{"id":716,"date":"2025-10-09T01:13:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T01:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sakuratranslation.com\/?p=716"},"modified":"2025-10-23T20:12:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T20:12:28","slug":"the-gate-of-heaven-14","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/www.velvetink.xyz\/es_co\/chapter\/the-gate-of-heaven-14\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gate of Heaven 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter Fourteen: Fire Mouse

“Cluck-cluck\u2014”

Suddenly, a gray blur burst out of the jungle, as fast as lightning. With a “pong” it knocked a trainee head over heels. When the others moved to hunt it down, it had already darted back into the depths of the nearby thicket. In that flash, Loran saw clearly\u2014it was a stag-horn rabbit, a first-rank demon beast!

“Are you all right?”

He stepped forward and pulled up the fallen boy. The youth grimaced in pain; two large holes had been torn through the fabric at his knee by the stag’s horns, bloodstained. He shook his head, despair on his face, and said, “Loran, I\u2019m afraid I can\u2019t walk anymore.”

Loran: “…”

At that moment, the sound of hooves came from the side. Assistant instructor Mykaila arrived with several knights and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Someone’s injured and can’t continue.” Loran said.

“Mm.”

Michaela frowned. \u201cSomeone, help the injured cadet onto a horse. He’s been eliminated.\u201d

Loran’s face went cold. \u201cInstructor… could he… be killed?\u201d

Michaela couldn’t help but laugh. The contours beneath her uniform trembled a few times as she chuckled, \u201cYou fool, we’re training you, not trying to kill you. He won’t die \u2014 at worst he’ll be sent out to join the servant troops, with a chance to be promoted to a trainee knight. You should worry about yourself.\u201d

“Mm.”

Loran stood up and looked up; the other trainees had already run far ahead. Everyone was afraid of being eliminated, so when a companion was injured they didn’t even glance back.

Taking a quiet breath, Loran sprang into pursuit.

A few minutes later, just as Loran was about to catch up with the group of youths, a “gurgle” call sounded again from the woods at one side. Immediately a gray blur shot out like lightning\u2014another antlered rabbit dashed from the roadside and slammed into Loran’s legs. These antlered rabbits weren’t particularly deadly, but they were incredibly fast, and with a pair of sharp antlers they were enough to threaten an ordinary trainee.

The moment the antlered rabbit burst forth, Loran’s reaction was equally swift; he had even sensed the creature’s presence in advance, like a hunter’s precognition. His legs suddenly tensed, the explosive power of his muscles revealed in an instant. He stomped the ground, his body pivoting to the side as he gripped his greatsword with both hands. With a sharp whoosh he cut through the air, swinging straight toward where the antlered rabbit stood.

“Shhh~~”

A spray of blood flew off. The antlered rabbit was injured, letting out a pained “gugu” cry as it flipped through the air and slammed into a large tree ahead. With a thud, leaves rained down. Lorlan glanced over and saw a clear sword wound across the rabbit’s neck; its twin antlers had impaled themselves into the tough tree roots, and it was struggling desperately.

There was no time to deal with it\u2014the clock was running out.

He hefted his longsword and kept running. The antlered rabbit had only slowed him by a few seconds; what came instead was the howling of wolves. The five wolves that had been trailing the trainees turned their attention to the wounded antlered rabbit. Although a first-rank beast could generally hold its own against the predators in the forest, this was an injured antlered rabbit\u2014chances were it wouldn\u2019t escape the wolves\u2019 jaws.

…

Ahead, under a maple tree, Aiver stood waiting with a dagger in one hand. Seeing Loran approach, she couldn’t help but lift the corner of her mouth and smiled, “I thought you’d be taken out by the antlered rabbit. Hurry up, our time is running out.”

“Mm!”

Loran nodded slightly and, shoulder to shoulder with Aivel, charged forward.

Not long after, seven trainees slowed their pace together. They had run too fast at first, depleting both their stamina and star-source energy, so they couldn’t keep up the high speed and had to pause to rest. As a result, Loran and Aivel overtook them, and further ahead they could see other trainees scattered in small groups.

They hadn’t gone far when Loran suddenly sniffed the air, catching a strong metallic tang of blood. Looking closer, they found a human corpse under a large tree, the body charred black by fire. The only identifiable thing was the trainee’s metal tag hanging from the neck\u2014clearly belonging to a student from Class Seven.

“It was Knight.”

Avel frowned and said, “I didn’t expect him to be killed by a second-tier beast, a Flame Rat.”

“Flame Rat, how do you know?” Loran’s expression turned grave.

“Look over there.”

Aivelle pointed with her hand; on the nearby clearing the grass and trees were scorched black. A giant rat about half a person’s height lay on the ground, a pool of crimson blood beneath it. There was only one fatal wound: a large hole in the flame rat’s abdomen, as if someone had punched right through its body.

“Who could it be…”

Loran looked astonished. “Someone actually punched straight through a flame rat’s body?”

“Across Class Seven, only Rodney has that capability.”

Avel smiled faintly: “Aside from him, no one can casually kill a second-rank phantasm beast.”

Loran couldn’t help but be stunned. That handsome orange-haired youth Rodney was actually that powerful? Loran had seen with his own eyes when Grand Knight Gray slew the Storm Wolf. Judging by Rodney’s current condition, Rodney’s strength now was probably already greater than Gray\u2019s, even though Gray was a Grand Knight\u2014and Rodney looked very young, roughly the same age as him.

Avel could see the shock and bewilderment on Loran’s face; she gave a slight smile and said, “All right, don’t overthink it\u2014let’s go. We’re not that far from the finish.”

“Mm!”

…

Holding the steel sword, he kept sprinting. Loran’s stamina was gradually being worn down, but his speed remained largely unaffected. The more he ran, the lighter his body felt. Though drenched in sweat, the wind brushing past his ears and through his hair brought a strange, joyful sensation.

So, having fixed his gaze on the road ahead, Loran closed his eyes and hurled himself forward, letting the breeze brush past him. The moment he opened his eyes, there was a strange sensation\u2014he wasn’t sure whether he saw it or merely felt it. Tiny, lively vortices seemed to flow across his skin, some even attaching themselves to his body.

“This is…”

I was momentarily stunned. I raised my hand and brushed lightly; instantly a few invisible whirlwinds lingered at my fingertips and flew forward with him.

“Eh, Loran?”

Avel jumped in surprise: “You… you can actually communicate with a wind elemental spirit?”

“What!?”

Loran suddenly stopped, feeling the rhythm of wind at his fingertips and a burst of coolness, and said, “This is a wind elemental spirit?”

“Yes.”

Avel was baffled: “How is that possible? You clearly don’t have star-source power, yet how could you… sense the presence of wind elements? This… this is too abnormal. Didn’t the books on the Star-Source Continent already make it clear that star-source power is the origin of all things? Why… how could you do this…”

“I don’t know either.”

A wave of joy swelled in Loran’s chest, but at that moment the wind elements at his fingertips whooshed away all at once. He tried to sense them again several times but failed repeatedly, and he couldn’t help feeling a bit dejected: “Maybe it was just a coincidence.”

“Don’t be discouraged, come on, we’re almost at the finish.”

“Mm.”

…

At the finish line, a wall stood in front of them. Instructor Mikayla held a pocket watch and stood there quietly, a faint smile at the corner of her mouth. “Avel, the 16th to reach the finish, pass! Loran, the 17th to reach the finish, pass!”

“I knew it\u2014you two would make it safely to the end.”

The golden-haired girl Caroline laughed.

Ivel nodded with a smile, saying nothing more.

Loran looked more closely. Outside the finish line was a clearing in the woods where a temporary camp had been set up. Smoke curled from the campfires as the servants in charge of provisions had already begun preparing breakfast and lunch for the trainees. Because the Beast Valley trial begins at the very first moment after waking, the trainees were in desperate need of replenishing their strength.

Before long, the students one by one reached the finish line. Three of them failed and were immediately eliminated from Class Seven; together with the one previously injured, that made four students actually eliminated.

Inside the camp, small tents lined up for the trainees to rest. Loran had been sprinting all morning and was utterly exhausted; after a hearty meal he collapsed into his tent and fell asleep, only waking when Instructor Haimu’s voice sounded from outside.

“Afternoon, swordsmanship training.”

Instructor Haimu’s voice was rich and resonant as he said, “Everyone must conserve your energy and strength. At three this afternoon, return the way you came. This will be the second trial in the Beast Valley today.”

“What, we still have to take a trip to Beast Valley?”

The group of young noble trainees from Mondstadt all froze for a moment, each wearing an expression of unwillingness.

Haimu smiled: “You can choose not to participate in the Beast Valley trial this afternoon. I’m sure the knights of the Enforcement Corps will be more than happy to chop off your heads and throw your bodies into Beast Valley to feed the animals\u2014no need to worry.”

Mondstadt shivered as if finally remembering the cruel, blood-red prison training camp deep within, then immediately put on a face of awe and said, “Instructor Haimu, we will strictly follow your orders!”

“Good \u2014 that’s all I needed to know!”

Haimu’s gaze faltered; he clearly didn’t have much patience for these young master trainees. Then he said, “Rodney, I heard you killed a second-rank beast, a Flame Mouse, in the Beast Valley. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

Rodney smiled slightly: “If I don’t step in now, our beautiful classmate Caroline’s pretty face will probably get burned by the Fire Mouse.”

Caroline’s pretty face flushed: “I’m not so easily defeated!”

Haimu smiled faintly: “Understood. No need to bring this up again. Be extra careful during the Beast Valley trial this afternoon.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

…

Afternoon, sword training.

Around three, at Instructor Haimu’s command, the group of trainees trudged back into Beast Valley with exhausted bodies, desperately running through the perilous jungle. Only at sunset did Loran drag his weary frame back into the Blood Castle. Lying in his room after dinner that night, he felt as if all the strength in his body had been completely drained.
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