Chapter 60: Twilight Flight and Lingering Thoughts

“It’s dark,” Su Qingyao murmured.

Just as they set off, the lingering sunset finally succumbed, leaving behind only a cluster of crimson, ray-like traces to mark its recent presence.

The Magical Girls, too, were about to embark towards their designated location, just before the morning star opened its eye.

This place was both the core and the culmination of their training.

By now, all the Magical Girls had donned their Spirit Attire, a cascade of vibrant light shimmering under the dimly lit sky.

The three team leaders and the rest of the reserves maintained a loose formation.

Su Qingyao, walking at the very end, naturally gravitated towards Su Muxue, who had slowed her pace.

Their Spirit Attire, though significantly different overall, displayed a subtle similarity in certain patterns and details, as if passed down through a shared lineage.

Su Qingyao’s heart felt light as she strolled through the forest, and her magic dispersed clusters of shimmering dust, sprinkling it evenly over each reserve.

“Wow…”

Fang Xiaobai, her eyes glowing green, gazed in surprise at the specks of light on her body, unsure of what she was seeing.

Su Qingyao’s gaze swept past the children, landing squarely on Xu Yanqing, an inexplicable intuition telling her that Xu Yanqing’s current state was amiss.

Xu Yanqing, however, acted as if everything were normal.

Before long.

Approaching the Magical Girls’ formation was a squad of Transcended, their assembly slightly disordered yet their attire and movements still remarkably neat.

This was the other party in their cooperation: the City Defense Army.

“You’ve worked hard, Leader Xu.”

Xu Yanqing nodded, shaking hands with the officer leading the fully armed soldiers, and then signed her name on the documents he carried.

Unlike the Iron Vow Army, who had shown great interest in the “Magical Girl Training” and proactively deployed soldiers to assist.

The City Defense Army, one of the official organizers, seemed far less invested.

While they had provided the necessary personnel and resources, it was clear that most of their efforts were superficial.

After all, their initial intention wasn’t to foster the Tower’s growth, but merely to prevent the ‘Academy’ and the ‘Tower’ from forming a formal alliance.

Xu Yanqing understood this, as did virtually all the Magical Girls affiliated with the Tower.

But what did it matter?

“It’s within our duties,” Leader Xu replied blandly. Only after retrieving the documents did he lead his team towards the camp.

As they passed each other, Xu Yanqing quietly stated:

“Then, I’ll trouble you all to keep an eye on our luggage.”

“Tsk.”

The Adjutant, walking behind him, made no effort to hide his click of the tongue, though it was nothing more than that.

Because her words were entirely accurate.

In fact, it was a task the City Defense Army had voluntarily undertaken.

In a way, this also left those assigned to the task feeling somewhat helpless.

These were all promising talents from other factions; if even one or two had expressed interest in joining the Peacekeepers in the future, the soldiers guarding the luggage wouldn’t have been so disgruntled.

The Adjutant shifted his gaze from the now-separated Magical Girls, scanning the curious children observing them.

Under Su Qingyao’s gaze, the Adjutant’s expression flickered between light and shadow before he finally reined in all his displeasure.

The scar-faced man let out a long sigh, tapping the blade scar at the corner of his mouth as he spoke:

“Study hard, all of you are promising talents. The future of Dawn City, and indeed the entire New World, rests on your shoulders.”

“Just don’t end up like my foolish one, who lost their life far too young.”

He instinctively reached out, habitually intending to place his hand on the head of the child nearest to him.

Yet, before his hand could descend, he snapped back to reality, retracting it as if he’d received an electric shock.

“Hmph.” Finally, he cast aside his melancholy, leaving Xu Yiyi and Su Qingyao with nothing but a cold snort.

Su Qingyao touched her nose, watching him and his soldiers disappear into the gaps between the branches and leaves.

“Mom…”

Su Muxue subtly tugged on Su Qingyao’s arm.

“He was looking at you.”

For reasons she couldn’t quite articulate, the little girl felt that the sigh had been directed towards Su Qingyao.

The young woman, of course, couldn’t have failed to notice.

Yet, Su Qingyao had no recollection of ever meeting such a stranger.

So, she simply shook her head in mild confusion, dismissing any further thoughts about the Adjutant.

“Alright.”

Contrary to her outwardly dismissive demeanor, Xu Yanqing patiently watched each weary City Defense Army soldier disappear from sight before issuing her next command.

“Put on your badges. Next, we’ll prepare for a short-distance flight.”

She turned, observing the reserves, some deftly, others awkwardly, manipulating their magic to gradually ascend into the air.

Flight was an innate ability for Magical Girls.

The only difference between proficient and struggling students lay in their mastery of flight.

Su Qingyao exchanged a glance with Su Muxue, who was already prepared, becoming the last two in the formation to ascend high into the sky.

“Visibility is good.”

Xu Yiyi cast a glance into the distance.

At this moment, the only difference in her appearance compared to before was a long, thickly plastic-wrapped object strapped to her back.

The distant night sky was clear and pristine, and as far as Xu Yiyi’s gaze could reach, there was only a distant, distinct horizon.

Xu Yanqing nodded, then issued a command to accelerate to the children she led behind her.

Just before they accelerated.

Su Qingyao turned her head, first casually scanning in the direction of the “Sixth-Tier Mother” traces.

A faint smile touched the young woman’s lips.

She then looked behind her, straining her eyes towards the small camp.

Senior Lu Zhichuan was seated there.

“I’m off now.”

Su Qingyao murmured softly to herself.

****

“Understood.”

Lu Zhichuan closed the book in his hands.

Even though his response wouldn’t reach Su Qingyao, who was already airborne, he still spoke the words.

Lu Zhichuan had long since developed this habit of talking to himself.

The noisy chatter from outside the tent reached him inside as only muffled tones.

Inside the camp, several parents, who had been troubled by the City Defense Army throughout their journey, were indignantly sharing their experiences.

Most people opted to pass the idle waiting time by chatting or listening.

Lu Zhichuan, however, did not. The lunchbox Su Qingyao had left for him sat empty before him.

The man, seated inside the tent, adjusted a pair of non-prescription glasses on the bridge of his nose.

He had read the book he brought several times over, and now it offered only boredom, so he set it aside to ponder other matters.

Lu Zhichuan remained silent, his gaze drifting towards the window.

The sky had now completely darkened, yet the expected moonlight was shrouded in a white veil, rendering the tent’s interior lights hazy and flickering.

His wandering thoughts suddenly paused, and Lu Zhichuan reached out towards the window.

There was no sound, only cool droplets.

“Is it raining?”

Lu Zhichuan felt a touch of surprise.