More than twenty days passed in a flash, and the Yaoqing Xianzhou sailed into the starfield where Named Abomination might be lurking.
After analysis by the Abominations Research Department of the Alchemy Commission, the Department of Craftsmanship had developed a device capable of interfering with its special abilities.
Confirming Named Abomination's low intelligence, this extermination mission was entrusted to the Troop of the Cloud Knights.
It's worth noting that Jingliu, who had just been promoted from the reserve army this term, needed to go to war with the Troop.
This would be her first time stepping onto a battlefield.
On the eve of departure, she was granted a half-day leave as usual to say goodbye to her family.
Jingliu no longer had any family.
She only had her Master.
Before leaving, she took something out from her bosom.
"Master, this is for you."
Qi Zhimu took the item Jingliu handed him and glanced at it.
It was a jade pendant.
The center of the jade ring was hollowed out, carved with a crescent moon, its body half-hidden by wisps of flowing clouds.
Below the jade pendant hung a tassel, its color transitioning naturally from crimson to light scarlet.
Its style and size were extremely similar to the silver moon jade pendant he had once given his mother, which Jingliu now wore, only the orientation and patterns of the moon and clouds were completely opposite.
When the two jade pieces were placed together, they were like twin moons reflecting each other, a perfect pair.
"This is... something your disciple prepared in her spare time while Master was on the expedition..." Jingliu's voice unconsciously lowered.
As he ran his fingers over the slightly rough texture of the jade pendant, a clear image of Jingliu holding a carving knife, clumsily yet carefully polishing it, appeared in Qi Zhimu's mind.
Most new recruits, before going to the battlefield for the first time, would leave something for the person they cared about.
If they unfortunately died in battle, that would be the final memento.
Qi Zhimu tied the jade pendant to his sleeve and nodded slightly.
"Remember, never get separated from your comrades."
"Your disciple will bear it in mind."
Jingliu suppressed the complex emotions churning in her heart, turned, and boarded the starship, flying towards the Cloud Knights' military camp's grotto-heaven.
Qi Zhimu watched the starship disappear into the sky. Sleeping Snow walked out from the door, and seeing him still looking into the distance, she spoke softly.
"Does this subordinate need to apply for a temporary transfer to the Troop, Lord Zhimu?"
"…"
Qi Zhimu was silent for a moment, then the incident before his return suddenly came to mind. He had intended to refuse, but in the end, he nodded almost imperceptibly.
Sleeping Snow understood, and after exchanging glances with Clear Cold, she bowed and withdrew.
They both remembered that when they first went to the battlefield, their parents' eyes were exactly like Qi Zhimu's at this moment.
Worried, yet inconvenient to express.
After all, from the moment they joined the Cloud Knights, this day was bound to come.
The elders had walked this path themselves, and thus deeply understood the cruelty of the battlefield.
Although not many Cloud Knights sacrificed their lives in their first battle, it wasn't unheard of.
"Jingliu is very diligent, and her assessment scores are impeccable. With enough practical combat experience, I believe she can undergo a complete transformation," Clear Cold said softly.
Feeling an anomaly beneath his skin, Qi Zhimu withdrew his gaze and walked towards his secret laboratory.
"I hope so."
Yaoqing named this Abominations eradication operation the Named Abomination Campaign.
The danger level was not high, but the potential future risks were highly valued by the Alliance, so all Abominations of the Named Abomination species had to be eradicated.
At the very least, they had to be killed until they were like the Shirou, posing no significant threat.
But no one expected this campaign to go almost abnormally smoothly.
In multiple worlds within this star system, the Cloud Knights did find numerous Named Abominations, but none posed an effective threat.
In less than ten days, all members of the Troop returned victorious, with no casualties.
Only about a hundred inexperienced new recruits were injured due to unfamiliarity with Named Abomination's abilities.
Sleeping Snow mentioned in her battle report that those Named Abominations acted somewhat abnormally, like headless flies.
However, due to their extremely low intelligence, and their inability to connect to the Synesthetic Beacon like the Zhezong, the specific reasons were difficult to ascertain.
Jingliu returned to her residence from the military camp, and her heart was uneasy when she saw Qi Zhimu.
Although they had only been separated for less than ten days, she finally understood why her Master had emphasized coordinated combat.
She also understood why he had designed such a cruel hellish training for her.
On the eighth day of the patrol, new recruits, without the guidance of veteran soldiers, had to team up to eliminate a group of Named Abominations with a low danger level.
Their numbers were not large, only over thirty thousand.
That was also the last battle before returning to Yaoqing.
Facing the surging tide of Abominations, many new recruits who usually performed excellently in assessments were intimidated by the overwhelming charge, and some even froze in place for a moment.
Fortunately, the Cloud Knights Reserve Army had always emphasized mental training, and most people quickly composed themselves, gripping their weapons and performing their respective duties.
Some were responsible for holding the front line, preventing Abominations from breaking through the formation, while others were responsible for emergency support, promptly filling gaps caused by injuries.
There were also those responsible for long-range precision kills, sniping Abominations, with clear divisions of labor.
The disadvantages of new recruits' inexperience manifested in many places.
The most obvious was easily overexerting themselves, not knowing how to reasonably allocate physical strength, and quickly showing signs of fatigue.
Some also had unfamiliar coordination with unfamiliar comrades, but Jingliu found that no matter which of the four collaborating comrades slightly fell out of sync, she could quickly detect it and fill the position.
As a frontline member, she was one of the very few soldiers who were not rotated throughout the entire battle.
Even with frequent changes of collaborating comrades, she could quickly adapt and match their attack rhythm.
After the post-battle review, Jingliu clearly saw the gap between herself and others.
The intensity of their training was not on the same level compared to the hellish special training she had undergone.
These differences were difficult to expose in the military camp's simulated training, simply because simulations lacked a true life-or-death threat.
The battlefield was different; a slight distraction could lead to death.
Jingliu recalled what Qi Zhimu had said—
The weak cannot be compatible with the strong, nor can they adapt to the strong's domain, but the strong can maximize their compatibility and adaptability to the weak's domain.
Jingliu was incredibly grateful that after being reprimanded in that crowded hospital room, she mustered the courage to seize her future.
Without her Master, she wouldn't be who she is today.
She was still young, with plenty of time to grow stronger in the future.
As long as she put in more effort, not to mention catching up to her Master's pace and entering his domain, at least... she wanted to be able to glimpse his back, become a sharp blade in his hand, and cut down all Abominations within her sight.
"Master, I'm back."
Thousands of words, but only this one sentence remained on her lips.
"Hmm, your first battle was normal. Do not become arrogant, nor slacken your training because of temporary success."
Qi Zhimu replied with a calm expression.
"Your disciple will," Jingliu obediently agreed.
Because... she was already inseparable from her Master... neither now, nor in the future.