"I didn’t expect the mayor to be a survivor of the Battle of the Dawn."
The teacher speaking was Tao Yiwei, a good friend of Wang Shouchuan.
He was the teacher with the best performance in the entire Central Pine City. Not only was he cool-headed during combat, but he also led the students to achieve remarkable battle results. The continuous string of battles wore down his educated appearance, however, making the current Old Tao a different man altogether. Even his good friend, Wang Shouchuan, could not recognize him at first sight.
Similarly, if Tao Yiwei saw Wang Shouchuan, he wouldn’t be able to recognize the latter at first glance either.
This blood catastrophe was like a large smelting furnace, and all those thrown in came out a different person.
In the past, Tao Yiwei did not treat Wang Zhen with respect, but this time around, a tinge of respect could be sensed in his tone towards the mayor.
As the two flew with all their might, they exchanged some words.
"Yes." The dean sighed with sorrow. He used to think of Wang Zhen as an ordinary veteran retired from the front lines. Never did he expect him to have such an illustrious background.
He suddenly recalled that when he asked Wang Zhen about his leg injury, all he’d been told was that it happened ten years ago.
Ten years ago, there was nothing more sensational than the Battle of the Dawn.
Ten years ago, Ye Baiyi led 42 elite members and 80 reinforcement troops from the Icy Flames Division against the boundless flood of dire beasts and held onto the Flaming Canyon for fifteen days.
The battle began and ended at dawn, and thus it was given the name Battle of the Dawn.
By the end, there were only six survivors.
Corpses were splayed about the Flaming Canyon, and the rivers flowed with blood. From that battle onwards, the canyon reeked of blood and remained barren forever.
Ye Baiyi gained prestige from that battle and led a meteoric rise to the top of his profession. He eventually displaced the disfavored Le Buyu as the division leader of the Icy Flames Division at the age of twenty-two. Everyone went on to call him Icy Flames Ye.
He was written into the annals of history as the youngest leader of the Thirteen Divisions.
The Battle of the Dawn was one of the most famous battles of the past twenty years. And in the past fifty, its devastating nature remained unmatched.
The Avalon of Five Elements had long achieved a dominant position over the Wilderness. Hence, for the past few hundred years, territorial expansion had been their main priority. This is what made the Battle of the Dawn so memorable—there had been zero indication of the dire beasts’ invasion, which threw them into a precarious situation.
Upon hearing that Wang Zhen was one of the survivors of the Battle of the Dawn, their astonishment was unimaginable. It was no wonder Wang Zhen never disclosed his division.
"I didn’t expect it, I really didn’t expect it." Tao Yiwei shook his head in disbelief. "The hero of the Battle of the Dawn actually came to our Central Pine City. It seems our city is a blessed place."
"It’s a good thing for us." The dean used to think that Wang Zhen was leading poorly, but now that he knew his background, he immediately felt that the situation was far graver than he originally thought.
Tao Yiwei replied, "He has a lot of confidence in the A-1 unit."
He thought about Old Wang’s disciple, Ai Hui. He was the only student of Central Pine City whom he was familiar with. He then recalled Wang Shouchuan’s blueprint and felt only the greatest admiration for his old friend. Both master and student were extremely formidable.
"It’s not that I don’t have enough confidence in them," the dean explained, remembering his previous objections. "But in the end, they’re still kids. Who can be responsible for them if they are to meet with any mishaps?"
"Maybe he thinks the A-1 unit can produce an Icy Flames Ye." Tao Yiwei chuckled.
"How can there be such a good thing?" The dean laughed along.
If one made a joke, the listener would treat it as a joke as well.
Which division leader of the Thirteen Divisions wasn’t an extraordinary individual? It was inaccurate to say that they were the thirteen most powerful individuals in the Avalon of Five Elements, but surely it wasn’t wrong to say that they were some of the most powerful elementalists in the Avalon of Five Elements.
For every one that became a leader of a division, everyone in the world would address them by their surname, followed by "division leader" out of respect.
The division leader was not only the leader of a division that held power over life-and-death—they were also the spiritual emblem for that division. To become a division leader, they were required to have top-tier capabilities, and another was to have charisma. A subordinate would only be willing to follow and pour in their utmost effort for a good leader. If the leader was widely disapproved of, they would not be able to hold on to that position for long.
By now, everyone’s distrust towards Wang Zhen had disappeared.
With a veteran who had gone through such a devastating experience like the Battle of the Dawn as their commander, they still could not obtain victory, thus proving that the situation was indeed outside of their control.
Suddenly, an energy wave from ahead caught their attention.
"Wood elemental energy…. It’s [Viridescent Flower]!" The dean’s facial expression changed minutely as he blurted out, "Duanmu Huanghun!"
The dean understood Duanmu Huanghun more than anyone else, and as such, he could immediately identify whom the energy wave belonged to. It was Duanmu Huanghun’s genius that had built up the prestige of his Central Pine Academy—he was the number one talent in the school.
Such a formidable display of elemental energy far exceeded Duanmu Huanghun’s base level.
The dean was burning with anxiety.
Duanmu Huanghun’s fixed his rigid fingers at the blood worm.
The green flowers that rapidly swirled around Duanmu Huanghun suddenly disappeared. With an ear-piercing sound like that of a shattering vase, numerous green flowers then exploded into green snowflakes that engulfed the blood worm.
A penetrating, haughty gaze overtook Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes. His mouth curled into a cold sneer before he clenched his fists.
Splat!
He spat out a mouthful of bloody mist. Even so, his facial expression did not change. It was as if the blood he expelled was not his own.
The green flowers that exploded disappeared once more. Following which, numerous green flower patterns appeared on the scarlet body of the blood worm. The uneven verdant patterns that spread across the blood worm’s body made it look as though it was made of green porcelain.
In the air, Duanmu Huanghun abruptly straightened his body. He did not bother to wipe the blood stains from his mouth. His tall and upright suspended form displayed an indescribable confidence.
There was an impish smile on his devilishly handsome face, like that of a child who had done a mischievous deed.
He elegantly clapped his hands once.
[Viridescent Flower, Icy Fissure]!
Crack crack crack!
Throughout the layer of mucus on the blood worm’s body, numerous cracks appeared. It was like watching an iceberg crack and disintegrate upon itself.
The blood worm twisted frantically from the pain caused by the frostbite.
Crack crack crack!
The crackling noises sounded more frequently and with increasing volume. In mid-air, Duanmu Huanghun resembled a refined magician who was waiting for his magic performance to unfold.
Large chunks of ice fell from the blood worm’s body—the frozen mucus.
The naked body of the blood worm finally appeared before everyone’s eyes.
"Iron Lady, the blood traces!" Ai Hui roared as he surged forward.
When Shi Xueman heard the two words ‘iron lady’, she did not have any reaction except to grasp her Cirrus tightly, revealing the fury in her heart.
[Oblique Slash, Misty Strike]. Using all of his might, Ai Hui pierced his Dragonspine Inferno into the blood traces on the blood worm’s body.
The jabs from Shi Xueman’s Cirrus landed on the blood worm like torrential rain, each motion surrounded by snow-white mist. With each strike on the blood worm’s body, the sprays of blood became larger and larger.
Sang Zhijun also clenched her teeth and retrieved her Bunny Hair Arrow. Once the arrow was shot out, it materialized into a thin streak of light that pierced into the blood worm’s blood traces.
The blood worm’s astonishing vitality was drained slowly, and it wrung its body agitatedly. For each strike on its body, that part shattered.
Ai Hui was frenzied; the stabbing effect of [Misty Strike] was not useful in this situation. While he attacked with his [Oblique Slash], he continued to actively dodge the blood worm’s attacks.
Slash by slash, he hacked at a specific blood trace continuously.
Pop!
Suddenly, his Dragonspine Inferno hit nothing but air. A section of the blood worm’s bucket-wide body was chopped off by Ai Hui.
The students broke into cheers.
Despite being cleaved into two, it refused to die. The two separate parts were writhing, but Ai Hui noticed that after chopping it apart, its powers had dropped significantly.
Pop. Shi Xueman had chopped off another section.
The rest of the students, who previously could not find an opportunity to launch their attacks, surged forward together. Even Fatty was overwhelmed by a fervor of unknown source and rushed ahead to attack the worm.
With more manpower came more power. The students strictly followed Ai Hui’s orders and hacked at the blood traces only. The blood worm with its nine blood traces was being hacked into ten pieces.
At last, the last strand of life disappeared completely from the massive blood worm.
The dean, Old Tao, and the elite unit arrived just in time to see everyone converging to hack at the worm.
Seeing the ten separate sections of the blood worm’s corpse on the ground, shivers crawled down their spines.
They had heard about the A-1 unit’s exceptional capability. Now that they witnessed it with their own eyes, the A-1 unit was truly terrifying….
Exhausted to the bone, the students collapsed to the ground as one.
Even as the elite unit descended from the sky, nobody bothered with them. When Ai Hui saw them gathering around the blood worm’s corpse, he reminded them, "Don’t touch it. The blood crystals are ours."
Instead of flaring up at Ai Hui’s impoliteness, the commander of the elite unit merely said, "Don’t worry, who wants the blood crystals? Not bad. All of you actually managed to kill a blood worm. It seems we can’t underestimate this unit anymore."
"You flatter us. Sir, how do I address you?" Ai Hui replied weakly.
"My surname is Zhang. You can call me Old Zhang." The man chuckled. "You don’t need to introduce yourself. As of now, the A-1 unit is renowned. In the future, if we’re ever in trouble and you happen to pass by, please lend us a hand. These blood crystals are our spoils of war from our previous battle. Let’s form a partnership then."
Ai Hui looked with surprise at Old Zhang. He felt that this person was rather nice and nodded. "Thank you for your gift then, Old Zhang. If we encounter you and your unit, we’ll do our best to help you."
Ai Hui did not want to promise Old Zhang anything. Even though the blood crystals were valuable, they were not worth their lives.
"All right, we’re considered friends then. Now, we still have another mission awaiting us, so we have to leave. Until later." Old Zhang chuckled and left with his unit.
Seeing the other party leave, Ai Hui rubbed his throat and said, "Lou Lan, clean up the blood crystals."
"No problem, Ai Hui!" Lou Lan cheered.
Ai Hui cast a glance at Duanmu Huanghun and said, "Ingrate, if you’re not capable enough, then don’t force yourself. Tsk, I thought you were confident, but I didn’t expect that you were taking a gamble."
Duanmu Huanghun didn’t bother with Ai Hui. He greedily gulped in breaths of air as an indescribable excitement arose within him.
Despite his severe injuries, he had relieved the pent-up anger inside his heart during the battle. He felt an indescribable contentment, and his body was extremely relaxed.
This was the life he wanted!
This was the Duanmu Huanghun he knew!
He didn’t mind dying as long as it was a glorious death!
He didn’t mind dying as long as he garnered everyone’s respect!