Late at night, the lights in Imperial City began to go out one by one.

Unlike other nights, even the usually brightly lit Inner City Palace fell silent.

Silence and indifference filled every inch of this place, but everyone knew that moments of tranquility would always be followed by a furious storm...

Around three in the morning, a group of people dressed in black cloaks and black military hats emerged from the dormitory and staff buildings.

They slowed their pace and quietly walked out of the campus, gathering in front of the inner city gate.

Among them was Lanjie, Yukari, and myself.

"Hey, is everyone here?!"

"Reporting, all thirty-six squads are ready for orders, sir!"

"Very well, is the equipment for each squad fully prepared?"

"Everything has been taken care of."

Teacher Juxi and another man with a hedgehog head stood at the forefront of the team, and that man...

Wait, I think I've seen him before. Where was it again...

"It's him!"

The purple-haired girl who appeared abruptly next to the man reminded me of the person who sat behind us and greeted Yukari with familiarity during the opening ceremony!

Looking back at the expressionless Yukari, she seemed to have no sense of nervousness, which made me tremble in fear.

I couldn't help but wonder who she really was.

Surrounded by so many terrifying characters, could she be the king's daughter?!

I had to suspect her identity because in a previous conversation with Ancestor, he accidentally mentioned that...the king actually had a daughter under the age of twenty.

In that case, could Yukari be the princess of the Kingdom of Kolma?!

With a hint of uneasiness, I returned to the team.

The atmosphere was unusually serious at night, and in order to ensure that no one would impersonate the expedition army, everyone's attire was uniform.

"Do you know? Our Northern Frontier has been attacked by the orcs, and there is internal turmoil among the nobles. Many top teachers from Durma Academy, including Teacher Larna, have died in the battles defending the Northern Frontier against the beasts."

"What...is this true?"

"No way, didn't the Northern Frontier have the SS-class teacher Larna leading them? How could this...!"

The moment Teacher Juxi announced the information, the quiet situation became noisy, even surprising me.

In the battle on the first day of school, although Teacher Larna lost to Teacher Juxi, that move that shattered the sky and the giant ape created quite a commotion in the academy.

Many students were amazed by the spectacle they witnessed that day!

And now, such a person has actually died...

The enemies we have to face are those kinds of freaks!

Just thinking about it, my hands started to shake uncontrollably.

Unfortunately, Yukari and Lanjie noticed my embarrassing state. They exchanged a glance, nodded in understanding, and then reached out from behind me.

At that moment, the freezing cold of my hands was extinguished by the warmth on both sides.

"Are you feeling better?"

Lanjie tightly covered my right hand with both of hers.

While Yukari held my left hand in her palm.

"What are you two doing...?"

Faced with two different levels of softness, I couldn't help but feel a little moved.

As I looked into their warm eyes, a warm feeling touched my heart and calmed my restless mind.

"Well, thank you... Lanjie, and Yukari."

While our atmosphere was exceptionally good, the scene on Juxi's side was almost out of control. Helplessly, he raised his hand to signal a pause, asking everyone to quiet down.

"Everyone, calm down. We are not responsible for the front lines, but for hunting! Hunting the most powerful enemies, the ferocious beasts of the Beast Clan!"

"What? Are you... kidding?"

"Yes, isn't it too hasty to send us to deal with the SS-level Beast Clan without any preparation?"

The girl leaning against me immediately exclaimed, and others voiced their objections one after another.

Some even took the lead in blaming Juxi for his reckless behavior.

Actually, hearing such unreliable words, most people present would feel a little scared.

After hearing these words, several people immediately had the idea of giving up, but they were all stopped by the man next to Juxi.

Now, everyone started to panic.

Many people were anxious and some even had the courage to start writing their last words on the spot!

"Uh, everyone, don't panic, let me finish speaking... and!"

Juxi suddenly appeared behind the man who blocked our way, patting his shoulder and trying to calm everyone down.

"Yuanhui, let them go."

"But our fighting power is seriously insufficient, and the front lines..."

"I know all of that, but didn't we agree on this earlier? The people who are going on this expedition volunteered. If anyone wants to leave, they can take off their military uniform now and go back to sleep. I won't force them to stay with us."

"..."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and the students who had originally planned to tidy up their military uniforms stopped their movements.

They stared at Juxi seriously, looking somewhat confused.

"Didn't you hear clearly? This operation was entirely our own initiative and has nothing to do with the Empire. Anyone who wants to go back... including the teacher, can leave now!"

Juxi's attitude was not forceful at all. Instead, he spoke as calmly as possible.

"But on the contrary, those who stay, I want to remind you! This battle may be our first, but it will also be our last..."

The last battle...?

These words sent chills down the spines of many people. Does that mean everyone present will die in this battle?

I couldn't help but worry in my heart.

"You may have misunderstood what I mean by 'the last battle'," he explained, looking at everyone's worried faces.

"What I mean is, as long as we win, we can get rid of those bastards who desire war, and then the world will usher in peace... I know, although we will also lose the meaning of fighting, it is... the goal we have been pursuing, isn't it?!"

Juxi's voice resonated with everyone present.

From his tone, I could hear the significance of this battle, so I determinedly stayed in place without moving.

The battle has never ceased, but there hasn't been a moment when we didn't want it to come to a permanent halt!"

After hearing these words, a few students who had initially taken off their military caps hesitated for a moment before putting them back on and speaking up.

"I'll stay!"

"Me too!"

Just as the man gathered his courage to speak up, the miss who had just been sobbing and screaming along immediately echoed.

Afterwards, the group of people all decided to stay in the expedition army, declaring their intentions.

"It's all the same whether we stay or leave. We might as well struggle and fight. Maybe there's still some hope!" (female)

"Hmph, us sorcerers who can promote to S-rank have experienced life and death countless times. This time won't make a difference!" (male)

Just as emotions reached their peak, a seemingly ordinary-looking boy with the left half of his face burned off walked up and introduced himself to Teacher Juxi.

"Teacher, I used to live in the poor district of Sairbah in the southwest area of the Imperial City. I was a waiter at a restaurant there, running errands. If it weren't for the principal saving me and making me a sorcerer, I might have been taken away with my mom and the others."

"..."

"Unfair... it's so unfair. What I wanted to say, Teacher, is that if what you said is true, I also want to fight alongside you!"

Tears flowed from the boy's burned eyes, carrying a hint of bitterness.

Yet, even so, the boy didn't want to raise his hand to wipe them away.

"These tears remind me every day to learn how to be strong, because they hurt so much! So I won't shed tears..."

From his words, we could all hear it.

Although his purpose for saying that wasn't to gain sympathy from others, who among us wasn't, after all?

It's exactly because of that, that we are able to gain trust in one another.

"So what?"

"I just want to tell you, the humans here... are not weak!"

"Hehehe, of course!"

As Teacher Juxi spoke, he reached out to pat the boy's hair, but the boy made a defiant move, shaking off Teacher Juxi's arm.

"I'm not a child...!"

"Here, you are a child!"

Suddenly, Juxi's face darkened and in a warning tone, he said to the boy.

"I'm just teaching you to learn how to accept love from family!"

"I no longer have family, so what's the point of learning?"

Smack!

Juxi's face suddenly became gloomy, and beneath the stunned gazes of the onlookers, he heavily slapped himself!

He used his aura to deliver this slap, but due to the effect of God's Hand, the wound didn't heal instantly, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

The boy was shocked to see this scene. He never expected that Teacher would slap himself in the face!

"Teacher, what are you doing?!"

"How about it? If you didn't have family, why would you care?!"

"I..."

The boy gradually found it difficult to lift his head, and even I felt quite self-blame.

Meeting him made me realize that there were people who viewed life as worthless even before us!

Even if we live for a very long time, approaching infinity, if we don't have ambitions, it's no different than having just had a dream.

"Cough cough! What's your name?"

"Ripples... Xixin."

"Oh, so your name is Xixin?"

"Yes, it's Xixin, not Xixixin!"

Upon hearing Xixin's name, he burst into laughter.

"Hehehe, but you just said your name was Lianyi Xixixin, didn't you?"

Suddenly, he felt that this shy boy was indeed quite adorable, so he couldn't help but tease him.

Not only Teacher Juxi, but everyone present was amused by his shy self-introduction.

Xixin at this moment appeared somewhat embarrassed.

But Teacher Juxi smiled and reached out his right hand towards him, saying,

"See? Since a while ago, we've already become a family!"