Chapter 57: The Rising Wind (III)

When the news came that the two boys from the Bai and Ni families had died mysteriously and gruesomely in their dormitory, Enforcement Captain Vaughn was stunned for a moment before smashing the table on the spot. Who did this? This was simply outrageous! No matter who it was this time, they had to be caught—otherwise, he could forget about continuing as captain. His subordinates quickly reported the whole affair.

Yin? That troublemaker again. Vaughn gave a cold laugh, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Enforcement squad, all units prepare! Don't ask questions; arrest the student Yin from the Cardmaker Academy first!"

As soon as the order was given, Vaughn also notified Dean Li Xian and the Crown Prince. He believed both of them were already aware of the situation. In fact, all the major factions at the academy were reacting much the same, with the two families’ parents being the slowest to respond. But after his order, they should have received the news as well.

On the way to Long Yin's dormitory, Vaughn gathered more details, and the more he confirmed that Yin was involved, the colder his smile became.

Seated on the sofa, Long Yin received word of the various factions’ movements and raised an eyebrow. "Your Highness, can you really take on the entire enforcement squad single-handedly?"

Yuan Shaolin stood at the door, sword in hand, glancing back at Long Yin. "What do you think?"

Long Yin shook his head. "No way." He rubbed his brow. "The Bai and Ni families are coming for blood. The Crown Prince has received several written protests from other families as well. These formal protests landed on Dean Li Xian's desk almost immediately, and the Dean has promised severe punishment to set an example. Under the Crown Prince’s direction, the student council, class representatives, and club leaders are all demanding justice, and they're all on their way here as we speak. Your Highness, the enforcement squad is the least of your worries."

A trace of amusement flickered in Yuan Shaolin's eyes—did this kid really know who these people were coming for? But seeing how calm Long Yin was, he couldn't help but ask, "Aren’t you nervous?"

Long Yin blinked. "Should I be?" He shook his head. "Your Highness, if you're not nervous about facing all these people, why should I be?"

Yuan Shaolin was momentarily at a loss for words, then gave a resigned smile. "What about the rest?"

"Oh, Dean Dorin and the other teachers from the academy are also rushing over." Long Yin suddenly smiled innocently. "If you’re wondering what preparations I made, I honestly haven’t thought of anything. Uncle has already taken action, though!"

"What exactly do you want to achieve?" Sometimes Yuan Shaolin was baffled by this kid’s intentions and, too tired to guess, asked directly.

Long Yin leaned back into the sofa. "I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I’d love to knock the Crown Prince down a peg, but that's beyond my reach for now. At best, I can undermine his standing among the great families—a side benefit. With you, Uncle, and Dean Dorin here, I think I might scrape through this time. But some people definitely won’t let it go. Soon there’ll be the off-campus field training. I plan to lure all their dark forces to Green Hill Ridge, and then... well, that’s a problem for later. As for what I was thinking at the time—I just really hated those two scumbags."

"That’s it?" Yuan Shaolin sounded skeptical, but Long Yin only yawned. "Your Highness, I hate overthinking things. Not every action is full of hidden meaning. Sometimes, I just act on impulse!"

Yuan Shaolin narrowed his eyes slightly, a trace of seriousness in his elegant gaze. "If you’ve miscalculated and none of us can shield you, what will you do?"

"You should know, Your Highness: since the establishment of World Without Cards, the title of Crown Prince at Dexin is no longer my only path. It would be great to win it, but if not, I have other avenues—just more troublesome ones." Long Yin smiled at Yuan Shaolin. "You needn’t worry. I’ll do what I can. At worst, I get expelled from Dexin."

It was because escape was possible that Long Yin felt so fearless. Living a second life, he refused to let himself be stifled. If he must fight, let it be a glorious one; after venting his grievances, no matter how bad things got, at least his enemies would fall before him first.

Hearing this, Yuan Shaolin turned away, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly—this was precisely the kind of temperament he admired in a youth. Thousands of enforcement squad members, clad in full uniform, came marching in, their momentum so fierce it was almost as though warhorses and spears filled the air. As the squad surrounded the entire dormitory building, Yuan Shaolin met Captain Vaughn’s gaze with icy calm.

Vaughn stepped forward. "Enforcement squad on duty. All unrelated persons, leave immediately!"

His Highness lowered his gaze, completely ignoring Vaughn’s words. Standing at the door with his sword, he clearly meant to bar the way alone.

Vaughn’s face darkened. He didn’t know exactly who this was, only that he was closely connected with that old fox Dorin, the academy’s head. But whoever blocked him today, he would show no mercy. "Young man, if you don’t move, you’ll have only yourself to blame if you get hurt!"

Yuan Shaolin stood unmoved, quietly listening to the child inside recite the enforcement squad’s force deployment map.

Vaughn nearly choked with rage at being so brazenly ignored in front of thousands of subordinates. As expected, anyone associated with Dorin was insufferable.

His face grew colder as he waved his hand; thousands of squad members surged forward like a swarm. Any ordinary person would have been terrified, but Yuan Shaolin only held his sword, a hint of mocking smile on his lips, making Vaughn’s eyelid twitch. Soon enough, he saw what that smile meant: the entire lawn around the building was planted with a device called "Flying Spikes." Individually, they were harmless, but in great numbers, their lethality was terrifying. Scattered across the grass, camouflaged in green, each only as large as a fingernail and nearly invisible until triggered, they fired tiny darts on contact. The darts didn’t hurt but delivered a numbing agent—one or two did little, but en masse, they instantly incapacitated.

Within moments, nearly a hundred squad members at the front collapsed, their snores rising in chorus. Inside, Long Yin clicked his tongue in admiration—throwing money at the problem really was effective, taking out nearly a hundred people in an instant.

Vaughn’s face turned ashen. He hadn’t expected such shamelessness—waiting for him with a trap. The charge of a thousand men was instantly broken.

At that moment, Yuan Shaolin moved. A flash of blue—then a fire dragon roared out, its blazing head scattering everyone within three meters. The quick ones managed to raise magical shields, but none could match the speed of Yuan Shaolin’s sword. The blade swept out like a net, shattering shields. Several people coughed blood and were sent flying, unable even to stand—clearly, they too were out of the fight.

Once might be luck. Twice meant intention. Being blocked again and again, the enforcement squad dared not approach Yuan Shaolin. Still holding his sword, he stood coldly before them, embodying a one-man barrier that none dared breach.

Danger flickered in Vaughn’s narrowed eyes as the cold-faced youth barred his way. Twice now, he’d been stymied. Vaughn flexed his fingers slowly, the joints crackling, and stepped forward with a sneer. "So you’re a seventh-level Cardmaster, and very impressive. You can stop my weaker men, but what if someone of equal strength holds you off? Will you still guard that door?"

A hint of gravity flashed through Yuan Shaolin’s mind, but he answered coldly, "Try me and see!"

Their eyes locked, and suddenly both moved at once, each activating a magic card—earth spikes burst from the ground, forcing Yuan Shaolin to shift his stance. In that first exchange, Yuan Shaolin realized his opponent was just as seasoned. Though his own reflexes were faster, Vaughn’s years of experience made his counterattacks precise—the two were evenly matched. Meanwhile, other squad members rushed the dormitory door. Yuan Shaolin, seeing this, flicked his sword at Vaughn’s throat. Vaughn leaped back in shock, but just then Yuan Shaolin slapped a frost magic card with his left hand. In a flash of blue, the area by the door froze solid.

Though the attackers were prepared, their movements slowed. Yuan Shaolin drew the Seven-Star Summoning Card, calling forth the Savage Wind Wolf he had recently sealed. The beast bared its fangs at the squad, blood-red eyes flashing murderously. With a low snarl, it radiated a ferocious aura. Yuan Shaolin vaulted onto its back, quickly retaking his position, his sword now a reaper’s scythe, dispatching those too slow to react.

The enforcement squad, accustomed to campus duty, were by no means weak, but had lost their fighting edge after years of peace. Trapped in old routines, they hesitated to use lethal cards, while Yuan Shaolin had no such qualms—he ended threats as swiftly as possible. By the time the squad realized they needed to escalate, he had already taken down many. Yet he held back from killing—his blows only robbed opponents of their fighting strength, the worst injuries leaving the unlucky bedridden for half a year. This approach meant that from the start, the squad refrained from their most dangerous moves.

Yet in this short time, hundreds fell. Vaughn, furious, bellowed, "Stop holding back! Show what you’re made of—no mercy!" Staring at Yuan Shaolin, who stood with sword drawn, Vaughn saw him kick aside several who had nearly broken through the door—each one felled by psychic force from the child inside. Yuan Shaolin’s ruthless movements made Vaughn scowl. "Young man, I’ll ask you one last time—are you leaving or not?"

Yuan Shaolin’s only reply was to level his blade at Vaughn, the summer breeze lifting his silver bangs to reveal eyes full of pride and disdain.

Vaughn nodded. "Very well. You leave me no choice! All units prepare! Break through—take him down!"

"Who dares lay a finger on him!" A thunderous roar came as Dorin kicked aside the squad members blocking his way, leading a swarm of elders who forced their way into the crowd. Dorin’s wrinkled face radiated murderous intent, his beard bristling with rage. Marching up, he jabbed a finger at Vaughn as if ready to devour him. "Vaughn, you little bastard! You just ordered them to break through my nephew? Do you even know who he is? He’s my nephew! I wouldn’t let him lose a single hair, and you want your men to break him?!" Dorin’s bony finger nearly jabbed up Vaughn’s nose as he spat, "He’s my nephew! My nephew! You’d dare attack him? I’ll attack your mother’s head!"

"Dorin, you old fool, don’t push your luck!" Vaughn was beside himself, angrily batting Dorin’s hand away.

Dorin planted his fists on his hips, chin raised, glowering at Vaughn. "Ha! I’m too much? How so? You’d hurt my nephew and still say I’m at fault? Tomorrow I’ll have the Vagabonds’ Guild surround your house and let them attack your wife and children—then you’ll know what’s too much!"

"You—!" Vaughn nearly spat blood. "You wretched old man, you wouldn’t dare!"

"If you dare hurt my nephew today, I’ll attack your family tomorrow!" Since his brother died, Dorin had never cared for pride. Now old, he cared even less—when faced with those he disliked, he’d stoop as low as necessary, hoping to infuriate his foes to death.

The squad members looked on in wide-eyed astonishment, unsure whether to act. Their captain had just been called a bastard, now a monkey, and Dexin’s most notorious elder was clearly no idle threat. Best to steer well clear of this shameless old man in future.

"Wretched old man... you, you..." Vaughn glanced at Yuan Shaolin’s impassive face, then at Dorin’s furious one—his anger swelled until he actually coughed up blood.

A man can be killed, but not humiliated. He refused to believe the old man would actually attack his family. Hand trembling with rage, Vaughn jabbed a finger at Yuan Shaolin. "You, you—" "Take him down!" he meant to say, but before the word left his lips, he howled in pain—Dorin had bitten his finger, nearly to the bone. Everyone was stunned—he’d nearly bitten it clean off.

Dorin released his bite, glowering at Vaughn, then addressed the squad. "Anyone who dares hurt my nephew will pay for it!"

It was a blatant threat, but one that made even the burliest squad members’ hearts quail. This old man was so shameless, he might really take revenge.

Vaughn’s face was black with rage as he stamped his feet. "Take them down! Are you all dead? Take them! Anyone who doesn’t, pack up and get out!"

"If anyone hurts my nephew, I’ll hurt their family!"

"Wretched old man, I don’t believe you’d really do it!"

"Brat, I’m as shameless as they come! If you don’t believe me, try me with your family!"