"What do you need us to do?" the head of department suddenly asked.


    "Ah?" The abrupt change in the high-ranking official''s demeanor caught the fire prevention team captain off guard, but he quickly regained hisposure, "Demolish the houses! The houses here are definitely beyond saving; we need to fall back two more blocks and make a firebreak."


    "All units, attention! About face—march! Forward—march!" The chaotic noise on the outskirts of the fire scene was drowned out by orders amplified using a spell, as the head of department issued directmands to all the cadets through magic.


    He was decisive and acted swiftly, "Which houses need to be demolished, speak!"


    "I''ll take you there!" The fire prevention team captain nodded frantically and led the way, "My manpower is truly insufficient; your help is really appreciated; God will bless you."


    "Hmph." The head of department snorted coldly again, clearly not impressed by the ttery.


    Residents within the firebreak zone designated by the fire prevention team captain realized what the group of soldiers were nning to do. The fire was still two blocks away! Of course, they were unwilling to let the soldiers tear down their homes.


    "What are you doing?"


    "By what right are you demolishing our homes!"


    "If you''re going to demolish my house, you''ll have to step over my dead body."


    "Why demolish ours and not others''?"


    "The soldiers are killing people!"


    Residents in the designated firebreak zone stood by the streets, brandishing things like door bars and kitchen knives, waving them to keep the military academy cadets from getting close.


    The fire prevention team captain ran back and forth, trying to persuade them with earnest words, but nobody was willing to listen to him.


    Residents living within the inner side of the firebreak also came to their senses, realizing that the creation of a firebreak meant their homes were to be abandoned.


    So they too joined the ranks of those preventing the demolition, resolutely not letting the military cadetse a step closer to the houses.


    Residents living on the outer side of the firebreak, however, were very supportive of the demolition n, but they merely stood by with their hands in their pockets, watching themotion.


    "Get out of the way!" The head of department''s shout, infused with the power of magic, startled the previously defiant residents into a stunned silence; he could no longer tolerate this charade, "Third-year students! Infantry division! Fall in!"


    Winters, upon hearing the order, reflexively stepped out and stood at the front of the line.


    "Anyone who dares to obstruct, shoot to kill!" The deafening voice was still magnified by the spell, "If you wantpensation, go to the city government!"


    Winters had not expected the head of department to issue an order of "shoot to kill." In his view, the situation had not escted to the point of killing.


    The residents of the port district clearly did not expect the official to be so ruthless; they trembled, barely able to stand on their own if not for helping each other, no longer possessing the unruly arrogance they had shown before.


    Winters stood face-to-face with the residents who were protecting their homes; he saw fear and terror in their eyes.


    "Do we really have to use force?" Winters thought to himself, clutching the iron shovel tightly in his hands, swallowing hard.


    "Take action!" came another fierce shout from the head of department.


    Winters steeled his heart, as a sense of duty to obey orders overcame all other thoughts. Ignoring the injury on his arm, he gripped the shovel with both hands and swung it fiercely towards the people opposite him.


    However, Winters deliberately used the wooden end rather than the metal end, thinking to himself, "The wooden handle probably won''t kill anyone."


    The group of minor citizens was no match for these military cadets who had undergone years of training, quickly beaten into crying for their parents and running away in panic.


    "Murder!"


    "The soldiers are killing people!"


    "It''s the military academy who started the fire!"


    "Demolish!" The head of department ordered,pletely ignoring what the dispersed residents were shouting, focusing only on executing the original n.


    This time, nobody dared to obstruct anymore; the residents all turned and ran back home to move their belongings, trying to salvage as much property as possible before their houses were destroyed.


    Guidao City''s port district''s houses could be said to be a typical example of organic, unnned urban areas.


    Starting from the docks, the city grew naturally without order, with houses enveloping one another likeyers of an onion.


    There were houses for all sorts of uses: residential, storage, workshops, shops; houses made from all kinds of materials: wood, adobe, bricks, stone; and houses from various eras. It was truly a melting pot.


    The military academy students secured ropes to the houses that faced the street and pulled down a whole wall of a wooden house with a united effort.


    The fire prevention team captain''s selection of the firebreak location was quite strategic, running along a stinking ditch. After demolishing the houses, the resulting construction debris could be pushed directly into the ditch, greatly improving efficiency.


    "Don''t all crowd here; we can''t spread out! Third-year stay here! First-year, go to the eastern blocks! Second-year, go to the western blocks! Anyone who dares obstruct, shoot to kill!" The head of departmentmanded in an orderly fashion.


    "Montekucoli!" The head of department called out another name.


    "Present!" The head of the artillery department responded immediately.


    "Go back to the armory to get the explosives; demolish all brick and stone houses with sting!"


    "Yes!" The director of the Artillery Academy''s teaching and research office didn''t say another word and left with a subordinate right away.


    While all the soldiers on-site were busily dismantling houses, from afar suddenly came the sound of a sermon being shouted at the top of someone''s lungs.


    "Revere! Feel the fiery wrath of God! The glorious day of His judgment has arrived!" A mendicant monk dressed in a coarse hemp robe, holding a banner aloft, strode forward; the residents who had been spectating all dropped to their knees before him, many attempting to kiss the hem of his robe and his shoes.


    With both hands raising the banner high, the mendicant monk preached loudly: "The angel of fire has descended upon Sodom! This is the divine fire that punishes your everyday sins! Repent..."


    "Fuck your mother!" Themandershed out with his whip, knocking over the fanatic.


    "Anyone whoes to help will get a big silver coin! It doesn''t matter if you are man or woman, old or young!" Having dealt with the clergyman who was openly preaching defeatism, themander immediately started recruiting bystanders: "If you don''t help, the fire will get here, and your houses won''t be spared either!"


    (Big silver coin: Refers to therge silver coins first minted by The Federated Provinces of the Republic in the year 537 of the Empire, which corresponded to the smaller silver coins with a silver content ratio of 1:20. The value of a big silver coin was roughly equivalent to one month''s wages for a dock worker.)


    Who would pay for this? Certainly not the military academy.


    Following themander''s line of thinking was: "Go and demand it from the city government."


    Themander didn''t care how much trouble his words might cause the Guidao City Executive Committee; what he was considering was how to demolish the istion zone quickly and efficiently.


    Through abination of threats and incentives, along with a bit of bluffing and intimidation, the demolition crew had significantly grown in number.


    The marshal, along with the assembled Guidao City Urban Guard, arrived, timely allowing the Urban Guard to maintain order at the scene.


    The two infantry battalions stationed outside the city (full strength of 960 soldiers and 14 officers) also arrived on-site, and the army soldiers quickly joined the work of tearing down the istion zone.


    The dull sounds of sting and the copse of buildings echoed back and forth, as horses, harnessed with makeshift bridles, were used to pull down the structures. The demolition project was proceeding in an orderly, tense, and race-against-time manner.


    But ns can never keep up with changes, as from nightfall to now, the wind speed of the sea breeze blowing from the ocean to thend had been gradually increasing.


    With the help of the sea breeze, the fire spread faster than anyone had anticipated. The fire line was elerating towards the istion zone, while a significant part of the istion zone still remained to be demolished.


    "Sir, I''m afraid we''re not going to make it... We should have set up the istion zone two blocks further back," moaned the head of the fire prevention team, clutching his hat in his hands, crumpling it into a ball of tattered cloth.


    "I know." Themander''s attitude was still cool as ice, but he was thoughtful, as though he had an idea.


    "Christian!" Themander called out loudly.


    "Present!" The head of the Spellcasters'' teaching and research office, having heard themander''s summons, ran over from a distance.


    "If all the spellcasters work together using the Wind Control Technique, could they temporarily change the direction of the wind in a particr area?" themander asked, voicing his remarkable idea.


    "It''s very challenging for spellcasters to contend with the forces of nature," said Christian, feeling that themander''s idea was far-fetched: "Spellcasters should use their spells in harmony with the forces of nature, not against them..."


    "I''m asking you if it''s possible or not?" Themander didn''t want to hear any excuses.


    "Theoretically, it should be." Christian continued to exin: "But realistically, I think it would be difficult to achieve with the current strength of our spellcasters; we don''t have enough and don''t have sufficiently powerful spellcasters..."


    "That''s enough." Themander heard what he wanted to hear.


    "I said it''s theoretically possible, but in reality..." Christian hurried to rify that there was a gap between theory and practice.


    "Doing something is better than doing nothing." Themander made a judgment: "Gather all the spellcasters present, I''ll tell you where to go in a while."


    Winters, who had been focusing on dismantling a house, was suddenly called out. He noticed that all those who were taken out with him were spellcaster students.


    All the spellcasters on the scene were brought together, and Christian repeated the orders loudly: "When you hear themand, use the Wind Control Technique with all your might directly ahead, without holding back. Remember! Straight ahead."


    Winters immediately understood the leadership''s n, thinking that even with his poor skill in eleration magic, he was being drafted as a tool, indicating that themander was really clutching at straws.


    Soon after, the spellcasters were brought to a yet-to-be-demolished area; for even distribution, some spellcaster students were even positioned on rooftops.


    Winters didn''t go onto a roof; he stood on the street, where, through the smoke, he could see the burning buildings about twenty or so meters away.


    "Wind Control Technique, activate at full power!" Themand came from not far behind him.


    Upon hearing themand, Winters, with his thumb pressing down on his middle finger in his left hand, recalled the feeling of using eleration magic and entered the casting state with all his might.


    Scorching heat and extreme cold tormented his "third hand," as though thousands of knives were cutting into his "fifth limb."


    He could feel the wind direction changing around him, the breeze from the front gradually weakening,ing to a stop, and then turning into a wind blowing from behind toward the front.


    Winters knew themander''s n was working, but he could no longer hold out, so he tried to rx his mind and exit the casting state.


    But to his horror, he couldn''t leave the casting state. The casting state that usually couldn''t be maintained with the slightest distraction was now inescapable, even if he wanted out.


    He even became paralyzed, losing control over his own body.


    To onlookers, Winters simply stood at attention on the street, but in reality, he was being forced to endure an incessant and grueling torment. Eventually, he could bear no more. His vision went ck, and he lost consciousness.


    In the final moment before he copsed, he saw a gigantic me serpent soaring into the sky.