Chapter 100: Guardians on the Homeward Journey

"Shwoosh!"—With Du Qiying complaining as she started up the jeep, flames that no ordinary jeep should produce shot out from behind the vehicle carrying the Guardians. It abruptly accelerated, soared into the sky, and flew straight toward Maple City.

"Whoa, Senior Qiying, what is this, what is this? Your car can actually fly!" Although she felt somewhat worried about Zhuang Xiaoyuan's safety after hearing the captain's conclusion, Wen Hui trusted Zhuang Xiaoyuan deeply. That resilient little cockroach who always outmatched her would be fine. So upon seeing the flying jeep, she couldn't help but shout in excitement.

"Impressive, right? Worship me yet? If you do, how about going on a spontaneous date with me tonight?" Hearing Wen Hui's excited cries, Du Qiying turned her head with a smug expression.

"Senior Qiying, since your car can fly, why does it still have wheels?" Completely ignoring Du Qiying's date suggestion, Wen Hui looked down at the wheels beneath the vehicle and asked.

"...A car without wheels can hardly still be called a car." After a moment of silence, Du Qiying's voice came from the front, teeth grinding.

"Wen Hui, don't keep poking at Qiying's weak spot. With that empty head of hers, she simply can't imagine what a car without wheels would look like. Hahaha!" Hua Ze chimed in, lecturing Wen Hui—though the "lecture" sounded more like a deliberate jab at Du Qiying.

"Beep, beep, beep." Amid Du Qiying's gloomy silence, after the jeep had been flying for some time, the sound of incoming communication alerts suddenly rang out. Practically every member of the Guardian squad received the alert simultaneously—a series of continuous alarms.

"Looks like we've entered signal coverage area." Pulling her communicator from her pocket, Hua Jing said as she opened the message log: "Brother, you guessed right. Two days ago, Maple City was attacked by a tide of evil demons. Because we'd left the signal coverage area, we never received the distress call."

"Two days ago... What's the situation now? What's the highest-class demon in the tide?" Upon hearing "two days ago," Hua Ze hammered the vehicle frame in frustration and asked with a frown, hoping things weren't as bad as he imagined.

As the captain of the Guardian squad, Hua Ze generally never carried electronic devices, because even if he did, they'd quickly break—incinerated by the flames he himself created. So the squad's communications were mostly managed by Hua Jing.

"The situation is bad. The main road in the southern district is blocked, so supplies have to be transported through side roads. Ammunition is running low, and with the prolonged fighting, the number of wounded is rising sharply. But they can hold out until we arrive. The highest-class demon is... Burrow-class." After reading the latest battle report at the end of the message, Hua Jing glanced at Wen Hui and said in a low voice, revealing the news of a Burrow-class demon's appearance.

"What?"
"Burrow-class?"
"Another one?"
"How is that possible?"

The three words "Burrow-class" from Hua Jing immediately drew exclamations from everyone. Previously, they'd gone through considerable trouble dealing with a Burrow-class that was about to evolve—though the surrounding swarm of Chariot-class and Turret-class demons had also been a factor. But now, with no Guardians in Maple City, there was basically no way the city could hold against a Burrow-class demon. This was truly...

"What's the current status of the Burrow-class demon? Judging by your expression, Maple City is still putting up resistance, right?" Being her elder brother, Hua Ze understood his sister best. Noticing the calm look on Hua Jing's face, he already guessed that the Burrow-class demon had probably been temporarily held off.

"Maple City is mostly intact. The military is still fighting hard, and none of the four city gates have fallen. The Burrow-class demon that appeared within the city has been temporarily stalled by Zhuang Xiaoyuan." Though the news was good, Hua Jing's voice was very low.

"Oh, that young lady's done well. She can even temporarily hold off a Burrow-class. Worthy of a Rule Deity, indeed." Hearing Hua Jing's response, Du Qiying raised an eyebrow from the driver's seat, her expression a mix of surprise and admiration.

"Some people saw Zhuang Xiaoyuan already wounded by the Burrow-class demon earlier. Right now, she might be..." Not echoing Du Qiying's praise, Hua Jing wore a grave expression and revealed the last, most recent report in the message.

"Xiaoyuan's hurt? Is she okay? How is she now?" At the news of Zhuang Xiaoyuan's injury, Wen Hui's face changed instantly. Forgetting all about seniority and politeness, she grabbed Hua Jing's right hand and asked urgently.

"Calm down. She'll be fine." As the captain, Hua Ze patted Wen Hui's shoulder to stop her more frantic movements, reassuring her with firm certainty.

"Huff... Captain, I'm going on ahead. I need to go see Xiaoyuan." Taking a deep breath, Wen Hui released her grip on Hua Jing's hand. Her expression calmed slightly, but her eyes were anything but calm. The moment she finished speaking, before the other Guardians could even react to stop her, Wen Hui leaped straight off the jeep. Responding to the gentle breeze around her, she suddenly accelerated, shooting past the jeep and racing toward Maple City.

"Yutong, follow her. Don't let her do anything reckless." Caught off guard by Wen Hui's escape, Hua Jing was the first to react, calling out to Man Yutong in the passenger seat.

Before Hua Jing even finished speaking, Man Yutong had already flipped out of the vehicle. She cared deeply about her junior who had joined a year later, and especially since the one in danger was Zhuang Xiaoyuan, someone she knew well. It wasn't just Wen Hui—even Man Yutong was growing anxious.

After leaping out of the jeep, Man Yutong quickly descended toward the ground. "Eagle's Wing." With Man Yutong's whisper, a pair of massive eagle wings sprouted from her back. As the wings beat, she surged forward at great speed, quickly overtaking Du Qiying's jeep and chasing after Wen Hui ahead.

"We should hurry too, Brother." Watching Man Yutong give chase to Wen Hui, Hua Jing turned to her brother and said.

"W-wait, Vice Captain, don't let the Captain do it! I just finished fixing this thing with great effort!" Hearing Hua Jing's voice from the back seat, Du Qiying suddenly let out a miserable cry. If the Captain took action, her precious baby would definitely be crippled.

"Indeed, we really do need to hurry." Completely ignoring Du Qiying's wails, Hua Ze nodded, rose from his seat, jumped onto the rear hood of the jeep, crouched down, and extended his right hand toward the flames spraying from the back.

"Captain~~~"

Amid Du Qiying's resentful screams, with Hua Ze's outstretched hand, the flames erupting from the back of the jeep suddenly swelled and thickened. The jeep's propulsion increased further, its speed leaping up several notches—though the rear of the jeep began to shift into a rather sorry state.