Castle of Black Iron
Castle of Black Iron - Chapter 97: Framed

Today, the news of Burwick leading his “Male Lion Association”, which was composed of a group of horny students from the Seventh National Male Middle School, to cooperate with the Samira Business Group from Blackhot City had become the biggest news in Wild Wolf Castle. They had marched towards Crescent Prairie to hunt golden wolves as well as to pick Goose-neck Grass.

To support them, the Samira Business Group had provided Burwick’s team several crates of rations and had also gifted Burwick a war blade, an entire set of armor, and several sets of equipment used to hunt wolves. With these items in hand, Burwick and his lackeys held a magnificent pledge ceremony in the square of Wild Wolf Castle. After the pledge ceremony, Burwick, like a general, led the group of more than 200 “Male Lion Association” members to march towards Crescent Prairie.

Almost one fifth of the students attending this survival training from the Seventh National Male Middle School followed Burwick to prepare for the march towards Crescent Prairie.

At this pledge ceremony, in the square, many girls screamed Burwick’s name as their eyes were fixed on Burwick’s fascinating smile and his brilliant blonde hair. Currently, Burwick had been so well known among the students attending this survival training that he was even regarded as the best one among all the students who were attending this survival training.

Because of the magnificent scene, many of the horny students became hot-blooded, as even they had dreamed of being Burwick, someone who could enjoy the cheers from the girls. The news of Burwick leading his team on their march towards Crescent Valley to hunt the LV 2 golden wolves and to forage for Goose-neck Grass, which were ingredients that could be used to save lives, was publicized in a heroic manner by the Samira’s Business Group as they called it a righteous action, causing Burwick to turn into a hero as well as the most brilliant star in this survival training in the eyes of many girls. .

While Burwick became the star in the eyes of all the other students, Zhang Tie, who was like a miner, was watching Buwick’s brilliance as he stood on one side of the square. He had been wearing the same mining clothes for three consecutive days. Mining was something which made it hard for people to remain clean and tidy, and as such, Zhang Tie’s clothes and face both looked dirty. After working hard for an entire morning, the sweat covering his forehead and temples would sketch several clear mud marks onto his face. Simply by being close to him, girls with a keen sense of smell would be able to smell his sweat. Compared to the general-like Burwick, who was equipped with an entire set of armor, Zhang Tie was absolutely a peasant; there truly was a sharp contrast between them.

Zhang Tie looked at those high-spirited, horny students of the “Male Lion Association” with eyes that contained a slight gloominess and sympathy as he cursed inwardly—idiots!

Burwick’s ambitions and his mercilessness had both shocked Zhang Tie as well as made him alert. Because a golden wolf was a LV 2 beast, even Burwick, a LV 1 soldier who had ignited his Shrine burning point, should know that no matter how well the members of the Male Lion Association could cooperate with each other, if they wanted to keep the marrow fresh when they sent it to Blackhot City, then they would have to surround the golden wolves before hunting them. If a group of LV 0 soldiers were to do this, then there would definitely be casualties. Despite this, Burwick was still prepared to use his influence and the trust placed in him by those horny students to go through with this. This meant that those horny students were merely stepping stones in his heart, ones which could be sacrificed at any time. If Glaze was a ferocious wolf who was ready to bare his fangs, then Burwick would be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Burwick was more sinister and more terrifying, as he had hidden his ambitions and mercilessness, pretending to be harmless among a pack of sheep, thus he looked much more dangerous and was able to confuse others.

Zhang Tie didn’t intend to be something great nor did he plan to be some motherf*cking righteous messenger. He felt that even if he spoke up at this moment, it would not work on those horny guys, as the blood had already rushed to their head. Anyone who was able to capture a golden wolf or pick a stalk of Goose-neck Grass would be rewarded with an excellent war blade. Although this compensation given by the Samira Business Group was very cheap, for many students, it still made the blood rush to their heads. Exchanging one’s life for a weapon that would be used to serve others at the cost of one’s life—Zhang Tie truly looked down on such compensation and felt as if it was an insult to his intelligence. However, facing such compensation, some of the horny students looked extremely excited, which really caused Zhang Tie to be at a loss for words. Perhaps those horny students still dreamt of being referred to Master Abyan by the Samira Business Group if they performed well, letting him know of their name and perhaps allowing them to become his assistant or apprentice. To become an assistant or an apprentice of Master Abyan was a rare opportunity that was akin to taking a step towards heaven. There was no person who didn’t want to become the next Li Shizhen, a student from the Seventh National Male Middle School from many years ago who had been chosen to be an apprentice of the Pharmacists Association. However, because this promise was made by the man with the silky hat named Samira, Zhang Tie completely treated it as bullsh*t. Nevertheless, there were still many people who trusted his words. Those fellows didn’t realize that even if Samira’s words were true, Burwick would be the one to obtain the opportunity to be promoted and not them. The fact was that after a war, there would be piles of corpses from soldiers that were as high as a mountain, yet the only one who would earn reputation and praise would be the general!

In Zhang Tie’s eyes, this expedition was a trap which used the weaknesses of human nature; this trap was a huge pit which was dug on the basis of trust and greed and was also the most common trap. Clear-minded people would be able to see through it at the first sight; however, there would always be people who would jump in, and Zhang Tie would not be able to stop them. He felt as if he had already done what he should have done. What the others decided to do would be their choice. At any moment, he is not obliged to sacrifice himself for the safety of others.

“Besides yourself, nobody is responsible for your life. Horny students, I hope that you will learn to understand the motto of our school—‘Welcome to the Age of Black Iron’. After having stayed at school for three years, it seems that you have yet to understand that line. It seems that it’s just like what Donder had said. In this age, the thing that is the blackest and the most iron-like is the human heart,” Zhang Tie mumbled inwardly.

……

At the end of the pledge ceremony, standing on that temporary platform, Burwick, who always forced a smile and spoke in a very energetic fashion, looked back several times. When he realized that none of the teachers from the Temporary Supervision Committee were present and were not even watching their performance from the walls of the outer castle, Burwick became a bit disappointed.

“There’s no need to be disappointed. A recommendation from your school is not more valuable than being known by Master Abyan...” Seemingly as if he had seen through the slight disappointment in Burwick’s eyes, Samira consoled him in a low voice that was only audible to Burwick. “Whether or not the military academy of the Andaman Alliance would still exist in the future is uncertain; however, no matter who rules Blackhot City, Master Abyan would still be able to garner absolute respect. As a smart individual, you should understand what I mean!”

“I know what to do!” Burwick replied in low voice.

“Good luck then. I almost forgot to tell you. There’s a student from your school named Glaze that reached out to me because he also wanted to get this opportunity to be introduced to Master Abyan. As for whether there are more great figures in your school who dream for this opportunity, this is something that I do not know. That’s why, young man, you need to work hard. Only the most excellent people would be able to obtain this opportunity!” Samira added.

“I will try my best!” Hearing Samira’s words, Burwick’s face slightly became stiff before catching sight of Zhang Tie, who was not eye-catching, in the distance. Although Zhang Tie was not eye-catching, his mining basket certainly was. At the sight of Zhang Tie, Burwick’s eyes became filled with excitement. He then turned and told Samira with a smile, “Hmm, I forgot to tell you. That person in the crowd who gave you trouble the other day was Zhang Tie, that black-haired brat with the mining basket on his back. I’ve heard that he is already a LV 1 soldier and that Captain Kerlin and Zerom seem to have high hopes for him!”

The corner of Samira’s eyes twitched a couple of times. Even now, Samira still felt that someone in the crowd was cursing him with words like “poisonous snake’s head” and “triangular eyes”. Samira casually looked at Zhang Tie, who was far away, while forcing a smile on his skinny, horse-like face. “Well, I know what to do!”

“Happy collaboration!”

“Happy collaboration!”

……

After the pledge ceremony, Burwick and his followers left the small square of Blackhot City in a heroic manner, resulting in the noisy square finally regaining its calm. The moment Burwick’s team left, the Temporary Supervision Committee released a notice to hold a bonfire party in the small square tonight. According to the notice, the girls will be holding performances like singing and dancing during the bonfire party. Hearing that news, many horny students became excited. Unknown why, at the sight of this notice, Zhang Tie knew the intention of the teachers of the Temporary Supervision Committee. It seemed that they did not want the students to risk their lives in the Crescent Prairie.

The square became boisterous at this time. After reading the notice, the moment those horny students, including Zhang Tie, were to leave, a person walked towards Zhang Tie, and as he passed by, he walked into Zhang Tie’s shoulder. With his spiritual energy having increased by sevenfold, Zhang Tie’s senses were also sharp. The moment that person’s shoulder bumped it to his, Zhang Tie sensed something new in his mining basket. If he was average like before, then he never would have noticed something new inside his mining basket, as the mining basket itself was already heavy and even had a hoe inside.

Motherf*cker, how could they be that bored? Who’s still doing childish pranks like opening my mining basket and throwing stuff inside at the sight of the mining basket on my back? I have already stopped playing that prank of throwing trash in other people’s hood when I was eight years old. The moment Zhang Tie turned around to see who that bastard was, he heard someone shout loudly from several steps behind him.

“My purse! Where’s my purse? It was here just now, so how could it disappear in such a short period of time?”

“Thief! It must have been stolen...”

F*ck! Zhang Tie’s crisis mechanism was launched within 0.1 seconds. Sh*t, I was set up! F*ck those bastards who want to set me up by throwing that item into my mining basket. Since it was his mining basket, even if he had a hundred mouths, he would still not be able to clearly explain his innocence. When yellow mud fell onto one’s crotch, it would still be regarded as sh*t, even if it wasn’t. Once he was caught by those guys, it would be difficult for Zhang Tie to explain himself, thus he had to instantly leave, only then would he be able to gain the initiative of this battle...

Immediately, Zhang Tie’s instinct to escape was deducted once again. Without even turning back, Zhang Tie had already surged forward with large strides like a leopard at almost the moment he heard the shouts as he ran towards the foot of the mountain with his maximum speed...

After that guy shouted, he felt spirited from having attracted the attention from those around him and was prepared to make a performance; however, when he raised his head, he realized that the brat in front of him had already disappeared. At the same time, the other helpers who were to surround Zhang Tie and capture him had also become dumbfounded. “Where’s that brat? How did he escape? Weren’t we just supposed to wait here and capture him along with the purse in his mining basket? Wasn’t that what was supposed to happen? This doesn’t make sense!”

“Purse, my purse...” This time, the man truly shrieked with a high pitch. Finally, by the time someone noticed Zhang Tie, he had already been over a hundred meters away and was running towards the downward path.

“That brat is the thief! Hurry up and arrest him! Arrest the thief…” The square instantly became noisy as a great number of people rushed towards Zhang Tie...

Standing from afar, the corner of Samira’s eye twitched. He had never expected that such a performance, which should have been very successful, would turn out like this. For commoners like Zhang Tie, if he realized that he was not the thief, encountering such an incident, wouldn’t he simply turn around and have a look out of curiosity? But how could that brat escape even faster than a rabbit when he heard that shout? Was that a reaction a commoner would have? What kind of freak is that brat?

“Purse, my purse...” When he thought of his purse, Samira jumped up. “Bastard, that was my purse...”