Chapter 46: Huo Xiaoling (2/2)

Mira moved her eyes past Sigmund to look at the screen showing Qingyu; the battle technique he’d just used seemed very familiar for some reason.

……

News of Huo Xiaoling’s capture quickly spread across the network, and many of the students rushing towards Europe stopped and gathered together instead. Within Beijing, Eddy was stunned, “Even Xiaoling was caught; how are we supposed to complete this mission?”

“Huo Xiaoling? Is she very powerful?”

“She should have the highest combat level of all the students in the second batch; she’s a Melder.” Watching Lu Yin’s gaze changing at the mention of the word, Eddy continued, “Not just any melder either. She has the innate gift of Flame, and her father Huo Qingshan is the captain of the Fifth Imperial Squadron. He’s an Explorer whose battle level will shatter the average gadget; with his guidance, there was no way for her to not be one of the most powerful elites in the Empire. I can’t believe even she lost.”

Only the trainees like Eddy and Jeraldine were stunned by the news of Huo Xiaoling’s capture. Although Lu Yin was surprised, it was something too distant for him and he retained focus on the few students who were approaching. It didn’t take too long for another trio to appear outside the city; although they weren’t from Yu Academy, they were still elites with powerful backgrounds that matched or even exceeded Eddy. Still, they couldn’t escape from him in the end and were captured, adding to his growing group of hostages that now tallied to 28.

Once the battle ended, Lu Yin stopped Zhang Dingtian from attacking a pair who had been hiding at the sidelines and called out, “Why are you here? I’ll give you the armor back once the trial is over.”

Gerlaine stepped out and showed a hesitant smile, “I want to join you.”

“Join us? What does that mean?” Lu Yin was confused.

“I want to join you, that’s what it means,” she said, staring down her nose like they should be honored by the offer.

Lu Yin considered it and asked, “Why should we take you in?”

Gerlaine was outraged, “What do you mean by take us in?! We said that we want to work with you!”

“Why would I accept you?”

Gerlane gritted her teeth, “Qingyu is a Melder and one or two students won’t be able to handle him. He left his belongings in this city so he’ll definitely come back; we can join forces to defeat him.”

Lu Yin thought it over and realized she wasn’t wrong; Qingyu was a truly difficult opponent and there were bound to be massive problems when he returned to the capital. Having more bodies around would never hurt, “Fine, come in. But I’ll warn you, try to pull one over on me and I’ll tie you up.”

Gerlaine huffed and entered the city with Balaror. She was actually being honest; Qingyu was too powerful and could only be defeated through a group effort; this was the only way for her to try to complete the mission. Many students had formed an alliance in northern Europe, so she clearly knew she couldn’t work alone anymore. Instead of working with other students participating in the trial and sharing the credit, it would be better for her final results to work with a native.

Outside the capital’s border, Xia Luo was walking amidst a crowd of zombies that were completely docile, as though they didn’t even notice his existence. For three days he’d been observing them with the same expression, but now he released a sigh, “Their auras are truly everywhere. This is going to be troublesome.”