The sun hung high overhead.
Three black iron cargo trucks sat silently on a path beside the dry riverbed.
The trucks’ bodies were heavy, with reinforcing rivets on the iron walls.
They were covered in huge gray tarps, tied with hemp ropes at the corners, and affixed with seals that read:
“Green Vine Book Post – High-Risk Magic Equipment – Do Not Open.”
Nine humans in dark gray robes stood guard beside the trucks.
Short wands hung at their waists.
Their expressions were alert, and their eyes swept the surroundings like hawks.
Two small iron pots were set on makeshift stoves made of rubble, with cooking smoke rising in wisps.
Clearly, they were preparing a meal.
Behind a rocky mound a hundred paces away, Xue Yin lay still.
The String of Silent Domain had already spread noiselessly, her perception piercing the thick iron walls and delving into the trucks.
After a moment, she opened her eyes and said clearly.
“There are signs of life inside. Heartbeats are slow. They’re definitely transporting living people.”
Jin observed for a moment and added.
“The nine of them are positioned to cover each other with no blind spots. Their experience is obvious.”
“We can’t charge in head-on.”
Xue Yin withdrew her gaze from the riverbed and fixed it on the straight plume of smoke in the distance.
“If they realize they’ve been discovered, the hostages’ lives could be in danger. We can catch them off guard during their meal, when their vigilance is lowest.”
“Then I’ll go first to disrupt their formation. The shorter their reaction time to sudden incidents, the safer the hostages will be.”
He Lian slowly stood up and unconsciously rolled his shoulders.
“I have some confidence in my speed.”
Soon, six of them walked over to the iron pots.
The activity around the two pots increased.
Someone took out a dry flatbread, broke it into pieces, and threw it in.
Another turned back and called to the companion by the trucks, “Want a bowl?”
Only three remained in position, but their attention was also distracted by the scent of food from the pots.
The opportunity was fleeting.
The battle began.
He Lian stamped his feet and charged into the enemy formation with the force of a landslide.
A shoulder ram caught one man in the chest.
The breastbone let out a crisp crack.
The man’s throat filled with sweetness as he was knocked unconscious and sent flying.
Before the impact faded, He Lian used the rebound to spin.
His right knee slammed into a second man’s ribs, and his elbow struck a third in the throat.
The three had no time to raise an alarm.
In an instant, they were all knocked out and fell to the ground.
Someone looked up sharply, not yet having swallowed the flatbread in his mouth.
“Enemy attack!”
The shout tore through the cooking smoke.
The six behind the trucks scrambled to their feet.
In the chaos, the two iron pots were kicked over.
Soup splashed onto the hot rubble.
The mage on the left tapped his short wand on the ground.
A gale kicked up dust.
A rotating wall of wind rose up, obscuring sight.
The mage on the right chanted low.
Dozens of ice spikes suddenly formed on the ground, racing straight toward He Lian’s landing point.
The mage in the rear lunged forward, and three crimson fire arrows shot through the air, cutting off his escape route.
The last three pressed hands to the ground simultaneously.
“Puppets, rise!”
Sand and soil churned.
Six shield-wielding puppets rose from the earth in a ring, surrounding them.
The ice spikes struck He Lian’s ankles but shattered into pieces as if hitting a rock.
The fire arrows approached; he sidestepped and deflected them into the wind wall, where they exploded in a crimson shockwave.
He Lian swung his arms, forcibly crashing through two puppets, then grabbed a third and hurled it at the caster. “Sir!”
Jin had already circled around to the east side of the trucks before He Lian acted.
While everyone’s attention was drawn to the frontal assault, he silently crept along the dry fissures of the riverbed up to the six men’s backs.
Jin emerged from the slit in the flank at high speed.
His gaze swept over the six men, who were crowded together from rising hastily.
Their relaxation during the meal had left them no time to spread out.
“It’s over. In your rush, you bunched up too tightly.”
This kind of mage combat formation cannot cover each other once someone breaks in.
Jin didn’t waste the opportunity.
With his left hand he summoned wind into blades, and with his right he shaped dark flame into a dragon, blasting it directly into the group.
The shockwave flipped three of them, knocking them unconscious.
The mage on the right hastily redirected the ice spikes, but Jin was no longer at his original position.
He activated Void Step, leaving three afterimages between the gaps of the ice spikes, and appeared beside the mage in the next instant.
The hilt of his dagger struck the man’s neck.
His vision went black, and he collapsed.
The mage on the left finally fired his fire arrows.
Jin abruptly spread his black wings.
His right wing swept out, slicing the arrows in half in midair, then kicked the man to the ground.
Seeing this, the captain’s eyes flashed with cruelty.
He laughed hoarsely, “Since we can’t take them away, let’s burn it all clean!”
‘There’s still a backup plan!’ He Lian and Jin thought in alarm.
The captain pressed his palm onto the core of the trucks’ magic circle.
The engraved lines on the ground suddenly glowed with crimson runes.
Concentric magic circles appeared beneath all three trucks.
“How dare you look down on the Mage Association! All of you, die!”
The captain’s face was almost twisted.
That should have been it—
But the runes of the circle turned a sickly white.
The energy core emitted a piercing hum.
The mana began to spiral out of control.
The situation took a sharp turn.
“What?!”
The captain’s face went pale.
“This circle was verified…”
BOOM! The shockwave swept the entire area indiscriminately.
At the critical moment, Xue Yin raised her staff horizontally.
The silver mist suddenly condensed and formed a translucent dome, covering the three of them and the cargo boxes.
The Moon Court Realm operated at full power.
The impact struck the barrier, causing countless ripples, but could not penetrate at all.
When the barrier dissipated, Xue Yin knelt on one knee, her staff across her thigh.
The silver light at its tip had not yet fully extinguished.
A trace of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, sliding down her chin and into her collar.
“Master!”
Jin flashed to her side and steadily supported her shoulder with one hand.
He Lian stepped forward, crouched down, and looked at her.
“Miss Xue Yin, are you hurt?”
Xue Yin panted for a moment, then wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand.
She looked up at the three cargo boxes.
“I’m fine. Let’s rescue the people first.”
He Lian nodded, picked up a short blade that had fallen on the ground, and pried open the lid of a box.
“They’re all alive.”
He Lian finally let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the five missing persons safe and sound.
Xue Yin stared at the remains of the magic circle on the truck fragments.
Her gaze turned cold.
Someone had engraved another ring of runes over the original markings, tampering with the entire magic circuit.
“The circle was sabotaged.”
Jin frowned.
“Who did it? Internal conflict among the factions in the Human Realm, or something else?”
“At the very least, the goal is clear. Once the circle is triggered, both the hostages and the transport team would be completely eliminated.”
Xue Yin’s tone was wary.
“As for the rest, we don’t know yet, but it’s certainly not as simple as internal strife.”
By now, He Lian had removed the shackles from the missing persons one by one.
Their eyes were blank, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
Xue Yin recalled how Ailia usually spoke and adjusted her mindset, trying to make her tone less cold.
She softened her voice.
“Everyone, don’t be afraid. Lord Laine sent us to rescue you. You’re safe now. Do you remember who captured you?”
The missing persons exchanged glances and shook their heads.
“We don’t remember…”
“Where were you taken from?”
“We don’t know…”
“Did you see anyone on the way? Say anything? Even the smallest thing you recall can be told.”
“We don’t know…”
After asking around, the answers were only these three sentences, as if the shell of their memories had been scooped out, leaving only hollow instincts.
Jin glanced at Xue Yin and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, meaning:
These missing persons weren’t faking.
They really didn’t know anything.
Asking further would yield nothing.
He Lian crossed his arms.
“So the trail ends here? But at least the outcome is good. Everyone is safe. That counts as a worthy result.”
Just then, an extremely faint flutter of wings came from above.
A small gray bird flew through the dissipating smoke.
It folded its wings and landed lightly on Xue Yin’s shoulder…