Heading to Barren City

A moment later, they arrived at the conference hall of the Imperial Capital Academy.

Today's host is naturally Dean Song He of the Imperial Capital Academy, who will explain the details of the training program.

The students from the Pearl Academy and Imperial Capital Academy were going to the same place for training, so their meeting was held together.

"The destination for this training exercise is Jinlin City in the Middle and Lower Yangtze Plain!" Dean Song He said.

"Jinlin City? I've never heard of such a city before." Jingjing, who has a great knowledge of geography, couldn't help but ask.

She was a genius with an astonishing memory; she remembered all the cities in the country very clearly. However, she had never heard of Jinlin City, which Dean Song He mentioned.

Professor Qiu Yuhua of the Pearl Academy sighed and said, "Jinlin City is somewhat special because it was erased from the map fifteen years ago."

Dean Song He sighed softly, "Fifteen years ago, a Demon Beast disaster struck Dongting Lake. The excessively multiplied Demon Beast attacked the city. Fortunately, a sorcerer discovered the disaster while traveling in the wilderness and notified the government in advance to evacuate the people. The very next day, the Demon Beast attacked the city, and those who did not have time to leave were all buried within Jinlin City."

When this matter was mentioned, Dean Song He's emotions were clearly somewhat saddened, but only for a moment.

A student from the Imperial Capital Academy asked, "Then isn't that place a Barren City now?"

"That's right."

Song He nodded and then said, "Ten years ago, that place was a paradise for Demon Beast. But in recent years, many Hunter Mages have sent back news that most of the Demon Beast there have disappeared, and we have also made a preliminary confirmation. Jinlin City is not as terrible as it used to be."

The reason I'm sending you on this training mission is because I need data on the entire Barren City. Although most of the Demon Beast tribes have migrated, there are still various kinds of creatures roaming Jinlin City. What you need to do is scout out as many locations in the city as possible, and record how many Servant-level Demons and General Level creatures you encounter."

Upon hearing this, many people breathed a sigh of relief. Collecting data was not difficult.

Dean Song He nodded and then said, "That's right, what we need is a danger assessment of Jinlin City. This will take into account whether or not to rebuild there."

A flurry of discussion arose among the crowd, at which point the chubby Luo Song asked, "Dean, you asked us to count the number of Servant Level and General Level Demon Beast, but shouldn't we include the Commander Level Demon Beast?"

"Oh, if you encounter Commander Level Demon Beast and manage to come back alive, that would be quite an achievement," Dean Song He said casually. Although he spoke lightly, everyone present couldn't help but shudder.

After all, once they reach the Commander Level, not only is their intelligence no less than that of humans, but their sense of territory is also extremely strong.

Tang Miao was particularly affected by this. After all, he and the Great Serpent had fought quite a few battles because of this when they went to Tianshan...

Dean Song He added, "Individual abilities are ultimately limited in Barren City filled with Demon Beast. I hope that whether you are a student from the Pearl Academy or Imperial Capital Academy, you will learn to help each other on this trip and return safely."

After Song He's introduction and instructions from several teachers from the two schools, the group embarked on their training journey.

The Dongting Lake Plain also belongs to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and is located in northern Hunan Province.

This is not a tourist destination, but the third most dangerous lake in the country.

This enormous lake is surrounded by various different ecosystems, and countless Demon Beast inhabit it!

The infamous Lizard Skull Giant Demon Tribe, which has seized control of Jinlin City and made it their lair, uses Dongting Lake as their base.

After arriving at the nearest city, the students from both universities had no choice but to walk to Jinlin City.

During this time, Jingjing from the Imperial Capital Academy told everyone about some things concerning the Demon Beast tribe, which was also the reason why Mo Fan asked about it. As always, Luo Song disliked Mo Fan and even provoked him with the incident in Bo City, but after being scolded by Mu Ningxue, he obediently shut his mouth.

After some time... having traveled about fifty kilometers from Safe Zone, this area was still patrolled and guarded by Military Mage, and they didn't encounter any foolish Demon Beast. But if they went any deeper into the mountains and forests, it would be hard to say!

"We'll just follow this abandoned railway," Song Xia said, pointing to the moss-covered tracks beneath her feet, holding a map.

Song Xia's method of giving directions was correct; although Jinlin City was destroyed, the railway tracks were intact.

Everyone agreed, and Tang Miao, who has no sense of direction, wouldn't try to steal the spotlight.

However, there are always those who like to show off, such as Lu Zhenghe. After Song Xia finalized the route, he didn't hold back at all and directly declared his identity as the leader.

Looking at everyone, he said, "Let's make this clear beforehand. I've always been the commander in this group. Since the school requires us to cooperate to complete this training mission, we seventeen people can't be without rules. I'll take the lead. You can offer your opinions, but I'll decide the overall direction—how to proceed, how to deal with Demon Beast, when we can rest... all of these are up to me."

The students from the Imperial Capital Academy had no objections.

Naturally, the Pearl Academy would not follow his orders.

"Let Song Xia take charge here. You can discuss things together if anything happens," Zhao Manyan suddenly interjected.

No one at the Pearl Academy had any objections to this. After all, they were from two different schools, and it wasn't a bad thing for them to discuss things together, since each had its own leadership. In particular, Song Xia was quite responsible.

According to Zhao Manyan, he simply disliked Lu Zhenghe's sycophantic and pretentious attitude. Otherwise, he wouldn't care who the captain was.

Lu Zhenghe agreed, after all, he didn't think he could command the people of Mingzhu. The route was already set, so they followed the abandoned railway tracks. Although they were already dozens of miles outside Safe Zone, they didn't encounter any Demon Beast blocking their way. It seemed that there really weren't many Demon Beast left in this city.

The long walk didn't take too long. After all, they were all magicians, so even when walking, their speed was much faster than that of ordinary people.

Moreover, they encountered few Demon Beast along the way, and they traveled most of the journey smoothly.

When they arrived at a mountain railway, they had no choice but to stop.

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