The Glass City is like a castle in the sky, and the houses here are all like towers with royal palaces and the houses of some dignitaries, and they are built with space magic, floating in the air like huge hot air balloons. All the trees on the ground twisted and tangled like vines, constantly struggling out of the cracks in the house, stealing the sunlight and air. It is the center of the five cities and a place where various civilizations meet.

The traffic in the city is divided into two layers, and the common people have to move on the ground floor, like living in a valley, and some streets and alleys do not have sunlight for many years, so they can only turn on the street lights day and night. Some children did not see the full sky until the day of the bar mig. When they look up, they can only see patches of mottled blue sky or stars. The wealthy live on the upper floors, with plenty of light and beautiful views, as well as the pleasure of flying in airships. The plants that grow from the ground are blooming with greenery and life, like clouds of green and red. Looking down at the layout of the city through protective glasses, the lush streets seem to be blended into a huge whirlpool.

Of course, if it is completely clear, it is not conducive to the management of the ruling class. So they built a circular square in the center of the whirlpool, and in the middle of the square stood a statue of an ancient knight straddling a giant deer and carrying a giant sword, called Knight's Square. Knights' Square is a completely open meeting place, like a skylight that opens from the oppressive buildings of the Glass City. Both the commoners at the bottom and the nobles at the top could exchange and assemble in the square. Merchants and tourists from other cities also concentrated here, and countless shops and inns were built along the perimeter of the square, and over time, Knights' Square became the most prosperous place in the city of glass.

To the west of the square are cramped old houses, covered in large expanses of ivy, almost blending in with the tall turquoise towers behind. There is a wooden sign reading "Star Cafe" at the main entrance. The owner's name is Matthew, a middle-aged man with a full beard, flat and smooth short hair, with his thick eyebrows and beard, he looks very rough and bold. His favorite thing to do is to stand behind the counter and wipe his neatly arranged ceramic cups, but his right hand is a cold metal prosthetic leg that is not very easy to wipe. But he had a lot of fun.

The café business used to be so prosperous that tables and chairs even had to be placed in the square. Not because the coffee in his shop is delicious, but because he is the only guardian of the younger brother of the glass hero. At that time, Xia Weiyang exchanged his sacrifice for the peace of the city, and at the same time made Xia Yan an orphan. Many people are vying for the custody of Xia Yan, including the queen of the Glass City. However, Xia Yan finally chose this unattractive person. This naturally met with a lot of opposition, back then Matthew was just a drunkard who did nothing, and he only knew how to soak in the wine jar all day long, what qualifications did such a person have to raise the hero's younger brother? For this, Matthew smashes the bottle in public and vows never to drink a drop again. In the end, the queen and others discussed for a while, and chose to respect Xia Yan's own wishes, and then handed over custody to Matthew.

Matthew stopped drinking and used all his savings to start the café. At the beginning, because of Xia Yan's fame, people from all over the world flocked to his café, on the one hand, to pay attention to Xia Yan's growth, and on the other hand, it could be regarded as assistance to him in disguise. Later, as Xia Yan grew up and the war calmed down, there were fewer people who came to the café to drink coffee.

The sun shone in through the large windows of the café, and the empty tables, chairs, and wine bottles on the shelves shimmered softly. Matthew was still slowly wiping the cup, but his face was a little depressed. For there were two guests in the tavern, and they were two very beautiful women. The business of the café has been deserted for the past few days, and it stands to reason that it is a good thing to have customers coming, but when he saw the appearance of the two clearly, he couldn't help but be a little depressed.

This is the third time in two months, right? He thought, but this time, Gu Lian, who was silver-haired and cold as ice, finally didn't point to his nose and ask him how he became Xia Yan's guardian, and why did he let him run out of the city with Qianlan again? This made him breathe a sigh of relief, perhaps because he was also tired of this kind of chagrin and accusation, and now Gu Lian was just sitting at a table in the store, with a straight face, without saying a word. The other blonde looked idle, leaning against the counter, humming a mischievous little song and shaking her sunglasses in her hand.

For Xia Yan, Matthew is not a laissez-faire, he has been trying to fulfill the responsibility of a guardian over the years, taking care of Xia Yan's diet and daily life, and trying to make him grow up healthy and happy like a normal child. But the boy was so sensible that he was not only polite to Matthew and helped him with the coffee shop, but he also seemed to be uninterested in everything that children of his age liked. Matthew threw a birthday party for him on his birthday, and gave him a jet airship that other little boys would envy, and he just smiled and accepted it, but never rode it once. Now the airship was still in the attic compartment, dusty. Xia Yan spent most of his time practicing swordsmanship. In short, he never let Matthew bother, not so much that Matthew was his guardian, but that he was taking care of Matthew's life.

Matthew treats Xia Yan as his own child and knows that he can't restrain him too much. What he can do for Xia Yan may just be to give him enough space and freedom.

Alice sat on the chair bored, she looked at Gu Lian with a calm face not far away, and couldn't help but want to laugh, this aunt of Qianlan is good at everything, but she is too nervous about her. is also a woman, she can understand Gu Lian, after all, the war has taken too many relatives away from her, and it is understandable that she doesn't want Qianlan to be hurt again. Just wanted to lock Qianlan at home like a little girl, don't say it's Qianlan herself, and even she, who is a master, can't accept it.

Two familiar figures appeared outside the door, and Alice happily jumped up from her chair and greeted them.

Xia Yan and Qian Lan walked to the door of the café and were stunned when they saw Alice coming in front of them and Gu Lian who followed out. But they had expected such a scene, greeted them one by one, and walked into the store. The wound on Xia Yan's arm had already been treated by the medic on the way back, and because it was only a small wound, there were almost no traces to be seen now.

Alice looked at them with a grin, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Gu Lian always had a cold face, she walked in front of Xia Yan, and originally wanted to scold him harshly to relieve her anger. But when she saw Xia Yan's eyes, she couldn't say anything about the harsh criticism on her lips, so she had to sigh and said lightly to Qianlan on the side: "Come back with me, you are not allowed to run out without permission in the future." ”

"Wait, Gu Lian." Alice grabbed Gu Lian, who was about to leave, and the latter impatiently shook off her hand, obviously angry with her. Alice smiled helplessly and said, "I'm here today to send invitations to Xiao Yan and Xiao Lan. ”

"What invitation?" Gu Lian stopped, turned her head and asked coldly.

"Invite them to join Liuli Academy." Alice said as she pulled out two red cards from her pocket. The two cards are printed with the identity information of Xia Yan and Qianlan respectively, and next to them are a pattern of a crow holding a red feather in its mouth, and two large letters: CG. The logo of Liuli Academy.

Xia Yan and Qianlan glanced at each other when they heard this, a little surprised.

"If I'm not mistaken, doesn't Liuli Academy only recruit students over the age of 18 who must also have actual combat experience?" Matthew also stepped out from behind the counter and asked curiously.

"The conditions for this session have been relaxed. Anyway, no matter how early a student enrolls, if they want to graduate, they must learn with real talent. Alice smiled at him and said, then she looked at Xia Yan and Qianlan again, "And when it comes to actual combat experience, the two of them are no less than the soldiers on the front line." ”

"I don't agree." Gu Lian said categorically, "I have no right to stop Xiao Lan from going, but Xiao Lan will not go." ”

"If you die, I'll go." Qianlan said slowly.

"You dare!" Gu Lian shouted unhappily.

"This is Master Sinan's suggestion," Alice persuaded her bitterly, "It's better for the Liuli Academy to help them grow than to let them go out of the city without a brain." ”

Gu Lian's deep eyes shrank when she heard this, and she turned her head to Qian Lan and said, "No one in our family will enter the Liuli Academy, let alone go to the battlefield. Unless you don't recognize me as an aunt. With that, she glared at the others again, as if the responsibility lay with them, and walked away.

Qianlan glanced at Xia Yan, who nodded understandingly. So she took her invitation from Alice, said goodbye to everyone, and hurriedly followed behind Gu Lian.

Alice and Xia Yan sat down at the table by the window, and Matthew brought them two cups of iced coffee and went back to wipe his glasses. "It's so jealous to see you all so inseparable!" Alice held her face with one hand, looked at the backs of Qian Lan and Gu Lian from the window and said sourly. "Now, Uncle Matthew, can you change the coffee to beer?" She asked with a grin at Matthew behind the counter.

"I've stopped selling alcohol here, you know." Matthew said with a wry smile.

"Did Master Sinan agree to let us go to war?" Xia Yan ignored her ridicule and looked at the invitation she put in front of him and asked.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Alice turned her head and shrugged her shoulders and said, "He just doesn't want me to let you out without permission." ”

"I didn't have much to gain today, and if I didn't go to the front line, I wouldn't be able to find more clues about the Burners." Xia Yan removed a black button from her dress and handed it to Alice.

"Didn't the rebels show up? In addition to investigating the Burners, you will also be on a mission to collect clues about the rebels. Alice took the button, which was also a kind of camera equipment, and it was obvious that she was not simply letting Xia Yan go out of the city to investigate, but gave him some tasks.

Xia Yan shook his head and said, "Maybe it's because a force like Krum is not worth their wooing, but Krum should come to the aid of the rebels." The captain of the guard has been tracked down, and he will get the news soon. ”

"The whereabouts of this rebel army are strange, and I am afraid that it is not just the composition of the remnants." Alice said with a solemn face.

"When we were in the cave, we vaguely felt that someone was watching us." Xia Yan looked at Alice and said softly.

Alice was a little surprised when she heard this, shook her head and said, "It's not the person I arranged, could it be Master Sinan?" ”

"There's more than one watcher," Xia Yan said after a moment's thought, "although it doesn't disadvantage us, we should always be careful." I would like to ask Sister Alice to check the identity of the guards who repatriated the bereaved people and the bereaved people. ”

"I'll look into it when I get back." Alice nodded and said, looking at Xia Yan, the calmness and wisdom shown by the gentle-faced young man in front of her made her slightly moved.

"If you graduate from Liuli Academy, you can go to the battlefield in ...... right," Xia Yan said as he picked up the two invitations on the table.

"Having said that, since the beginning of this year, the difficulty of graduating from Liuli Academy has increased." Alice picked up the cup in front of her and took a sip of the coffee inside, smacked her tongue and raised her head and said, "The number of graduates has decreased a lot compared to the past, and there are some new reforms, so I can't get more information at the moment." She slowly stirred the ice cubes in the cup and said to Xia Yan.

"This is an opportunity." Xia Yan said firmly, "No matter how difficult it is, you have to give it a try." ”

Alice glanced at him a little worriedly, of course she understood Xia Yan's desire to go to war. She knew that he had been tormented by that decisive battle for so many years, and that he wanted to destroy the Burners more than anyone else. She had been trying her best to help him, but when she looked at Xia Yan's injured arm, although the scar was covered, it was difficult to escape her eyes, and she was a little hesitant in her heart. She sighed lightly, knowing that it was impossible to persuade him to turn back now, so she had to say to him softly: "Promise me that if you go to the battlefield one day, you must leave yourself a mirror." ”

"Hmm." Xia Yan agreed.

Looking at the wolf tooth pendant hanging from Xia Yan's chest, Alice suddenly remembered that she had told Weiyang about such a request, and at that time he was just bragging to her about how good he was, and he didn't promise himself positively. Fool, you were ready to sacrifice yourself, right? Alice thought bitterly.

"Sister Alice?" Xia Yan looked at her with a sad look on her face and asked a little uneasily.

"Huh?" Alice came back to her senses, put down the cup in her hand, and suddenly said to him solemnly, "Also, you want to guard someone." ”

"Who?" Xia Yan rarely saw Alice's nervous expression and asked curiously.

"Mori Yuebai." Alice said as she stared at him without blinking.

"The one who never goes to the Glass and Cat Guild party?" Xia Yan recalled for a moment and said. In addition to the battlefield, Xia Weiyang will almost always bring Xia Yan to any events and gatherings, so there are almost no people with heads and faces in the City of Glass that Xia Yan does not know. Even the four major city lords were very familiar with him, but this Sen Yuebai, whose status in the Liuli and Cat Guild was second only to Xia Weiyang and Master Sinan, Xia Yan had never seen it once. He had only seen it once in the first guild photo, and in the photo everyone was laughing, with his brother putting one hand on Alice's shoulder, and the other on Mori Yuebai's shoulder. Mori Yuebai looked about the same age as his brother, wearing a plain white robe, long purple hair, and holding a black cat in his arms. He also had a smile on his face, but his smile always seemed out of place with other people, and his smile was full of rebelliousness and treachery.

"He has always been too proud of himself, but he can't win Weiyang, and he is jealous." Alice said lightly, "He is now the dean of Liuli Academy, this person is very deep in the city, and there has always been a gap between him and Weiyang, I am afraid that he will be unfavorable to you." ”

"Understood, I'll be careful." Xia Yan nodded and said to her.

"Feel free to contact me if you have any questions." Alice admonished.

"I see." Xia Yan smiled at her and said. The café is brightened by the light, and all the tables, chairs, and figures are soft and warm as if they have been soaked in coffee.

In a relatively dark room, Master Sinan was watching the records taken by the squid. The recording is projected into the air by a black medallion, which shows Xia Yan summoning a glass mirror to block the Burning Clan's attack. Master Sinan's eyes lit up, and he muttered to himself: "Glass mirror? No wonder Alice was so relieved to let them out. ”

The squid stood quietly on one side, and he also stared at Xia Yan in the picture and said, "It seems that he can only summon a maximum of 4 glass mirrors now." ”

"4 sides." Master Sinan nodded slightly and smiled, "This kid is extremely talented, and Weiyang could only summon 8 faces back then. 8 glass mirrors should be the maximum value of this defense. ”

The screen flickered continuously, and at the end it showed Krum and the others fighting the dense crowd of octopuses, and Blackbeard and the others going to repair the airship, and then a rapid red shadow broke through the cave walls.

"Wait." Master Sinan raised his hand, and the picture froze. The mage looked carefully at a corner of the screen and said, "I remember there was a corpse here. He tapped on the medal on the table, and the footage replayed, and sure enough, the corpse of a guard in white armor could be faintly seen in the upper left corner of the screen before the elite burners broke through the wall. The power of the elite burners rushing in was strong, and the place where the corpse was lying was just within the range of this force, and the moment the elite burners hit the wall, the corpse on the ground actually disappeared out of thin air.

"That's ......" The squid also seemed to have just noticed this, and his expression was a little surprised.

"Space magic." Master Sinan replied.

"An ordinary escort guard can actually do space magic?" The squid asked incredulously.

"He's not an ordinary guard," Master Sinan said with a thoughtful smile, "It seems that it's not just Xiao Yan and Xiao Lan who are out of the city without permission. ”