Chapter 8: Departure (Part 1)

Guo Shier knew he couldn’t refuse Ban Xilong’s orders here. He said, “No, is it possible to take my people with me?” Ban Xilong was curious and asked, “Your people?”
Guo Shier replied, “Well, I need to take Uncle Eagle Demon with me, as well as Captain Yu Lan… Oh, and I have another companion who was assigned elsewhere. Could you help me find them?” He took the opportunity to make his request. If he didn’t ask now, he might never get another chance.
Ban Xilong smiled. He held great power, and Guo Shier’s requests were trivial—nothing difficult for him. He said, “Alright, go take care of your matters, then follow me.”
Guo Shier agreed and left with Eagle Demon.
After the two walked away, Bu Xilong and Yao Lixilong exclaimed, “Congratulations, my lord! Congratulations!” They both understood that in the Gu Xilong family, strength was paramount. Guo Shier clearly had astonishing potential. With proper training, he could easily reach the level of Void Mirror, or even higher, thereby strengthening Ban Xilong’s faction. Every family had its own methods for dealing with those above the Void Mirror level. Of course, no family would be foolish enough to use soul control—such actions could backfire severely.
In the Ancient Spellcraft Family, there were many great masters, but few had the potential to advance to the Void Mirror level, and even fewer could progress further. Each such talented disciple was extremely valuable.
Ban Xilong smiled in satisfaction and said, “Good. You two do well, and I’ll propose that you return to your own families.”
Bu Xilong and Yao Lixilong were overjoyed. Staying in this hellish place was like committing slow suicide—there was nothing here, and they faced great risks. They had long wanted to leave, but no one had interceded for them. Their camp was a support camp, so they couldn’t achieve anything to draw attention from higher-ups. Unexpectedly, Guo Shier had inadvertently helped them greatly.
Ban Xilong said, “Alright, leave a few squadrons here to handle logistics for us. The rest can return to the camp. They’ll only cause trouble here and are of no use.”
Bu Xilong agreed and immediately summoned the team leaders to give orders. Soon, loud cheers were heard. Those professionals wanted to leave as soon as possible. With more and more mutants in the canyon, their situation would become dire if a fight broke out. Upon hearing the order to retreat, everyone cheered excitedly.

This place is not suitable for flying vehicles, but in an emergency, they can still be forced to come here. There are many flying vehicles parked outside the canyon entrance, enough to evacuate three to four thousand people at a time. Guo Shier and Yingmo also retreated; they needed to go back to handle some matters before returning to Sui Gu Xiya.

Boarding a flying vehicle, Yingmo asked in a low voice, “Shier, how did you get Yu Lan to come with us?”

Guo Shier replied with a half-smile, “You don’t want her to follow? Alright, when I get back, I’ll just mention it to Lord Ban!”

Yingmo hurriedly said, “Ah? Ah! Don’t say that!”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh loudly and said, “See… I was right, wasn’t I?”

Yingmo scratched his head and said, “Hmm, that’s good too. An extra person can help us cook and such.” After a while, he said worriedly, “Shier, following Lord Ban… our chances of escaping get a little smaller.”

Guo Shier shook his head and said, “Not necessarily. We’ll see at that time. Maybe there will even be more opportunities.”

Yingmo thought for a moment and agreed with this view. At least they wouldn’t be trapped in one place anymore. With Ban Xilong’s status and identity, he would surely travel to many places, providing many more opportunities to record coordinates of various locations. Even if they had to escape, they would have places to go.

Back at the camp of the Tenth Squad, Guo Shier put away his Talisman House, which was quite rare and convenient to carry in the wild.

Then he gathered the team and distributed all the remaining points he had. He said, “Brothers, I’m about to leave here. Take care of yourselves.”

The team members were shocked. Although Guo Shier had been there for a short time, he had already established great prestige. Especially because he was fair and just, didn’t covet points, was kind-hearted, and always fought at the forefront. Hearing that he was leaving, every member was surprised and reluctant. Who knew what kind of new squad leader would come?

Kuang Niu shouted, “Captain Guo, can we go with you?”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “No, I’m sorry!” He couldn’t take so many people with him. During this time, he had formed deep bonds with the professionals in the Tenth Squad. Here, he felt as if he had returned to the military camp from his past life, experiencing a sense of familiarity and comfort.

Yingmo said indifferently, “Let’s go.”

Guo Shier said, “Wait a moment.” He called over Kuang Niu and Ning Xin and gave them some instructions, including about the children from the previous camp coming to learn, and asked them to take care of Xiao Gou, that extremely proud girl who had left a good impression on him. Only then did he bid a solemn farewell to everyone.

Actually, Guo Shier rarely went out while in this camp, spending most of his time practicing and training the team. As an old man who had lived three lifetimes, he was already accustomed to a wandering life. Especially after mastering spells and becoming a professional, it was hard to keep him in one place for long.

Eagle Demon found Yu Lan, and the two whispered to each other for a long time. Guo Shier waited patiently. Soon, Eagle Demon returned looking dejected. Guo Shier asked, “Yu Lan refuses to go?”
Eagle Demon sighed deeply and said, “Perhaps I won’t have that fortune in this life. Let’s go!” He didn’t want to talk more. Professionals in this world were very carefree, especially those who had reached the rank of advanced professionals—few of them were tied down by family.
Guo Shier shrugged helplessly and said, “Alright, let’s go.” The two went to the training ground and boarded the flying vehicle. As Guo Shier looked back, he saw the professionals of the Tenth Squad lined up neatly, Wild Bull and Ning Xin at the front. When Guo Shier boarded the vehicle, he heard Wild Bull shout, “Salute!”
It was Guo Shier who had taught them this salute, the same as the military salute from his previous life. Hearing that familiar salute, Guo Shier’s heart trembled slightly. He slowly turned around and returned the salute. At that moment, he saw Yu Lan standing in the distance, though just as a shadow. He understood that Yu Lan might not be heartless toward Eagle Demon, but for some reason, she didn’t want to leave with him.
Yu Lan stood in front of a tent, watching from afar as Eagle Demon boarded the flying vehicle, and couldn’t help but sigh. In truth, she really wanted to go with Eagle Demon, but she couldn’t bear to leave the children here. She had been here for over a decade, and many of the children had grown up under her care. She simply couldn’t bring herself to abandon them, thus failing Eagle Demon’s kindness.
She whispered, “Perhaps we’ll have another chance to meet in the future.” Two tears slowly slid down her cheeks. With her experience, she knew this was almost delusional—this world was so vast that once separated, it would be hard to meet again.
…
Guo Shier and Eagle Demon returned to Broken Bones Gorge.
As soon as they got off the flying vehicle, they heard the sound of fierce fighting. Hundreds of Great Saints, led by Ban Xilong, were fiercely attacking the mutated creatures trying to break out of the gorge, with corpses covering the ground. The mutated creatures struggled desperately to break free, but the hundreds of Great Saints were incredibly powerful, especially when the mutated creatures were slow and weak in defense.
It was a bloody massacre.
Guo Shier exclaimed in shock, “Where did so many mutated creatures come from!”

Groups of mutants rushed frantically toward the entrance of the valley. Fearless and unyielding, as one group fell, another would charge forward, endlessly screaming as they headed toward death. Every Great Sage fought desperately. Ban Xilong hovered in the air, hands behind his back, staring coldly at the mutants. He didn’t intervene but issued commands from time to time, directing the Great Sages to attack. Guo Shier and Eagle Demon also stayed back, observing silently. A few squads of professionals were nearby, watching as well. The scene was chaotic, filled with roars and howls that chilled the heart. The Great Sages outside the valley attacked fiercely; mutants fell one after another, letting out cries of despair, while more kept charging forward, wave after wave, without end. Gradually, corpses piled up on the ground. In the canyon, mutants kept appearing out of thin air and running toward the valley entrance. Guo Shier wondered, “Are the mutants crazy? They know it’s suicide, yet they still come?” Eagle Demon shook his head and said, “I don’t understand either.” Blood flowed abundantly at the entrance of the canyon; even the scorching sun couldn’t evaporate it quickly. The white bones on the ground turned purple-black, and a foul smell filled the air. Soon, several Great Sages were exhausted and retreated to rest and eat. Guo Shier said, “Let’s go in. We have to do something. If the mutants break through, it won’t be them who suffer—it will be the people in the camp.” Eagle Demon nodded in agreement, and the two rushed forward to start killing the mutants. With their addition, the battle situation didn’t change much. Guo Shier noticed that each attack involved at least five hundred mutants, with many more following. Every Great Sage fought hard. Fortunately, something at the entrance of the valley seemed to restrain the mutants, slowing their movements and turning them into easy targets. Yet even just the act of killing was overwhelming. As soon as the two joined in, they were extremely tired, physically and mentally drained. Ban Xilong didn’t intervene at all; he kept overseeing and directing from afar, believing he didn’t need to get involved. This was the arrogance unique to masters of the Void Mirror— they disdained to fight because of the restraints on the mutants at the entrance. If he had to fight, even if all the mutants charging forward and those in the canyon came together, he wouldn’t fear them at all.

As long as no Alien appears, those mutants can’t be his opponents. His role here is to prevent an Alien from appearing; only if an Alien does show up does he need to step in and fight.