The sun was setting over Wisdom Bank just as Li collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, sweat pouring down his face.
Around him, other disciples had similarly collapsed, and even some of the older masters had to sit down and rest. Regardless of the warning they had received, they were now in grave danger—the so-called "warning" had already been violated with the assassination of the Carabao.
Dinner that night was hard to get down. Li spent the meal staring into the distance, where he thought he saw something large moving.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, a cold feeling washed over him. He couldn't tell exactly what it was, but whatever it was, it was getting closer.
The masters began pointing toward it, and Assim and Moses walked by with dark expressions. Other disciples started shouting too—they had spotted smoke, billowing in the distance, forming a massive wall around the campus. Li thought he could even smell it.
Then he saw it: the first blaze flickered along the tree line. Barely noticeable at first, but soon, the forest around the campus was ablaze—and the fire was moving steadily closer. With the dense forest, it was only a matter of time before flames completely surrounded the campus.
That, Li realized, was the goal of the Anti-Covenant—and possibly even the Covenant itself. They were being trapped. Even if they somehow defeated their attackers, the fire would still consume them if they tried to scatter.
Following a master like Xing to redirect water might have been an option, but Li realized that wouldn't be safe either. Master Xing's abilities relied heavily on the presence of a body of water—and with only limited resources, her powers were almost useless against an entire burning forest.
While other disciples ran in panic around the campus, Li retreated to the arms basement where he was stationed. In the darkness, he did a quick prayer.
When he looked up, the noise outside had grown louder, and the air was now a hot wind blowing against him. Some of the disciples had broken down completely as the flames grew taller—a literal wall of fire now closing in on them. Li knew this was only the beginning.
One of the disciples made a last, desperate attempt to contact the Covenant, but they received a weak excuse in response: something about the surface being under attack and the ships being unable to land.
The cats and the guards began speaking frantically, but their faces showed the same fear when they heard the same excuse from the Covenant.
The Covenant ships couldn't—or wouldn't—come.
Tim Burr had long since entered the forest, shaping the trees into harsher barriers and Leo was pacing the campus, deep in thought. The scholars still hadn't revealed everything they knew, and it was becoming increasingly clear that neither Tim nor Leo had come to aid in their killing.
The grim truth presented itself: they were going to be killed too.
The Imbecile had disappeared, and the vigilant disciples were struggling to stick to the plan. They were too jumpy, but the masters gathered in their assigned areas, and eventually, the disciples took their positions to brace for the coming attack.
Li's heart pounded, and he couldn't stop his hands from shaking as he grabbed his crossbow and spear, retreating beneath the straw mats that concealed the entrance to the basement.
He had to remain partially crouched to keep watch on the advancing fire, which was steadily consuming the perimeter.
The flames grew taller—or perhaps just seemed to—as they drew closer, and Li shivered slightly, an irony given the stifling heat now blanketing the campus and the suffocating smell of smoke that threatened to choke his lungs.
One of the masters shouted over the blazing wind,
"Stay strong, disciples! Remember the plan! Join hands—brothers and sisters! Together, we fight the evil that threatens to bring us down!"
The disciples gripped their weapons tighter, their eyes hardening as they stared into the distance. Tim Burr had not yet returned, and the cat guards had retreated to the student-made barricades. Leo was licking his paws, fighting a losing battle against the heat.
Though the Forest Brigade was renowned for their ferocity and success, they were far less effective against fire without reinforcements, despite their legendary combat prowess.
With Tim Burr missing, Leo began his transformation, allowing dew to coat his fur in a desperate attempt to withstand the blistering heat.
It felt like years as the fire crept closer. Then, suddenly, a series of powerful explosions shook the campus, sending rock and rubble flying into the sky.
The master braced himself. Out of the thick smoke, a tall man emerged—his short white hair brushed to the side, a black coat whipping around him, and an ominous captain's hat crowned with a glowing badge.
Behind him, troops in gleaming black armor poured out of the smoke, the firelight reflecting off their suits. They wielded large rifles, trained squarely on the scholars.
The white-haired man grinned coldly, then whispered an order to the two most heavily armed soldiers at his side. They barked commands to the others, and the squad of nearly forty-five soldiers split into three groups. Two flanked the masters and rushed into the buildings, while the remaining fifteen kept their guns trained on the scholars.
Li, stationed safely in the basement, watched helplessly as the disciples—most of whom made up the vigilante group—were mercilessly gunned down, their hollow screams swallowed by the flames before they could even raise their weapons.
The masters unleashed their attacks, but in horror, they froze mid-strike. Their powers were useless.
The white-haired man laughed and, with a mere flick of his finger, turned the masters' attacks back on them. Li froze, breath catching in his throat, as the disciple beside him fought to suppress a scream.
It was unmistakable: a fusion of the deadly "Adaptor System" and the fearsome "Anti-System." Whoever this was, he wasn't just S-tier—he was beyond that. X-tier... or maybe even unclassified.
The masters' system shields crumbled as they stood paralyzed, forced to watch the slaughter unfold. A few disciples managed to land hits on the black-armored soldiers but were quickly overwhelmed and cut down.
The white-haired man barked, "Burn the buildings! Leave none alive!"
Then he turned to the masters, his grin widening.
"You've spent countless years studying, gaining wisdom. You possess more knowledge than entire regions of the galaxy. Yet you sit here, hoarding it—helping no one. So what is the point of all your knowledge?"
His voice rose, anger darkening his expression.
"Thus, ultimately, you have learned nothing!"
The final words rang out with such intensity that even Li instinctively backed down the stairs, the outside view disappearing behind him.
A commotion drew his attention back. Peeking from beneath his straw mat, Li saw the headmaster break free from the freeze effect and charge the white-haired man, using his multiple appendages and decades of combat experience.
The soldiers opened fire, but the headmaster pressed on, dispatching them with pinpoint strikes. Soon, Master Zhang and two other scholars broke free and rushed forward, their systems blazing as they fought back with desperate precision.
Master Zhang and his ally became a deadly pair, carving through the soldiers' ranks with cold efficiency.
The headmaster's arachnid limbs began to glow with a fierce red and violet aura. Advancing on the white-haired man, he unleashed a furious barrage of punches, each fist landing with brutal precision.
With a final spin, he hurled the white-haired man into the ground, then unleashed a massive red-violet blast that scattered the surrounding soldiers like leaves in the wind, a scarlet flower lighting up the flame-filled night, sending sparkles and coolness across the campus, nearly extinguishing the fires.
Li had heard whispers of the headmaster's Scarlet Petals Ultimate, but he had never seen the preliminary attacks that led up to it. It was awe-inspiring.
The white-haired man, despite his skill as a system negator, was struggling to adapt to the headmaster's relentless assault.
Meanwhile, Master Zhang faced fresh opposition: the soldiers' armor was no ordinary material—it resisted even the strongest system-user attacks. Few knew that this was the Anti-Covenant Militia's elite legion, hand-picked for missions like this.
The other masters were still trapped under the negator freeze, helplessly watching the battle unfold.
Suddenly, the soldiers who had been ordered to torch the buildings stormed into the central study hall. Their heavy boots thundered just above Li's hiding place.
From his vantage point, he caught a clearer glimpse of their weapons; massive flamethrowers and large enhanced swords. They rushed up the building, and soon, the dreadful hiss of igniting flames filled the air.
Li cringed, realizing that hiding underground for too long would only mean death by suffocation. His grip tightened around his spear, a silent prayer leaving his lips. Around him, the other disciples wept quietly, the trauma of seeing their comrades slaughtered fresh in their minds.
They had never faced anything like this before.
It seemed that as the white-haired man grew weaker, more and more masters were able to break free from the freeze and join the fight, the threshold of power slowly slipping.
Master Xing finally broke loose and sprinted toward the central study building, weaving through harsh energy beams and roaring flames, her robes billowing behind her.
Two water beasts—shaped like twin fishes of pure, persistent turquoise—materialized beside her. Li recognized them immediately: the Twin Blue.
They signaled an attack, and at their command, a massive surge of water blasted toward the flamethrower soldiers, catching them off guard for a moment.
Li leaned forward to get a better view—
—and saw Master Xing suddenly gasp, stumble, and collapse onto the mat just above him.
A gaping hole had been punched through her back. Blood dripped down, warm and sticky, splattering into Li's hair as he stared upward, frozen.