and instead summoned the Water King directly using Summoning Technique.

"To the main position, hurry!" Chiba roared from above the giant serpent.

The Water King's enormous body shattered the wooden house, and it sped towards the position.

The two girls stared blankly at Chiba, who suddenly seemed to have gone mad, completely bewildered.

Kneeling on the head of the Water King, Chiba was in utter turmoil.

Snowflakes began to fall again sometime earlier, drifting slowly from the overcast sky, carried by the wind. The cold wind seeped into Chiba's collar, chilling her to the bone.

She must know something, she must know everything, otherwise why would she suddenly come to say goodbye to him in the middle of the night? If it was truly a safe mission, there would be no need to exchange any tokens; it was clearly a farewell between life and death.

He was in a drowsy sleep that night and didn't have time to think things through carefully.

That idiot, knowing it might be a trap, why did he still jump in?

"Bolunte..." he gritted his teeth and uttered the name.

This was the only possibility he could think of...

What exactly are the thoughts of this man who proposed to Tianna? Chiba doesn't know, and he's too lazy to think about it now. All he wants to do right now is get to that girl's side.

"... Anyway, you'll protect me if there's any danger, right?"

The girl's hopeful voice seemed to still echo in his ears; he clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.

He quickly arrived at the military camp, but he did not recall the Water King. However, the appearance of the giant snake truly frightened the people in the camp. He jumped down from the snake's head, walking unsteadily. The people in the main military tent seemed to notice the commotion outside the tent, and one by one they all came out.

"Chiba, you're awake? Are you alright?!" Jikade rushed to Chiba, who had almost fallen in the snow, and grabbed the boy's arms, asking.

"Captain, there's a monstrous python here!" a magic soldier exclaimed.

Jikade ignored him.

Chiba looked up and said in as fast as he could, "Tianna is in danger. The Shadow Skull and the Grimoire Heart are in cahoots; their real target is that town!"

Jikade paused, taking a few seconds to understand Chiba's words. He frowned and said, "Calm down. You said the Shadow Skull and the Grimoire Heart are in cooperation? But our information is that they're almost at war..."

"Boy, don't spout nonsense without accurate information. According to reliable sources, the Shadow Skull have been having minor and major conflicts with the Grimoire Heart for several years, and now a full-scale war may be on the horizon." One of the middle-aged men said in a deep voice, "Are you implying that your ability to gather information surpasses that of the Magic Council?"

"Then let me ask you, what about the war?! What about the people of the Grimoire Heart?" Chiba looked at him and questioned him.

The middle-aged man's voice faltered; he was speechless.

"Kid, you're mistaken about that." Another young man said with a smile, "Miss Mira just brought news from the front lines: a dragon has appeared there, and this dragon has indiscriminately killed our people and members of the Shadow Skull. If this dragon is driven by the Grimoire Heart, then everything makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"

Chiba noticed the young man, took a deep breath, and asked, "Who are you?"

The young man smiled and said, "Fourth Squad Leader, Kangnaite."

"Clang!"

Chiba instantly drew the Heaven's Blazing Sun from his waist, placing the blade against his neck, and sneered, "You think I'm really asleep? When did Mira tell you that your dragon can't distinguish friend from foe?"