4/25/2019

  10:01 AM

  Julius rejected the idea of going to the next hotspot. The “can’t tell time” was evident, proving his reasons. When everyone departed the realm, the grand entryway vanished into thin air.

  Ling Wu mentioned the time was now around 10 AM in the morning.

  Julius told everyone to head back to Colemond, while he stayed over to talk with Ling Wu and Amara. He took the two back to the empty lot.

  “So, what do you think?”

  Amara appeared sluggish. Looking at her eyes, she wasn’t having it, and she turned to Ling Wu. “You shouldn’t have brought me to this.”

  Ling Wu then looked at her. “Why not? I found this experience very significant. You’re not in awe after seeing all that magic on display?”

  “I just want a way out,” Amara responded, giving off the vibe that there might be a catch to participating.

  Julius was subconsciously reading their minds. “There is a way out. It is quick and nothing more. But I’ll have to ask Ling.” He looked at her. “Do you want to join this war or not?”

  “I do. If Amara doesn’t, I still stand by my decision. And I’m joining,” Ling Wu said firmly.

  Julius took a step back to let the two talk. They were best friends, and separating was not in their promise to each other through the years of friendship.

  Lian sent him a message that they were back at the residence. Lady Bian then sent a message seconds after reading Lian’s. It might disrupt his plans because a second attempt was heading towards Colemond.

  Julius turned back to the two who were still fighting.

  “Ladies.”

  The two weren’t paying attention to him. Julius, now on running time, stomped his right foot down to the dirt, causing the field to crumble. Its crops withered to dust, exposing brown emptiness for at least a mile.

  They tripped, landing on their bottoms flat. The two’s jeans were covered in dirt and debris from the crops.

  Julius shook his head and helped them up. “Had enough?”

  “Yeah, I still stand by my decision,” Ling Wu said again.

  Amara clicked her tongue. “I can’t believe you would go.”

  “I don’t have much time. Colemond is going to go through another invasion attempt soon. So, I need your answers now.”

  Amara held her hand out. “Give me your car keys…I’m not going.”

  Ling Wu grabbed the keys out of her pocket and handed them to her. But before dropping it off her hand, she had one more question. “Can she still join at anytime?”

  Julius nodded. “Yes, next time.”

  The keys landed in Amara’s hands. Julius noticed her face was holding her emotions. He strolled away to give them some space. Despite the argument earlier, the two hugged, and Amara drove off in Ling Wu’s truck.

  “Alright, now you’re with us. Welcome to the team,” Julius said, offering his hand.

  Ling Wu grabbed his palm, and he flew into the air, taking her.

  “And here we are.”

  Silence

  Julius turned, seeing Ling Wu’s eyes were absolutely shut.

  “Oh, we’re on foot now. You made it. You can open your eyes now.”

  Lady Bian arrived from the Saint Moon Airfield Base. She was wielding her katana, which was spewing white qi. “Are we ready to head out?”

  “Yeah. And have someone here train Ling Wu. She’s joining in, and that message you sent me. We might have to use them.”

  “Some are rolling it out of Saint Moon.”

  “Is everyone else in positions?”

  Lady Bian nodded. “Yes. We are ready for the second attempt.” She looked at her phone. “If I’m reading this right, they’re twenty minutes away.”

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  She showed him her screen. He glanced at the radar. “Actually, they’re ten minutes.”

  “Well, let’s go.”

  Julius’ mouthplate formed. And the two flew off to the airbase. As they hovered over its airspace, two hangars opened their doors. A convoy of multiple missile launcher trucks drove out.

  Lian was seen dashing across the airfield to one of the two hangars. Empress Cai and Simon followed her. Julius and Lady Bian descended and watched the convoy moving.

  One of the mage strategists was directing them out to an open space. After the convoy followed her instructions and parked at a spot, Julius and Lady Bian walked to her.

  She was ready. “Let’s get this going?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Ok, you two each take one and carry it.”

  Julius lifted the vehicle, weighing over twenty-seven tons, above his shoulders. He could hear the metal rattling as he moved his back upright.

  Lady Bian lifted hers, and then the strategist told Empress Cai and Simon to do the same. All the drivers gave a thumbs up to the strategist, and she raised both arms, signaling the five to fly.

  Like the rocket launchers, qi was exerted out of all five’s boots. Large amounts of plumes spread to the runway as the convoy of big military trucks rose into the air. Rebecca was the one who sent Lady Bian the alert, so the latter led the way to where these vehicles needed to be deployed.

  They head southwest. The other convoy from the different hangar headed northeast.

  Lady Bian demonstrated her advanced method of teleportation, taking everyone to the site in an instant without physical contact.

  In a blink, they arrived, and their feet touched the ground.

  “You can put them down. The drivers will do the rest.”

  As Julius put the twenty-seven-ton vehicle to the ground, he saw the military was coming from the other side, many miles away. The amount of technology and soldiers on the field was astronomical. He didn’t understand why they were wasting their time and energy on taking over Colemond.

  Mages were already deployed in this area. About a thousand were setting up positions. Every few hundred mages, there would be one commander on site. And the commander of a unit was never in the back seat. Most of their time was spent with their comrades and supporting them to finish the objective, which was to win with minimal casualties.

  The tanks on the other side started firing. Small explosions erupted every second. Slowly, it got closer to his side.

  Julius brought out his sword. His mouthplate formed, covering his mouth and cheeks. He unleashed his aura. Instead of solely sky-blue, it was a mix of the former, gold, and darkness.

  A few of the multiple missile launcher vehicles drove right through, resisting the tanks’ firepower. It parked right in front and faced right to the other side. The missile turret raised to forty-five degrees.

  The on-site commander was a tall figure with an eerie aura. Since there were so many mages and commanders, Julius didn’t get to know everyone. This was his first time witnessing this eerie commander. All mages had uniforms similar to hanfus. A commander has specialized clothes to distinguish themselves from others. Each had shoulder armor with 中校 marked.

  The eerie commander, though, was unorthodox in appearance. His upper robe was open, revealing his scars and tattoos that masked them but poorly.

  “Fire!” He yelled, echoing his voice across miles.

  Multiple missiles exited at once at lightning speed. The mages charged forward. Julius and others flew up and headed to the other side.

  Julius dropped right in the dead center between the two sides, breaking the sound barrier. He tore up the layers of dirt. Then the tiny earthquakes erupted, tipping the balance of a few tanks and a group of soldiers. He raised Valence to the air. With one hard, slashing gesture, he unleashed an array of sword bullets.

  Maybe there were some secrets, because after watching a row of soldiers and military arsenal being obliterated, Julius flew up and saw at least hundreds of vehicles and tanks. Not to mention, it was a multi-layered strategic formation. The dozen was the closest, and as they further spread out, the numbers grew.

  Before Julius could make the next move, he was interrupted by a loud noise behind him. When he was forced to turn around, someone arrived in a full-body cloak through a portal similar to how the Raal Refugees got through. First impression was probably a rebel because of the overall usage of full, dark cloaks.

  To Julius’ shock, the individual’s reactionary time was either on par or even better. Julius was thrown to the ground by a sweep kick. Only to be the worst luck he got at this moment, his body became a leaking balloon again.

  There was no time to take the meds as he sensed a target right on his back.

  So, he lunged and punched himself in the stomach, propelling him across the field and saving himself.

  The individual followed him, catching up to speed in a second. It went for a strike in an attempt to derail him, but Julius caught on quickly, using his left forearm to shield himself. With his right hand, he extended his hand out, summoning a rice sword. One slash caused the individual’s right arm to bleed, but it shattered the blade.

  Immediately, it transitioned to a martial fight. The latter went for a different move, sending both down to the ground, crashing through a crowd of soldiers and trucks.

  Julius rolled and didn’t slow down until he hit a truck, unintentionally folding it in half on impact.

  That put a strain on his body since it was still leaking blood. The multiple impacts only made it worse. Quickly, he took a dose of multiple meds. The individual saw him and dashed. Julius nudged his body in a different direction, saving himself by a millisecond.

  Screech!

  Now, the two were staring back, or that was how Julius felt. Despite the individual being fully cloaked, he was certain the hidden eyes were staring right back.

  Kaboom!

  The dark purple aura unleashed from the individual as it summoned an unusual katana.

  Julius drank the last sip of the liquid medicine and threw the tiny ceramic away. The medicine was supposed to take a few minutes, but time was at stake. He exerted his power, bringing out all three of his colors like earlier.

  Soldiers nearby fired their weapons, only for all bullets to be steered back to them. Turning the scenery into a growing bloodbath.

  Both raised their auras further and then charged into a head-on one-to-one.