The candle flames in the command tent flickered in the draft, casting fine, shifting patterns across the canvas walls and lending particular gravity to the legion commander's words about the "Saint prohibition" and the strategic significance of the level nine cub. Huohe and his companions listened with their heads bowed, all understanding clearly-this cub was not only a great treasure of the Church, but also a crucial military asset for suppressing the Shadow Alliance in the future, their brightest prospect of victory in the present contest among mortal powers.
Once the legion commander finished speaking, Huohe bowed slightly and said sincerely, "Thank you for your guidance, Commander. We came only to safeguard the camp and eliminate the threat of magical beasts. We dare not ask for excessive rewards."
"Dare not ask?" The legion commander chuckled and pointed at Hogg, his expression full of approval. "You lads certainly are modest. But the Church won't withhold any of the honors you've earned. Go rest for a few days and recover your strength. Someone will notify you about registering your achievements at the Hall of Military Merit and receiving your rewards."
Everyone answered "Yes" in unison and bowed, preparing to withdraw. Only Shiheng, who stood beside Huohe, quietly clenched his hands at his sides, his knuckles turning slightly white and even his cuffs wrinkling in his grip. His eyes were lowered, his long lashes hiding the heaviness and unease churning within them, while he struggled to keep his expression calm. Following behind the others, he paused and ultimately did not move away at once.
Only he knew that the stakes the legion commander spoke of-the Church's rise and fall, the contest among mortal powers-were merely a drop in the ocean before a true world-ending crisis, as frail as a candle in the wind and scarcely worth mentioning.
An image buried deep in his heart, one he hardly dared speak of to anyone, replayed in his mind again and again-if things truly unfolded as they had in his previous life, then decades later, that figure capable of rending heaven and earth would descend, and Emperor Star, the God-level king of magical beasts, would shatter the firmament as an endless tide of magical beasts swept in. The entire defensive lines of the Radiant Church and the Shadow Alliance would collapse before him like paper. Even Saint experts standing at the pinnacle would be swallowed by the flood; level nine magical beasts and mortal legions would be nothing more than dust vanishing in an instant beneath the catastrophe, utterly powerless to halt destruction's advance.
When that time came, more than half the people of the two great alliances would be killed or wounded. Once-prosperous cities would become shattered ruins, and most of the territory belonging to the two great Church alliances would be shrouded in the roars of magical beasts and the stench of blood. Not a blade of grass would grow, and it would become a paradise for rampaging magical beasts. This would not be a matter of victory or defeat between powers, but the end of an entire civilization, an abyss of despair in which countless lives perished.
What could a mere level nine magical beast cub change, even if the Church cherished it and revered it as a priceless treasure? It could protect the camp before him and sustain a temporary supremacy, but it could not stop the day of Emperor Star's arrival, nor could it prevent the entire continent from meeting its end.
Shiheng suppressed the suffocating sorrow in his heart. His fingertips trembled slightly, their pads chilled by the cold sweat in his palms, but he still forced his clenched hands to relax. Raising his eyes, he quickly glanced at the deep darkness outside the tent. Thick clouds veiled the moonlight, and the low howls of magical beasts sounded in the distance, each cry mournful and piercing, like a forewarning of the coming apocalypse, or an alarm tolling in his ears.
He drew a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. After more than a year in this world, he was no longer the bystander he had been at the beginning. Huohe before him, the companions beside him, and every flesh-and-blood person in the camp, each with their own joys and sorrows, were real bonds, people he cared about too much to remain uninvolved. He could not voice this heavy premonition. It would only needlessly increase everyone's fear and serve no purpose.
Now was not the time to speak, nor the time to panic.
Huohe and his companions walked out of the command tent side by side. The evening breeze brushed past them, dispersing the candle smoke from the tent, but it could not dispel the gloom weighing on Shiheng's heart. He turned to look at Huohe's composed expression and steadfast gaze beside him, then glanced at the others' faces, filled with hopes for the future and dreams of glory, and silently added a vow in his heart: I must seize every moment to grow stronger and break through my limits, establish a firm foothold in this contest among mortal powers, and build my strength. More than that, before the apocalypse arrives, I must gain enough strength to protect those beside me.
After all, only by surviving, only by possessing the strength to withstand the catastrophe, would he have a chance to find a sliver of hope for himself and those beside him amid the apocalyptic disaster.
After bidding the legion commander farewell, everyone returned together to their assigned tent. The tension that had gripped them for so long finally eased completely the moment they stepped into their camp.
Throughout the countless days and nights spent traveling through the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, danger had lurked everywhere. Magical beasts prowled around them, and they had also needed to remain constantly alert for ambushes by the Shadow Alliance. Everyone's nerves had been stretched taut, without daring to relax for even a moment. Even when sleeping, they had only dared to doze lightly, always retaining a measure of vigilance. But now, within the heavily guarded military camp of the Radiant Church, smelling the clean scent of vegetation inside the tent and hearing the steady footsteps of patrols outside, that lingering unease vanished completely, replaced by an overwhelming wave of exhaustion.
The fatigue of days of travel and several bloody battles swept through their bodies. They lacked the strength to say even another word. After briefly tidying themselves up, they undressed and lay down. Within moments, the sound of steady breathing filled the tent as everyone sank into a deep sleep. Even Shiheng, whose thoughts were always so heavy, closed his eyes.
After nearly half a year of relentless, intense fighting and constant mental strain, even a body forged of iron would have struggled to endure. Only in this safe human camp could they lower all their defenses and rest in peace.
Over the next few days, all remained peaceful in the camp, and everyone settled fully into rest and recuperation. There were no roars of magical beasts from dangerous, dense forests, no secret scrutiny from the forces of the Shadow Alliance. Each day required only some simple drills, leaving the rest of their time to recover their strength. Everyone's complexion visibly improved, and the weariness and haggardness once present in their eyes gradually gave way to a calm vitality.
Worth mentioning was that Xifaman, one of their companions, actually achieved a breakthrough during these days of complete relaxation and rest-he successfully reached the early stage of a sixth-level warrior.
He had previously been stuck at the peak of a fifth-level warrior for a long time, always lacking that final opportunity. Fighting and struggling in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts every day, his mind constantly tense, had instead made it difficult to break through his limits. Now, with exertion balanced by rest and his body and mind completely relaxed, the strength he had accumulated over so long broke through the bottleneck, and his advancement came naturally. When the others heard the news, they all came forward to congratulate him, filling the tent with an easy, joyful atmosphere.
As for the level nine magical beast cub that had drawn the two great Churches into conflict, on the very second day after the group's return to report the completion of their mission, the Church's senior leadership had personally arranged for powerful experts to escort it overnight to the Radiant Church's headquarters. As the Church's central heartland, it had numerous Saint experts stationed there and exceptionally strict defenses, making it a hundred times safer than the frontline camp and completely eliminating the possibility of another attempt by the Shadow Church to seize the cub. For the time being, the struggle over the magical beast cub that had embroiled both powers had finally drawn to a close.
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