The soldiers couldn't afford to waste too much time chasing shadows, so a small contingent led by Yang Bai accompanied us back to the shelter while the rest proceeded toward Jing Tian Academy to begin escorting the other groups. Later they would reduce the number of groups and waves, having a hundred or so students and teachers moving in several convoys while the military protected them from monsters. It took less than an hour for the whole school to make the three-kilometer journey and safely evacuate to the shelter.

Within that hour, however, the vanguard team had more important things to worry about. Especially me.

"Who is Richard Huang?" a man in military uniform and the bars of a captain asked as he approached us. Yang Bai gestured toward me. As for me, I was too exhausted to respond, merely nodding and raising my hand.

"This boy here. What's the matter, sir?"

The captain turned to me. "Please follow me. The general wishes to see you."

Yang Bai, understanding the situation, nodded and backed off. He went to exchange a few words with Teacher Fielding before he left, presumably to resume his mission of searching for any other survivors in the vicinity.

I didn't get to hear the details of the conversation. Instead, I nodded obediently and dragged my feet to follow the captain. I was dead tired and wanted nothing more than to lie down, but circ.u.mstances demanded my attention.

We took the stairs and ascended to the very top of the dome-shaped shelter. The captain led me to the rooftop access and unlocked the door by placing his hand on a device. Once the biometric reader confirmed his ident.i.ty, the electronic lock beeped and slid open. The door swung wide, revealing the vast, open s.p.a.ce beyond.

Stepping into the rooftop, I found myself buffeted by fierce winds. Already drained from consecutive battles, first against a rank B monster, and then against highly trained, professional a.s.sa.s.sins, I staggered from the stinging gusts. Gritting my teeth, I fought to maintain a shred of dignity and made my way toward the row of soldiers standing near the edge, unwary despite the complete lack of railings on the roof.

I recognized the man in the center, with his close cropped gray hair, broad shoulders, muscles and powerful stature.

General Jiang Jun, the commander of the northern fortress. I had met him briefly after waking up in the medical center there, just in time to nuke the three-thousand strong monster army into oblivion.

He was accompanied by his command staff, all of whom were majors and colonels. I recognized the tall and lanky Colonel Tai, the middle-aged man looking over the scenery of the devastated city with a weary expression. All of the command staff were tense and uneasy as they watched Jing Tian City get torn apart by monsters, barely able to suppress their rage.

Only General Jiang seemed indifferent, uncaring even. However, I could sense a subtle buildup of power within him, a storm that was lying latent beneath that calm surface, waiting to be unleashed at any time. A chill ran through me as I watched his rigid figure.

The captain led me toward him, and saluted.

"General Jiang, I've brought Richard Huang."

General Jiang Jun didn't turn his head around, but he nodded curtly in acknowledgement. The captain then withdrew, leaving me alone.

"I'm glad you're safe and sound," General Jiang finally said, his hands intertwined behind his back. "We feared the worst when the Underground Holy Spring facility was overrun by monsters, and more so when we received reports of the Dark Church prowling through the premises shortly after all contact with the personnel there was lost."

"…Mr. Kuai Tou and a lot of good people died." I lowered my head and closed my eyes briefly. "The Dark Church will have to pay for their crimes."

"They will." For a moment, General Jiang's gaze turned murderous as he glared into the distance. I noted the tightening of his fingers as he gripped his hands more forcefully. "We will hunt them down to the ends of the earth if we have to. This atrocity will not stand." He took a deep breath. "I am a.s.suming that Kuai Tou really pa.s.sed the underground Holy Spring to you?"

"Yeah." I nodded, and retrieved the bottle from my uniform jacket. Colonel Tai stepped forward to receive it from me. No, I wasn't paranoid to the extent where I saw everyone as a potential spy for the Dark Church, so I just pa.s.sed it to him. I also worked with Colonel Tai in the past to write a report, so I trusted him somewhat.

Colonel Tai then pa.s.sed the bottle to General Jiang, who whirled around to stare at me in amazement.

"What?" I asked, registering his surprise with puzzlement. Did he expect me to lose the Holy Spring or something?

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"Uh, I expected you to drink the Holy Spring. You know, because you got thirsty from all the stress and terror, so you drank it to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Dark Church…"

"Are you mistaking me for someone?" I quizzed, annoyed. "I'm not some greedy, shameless protagonist of a web novel. I prefer to think of myself as a nice guy with a conscience."

"Ha ha ha, yeah. You definitely are a good kid. Please don't become like those greedy, shameless and ruthless protagonists of web novels who act all arrogantly, look down on others and bully antagonists hypocritically because they believe the stupid 'strong eat the weak' nonsense while stealing or keeping all sorts of treasures, relics and elixirs for themselves."

General Jiang reached out and ruffled my hair. He then turned to the captain who brought me here and tossed the bottle of Holy Spring to the stunned staff office.

"Captain Cook, you know where to store that, right? Keep it with all the military top-secret stuff. Guard it with your life. Even if the entirety of the Dark Church attacks you, drink the d.a.m.ned Holy Spring if you have to. Don't let it fall into their hands."

"Yes, sir!"

The captain saluted, and hurried off, his eyes wide in awe and fear. I didn't blame him. He just got handed one of the heaviest responsibilities ever.

General Jiang then turned back to me, and waved his hand.

"You should get some rest, kid. You look like you've been through h.e.l.l."

"What about you?" I asked, allowing curiosity to get the better of me. "Are you planning to retake the city?"

"With the forces under my command, I'm afraid we won't be able to save the city," General Jiang admitted. "But we'll be getting reinforcements from the northern garrisons. It'll probably take us a few months to purge the city of monsters, but even then…I'm not sure if anyone can live here again."

He sighed, but his eyes then blazed furiously.

"But we have a duty to the people. We will continue saving as many civilians as possible, and we will exterminate the monsters." He then turned toward the tallest skysc.r.a.per in Jing Tian City. "And we will begin with their leader. Once we eliminate the pack alpha, the rest of the monsters will fall into disarray, and it'll be easier for reinforcements to clean them up afterward."

"You mean…"

General Jiang was no longer paying any attention to me. He was affixing his eyes upon the Silver Wing Wolf King that had chosen to perch atop the skysc.r.a.per, its jaws wide open as it howled at the heavens.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!" General Jiang shouted. Immediately, the other nine soldiers of his command staff snapped into attention. The wind seemed to almost stop, time hanging suspended as the strongest warriors of the northern fortress braced themselves for the conflict. I watched them, mesmerized by the sheer power emanating from them.

They reminded me of Dad.

"We shall now commence the operation to slay the Silver Wing Wolf King!" General Jiang commanded, his tone murderous. I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine at the sheer amount of killing intent that radiated off his st.u.r.dy stature.

"Yes, sir!"

General Jiang then shrugged off his military coat and allowed it to fall to the floor. He then stepped over the edge and allowed himself to plummet to the ground below.

"What the f.u.c.k?!"

My jaw dropped, but before I could make sense of General Jiang's seeming suicidal move, I saw ma.s.sive white wings spread out, pristine feathers fluttering downward almost elegantly.

Flapping his wings, General Jiang then surged forward, unhesitant and determined. Like a speeding bullet…he soared toward the Silver Wing Wolf King like an Angel of Death, sent by the Emperor of Man to deliver his decree of death upon the filthy monsters who dared plagued the territory of humankind.

The other nine soldiers also leaped off the rooftop, but unlike General Jiang, they didn't conjure beautiful yet deadly wings. Instead, tornado currents whipped about them as a wind mage among the command staff created a pocket of air to grant all of his comrades the ability of flight.

The men of the northern fortress garrison streaked across the skies, vibrant mana building up and acc.u.mulating around them as they began casting destructive spells capable of hurting a rank A monster. I wondered if I should summon Draco and helped them, but decided against it.

The soldiers of the Global Federation could handle this just fine without my help. I should worry about myself. I had used up so much mana and I was dead on my feet. I was far too exhausted to be of any use in the fight. If General Jiang didn't ask me for help even though he should be aware of my abilities, then he must be confident that he and his men would be able to destroy the Silver Wing Wolf King.

I couldn't help but do a mock salute as I watched the brave men that made up the general's command staff plunged into battle, before heading downstairs to grab some sleep.