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FI CH 21
by jj.ssasipscoffeeChapter 21: Battlefield Memories (II)
The next morning, the two of them arrived at the training site on time.
To Bai Hua’s surprise, he had expected to be sent to some remote and desolate area. But instead, they were brought to a vast, enclosed indoor facility—probably large enough to fit several stadiums. According to Kurosawa, all training content related to mental landscapes was highly classified. Moreover, given that they were now under special protection, extra caution was necessary.
Bai Hua didn’t like the feeling of being protected, but with their current lack of strength, he had no choice but to tolerate it for now. Kurosawa felt the same, which was why both of them were determined to grow stronger no matter what.
Before graduation, Sentinels were required to pass mental power assessments and be capable of undertaking solo missions. But Sentinel-Guide training was clearly on an entirely different level. The domain of the mental landscape alone was already a whole new frontier—something even a gifted Guide could spend their entire life studying and still never fully comprehend.
Compared to Sentinels, mental landscapes were actually a Guide’s area of expertise.
“But that doesn’t mean a Sentinel’s ability to use a mental landscape is inherently weak,” Kurosawa added. “A Sentinel’s willpower is purer and stronger. If properly harnessed, it’s often even harder to break through—for example, Lin Yuan.”
Bai Hua paused, clearly caught off guard. It was the first time he’d heard that Lin Yuan was skilled in using mental landscapes.
Seeing this, Kurosawa glanced at him and explained, “That’s because the classifications and methods of mental landscapes are all recorded in the Guide Guild’s database. Back then, supernatural conflicts weren’t as frequent, so the Sentinel Guild didn’t take them as seriously, which is why they were never documented.”
Originally, these texts had simply been archived for preservation. But now, due to the outbreak of war, they had unexpectedly become critical resources.
Even if the world had seemingly unified, peace was only a surface illusion.
“But last time, he didn’t even…” Bai Hua started to say, but couldn’t finish. If Lin Yuan really had gone easy on them, then the gap in strength between them was beyond his imagination.
“Knowing the difference between friend and foe isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Kurosawa offered—whether it was meant to be comforting was debatable. “Everyone has the ability to create a mental landscape. It just depends on how you use it. This battle sequence—besides the Guide’s own consciousness—also contains fragments extracted from Lin Yuan’s will. When an obsession is too powerful, it can imprint itself onto the surrounding environment. In a battlefield, we call that battlefield memory[1].”
Bai Hua asked, “You mean… this is Lin Yuan’s battlefield memory?”
“Yes,” Kurosawa confirmed. “Which shows that the battle back then must’ve been extremely intense.”
Bai Hua was silent for a moment before responding, “I understand.”
After the explanation, Kurosawa glanced across the wide and empty training ground. “Shall we begin?”
“You’re going to initiate it?” Bai Hua asked.
“Of course not. I can’t manage both roles at once, so I asked someone else to help.”
“Then…”
“Don’t worry,” Kurosawa reassured him. “Even though this is just training, there’s no surveillance. Whatever happens in here, no third party will know.”
“…Okay.” Bai Hua paused, reassured after confirming there was no hidden meaning behind his words. What was I even thinking…?
Once everything was ready, Kurosawa gave one final reminder: “Remember, the main goal of this training is—survival.”
Bai Hua nodded in acknowledgment.
As soon as the training began, the environment around them suddenly shifted. The open floor turned into a blood-soaked field littered with bones. The white ceiling became a blood-red twilight sky. All around them echoed the screams and sounds of brutal combat. Even though he knew this was just an illusion created by the spiritual landscape, the scene was still overwhelming.
Before Bai Hua could fully process the environment, he heard Kurosawa shout, “Bai Hua!”
He had already sensed a chilling killing intent before turning his head. Instinctively, he twisted his body to the side just as a massive battle-axe swept past him. The heavy thud as it struck the ground felt like it shook the earth.
Without looking back, Bai Hua kicked backward along the direction of the axe handle and heard a dull grunt from the attacker.
He turned his head and saw that the assailant was just a regular person. Real Guides or Sentinels usually fought barehanded. They avoided weapons that could delay reaction time. Even a few seconds of delay could be enough for a Guide to take control of your mind—or for a Sentinel to kill you with a single punch.
Despite the danger surrounding them, they were lucky to have landed in a zone with only ordinary humans.
At that moment, Kurosawa was dodging an attack from one of the ordinary fighters. He didn’t use a psychic strike—while Guides weren’t known for physical strength, they were still stronger than regular people. After swiftly dealing with his attacker, he glanced in Bai Hua’s direction.
In every battle, each side would usually assign a Guide as the combat detector. Their role was to sense the number of enemy troops, the count of ability users, the ambush zones, and so on. Judging from that, both factions would soon detect their presence. Ability users were always the top priority—and thus the most heavily targeted.
But the problem was—they had no idea where they were on the battlefield, nor which direction held the enemy or their own forces.
Kurosawa moved toward Bai Hua while clearing away nearby threats. “I need a moment,” he said.
“Okay.”
Though outnumbered, Bai Hua had no trouble holding his own against ordinary combatants.
Soon, the scan was complete. Kurosawa said grimly, “Unfortunately, we’re closer to the enemy’s side. They’ve already detected us and are sending someone—one Guide and one Sentinel. They’ll be here in about ten minutes.”
Bai Hua asked, “Fight or flee?”
“They’re moving fast. We won’t be able to escape.”
That was all Bai Hua needed to hear—so fighting it was.
Kurosawa reminded him, “Whatever you do, don’t let your guard down.”
“Got it.”
They deliberately moved to a spot with fewer people. Five minutes later, they encountered their opponents on the sandy battlefield.
Scouting Guides didn’t just detect the number of ability users—they also analyzed their abilities and dispatched the most suitable team for countering or eliminating them.
What surprised both Kurosawa and Bai Hua was the appearance of a very famous Sentinel-Guide pair from that historical battle—Yin Qing and Lu Mingyue—a husband-and-wife duo renowned for their stealth and assassination abilities. According to postwar statistics, the two had taken down fifteen ability users within three days. They were ultimately killed by Lin Yuan after failing to defeat him—otherwise, the casualties on the battlefield might’ve been far worse.
Bai Hua was in disbelief. “Is this how highly the enemy rated our abilities in the simulation?”
Kurosawa said, “Have you still not come to terms with the fact that you’re a top-ranking Sentinel?”
“No, I just didn’t expect this.”
From an outsider’s perspective, the two of them might still seem too young, but the battlefield didn’t care about age—only those who survived to the very end could be considered victors. Lin Yuan himself had only been in his early twenties when he led the rebellion a decade ago. If they couldn’t even defeat the pair in front of them, then going up against Lin Yuan would be entirely out of the question.
Kurosawa glanced at the two enemies before them, just about to remind Bai Hua when Yin Qing suddenly vanished on the spot.
Bai Hua had always had sharp eyes, but it was the first time he couldn’t track an opponent’s movements at all.
Kurosawa called out, “It’s Lu Mingyue’s ability—camouflage!”
Suddenly realizing it, Bai Hua immediately relied on his ears to pick up the subtle sound of shifting air. But Yin Qing’s movements were simply too fast. He barely managed to raise his arm to defend before his entire body was kicked back, flying through the air.
Kurosawa couldn’t spare a glance toward Bai Hua. Lu Mingyue’s Guide ability was troublesome—he had to stop her from launching a mental landscape, or else if they were pulled into a space fully cloaked in camouflage, escape would become nearly impossible.
After rolling across the ground, Bai Hua leveraged the motion to spring into a crouch. Now that he understood what had happened, he began formulating countermeasures in his mind.
Perhaps because he’d been discovered, Yin Qing no longer bothered with stealth and now stood openly in front of Bai Hua, as if preparing for a head-on fight.
Bai Hua didn’t overthink it—his entire focus was locked on the enemy before him. But just at that moment, a short blade suddenly stabbed into his back, piercing straight into his heart.
The strike was so sudden, so completely unexpected, that Bai Hua didn’t even have time to react—let alone turn around. The next time he blinked, he had already been returned to the original training arena.
No way. Seriously?! He actually died just like that…?
Bai Hua was stunned. This was completely unlike any training game or simulation he’d ever experienced—this felt like an authentic brush with death.
So this was what it felt like to die so suddenly on a battlefield… He sat there dazed for a moment, until the wave of shock and emotion finally started to subside.
A few minutes later, Kurosawa also reappeared. He looked at Bai Hua, but for a moment, he didn’t even know what to say.
Maybe he was still too shocked, but somehow Bai Hua found a sense of humor and asked Kurosawa, “How did you die?”
Kurosawa was stunned for a moment by the question, then chuckled as well. “My partner died—who else was I supposed to count on for a comeback? Even if this is a survival training, have you forgotten the main goal is to train in pair combat?”
“…But I honestly have no idea how I died. I didn’t even get the chance to look back before I was sent out.”
Kurosawa said, “It was Lu Mingyue’s illusion. The Yin Qing you saw in front of you was just a decoy—the real Yin Qing had already circled behind you.”
“Like the trick you used on Lin Yuan that time?”
“Yeah. But Lu Mingyue’s execution is even more flawless—virtually no openings. Her spirit form is especially suited for concealment.”
“A chameleon?”
“Exactly. Their coordination is top-notch. They’re the perfect sparring opponents for us.”
Bai Hua asked again, “Rest a bit, then go for another round?”
Kurosawa looked at him with some surprise. “Honestly, I thought you’d be more discouraged. After all… we only lasted fifteen minutes.”
“Do you have to rub it in like that?” Bai Hua laughed, but quickly composed himself again. “Still, we probably don’t even have the luxury of being discouraged. It’s fine to feel that way in training—but not when we’re actually on the battlefield. We can’t afford any slip-ups.”
Kurosawa said, “You’ve got the right mindset—but your combat awareness still needs work. You have to treat it as a war where there’s no way out.”
Bai Hua nodded. “I understand.”
(To be continued…)
Footnotes:
- battlefield memory: The term "Battlefield Memory" refers to lingering emotional or spiritual imprints left behind on the battlefield—usually caused by strong obsessions or powerful mental states during combat. In this story, these residual energies are so intense that they become part of the mental landscape (or spiritual environment) within a Sentinel or Guide’s training or perception. Even long after the actual battle, these battlefield memories can be re-experienced through mental projections and can influence the environment in realistic, dangerous ways. They're not just memories—they're echoes of intense will and trauma, turned into part of a psychic space. ↑