Arriving at the Port of the Sidra Kingdom through the ship given to them by the Academy's Board, Ma Feng could visibly see the magical barrier used to prevent evil or high-level magical forces.
They had left the Academy's island a few days ago while sailing on the ship given to them. Ma Feng was selected for leadership since Crystal declined the leadership title. There can only be a leader from the Sorcery Department.
They all came down from the ship as they breathed in the fresh air from the land!
His current teammates—Walter, Ashley Edan, Leonardo, Crystal, and himself, Ma Feng—were all putting on their Erafel Devices to keep in track with the Academy's Security System.
It is forbidden to take off the Erafel Device, since the Erafel Device can only be taken off willingly. No magical effects can remove the Erafel Device except if the student chooses to take it off willingly.
"We are already at the seaport of the Kingdom of Sidra. This is a seven-day journey, so we will have to hasten our plans to secure and retrieve the treasure. The King has granted us safe passage into his kingdom," Ma Feng spoke out.
"You are the boss... What are we going to do?" Walter asked.
Ma Feng looked up to stare at the magical barrier that his eyes could see. The magical barrier wasn't really visible to every eye, and those with a magical level of thirty and above would alert the main government.
"We will cover the landscape soon enough, but first we have to make it into the market to have some snacks. I am quite hungry," Ma Feng said. He slowly approached the magical barrier as Crystal frowned.
Not everyone could see the trick, but Ma Feng suddenly became intangible as he passed through the magical barrier. The rest followed from behind while Crystal wore a bright smile at the end of her lips.
She caused time itself to stop as she passed through the magical barrier, hence stopping any chance of alerting the government of her presence. They began to walk toward the capital of the Sidra Kingdom.
"The Kingdom of Sidra... I believe this is the home of the Watchmen Commander, Mr. Lurizen, right? It's quite a beautiful kingdom," Walter spoke out while he held his storybook in his hand as they continued walking.
They were all dressed in their school uniform, and the fabrics of the uniform were built with high latent magical force that kept it purely neat. You could definitely wear it forever without it ever having a single problem.
"There are four islands located in this kingdom geographically. Why don't we divide ourselves and search through the four islands? We can get a clue where the treasure is located," Leonardo voiced out.
"Leonardo, right? I don't believe that's such a good idea. Judging by how mysterious this mission is, there might be heavy traps placed in all four islands to begin with. We have to watch each other's backs," Ma Feng said.
"Hmph... I don't give a damn about such crap. I am an elite student of the Military Department. I can do whatever I want to do," Leonardo bragged as he flexed his muscles. Ma Feng sighed.
"You should be careful about who you challenge. I am your leader," Ma Feng said.
"Leader my foot! I, the beautiful Leonardo, serve under no one. I will leave for the island I choose," Leonardo said with pride. He turned to face his Erafel Device when Ashley Edan suddenly sighed.
"Such a pain in the ass. I will take care of him," Ashley said as she slowly walked up to Leonardo, who was 6ft tall and had a way more massive body than she ever had. Ashley, who was short, raised her head.
"Would you please calm down and behave like the dog you are? I don't mind..." Ashley couldn't complete her statement as she ducked the punch launched against her by Leonardo, who growled at her.
She landed on the ground with dark smiles plastered on her face, then suddenly vanished, appearing behind Leonardo. Leonardo felt a faint strike at the back of his neck and immediately fell down unconscious.
Ashley landed on her feet in a silent manner and smirked evilly. She turned to face Leonardo lying on the ground, then turned to gaze at Ma Feng, who wasn't really shocked.
"You are a naturally born soldier, while I am a pure assassin. The end result of our battle was already determined from the beginning. There is no way a soldier could beat an assassin," Ashley said with a creepy smile on her face. Ma Feng cleared his throat as he turned to face the cloudy sky.
"What a troublesome group I was selected into. I cannot easily find what I want unless we divide ourselves into groups like Leonardo suggested. This is a pain," Ma Feng said to himself as he heaved a deep breath.
"Ma Feng... What do we do? You are our leader," the voice of Crystal could be heard.
"I guess we will be dividing ourselves into groups then. In seven days' time, on the last day, we will gather ourselves in this kingdom's capital city. Walter and Leonardo will explore an island to fetch for clues.
"Ashley and Crystal will be grouped as well. I will be exploring two islands as the leader. The two groups will be exploring a single island. There is nothing much to check in the kingdom's capital city," Ma Feng said.
"You will be exploring two islands alone? Such an impressive feat and desire to be strong. But what if you die?" Crystal asked. She knew that Ma Feng was strong, but she wanted to test out his patience.
"I am strong, so don't worry. The boys will go to the east while the girls go to the north. I will be heading toward the west and the south of this kingdom. This is an order from your leader," Ma Feng said.
"Ok then, I have no reason to object anyway... We will be taking our leave," Walter said as he walked up to Leonardo. He grabbed a rope from the bag he had on his back and tied Leonardo to himself.
He began heading toward the island in the East while dragging Leonardo with him, and they all watched without uttering a single word. Crystal frowned as she glared at Ashley. She knew Ashley would bring a lot of trouble since she was a cocky type of assassin. After all... her father was a warlord.
"The infamous Sorcery Empress... It will be my pleasure having you as a teammate," Ashley said as she giggled evilly. Crystal felt disgusted by Ashley, but there wasn't much to be done as they left.
"Don't address me as that... I am simply Crystal Rendevor," Crystal said as they left the scene.
They were both heading toward the island in the North to explore, while Ma Feng watched them leave. He let out a creepy smile as he turned to stare at the cloudy sky, which felt like a perfect cover.
Ma Feng couldn't sense their presence anymore when he returned to his true form. He spread out his dragon's wings and dashed into the sky, flapping his wings slowly as he flew out.
While he could suppress his magical essence in his shapeshifted human form, he couldn't possibly do that as a dragon. Crystal immediately halted and turned back but could only see the cloudy sky.
"What seems to be the matter, Crystal?" Ashley Edan asked.
"Nothing really, I just felt like I sensed something really strange. An unregistered powerful magical essence within this area," Crystal said as she sniffed the air before turning to leave at once.
"That's weird, but it's alright," Ashley said as they continued their journey on foot. It would be a two-day journey if they didn't hasten and walk faster. After all, they were specially trained for such journeys.
"That unregistered powerful magical essence was coming from Ma Feng's direction. What in the hell is going on? What is Ma Feng hiding?" Crystal Rendevor asked herself as she bit her lips.
---
Meanwhile,
In a few hours, Ma Feng flew down from the sky while above the island to the West, transforming back into his human form as he landed without hesitation. The ground shook because of the impact.
"Wow... I can't believe traveling in my dragon's form is this exciting. I get to see the clear view of the entire world while in the air," Ma Feng said to himself with a bright smile on his face as he began walking.
"Treasure aside... I am here to find out the secret of the Balhathoh war. I will obtain the secret and know why the Scarlet Academy hates the dragons so much," Ma Feng said to himself, frowning.
He ducked the claw attack of a magical creature when it crashed on the ground before him. Ma Feng stared at the creature—a lion-shaped beast with four eyes and two trunks—while it roared at him.
"Sorry, but I don't have your time," Ma Feng said as he dodged the monster's next attack. He grabbed the creature mid-air and tossed it immediately toward the direction of a tree.
The impact broke the tree down. The magical creature sprang forward, its roar causing Ma Feng to move back as he resisted its magical force. He had totally forgotten all magical creatures possessed skills.
"Dragon Magic: Heart Crusher!!"
Ma Feng chanted as a copy of the monster's heart appeared on his palm. He crushed it immediately. The creature fell down dead, blood gushing out of its mouth.
"What a lucky day today is. I guess I have seen a nutritious meal to eat," Ma Feng stated as he carried the dead magical creature on his shoulder and began to walk away without hesitation.
"I will start my mission tomorrow. I need to eat first!"