In the afternoon.
At the massive drill ground outside Academy City, the viewing stands had already been fully constructed.
The sun was at its peak.
When Chu Tian arrived in his persona as “Sir Mo Yuan,” the atmosphere at the scene was thick with the scent of grass mixed with dust.
He immediately spotted that breathtakingly beautiful figure surrounded by the crowd.
His gaze swept over the moving masses, locking onto Su Nian instantly.
There was also that man beside her who was being incessantly attentive — Lanuer Hongfeng.
Lanuer was smiling, leaning forward slightly as he pointed toward the distant exercise field, whispering something to Su Nian.
His posture was intimate, his words gentle, and his deep brown eyes were filled with just the right amount of admiration and focus.
Chu Tian’s expression darkened instantly.
He set off, weaving through the crowd without a hint of hesitation, his every step steady and powerful.
The surrounding clamor naturally parted to make a path for him.
As if sensing something through a telepathic connection, Su Nian looked in his direction.
Upon seeing the person approaching…
The girl, who was originally cold and haughty, subconsciously let a faint smile grace the corners of her lips.
And that was even after she tried her best to suppress it.
‘Hehe. Hubby is here!’
However, her husband’s handsome face was currently written all over with “unhappiness.”
‘What’s going on?’
Only then did she realize the situation.
Because the other party had not been intrusive and was simply sitting beside her, Su Nian had only just noticed after looking back at Lanuer, who had been sitting by her side while she was evaluating the grounds.
Of course, they had only been having a very ordinary conversation about forming the Allied Forces.
‘Could it be… Chu Tian is jealous?’
At the thought of this possibility, a surge of secret joy bubbled up in Su Nian’s heart for no reason.
This realization sent ripples of delight through her mind.
A mischievous thought popped up.
She even deliberately leaned her body slightly toward Lanuer’s direction.
Her voice was cold, yet it carried a trace of nearly imperceptible praise.
“Commander Lanuer’s insights into tactics are indeed unique.”
Lanuer maintained his gentle smile and continued speaking to Su Nian.
“The Holy Lady overpraises me. To be able to fight side by side with you would be my greatest honor.”
As he spoke, he deliberately lowered his voice, creating a sense of intimacy as if only the two of them could hear.
“Regarding the magic circle coordination tactics you mentioned earlier, I feel they could be further refined…”
As Lanuer spoke, he pulled a piece of parchment from his robe, which was densely packed with various tactical points.
He spread the paper out on the small table between them, his finger lightly tapping a certain spot.
“Look here. If the attack route of the floating warship is adjusted slightly…”
Su Nian pretended to lean in and inspect it, but in reality, her mind was entirely on that increasingly gloomy gaze not far away.
Chu Tian walked straight over.
With every step he took, the expression on his face grew a fraction more unsightly.
With a hint of perfectly timed surprise in her sky-blue eyes, Su Nian watched him.
Chu Tian felt his rationality slipping away bit by bit.
However, he precisely interrupted their conversation.
Seeing the image of Su Nian and Lanuer with their heads close together studying a tactical map, Chu Tian let out a clear, deliberately heavy cough that was neither too loud nor too soft.
Su Nian desperately fought to keep the corners of her mouth from curling upward before she slowly turned her head.
“Ahem.”
“You’re here!”
Her tone was light, but her eyes hid a touch of craftiness.
“Mm.” Chu Tian squeezed a single word from between his teeth.
At the same time, the expression on his face told Su Nian quite clearly — ‘You’re dead meat tonight!’
Lanuer keenly sensed the subtle change in the atmosphere and quickly captured some interesting information.
The way this “Sir Mo Yuan” looked at Su Nian was absolutely not that of a simple business partner.
He looked up, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Chu Tian and Su Nian.
Lanuer calculated inwardly, yet on the surface, he maintained perfect grace.
“Sir Mo Yuan, I have heard much of your great name.” He stood up and took the initiative to extend his hand.
“I am Lanuer Hongfeng. It is an honor to meet the legendary genius alchemist. The Magic Phone was created by your hand, after all.”
Chu Tian glanced at Lanuer’s extended hand.
After two seconds of silence, he finally reached out to shake it.
“You’re too kind.”
Those three words were cold enough to freeze.
On her side, Su Nian looked at the man’s appearance — clearly angry yet unable to lose his temper — and her heart felt incredibly sweet.
That sense of exclusive satisfaction almost made her laugh out loud.
‘So this is what it feels like to make Hubby jealous.’
‘It really gives such a sense of accomplishment!’
As for Chu Tian’s threat of her being “dead meat tonight”…
‘Hehe, I’m not afraid of him.’
That guy thought that whenever she begged for mercy at night or cried while her waist felt weak… he had “won.”
‘I was faking it!’
In reality… she wouldn’t even be afraid if he went a bit further.
‘Hehe. Of course, on the surface, I’ll definitely pretend to be a bit more reserved.’
Their deep interactions over this period had allowed Su Nian to fully understand the goodness of this man, and she fully felt the happiness of being in a relationship.
Back when she first lost her memory, she had even suggested to Chu Tian that they sleep in separate rooms.
Looking at it now, that was completely unnecessary!
Chu Tian’s arrival also meant that the review ceremony was about to officially begin.
The Third Prince, Elvin, stood at the front of the stage impatiently.
He straightened his magnificent robes and, in a posture he considered extremely charismatic, announced loudly: “Next, let us witness together the ‘Pioneer-class’ Floating Warship, meticulously crafted by Shadowmoon Manor!”
As his words fell, the gazes of the spectators from both the east and west viewing stands turned toward the distance.
A massive, streamlined ship slowly ascended from a specially made dock.
The hull shimmered with a luster where metal and magic runes intertwined, its form elegant yet brimming with a sense of power.
The entire venue erupted in a chorus of uncontrollable gasps and exclamations of wonder.
“Is this the legendary floating warship?”
“It’s too shocking!”
The discussions among the commoners rose and fell like waves, their eyes filled with longing for a future victory.
“With a weapon like this, can the Demon Race still be so arrogant?”
Sword Saint Gore narrowed his eyes, carefully observing every detail of the ship.
As a veteran warrior of many battles, he could see the value of this warship. If this kind of weapon could be mass-produced, the chances of winning against the Demon Race would increase significantly.
“This craftsmanship! This structure! It’s simply a genius design!”
As the warship demonstrated several maneuvers, carving graceful arcs through the sky, the smile on Elvin’s face grew increasingly smug.
The Dwarf prince, Sana Liehuo, was so excited that even his beard curled up.
“Now this is the design of a great talent!”
The surprise was coming.
Just as everyone was heaping praise upon the ship, a sudden change occurred!
From the core of the ship’s hull, an ear-piercing, tooth-aching metallic screech suddenly erupted!
Billowing black smoke, mixed with out-of-control arcs of magic electricity, surged out from the interior of the ship.
“—!”
The massive hull lurched violently, carrying a momentum that seemed capable of destroying everything as it dove straight toward the west viewing stand!
“What’s happening?!”
“Get out of the way, quick!”
“Protect the VIPs!”
The expressions of everyone on the viewing stands changed drastically, and panicked screams rang out in a chaotic mess.
Sword Saint Gore had already drawn his massive sword, which was as large as a door plank, and the veins on his muscular arms bulged.
But he was currently at the east viewing stand, while the warship was crashing toward the west viewing stand.
It was too far.
At this moment, Su Nian, Lanuer, and several other powerful experts were also arranged to be at the east viewing stand.
Obviously, such an arrangement was done intentionally by someone.
The one who could do this was, naturally… the Third Prince!
At the same time, everyone finally realized that Isabella was currently on the west viewing stand!
Isabella watched as the ship hurtled toward her, and her face, which usually wore an elegant smile, was now deathly pale.
She had originally wondered why her seat was arranged on the west stand instead of being with the other Heroes of the Five Capitals.
Seeing the out-of-control warship crashing toward her, she finally understood everything.
The shadow of death loomed over the entire west viewing stand with unprecedented speed.
At the critical moment!
“Little Violet!”
Following Su Nian’s sharp cry, a thunderous sound like the chirping of ten thousand birds echoed through the air.
Space Transfer!
The out-of-control ship that had been crashing toward the stand a moment ago was instantly teleported to a distant, uninhabited area.
“Boom — !”
The review ship crashed.
The earth shook violently, and flames and thick smoke spiraled into the sky.
The crisis was averted.
Chu Tian moved with Su Nian, quickly heading toward the east viewing stand.
Originally, he had intended to act; his space magic could have achieved the same result.
But hearing Su Nian order Little Violet to take action, he decided not to steal the girl’s thunder.
He knew Little Violet’s capabilities; her strength in space magic was not inferior to his own.
The survivors gasped for breath, their hearts still pounding with lingering fear.
Isabella slumped into her chair, her chest heaving violently, “Many thanks to the Holy Lady for saving my life.”
The ship naturally couldn’t have vanished into thin air; someone had clearly saved her.
She was quite familiar with the other experts on the field, and none of them had such an ability, so she naturally guessed that it was Su Nian who had rescued her.
Su Nian was not the type to demand a reward for a favor.
Instead, she thought of the other party and made a small request to make them feel better.
“Hehe, then treat me to a meal next time. I won’t be polite.”
“That goes without saying,” Isabella said, her voice slightly trembling with emotion.
On the other side.
A flash of regret over the failure of his plan flickered in the eyes of the Third Prince, Elvin.
Even if it hadn’t caused major casualties, he could still hold someone accountable for the crash and the near-disaster.
But his gaze quickly turned sinister.
Elvin rushed to the front of the stage, pointed at Chu Tian, and shouted sternly: “The ship went out of control and crashed into the viewing stand! Were you trying to assassinate the Heroes of the Five Capitals so that the Allied Forces would lose their logistics commander before the war even began? Mo Yuan! How dare you!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire crowd went into an uproar.
“What?!”
“It was a deliberate assassination?”
“Capture him!”
“He must be punished severely!”
The commoners were not entirely clear on what had happened, and the guards immediately surrounded them, pointing their shimmering swords at Chu Tian.
Su Nian’s expression changed, and she subconsciously wanted to defend Chu Tian.
In an instant, Chu Tian became the target of everyone’s scorn.
However, faced with the Third Prince’s attack, Chu Tian not only showed no panic but even let out a confident smile, signaling Su Nian not to worry and to let him handle it.
To Chu Tian.
There was no way the Magic Workshop of Shadowmoon Manor could be tampered with so easily.
Moreover, knowing that the construction of the warship was vital, how could he have let the other party be so careless?
The reason he allowed the other party to think they had “succeeded” was that he was turning their own trick against them.
The scene of someone sneaking into Shadowmoon Manor to bribe the craftsmen had been entirely captured by hidden Recording Crystals within the manor.
The reason they hadn’t been caught on the spot was that he wanted to know the other party’s true intentions and find out who was behind it.
As for the sabotaged ship that crashed, it was actually a discarded prototype, not the one he truly intended to showcase.
Chu Tian smiled nonchalantly and said, “Prince Elvin, you seem to be in quite a hurry to convict me. Before we investigate the accident, I would first like to show everyone something far more interesting.”
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