# Chapter 1: Mist
Year 834 of the Falling Stars Era, July 17th, sunlight sank below the horizon.
Two months after world-class celestial anomalies such as the [Crimson Star River] and [Three-Day White Sun], the eastern side of the Ural Mountains in the Northern Lands, on the uninhabited plains between the fortress and the four northern territories, welcomed a rare magnificent sight.
At sunset, dark red afterglow hung upon the clouds at the edge of the sky, while the sky that had already turned grayish-blue revealed countless stars. This gorgeous starry sea was different from before—every silver star shimmered with a brightness no less than that of the moon.
Ever since that three-day-four-night white sun that had made all races across the entire continent experience together, the stars in the sky had all become like this. Night was no longer a symbol of darkness, for the day was illuminated by the golden blazing sun, and the night shimmered with the silver radiance of stars and moon.
On the vast plains, without the pollution of city lights, one could see the starlight in the sky more clearly than in the cities. But at this moment, one could see a shadow in the northern sky rapidly flying over, obscuring the stars. Thin clouds shifted under the movement of this shadow, forming a distinct trail.
It was a small airship.
Beneath the elliptical floating gasbag hung a rectangular steel gondola. Inside the cabin, a well-equipped squad was standing by. Each of them wore black standard enchanted uniforms, with peculiar staves engraved with dark golden runes hanging at their waists. At this moment, no one paid attention to the gorgeous night sky outside the transparent windows or the earth that seemed draped in a layer of silver gauze. Everyone remained silent, allowing a solemn atmosphere to spread.
"Moldavia Winterfell Academy, First Squad has arrived at the target location."
Amidst the rumbling sound of the airship's engines, the leader of the squad finally spoke the first words. From the sound of his voice, he was male, probably not too old. He continued crisply: "Captain Ivan Makarov requests further instructions."
Inside the steel gondola, densely packed with magic arrays and arcane equipment, there was undoubtedly a communication array. After hearing Ivan's request, a somewhat unclear voice, as if affected by some interference, came from the array: "Request received. Please receive further instructions. First Squad trial objectives are as follows: One, eliminate all rampant magical beasts along the southern plains trade route. Two, deploy repelling runes. Over."
Then, the unclear voice repeated itself once more before truly ending the communication. Upon receiving the orders, the airship immediately projected several beams of light. The dazzling pure white light beams swept across the surroundings, and a holy fluctuation spread. Stimulated by such an aura, the seemingly calm plains immediately echoed with roars of beasts rising one after another, while dense shadows also spilled out from between the grass and trees, letting out angry howls at the airship high above.
Clang—the cabin door opened. The howling wind blew everyone's hair in all directions. Under the light of stars and moon, one could clearly see the dense beast horde below. But the four-person squad exchanged glances, and not only was there no fear on their faces, they instead all smiled in unison.
What's so difficult about this?
The next moment, the young men and women holding finely crafted equipment leaped decisively from the airship gondola several thousand meters high, plunging toward the earth!
Mid-air, one could see faint glows lighting up on their black uniforms. As the runes flickered, a translucent honeycomb shield flashed around the four of them for an instant before becoming invisible. The four's heads were also covered by tight masks, wrapping their entire bodies in a sealed manner—necks, elbows, knees, ankles—not a single gap left. The form-fitting uniforms, like close-fitting light armor, seemed molded as one, exuding a cold, killing intent.
Four figures with faint glows plummeted like falling stones for a thousand meters, then their speed abruptly slowed. The blessing of [Feather Fall] allowed them, already accustomed to this deployment method, to descend at a relatively balanced decelerating speed. At the same time, accompanied by successive incantations, dark golden rune light flowed on the peculiar staves in their hands that resembled iron rods. In an instant, following continuous low humming sounds, dozens or even hundreds of arcane missiles and small fireballs like fireflies transformed into chains of light. With the four peculiar staves in mid-air as the source, they swept down from the sky, suppressing the beast horde below!
Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz!
Arcane orbs containing magical energy and blazing fireballs bombarded the beasts on the ground, tearing and flinging the bodies of magical beasts. Dust flew from the ground and trees under this dense attack, collapsing a small layer. Trees hit by the residual waves toppled amidst the terrified roars of beasts, then burst into raging flames, illuminating a stretch of land. It wasn't that the magical beasts didn't want to counterattack, but before their innate spells and breath could even hit the squad members, they were blocked by a layer of translucent honeycomb shield.
Four mages at the Black Iron Peak level cast spells together. With the blessing of their peculiar special staves, dozens or even hundreds of arcane missiles, fireballs, and lightning bolts crashed down every second. And it was under such circumstances, accompanied by rain of fire and warm wind, that the four-person squad descended to the earth.
But just as they were about to truly land on the ground, a white ring appeared behind each of them. These rings, entirely condensed from arcane power, rotated slowly, suspending the four-person squad about thirty meters in mid-air. And the real slaughter and battle only began at this moment.
Such a scene was happening throughout the entire Northern Lands, and even across the entire Mycroft Continent.
Months earlier, the [Three-Day White Sun] had made the starry river shine. Arcane power ten or even dozens of times denser than before descended upon the earth along with faint silver radiance. Countless spellcasters and combat professionals who had been bound by their own limits due to talent or physical damage broke through their limits within those short three days, reaching higher levels. With ecstasy and emotion, they called that period the [Miraculous Three Days].
Apart from the obvious major news of numerous professionals breaking through simultaneously, the surging arcane power concentration also brought many changes to this world. According to observations by many mages, although the arcane power concentration hadn't increased further after the Miraculous Three Days, it was already enough to cause changes affecting the entire world. Based on their deductions, all newborns conceived on that day would possess extraordinary talent far beyond ordinary people, and the high-concentration arcane power environment would also further increase the power of many spells, while battle qi cultivators' training speed would also accelerate.
Although the major powers on the Mycroft Continent remained silent about this, wandering transcendent beings and commoners among the people were all overjoyed. This meant their path of cultivation had become easier, and also meant the possibility of their children becoming professionals had greatly increased.
But the Miraculous Three Days didn't bring all good news—if humans could benefit from high-concentration arcane power, how could beasts and magical creatures, which were closer to arcane power than humans, gain nothing?
Within those short three days, hundreds of billions of newborn magical beasts appeared across the Mycroft Continent. These originally docile creatures, or those that feared humans, became excited and ferocious under the stimulation of high-concentration arcane power. They frantically attacked intelligent life in the suburbs and wilderness, and engaged in brutal slaughter among themselves. These beasts cut off countless trade routes, attacked towns in many remote areas, and plunged many humans living outside into anxiety.
Although these newborn magical beasts weren't strong and couldn't cause damage as terrifying as the Black Tide, they could at least destroy farmland and damage roads. To deal with this sudden disaster, many powers revealed some of their previously hidden strength. In the Northern Empire, huge commercial airships replaced the struggling dragon-cart caravans, transporting millions of tons of goods to every corner of the empire, while countless small and medium airships carried thousands of military or adventurer squads to clear trade routes and suppress beast hordes everywhere.
The Winterfell Academy of the Moldavia Territory in the Northern Lands saw this as a good opportunity to train students' practical combat abilities. After the knight order eliminated the powerful magical beasts in the southern plains, they sent out student squads one after another to carry out the clearing of ordinary magical beasts. And the First Squad led by Ivan Makarov was precisely the leader among the dozen or so academy squads.
Three hours later, the battle ended, and the exhausted four stood in the center of countless beast corpses and blood, letting out a long sigh.
"This time was simpler than last time in the Frost Butterfly Forest."
Pulling off her fully sealed mask with one hand while stroking her staff that had become warm from prolonged spellcasting with the other, a girl with platinum-blonde hair breathed fresh air and murmured to herself. This girl named Amira Makarov was Ivan's sister. Although she looked petite and cute, she was actually a hidden dangerous element. There was a hint of unsatisfied dissatisfaction in her seemingly emotional tone.
"I think it's just because we've gotten stronger." Avoiding the beast corpse at her feet, a girl named Karin tidied her uniform, which had been splattered with quite a bit of blood. She answered her best friend's complaint somewhat absentmindedly: "We've changed to a set of luxurious enchanted equipment this time. If it were still as dangerous as last time, that would really be the problem."
As she spoke, green rune light flickered unevenly on the girl's uniform, indicating that their protective gear had been damaged to some extent. But this was within the normal range, and there was no need to worry.
"Alright, stop complaining. Let's finish the work quickly and go back to report." The third person was a tall, sturdy young man. He had already taken out a rune pen and was beginning to draw repelling runes on the ground. "The teacher said there's something important to announce tonight. Don't keep them waiting."
"Something important?" The last person, a thin young man, also took out a rune pen and began to assist. "Could it be about the [Great Magic Tide] that the teacher mentioned before?"
"Who knows." Ivan, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke. He had already put away his staff and was looking at the starry sky in the distance. "But since the teacher said it's important, it must be something big."
As he spoke, a strange light flickered in his eyes. He always felt that tonight's starry sky seemed a bit different from usual, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Just then, a faint mist suddenly began to rise from the ground, spreading rapidly. In just a few breaths, the entire plain was shrouded in thick fog, and the starry sky above was completely obscured.
"What's going on?" Amira frowned, her hand already on her staff.
"I don't know." Ivan's expression turned serious. "Everyone, be careful. This fog isn't normal."
As his words fell, a strange sound came from the depths of the fog, as if something was approaching.
And in the distant sky, a faint light flickered, as if responding to something.
Ivan's pupils suddenly contracted.
"Finally here."