Zither Emperor

Maldini turned towards Ye Yin Zhu. “Now, you are their captain. Your only assignment is to lead your comrades. When they enter the battlefield to attack the enemy, try your utmost to bring them all back alive. Troops, fall in!”

Fall in? Ye Yin Zhu blanked out. Since he cultivated the Pure Zither Heart from infancy, just like the other mages, he completely didn’t understand military commands! Fortunately, Oliveira reacted quickly and shouted loudly for the troops to line up. In this formation, everyone followed behind Maldini, leaving the central training field. The newly appointed Captain Ye Yin Zhu was pulled by Oliveira to the very front of the ranks.

Like this, his first war campaign began.

It was also this war that started this era’s Zither Emperor’s gradual walk into the limelight.

Maldini didn’t follow the Dragon Cavalry regiment that was heading towards Sacred Heart City. As generalissimo, he rode his rank 9 Gigantic Dragon and rushed towards the front lines first. Ye Yin Zhu and the students travelled along with the Dragon Cavalry regiment of a thousand members, which was commanded by one of Maldini’s two grandsons, the Milan Empire’s youngest Gold Star Dragon Cavalry Commander Okafur. Silver Star Dragon Cavalry Commander Austin was also among the ranks. This branch of Dragon Cavalry could be said to belong to the Violet Clan.

After joining the Dragon Cavalry regiment, Ye Yin Zhu realized that the hundred students from the institution was equivalent to a middle squadron, with him as the captain. Of course, he didn’t believe those students would listen to him. For this bit, Oliveira was significantly better than him.

All of the mages sat in the good quality carriages the Institution had provided whilst the warriors and assassins each rode their own Maginot Iron Dragon or Earthbound Swift Dragon, also provided by the Institution. The only educational establishment on the continent with this financial ability was probably the Milan Institution of Magic and Martial Arts.

The journey was dull and tedious. Originally, with the Dragon Cavalry’s speed, it would only take 10 days to reach Sacred Heart City. With the inclusion of the slower carriages of mages, however, they would take at least 20 days before reaching the borders of Sacred Heart City.

“Ye Yin Zhu.” Oliveira jumped off his Earthbound Swift Dragon, the troops following Oliveira’s order to temporary rest.

“Oliveira, what’s up?” It had been 20 days, and Ye Yin Zhu hadn’t run into anything troublesome. Through interaction, he gradually realized that Oliveira was a pretty good man. In addition, Oliveira’s ability to inspire respect in the military was far better than his own. From following Oliveira, he had learned many things. In truth, he was captain only in name as Oliveira still completed the majority of a captain’s duties. Everything was arranged clearly and orderly.

Oliveira walked and sat down beside Ye Yin Zhu. He glanced at Sura, who was on the other side of Ye Yin Zhu, before saying, “I estimate that we’ll reach Sacred Heart City by nightfall. I heard Second Brother say that our next mission is to provide assistance to defense. It will probably be the defenses of a small town on the west side of Sacred Heart City. Yin Zhu, shouldn’t you, as captain, help me by taking a bit more of the many responsibilities?!”

Ye Yin Zhu laughed and said, “Elder Brother Oliveira, aren’t your plans excellent? I don’t know how to do anything, so how can I help you?”

Oliveira smiled. “Don’t say you don’t know anything. Last time, you defeated me. Honestly, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to apologize to you. I thoroughly understand Freud’s character. That day, however, I had seized the opportunity to flare up, wanting to see the strength of the freshman who defeated my younger sister. The past is the past; I want to erase any grudges you may hold in your heart.”

“It was not that simple. You might have also wanted to conveniently teach Yin Zhu a lesson then, am I right,” Sura spoke up from the other side.

Oliveira somewhat awkwardly said, “But I became the person getting taught a lesson, no?”

Ye Yin Zhu smiled and said, “It’s alright. In fact, I also pulled a fast one. Elder Brother Oliveira, I have learnt a lot from following you these days, especially on how difficult it is to command an army.”

Oliveira smiled. “Although you are not as good as I am at unifying the troops, your level of talent is something I have never seen before. Especially your comprehension and recollection. I almost want to say that you can remember and fully comprehend everything you see. It would be better if you joined our Heavy Cavalry division. That way, our division’s Dean Tie Bi will surely consider you as his own son. When that time comes, you will be able to become the number one in the institution after I graduate.”

Ye Yin Zhu shook his head and said, “No. I cultivate dou qi merely as a supplement to my magic. I am a Divine Music mage.”

Oliveira disapprovingly shrugged. To him, how could a Divine Music mage compare to a Dragon Cavalryman?

“Yin Zhu, I want to ask you something. That day, how did you suppress me? During our dou qi collision, the resulting shockwave basically should’ve prevented you from attacking again!”

Ye Yin Zhu somewhat bashfully said, “I merely pulled a cheap trick. My weapon is very light. By pouring dou qi into it, the shockwave couldn’t affect it.”

“Oh, so it’s like this. No wonder I was duped!” After saying this, he suddenly lowered his voice. “Actually, I also wanted to ask you an important question. Yin Zhu, how did you make my younger sister surrender in the end?”

“Eh? Rolande surrender? Where did this come from?” Ye Yin Zhu looked at him in amazement.

Oliveira laughed mischievously and said, “I know my younger sister’s temperament very well. You had previously injured her, but she doesn’t consider you a foe, which is amazing. That day, she even spoke up for you. It’s clear that her feelings towards you aren’t ordinary.”

“Assemble! Prepare to set off.” A deep, resounding shout interrupted Ye Yin Zhu and Oliveira’s discussion. In the distance, on the back of a Yellow Gigantic Earth Dragon, was a person whose height surpassed 2.5 meters. With dark colored skin and golden armor, this high-ranking military officer raised his seven meter long dragonspear. This was Major Okafur.

Okafur was a taciturn man of little words. For the entire journey he had spoken awfully little, only commanding the Dragon Cavalry regiment to continue onward. The entire Dragon Cavalry regiment was very organized. Ye Yin Zhu could clearly sense this Gold Star Dragon Cavalry Commander’s powerful strength. His dragon mount alone possessed rank 8 strength.

Oliveira had been receiving military education since a young age, so he didn’t dare to slight his orders. He hurried to his own provided Earthbound Swift Dragon and lead the Institution’s squadron to follow the regiment’s departure.

Ye Yin Zhu and Sura sat within a carriage. The mages have had an extremely relaxing time this entire journey. Although their carriages were often rattled, it was a lot better than the conditions of the Dragon Cavalry, who rode with the buffeting wind and sun’s rays.

There were a total of five carriages, each with eight people. Ye Yin Zhu’s vehicle was full, but they also had the assassin Sura, making it a bit crowded. Apart from the two men, the carriage also held Hai Yang, Xiang Luan, and a few other upper-year mages.

On the carriage, Ye Yin Zhu took out the journal Ferguson gave him, thumbing through it. During these 20 days, he was probably the only person who didn’t feel lonely. Ferguson’s journal held notes on Spiritual Magic cultivation and extremely detailed accounts on his combat experiences, which made Yin Zhu’s eyes widen. Although he couldn’t directly use Spiritual Magic, he could still learn a great deal of knowledge.

Soon after the troops began to set off together, the sound of rushing hooves against the ground echoed distantly.

“Delivering orders from Generalissimo Maldini to Okafur’s Dragon Cavalry regiment: Immediately depart west, 250 kilometers away from Sacred Heart City to defend Konya City. No delay.”

“Affirmative.” Okafur’s deep voice rang out.

The mages within the five carriages all sighed in unison. They had originally believed they were on the verge of arriving at Sacred Heart City, where they could then rest, but now they had to spend another two days on the road.