It came alive, as if there was a heart beating in the scabbard, not just one, but seven. Seven swords woke up at the same time, and seven different heartbeats mixed together, some like loud bells, some like rapid drums. This was a violent band, which was suitable for stories like “The Story of Liu Yi” in the Tang Dynasty legend.
Late at night, on the top floor of the principal’s office.
A single desk lamp, seven bone china cups. Seven shadows surrounded the massive desk, sitting in darkness beyond the reach of the light. The wind swept fallen leaves across the roof, sounding like countless ninjas stealthily passing by. No one spoke for a long time. The atmosphere was mysterious and shifting, like the steam rising from the tea in their cups.
Anjou raised his cup in a toast to the others. “What a rare occasion, to invite three students to an evening tea party at the same time. Welcome, everyone, and to the hardworking mentors here as well…”
“Damn it! Why do I have to be in a team with a lunatic? Have I given up hope on my life of constantly failing classes? No way! I refuse to go!” Someone was clearly unwilling to cooperate with the principal’s composure, wriggling in his chair while shouting.
Cassell College’s one and only “G”-rank student, Finger von Frings. The reason he could only squirm in his chair instead of standing up and running off was that his hands were tied behind the chair with a belt.
Next to him, the vice principal, adjusting his pants, sneered fiercely.
“I haven’t even mentioned that you’re going to China to slay a dragon. Can’t you wait a little longer before losing it?” Anjou scratched his head.
“Don’t think I can’t guess your plans! What evening tea party? It’s just a mobilization meeting, right? You’re just trying to tie me and Chu Zihang to the same ship, right? I’ve already completed my mission, Principal, don’t back out on your word! I’m about to graduate gloriously next year—as an Execution Bureau agent, I’ll fly all over the world to carry out missions with sexy junior sisters, race down Cuban highways smoking cigars, lie on Hawaiian beaches getting sunscreen rubbed on me, row boats on the Mekong with random Eastern girls… My good days are about to start! I’ve waited nine years to graduate—I don’t want to die before dawn!” Finger was full of indignation.
“That’s not an Execution Bureau agent’s life—that’s James Bond’s,” Schneider, the head of the Execution Bureau, said in a raspy voice. “If anyone in the Execution Bureau had that life, it would mean I failed at my job!”
“Can’t I at least have some space to imagine?” Finger sighed.
“As the only ‘G’-rank, do you think graduating is that easy? Even if the principal and I cut you some slack, do you think the School Board wouldn’t retaliate? The principal and I are giving you a chance. Imagine if you complete this mission—how dazzling your internship report would be. The School Board wouldn’t have any reason to stop you from graduating! Otherwise, you might end up in an unprecedented tenth year!” The vice principal patted Finger’s shoulder forcefully, wielding both carrot and stick.
“Compared to dying in the indiscriminate attacks of that lunatic’s King’s Blaze… I’d rather gnaw on a pork knuckle for ten years!” Finger glared at Chu Zihang beside him, though his tone was clearly wavering.
Chu Zihang sat expressionlessly, drinking tea and eating chocolate cake.
“Only violence works for people like him,” the vice principal said to Guderian beside him.
Guderian nodded repeatedly, feeling that, as an educator, there was still quite a gap between himself and the vice principal.
Anjou coughed. “May I continue? Inviting the best students, sipping red tea, discussing the college’s struggles, and looking forward to the future—this has been our tradition for many years. And the three present here today are the true elites of this college. I am honored to inform you all that you will be dispatched to China as trainee agents to investigate the recently exposed ‘awakening of the Dragon King’ incident.”
“Honored, my ass…” Finger moaned.
“It’s not just the three of us, right?” Lu Mingfei was also uneasy.
He had always heard that the Execution Bureau was full of great fighters, and even those seemingly frail professors possessed vicious offensive Yanlings. But now, two dragon-slaying missions had been assigned to him, a lower-year student. Last time, at least Manstein had led the team; this time, it looked like the college intended to group three students together.
“The college has dispatched multiple teams. Yours will only have three members,” Anjou said. “Don’t think you’re inexperienced. You are A-Rank and S-Rank, and even Finger was once A-Rank. You have advantages in bloodlines that surpass most agents in the Execution Bureau. The more esteemed the ancient dragon, the greater the importance of the bloodline.”
“The exposure of the Dragon King’s awakening is the greatest crisis in the college’s history. In fact, the Execution Bureau’s elite forces have been divided into different groups—everyone is being deployed,” Schneider said. “Two student groups are being sent. The other team includes Caesar Gattuso, Chen Motong, and Xia Mi.”
“Oh, so this time I’m finally not a third wheel?” Lu Mingfei thought. Maybe the college did it on purpose; otherwise, it would be awkward for everyone.
Finger, full of indignation, paused, his eyes rolling around as he craned his neck to wink at Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang. “I say, you two really have it tough! The girls you’re secretly in love with are both on Caesar’s team! Maybe I should fall for Caesar myself! Then we could form a group of people all secretly in love, and we’d be the ultimate tragedy team!” He turned to Anjou and shouted, “Principal, this team allocation is way too uneven, isn’t it? Over there, they have three A-Ranks, with two of them being senior years, each capable of holding their own. And in our team, it’s just one violent guy leading two losers?”
“You can’t think of it like that. That team is made up of a first-year, a third-year, and a fourth-year. Your team has a second-year, a third-year, and you, a ninth-year. You are the experienced team,” Anjou said lightly.
“Hey! Can you really count it that way?” Finger protested. “It looks like I alone outweigh the other three!”
Without a word, the vice principal tightened the belt restraining Finger’s hands even more.
“No more joking—sending Caesar was not my decision. It was the School Board’s idea,” Anjou said. “Chu Zihang’s bloodline is still ‘questionable.’ The School Board insisted on adding another group. Chen Motong and Xia Mi as members were Caesar’s choice.”
“This is blatant sabotage, isn’t it?” Finger stared seriously at Chu Zihang. “I’m not trying to stir up trouble, but honestly, if someone were trying to steal my girl, I’d fight him to the death!”
5w96fd