After breakfast, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
A figure, also clad in Cloud Knights armor, entered from outside and bowed to Qi Zhimu.
"Your subordinate, Sleeping Snow, greets Lord Zhimu."
"There is no need for such formalities in private."
Qi Zhimu waved his hand dismissively, observing Sleeping Snow for a moment while sighing inwardly.
After the battle of Azure City, she had changed a great deal.
"How is Clear Cold's current condition?"
"The Alchemy Commission said... she likely won't be able to return to the front lines of the battlefield..."
Qi Zhimu fell silent.
During the search and evacuation of Azure City's survivors, Clear Cold had her legs devoured by Rahu's flesh while saving two trapped children, forcing her to choose amputation to survive.
Its flesh possessed a toxin-like quality that could rapidly erode, dissolve, and assimilate the bodies of the Long-lived Species.
In short, her life was saved, but the sequelae remained.
"My younger sister's newly regrown legs are far less flexible than before; occasionally, her movements lag by half a beat... It's difficult for her to sustain combat on a rapidly changing battlefield."
"The Master Alchemist said that persistent rehabilitation might offer a possibility of recovery, but it's best not to hold onto too much hope."
When speaking of her only kin, Sleeping Snow's mood inevitably grew somber.
Qi Zhimu remained silent for a moment before saying, "If I return from this expedition, I will examine Clear Cold myself."
"You understand medicine, Lord?"
"Yes."
"Then Sleeping Snow thanks Lord Zhimu in advance!"
"We are all people of Azure City, no more words are needed... I leave her to you."
Qi Zhimu gestured toward the somewhat stiff Jingliu, then picked up his helmet from the table and put it on.
"Please rest assured, Lord." Sleeping Snow responded solemnly, then turned her gaze to Jingliu. "Miss Jingliu, let us go. I will take you to the Cloud Knights training camp."
"Master, I wish you a triumphant return!" Qi Zhimu's figure was reflected in Jingliu's crimson eyes.
Qi Zhimu nodded slightly but did not voice any promises.
The three boarded different starships and departed in separate directions.
Sitting inside the cabin, Jingliu stared fixedly through the porthole at the starship Qi Zhimu was on until it became a black dot and finally vanished, yet she still did not look away.
The scenes deeply etched into her memory surged up once again.
The Evil Star dyed the sky crimson; flesh devoured the earth and countless lives, bringing wails and shrill cries.
But she did not fear that Evil Star so much now; rather, she feared loss... Currently, she had nothing left but her Master... Her Master was not gentle; he was harsh to the point of being cold-blooded during training.
But she understood that it was all to make her survive and become stronger.
Whatever her Master promised, he would absolutely do.
But just now, her Master had made no promise.
He hadn't even said, 'I will definitely return'... That was right; the word 'definitely' was too heavy, perhaps even a General could not say it easily.
She was asking for too much.
Sleeping Snow switched to the military flight path, and only after the autopilot took over the controls did she notice Jingliu's low spirits.
"Too few, far too few people of Azure City survived... Everyone has lost their home."
"Whether it is Lord Zhimu or us Cloud Knights, our hearts hold a fire of hatred that is hard to extinguish."
"Tempered by this flame, we will never allow ourselves to die easily before we have hunted every last Abomination."
"Have faith in Lord Zhimu, and have faith in your Master, Miss Jingliu."
Jingliu was silent for a while before finally asking in a low voice the question she had been afraid to touch:
"Senior Sleeping Snow, Azure City... how many people survived in the end?"
"..."
Sleeping Snow did not answer for a long time.
The starship passed through the clouds, and the whistling of the wind also passed through the porthole.
After a long while, she spoke.
"Less than twenty million. Among them, nearly forty percent have shown mara symptoms, and the numbers are still rising without slowing down; every day, a large number of people fall into the Mara-Struck state."
"The youngest person is even only 426 years old..."
One must know that even for retired Cloud Knights whose Mara-Struck rate was faster, the risk only gradually increased after five hundred years.
But that 426-year-old survivor was just an ordinary person.
"What about the Cloud Knights?" Jingliu continued to ask.
"Fewer than a million Azure City Cloud Knights survived, and so far, 430,000 have completely become Mara-Struck... and the Cloud Knight Vanguards..."
At this point, Sleeping Snow couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"Only ten Vanguards survived. Of those still in service, only your Master, Lord Qi Zhimu, and Lord Mo Tingquan remain; the rest have all succumbed to mara."
The fall of Azure City was not only an unprecedented blow to everyone, but perhaps also one that would never be repeated.
Too many people could not walk out of the terror of that day; the severe mental trauma was the most direct factor inducing the early arrival of mara.
Among the surviving Vanguards, Mo Tingquan, who was under 400 years old, showed no signs of mara.
As for Qi Zhimu... after a period of observation, it was confirmed that he currently has no risk of falling into the Mara-Struck state.
At his age, he could have retired and chosen to go to another Xianzhou ship to spend the rest of his life in peace.
But everyone knew that this was absolutely impossible.
Of the Cloud Knights who survived that catastrophe, many never entertained the thought of retreating until their final end.
The fire of hatred for the Abominations of Abundance could only be extinguished by constantly watering it with their blood, until they died in battle or the Abominations were wiped out.
Hearing this, a shadow fell over Jingliu's crimson eyes.
She was young, but she also understood how cruel these numbers were.
"What exactly must be done to completely kill Abundance...?" She seemed to be asking Sleeping Snow, but also herself.
"I do not know..." Sleeping Snow replied with a bitter smile.
Completely kill Abundance?
The Reignbow Arbiter has pursued The Hunt for a thousand years, never ceasing The Hunt for the Aeon of Abundance, yet those life-snatching Abominations still sprout and spread throughout the universe.
No one could answer that question.
"The arrows of The Hunt did their utmost, but they only managed to strike down that crimson star, to strike down Shuhu..."
"Investigation results show that the crimson star was the ancient dead star Rahu, which was animated by Shuhu using the power of Abundance."
"No one can be certain if Shuhu truly died like that..."
"If that undying Abomination returns centuries later, heaven knows if it will bring an even more terrifying animated star."
"Before that day comes, the only thing we can do..."
"—Is to embark on the expedition and hunt the Abominations of Abundance without end, right?" Jingliu suddenly interrupted her.
"Right." Sleeping Snow nodded.
The starship glided through the high sky, passed through the Delve gate, and arrived at a Delve where non-military starships were prohibited.
The Cloud Knights training camp had arrived.
A faint aura of bloodlust permeated the air, brought by the retired Cloud Knights who had once fought bloodily on the battlefield, experienced life and death countless times, and slain numerous Abominations.
They stayed in the military camp to train the youth, constantly replenishing the Cloud Knights with fresh blood.
Feeling this atmosphere, Jingliu looked at the sky through the starship; everything in her sight turned crimson, becoming a familiar nightmare.
Facing the nightmare, she made a vow.
—If one day that star returns, she will definitely strike it down.
Her parents had already been devoured by Rahu; she could not watch her Master meet the same end... Never!