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Lei Cang stood before the mounds of debris that were the wreckage of the Lunar Specter, his torso and limbs trembling while his heart and mind overflowing with a numbing chill.

He had searched everywhere in the area. There was no doubt. What fate he expected to befall Li Mu, Lin Jingxin, and the others certainly failed to happen. Wherever they are, dead was definitely not what they were now. For dozens of miles, all he found were the carcasses of wild beasts—not even the slightest bit of any dead Trailblazer. That left only one possibility: that the Trailblazers had managed to escape the Moon Sentinels’ onslaught even with the wardcasters slaughtered and they certainly fled the jaws of the raging wild beasts around them.

“They had escaped. Fled.

“Gods, that’s bad. Very bad.”

Beside Lei Cang was this bald old man with white flowing locks around his ears.

“What should we do now, Master Ming?” Lei Cang gasped, utterly terrified.

His brutal murders of the wardcasters and how he betrayed Lin Jingxin, Ye Ying, and Xiao Jianfei would reach the ears of the military’s upper echelons and their survivals would ensure this. An inquiry would be called into what happened and he would be done for.

“Blasted… How could this have happened?!

“That Moon Monarch and his indomitable Moon Sentinels were supposed to have been the death of all of them! To say nothing of so many beasts and wraiths lingering around! Yet how could they have escaped all of this unscathed?!”

The one whom he called Master Ming was a person of untold power.

“Report to the sire. He must be informed,” the dark eyes of the elder betrayed not the slightest stir. “The wardcasters are dead so no one knows what happened. There is still time to repair the situation but we need to make haste.”

Lei Cang bobbed his head profusely. “Right! Right! There is still time! There is still time! Please, Master Ming! Do what you can!”

“I’ll do what I can. But not so much for your sake, but for the sire’s,” the elderly man remarked placidly. “Heed his words: do what you can and not let any hesitation and scruples hinder you anymore.”

“I know,” Lei Cang responded through gritted teeth, “I know what to do.”

In the meantime, Li Mu had enough chance to get used to Schwarzdrachen’s neck-breaking speed before they finally arrived at Lauffeuer.

Lauffeuer, a city that enjoyed no rival to its prosperity and vastness within a thousand miles, was home to the Drakonids, the largest cohort of Legion Kommodore. The presence of the military here could have not been any more obvious with large and strong walls a hundred meters tall encircling the entire city of up to ten million inhabitants.

The Tree of Eternity of Lauffeuer was a lush and verdant one with a healthy crown of orange-reddish hue. As a fire-elemental Tree of Eternity, even its bark was the color of fire. The entire tree itself was like a plume of flame. To that end, that lent the metropolis its name—Lauffeuer, which meant “raging fire”.

At the gates, Li Mu gazed.

He beheld the architectural monstrosity the walls posed and its bullet-and-shrapnel-scarred facade—hallmarks of the many battles the walls had endured to this day just so that the people within could wake up the next day and would continue to do so for as long as the walls still stood.

Tens of dozens of camps and scouting posts scattered everywhere, encircling the city walls, all of this part of the military’s efforts to defend this city.

Lin Jingxin identified himself and had this verified before they were allowed entry.

They passed through several checkpoints before they finally reached the northern gate.

Security was tight and just getting inside Lauffeuer took another quarter of an hour at least.

Finally, they were admitted into the city.

The spread of well-arranged grids of avenues and streets inside with the uniformly-constructed buildings gave Li Mu a sense of order and stability, with the bricklaid houses all designed to steadfastly provide shelter and prevent fire. Lauffeuer was first established as a military installation—a forward operating base before the frontlines moved elsewhere further away enough for this place to become fit for inhabitation.

The streets were a hive of activity and life and a different world compared to the wilderness outside. A world where human civilization and culture thrived to the fullest and where the Battlefield’s vagaries and challenges allowed.

It was cold, dreary, and desolate outside, which juxtaposed greatly against the vibrant hustle and bustle inside.

Li Mu and the others were first bidden to settle in at a military-run staging station.

Lauffeuer has at least a hundred or so staging stations of this sort.

They just arrived at the station not long before they could even retreat to their quarters when guests came looking for them.

“Uncle? Why are you here?” yelped a surprised Lin Jingxin. As one of the most important and influential members of House Lin, Lin Jingxin’s third uncle Lin An has very few reasons to be in a city as far as Lauffeuer.

“I’m here to look for Jiang to discuss things, then I heard that you’re here. So I thought I might come over to have a look at you,” said Lin An, a good-looking man in his middle age with whitening curls and a scholarly look to boot. “By that way, you should come with me. There is something I’d like your opinion on.”

“Ah? Me?” Lin Jingxin responded, perplexed. “But I still have matters to take care of…”

“Which can easily be delegated to others,” Lin An smiled genially. “Come.”

Not wanting to disobey his uncle, Lin Jingxin gave a quick look at the others, who in turn gave him obliging nods, then he went after Lin An.

They were just gone when another person appeared: a woman who identified herself as a member of House Ye and was asking for Ye Ying.

“Huh?! Big Sister?! What brings you here?!” Ye Ying too was shocked.

Ye He, pegged as the best prodigy House Ye has seen in generations, was the family head’s most favored daughter and many believed that she was slated to be the next head of house, although she had not allowed her identity as a female to deter her in any way at all. She dressed as a male at all times, donning male armor and practicing combat techniques, and studied the art of war just like any male of distinguished pedigree did. To that end, she had rejected countless suitors, preferring to devote the entirety of her allegiance solely to House Ye, a sentiment which was reciprocated by the huge prestige and respect she enjoyed within the family.

Ye Ying had always seen her big sister as a major role model.

“I’ve come for you,” Ye He said curtly as was her usual manner.

“Me?!”

Ye Ying was astounded.

“Yes. Come with me,” said Ye He, turning before her sister could protest.

“B-But—All right…” Ye Ying signed her name on her report and handed Lin Jingxin’s reports and hers to Xiao Jianfei. She left him with a few instructions before she cantered off expeditiously.

Xiao Jianfei could only manage a weak and embarrassed smile at Li Mu at the small episode.

“What’s wrong? Captains Ye and Lin look like they’re special?” Li Mu felt curious.

Xiao Jianfei stowed away his report, making sure that Lin Jingxin’s and Ye Ying’s copies were secured as well, before he answered, “Not special, so to speak. Humans have been in this world for a long time and in that period, heroes have emerged to defend humankind and those who have joined the military gained enough power and influence to build families, known as Houses here, with considerable influence. Captain Lin’s a member of House Lin while Captain Ye’s a member of House Ye. The two Houses are among the great houses that form the backbone of Legion Kommodore and the two captains are among the cream of the crop of their generation. Their being in the military is just something of a baptism of fire of sorts. Since their elders have seen fit to divert them elsewhere, for the time being, the duty of delivering our reports would most naturally fall on my shoulders.”

A look of dawning comprehension descended on Li Mu’s face.

“So, does that mean you’re a member of a House Xiao as well?”

Xiao Jianfei shrugged. “There’s no such thing as a House Xiao in the great houses of Legion Kommodore. Unlike both of them, I’m just a lieutenant of the Trailblazer Corps with humble beginnings as a village peasant boy in a nondescript township. So, I’ll be heading to the Governor’s offices to submit my report and those of the two captains. Do stay here; I’ll be back at night. I believe they too would be back by then. Perhaps we can find somewhere and have a drink together then.”

He patted Li Mu on the shoulder and left with two Trailblazer officers in tow.

Li Mu was not in the mood for a sightseeing stroll around the city, so he just stayed indoors after going to the stables and speaking to the hostler of the station for supplies that he used to give Schwarzdrachen a good rub down.

As a Beast King with enough self-awareness and sentience to understand empathy and think intelligently, Schwarzdrachen had the sense to mask its intelligence and pretended to be just an ordinary steed. No one noticed it for what it was, but being out there in the wilderness, it has retained much of its fierceness, and it could do with some grooming. Li Mu curried the horse and gave its tail a bit of trimming before he gave it a brush to tidy it up. When he was done, Schwarzdrachen looked magnificent, and Li Mu was delighted.

...

Like how a good sword befits a good swordsman, a stallion as majestic an animal as Schwarzdrachen deserves to only be ridden by heroes like Li Mu.

Heroes who dream of owning a stallion of such finery and exquisiteness.

Li Mu could picture himself riding Schwarzdrachen across fields and fens around the Battlefield of Chaos, partaking in adventures of heroism and gallantry to preserve mankind. Just thinking of that could fill him with excitement and pride.

Time passed quickly.

Dusk came, yet still, Xiao Jianfei was not back from submitting the reports.

Lin Jingxin and Ye Ying remained nowhere to be seen.

“Something seems to be wrong, but what?”

Li Mu could only guess, although he did not dwell much on the matter.

The survivors of the three Trailblazer squads numbered up to two hundred and thirty-six men and the wounded were all being given treatment here at this staging station.

When the lamps were finally set alight to ward off the darkness, Drakonid troops arrived with meat and mead for the Trailblazers. Not a fan of boisterous merriment, he kept himself to himself within the confines of his quarters. The clamor of the men talking and laughing over their food and drinks could be heard from outside. Being able to come back safely and remove their armor to rest and loosen up after fighting and risking their own lives out in the wild, the men always lived moments like this as if they were going to be their last, enjoying whatever pleasures they could to their hearts’ content.

Li Mu sat in his room, his eyes closed as he meditated.

...

If Xiao Jianfei and the others were right, the military would be training its sights on him any moment now. His merits would be verified, and he could well be decorated even before he enlisted. But that might confer him more latitude and privilege, allowing him the freedom to choose whichever branch of the military he desired.

He did not notice when the rowdy clamor—the loud laughing and talking, the joyful revelry and conviviality over the mead—had gone without so much as a warning.

Xiao Jianfei and the other two captains were still not yet back.

Li Mu rose from his seat. He stretched lazily and was about to push his door open to take a look outside when the faint tang of blood assailed his nostrils.

A sinking feeling as if he was falling into a pit—the sensation of impending peril—gripped him.

There was no need to think. Li Mu’s fingers reached for and wrapped around the hilt of the rusted sword.

Three jets of black light sliced through the timber of the door like it was paper, shooting straight at Li Mu like lightning bolts.

Clink! Clink! Clink!

Reacting quickly, Li Mu parried away the bolts of light using his sword like a saber.

At the same time.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

A cascade of whistles penetrated the walls of the room.

Endless swarms of black blasted through the walls, the volleys of steel-tipped crossbow quarrels pelting at Li Mu in torrents. These were the favored weapon used by the military to slay champions skilled in fighting.

The chaos filled the entire room with malice and death.

The rusted sword burst into blinding-white images of itself—tens of thousands of itself. They whirled around at incredible speeds, keeping Li Mu safe from the never-ending salvos of quarrels while obliterating them before they ever got close. Li Mu kicked and propelled himself through the wall, smashing through it like it was a marshmallow and leaving a man-shaped hole in it.

He found himself staring at the macabre moonlit scene of hundreds of Trailblazers sprawled everywhere, dead and mortally wounded.

In the shadows lurked countless other soldiers—infantry who were prowling in the darkness like the evil wraiths whose masks they now wore, each of them armed with deadly crossbows poised and ready to fire. Posted all around the staging station, they had the place fully surrounded. Without another warning, they fired another barrage and the quarrels rained down on Li Mu, engulfing him whole.

Sinister pervaded the darkness that completely swallowed up the staging station.