"Dammit! First the snake escaped, and now another ruler-level creature has appeared!"
An elder of the Magic Court, one of those siding with Zhu Meng, cursed as he banged his fist on the table.
The plague haunting Hangzhou had started days ago. The moment the Black Snake appeared in public, it was made the scapegoat. First, two bodies were found poisoned, and then, in the night, the plague claimed dozens of lives at once.
Zhu Meng sat in silence, eyes closed and arms crossed before him. His presence was heavy—no one dared utter a word nearby.
"..Issue the blood alert."
Zhu Meng finally spoke. A commander-class creature was enough to destroy a small city—enough to make people abandon their homes. In this case, even with the presence of super-class mages, the Association was confident against a commander-class creature, but in the face of a monarch—the Silver Sky Ruler—even Zhu Meng was forced to prioritize the safety of citizens first.
"Issue an order in my name. All Advanced Rank Mages of the Association are to assemble at the Western Fortress."
"The Intermediate Ranks and interns not stationed there are to evacuate the citizens and ensure their safety."
Zhu Meng's voice was heavy as he gave the order. He had been fearless in the face of the Black Snake because he knew it was about to undergo ecdysis and had prepared to capture it at its weakest. But now, facing a proper monarch with multiple commanders and thousands of warriors under its command, even he knew how dire the situation was.
The atmosphere was grim. Zhu Meng's eyes swept across the table before settling on Tang Zhong and the other elders who had supported the survival of the Black Snake.
"..Tang Zhong. Your sins are grave for letting the Black Snake escape! After the birds are dealt with, I will come after you and your demon god."
"I'm giving you one last chance. By sunset, I want that creature dead. I don't care about your excuses anymore."
Without allowing anyone to refute, Zhu Meng ended the meeting and left the room, heading straight for the frontlines.
Zhu Meng, though ruthless, was a man with a clear conscience who always put humanity first. The threat of the Black Snake was too great if it ever went berserk. That was why he had kept it under watch for years—waiting for the moment it weakened, ready to strike when the iron was hot. Zhu Meng wasn't evil, merely overprotective of humanity. Having witnessed the terrifying power of monarchs and experienced the horrors of magical beasts firsthand, he had adopted this ruthless philosophy.
***
Damon left with Tang Yue, leaving behind trunks full of defective blood serum, instructing the Totem Beast to feed on it. The defective blood serum, poisonous to humans, was a delicacy for the Black Snake—something that could accelerate its ecdysis severalfold.
The half-month process could now be reduced to just a few hours. Leaving the forest behind, they departed, leaving the Black Snake to undergo its transformation in peace.
***
Western Fortress
"Fire Burst: Great Rupture!"
A level four Fire Burst spell exploded, obliterating the head of another feathered beast.
The sky above the West Fortress looked like a massive white net. Dense strings of light covered the airspace above the human defenders as sharp claws clashed with destructive spells. The sharp screeches and blasts echoed endlessly.
Within ten kilometers around the fortress, the battlefield raged. The human defenders were vastly outnumbered by the White Magic Falcons. Even with every soldier of the West Fortress fighting, they could only form defensive squares on the ground and target the falcons that flew low enough to attack.
The battle was layered in tiers. On the ground, Basic and Intermediate Magicians fought desperately to distract the falcon army, baiting them into diving attacks. Many falcons had fallen due to this risky strategy.
The airspace above the fortress was dominated by the Advanced Magicians, capable of flight. Each Advanced Spell could annihilate hundreds of servant-class beasts in an instant. Despite being heavily outnumbered, there was no sign of the mages faltering.
Higher up among the clouds, the real experts clashed—the Commander-level Four-Clawed Magic Eagles versus the Royal Guards, Commanders, and Judges of the Magic Court. Every single death tipped the scales of battle.
There were about ten Four-Clawed Magic Eagles in total, each massive enough to blot out the clouds. Their four talons could crush a mountain with ease.
"Damn it! I just got back from the wilderness myself!" Mo Fan cursed, fighting at the Western Fortress.
Normally, he would never come to the frontlines, but Damon and Lingling had forced him into it.
"Stop complaining and look for the boy Damon asked us to find," came Lingling's sweet voice through the earpiece as Mo Fan summoned lightning to strike down another wave of eagles. "I've completed the analysis."
"The blood serums are indeed defective. Instead of mutated blood, diseased blood was used."
Mutated blood was a rare and essential resource obtained from beasts—a vital ingredient in many modern magical products.
Diseased blood, however, though similar at first glance, had catastrophic side effects.
"The magical beasts are attacking the city because of the blood serum injected into the victims!" Lingling said. "It matches the poison from the Rat Beasts, the food source of the Magic Falcons. Sensing an increase in food, the eagles are attacking to strengthen their bloodlines."
"Oh, fucking great!" Mo Fan shouted as he continued searching for the boy. "Then what do we do? Fighting them sounds a lot simpler!"
"Nah," Lingling replied calmly. "The eagles won't retreat unless either their monarch is killed or their food source disappears."
"We need to find the cure first—only then will the attacks stop."
Mo Fan began questioning soldiers who had just slain a Heavenly Eagle, asking about the boy who owned a Grey Eagle Beast. Damon hadn't remembered the boy's name or the herb that cured the disease, so Mo Fan was tasked with finding him.
"Should we ask the military or the Association for help?" Mo Fan suggested, only for Lingling to immediately shoot it down.
"Can't do that. Councilman Luo is involved. Wang Yi's already been declared dead—'suicide,' supposedly."
"If we go public, Luo might silence the ones who know the cure and ruin everything. We follow your friend's plan—find the cure first."
Lingling's voice steadied as Mo Fan finally located the boy—Wang Xiaojun, the brave seventeen-year-old who had defied military orders to save his mutant beast.
Identifying him, Mo Fan grabbed the boy, summoned his Starswift Wolf, and escaped the battlefield to bring him to Lingling.
The herb's name was finally revealed—Red Falcon Herb.
With Wang Xiaojun's help, Mo Fan took charge of collecting it, protecting the boy as the two raced through the chaos to find the herb.