Chapter 38

What was meant to come could never be avoided. He braced himself and said it.

Yi Tianxing's footsteps paused for a moment, then he said calmly, "Cousin, where is your tent? Take me there first."

The two entered the tent without a word. Yi Tianxing sat down on the ground, while Yi Yun stood respectfully before him.

"Phew. Is the time almost here? Counting it out, Junze should already be sixteen..." Yi Tianxing's expression was somewhat desolate, and he added, "Who else has gone missing?"

"Yes," Yi Yun replied. "The concubine-born son, Yi Lin Hanxuan, has also vanished without a trace."

Yi Tianxing sat up properly and said, "Don't spread word of this for now. I will send people to investigate in secret."

Yi Tianxing did not seem very worried about his second son's disappearance. Yi Yun felt a faint surprise in his heart, but it was not his place to say more.

"Have the rescue troops for Dead City already been dispatched?" Yi Tianxing asked next.

"Yes. Parson has already led a cavalry unit to provide support," Yi Yun answered.

"Mm. You go make preparations as well," Yi Tianxing said from where he sat. "Assign all the students to the reserve support team. Don't let them face the enemy directly."

"This subordinate accepts the order." After receiving the command, Yi Yun quickly left the tent.

"Sigh!" Yi Tianxing's always-stalwart face seemed to age ten years in an instant, wrinkles surfacing one after another. "Has the moment of destruction the master prophesied finally begun its countdown? How I wish I could hold those two children again!"

To the students of the magic academy, this garrison assignment was fresh, exciting, and filled with tension. They had originally thought it was only a simple military exercise, but unexpectedly, first the garrison was ambushed and Yi Junze and Lin Hanxuan went missing; then Dead City came under attack by an unknown force, and Yi Tianxing, the lord of Axon Town who rarely showed himself, personally came to the front line. Every sign showed that this rescue operation was far from ordinary.

Of course, where there were excited students rubbing their fists and palms together, ready to show off their skills, there was absolutely no shortage of another group who blamed heaven and cursed men, thinking themselves unlucky. Qito had originally thought that after being selected for the garrison assignment, once he returned to school he could boast of everything he had seen and heard in front of his sweetheart Louise, showing off in grand fashion.

Unexpectedly, war suddenly broke out, and the students were all assigned to the reserve team. Once the battle turned unfavorable, the reserve team might also have to be thrown into the battlefield, and whether they could return to school alive would be very hard to say. Qito was not the child of some great noble family. The only thing he had to rely on was the Sky Crystal that could summon the Atmospheric Spirit.

On the battlefield, the most important thing was companions one could trust. Qito usually relied on his family having a bit of money and was used to looking down on everyone. Now, seeing the other seniors and classmates interacting warmly and encouraging one another, while he did not have even half a friend beside him, he suddenly felt a little bitter. Yi Junshu, who had once been very close to him, had for some unknown reason rarely spoken to him lately.

"Qito." Hearing someone call him, Qito raised his head and cast an eager look at that person. The one who had called him turned out to be Aslan.

"Aslan, what is it?" He had thought it was one of his human classmates, but at a time like this, having a friend was still better than having none, so Qito did his best to make his expression look gentler.

"I want to borrow your Sky Crystal for a while," Aslan said, getting straight to the point.

"Oh? Why are you borrowing the Sky Crystal? You're not a summoner," Qito asked curiously.

"I have a way to keep all of us from having to go onto the battlefield," Aslan said with the confidence of a bamboo chest already holding the plan. "Come with me, and bring the Sky Crystal."

Half believing and half doubting, Qito followed Aslan to a secluded part of the camp. Hal was already there waiting.

"You want me to summon the Atmospheric Spirit?" Qito asked, looking at Hal. Hal seemed to have cried; both his eyes were a little red.

"No need. Just lend me the Sky Crystal. I'll return it right away," Aslan said with a smile.

"Mm, take it." Qito did not hesitate and handed over the Sky Crystal.

"What happens in a moment, I hope you won't tell anyone," Aslan said. "I'm taking Hal to the Rotting Swamp for a trip. We'll be right back."

"Huh? You're going to the Rotting Swamp? This... leaving your post without permission will get you sentenced," Qito said in shock. The straight-line distance from here to the Rotting Swamp was a full one hundred and sixty li for the round trip. If the support team was called to assemble during that time and they could not be found, they would be punished.

"That's why I'm borrowing the Sky Crystal from you. No more talk, time is tight." Aslan put the Sky Crystal in his mouth and bit down hard.

Aslan transformed into a mighty male lion, and on his back there were actually two wings, faintly visible as if there and not there.

Aslan gently spat out the Sky Crystal and returned it to Qito, who hurriedly caught it. Hal silently climbed onto Aslan's back. The lion kicked hard with both hind legs, his wings beat, and just like that, the two of them swiftly flew away.

Qito stared, dumbfounded. He knew that some among the beastfolk had the ability to transform into their true forms, but... a lion with wings? Silently looking at the Sky Crystal in his hand, Qito finally understood that he was nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well, completely unaware that beastmen could use elemental crystals in such a way.

Aside from Qito, there were two other people in the entire camp who knew that Aslan had already transformed and left.

"Clan chief," Yi Yun asked, "should we go after them?"

Yi Tianxing looked at the sky and shook his head. "Hurry and set out. At least they avoided the crowd before escaping. After they return to school, just punish them according to school rules. They're only children, after all." Thinking of how he was about to be separated from his two children, Yi Tianxing, who had always been meticulous to a fault, seemed to soften a little.

"Aslan... is it really all right to do this?" Hal looked at the Rotting Swamp Forest drawing closer and closer, somewhat unable to decide.