Field Expedition to the Desolate City

"That the Black Church conducts research into dark arts at the expense of human lives — yes, that's an undeniable fact. But we have our own principles. Our test subjects were all death-row inmates, convicted criminals already condemned to die. Yes, there were aspects we couldn't fully control, but we cleaned everything up in the end, and no one was harmed. Qiu Yuhua, you're far too stubborn about this. How can you call what we do evil sorcery? We are *creating*. In ancient times, when the number of magic affinities people could awaken and study was pitifully small, weren't there still great pioneers in every field who explored and blazed new paths? Every new magic affinity discovered adds to the strength of our entire nation — our entire species. Are we really going to wait until the Demon-Beasts have grown powerful enough to butcher us like livestock before we admit how weak humanity is? You don't have a monopoly on moral high ground — and besides, making sacrifices for one's country is the duty of every Mage." Grand Military Commander Lu Nian pressed his case without yielding an inch.

"Say whatever you like," Qiu Yuhua said, abandoning any further argument with Lu Nian. "He's not one of your military people. You have no right to demand anything of him. I've already spoken to Dean Xiao about this — he won't agree either."

"All right, all right." Dean Songhe of the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, seated between the two men, raised a placating hand. "You two rarely get to see each other — no need to spend it bickering. Have some tea. Those above us will make the final call."

"Dean Songhe, let's talk about the students' Field Expedition instead." Qiu Yuhua had no desire to exchange another word with the Military Commander, and turned his attention to the dean.

"Oh, that's all been arranged. Do you remember Jinlin City?"

"Why would we go *there*…"

Field Expeditions were critically important for every enrolled Mage. Even when schools didn't mandate them, any Mage who truly wanted to rise above the rest would choose a path of field training — after all, how could anyone become truly powerful without tempering themselves through countless battles?

On the day of the exchange student assembly, it was Dean Songhe of the Imperial Capital Magic Academy who addressed everyone on the details of the Field Expedition.

Since the students from Pearl Academy and the Imperial Capital Magic Academy were heading to the same destination, their briefing was held jointly.

"The destination for this Field Expedition is Jinlin City, located on the middle-lower Yangtze River plain!" Dean Songhe announced.

"Jinlin City?" Jingjing, who had an exceptional grasp of geography, couldn't help but speak up. "I've never heard of any city by that name."

She was a prodigy with a truly remarkable memory — every city in the country was catalogued in her mind — yet the Jinlin City Dean Songhe had just named drew a complete blank.

"Jinlin City is a special case," Teacher Qiu Yuhua said slowly. "It was erased from the map fifteen years ago."

"*Erased from the map?!*"

The room erupted in stunned silence. No one had ever heard of an entire city simply being wiped off the map.

And what did it even mean for a city to be wiped off the map?

"Fifteen years ago, a Demon-Beast disaster struck the Dongting Lake plain," Dean Songhe began, his voice carrying the weight of old sorrow. "An out-of-control population explosion drove massive numbers of Demon-Beasts to overrun Jinlin City, which sat in a rather remote location. Fortunately, a Mage in wilderness training sensed the looming threat in time and alerted the government to evacuate the city's residents. The very next day after the evacuation, the entire city was utterly overrun — transformed beyond recognition into a Demon-Beast den. Those who hadn't managed to escape in time were buried there forever."

What Dean Songhe left unsaid was that the Mage who had detected that disaster was himself. It was something he preferred not to dwell on. It had been, after all, a human tragedy of the worst kind.

His account sparked recognition in the students who had read more widely about history.

Certain semi-restricted texts did record the Demon-Beast catastrophe that had struck the Dongting Lake plain fifteen years ago — but very few people of their generation knew anything about a city that had simply vanished from the world for fifteen years.

"So Jinlin City is basically a ruined city now?" Xu Dalong asked.

"Indeed. Even a decade ago, the place was practically a paradise for Demon-Beasts — Military Mages wouldn't dare enter lightly, let alone attempt any kind of extermination. But in recent times, a number of Hunter-mages have sent back reports that the vast majority of Demon-Beasts in Jinlin City seem to have disappeared — as though the entire population migrated elsewhere… We've now done preliminary verification: the Demon-Beast numbers there have dropped dramatically. It's nowhere near as terrifying as it once was."

"So we're going to that ruined city for our Field Expedition?"

"I need you to collect data on it." Dean Songhe took a sip of tea and continued. "The main Demon-Beast population may have migrated away, but all manner of creatures still roam Jinlin City. Your job is to survey as many locations throughout the city as possible, and record every encounter — how many Servant-class Demon-Beasts, how many Battle-General-class creatures. Write it all down."

"Just… collecting data?" Shen Mingxiao blurted out.

*Counting things didn't sound particularly dangerous.*

"We need to publish a paper on whether Jinlin City should be rebuilt — jointly authored by the Imperial Capital Magic Academy and Pearl Academy. The data you collect is crucial. There are grounds for recommending reconstruction, but before any of that can happen, someone must carry out a danger assessment for a city that has been abandoned for fifteen years. That is your task."

Listening to all of this, Mo Fan was not fooled for a moment into thinking this would be easy.

A city was enormous. Gathering accurate data would require surveying a staggering number of locations.

And the more locations you surveyed, the more Demon-Beasts you'd encounter — and the easier it would be to find yourself surrounded and overwhelmed.

This expedition to the ruined city was no less dangerous than the Red Alert disaster that had once swallowed Bo City. You couldn't just hide inside a Safety Barrier and wait it out. One careless step into the wrong location could drop you straight into a Demon-Beast pit, with nothing left of you to bring home.

"Dean, you asked us to count Servant-class and Battle-General-class Demon-Beasts," Luo Song asked with a guilelessness that suggested he hadn't yet grasped the full weight of the situation. "What about Commander-class ones? Don't those count?"

"Oh," Dean Songhe said mildly, "if you do happen to encounter a Commander-class Demon-Beast, just making it back alive would be quite the achievement."

That casual remark sent a chill rippling through the room.

Jinlin City had once been essentially a Demon-Beast nest, and any nest of that scale was sure to have Commander-class creatures living in it. If even one or two of those had stayed behind out of sheer stubbornness, a single wrong turn during their survey could turn fatal in an instant.

Commander-class creatures were said to possess extraordinary sensory perception — capable of detecting a wild goose flying hundreds of meters overhead and swallowing it whole the moment it crossed their territory.

"Individual strength has its limits," Dean Songhe said. "For this data-collection mission in the ruined city, I hope that students from Pearl Academy and the Imperial Capital Magic Academy alike will watch each other's backs — and return safely and in one piece."