Arriving Just in Time, Zhankong!

"This is bad — a pack of Colossal Death Lizards is heading straight for us!" The officer on lookout duty went pale.

The Lizard-Skull Giant Demons had never managed to break through their formation. Thirteen Intermediate-Level Mages, all seasoned Military Mages who knew how to exploit a Demon-Beast's weaknesses and turn that knowledge into an impenetrable magical fortress.

But Colossal Death Lizards were an entirely different matter.

Every additional Colossal Death Lizard that appeared threatened to shake their magical formation to its foundations. It took several of them working in concert, unleashing combined Intermediate-Level spells, just to repel a single one.

A whole pack of them, then, was nothing short of a nightmare.

They were already straining to hold back the tide of Lizard-Skull Giant Demons surging toward them like waves — where were they supposed to find the manpower to deal with Colossal Death Lizards on top of that?

Watching the pack of Colossal Death Lizards lumber toward them, each body wide enough to fill half a city street, their scales shimmering with elemental energy, the officers could no longer maintain the composure they'd shown until now. Death was closing in.

"Fight your way out — push through!" Jiang Yi bellowed.

They had to carve a path through the chaos. If they stayed, every last one of them would die.

On the other side of the city, Mo Fan had slipped quietly away from that terrifying main boulevard, cloaked in Shadow Fade.

He was still in the heart of Jinlin City, but this stretch bore no resemblance to the main road. Every building here had collapsed for reasons unknown, leaving endless rubble in every direction as far as the eye could see.

There were no mud pits here. He could still make out the massive earthen peaks rising in the distance, but no Lizard-Skull Giant Demons prowled this area.

Mo Fan stood atop what remained of a scenic tower — nothing left but its bare skeleton — and watched from above as the officers were slowly swallowed by the advancing horde.

He could picture the terror on those arrogant officers' faces. He could picture Jiang Yi's expression — that look of disbelief — when she realized he'd escaped.

*Those bastards actually thought they could take me on.* They'd die without ever guessing he was a Shadow Element mage. Wherever shadows fell, he could move freely.

The Lizard-Skull Giant Demon's senses were sluggish at best. Mo Fan had glided right under their shadows using Shadow Fade, and most of them hadn't even noticed. That was precisely why he'd chosen to cut through their territory in the first place.

But the most important thing, of course, was his breakthrough.

Now Mo Fan understood why so many experienced mages urged young practitioners to take part in Field Expeditions and throw themselves into real battles. Solitary cultivation had its place, but a person's true potential could only be pushed to its absolute limit in the heat of combat. Without this siege, Mo Fan was certain he'd have needed at least another half year before his Fire Element Star Nebula could break through to the third level.

"Blazing Fist — Nine Palaces... I've finally gotten my hands on this kind of power." He clenched his right fist, savoring the raw, violent thrill of that punch — nine towering pillars of flame erupting from a single blow.

He'd first seen that technique because of Teacher Tang Yue. Back then, she had struck him as someone of almost awe-inspiring power, the kind of strength that invited reverence. She'd probably reached an even higher Domain by now — but at least he'd caught up to where she once stood. And she had been a Tribunal Agent.

Mo Fan leaned back and stretched out to rest.

The battle had left him worn out. He was safe now, in no rush to flee anywhere. He could afford to lie here and enjoy watching those devil-officers get exactly what they deserved.

"Hm — what's that?"

Lying flat on his back, Mo Fan suddenly caught something in the sky: white wings, beating in slow, steady arcs.

He steadied himself and focused his Mental Intent into his gaze, drawing distant shapes into sharp clarity.

The next instant, ice shot down his spine.

It was an enormous eagle — its feathers a pure, immaculate white, not a single dark strand among them. Its body was two full sizes larger than any ordinary Celestial Eagle he'd ever seen.

It drifted over the heart of Jinlin City on slow, powerful wingbeats...

Its talons were massive. Dangling from them was a leather net.

Inside the net, bound tight, were four people. They seemed to have had their souls sealed — powerless against the netting that held them, they could only hang there like trussed chickens, peering helplessly through the gaps at the world outside.

Mo Fan knew those four faces better than he knew his own reflection: Zhao Manyan, Mu Nujiao, Mu Ningxue, and Bai Tingting.

Rage ignited in his chest like a spark hitting dry tinder.

*So that's why Lu Nian didn't come after me directly.* The man had captured these four and strung them up in the air — practically daring Mo Fan to miss the leverage he was dangling in plain sight.

Mo Fan's fury was absolute.

*How can any person sink this low?* If rage could be forged into flames on his fist, he would have put his hands through Lu Nian's face and left nothing behind.

"Mo Fan — I'll only say this once, whether you're listening or not."

"Crawl to me on your knees, right now. Or I drop them from here."

"Don't worry — I've already sealed their souls. I guarantee they won't be able to cast a single spell on the way down. In my experience, even a Battle-General-class creature thrown from this height splatters into pulp. The Zhao Clan boy is already half-dead — if he dies, he dies. But what a shame it would be for that Ice Element girl, still lying unconscious... She matters to you, I'd imagine. If one isn't enough, how about all three together?"

Lu Nian's voice drifted down from above like something out of a nightmare. He had channeled Magical Energy into the sound itself, ensuring that every corner of this ruined district could hear every word.

Mo Fan heard every syllable. Flames had begun licking out from beneath his feet without him willing it — only rage pushed to its absolute extreme could make the power of fire surge out of him unbidden like that.

Not even the Black Church, with all its viciousness, had ever drawn this kind of fury from him. He hadn't imagined that a monster capable of this could be wearing a military uniform.

"Mo Fan — this devil will kill us and silence us regardless of whether you show up or not. Whatever happens, get back to the Imperial Capital and Magic City. Tell the Tribunal and the military tribunal everything that happened here..." Zhao Manyan, drenched in his own blood, screamed at the top of his lungs.

He couldn't channel any Magical Energy into his voice — his soul was sealed. All he had left was raw, desperate shouting, hoping Mo Fan could hear him somewhere below.

In truth, at that height, Mo Fan couldn't hear a single word.

Bai Tingting and Mu Nujiao stayed silent. All they could hear was Lu Nian's sharp, shrieking laughter — grating and inhuman.

**Whoooooosh—**

Beneath the white clouds, a rushing current of air swept past, cleaving a brilliant line of blue through the sky.

A pair of Wings of Wind materialized slowly against the blue expanse, and a man wearing a military uniform — same style, different insignia — came soaring in on powerful wingbeats, driving hard toward them.

His features were handsome, with a prominent shadow of stubble. Despite his collar turned up, there was no missing the vivid scar that ran along his neck and disappeared down toward his chest.

"Lu Nian — your crimes are beyond forgiveness. Release these students. **Now!**"

The man with the Wings of Wind closed in on the massive eagle and roared, his voice blazing with fury.