Chapter 98

The news that Bulvik, leading a team of "Lion Society" members from No. 7 Middle School, collaborated with the Samira Caravan from Black Flame City to advance into Crescent Grassland for the trial, hunting Golden Wolves and picking goose neck grass, became the biggest news at Tianye Wolf Castle today.

The Samira Caravan provided Bulvik's team with several boxes of dry rations, gifted Bulvik a war knife and a set of armor, and supplied several wolf traps. With these items, Bulvik and his team held a grand oath-taking ceremony in the Wild Wolf Castle square, full of vigor and spirit. After the ceremony, Bulvik, like a general, led the "Lion Society" team, over two hundred strong, to march towards Crescent Grassland in a grand procession.

Nearly one-fifth of the students from No. 7 Middle School followed Bulvik, ready to "achieve great deeds" in Crescent Grassland.

At the oath-taking ceremony, many girls in the square shouted Bulvik's name and screamed, complementing his charming smile and his head of golden hair. Bulvik's popularity was unmatched, and his name was seen by many as the most outstanding representative of all the students in this trial.

Many students were stirred to a fever pitch, wishing they were Bulvik, enjoying the cheers of the girls. Leading a team to Crescent Grassland to hunt Level 2 Golden Wolves and pick life-saving goose neck grass, this act, filled with masculine courage and heroism, and promoted by the Samira Caravan as a noble cause, made Bulvik a hero in the eyes of many girls and the brightest star of this trial.

When Bulvik became a star, Zhang Tie stood at the edge of the square, looking at the radiant Bulvik like a slave. His clothes, unwashed for three days, were dirty from the arduous work of mining and carrying ore. His face was also unclean, and the sweat from his forehead and temples had left clear mud trails on his face. A girl with a sensitive nose could even smell the sour odor of sweat from him. Compared to Bulvik, who was dressed in bright armor, Zhang Tie looked like a country bumpkin, and there was no comparison.

Zhang Tie's eyes were slightly gloomy and pitying as he looked at the smug faces of the "Lion Society" members. He silently cursed them as "idiots!"

Bulvik's ambition and coldness surprised and alarmed Zhang Tie. Golden Wolves are Level 2 creatures, and Bulvik is already a Level 1 Warrior who has ignited the Divine Palace's Bright Point. As a Level 1 Warrior, Bulvik must be well aware that no matter how closely his team members cooperate, it is almost impossible to hunt Level 2 Golden Wolves without casualties, especially when they need to capture them alive to ensure the freshness of the Golden Wolf's bone marrow when delivered to Black Flame City. Knowing there would be casualties, Bulvik still prepared to use his influence and the trust of his team members to carry out this mission, which only showed that in Bulvik's mind, these trusting team members were expendable, mere stepping stones for his rise. Compared to Gris, Bulvik was more sinister and more terrifying. If Gris was a wolf ready to show its fangs, Bulvik was a wolf in sheep's clothing, hiding his ambition and coldness behind a harmless appearance, blending in with the flock. This made him more dangerous and more deceptive.

Zhang Tie had no intention of jumping out to play the role of a big-headed garlic or a so-called justice hero. He felt that even if he said or did anything now, it would have no effect on these already feverish minds. Just by hunting one Golden Wolf and picking one goose neck grass, a person could obtain a fine war knife. This was an extremely cheap reward offered by the Samira Caravan, but it stirred the blood of many students. Trading their lives for a weapon and then using that weapon to serve others, Zhang Tie found such a trade insulting to his intelligence, but some students were thrilled by this reward. Zhang Tie had nothing to say about it. Perhaps those students still dreamed that if they performed well, they could be recommended by the caravan, and Master Abian would know their names, becoming his assistant or apprentice, a step to becoming a potion master, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Many years ago, someone from No. 7 Middle School had already achieved this, and it had become a legend in the school. Who wouldn't want to be the next Li Shizhen? But these words were spoken by the man named Samira, and Zhang Tie considered his words as nonsense. However, some people still believed him. Those people didn't understand that even if Samira's words were true, the only one who would get this opportunity would be Bulvik, not anyone else. After a war, the bones of soldiers pile up like mountains, while the names of victorious generals are celebrated everywhere. This is the reality.

This expedition, in Zhang Tie's view, was a trap, a trap set by exploiting human weaknesses. This trap, dug by trust and greed, was the most common and ordinary kind, obvious to anyone with clear eyes. But if someone wanted to jump in, Zhang Tie couldn't stop them. He felt he had done his part, and what others did was their business. He had no obligation to sacrifice himself for others.

"Besides yourself, no one can be responsible for your life! Animals, I hope when you return, you will truly understand what the school motto means—welcome to the Black Iron Age. After three years in school, you still haven't fully understood the words at the school gate. As Tang De said, the blackest and most iron-hearted things in this age are actually human hearts," Zhang Tie said to himself.

...

At the end of the oath-taking ceremony, Bulvik, standing on the temporary platform, smiled and spoke passionately, occasionally looking back. Not a single teacher from the temporary inspection committee appeared, not even to watch from the outer wall, which made Bulvik slightly disappointed.

"Don't be disappointed. A school recommendation won't be more valuable than having Master Abian know your name..." Samira, seemingly noticing the disappointment in Bulvik's eyes, whispered in his ear, "The future of the Alliance's military academy is uncertain, but no matter who rules Black Flame City, Master Abian will always be respected. You are a smart person, you should know what I mean!"

"I know what to do!" Bulvik whispered.

"Then I wish you good luck. By the way, I forgot to tell you, the student from your school named Gris has already contacted me. He also wants this opportunity to have Master Abian know his name. I don't know if there are other capable students who will be interested. So, work hard. Only the most outstanding can get this opportunity!" Samira added fuel to the fire.

"I will do my best!" Bulvik's smile faltered slightly as he heard this, and then he saw Zhang Tie, not very noticeable, in the crowd. Zhang Tie wasn't noticeable, but the mining basket on his back was. Seeing Zhang Tie, Bulvik's eyes flickered, and he continued to smile as he said to Samira, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Remember the person who caused trouble in the crowd that day? His name is Zhang Tie, the black-haired boy with the mining basket at three o'clock. He is already a Level 1 Warrior, and Captain Collin and Jerome seem to appreciate him!"

Samira's eyes twitched. Even now, Samira still felt that someone in the crowd was pointing and whispering about him, calling him "snake head" and "triangular eyes." Samira glanced at Zhang Tie from a distance and managed to force a smile on his thin, horse-like face. "Alright, I know what to do!"

"Let's cooperate quickly!"

"Let's cooperate quickly!"

...

The oath-taking ceremony ended, and Bulvik led his team away from the small square of Wild Wolf Castle, finally bringing some peace to the chaotic square. As soon as Bulvik left, the temporary inspection committee announced that a bonfire party would be held on the small square that evening, with performances by girls. This announcement stirred the crowd again. For some reason, Zhang Tie seemed to understand the intentions of the teachers on the temporary inspection committee. They seemed to not want the students to take the risk of going to Crescent Grassland.

The square was chaotic, and after reading the announcement, everyone was discussing it. Many were about to leave, and Zhang Tie, seeing no more excitement, was also about to leave. But just as he was about to leave, a person in the chaotic crowd walked past him, brushing against him. With his mental power increased sevenfold, Zhang Tie's senses were extremely sharp. As soon as he brushed against the person, he felt something added to his mining basket. An ordinary person, carrying a heavy mining basket with tools inside, would not notice the sudden addition.

Damn, who would be so bored as to play a child's game, seeing me with a mining basket and opening it to throw things in? I haven't played that game since I was eight, Zhang Tie thought. He was about to turn around to see who the boring bastard was when he suddenly heard a loud voice behind him.

"Wallet, my wallet! Where is it? It was just here, and now it's gone!"

"Thief, it must be a thief..."

Shit! Zhang Tie's crisis management mechanism in his brain reacted in less than a second. Oh no, I've been set up. Damn, these bastards want to catch me red-handed. With the item in my basket, I can't explain myself with a hundred mouths. Once caught here, it's over. No, I have to leave here first to turn the tide...

In that instant, Zhang Tie's survival instinct kicked in again. Without turning around, he darted away like a cheetah, running down the hill at full speed...

The person who had just been shouting loudly, proud of attracting everyone's attention, was about to start the show when he looked up and saw, "What the hell, where did that kid go?" The few people arranged to play along were also stunned. Where did that kid go? He should have waited to see the show and then been caught red-handed. This isn't how the script was supposed to go. This isn't scientific!

"Wallet, wallet..." The person's loud shout turned into a real scream. Finally, someone noticed that Zhang Tie was already a hundred meters away, running down the hill.

"That kid is the thief, everyone, catch him!" The square was in chaos, and a large crowd chased after Zhang Tie...

Far away, Samira's eyes twitched. Even he didn't expect the carefully planned scheme to go so wrong. A normal person's first reaction, if they weren't the thief, wouldn't be to turn around and look out of curiosity? How could that kid run faster than a rabbit at the sound of this? What kind of freak is he?

"Wallet, my wallet..." Thinking of the wallet, Samira jumped up. Damn, to play the role, that was my wallet...

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