The War Begins / Jiyuan: If Huohuo Wants to Take Responsibility, She'll Have to Pay the Price

Tingyun looked at Ji Yuan and deliberately put on a frightened expression.

"Is this what a real battlefield is like? This little lady is so sca—"

She fell silent halfway through.

She had wanted to awaken Ji Yuan's protective instincts, but Huohuo, trembling like a leaf beside him, had already cut off that path for Tingyun.

When it came to looking scared, there was no way Tingyun could outdo Huohuo.

Tingyun rubbed her forehead.

At that moment, the noisy Cloud Knights suddenly stopped stirring.

A tall, handsome "young man" clad in armor appeared on the command platform.

The "young man" looked rather young, but Ji Yuan knew that he was already extremely old. His white hair was tied in a high ponytail, his eyes were golden, and there was a tear mole at the corner of his eye. A blue collar covered his throat, while beneath his shoulder armor were a single-sided mountain-pattern pauldron, shoulder cape, and lion-head shoulder guard. A cross-shaped breastplate covered his chest, and a cape fluttered behind him.

Ji Yuan knew that the man before him was Jing Yuan, the Luofu General, one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Xianzhou and the highest-ranking official of the Luofu Starfaring Vessel.

Throughout the entire Xianzhou, only Marshal Hua stood above him in status.

He had appeared here this time to encourage those about to depart.

Yanqing stood beside Jing Yuan at that moment. As his disciple, he looked at Jing Yuan with a face full of admiration.

"Everyone, the Orion Trading Company has betrayed its agreement with us. They colluded with the Buli Ren in secret and attempted to harm the Luofu Starfaring Vessel. Fortunately, Ji Yuan, the Trade Official of the Sky-Faring Commission, and Miss Tingyun, the representative of the Resonant Flame Trading Company, identified their scheme and allowed the Luofu Starfaring Vessel to avoid losses."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward Ji Yuan and Tingyun.

Ji Yuan had not expected the General to mention him during the pre-battle rally. His expression was utterly stunned.

Being watched by over ten thousand people was truly a feeling he had never experienced before.

Fortunately, Jing Yuan's next words finally kept everyone's attention from remaining on Ji Yuan.

War Begins

"Ever since the Xianzhou began its voyage from our homeland, we have been enemies of those Abundance Fiends. Although they did not cause any real damage this time, we must still do what the Xianzhou ought to do."

"Kill them. Leave none of those Abundance Fiends alive!"

The gentle-looking man now wore a stern, murderous expression, and his resolute voice reached the ears of every Cloud Knight present.

Inspired by Jing Yuan's words, the Cloud Knights shouted in unison.

"Kill them! Leave none alive!"

The scene was deafening and blood-boiling.

Seeing this, Huohuo was swept up by the atmosphere as well. She clenched her tiny fists, raised them high, and shouted loudly.

After everyone had finished shouting, Jing Yuan lightly swept his cape aside.

"Then I shall await your good news on the Xianzhou."

He had often stepped onto the battlefield personally in the past, but now that he was older, Jing Yuan had handed this campaign over to the Cloud Knights' deputy general. Under the deputy general's command, the Cloud Knights and pilots began preparing for deployment.

Ji Yuan and the others waited nearby when Yanqing suddenly appeared before them.

"Brother Ji Yuan."

Yanqing greeted Ji Yuan.

"Yanqing, are you here to see us off?"

"Not exactly..." Yanqing scratched his head. "The General has asked me to join the battlefield this time as well, and to protect you while I'm at it."

"Really?"

The moment Ji Yuan heard that, his eyes lit up with excitement.

He had still felt uneasy with only Huohuo and Sushang accompanying him, but with Yanqing added to the group, things were basically secure.

Yanqing nodded. "Yes. After all, you aren't Cloud Knights and don't hold military positions. Normally, you shouldn't be going to the battlefield. But because of Brother Ji Yuan's abilities, you were recruited. Since that's the case, we Cloud Knights naturally have a duty to protect you."

"Mm."

Ji Yuan nodded.

Yanqing then noticed Huohuo and Sushang beside Ji Yuan.

"Who are these two?"

"This is my younger sister, Sushang. She is also one of the guards sent by the Cloud Knights this time. This is my student, Huohuo, a Probationary Judge of the Ten-Lords Commission. She came to experience a real battlefield for herself."

"Your student?"

Yanqing could understand Sushang's identity easily enough, but Huohuo's identity left him rather confused.

What had Huohuo come to learn from Ji Yuan when he became her teacher?

"I've mastered a technique for commanding Suiyang. Huohuo specifically came to study it under me."

Ji Yuan immediately explained.

Hearing that, Yanqing praised him. "Commanding Suiyang? Brother, you're amazing!"

"Y-Yes, Teacher really is amazing."

Huohuo nodded in agreement.

Being praised by the two of them made Ji Yuan feel a little embarrassed.

He knew exactly how capable he was. Forget Yanqing—even Huohuo, if she changed her personality, would not be someone he could defeat in a fight to the death.

That was right. Huohuo looked timid and terrified now, but her talent was truly extraordinary. If Tail were included, the power she could unleash in an all-out battle surpassed Ji Yuan's.

Seeing that they were about to keep praising him, Ji Yuan hurriedly said, "Let's go. It's our turn. We need to get to the Star Skiff."

"Mm."

Yanqing and the others immediately nodded in agreement.

Everyone boarded the Star Skiff one after another.

Once they had all boarded, every aircraft began its journey.

The port had been completely sealed off today, allowing only the Cloud Knights' fleet to deploy. Ji Yuan's Star Skiff was near the back, and from there, the sight of countless Star Skiffs flying together was incomparably grand.

It was everyone's first time witnessing such a scene within the military, and they were all visibly excited.

"Let's go! When we reach the battlefield, I'll cut down the enemy commander myself!"

Yanqing shouted with an air of pure adolescent bravado.

Ji Yuan quietly moved aside, then warned Yanqing in a vigilant tone, "Yanqing, listen to me. We're mainly going there to do something else this time. We aren't going to fight the trading company."

Seeing the battle-hungry looks on the surrounding Cloud Knights, Ji Yuan hurriedly poured cold water on them.

We need to survive. Don't go charging straight to the front lines.

"I understand."

Yanqing was still very obedient when it came to Ji Yuan. After hearing him out, he honestly stood to the side and watched.

The Star Skiff accelerated rapidly and soon left the Luofu Starfaring Vessel, arriving in outer space.

Tingyun, Ji Yuan, and Sushang had all experienced plenty of interstellar travel, so they did not react much. It was Huohuo's first time, and after the excitement of setting out faded, the vast emptiness of space still made her nervous.

She quietly grabbed Ji Yuan's sleeve.

"What? Are you space-sick?"

Ji Yuan asked Huohuo.

"No, I'm not space-sick. I'm just a little unaccustomed to the sight of outer space."

Huohuo replied to Ji Yuan.

Tingyun had already sat down and begun filing her nails. Hearing Huohuo say that, she immediately said, "You'll get used to it after seeing it a few more times. How about this? Once things here are settled, I'll take you outside more often, Huohuo."

Watching Huohuo stay by Ji Yuan's side every day made Tingyun deeply uncomfortable. Huohuo was merely underdeveloped. Based on the ratio between Xianzhou People and Fox Folk, Huohuo was actually closer to Ji Yuan's age than Tingyun was.

If Ji Yuan ever turned into a lolicon one day, Tingyun would have nowhere to cry.

"Th-That won't be necessary."

Huohuo glanced at the dark universe and immediately shook her head.

Ji Yuan, however, looked outside with longing in his eyes.

If he had the chance, he truly wanted to see more of the outside world. But his current circumstances did not support traveling beyond the Xianzhou. He could only remain on the Xianzhou and wait for others to protect him.

Tingyun saw both Ji Yuan's longing for and fear of the universe, and she began wondering why he was like this.

She could not figure it out. Too many things did not make sense.

Damn it. He's incredibly candid about some things, yet impossibly mysterious about others. It really makes me want to cut him open and take a good look inside.

Tingyun thought to herself.

After several days of travel, the fleet arrived at the Orion Trading Company's location.

At that point, the Luofu fleet discovered that the Orion Trading Company had already made preparations.

Aircraft, orbital cannons, and more had all been readied.

Seeing this,

the Celestial Ark Natives no longer wasted words. The pilots drove their Star Skiffs straight toward them.

Since you had colluded with the Abundance Fiends and still dared to resist stubbornly, that proved you were all accomplices of the Abundance Fiends.

They had to be eliminated. Every last one of them.

The Xianzhou held a zero-tolerance policy toward Abundance Fiends.

The trading company had a considerable number of aircraft, but their combat experience was pitifully lacking.

The moment the battle began, the gap between the two sides quickly became apparent.

Ji Yuan and the others watched from the rear. Almost instantly, the first line of defense established by the trading company was breached by the pilots.

Ji Yuan: Huohuo Must Pay a Price If She Wants to Take Responsibility

Across the vast sea of stars, pilots from the Sky-Faring Commission clashed with the Orion Trading Company's guards. As trading company ships fell one after another, streaks of brilliant light appeared within the pitch-black starry sky.

In the blink of an eye, countless lives were lost.

However, nearly all of the fallen craft belonged to the Orion Trading Company. The Cloud Knights' losses were negligible. Ji Yuan estimated that the casualty ratio was roughly one hundred to one.

The combat strength of the two sides was truly not even on the same level.

Tingyun watched with a trace of pity in her eyes. She turned to look at Ji Yuan standing beside her and reached out to hold his hand.

"I hope that after this, there will be fewer forces colluding with the Abundance Fiends."

"Hopefully."

Ji Yuan was not sure either, but he hoped that the universe could be peaceful.

Yet as long as the Abundance Fiends existed, that would be impossible.

They would stop at nothing in pursuit of immortality.

Huohuo stood to the side with her eyes tightly shut in fear. Tail shouted at her in dissatisfaction, "Huohuo, open your damn eyes. If you don't open them, there's no point in you coming here."

"Yes, Huohuo, open your eyes." Ji Yuan also spoke in a fierce tone at that moment. "Only by understanding war's cruelty can you better preserve peace. Huohuo, if you're afraid, then look more closely. In the future, find ways to capture those evil people and keep them from harming the entire universe again."

"But..." Huohuo cracked open her eyes and saw a Star Skiff forced to self-destruct after being surrounded by several trading company warships. She immediately wanted to close them again in fear.

But just as she raised both hands to cover her eyes, she felt someone grab her hands.

Turning around, she saw Ji Yuan standing behind her, firmly holding her hands down.

"Teacher..."

Huohuo let out a mournful cry.

Ji Yuan said nothing. He merely continued gripping Huohuo's hands tightly, forcing her to keep her eyes on the battlefield ahead.