A Little Reward for Little Brother Yuan

Tracy looked on helplessly and ran a hand through her red hair.

"I might as well come along then. Nothing much is happening back at our camp anyway."

Ye Zhenghao's expression turned apologetic. "Our camp still has a great deal to take care of. Other than Her Highness the Ninth Princess, I'm afraid I can't spare anyone else."

Lu Yuan shook his head. "Legion Commander Ye is too considerate — we can manage on our own. Just tell us which defensive camps have sent distress signals."

Ye Zhenghao glanced at his communicator.

The Beast Tide had been severe, and a considerable number of camps had called for reinforcements.

He selected several that sat near the rear of the defensive line and weren't too far from their current position, then shared the coordinates with the three of them.

Frontline camps risked encounters with Fourth-rank Feral Beasts and King Grade creatures — too dangerous for this group. Even setting aside Lu Yuan and Tracy, there was still the Ninth Princess to think about.

The three didn't mind at all. In fact, rear-line camps suited them perfectly.

After all, the Mechanical Guardians topped out at Second-rank Lord Grade. Resources had to be matched to reality.

They said their goodbyes to Ye Zhenghao and left Camp 306, setting off toward the other camps.

Over the next stretch of time, the three moved from camp to camp along the rear defensive line, crushing Beast Tide after Beast Tide. Word of Lu Yuan's Mechanical Guardians spread across every one of those camps. Over two hundred Mechanical Guardians was simply an overwhelming sight.

Half a day later, the movement deep in the Endless Mountain Range fell silent. The frontline Beast Tide had ended. Frontline soldiers, finally able to breathe, began pushing reinforcements toward the rear — sweeping up the remaining hordes that still besieged the defensive camps. Within a few hours, the entire central defensive sector was clear.

The Beast Tide was over.

At the frontline fortress, several streaks of light arced across the sky and touched down on the battlements.

Li Xinghai was at the front. His face was pale and his energy slightly dimmed, yet he still carried himself with that characteristic unhurried calm. Behind him came Li Qinghe, Si Tingyu, and the other Battle Kings and Battle Sovereigns who had accompanied him. Nearly every one of them bore injuries — even Li Qinghe and Si Tingyu were visibly pale. Some had not come back at all.

Moments after they landed, more streaks of light came shooting from the garrison grounds and settled on the wall. Leading them was the frontline's presiding commander — Rafael Harold, the White Demon Battle Emperor.

He looked at Li Xinghai and smiled. "Old Weirdo Li, how'd it go? The beasts in the Endless Mountain Range have gone quiet — you dealt with the Aberration source, I take it?"

Li Xinghai's brow tightened, and irritation crept into his voice. "The Aberration source was an Emperor Grade Flame Demon Hound. The Aberration gave it a substantial power boost. By the time we finally drove it to the edge of death — it still managed to run."

Rafael's expression darkened. "It *ran*?! If it recovers and comes back, does that mean we go through all of this again?"

The men behind him exchanged uneasy looks.

Li Xinghai shook his head. "The injuries we dealt it were severe. It'll be decades before it fully recovers, and I doubt it has the courage to return. Besides, it didn't flee toward Great Qi Star — it's likely searching for a spatial rift somewhere out in space, looking for another planet to escape to."

A quiet breath of relief moved through Rafael's group.

"That's good to hear."

Li Xinghai nodded, then broke into a grin. "Since the matter's been settled, I believe a certain rascal owes me a drink?"

Rafael's smile stiffened. He gave Li Xinghai a long-suffering look. "You old rascal... fine. One drink."

The two departed, leaving Li Qinghe and the others behind.

A blond man swept his gaze across the group. "Everyone worked hard today. If you're injured, come with me — I'll take you to treatment."

Li Qinghe smiled. "I'll pass. I've mostly just burned through a lot of energy."

Si Tingyu nodded. "Same for me."

The blond man acknowledged this with a nod, then left with the rest, letting the two women do as they pleased.

Watching the others go, Li Qinghe produced a cigarette, lit it, took a slow drag, and kneaded her own shoulder. "That battle genuinely wore me out."

Si Tingyu nodded. "Get some proper rest."

Something crossed Li Qinghe's mind and a grin spread across her face. She slung an arm over Si Tingyu's shoulder. "Oh, right — which defensive camp is little brother Yuan at? Should we go find him?"

Si Tingyu considered it. "Sure. I'll look in on Tingxue while we're at it. That child's been worrying me a little."

Li Qinghe waved it off. "Tingxue will be fine. She might not say much on the surface, but she takes everything in. And her strength is nothing to underestimate."

Si Tingyu just smiled and didn't push back.

The two were blood sisters — the closest pair within the royal family. Even knowing Si Tingxue was formidably strong, that small flutter of concern never quite went away.

The two became streaks of light and shot toward the central defensive line.

Central defensive line, Defensive Camp 201.

On the battlements, Lu Yuan, Si Tingxue, and Tracy stood facing a sharp-featured young woman with black hair. She was Liu Yixin, the Legion Commander of Camp 201.

Lu Yuan spoke first. "Commander Liu, the Beast Tide has ended. We won't take up any more of your time."

Liu Yixin nodded, her expression subdued. Their camp's losses had been heavy — there was little room for a cheerful face.

"Once again, thank you — Commander Lu, Your Highness the Ninth Princess, Deputy Commander Tracy."

Lu Yuan had lost count of how many times she'd said that. He smiled and nodded, and the three bid her farewell.

They left Camp 201 behind.

They walked through hillsides slick with blood and thick with bodies, then entered a forest that looked like a ruin. What had once been dense woodland was now a graveyard of toppled trunks — knocked flat during the Beast Tide's passage. It was the same story across the entire central defensive line.

Si Tingxue looked exhausted, but her mood held a trace of quiet lightness. "The Beast Tide is over."

Lu Yuan nodded, a small smile breaking through. "It really was a nightmare. And now the nightmare's finally past."

Tracy let out a slow sigh and shook her head. "It's just a shame that the ones who fell can't come back."

Lu Yuan and Si Tingxue went quiet.

In half a day they'd cycled through six defensive camps and seen far too much death. Apart from Camp 257, every other camp had been breached. Casualty rates ranged from over twenty percent on the lighter end to fifty or sixty percent at the worst.

Too many Guard Corps soldiers had died.

After a stretch of silence, Lu Yuan changed the subject and glanced at Si Tingxue. "Now that the Beast Tide is over, are you heading back to Camp 306?"

Si Tingxue thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."

"Then we'll walk you partway — it's on our route."

She nodded again. Then she added, "With the Beast Tide over, it won't be long before we're all called back."

Lu Yuan smiled, feeling a flicker of anticipation. "I wonder how many Credits we'll earn from all of this?"

At those words, something complicated crossed Si Tingxue's face. She gave a soft, haughty hum. "Your Credits this time might be the highest of any student in all of Talent Camp."

Lu Yuan blinked. "Really? That many?"

Si Tingxue shot him a look and said nothing.

*...???*

He was genuinely puzzled. He couldn't figure out what he'd done to irk her.

Then it clicked. He studied her with an odd expression. "...Don't tell me you're unhappy because your Credits might not be as high as mine?"

Si Tingxue stiffened, then fixed him with a glare. "Yes!"

*...She actually admitted it outright.*

He grinned. "There's nothing to be done about it. I'm just stronger."

"It isn't you that's strong," Si Tingxue said flatly. "It's your Mechanical Guardians."

"The Mechanical Guardians are mine," he replied cheerfully. "That makes them part of my strength, naturally."

She stiffened. Then went silent.

A soft huff. She took a few deliberate steps ahead and stopped talking to him.

Lu Yuan suppressed a laugh. *That ice queen's competitive streak runs deeper than I thought.*

Beside them, Tracy was growing increasingly aware that she might as well not exist.

She smiled. "Yuan, between six — no, counting our own camp, seven — seven defensive camps where you played a critical role during the Beast Tide. Your Mechanical Guardians are only Second-rank Lord Grade, but in sufficient numbers, they're practically on par with a Battle King when dealing with weaker Feral Beasts. When it comes to Credits, I think you'd come out on top as well."

Lu Yuan's grin widened. "If that's really the case, all the better."

He was starting to look forward to the Credit reward in earnest.

Maybe he could collect the full two million Credits in one sweep and finally exchange them for the Flicker Transcendent Gene.

The three walked and chatted as they traveled. After the Beast Tide, even the ordinary Feral Beasts that normally inhabited this region had nearly vanished, and the return journey was smooth. Before long, they were back within sight of Camp 257.

Spotting the camp, Lu Yuan turned to Si Tingxue. "You must be fairly tired by now. Why not rest here first before heading back to Camp 306? You'd be going on your own — safer to take a break."

Si Tingxue considered it, then gave a short nod. "Alright."

The three reached the foot of the hill. Unlike before, the Feral Beast carcasses at the base were gone, leaving only scorched earth behind.

Tracy glanced around. "They must have salvaged the materials, then burned the bodies."

Lu Yuan nodded and started climbing.

Despite the cleared carcasses, the reek of blood still hung heavy in the air.

They moved quickly and were over the wall in moments.

The guards on patrol startled — then broke into broad smiles when they recognized the arrivals.

Several snapped to attention and saluted sharply. "Commander Lu!"

Tracy, standing right beside him, went rigid with visible offense. "And *me*?!"

The soldiers scrambled. "Deputy Commander Tracy!"

Lu Yuan bit down hard to keep from laughing aloud.

Even Si Tingxue's lips twitched.

Tracy burned every one of their faces into her memory, already planning to make their lives difficult at the first opportunity.

"Come on. Report to the Legion Commander, then we can rest."

The three were just about to drop down from the battlements toward the garrison when two streaks of light tore across the sky and touched down directly in front of them.

Before Lu Yuan could react, his vision went dark. Something soft and warm engulfed him, and he found his face buried in... considerable softness.

A familiar scent. A familiar voice.

"Little brother Yuan~ did you miss your big sister?"

He couldn't answer. He was fairly certain he was about to suffocate magnificently.

He fought to break free, but Li Qinghe's arms were astonishingly strong.

Well — she was Battle King Rank.

Beside him, Tracy saw Li Qinghe pull Lu Yuan into an embrace and her brow creased with instant irritation — then she heard the words, remembered that Lu Yuan had once mentioned having a sister figure, and the irritation drained from her face, replaced by something frozen entirely.

Li Qinghe. One of the most celebrated prodigies in the entire Red Maple Empire.

Si Tingxue, for her part, gave the struggling Lu Yuan a single glance, wrote him off completely, and turned to look at Si Tingyu instead.

Si Tingyu stepped toward Si Tingxue, faintly surprised. "Tingxue, weren't you stationed at a different defensive camp from Lu Yuan?"

Si Tingxue nodded. "Special circumstances."

"Oh? What circumstances?"

Li Qinghe, still holding Lu Yuan, looked over with open curiosity.

Si Tingxue turned — and noticed that Lu Yuan's struggles had become significantly more frantic.

Her lips twitched.

"Qinghe," she said, perfectly composed, "someone appears to be suffocating."

Li Qinghe laughed and released him. "He's a Second-rank warrior — he can't actually suffocate. This is just a little reward for little brother Yuan! I heard he's been doing wonderfully out here."

Lu Yuan, finally free, found Si Tingyu, Si Tingxue, and Tracy all staring at him with unmistakably odd expressions.

Despite himself, he felt heat creep up his face.

*Being hugged by big sister Qinghe is... not unpleasant. But could we please find somewhere without an audience? This is mortifying.*

He'd always considered himself a person of rather refined sensibilities.

With all those eyes on him, he immediately redirected. "Ahem — big sister Qinghe isn't wrong, my performance out here really has been exceptional. Mentor, weren't you wondering why Si Tingxue is here? Let me explain..."

He then walked them through everything that had happened since the Beast Tide broke out.

As they listened, both Li Qinghe and Si Tingyu looked astonished.

Li Qinghe's eyes lit up as she stared at him. "Little brother Yuan, you've gotten *this* impressive?! You're already a full Legion Commander?"

She thumped his shoulder repeatedly, beaming with undisguised pride. "As expected of my little brother Yuan — absolutely incredible!"

Beside her, Si Tingyu gave a slow, approving nod, studying him carefully. "Thinking to go help the other defensive camps. That was well done."

Getting praised by both of them at once left Lu Yuan faintly awkward. He cleared his throat. "We just got back — we still need to report to the Legion Commander."

Li Qinghe smiled. "We'll come along."

So the group went together to find Luo Xiu.

After Lu Yuan and Tracy finished their report, Lu Yuan discovered — somewhat to his surprise — that Luo Xiu had been Li Qinghe's and Si Tingyu's senior during their academy years. Luo Xiu arranged special guest quarters for the two of them and sent Lu Yuan to show them the way.

In truth, all three — Si Tingyu, Si Tingxue, and Li Qinghe — had come through a brutal battle. They were exhausted, and rest was what they all needed.

Learning that Li Qinghe had come looking for him the moment she'd returned, without stopping to rest even briefly, Lu Yuan felt a quiet warmth settle in his chest.