Leng Qing slowly walked into an empty room among the soldier bunkers. Most of the Battlemages had joined the war, thus there were not many people left in the camp.
Leng Qing headed to Wang Xiaojun's room. It was a little storage room, but it was very tidy. The only mess was some gray feathers lying around the place.
"Captain, Wang Xiaojun did not have a military rank, thus we couldn't arrange a proper bunker for him. His brother was a Heavenly Eagle Battlemage. After he went missing, I arranged for him to stay here to look after him. I appointed him as an apprentice of the Beastmasters... did the kid cause any trouble?" Xu Li, whose face was filled with freckles, asked cautiously.
Leng Qing walked into the room on her heels, and picked up a picture frame on the table.
On the picture, a young Battlemage was pressing his hand down a Wang Xiaojun's head, who seemed to be at the age of twelve or thirteen. The young man had a charming smile, while Wang Xiaojun seemed quite reluctant. It was most likely that he believed the curse of being unable to grow taller if his head were pressed down too much.
Behind them stood a snowy white Heavenly Eagle. It was huge, magnificent, with a proud bearing.
Meanwhile, Wang Xiaojun was holding a gray egg in his hands in a very careful manner. It was obvious that he was extremely fond of it, the way he was handling it carefully.
"The kid treated the crossbreed Heavenly Eagle preciously, and looked after it until this very day. After all, it was something that his brother had gifted him before he went missing... Normally, we wouldn't allow a gray Heavenly Eagle here, but since he had lost his only family member, we just let it be. He's still young, after all. He always said how he would become the strongest Heavenly Eagle Battlemage one day. I knew he had disobeyed a military order, but it wasn't serious enough to bring you, a Vice Elder of the Magic Court here. If you were thinking of punishing him, please go easy on him, considering he's still young..." Beastmaster Xu Li had no clue what had happened. He pleaded sincerely.
As a matter of fact, Xu Li and Wang Xiaojun's brother were not close. Although he was extremely strict and impatient with Wang Xiaojun all the time, he actually felt sorry for the kid. He did not want the kid to be expelled, since he would soon become an official Battlemage when he reached eighteen.
"Pack his stuff up and hand them to me. On top of that, ask your Commander Ming Kuo to commemorate him as a Battlemage. He would understand," Leng Qing said to the Beastmaster with freckles as he placed the picture frame back onto the desk.
"Heavenly Eagle Battlemage, did you say you're giving him a military rank?" Xu Li stared at Leng Qing in bewilderment.
However, Xu Li soon realized something. His face turned pale as his voice stiffened with disbelief, "What did you say, com...commemorate?"
Granting a title and commemorating were two different things!
Granting was when the person was given the title, while commemorating was when the person could no longer accept the title in person... because he was dead!
Xu Li was not highly ranked in the army. He had no clue what had happened in the meeting room. When someone like Leng Qing appeared, he thought the kid had caused great trouble instead.
"I'm sorry, we didn't manage to protect him," said Leng Qing to Xu Li remorsefully.
Xu Li stood there with a blank face.
He could not accept the truth... just a year more, and he would have become an official Battlemage.
No one would know better how much the kid wanted to become an official soldier than him. Xu Li clearly knew that he wanted to become a Heavenly Eagle Battlemage, following in his brother's footsteps. Even when the Heavenly Eagle he raised had gray feathers, his determination had never swayed.
Xu Li felt like suffocating. He wanted to know what exactly happened.
"Xu Li, Beastmaster Xu Li, Beastmaster Xu Li..." A yell suddenly came from outside of the bunker. The voice repeated for quite some time until Xu Li collected his thoughts.
"I'm...I'm here," responded Xu Li softly.
"There's a red Heavenly Eagle flying toward your guard post. Someone recognized it as the one that you were looking after. We're not sure if we should kill it on the spot. Come and take a look quick!" yelled the man.
Xu Li was confused. He never recalled raising a red Heavenly Eagle...
"Let's check it out," said Leng Qing.
The two quickly left Wang Xiaojun's room and went straight to the guard post.
The place was crowded with workers and a few soldiers. They were hesitating if they should consider the beast as hostile.
As soon as Leng Qing and Xu Li reached the place, they saw a red Heavenly Eagle flying toward them awkwardly
The beast seemed to be suffering. It felt like it would slam into the ground at times, but it managed to flap its wings and recollect itself.
Finally, the eagle was less than fifty meters away from the guard post.
Xu Li's eyes widened. They were full of astonishment.
It was true that he could not recall raising any red Heavenly Eagle, as the red covering the beast was actually blood!
It was not a red Heavenly Eagle, but a gray one. Its body was soaked in blood, including its head, its wings, its body, its claws... Not a single body part was free from deep wounds and bruises, not a spot was clear of blood.
The blood was still dripping. It covered its gray feathers, and dyed them thoroughly red!
Xu Li had been in the army for more than ten years. He had seen too many deaths, thus his tears were long dry...
However, when he saw the gray eagle stumbling to land on the platform, when he saw a lifeless young man lying on its back, tears began to burst out from his eyes!
—
Leng Qing was stunned, too.
The gray eagle... It had managed to carry Wang Xiaojun back!
Despite the distance, it had managed to weave through the bloodbath of the battlefield and brought its young master back 'unharmed'.
Its fresh blood had already dried up!
The gray feathers were dyed completely red!
The crossbreed Heavenly Eagle did not rise again after it landed. It fell to the ground before the crowd. Its half-broken neck turned toward Wang Xiaojun's body. Its eyes had a blank expression...
It was dead.
Leng Qing had seen many Heavenly Eagles with noble lineage. They had incredible strength and pure white feathers. However, she would only remember the crossbreed, gray-feathered Heavenly Eagle from now on.
Like master, like beast. She could only pay her utter respect with silent tears!
West Lake, the Su Causeway...
The breeze swept past. It sounded like someone weeping.
Mo Fan and Lingling had listened to the entire process, including the cries that the gray eagle had uttered when it was trying desperately to protect Wang Xiaojun.
Finally, the gray eagle managed to carry the youngster back to West Fortress, but their hearts were not calmed yet.
The Black Totem Snake had fully awakened under Mo Fan and Lingling's care. As the two were immersed in the great sorrow after losing Wang Xiaojun, the wounds covering the gigantic snake's body had totally disappeared, replaced by a new layer of flickering black scales...
His skin seemed brand new. The old skin with wounds lay nearby, soaking in the water. Even though the Black Totem Snake was a lot smaller, he no longer looked tired and weak after the ecdysis.
As the ecdysis was finishing, he had also listened to the series of events together with Mo Fan and Lingling.
He let out a cry, as if he was trying to wake up the two humans who were carried away by sorrow.
Mo Fan collected his thoughts and realized that the Black Totem Snake had a new look. The glowing black scales were highlighting the authority of an ancient totem beast. His gigantic figure represented his domineering status!
The Black Totem Snake reached out his tongue with a deep hiss. His eyes were staring into the sky in the west, as if he could sense his enemies in that direction!
That's right, the Black Totem Snake was framed by Councilman Luo Mian. He almost became the scapegoat for the plague!
"Do you want to take your revenge?" asked Mo Fan as he sensed the Black Totem Snake's fury.
The Black Totem Snake could understand human language. He slowly rose from the lake, to a height that was able to look down at the whole lake...
The Black Totem Snake opened his mouth and uttered a raging cry, similar to the cry of a true ruler who had survived from a grave situation. He was declaring to the enemies that had tried to kill him that their nightmare had just begun!
The Black Totem Snake unleashed a domineering aura. Following his roar, strong waves rolled across the lake toward the shores.
"Are you done with the ecdysis?" Mo Fan asked in a surprised tone above the Black Totem Snake's head.
Before this, Mo Fan was still slightly terrified of the snake boss. However, when he sensed a wave of similar anger from the snake, he believed that they had the same goal in mind...
Councilman Luo Mian was extremely powerful, and he was holding the last straw of the city in his hands. If he managed to reach the quarantine zone with the Red Falcon Herbs, his status would skyrocket, and it would be even harder to serve justice for the sake of Wang Xiaojun and the gray eagle.
Mo Fan and Lingling felt like dissecting Councilman Luo Mian right now, and the Black Totem Snake was somehow done with his ecdysis at the perfect time!
"Are you trying to say that you'll listen to me?" Mo Fan could sense a unique voice from the Black Totem Snake in his soul. He pointed his finger at himself with wide eyes.
The Black Totem Snake responded firmly. The snake boss was clearly aware that Mo Fan had helped him at his weakest state.
Therefore, he was willing to transform himself into the flames of wrath burning in Mo Fan's heart. He would burn the plague, the conspiracy, and the culprit responsible for the tragedy into ashes!
"Alright, let's go and kill that son of a bitch!" yelled Mo Fan wildly.
A Councilman? He had abused his overwhelming power and strength to carry out such a vicious conspiracy...
But now, the Black Totem Snake was done with the ecdysis. The dominator had returned. No one would be able to save the asshole's life!
"Lingling, tell me the location," said Mo Fan to Lingling beside him.
"He's currently in the small valley between West Fortress and the quarantine zone. He has almost reached the city," said Lingling.
Lingling had specifically marked the space bracelet. She could easily determine where Councilman Luo Mian was at. He was trying to sneak into the city after committing such an unforgivable sin...
He had hunted down Wang Xiaojun on his return, and now it was his turn to experience the same fate!
"Alright, big guy, let's move out!" Mo Fan standing on the Black Totem Snake yelled and pointed to the west.
The Black Totem Snake was fully covered in black scales, which looked like armor plate. He sprang out from the lake into the sky, like a night dragon soaring into the sky...
Other flying beasts would slowly increase their altitude after flapping their wings wildly, but the Black Totem Snake had risen into the clouds directly. Upon reaching the layer of clouds, a waterfall flowing in the reverse direction in the sky appeared on West Lake. The residents nearby stared at the spectacular sight in disbelief.
The Black Totem Snake's figure was soon shrouded by a colorful mist as he flew into the sky.
Not only was the mist concealing his gigantic body, it was also dragging him toward Hangzhou City. It was the beast's ability to ride the mist among the clouds!
They quickly swept past the sky above the skyscrapers in the well-developed city. Both Mo Fan and Lingling were sitting on top of the Black Totem Snake's head. Their hearts beat rapidly, as they had never had a flying experience like this before...
The speed of a Ruler-level beast was incredibly fast. They gradually left the stunning city behind, slowly turning into a night-time scene.
—
Further ahead, the dull sky was filled with many white figures. It was the army of White Magic Falcons.
After a lengthy battle, the army of the White Magic Falcons was finally on the verge of breaking through the boundary of the safe zone and infiltrating the human territory. They were very close to the city.
The Black Totem Snake totally ignored the White Magic Falcons. His cold eyes were looking down at the valley. Just like Mo Fan, he was searching for Councilman Luo Mian.
"He's right under us, but he seems to be meeting up with some people. Quite a number of them," Lingling blurted out when she saw the information from her tiny laptop.
"They have outnumbered us, we should..."
Before Mo Fan could finish, the Black Totem Snake withdrew the mist and dived right at the spacious land with his body coiled up!
Outnumbered?
He was a totem beast! A Ruler-level Black Snake tall enough to touch the sky!
The Black Totem Snake considered few things in the entire world to be his worthy opponent, let alone a mere City Councilman!