Meanwhile, seated on the garden bench by Shepard’s tower, Julius exhaled. A deep furrow creased his brow as he observed the sky and its two burning suns.
"Four and a half months already. Just where are you, big brother?"
He shook his head, his lips twisted in a remorseful grimace. The world had changed too much, and hundreds of millions died in the flames of wars.
A new species called the were-folk invaded their province from the west, conquering one kingdom after another with their bestial limbs and physical might.
Antique humans with alarming mana affinities stormed the south, forcing the beast emperor and his growing alliance to defend it. The northern continent fell to a swarm of tier six and seven magical beasts, their devastation only stopping at Durazmarn.
He learned Moira had resurrected the Titan’s Twilight, ensuring the safety of the dwarves with the colossal artifact. His alliance tried to trade for the blueprints, but the dwarf king refused.
And in this chaotic province, deserted by Rose and her powerful army, he couldn’t help but regret his choice. He should have searched for his big brother. After all, Lin Yao perished, followed by Orion, trapped in Jadeval’s destruction.
"At least we found Orion’s corpse... But Adam’s?" A tear rolled down his cheek, despair tearing at his heart. Even his ghost essence remained lost.
He had asked Elena, Shepard, Zeph, and Maya, who had joined their alliance after the catastrophe. So when three arcanists and an archmage twisted their lips and shook their heads, his world almost collapsed.
But somehow, the person he hated the most was also the only one who believed Adam had survived.
"This cockroach died? Hahaha! He survived worse. Trust me," Gaston had said, waving his hand dismissively as everyone frowned.
But his eyes continued to sparkle. If their former enemy, Adam’s first nemesis, said so himself, how could he lose hope?
He rose to his feet, his green and gold cultivator robes—an homage to Lin Yao’s selfless sacrifice—fluttered with the movement. Alina was approaching, and he couldn’t show weakness in front of his mom in these troubled times.
"I knew I’d find you in the garden, Julius." The worry hidden in her voice didn’t escape him, and neither did the conflicted frown knitting her brow.
Alina sat beside him, her eyes brushing past the college’s ruined towers and dormitories.
"Not quite the best scenery." She tried to joke, but her chuckle sounded hollow.
His hand met her trembling shoulder, his hazel eyes softening. "Just tell me what weighs on your mind, Mom."
She crumpled her dress’ fabric, her lips twitching.
"T-The Belloria kingdom fell. The were-folk killed everyone... Including Nathan’s mother."
He sighed. His birthplace disappeared just like that. At least Eleanor’s death mitigated the bad news a little. After all, he would never forgive this snake woman. She got what she deserved, and he could finally wipe her out of his mind.
"Thank you for telling me. But don’t feel sad." His eyes firmed. "I’m done with our passive approach. It’s time to move out."
Alina’s hand reached for his arm but halted. How could she dissuade him when beasts flocked to their college daily? The neighboring Agnivana kingdom had fallen, and with it, Arun and Asha’s parents died.
Refugees flocked to Alkemia Al-Nur first, but it soon collapsed too, leaving the college isolated in the middle of a desert. Food became scarce, with their only supplier being the very beasts trying to devour them.
The worst part? Of the remaining three factions, they were by far the weakest. After all, they didn’t have the beast emperor’s flying fortresses or the dwarf’s mechanical colossus to fight for them.
She hugged him from behind, tears trailing down her cheeks. "Your brother would be proud of you."
’He’ll be when he returns.’ His eyes narrowed as he enjoyed the embrace for a moment.
Then, he pulled back and went to the war room.
Elena sat at the helm, her blue eyes scrutinising him the moment he entered. Beside her, the three arcanists, Gaston, Nathan, Mathias, and Alice, frowned over a complex magic circle displaying their surroundings in real time.
He saw a gathering of red dots, meaning another swarm would soon crash on them. But it didn’t matter anymore.
"We’re leaving," he declared as he sat across Elena.
"No, we’re not." She frowned at him. "Why would we give up our only bastion to wander?"
With the solidified space, the Gates became too unstable for human use. Her magic circle worked but required half an arcanist’s mana to teleport a single person. So how were they to leave with the tens of thousands of mages in their alliance without it?
"We’re leaving. My brother told me about an Admiral Reaper who promised him his Read the latest chapters on NovelHub - completely free! We also have Flintwaters and his sailing expertise." He observed everyone, wisps of green Qi wafting from his eyes. "Or will you forget who brought most of you around this table?"
Elena’s eyes narrowed into slits, grey mana crackling and draping her body, its power far overwhelming Julius’ Qi and pressuring the air. "I do remember. His name was Adam, not Julius. And guess what? He died."
However, the others glanced at each other before Nova rose to stand behind Julius. Gaston followed, his signature devious smile curving his lips before Shepard sighed and joined them.
Slowly, everyone rose to oppose Elena for a simple reason: Adam had formed interlocking bonds with each of them. If one moved, another would follow, creating a chain reaction.
Finally, Nathan rose and shook his head.
"We can either stay and slowly die without a doubt or try to find salvation elsewhere." His emerald eyes flashed as they met Elena’s. "I Read the latest chapters on NovelHub - completely free!"
Elena dismissed her mana, a heavy sigh escaping her lips.
The image of Adam’s confident smirk and bizarre ideas flashed in Julius’ mind as he imitated him.
"We need time and a stable environment to develop." He slammed the magic circle’s southern edges—where the antique humans had come from. "We leave the province and infiltrate their kingdoms."
Everyone’s eyes widened, a stunned silence hanging in the air before Gaston burst into laughter.
"We have most of the summoned, so when we return in a few years, we’ll have an army of dozens of thousands of archmages."
The others understood and offered hesitant nods. It could work, but the risks remained, not to mention they’d have to detour the beast emperor’s territory while fighting sea beasts.
Elena drummed on the table, a pensive frown creasing her brows before she gave the final nod.
"We depart tomorrow. Warn everyone, secure supply, and transfer our resources." Her blue eyes blazed. She, too, was tired of being cornered and hadn’t watched the situation worsen idling. "I’ll show why transmutation dominated the magic path thousands of years ago!"
Everyone scrambled in preparation, the ruined college bustling with roars and magic the entire day until the suns dipped and rose again.
An ocean of teenagers, their fiery eyes bursting with determination and heavy bags strapped on their backs, gathered before the tower.
Julius gazed at them, then at Elena’s slender silhouette as she raised her hand.
She slammed her palm down, magic symbols busting from her fingers toward the futuristic-looking tower.
They pulsed a blinding light, mana roaring in everyone’s ears. Metal groaned and clanged as the pipes bent and rearranged themselves.
Rooms exploded into rubble before the stones transformed into metal and rushed to reinforce the shifting structure.
From an upright building, it shortened and thickened horizontally as new pipes emerged to connect themselves with the college’s manacore heartgem.
Julius gasped, like everyone, at the massive hovering ship. The sun reflected on its dark, steely surface as mana burst from vents cleverly arranged underneath and on the sides.
Meanwhile, Elena pointed at the engravings pulsing along the hull and sleek wings and spoke.
"It has no offensive abilities but is swift and resilient in exchange. What are you waiting for? Hop on. We’re leaving this hellhole!"
A brief silence followed before the summoned raised their fists and roared.
"You finally developed this spell!" "Earth’s technology is the best, even in a magic world!" "Elena!"
They chanted the archmage’s name, their voices full of hope. Then, they cast spells to lung on the deck, eager to escape this place.
Julius followed, landing with Alina on the deck.
He gazed to the horizon, the wind brushing his hair and his heart drumming in his ears as the ship rumbled forward.
"I won’t let anyone you cared for die, Adam, so return soon."
AN: For those who caught it, 4.5 months is equivalent to 8 years in the cultivation realm. So, we’ll start the sect leader’s arc soon!