"Who sent you?" Yunshu questioned, gripping my neck tighter.

A screech resounded through the sky, causing Yunshu to look up and groan. A lone creature was approaching us, illuminated by the moonlight.

"I'll deal with you later," he said. Iron chains shot out from the ground as he released me, shackling my legs to the ground.

The grotesque winged figure dived at Yunshu. It folded its leathery wings in, hurtling towards the man. He simply stepped to the side, grabbing the left wing of the creature, tearing it off with his bare hands in a brutal show of strength. The creature let out a blood-curdling shriek; a terrible grating sound that elicited a sense of disgust and fear. 

I pulled back my head, trying to get as far away from this creature as possible. Yunshu laughed as he patted the muscular torso of the creature in front of me. 

"I'm sparing you right now, you know? Do us both a favor and tell the truth," he said, ripping out a fistful of fur from the creature's back. "If I really wanted, I could do this to you."

More chains sprang from the ground, locking the creature's massive torso to the ground. Yunshu wrapped his arm around the neck of the monster, securing it tightly in a headlock. Despite seemingly not having a shred of intelligence, the compound eyes of the creature were almost begging for help. It flailed around helplessly, letting out horrible shrieks the entire time.

"Shut it."

Yunshu pulled upwards. I heard a tearing sound and averted my eyes. The scene of violence wasn’t anything new to me, but a primal instinct forced me to look away. Yunshu tutted disapprovingly, as a crimson stream rushed at me from the creature's neck, forcing my head straight. The stinging smell of iron filled my nose.

"You're gonna watch this. You're next, if you don't tell me where the prince is," Yunshu snarled. 

Yunshu dropped the severed head of the creature on the ground, turning back towards me. The small head of the creature let out one final shriek before the ground swallowed it up. As the head sank into the ground, a ringing echo was left in my ears of the guttural death throes. It was a grating, disorienting feeling, causing my vision to blur and my head to spin. 

"Choose. Tell me where the prince is, be buried alive, or you can take the easy way out." 

"What's the easy way?" I snorted. 

"Oh, you think I'm joking?" Yunshu growled. "This is the easy way."

A black metallic coffin rose from the ground around the corpse of the creature. It swung open, revealing jagged spikes studding the interior. The smell of metal got a bit stronger. The door swung shut, with an audible "Shk!"

The sarcophagus sank into the ground, leaving no trace behind. I think I would have felt better if I saw the blood leak out, because the thought of being forced to marinate in my own insides wasn't exactly appealing to me. 

"I've got no idea what you're talking about. I wasn't sent by anybody, and I don't know what you mean by a core." I muttered, staring at the floor.

"You liar!" Yunshu thundered. "Tell me how you can use both aura and magic!" 

Spittle flew from his lips as he blasted more accusations at me. I technically wasn't even lying when I told him I couldn't use magic, at least I hadn't figured out how yet. Yunshu finally stopped his barrage of questions, threats, and accusations when a choir of shrieks pierced through the sky, followed by the audible sound of thousands of beating wings.

Yunshu's eyes bulged, staring at me with pure malice. I was starting to understand why Huotian was so battle-hungry. Honestly, it was surprising that neither of the two had burst a blood vessel yet.

"You brought an entire nest of camazots? You're aware this is grounds for war, right? Damn Wryls." he spat through gritted teeth.

Though he was furious, he was also panicking. Sweat dropped down his forehead as he looked nervously at the castle, and then the city below the encroaching mass of dark fur. 

“Shit,” I heard him mutter. “little bastards will just come flying back if I teleport them away.” He bit his thumbnail as he stomped quickly on the ground, racking his brain for a solution.

“I can’t get rid of them without collateral. I need to alert Yichen.” he finally decided, turning towards the palace.

“No need.”

A streak of blue flashed past me, leaving smoky strands of aura in a trail behind it. I looked up to see Yichen, but there was a different air to him. He was still dressed in royal attire, his red and black robes contrasting with the pure white cloak rippling on his back. The veins on his hand pulsed as he gripped the scabbard hanging by his side.

He held a regal gaze as he stared back at me. A translucent blue dragon burst around him in a fiery blast, waving his hair about. In that moment, as I dug my heels into the ground to avoid being flung back, I finally understood why he was king. From the moment I met him, I constantly wondered why such a seemingly weak man sat atop the throne; someone who allowed themselves to be constantly mocked by their subjects. It had nothing to do with compassion, or lineage. Even if he had been born a peasant, he would have found his way to the throne eventually. He was powerful.

In his left hand he held a bladeless hilt. With a swing of his hand, a blade made of pure aura materialized on his sword. A blue glow encapsulated the white dragons embroidered on the hilt, brightening the training ground. 

I squinted as he shot a wide arc of aura at the flock of "camazots." The night sky was instantly illuminated, a bright blue glow appearing over the capital city. In that moment, I couldn't help but notice how wide Yichen's back seemed, as if he was shouldering the burdens of the kingdom on his own.

There were none of the horrifying shrieks I had heard when Yunshu brutalized a camazot in front of me. I understood why Yunshu thought to call for his help: his aura was so powerful, no traces of the flock survived the onslaught. It was entirely possible Yichen was on the same level as Mars, maybe even stronger.

"Yunshu," he growled. "I will do anything it takes to protect my kingdom, and everyone within it." 

His eyes glinted dangerously in the moonlight as the blue dragon bared its fangs, causing the air to ripple around us. He was shaking slightly, and spoke slowly with pauses between his words, as if he was choosing them very carefully. 

"My son is one of those people. Release him immediately, or there will be consequences."