After Chen Motong gave up targeting Xia Mi, the girl turned her attention to Principal Anjou. She needed to figure out the reason behind the recent unusual activity. Anjou's visit to China must be connected to these strange occurrences.
"Principal, may I ask why you came to China?" Xia Mi asked with a curious expression.
"Xia Mi!" Chu Zihang called out her name sharply, as if reproaching her for being presumptuous.
"It's alright. Xia Mi is also a student of Cassel Academy. She'll learn about this matter sooner or later anyway," Anjou said, waving his hand to signal Chu Zihang not to stop her.
Seeing Anjou's reaction, Xia Mi grew even more curious. She'd already confirmed that Fenrir hadn't been discovered, so what could be causing all this recent unusual movement?
"We're here to slay a dragon this time."
"Slay a dragon?"
"That's correct—slay a dragon. Specifically, the King of Sky and Wind."
"What?! The King of Sky and Wind?!"
A look of profound shock crossed Xia Mi's face. This shock wasn't an act but genuine astonishment. After all, the news was far too explosive.
Although the four Dragon Kings were hostile toward one another, they had been comrades-in-arms in the final battle against the Black King. When Xia Mi heard that Anjou and his forces had come specifically for the King of Sky and Wind, she felt both shocked and deeply conflicted.
"Would you like to come along and observe?" Anjou suddenly invited.
"May I?" Xia Mi asked tentatively, uncertain why Anjou would suddenly extend such an invitation.
"Of course. However, this operation may be extremely dangerous."
"I'm not afraid of danger. I want to go with you!" Xia Mi declared without hesitation.
"Very well. Prepare yourself over the next few days. I'll have Chu Zihang notify you when we depart."
"Thank you, Principal!"
And so, at Anjou's invitation, Xia Mi joined the expedition against the King of Sky and Wind.
The day before the official operation began, after rendezvousing with follow-up teams from Cassel Academy and the Secret Party, a large force led by Anjou boarded planes in groups and headed for the Kunlun Mountains.
Kunlun appeared calm on the surface these past few days, but the planes filling the skies indicated this was merely the calm before the storm.
Soon, the aircraft landed. Xia Mi disembarked behind Chu Zihang, carrying a large bag. She could see that the area surrounding the airport was filled with busy soldiers, and wave after wave of dragon slayers kept arriving at the location.
"Senior brother, where are we going next?" Xia Mi asked Chu Zihang in a low voice.
"We're heading to the forward command post established on Kunlun Mountain. It's less than five kilometers from the King of Sky and Wind's Nibelungen."
"I see," Xia Mi nodded, her expression heavy.
"When the dragon slaying begins tomorrow, stay behind me. I'll protect you," Chu Zihang said, looking at Xia Mi with concern. He thought she seemed frightened.
"Don't worry, senior brother. I'll definitely stay right behind you!" Xia Mi smiled and assured him, though inwardly she thought: 'Foolish boy, I won't need your protection when the time comes. Just protect yourself.'
After boarding the vehicles, the group headed toward the forward command post. Along the way, Xia Mi observed all manner of alchemical weapons continuously converging on Kunlun. This time, the human side was absolutely determined to kill the King of Sky and Wind.
Upon arriving at the front line, Xia Mi discovered that a tremendous number of hybrids had gathered here—including several S-level individuals. Although she couldn't clearly sense the exact strength of these hybrids, Xia Mi could vaguely perceive that among the S-level hybrids, three possessed strength on par with Anjou himself.
With these four joining forces, even if Xia Mi recovered to her complete Dragon King form, she would need to proceed with extreme caution. After all, as the weakest Dragon King, her raw power wasn't much greater than Norton's had been at the beginning. Her true strength lay in her Dragon King authority, which allowed her to control her elemental domain of Word Spirits.
Xia Mi didn't know which King of Sky and Wind had been discovered. She only knew he had recovered to his complete form. However, facing a siege by so many hybrids, plus whatever weapons lay hidden in reserve, Xia Mi wasn't certain whether her brother—whose identity remained unclear—could withstand such an assault.
'Humanity has developed at such a terrifying pace in recent years. From insignificant creatures, they've now become a genuine threat to the lives of the four complete Dragon Kings. If this continues, Father, even if you awaken, you too will fall to humanity.'
After spending so many years in the human world, Xia Mi understood mankind's development better than any other Dragon King.
"Xia Mi, what are you looking at?"
Chu Zihang noticed Xia Mi staring blankly at the distant mountains and came over to ask.
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just wondering what the King of Sky and Wind looks like in his complete form," Xia Mi replied with a smile.
"There's video footage here at the command post. Would you like to see it? This was filmed by one of our early exploration teams after they entered the Nibelungen."
"Oh, yes please, senior brother."
And so Xia Mi followed Chu Zihang into the command tent. Few people were inside. Chu Zihang found a computer and played the footage captured by the cameras that Ye Sheng and the others had carried with them.
When she saw the azure figure sleeping beneath the cliff, countless memories flooded into Xia Mi's mind. There was the scene when they first met the Black King together, the scene when they defeated the Black King side by side, and finally, the scene when they became enemies and fought each other with their subordinate forces. They had once been siblings, but in the end, they had become bitter enemies fighting for the right to rule the world.
"Xia Mi! Xia Mi!"
Chu Zihang realized that Xia Mi had fallen into a daze several times since arriving at Kunlun.
"Are you alright?" he asked with concern after Xia Mi recovered.
"I'm fine, senior brother. I just felt a little disoriented after seeing the King of Sky and Wind."
"It's okay," Chu Zihang nodded.
"By the way, what's your Word Spirit?"
Chu Zihang seemed to remember something important and asked.
"Eyes of the Wind King."
"So you're a descendant of the King of Sky and Wind bloodline. No wonder you keep spacing out after arriving here," Chu Zihang said, as if he'd finally found the reason for Xia Mi's abnormal behavior.
"Perhaps," Xia Mi replied with a forced smile.
"By the way, senior brother, how is tomorrow's operation arranged? I'd like to know in advance. After all, this is my first time participating in such a large-scale operation, and I want to make proper preparations beforehand so I don't become a burden to you."
"Don't worry about that. You don't need to stress about tomorrow's operation. Even though we have so many people here and we've made such an enormous show of force, we're actually just the reserve team. The main force for slaying the dragon will be someone else entirely."
"This is just the reserve team?!"
Xia Mi couldn't believe it. After creating such a massive deployment, they were merely the reserve force? What would the main force look like?
"You'll be able to see the main force tomorrow," Chu Zihang said, deliberately keeping it mysterious rather than revealing who would lead the actual assault.