0124 Returning to the Battlefield

In the early morning of March 10th, 1223, according to the imperial calendar, the main force of the demon beast army launched a ferocious assault on the border city of Arcadia in the White Tower Kingdom. Their numbers were overwhelming, their strength immense, their preparations meticulous, and their plans precise, leaving the city’s defenders powerless to resist and the attackers with no hope of returning.

At this critical moment, Arcadia had suffered devastating blows. Marshal Li Yi and his wife, Xia Kui, had fallen on the battlefield one after the other; General Huan Luo was gravely wounded; General Andy had lost his combat effectiveness. The troops’ morale was unstable and their strength insufficient. Although reinforcements from the capital were eager to serve their country, the long distance caused their arrival to be too late. The limited garrison at Qilin Pass provided only a drop in the ocean of aid. The Girard family, who had guarded Arcadia for generations, led the city’s militia in a full mobilization, yet still could not turn the tide.

By five o’clock, under the relentless assault of the demon beasts, Arcadia’s defensive walls were forcibly breached. The enemy poured into the city, but the veteran General Girard led all the soldiers inside to resist with all their might, managing to hold the demon beasts behind the collapsed walls. Meanwhile, the strategist Sang Qing swiftly guided the city’s residents to seek refuge in Qilin Pass.

By 5:30, after completing the evacuation of the civilians, General Girard, witnessing the steady loss of young soldiers and the increasingly frenzied demon beasts stained with blood, chose to surrender.

This marked, as far as I can confirm, the demon beasts’ first time disregarding the constraints of time to enter a state of frenzy anywhere and anytime. After the general’s surrender, the demon beasts who maintained their frenzied state suddenly reverted to their original forms before the eyes of the human soldiers. Some soldiers tried to seize the opportunity to rebel but were met with sudden, instantaneous frenzied attacks from many demon beasts.

Until that day, I always believed that demon beasts could only enter a frenzy around dusk.

This excerpt comes from the unofficial and non-traditional yet best-selling historical memoir *All That I Know* by Liang Yin, a master water mage from Cairenia.

—Yes, this is the interlude from the transition fairy—

At this moment, a certain someone was fleeing, carrying a gravely ill and injured man on her shoulder who was on the verge of losing control. At her waist hung the Dragon Fang Sword, which the injured man clung to desperately, refusing to let go. A circle of young maids attended to the wounded, and though the woman had used her wind magic to lighten the burden and hasten their pace, each step still felt unbearably difficult.

Before her stretched a scene she had seen countless times on television—ruins and shattered walls, scorched earth, swirling dust and flying debris. The dust raised by magic and hand-to-hand combat hung like a poisonous haze over every corner of the battlefield. Sturdy stone houses shattered like oversized bricks under overwhelming force. The desperate screams of warriors and their hoarse battle cries made her wince, too afraid to look back, lest she lose her resolve to rescue Huan Luo.

If Huan Luo were to awaken midway and rage again, it would only worsen the situation. Instinctively, she glanced at the small maids running beside her, panting heavily. Even this brief burst of speed had left them gasping for breath. If she handed Huan Luo over to them, she had no idea how long it would take to retreat safely.

The only solace was that Sang Qing had done a commendable job organizing the evacuation.

Finally, she caught up with the main retreating force. Seeing the orderly withdrawal before her, she let out a sigh of relief. Those retreating were without exception the elderly, the weak, women, children, and the wounded. The sudden outbreak of war had caught them unprepared—some were not fully dressed, others anxiously searched for lost family members, and many wept in despair over those they had lost. Yet, all struggled to maintain a semblance of clarity. The ongoing battle behind them was still fierce; every second they managed to delay was bought by the lives of countless compatriots fighting at the front. No matter how lost or desperate she felt, she could not allow her own recklessness to sow panic and cost more lives.

“Every extra second you stay alive is the greatest support you can give to your loved ones fighting on the front lines!” Sang Qing urged those on the brink of collapse, striving to hasten their orderly evacuation from Arcadia.

The people of Arcadia had, through countless wars of attack and defense, developed formidable mental resilience. Thanks to Sang Qing’s efforts, leaders soon emerged among the retreating crowd. They wiped away tears of weakness, swallowed their grief and anger, took the hands of lost children, supported the elderly, comforted the wounded, and slowly moved backward together. Even the woman carrying Huan Luo on her shoulder received kindness—many recognized the severely injured general and made way for her. After a while, someone even brought a makeshift stretcher.

She gently placed the fainting Huan Luo on the stretcher, glanced back to estimate the distance from the main battlefield, gritted her teeth, and handed him over. After briefly explaining Huan Luo’s condition to the maids nearby, she turned and walked in the opposite direction of the crowd.

“Have you seen Lance?” she called out to Sang Qing from a distance. Sang Qing immediately spotted her in the crowd, hurried over, and pulled her aside—to prevent her wounds from worsening and to avoid disrupting the evacuation pace.

“Looking for Lance?” Sang Qing sighed at her determined gaze. “You’re practically in the same category as the elderly, sick, and disabled right now. The sensible thing is to evacuate with the crowd. Lance is fine, I’m sure.”

“So you haven’t seen him?” she concluded firmly. “That guy must have gone back to the battlefield, injured as he is.”

“That’s none of your concern,” Sang Qing groaned, rubbing his forehead. “Your main job now is to retreat with the others to Qilin Pass, rest, and take care of Huan Luo. If I see Lance on the battlefield, I’ll drag him into the retreat by force. Is that clear?”

Sang Qing’s words confirmed her suspicion—Lance was still on the battlefield. Thinking of Lance and her own similar injuries, she felt a surge of frustration. If they were both in good health, it would be one thing. But with wounds barely healed, able to move but not yet fit to fight, and with Andy’s lingering distrust of Lance, this was surely not the time for him to be on the front lines.

Facing Sang Qing’s persistent attempts to lead her back to the evacuation line, she suddenly summoned a gust of chaotic wind and swirling sand, clouding his vision. As Sang Qing rubbed his eyes in surprise, she leapt with the aid of wind magic, soaring above the crowd, leaving without disturbing anyone, and dashed toward the heart of the fiercely raging battlefield.