Azmon

*Tick, tock.* *Tick, tock.* ... The entire Azure General Staff Headquarters was as silent as a frozen purgatory. "Shameless! Bastard!" Stamping his feet, waving his arms, and thrusting his chest forward, Speaker Kemore erupted into a furious tirade, spitting saliva and completely abandoning all decorum. Even as he bellowed in fury, his eyes were rimmed with red. "Swindler!" "Traitor!" "Damned Italian! Filthy soul!" The Azure elites, who usually prided themselves on being calm and profound, joined in a chorus of cursing, blurting out words so rash and offensive that no one held back. Across the entire General Staff Headquarters and the core leadership conference channel, everyone grieved and ached for that child's fate, still unable to recover from the shock of this "turn of events." The opportunity to bond existed only once and could not be altered. They were completely at a loss, and even punishing Daniele would be extremely difficult—because Azmon, whom Daniele had chosen to bond with, was one of only two super combatants left behind on Blue Star this time. Sixteen years old, enlisted for two years, a super combatant. His current combat power was not considered strong among supers, and he was still sorely lacking in battlefield experience, but his potential was immense... so immense that Azure's core leadership had decided to keep him behind even in the face of such a desperate crisis for humanity, harboring great hopes for him. What happened next was quite simple: Daniele had cheerfully chosen Azmon between the two. Looking back now, what Daniele did was very likely not an impulse. After his initial terror and weeping upon learning of the matter, he had claimed he would accept the honor, but in truth, he had already resolved to do this and was simply biding his time. Perhaps he had originally planned to find a chance on the Moon to bond with Han Qingyu, or Pegmont, or someone else among humanity's strongest combatants whom he deemed powerful enough not to die easily. And so, Azure had thoughtfully arranged this Antarctic trip for him, delivering two young super geniuses who didn't have to go to the front lines right to his doorstep. The discussion in the General Staff conference room seemed utterly pointless. "You shouldn't have told him the bonding method in advance." "No, that wasn't it. It was entirely his own subjective perception; we had no way of concealing it from him. In fact, to make sure he wouldn't bond with the wrong person earlier, we took numerous precautions and even lied to him about it." "And yet, at the most critical moment, you were careless." "Yes, we are deeply sorry. But I must say, this was practically a deadlock. As long as he had no intention of sacrificing himself for humanity, he would have found an opportunity sooner or later, especially after arriving on the Moon battlefield." "No. In the end, it's because of the selfishness inherent in his nature. Many people are selfish, but he..." "When all is said and done, it's still because you protected him too well before, never letting him experience the battlefield, which left him completely devoid of the spirit, passion, and courage of a human warrior." "To a certain extent, he has ruined Azmon as well. That child will be tormented and disgusted for the rest of his life because of this incident and this person. This will become shackles on his growth." Everyone present was consumed by rage and anguish. All the arguing in the conference room was utterly meaningless. Perhaps they were only saying all this because no one knew how to break the news to the Moon battlefield, and still less what to do with Daniele next. ... In Antarctica, it was unknown whether the solitary source energy airship at berth would still take off on this journey. Not far from Daniele, a teenage warrior stood fully armed. A dead iron straight sword was slung diagonally across his back, and a pitch-black spear rested against the ground in his grip. He looked up at the sky, remaining silent throughout. The sixteen-year-old super combatant, Azmon, whose face still held a trace of youthfulness, had eyes brimming with tears of grievance as he nearly ground his teeth to dust. If looks could kill, Daniele would already be dead. But they couldn't touch him; they didn't dare lay a finger on him at all. Daniele knew this very well. Even as he gloated inwardly, he kept up an expression of pure, innocent contrition. "Azmon, Major Azmon, please forgive me. Please try to understand me. The fluctuation of my trait was so intense back then that I lost control of myself for a split second..." Daniele took the initiative to step forward, repeatedly bowing and speaking with a face full of remorse. Azmon neither spoke nor looked at him. "I am profoundly sorry, and even more regretful. Truly, I feel ashamed," Daniele continued. "But as things stand, I cannot undo the bond, nor can I atone through combat and sacrifice. Furthermore, I want to say that I am more than willing to fight and grow alongside you, and become the finest human warriors together in the future. Don't worry, humanity will definitely triumph on the Moon battlefield..." Amid Daniele's incessant babbling, Azmon finally turned his head to look at him. He still didn't speak; after staring for a moment, he looked away, tapped the communicator on his shoulder, and requested a transmission. "Respected Speaker Kemore, and superiors of the General Staff Headquarters, I am Azmon." "I want to go to the Moon battlefield. Right now." "I want a chance in this lifetime to fight side by side on the same battlefield as Major Qing and Lieutenant Wu Xu. More than that, I want to stand as a true warrior, blocking the skies for humanity, with no path of retreat. I've never even set foot on a real battlefield yet." "This time, please don't stop me. I long to go there and fight. Even more, I long... to die in battle there." "Please grant permission!" "Let me go." Azure understood and respected Azmon's decision, for it could not be refused. They could not even bring themselves to tell him to endure, to wait... that perhaps there might be a way in the future. Because that "perhaps" was far too slim—doubly slim. Indeed. He was a die-hard admirer of Major Qing and Lieutenant Wu Xu. How could he possibly endure being bound for life to a coward like Daniele? "...Thank you." Having said his thanks, Azmon finally broke into a bright smile. He first waved goodbye to the Azure comrades present, then seized Daniele—who had already collapsed limp onto the ground, wailing. "Didn't you say you wanted to fight alongside me?" "Let's go. Let us go die together on the battlefield." He dragged Daniele aboard the airship. ... On the Moon battlefield, the clash between Nikola and the Puta'er named Yeke grew increasingly fierce, yet neither seemed capable of truly threatening the other's life. The stalemate held for the time being, and the search on the ground continued furiously. Soon, Wen Jifei on the Moon battlefield also received news of this "turn of events." "..." He couldn't even bring himself to curse anymore. After a long pause, Wen Jifei finally spoke. "Give this child named Azmon my communication channel. Tell him that if the battlefield situation can still hold by the time he arrives, he should come see me first. By the way, Wu Xu is also aboard my command ship right now, undergoing treatment." "Do you have a way?!" Speaker Kemore asked in sudden excitement. "No. I just suddenly felt like seeing him. Of course, if the situation on the battlefield worsens, I might not have time to meet either," Wen Jifei said, before ending the transmission.