Most mages would probably be unable to control their stars and release magic upon encountering a demon beast. Their star tracks would repeatedly break apart. Anyone who could cast spells calmly under such circumstances would already be an expert in a small city.
Lu Jun had to go a step further. His mentality had to be tempered until it was as steady as Mount Tai.
Under the winter sunset, the siblings moved through their routine: one casting magic while the other practiced adapting to it. Curious passersby watched, and the scene seemed frozen in place.
Chapter 9: City Demon Hunting Squad
In the blink of an eye, a month of winter vacation passed.
Though this was the south, the dense forest in the park was as bare as one in the north, revealing a hint of desolation.
"Great Mage... Ah, this park has received a lot of complaints. We can't do anything about it either. Why don't you train somewhere else? I have a dedicated training ground over here."
A middle-aged man in a police uniform bowed and scraped on the grass.
"It's fine." Lu Mei expressed her understanding with a smile. "We're already done training."
"Ahaha, good, good. I won't disturb you, then."
The middle-aged man heaved a sigh of relief and turned to leave.
Lu Mei looked at Lu Jun, who was lying nearby and gasping for breath. His entire body was filthy, and bruises covered his skin in various places.
She felt both heartache and relief. Her younger brother's progress over the past month had been astonishing.
He had completely adapted to the abruptness of Wind Track · Flash Step and the ghostly movements of Drifting Shadow. He had even reached the point where he could strike falling leaves with a wooden stick.
In fact, with a mage's reaction speed, one could adapt quickly after becoming accustomed to magic and calming one's mind.
But her younger brother's hard work had also been indispensable. He basically refused to stop until he had drained all the magic power from her Wind Element Nebula every day.
As a result, her Wind Element had progressed significantly, and her mastery of the Elementary Magic Wind Track had become utterly flawless.
Lu Jun struggled to sit up. As he took out some medicinal ointment, he asked, "Did the city management officers come? Is it a serious problem?"
"Yes. Don't move. I'll do it."
Lu Mei suddenly stopped him. She knelt before him, boldly pulling her younger brother into her arms. She snatched the ointment from him, smeared it onto her delicate finger, and gently rubbed it over his bruises.
Caught completely off guard, Lu Jun sank into her soft embrace. He breathed in her faint, tranquil fragrance and felt the warm softness against his cheek. When he raised his head slightly, he saw Lu Mei's pretty face wearing a gentle expression.
The exhaustion that had accumulated over half a year surged over him. His eyes narrowed as he drifted between sleep and wakefulness. His heart pounded with emotion, yet he felt exceptionally secure.
No one knew how much time passed. After finishing with the ointment, Lu Mei did not make a sound to wake her younger brother. She simply continued holding him.
She lowered her eyes in silence. Lu Jun was always hiding many things, as though he were carrying a heavy burden. She knew that, but could only use this kind of action to comfort him.
After a moment, the communicator in Lu Mei's pocket suddenly began to flash. She frowned and opened it.
Lu Jun woke with a start and struggled to sit up. "What happened?"
"We have a job." After reading it, his sister raised her brows slightly. "It's a City Demon Hunting Squad assignment. Your chance to intern has arrived."
Hearing this, passion ignited in Lu Jun's heart. He became spirited at once. Why else had he trained so hard for so long, if not to slay demons and eliminate evil?
This is it—the Wind-Driven Swordsman is making his debut!
Lu Mei calmly said, "You'll follow orders during the operation. Prepare your Metal Element Forge in advance. Tell everyone that I configured this Demon Slaying Gear for you. With their experience, they won't be able to tell that it's a new Magic System."
The Metal Element had this advantage: it was relatively easy to disguise as a Magic Tool. It was unlike Mo Fan's Thunder Seal—the moment it appeared, everyone knew he possessed Innate Dual Elements. Only after he reached the Intermediate Level and awakened the Shadow Element could he conceal it somewhat, and even then, not for long.
Moreover, Metal Element magic could be summoned in advance, so he would not have to hurriedly control his stars after entering close combat. Its drawback was that it could not last long enough. With Lu Jun's first-level Star Dust Magic Power, it would probably be enough for ten minutes of casting.
Lu Jun usually trained by swinging a wooden sword.
The two did not linger. Every moment the City Demon Hunting Squad was late meant another potential danger for the citizens. Lu Mei used Wind Track to hurry along, weaving through the streets and alleys and making countless people turn their heads.
Lu Jun was in good condition. His magic power in both systems was nearly full. His minor cuts and bruises were insignificant. Water Element mages nourished their skin, so no matter how badly they were injured, they would not develop calluses or scars. He could still take part.
A minute or two later, they arrived at the scene: a relatively remote commercial street with average foot traffic. People had often reported strange gnawing sounds coming from the sewers here, accompanied by a foul stench.
The police had come several times without finding the source. Seeing no obvious danger, they had ignored it. But not long ago, seven or eight stray dogs had died in a nearby alley. Their bodies had been gnawed until only bloody remains were left, and passersby had discovered them and called the police.
Only then had the police hurriedly handed the case over to the City Demon Hunting Squad.
"The sewer most likely has a Giant Eyed Rat Demon. Luckily, we discovered it in time, before it hurt any humans."
Lu Mei sighed with relief. While rushing over, she had already explained the situation to her younger brother.
Before the two could begin, the three other nearby members of the City Demon Hunting Squad arrived. There was one man and two women.
The man had an honest, simple face and looked dependable. One of the women was short with a round face and delicate features. The other was tall and beautiful, with a fiery temperament and dyed red hair.
"You arrived just in time. This is my younger brother, a Water Element mage who has mastered Elementary Water Shield."
After greeting her teammates, Lu Mei introduced them one by one. "This male mage is Xu Yan, an Elementary Earth Element mage. The round-faced one is Mu Yuan, a collateral member of the Bocheng Mu Family and an Elementary Ice Element mage. The tall one is Li Xia, an Elementary Fire Element mage and the team's main damage dealer."
Lu Jun looked over the three and matched their names to their faces. He muttered to himself that he had no impression of them, so they probably were not the team Mo Fan would join a year and a half later.
Besides, he could not remember the names of the members of Mo Fan's City Demon Hunting Squad either. They were all minor background characters.
That was only natural. In a city with a population of one million, it was impossible for just a few Elementary Mages to manage everything. The city was divided into districts, with one squad assigned to each.
None of the three objected to his abrupt addition. After all, his sister was an Intermediate Mage, a notable figure throughout Bo City.
The City Demon Hunting Squad only had Elementary Mages at most. Intermediate Mages would not stay in a tiny city squad. They could casually take a part-time position in a major city and earn more in one month than they could here in a year.
At worst, they could transfer to a wilderness Demon Hunting Squad, where their strength would improve rapidly.
Lu Mei happened to be stuck at this point. Small cities lacked abundant resources, and the available resources were already occupied by those above them. They could not support more mages, so she would probably have to develop in a major city eventually.
His sister was clearly so outstanding. The reason Lu Jun had not seen a similar name in the original story was probably this. A novel could never truly reflect an entire real world.
Besides, from what he knew, his parents seemed to have some connection with the Lu Family, one of the four great families of Magic City.
Li Xia walked over to Lu Jun with a catlike stride and said exaggeratedly, "Captain Lu, so this is your little brother? A sixteen-year-old little brother? I'm interested."
The moment she said this, Lu Mei became alert. She positioned herself between them and warned, "Don't try anything with him, you flirt. It's against the law, you know?"
The red-haired beauty covered her mouth and giggled. She did not believe that any young man could resist her charms; she simply had not had the chance yet.
The round-faced Mu Yuan shyly said nothing, entirely lacking the bearing of someone from a great family. Xu Yan, meanwhile, smiled and nodded. "Hello."
Lu Jun greeted them all in turn. Everyone was quite relaxed. On one hand, the civilians had already been evacuated. On the other, there was an Intermediate Mage as the trump card. They would not be afraid even if a dozen Servant-level demons came.
The Giant Eyed Rat Demon was even weaker, ranking at the bottom of the Servant-level.
Lu Jun had taken classes on demon beasts. He knew that this was a demon beast that lived in the soil for long periods and was skilled at digging tunnels. It preferred places hidden beneath cities, such as sewers. Its neck could stretch, and its eyes could release penetrating, foul Scarlet Beams...
This thing was like a giant rat: it reproduced extremely quickly and had strong survival abilities. Every city's underground passages and garbage dumps would have several hiding in the soil. Normally, they only ate human leftovers and scraps. They would eat people only when hunger reached a certain point. They were cowardly yet ubiquitous demon beasts!
That was why Lu Mei's first judgment upon hearing about the case had been that it involved a Giant Eyed Rat Demon.
Chapter 10: Strange Sewer Phenomenon
In the remote commercial street, Lu Jun took a deep breath and relaxed his muscles, which had tensed from excitement.
With his strength, killing a Giant Eyed Rat Demon alone would be easy if he performed at an ordinary level. The only exception would be Bo City's great enemy, the One-Eyed Magic Wolf. Even ordinary wolves in that pack possessed upper-level Servant-level strength.
The Magic World was not peaceful. Every region had its own demon beast enemies. Ancient Capital had the undead, Magic City had the Sea Monsters, and Bo City had the wolves. They came from South Ridge and were under the command of the Wolf Lord. Their forces completely overwhelmed Bo City and threatened several cities in Zhe Province.
If humans had not invented barriers centered around certain Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, emitting an energy fluctuation that frightened demon beasts and made those below the Commander-level automatically avoid them, even Monarch Level demon beasts would not refrain from causing trouble.
Humanity's habitable space would probably have shrunk by more than half.
Li Xia glanced toward the dark alley between two rows of high-rises. Its entrance was already mottled with blood. She asked, "Who goes in first to check the situation and lure out the demon beast?"
This mission should normally have belonged to a Wind Element mage, who usually took on the role of scout. Lu Mei herself had once led from the front. Unfortunately, after advancing to Intermediate Mage, it was no longer suitable for her to carry out such dangerous missions.
Staying at the back of the team and casting powerful Intermediate Magic was the proper approach.
Xu Yan scratched his head. "How about me? My Earth Element's Elementary Ground Wave isn't slow either."
Just as Lu Mei was about to refuse and go herself, Lu Jun spoke up and volunteered. "Sis, I'll go!"
The moment he finished speaking, the others frowned. Li Xia teased, "Can you handle it, little brother?"
Lu Mei looked at Lu Jun's firm gaze and recalled the results of his training. Decisive as ever, she said, "All right. You go."
The other three were slightly startled. They had thought Captain Lu had brought her younger brother along to broaden his horizons and gain some experience. They had not expected her to actually let a sixteen-year-old boy shoulder such a heavy responsibility.
He would be walking along the edge of danger. The slightest mistake could cost him his life.
Mu Yuan and the others tried to persuade her. "Captain, the child just wants to show off. You can't take him seriously."
"Since he came demon hunting, everyone is treated equally. I'm letting him go because his strength is greater than yours and his ability to protect himself is stronger."
Lu Mei spoke calmly. Her younger brother's persistence during this period had moved her. In her eyes, he already possessed the qualities of a strong person: talent and perseverance. All that remained was to slowly temper his experience and state of mind.
With her saying that, the team members had no way to argue.
However, when Lu Jun skillfully controlled his stars and released the Water Element's Elementary Magic Water Shield in only two and a half seconds, everyone was stunned.
Li Xia said incredulously, "He's only in his first year of high school. How is his casting speed faster than ours, old hands that we are?"
An ordinary student could barely release magic by the end of the first year of high school. They controlled their stars slowly and clumsily, and being able to cast in four or five seconds was already considered excellent.
Lu Mei realized that Lu Jun's displayed talent was somewhat monstrous. She casually said, "I helped him awaken during the summer vacation after he graduated from middle school."
"Ohhh." Xu Yan and the others suddenly understood. Three months of summer vacation, six months of the first semester, and one month of winter vacation—ten months to master Elementary Magic. His talent was indeed pretty good.
Lu Jun chuckled. Having an Intermediate Mage for a sister made everything easy to explain.
At that moment, misty water surrounded him. A shimmering blue ribbon of water, more than three meters long, wound around his body, its broad arc shielding most of the area.
The Vibranium Heavy Sword in his hand had been summoned several minutes earlier. Wisps of water coiled around its pitch-black blade, leaving him fully armed.
Immediately afterward, Lu Jun entered the old alley with his sword in hand. His expression was calm. According to what he had learned from books, the Scarlet Beam released by the Giant Eyed Rat Demon could be resisted once by a first-level Water Shield · Dissipate. There was nothing to fear.
Soon, he saw tiny drops of blood stretching across the ground toward the dim end of the alley. At the same time, he heard a strange rumbling sound, like something digging a tunnel.
"Wait. Could the tunnel already have been dug?" Lu Jun recalled certain details about the Bo City disaster two and a half years later. Normally, with barriers in place, the One-Eyed Magic Wolf tribe from the wilderness should not have been able to invade.
Even if they had invaded, the city's barrier defenses should have prevented it from collapsing at the first strike.
It had been the Black Vatican. They had ordered tunnels dug in the sewers throughout Bo City in advance, then brought in an outside wolf pack. With forces inside and outside working together, they had broken through the city in a single assault.
Of course, the main purpose of digging the tunnels was also to steal the Earth Sacred Spring. That thing happened to be beneath the Yin Mao Building in Bo City.
"Are there already signs this early? I remember that the first strange vibrations in the sewers appeared a year and a half later, when Mo Fan followed the City Demon Hunting Squad to the cafeteria of that Girls' Magic High School. One or two people even died."
Lu Jun grew solemn. He realized that this was probably one of the tunnels.
However, after dealing with the Giant Eyed Rat Demon, he did not plan to report it to the Magic Association. That would only alert the enemy.
One could not forget that Mu He of the Bocheng Mu Clan was a major figure. With his protection, even if a tunnel was discovered today, they would simply dig another one tomorrow. They might even act more secretly, helping the Black Vatican cover its gaps.
Moreover, Mu He was at least secretly a High-Order Mage. If this matter caused him to target Lu Jun and his sister, both of them would die.
"Besides, this can't even be considered a flaw. The Black Vatican is too clever. They've concealed their actions beneath the activities of the Giant Eyed Rat Demons. Without knowing the truth, no one could connect the two."
"Even if the demon beasts here make some noise, it will only confirm the general area. The sewers are complicated and filthy. No one would go down there to investigate."
Lu Jun pondered. Ever since he learned that he was in Bo City, he had constantly thought about breaking the Black Vatican's scheme. In his view, the tunnels were the key. As long as they blocked the demon beasts pouring out from within the city, Bo City's military and barriers would be enough to resist the outside enemies without collapsing instantly.
The best method would be to scout the locations in advance. There were more than a dozen tunnels. A few days before the disaster erupted, he could destroy them all at once, forcing the Black Vatican to launch its attack with the arrow already on the string while preventing them from achieving the perfect result.
As for how to choose the right time to strike... Heh, that involved one of the original story's iconic scenes. After winter vacation, during the second semester of his first year of high school, he would witness the beginning of it.
Lu Jun memorized this location without revealing anything. At the same time, he planned to check the City Demon Hunting Squad's case files after returning. Any file containing the keywords "vibrations" and "Giant Eyed Rat Demon" would involve one of the tunnels.
He went deeper into the alley. Suddenly, the strange noise stopped. Suffocating silence spread, and the darkness ahead grew deeper as the stench of spoiled sewage drifted through the air.
Then Lu Jun saw a dark-blue eye emerge from the darkness ahead. Its pupil was as large as a basketball. The lumps of flesh covering the eye began to rotate, raising goosebumps all over his body.
It took a step forward, revealing half its body. Its neck was as thick as a tree that would take a person to encircle. Its head and neck were impossible to distinguish. On its skull, there was only a basketball-sized eye and a huge, blood-filled maw!
It was nearly three meters long and stood as high as an adult's chest.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
Almost at the instant Lu Jun noticed it, its basketball-sized pupil began contracting violently, as though gathering something. It quickly turned scarlet. When the energy reached its limit, a foul red beam abruptly shot from the monster's pupil.
Boom!
Lu Jun had trained for so long that he had already developed instinctive muscle reactions. He shifted slightly to the side, and the Scarlet Beam skimmed past his shoulder before blasting into the wall on his left and leaving a charred hole.
He smelled the scorched odor in the air. The blood throughout his body began to burn, boiling under the stimulation of danger. His face twisted, fear and Killing Intent intertwining in his expression.
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