"Uh-huh... The atmosphere in our class seems..." Lin Tuo's lips twitched as he scanned the lifeless classroom.
"Let's play a few games to boost our teamwork and coordination before class starts."
...
"Damn, why am I in the same group as you? This is such bad luck..." Ji Bai glared at the iron chain that bound him to the silver-haired girl, his face darkening.
Lynn, her face full of frustration, turned to look at Ji Bai, her expression as if a human had seen a pile of dung or a vampire had seen garlic.
Meanwhile, Xiao Sha was paired with Huo Lei, and a certain seasoned veteran was left out, squatting on the side, drawing circles in the dirt.
"The rules are simple. The first group to reach the other side wins. Just a heads-up, the losing group will be punished together," Lin Tuo announced through a megaphone from the stands.
"Tsk, tsk..." Lynn, her face expressionless, barely furrowed her brows, and reluctantly turned to Ji Bai, who was doing warm-up exercises with a resigned look.
"Wait, don't move. I'll move."
"Huh? What do you mean, you move, I don't move?" Before a confused Ji Bai could understand what Lynn was trying to say, a gunshot signaling the start of the race echoed across the field.
Lynn's eyes narrowed, and without hesitation, she delivered a swift kick to Ji Bai's groin, sending him sprawling. Ignoring the fallen Ji Bai, she fixed her gaze on the red line tied at the finish line.
The field was soon filled with the sounds of Ji Bai's pained wails and the rustling of grass, like a speedboat dragging a surfboard across the waves, leaving Lin Tuo speechless.
...
"Parasite! What have you done?!" Ji Bai, pulling out grass and small rubbery black particles from his clothes, shouted at the emotionless vampire standing nearby.
"To avoid being punished with you," Lynn said flatly, her gaze distant.
"Did you win by doing that?!"
"No."
"Damn it!"
"It wasn't intentional."
"Hah, hah! Do you even believe that yourself?" Ji Bai sneered, standing up and brushing off the grass. He glared at the golden-haired catgirl nearby, who was smiling triumphantly.
"Cough, cough, let's move on to the next event. Don't get too upset, losing teams. It's a best-of-three series," Lin Tuo intervened, and the next round began.
Trust fall, twenty repetitions, the team with the shortest time wins.
Yes, it requires skin-to-skin contact, and a lot of it.
"Tsk, tsk..." x2.
"I need some time to prepare," Ji Bai and Lynn said in unison.
When they returned, both were wearing thick, full-body down jackets.
"Emmm..." Lin Tuo, looking at the two as if they were performing a comedy routine, was at a loss for words.
"Alright, first up, Lynn and Ji Bai."
With their elbows locked together, the two stared straight ahead, determined not to see each other.
"Ready... Go."
"Hehe..." Ji Bai's lips curled into a lecherous smile.
If Lynn had felt any guilt after the inhumane dragging, it was now gone, even if Ji Bai was one of those self-righteous knights.
Ji Bai tightened his grip on Lynn's elbow and bent down, pulling her down with a 120-degree angle.
"Heya!"
"Poof, poof!" Grass and rubber particles flew as Ji Bai slammed Lynn into the ground with great force.
"Emma! Sorry, I used a bit too much force. It wasn't intentional, hehehe..." Ji Bai, looking at Lynn's face, which was buried in the ground like a radish, not only felt no guilt but even laughed.
"First group, out. The match is over," Lin Tuo announced, feeling a bit queasy.
In fact, if they had worked together, they could have won easily. The size difference between a troll and a catgirl made it impossible to perform a proper trust fall. Even if I wanted to let them win, they wouldn't take it. I'm at a loss...
...
"Senior, are you leaving? I hope I didn't fail to take good care of you," Lan Yu said, feeling ashamed.
"No, it's just that I have some matters to attend to at headquarters. Lan, these are extraordinary times. I will report the situation here to headquarters... Take good care, and never forget the heart of a knight," Manda said earnestly.
"Yes, I will not disappoint you," Lan Yu's eyes flickered, then returned to their usual calm.
Manda nodded and stepped onto the mage teleportation circle of the Radiant Knights.
As Manda stepped onto the circle, the stone runes glowed with a golden light, and Manda's figure disappeared in a brilliant flash.
Lan Yu, his expression serious, finally relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.
...
In a desolate, barren area a thousand miles from the human federation's border, a few faint, shimmering threads of light flickered in the air.
An old battlefield, a desolate basin with no one in sight, the yellowed soil, and even the weeds were too lazy to grow. No one believed that any living being would stay here for long.
But the truth was hidden behind the faintly visible magic source barrier.
"What is this?! The water is cold!" A sharp slap echoed, and a frail, small cat-eared girl was knocked unconscious. The other cat-people in the tent trembled in fear.
They wore silver collars with unique patterns, all of them malnourished and emaciated.
Inside the tent, the large figure sitting on a fur-covered chair narrowed his eyes, full of malice, and surveyed the cat-people kneeling on the ground, their legs trembling in fear.
"Such a weak race, a disgrace to the demon kind! You are as weak as those humans!" The troll's eyes, filled with a sinister light, scanned the attractive cat-girls.
The girls were terrified, having heard of the troll's brutality and cruelty.
The girls he took to his bed were never left in peace, even in death. He also had a special hobby: summoning the girls' relatives to witness their suffering...
This troll was a true demon. No, for the cat-people, the entire troll race was tainted.
Despite their kind nature, the cat-people were constantly oppressed by various forces. Their kindness made them a laughingstock among the demon kind.
Weakness is a sin.
The cat-people, only slightly stronger than humans, were constantly oppressed and forced into unequal treaties. The females were seen as gold bars by slavers, and the entire race was in a state of constant suffering.
