97 Departure (1/2)

A roar split the heavens as Xue Wei let out his grief. It was heart-rending and filled with sorrow.

Xue Wei did not have many friends, and Tie Haolong was someone he considered an equal. Tie Haolong had tried to save him. He had been someone who had managed to tear down the walls of Xue Wei's heart despite the short time they had known each other.

Xue Wei felt a gaping pain in his chest; he had never before experienced a loss of such magnitude, and although he had lost his parents at an early age, he had no recollections of it, which did not hurt as much as this did. Ignorance was bliss, after all.

Xue Wei cried. He was filled with agony, and the Lightning Sparrow was also crying by his side. Although the Lightning Sparrow did not know Tie Haolong, it could feel the grief in Xue Wei and reacted to this.

While the two, sparrow and young man, were lost in their sorrow of losing Tie Haolong, the capital was in an uproar.

The flying Primordial Beast Hunters tried to track down Xue Wei, but they could not do so. It was impossible to find them, no matter how much they searched.

All of them were aware that the Lightning Sparrow was incredibly fast. If it flew for a few days, it would be impossible for them to catch up. Due to this, they were searching half-heartedly.

The city itself was turned upside down by the brawl between the Outer City's and the Inner City's citizens.

The palace guards were sent out to subdue the unruly bunch, and more than a thousand experts were sent to the prisons to cool down. Although the royalty was unhappy with the reaction these people had had, they dared not risk a revolution, and thus everyone was released again shortly after daybreak the following day.

Originally, the nobles had been split into two factions, one that had protected Xue Wei and defended his case, and another that was against him, claiming him to be a Primordial Beast or a beast accomplice.

Now that Xue Wei had appeared on the back of a Fierce Beast, the group who had previously protected him was quite hesitant. The ones who had been against him were now voicing their concerns even louder than before, and even the capital that previously had revolted started to waver.

Was this child truly a Primordial Beast? How was it possible for him to command a Fierce Beast if he was not? It was clear that he was not a Diviner, so how had he gotten his hands on this famous Lightning Sparrow that every beast hunter knew was the property of someone else?

Everyone was worried and started to second-guess themselves and their actions. Had all of them been blinded by their respect for Xiao Lei and had the prosecutor been right all along?

Soon, as the facts started to dawn on everyone, the kingdom was once again united. All of them were of the impression that Xue Wei had been a traitor planted by the Primordial Beasts that had abused Xiao Lei and his kindness.

After a few days, the ones who had initiated the riot were now the ones who were proclaiming their hate for Xue Wei.

The rumors about someone planning to execute Xue Wei for the sake of besmirching Xiao Lei's public image was quickly left alone. No one spoke about it any longer, and everyone involved, although still reverent of Xiao Lei, could not help but sigh at how he had been tricked by the Primordial Beasts.

After a few days, a company of a hundred experts was gathered in the palace. They were commanded by Captain Yuan Chao.

”Your task will be simple. All of you will chase down the traitor that goes under the name Xue Wei. He is to be killed on sight. He is to be executed with no questions asked.”

”Your mission might take years. It might take you out of the familiar settings of the Heping Kingdom, but never forget, you are hunting him because he is a Primordial Beast or an associate of the Primordial Beasts. He is our enemy, and he has caused serious damage to our kingdom. We need him dead!”

”Do not return before he has died.”

These were Yuan Chao's orders, and his company of hundred men all nodded their heads in unison and called out, ”Understood!”

All of these men were experts that had long since reached the Earth or Sky Warrior rank. All of them had long since finished their ten years in the army, but they had decided to stay there to make a career for themselves.

This company was one of the strongest companies that the Kingdom of Heping had available. Only a few were stronger, as this company consisted mainly of Sky Warriors.

The day following that, the group left the capital and set out towards the direction that they had seen the Lightning Sparrow fly with Xue Wei and Tie Haolong.

Meanwhile, Xue Wei burned Tie Haolong. He gathered his ashes and was at a loss for what he should do with them.

Should he scatter them on the mountain top? Should he scatter them over the capital? What was the right decision? He simply did not know, but after considering it for some time, he buried his ashes at the location where he had called him his brother.