A seventeen-year-old teenager sat at the edge of the ninth lookout tower of West Fortress.

He was carefully blowing a flute. The melody was utterly pleasant. It had a unique, countryside rhythm.

As the melody played, a gray-white Heavenly Eagle in its growing stage flew out from the trees and landed beside the teenager.

The teenager fondled the gray-white Heavenly Eagle's head and said with a smile, "Gray, were you secretly hunting down hares? Is it because the food here at the fortress doesn't suit your taste? Or has that prick Beastmaster been torturing you again... Alright, I know that he's picking on you because he's not fond of your impure lineage. I'll make you something delicious when I have the chance."

The Heavenly Eagle nodded as if it could understand the teenage boy's words.

The boy and the eagle played on the lookout tower for a while. Suddenly, a sharp siren was heard coming from the fortress. It immediately burst into an uproar as troops of Battlemages were summoned to the front line.

"What's going on?" the teenage boy yelled at a messenger soldier passing by the lookout tower.

"Wang Xiaojun, what are you doing up there? Hurry up and hide inside the fortress! A small guy like you will be eaten by the White Magic Falcons fairly quickly," said the messenger.

"It's alright, I have Gray protecting me," said Wang Xiaojun.

Meanwhile, a tall, skinny bloke whose face was full of pockmarks appeared. He raised his head to look at the teenager and demanded, "Protect you? We've just received the order from our superiors! All soldiers must kill the Heavenly Eagles they are looking after at once!"

"What are you saying? Why would the army give such a command?" exclaimed Wang Xiaojun in disbelief.

"A Ruler-level demon beast has appeared from West Ridge. Every Heavenly Eagle of the fortress is turning against us. What are you waiting for? Didn't I tell you to kill your Heavenly Eagle now? Those who disobey the order will be punished by military law!"

Wang Xiaojun was stunned. He glanced at Gray, who was still not mature yet...

How could he possibly kill him with his own hands?

The gray eagle was the only present left him by his elder brother, who had sacrificed his life for the army. He had been taking care of the bird since he was a youngling, the gray eagle was his most important friend and companion.

"Humph, a Heavenly Eagle like that with impure lineage should never have been allowed to stay in the army," said the Beastmaster with pockmarks.

"No!" Wang Xiaojun suddenly bit his lips, looking at the Heavenly Eagle, and blew his flute.

The eagle obeyed the signal like a soldier as soon as the piercing sound was made.

Following another signal from the flute, the eagle flapped its wings and rapidly soared into the sky.

Even though it was not mature, and its wings were still not fully grown yet, its speed was comparable to the ordinary Heavenly Eagles.

A brief moment later, the gray figure quickly disappeared into the trees.

The Beastmaster with pockmarks was infuriated. He pointed his finger at Wang Xiaojun and snapped, "You little bastard, you dared to disobey a military order. You're not worthy to stay in the army, just like that crossbreed Heavenly Eagle. Do you have any idea what you've done? The beast will turn against us. It will attack the fortress with the White Magic Falcons!"

The teenager Wang Xiaojun lowered his head and fell silent.

He could not understand why the army would make such a cruel decision. He was clueless about why it was given in the first place. However, he and Gray had kept one another in company for a very long time. He was willing to take the punishment instead of doing such a cruel thing to his companion.

As the Beastmaster left furiously, Wang Xiaojun finally raised his head and saw piles of white feathers drifting to the wind in the fortress...

At the taming ground nearby, piles of Heavenly Eagles were lying in pools of blood!

They were struggling in pain. They were begging for mercy in the pools of blood as they uttered cries of agony... The sound of their cries penetrated the teenage boy's heart like swords!

Each of the Heavenly Eagles was part of his eldest brother's painstaking efforts, and they were falling right in front of him. The worst thing was, instead of being killed in battle, they had fallen at the hands of their beloved Beastmasters.

The teenage boy did not want to watch any further. He quickly closed his eyes.

They were no tears, yet his heart was bleeding!

------

In the Enforcement Union's meeting room, as soon as the news from West Fortress was announced, the Head of the Magic Court, the Councilman and the rest fell deadly silent.

No one expected the situation to turn so serious quickly, be it the plague that had taken them by surprise, or the army of White Magic Falcons ambushing Hangzhou for no particular reason.

"The White Magic Falcons are definitely something that the military would not want to face. Not only has our line of defense collapsed, the Heavenly Eagles have also turned into a threat. Luckily, the Head of the Beastmasters told his men to kill all of them decisively. Otherwise, the situation would be much worse," said an Elder of the Magic Court, Li Tian.

"We're having internal trouble and outside aggression at the same time. Has Mr. Lu managed to develop the serum for the plague?" asked Zhu Meng.

"We do have the serum, but the blood of the Black Totem Snake is only enough to resist the plague. It's nowhere enough to cure the patients. We need the Black Totem Snake's bile or something else," answered Mr. Lu.

Tang Zhong frowned and glanced at Tangyue, who was being guarded by two Royal Guards, "Head to White Mountain at once, and take some bile from the god."

Councilman Zhu Meng quickly rose to his feet and said, "If we could invent a resisting serum from his blood, he must be responsible for the plague! Do you have any idea how serious the situation is! How much time do you still want to waste on following your ancient tradition? Your stupidity is going to get lots of people killed!"

Tang Zhong fell silent.

Zhu Meng walked out from his seat and came up to Tangyue with great fury.

Tang Zhong quickly rose to his feet. He thought Councilman Zhu Meng was going to unleash his anger on Tangyue.

Councilman Zhu Meng stood there staring at Tangyue.

A while later, he suddenly lowered his head, as if he had instantly sacked his imposing dignity. He totally lowered his stance, as if he were pleading.

"I can totally understand where you all are coming from, but Hangzhou is currently in a great crisis..." Councilman Zhu Meng's eyes were bloodshot. It was obvious that he had not slept in many days. "The ambush of the White Magic Falcons is going to be a fierce battle. If we don't get rid of the plague within a day, Hangzhou would be piled with corpses soon enough. Therefore..."

Councilman Zhu Meng lowered his head further, almost as if he had bent his body ninety degrees at Tangyue. "I beg you, summon the Black Totem Snake back. I promise you, if we manage to find a cure, we will not kill him."

Tangyue took a few steps backward, staring at Councilman Zhu Meng in disbelief.

As she gathered her thoughts, she looked at Tang Zhong.

Tang Zhong nodded helplessly!

He too was extremely concerned for Hangzhou. He had no intention to be the sinner responsible for the countless lives who were endangered. Since Zhu Meng was willing to compromise by sparing the Black Totem Snake's life, he would not hesitate any further.

"Alright, I'll summon him back now. I'll summon him back to West Lake," said Tangyue.