Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The morning rose a little late because of the rain. It was cold as night even after the sun had already risen above the Andes Mountain Range.
The defeat and the spreading poison in the camps had delivered a huge blow to the army’s morale, just like the gloomy sky without the slightest glimpse of sunlight.
Mo Fan was sleeping lightly. He was dreaming about the delicious seafood back in his homeland when a pungent and burning smell assailed his nostrils and woke him up.
“Don’t tell me they are using human fat to cook us breakfast!” Zhao Manyan swore as soon as he was woken up by the terrible smell.
“A fire broke out,” Mu Bai woke up earlier than them. He gave Mo Fan a wet towel and said, “The quarantine zone where the infected are at has caught fire.”
“Bullsh**, why would there be a fire when it’s raining so heavily?” Zhao Manyan ran out of the tent and looked at the quarantine zone.
He did see flickering flames. The horrible smell was coming from the same direction. He bent forward and vomited when the wind swept at him, along with the foul stench.
“That is seriously the worst cover-up I have ever seen,” Mo Fan swore quietly, staring at the fire.
“It’s better than burying them alive,” Mu Bai agreed quietly.
“The Federation Army is going to lose the whole war if we can’t take out the Venomous Insects Shamans after such a stupid act,” Mo Fan swore.
To think that a fire would break out exactly at where the infected were while it was raining heavily, as if it was trying to burn away the negative impact and emotions the poison had brought to the army.
The truth was, it was unlikely the injured in those camps could recover in time for the next battle. The Federation Army would only be short a few thousand men.
However, their idiocy was impacting the morale of the entire army. It was worse than the impact of the Venomous Insects Shamans’ poison!
“I seriously don’t understand why we have to involve ourselves in this mess,” Su Xi’s boyfriend spoke up from nearby.
Su Xi was an Asian and most likely from China too, thus she was amiable toward Mu Bai, Mo Fan, and Zhao Manyan. She had brought them some boiled eggs for breakfast.
Su Xi’s boyfriend was French, with curly ashen-gray hair and a handsome face. His outfit was different from the others, even though they were going to war. He was very concerned about his appearance and style.
He was a little displeased when he learned Su Xi was visiting the three Asians again.
“You have joined the military and become murderers and butchers in a war, despite being students of the Aorus Sacred Institute. Don’t you feel it’s going to soil your souls and beliefs? I seriously don’t understand what you are thinking,” Su Xi’s boyfriend Karl went on.
“Uh… is there a difference? Aren’t you the same too?” Mo Fan was dumbstruck.
“We are not the same! We followed Professor Xylan here to stop the Venomous Insect Shamans from harming society in the name of war. We are obeying the Magic Rules and are here to maintain order in South America!” Karl declared righteously.
Zhao Manyan gave Karl a round of applause. If he had a pair of scissors and a red piece of paper, he might have even cut out a red flower and slapped it on Karl’s chest.
Brigadier General Blair came up to them. “Fellow teachers and students of the Aorus Sacred Institute, the army will be setting out soon. Our strongest and deadliest troop of Brutal Lizard Knights will be leading it.”
Lt. Colonel Mason was standing beside him, although Mo Fan had no idea why the man would be here.
“The Brutal Lizard Knights will engage the enemy to disrupt their Magic Formations while the Crusaders bombard the enemy lines with spells. Our Skyriders will ambush the enemy from behind at the same time. The Venomous Insect Shamans could show up at anytime during the battle to stop our attack,” Brigadier General Blair briefly explained to them.
“General Blair, we will only focus on the Venomous Insect Shamans, so I hope you understand we won’t fight the Brown Rebels before they show up,” Professor Xylan said proudly.
Brigadier General Blair was annoyed at first. After all, there were several Super Mages among the teachers from the Aorus Sacred Institute, and Professor Xylan was an excellent Super Mage. The Federation Army could easily break through the enemy’s defenses with their help!
“Don’t you worry, we will try our best to escort you to the Venomous Insect Shamans no matter how chaotic the battle is,” Brigadier General Blair replied modestly.
Even his rank as a Brigadier General was nothing worth mentioning before a Professor of the Aorus Sacred Institute.
“When are we leaving?” Karl sounded impatient.
“Soon. The battle between the Brutal Lizard Knights and the enemy will soon have an outcome,” Brigadier General Blair replied.
—
As the army’s special forces, they were pretentious as they traveled across the battlefield.
They were riding a ferocious creature, called a Fearsome Martial Bear. It was Professor Xylan’s Contracted Beast.
It was so large it was like a landmark in the battlefield.
The Brutal Lizards, which were over four meters tall, were no different from a flock of wild ducks crossing under a bridge when they overtook the massive Fearsome Martial Bear and passed between its legs.
The Fearsome Martial Bear stood on its legs. Its body was not bulky and bloated like most brown bears or black bears. It looked more like an apish beast when standing.
It began walking on two legs. Each step it took would shake the ground vigorously.
The most special part about the creatures were their arms. They had a huge crystal-black bone sticking out of the joint on their elbows, like the shields ancient samurai had on their arms.
The crystalline shields on the Fearsome Martial Bear’s elbows were large enough to reach its knees. It was not obvious when the creature was moving, but one could imagine the two shields combining into a crystalline mountain when the creature held its arms together to defend itself!
——
The Brown Rebels were not blind. It went without saying that their regular troops would not be able to stop the Fearsome Martial Bear. They did not confront the Fearsome Martial Bear and the people standing on them before troops strong enough to take them on arrived.
“Mo Fan, take a look at someone else’s Contracted Beast…” Zhao Manyan mocked him.
Mo Fan could only spread his hands helplessly.
Little Flame Belle was like a clingy little squirrel whenever she was not fighting. She would lie on Mo Fan’s head and act like Mo Fan’s burning hat whenever she felt like it.
Luckily, Little Flame Belle’s fire was red. Mo Fan would feel quite awkward if it were green…
Little Flame Belle bit into a Soul-grade Seed fragment. It was her favorite snack, especially when she was eating it when her father was around.. She felt blissful when the others could hear her munching.