Chapter 86: The Crisis Ends

When Senior Cuique hurried anxiously to the location last marked by the positioning spell, the personnel at the scene had already been evacuated.

Having lost their leader, the remaining robed figures were hardly a match for the few magicians. Realizing the tide had turned against them, they scattered like birds and beasts; except for a few reckless fools, no one chose to resist, either fleeing or surrendering.

Apart from the leader they called "Soldier Touch Three," that is, the robed man, the remaining members among them were merely magicians. Everyone knew that magicians could not possibly contend with magicians.

Most of the elderly and young in the Fuli Academy were rescued, but a few caregivers and security personnel sacrificed their lives during the resistance, leaving the atmosphere at the scene rather somber.

Senior Cuique descended from the sky to the entrance of the Fuli Academy, focusing her attention on mana perception, and quickly discovered the remnants of the previous battle.

Indeed, it was not difficult to find, for broken walls and ruins lay everywhere; the cracked road was barely recognizable in its original form, and the surroundings were all marked by the aftermath of mana bombardment.

Then, she saw the Three magicians gathered together.

More precisely, Xia Liang had released her transformation and lay on the ground, while another green-haired magician she had never seen before covered her with her mana, and Lin Xiaolu sat slumped nearby, watching.

This sight made her heart skip a beat; she then descended rapidly, running in small steps to the girls' side.

"I arrived late; what happened?" She hurriedly looked at Xia Liang lying on the ground, but saw only Xia Liang enveloped in green mana light, her eyes tightly closed, her face serene.

"Ah, Senior Cuique, you're here. Have you already defeated the enemies on your end?"

Lin Xiaolu, slumped on the ground, saw her approach and first brightened with surprise. But immediately after, she lowered her head in some disappointment: "I'm sorry. Because I made a mistake midway, Xia Liang protected me..."

She could not continue speaking.

Because Xia Liang's injury indeed stemmed from her own carelessness; had she not subsequently used that sourceless white mana, the few magicians present would likely have been wiped out due to that mistake.

Although she had mentally prepared herself, she still did not want to see Senior Cuique's disappointed gaze directed at her.

"How could this be..."

On the other side, upon hearing Lin Xiaolu's words, Senior Cuique widened her eyes, finding it hard to accept.

She had not expected that even after learning the news and resolving the enemies as quickly as possible, then rushing to the scene in utmost haste, such an accident still occurred.

Xia Liang had actually sacrificed herself just like that.

Not knowing what exactly she should do, she could only kneel gently on the ground, sorrowfully holding up Xia Liang's hand, gazing down at Xia Liang's calm face, speechless for a moment.

She recalled the girl's usual bright smile, and remembered the background story Xia Liang had told her, recalling how Xia Liang had once spoken to her of her longing for love.

And now she had died here; everything she had once looked forward to was no longer related to her.

She had once accepted her as a magician because she valued her talent, confidently believing she could protect this gifted seedling, yet merely this one crisis resulted in such an accident.

"I'm sorry. If only I had noticed something was wrong earlier, if only I had arrived sooner..." She closed her eyes, her voice heavy with pain.

— "Um... Junior Senior? What are you saying?"

However, before she could finish her sentence, a familiar voice interrupted her words, coming from the ground.

Senior Cuique opened her eyes in some bewilderment, seeing Xia Liang looking at her with a confused expression, a somewhat awkward smile on her face: "Although I'm sorry to interrupt you, I must clarify that I am not dead yet, you know?"

Thus, Senior Cuique froze.

She stared blankly at Xia Liang for a few seconds; then turned her head to look at Lin Xiaolu, who wore an equally awkward expression; finally, she looked toward the newcomer, who, due to the suddenness of events, still did not understand the situation.

"... If only I had arrived sooner, there would not have been so many innocent people sacrificing themselves."

She recited the sentence like a student memorizing a lesson, emotionless and dry.

Having finished speaking, she stiffened her face, intending to stand up: "I will go check that area of the Fuli Academy, tally the victims and remaining injuries, and notify the Bureau of Extraordinary Strategies."

"We already notified the Bureau of Extraordinary Strategies."

Who would have thought that even this path was blocked; Xia Liang said in the calmest and most flippant tone: "The battle here is already over; the first thing we did was notify the Bureau of Extraordinary Strategies. Your phone, Junior Senior, was unreachable; we were even preparing to look for you later."

"Rather, I should say..."

She squinted somewhat teasingly, curling the corners of her mouth: "Junior Senior, did you just think I was dead? Were you very sad? Were you grieving for me?"

This remark instantly made the scene erupt into chaos.

"Eh? Senior Cuique, did you think Xia Liang was dead?"

Lin Xiaolu, standing nearby, finally understood what that strange conversation was about and exclaimed. Immediately, she saw Senior Cuique staring at her expressionlessly; realizing she had said the wrong thing again, she hurriedly waved her hands, explaining:

"No, I never said that! I just meant she was injured protecting me; I am already reflecting on it!"

She was completely unaware that her words, shifting the blame so cleanly, had completely removed the last step of the ladder beneath Senior Cuique's feet.

Bai Jingxuan, standing nearby, hearing her words, finally caught on. Looking at Senior Cuique, who had just arrived at the scene with slightly disheveled hair and covered in dust, her expression became somewhat subtle.

She very much wanted to laugh, but the few people before her were all her seniors; she should not be so rude.

Yet in her eyes, this child, who seemed even younger than herself, who had misunderstood the situation immediately upon arriving, and had almost held a funeral for her teammate whom she was still treating right there on the spot, appeared somewhat cute.

Though her appearance seemed somewhat cold, as if difficult to get along with, she was not like that when she spoke.

She thought thus in her heart.

"... It's good that you are safe."

On the other side, knowing her joke could no longer be washed away, Senior Cuique could only nod somewhat helplessly, responding dryly.

Then she could not help but glance at Lin Xiaolu again.

"Isn't that not the right thing to say here?"

Xia Liang, lying on the ground, shook her head, looking at Senior Cuique with clear eyes: "Junior Senior, didn't you notice? In this battle, Xiaolu was a great hero."

This remark woke Senior Cuique up.

Only then did she realize that the battle had actually ended before she arrived.

Xia Liang was obviously incapacitated due to severe injuries; the green-haired newcomer nearby also seemed to be in poor condition; only Lin Xiaolu, aside from looking somewhat tired, had not a single wound.

Undoubtedly, what Xia Liang said was correct; in this battle, the three of them, the newcomers, defeated the enemies Senior Cuique believed were impossible to conquer; and the key role in this was played by her Daughter.

Looking at the chaotic terrain around her, guessing what kind of fierce battle had taken place here, she then turned her head to look at Lin Xiaolu.

Lin Xiaolu, standing nearby, hearing Xia Liang mention her name, and seeing Senior Cuique look at her, finally realized that she had even forgotten to claim credit due to fear of being blamed.

She originally wanted to open her mouth and say more, but after recalling the contents of her thoughts during the battle, her ears suddenly grew hot.

Finally, under Senior Cuique's gaze, she nodded somewhat reservedly: "Yes, we won, that enemy."

After hearing her Daughter's affirmation, Senior Cuique's gaze became somewhat soft.

She had been excessively protective of the several newcomers, so she truly hadn't expected that, after leaving her side, they could really defeat such enemies.

Perhaps on this matter, her own thoughts were indeed too conservative. But having her conservative thoughts negated in this form, she felt only relief.

The earlier slight awkwardness seemed to become no longer so important; recalling the heavily injured beast she had casually dealt with on the way here, and looking at the three girls present, she said with some clarity:

"Very good, you have done brilliantly; I am proud of you!"

(End of this chapter)