The stars wheeled across the sky. Even the long night could not keep pace with time, and the silent earth slowly stirred from sleep. At some point, a pale, violet-tinged glow lifted like a curtain along the eastern horizon. More light spilled forth, awakening everything beneath it.
Four people sat cross-legged in the square in Sand City's southwestern district. Their eyes were closed, and they looked as though they were asleep.
Before dawn, the knights assigned to patrol and sentry duty had come out and discovered them.
Someone had wanted to wake them, but an experienced knight stopped him. They stood in a row, quietly watching the four.
Kanni and Aikimu were still snoring, though far less frequently than before, much like a soundly sleeping cat.
After a while, two familiar faces joined the row of watching knights: William and Xibizete.
Soon, the knights who had risen early to train came out as well. Seeing the scene, they gathered around in a circle, craning their necks and watching without a word.
The scene readily brought hunters and prey to mind. The observing knights were hunters studying their prey, scrutinizing every inch of the four people within their circle.
William and Xibizete looked well enough, but a trace of fatigue was plain in their eyes. Presumably, neither had truly slept soundly the night before.
Yetos, Kanni, and Aikimu all had full, rosy, lively complexions. For an instant, some of the knights even found themselves comparing those faces to babies'.
Zeng Mu's complexion was the most unusual of the four. Not only did he look healthy and alert, but something seemed to lurk between his brows. Looking at him too long brought a sense of dizziness, like gazing at the stars.
"Hrrr... whew!"
"Hrrr... whew!"
The night's accompaniment seemed to sense the growing light on their faces. Its frequency and pitch rose abruptly, reached a peak several dozen seconds later, then plunged to their lowest point.
"Aaah..." Kanni stretched as he woke, mumbling, "Now that was a good night's sleep..."
"Aaah..." Aikimu stretched too, muttering, "What a wonderful night's sleep..."
Neither had enjoyed such peaceful, sweet sleep in a long time. Rubbing their bleary eyes, they swayed to their feet. As the light entered their eyes, the scene around them came into view.
"Oh, everyone's here."
"It's already the next day?"
Before William and Xibizete could reply, both men's shoulders sank beneath strong, sturdy hands.
"From the sound of it, you two slept quite well last night?" Yetos's voice rumbled in their ears like a tiger's low growl.
Aikimu hurriedly turned around and said in surprise, "Chief, you're looking pretty good. Even your wounds are gone."
"Just what you'd expect from our Knight Commander, recovering this much overnight," Kanni chimed in.
Yetos closed his eyes, feeling the elemental power surging through his body. "It's all thanks to the elemental source. If I'd relied on my own recovery, I might not have managed this even in five days. More precious still, I can feel that my elemental power has improved again."
The night before, he had been in shock, his consciousness hazy, unable even to sense anything around him.
But he was intimately familiar with the energy of an elemental source. Many years ago, thanks to a comrade, he had tasted it before and leaped from the manifestation realm into the willful realm.
Sadly, that comrade had died in a war not long afterward, slain by a young general of the Qin Kingdom. That man was none other than Qin Zihui, the current commander of the Seven Kingdoms Coalition and an Elementalist of the willful realm.
Turning toward Zeng Mu, whose eyes remained closed, Yetos could not help showing a flicker of surprise in his normally steady, resolute gaze. Even his voice sounded a little unlike itself. "This little fellow seems to have stepped into..."
"Pfft!" Before he could finish, a sound like a paper bag bursting came from beneath Zeng Mu. The knights watching from farther away did not hear it clearly, but soon a smell reached their noses. It seemed almost magical: everyone raised a hand and began gently fanning the air in exactly the same way.
"That stinks. What did this guy eat yesterday...?" Kanni asked knowingly, his voice full of disgust.
Yetos, however, showed no disgust. Instead, he said with a pleased expression, "When elemental power flows freely, so does the body's qi. Nameless really did it."
Both the Black-Feathered Sparrow incident and the Yellow Sand Diamondback Snake incident had undoubtedly affected Sand City and the Knight Army, adding to the pressure Yetos felt over this vanguard war. After all, even someone as powerful as an Elementalist could not defeat ten thousand alone. Numbers were always the most fundamental factor and a powerful advantage in war.
There was no question that Zeng Mu had successfully become an Elementalist, and a Metal Elementalist at that-one who possessed exceptional control on the battlefield while excelling in both offense and defense. His elemental power was considerably purer than Yetos's own wood elemental power. Among those in the same realm, only fire and lightning could surpass it slightly.
A familiar, delicate voice rang out from the crowd. "Jackal meat, musk mushrooms, and the scent of a fine ale-Bailandi, perhaps. Someone ate quite well..."
The knights parted into two groups, clearing a path for Ma Linya.
When she reached the front, William and Xibizete noticed the basket in her hand. It held several bottles and jars, apparently supplements such as Elemental Medicine.
"Lingya, you don't look too well. Didn't sleep well last night?" William's voice carried a trace of respect. After all, she was no longer merely a recruited healer. She now held the rank of Baron, standing on equal footing with a White-Pattern Knight Commander.
"I barely slept. Otherwise, where would I have found the time to prepare these elemental supplements? You two gentlemen don't seem to have slept soundly either. Here, try these Awakening Pills first." She pulled two folded paper packets from the bottom of her basket and handed them over in turn.
Each opened his packet to find a pale-blue, oval pill. They popped them into their mouths and swallowed. A few seconds later, a warm current spread through their bodies and wound around their organs, bringing a soothing blend of warmth and coolness that refreshed both mind and spirit. Their fatigue, soreness, and weakness vanished completely, and their whole bodies relaxed.
"Good stuff, though the taste is a little strange. Sour and foul," William praised freely. Xibizete nodded in agreement.
"Of course. They're made from the brains of a Water Demon Scorpion that was nearly thirty years old, mixed with crushed termite mandibles, centipede legs, gecko tails, and so on... There's also some Water Demon Scorpion venom, which relieves muscle strain and relaxes the nerves. Judging by the time, it should be taking effect now." Ma Linya spoke with a broad smile.
William gave a light cough, his stomach cramping slightly, and rested a hand on Xibizete's shoulder. "How do you feel now?"
"My legs feel a little weak," he said.
"Nameless is about to wake," Yetos suddenly said softly.
Everyone immediately turned their attention to Zeng Mu. The corners of his eyes trembled faintly, and his mouth twitched.
Whoosh! A beam of golden light suddenly flared, stabbing into their eyes and bringing the dizziness and burning sensation of staring straight at the blazing sun.
Only Yetos kept his eyes open. Green light flowed through his pupils, allowing him to ignore the direct glare.
A few seconds later, the golden light dimmed. Shielding their eyes with their fingers, the others could barely make out through the gaps that the light came from Zeng Mu's forehead. A simple golden pattern lay there, formed from only a few strokes, yet no one could truly see it clearly.
As surprise, speculation, excitement, and awe filled the crowd, a pair of halos expanded, forcing them to press their fingers tightly together.
"Hm? Why are there so many people?" Zeng Mu opened his eyes and looked around in surprise, wondering whether several days had already passed.
He could not see his own golden pupils. Even Yetos beside him caught sight of them for only two brief seconds before the golden light swiftly vanished, as though it had never existed.
Yetos continued studying his eyes. Only after several seconds did he say solemnly, "Nameless, congratulations."
"I just got lucky. It wasn't easy escaping with my life." Zeng Mu rubbed the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin.
"I knew you could do it." Kanni slapped a hand onto his shoulder, only to look startled the next second and instinctively snatch it back as fast as lightning.
Frowning, he looked down at his slightly reddened palm, then glanced over. "Why is your body as hard as stone?"
Yetos walked over and placed a hand on Zeng Mu's shoulder. Even gripping with all his strength, he could not feel the bone beneath. He immediately explained, "Of course. Someone who has just become an Elementalist goes through a period of strengthening, much like an Elemental Beast advancing in rank. It affects both their elemental power and their body. Calling his body impervious to blades and spears right now would be no exaggeration. If you'd hit him any harder just now, you'd probably be on the ground already, clutching your swollen, red palm and frantically blowing on it."
Kanni made a small sound of surprise and looked back at his palm, his expression relieved, as though silently counting himself lucky.
"Nameless, give it a try."
With that, Yetos flicked his hand, sending the dagger at his waist shooting from its sheath into the blue-green sky.
Zeng Mu raised his arm and fixed his eyes on the rising point of light. As he closed his fingers, a warm current seemed to drip from his forehead into his heart. His senses sharpened severalfold in that instant; he could even clearly hear a grasshopper leaping a hundred paces away.
The gleaming white point in the air froze in place, as though held firmly by an invisible force.
His fingers slowly drew together, and the dagger gradually descended, finally settling gently into his palm.
"It's yours." Yetos smiled, immensely pleased.
"Thank you, Knight Commander." Zeng Mu examined it carefully, unable to tear his gaze away.
Aikimu, along with William and Xibizete behind him, gaped. Two seconds later, Aikimu could no longer hold back and said with envy and resentment, "Seriously, chief? Since when were you willing to give away your Platinum Dagger? I remember asking countless times just to hold it and admire it, but you never agreed. The last time, you even gave me a slap across the face."
Yetos stopped smiling and turned his head. "What do you know, you little brat?"
If someone could control their elemental power immediately upon waking after becoming an Elementalist, it meant they possessed extraordinary potential. That was why he was willing to give away the treasured dagger that had accompanied him for years.
"The Nameless of today is no longer the Nameless of yesterday..."
"If yesterday he was a fierce knight who could take on ten men alone, then today he's a mighty Elementalist who can take on a hundred!"
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