The Cannon Fodder Became the Empire's Beloved Omega - Chapter 51

Thunderbolts rained down from the sky.

As the card in his hand transformed into a beam of white light, raging flames swiftly engulfed the stone statue, fanned by the ensuing gale into an inferno that seemed to devour the heavens. The crackling sound of burning echoed from afar as the demonic stone statue wailed in agony within the blaze, shattering into fragments before gradually turning to dust.

The fire burned for an unknown length of time before gradually extinguishing under the torrential downpour. Yu Ruan stared at the nearly melted blue bricks, swallowing nervously before tossing out a water-element magic card to barely clear a path for them to walk on.

After all that effort, the path to the attic finally lay before them. Yu Ruan took a moment to glance at the 3D map and was surprised to find that most of the densely packed red dots from earlier had vanished. Whether they had fallen into traps or forfeited, he couldn’t tell.

“Let’s go.” Putting away his silver sword, Gu Yu called out to him, snapping Yu Ruan out of his wandering thoughts. Nodding, Yu Ruan carefully stored the remaining magic cards and followed the Alpha’s footsteps.

This time, they encountered no monsters in the attic.

The following stretch of the journey was peaceful. Yu Ruan and Gu Yu arrived together at the spiral staircase leading to the tower’s peak and began ascending the seemingly endless steps. After about ten minutes, they finally spotted the “treasure” placed by the window the key to clearing the level.

A ruby tiara.

The moment Yu Ruan picked up the tiara, the system’s notification sounded: 【Congratulations on obtaining the clearance item: Castle Princess’s Gem Crown ×1. Team points +50.】

As the notification echoed, the surrounding environment began to change. The rumbling sound of shattering stone bricks filled the air, accompanied by a violent tremor that shook the ground.

Yu Ruan blinked in confusion, instinctively gripping the hand of the person beside him and moving closer to Gu Yu. Gu Yu’s body stiffened slightly before he firmly grasped Yu Ruan’s hand in return, pulling him into an embrace and covering his ears. “Don’t be afraid.”

His heart, still racing from the intense activity earlier, pounded against Gu Yu’s chest. The warmth stored within the fabric of Gu Yu’s clothes made Yu Ruan’s face flush red. Surrounded by Gu Yu’s comforting pheromones, a sense of inexplicable security washed over him. He softly murmured an “Mm,” obediently allowing Gu Yu to hold him as they waited together for the game to end.

The sound of collapsing buildings quickly spread around them. Just before the floor completely gave way, the two were suddenly enveloped in a green light. The surroundings flickered briefly before dissipating like smoke, transforming into countless shimmering fragments.

When Yu Ruan opened his eyes, he found them standing in Stardust’s gymnasium. However, the space had long been emptied by robots and repurposed as the projected competition venue.

Outside, chaotic footsteps approached one after another. The gymnasium doors were abruptly slid open, and a pair of pitch-black, polished military boots stepped inside. The newcomer, dressed in a navy-blue military uniform with sharp, indifferent features, fixed his gaze directly on the two in the arena. “Had enough fun?”

Yu Ruan instinctively flinched, quickly taking a step back to put distance between himself and Gu Yu.

A slight twitch of his fingers, Gu Yu watched the Omega’s hurried movements, his mood instantly plummeting into gloom. He lifted his eyes to the newcomer, his voice cold. “What do you want?”

Lin Fenghan’s gaze instantly sharpened like a blade.

Seeing this, Yu Ruan hurriedly tugged at Gu Yu’s sleeve.

From the day Yu Ruan met Lin Fenghan, he had always held this combat instructor in the highest regard. Because Lin Fenghan truly belonged to that type of person who was incredibly difficult to talk to. Even though he was a responsible and dedicated teacher, Yu Ruan couldn’t help but instinctively feel intimidated by him.

Just moments after Yu Ruan had acted recklessly, Lin Fenghan appeared right in front of him. The unmistakable sense that he was about to be called to account made Yu Ruan feel utterly guilty.

Yu Ruan hesitated for a moment, about to attempt an explanation, when he noticed two familiar figures following closely behind, entering the gymnasium from outside.

Ye Yizhou, still in his banquet attire and smiling cheerfully, looked at him, followed by Xie Zhi, whom Yu Ruan hadn’t seen in a long time. In the distance, Cheng Mu stood with a dejected expression, giving Yu Ruan a helpless look.

…So it was a three-way interrogation.

“…” Yu Ruan felt like he was doomed.

“Cutting off communications was a nice move,” Ye Yizhou clapped for him, still smiling, but his tone sent a chill down Yu Ruan’s spine. “Congratulations on winning the championship, you most reckless top student.”

He shifted his gaze to Gu Yu. “I can’t believe even you were persuaded by him. What should I even say?”

Gu Yu responded with an indifferent “Hmm,” but didn’t look at him. The Alpha’s gaze pierced through the darkness, landing squarely on Yu Ruan’s face, instantly making him blush and lower his head in embarrassment.

“This has nothing to do with Gu Yu,” Yu Ruan said to Ye Yizhou. “I was the one who didn’t want to lose the match and dragged him along to explore the later stages. I was the one who cut off the communications. It has nothing to do with him.”

“No one can persuade me,” Gu Yu suddenly interrupted, staring at Ye Yizhou. “Unless I decide to do it myself. Ye Yizhou, don’t get it wrong.”

Ye Yizhou raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze shifting between the two of them. He chuckled softly. “Just this once. Don’t let it happen again.”

Hearing this, Yu Ruan finally breathed a sigh of relief, a sense of relief washing over him as if he had narrowly escaped disaster. But soon, he realized there were still two others waiting for him to placate. He awkwardly turned to Xie Zhi, who hadn’t spoken from the very beginning, and said apologetically, “I’m sorry.”

Xie Zhi, however, seemed quite accustomed to it. He smiled at Yu Ruan and simply said, “Your Highness, you were far too reckless. Even with Prince Gu Yu accompanying you, he isn’t omnipotent. If something had happened, you would have endangered two people.”

Yu Ruan hung his head in shame, beginning to reflect deeply on his mistake. At the time, he had been carried away by adrenaline and hadn’t considered the consequences. Looking back now, he realized he had indeed gone too far.

He was about to apologize more earnestly when Lin Fenghan, standing nearby, suddenly spoke. “If you want to act recklessly, it’s not impossible.”

“…?”

“But you need the corresponding strength,” Lin Fenghan said expressionlessly, his words sending a chill down Yu Ruan’s spine. “You need targeted physical training. As long as you possess the ability to easily resolve problems, no one will question your actions.”

Xie Zhi’s smile stiffened slightly. He coughed softly and said reproachfully, “Marshal.”

Lin Fenghan glanced at him, unmoved. “Want to give it a try?”

Yu Ruan looked utterly bewildered. He pointed at himself incredulously and blinked. “…Me?”

“Right.” Lin Fenghan gave a slight nod. “Your physical fitness is too poor. Your performance in combat classes has always been below average, far below the class mean. This competition has exposed your weakness. You need targeted training to address your shortcomings.”

Yu Ruan: “…” Oh my god! QAQ

He looked at the others with a tearful expression, only to see Xie Zhiqing clear his throat and avert his gaze. Meanwhile, Ye Yizhou watched him with interest, and upon meeting his eyes, curved his lips into a low chuckle. “Fenghan, I think this is a good idea.”

Yu Ruan: “…”

He then turned his gaze to Gu Yu.

Gu Yu furrowed his brow slightly, as if seriously considering the possibility. After a few seconds, he let out a calm “Mm” and nodded at Yu Ruan. “You can give it a try.” As if afraid Yu Ruan might back out, he added, “There’s no better teacher in the empire. Don’t worry.”

Yu Ruan: “…”

No, that wasn’t what he was worried about at all.

Forcing a turtle to run a hundred-meter sprint, forcing a fish to fly in the sky, forcing a piece of paper to cross a river was there anything in the world more cruel than this?

Wasn’t this salary just too hard to earn.

“Send me your class schedule after you get back.” Lin Fenghan finalized the matter without giving Yu Ruan any chance to object. “I’ll make time to come and coach your training. Make sure to keep your schedule open. Is that okay?”

“…” With things having reached this point, refusing would be too disrespectful. Yu Ruan could only nod and mutter a reluctant “Okay,” agreeing to the arrangement.

From a distance, sympathetic gazes poured in his direction: Who didn’t know that Lin Fenghan, the Marshal of the Gaia Empire, was notoriously strict and unyielding, with no concept of the phrase “showing mercy to the fairer sex”?

And now, the young prince had walked right into the line of fire. The outcome was bound to be miserable.

Surrounded by an ocean of sympathy, Yu Ruan’s mood was heavy. He didn’t even have the heart to celebrate his hard-won championship, his mind entirely occupied by Gu Yu’s words:

“There’s no better teacher in the empire than him.”

“No better teacher than him.”

“None.”

Recalling his past experiences in class, Yu Ruan had a strong feeling that Gu Yu’s statement was not meant as a compliment.

Distractedly, he followed the group as they headed out, nearly tripping over the doorstep on his way. A slender, strong hand steadied his arm, supporting him firmly. “Be careful.”

Yu Ruan looked up, slightly embarrassed. “Thank you.”

“No need.” Gu Yu looked down at him and suddenly asked, “Are you afraid of having him as your teacher?” Yu Ruan hesitated for a moment, quickly glancing into the distance. Perhaps due to other urgent matters, the few who had hurried over earlier didn’t linger and left directly. He then softly replied, “Mm, a little.”

Gu Yu fell silent. After a while, he said, “If you don’t want him to teach you, I can take his place. He used to be my teacher.”

Yu Ruan was taken aback for a moment before realizing that Gu Yu had misunderstood.

Recalling his awkwardness, the last time the other had taught him to dance, his face immediately flushed red. He couldn’t even imagine being the other’s student again. Especially now, with Gu Yu’s pheromones still lingering in his glands, constantly influencing his feelings toward Gu Yu, he didn’t dare to dwell on such thoughts any further.

“No, no, really, it’s fine!” he quickly dismissed the suggestion. “It’s just that I’ve never been very good at this. I’m worried I won’t meet Teacher Lin’s expectations. Thank you for your kindness, but I’ll go back and try it on my own first.”

Thinking back to the temporary mark in the secret passage, Yu Ruan instinctively covered the back of his neck. He couldn’t help but take a small step back, maintaining a safe distance from Gu Yu, and only then did he quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Yu Ruan always felt that someone like Gu Yu, an Alpha with such outstanding ability and appearance would inevitably marry and have children sooner or later. As a friend, he certainly couldn’t stand in the way of the other’s romantic prospects. But this competition had pulled their relationship uncomfortably close, and as the one who had taken the initiative, he had to maintain a sense of self-awareness.

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