Sheen stood on top of a metallic platform with the seven highest-ranking generals in the camp.
The five men and two women were well into their late years, the strongest was only low E-rank, and two men weren't even Guardians. Yet, they were modern military officials who had earned their positions and had ample experience to make up for any failings.
Their willpower was evident in how they didn't seem to mind Shen's aura. Even the commoners—who only deal with commoner issues underground—looked as if they were about to drink tea on a calm afternoon. One of them actually looked bored. Shen could feel their accelerated heartbeats and cold sweat, yet they were strong warriors who didn't let some primal fear of nature terrors get to them.
What was a terrifying storm to those who had learned to weather the much worse horrors of war?
It was a shame that those two commoners hadn't joined the tutorial. One had refused for ideological reasons, while the other had stayed back on Earth to protect his nation while everyone else left to grow stronger. Both were honorable in their own way.
The generals formed a line on a raised dais on the platform's back. Shen stood in front of them with his back to them, facing the crowd on the ground below.
The over four hundred thousand troops—three-fourths of Guardians—stood in attention, awaiting his speech.
They were organized in ranks and files; there was plenty of space for them in the Staging Area. The mismatched uniforms and armor paled compared to the ironed uniforms worn by the heavily awarded generals. They also didn't even start to give the impression of power Shen had felt from the gnolls' army.
He was proud of them nevertheless. Even if they were to fail in the end, they were here giving their best.
Shen activated his Lion's Roar and addressed Earth's bravest.
"Forty-eight," he started. His voice boomed over everyone, and the talk died within the ranks. "Forty-eight hours remain for the battle for Earth to commence. Forty-eight hours until we succeed in saving everyone and everything we love or die trying.
"We're not ready for that, ladies and gentlemen. But we will be.
"You've all already been separated into squads, platoons, and so forth. They are of different sizes than the military men you are used to because this battle will not follow modern rules of engagement. We're fighting with numbers of warriors only ever heard of in ancient history." Well, what they considered ancient history. "Against a number of enemies also more remarkable than any other threat recorded. We ran against time to adapt modern, old, and fantasy tactics only found in fiction to this new era of system-enhanced fighters. We're doing something new in this most desperate of times, and some naysayers suggest it won't survive first contact with the enemy.
"They can all go to hell.
"I know you'll do just fine.
"Why? Because you are here.
"For the past six days, people arrived from all parts of the world to help. Many are still coming; right now, some are going through the proceedings to get admitted into the camp. I don't know how many of them will fight when the time comes, but I know you will.
"You, ladies and gentlemen, have gone through accelerated training, overcame hardships, and did your best to learn and improve because you understand how important this Rift War is.
"I know some of you doubt my innocent on past matters. Even some who believe me still resent me. But you all set it aside to unite on a common goal. Against a common enemy. For a purpose much more significant than anything I or any of you did.
"You didn't have to come—at least not before the Call to Arms—yet you did. That puts you above everyone else who could come yet didn't. You chose to protect your world.
"Some commoners among you came bearing nothing more than a pocket knife a few inches long. Their bravery was grander than our biggest gun.
"And I thank you for it, all of you, for being here. As should the entire world.
"Thank you for doing your part."
Shen paused. He left many things unsaid, many implications only half suggested. For instance, they were doing their part, but why wasn't everyone else? What were other people's excuses when some came with knives to the fight?
But pointing those things out would create resentment instead of the pride he sought to inspire, so he didn't pursue that line.
"For the next forty-eight hours, most of you will train for mass engagement. We need to learn how not to get in each other's way, how to swiftly get where we are required, and how to cover our allies' backs. Wars are made of more than guns, magic, and spears; positioning and movement are crucial.
"Our enemies walk like we do, and their war machines can fly like ours. Their weaponry cut through the air just like our missiles. The incoming battle will be enormous. The attacks from both sides will fill the entire one-mile-wide portal.
"We must prepare to fight as a cohesive unit—because the gnolls will.
"Teaching you how to move together would be impossible two months ago. Fortunately, the same Guardian System that brings this enemy to our doorstep is the one that allows us to improve our minds. I won't enter into the philosophical debate of whether the system is good for us. I'll just point out that it does give us the tools we need to triumph.
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"So, you'll learn.
"You'll learn to advance, retreat, and hold. When to attack or defend. How not to kill your own allies. How to effectively use everything you learned the past days even when hundreds of thousands of people around you are trying to do something else.
"It won't be easy, but you'll prevail—against the direst odds and most unfair techniques.
"Which brings the conversation to me."
Shen sighed. "Some of you have heard about my aura. Many of you felt it. Almost everyone knows how much of an advantage it gives me.
"When I was inside the rift, I felt at least ten enemies with auras. That sounded terrifying initially, but we have developed a tactic to deal with it. General Alexander Petrov will explain it to you as soon as I step down. We named it mana infusion.
"It requires skill and coordination. You must learn it and use it well. Earth won't resist if you don't.
"I believe in you, ladies and gentlemen. You believe in yourselves, or you wouldn't be here.
"Prove to yourself, me, and everyone in the world that you were right."
Shen paused again to let them feel the tension and momentum. He wasn't the best with speeches, but he was satisfied with this one.
After a few minutes, when people started getting restless and distracted, he continued with the less exciting part of his discourse.
"Now, I want to say two more things before I step down.
"First, you were all informed through the proper channels, but I'll repeat it: Marzia Martino, the Human Maiden, is an ally under my direct protection." She was standing below the platform with Sai, both within Shen's aura range. "Attacking her is punishable by immediate execution. Remember that.
"Second, there's word around the camp about joining my clan. I'll start taking applications only after the Rift War is over. Your participation in the battle will be considered when deciding whether to take you in.
"I'll talk more about my clan and its rules when there's time, but know this: strength isn't everything. I'll value those who obey orders and do their fair share much more than anyone who tries to play hero and lets their companions die for it. Of course, cowards are of no use to me either.
"That will be all. Let's win this fight."
General Petrov swapped places with Shen and explained the mana infusion tactic to everyone. The troops were given a few hours to train on it, then they went straight to mass drills.
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"This is soothing in a way," Alicia said.
She was standing beside Shen on one of the many metal platforms now occupying the Staging Area. They were squared and ten to a hundred feet long, depending on who or how many people were above them.
Sai was in his usual spot nine feet behind Shen, and Marzia was not far behind. The Human Maiden sat on the floor beside Yui Hina and Karl Schneider. They were discussing something Shen couldn't hear because of a spell that blocked the sound. His aura didn't help with that; the Maiden had found that if he allowed Concept-powered mana to completely encapsulate an area inside his aura, he lost his hold over it.
Below them, hundreds of thousands of people were moving in large groups in different directions, trying not to get in each other's way. Shen and Alicia stood on the platform's edge, looking at the exercises together.
"It is mesmerizing," Shen agreed.
The movement training was as necessary for the generals as it was for the troops. The latter was trying their best, and the former was learning how far they could push everyone before the ranks collapsed. Shen was doing much the same; learning and analyzing.
To the troops, the most challenging thing to learn was adapting to unexpected movements or interruptions in the flow. The generals prepared the soldiers for that by suddenly commanding groups of different sizes to immediately stop or change directions. The nearby groups weren't forewarned and had to adjust accordingly.
Over twenty commoners had died in the resulting chaos the first time they did it on a mass scale.
Yet, as regretful as the losses were, they needed to train it. There would be plenty of necessary adaptations once the battle started. They had to be prepared to deal with that without killing each other.
And they were learning; no one else had died in the last five such exercises.
Further away from the groups learning to move, specialized troops trained in different things.
Commoner snipers learned when to shoot, fall back, reposition, or run. They memorized how effective their guns were against specific targets, be they Guardians with certain resistance stats or magic pieces of equipment.
Logistic officials charged with bringing ammo to commoners or pulling back injured troops were taught how and when to resupply, stand back, or let go of that function and join the fight as warriors.
The Mana Swarm improved their ability to mix their mana and move it around together. They were already quick and efficient and could fill Shen's entire aura range in a second as long as he stood still. Yet, they still needed more than that to catch an unwilling target.
Fifty-six Pioneers and seventeen other peak E-ranks sparred against each other to further hone their skills. The eighty were Earth's spec ops and would be deployed to fight strong enemies or deal with messy situations—which included eliminating any rogue that killed the Intervention Colonel sent to deal with them.
Tens of thousands of Guardians trained to use spells to maximize modern weaponry potential. They reshaped bullets for maximum piercingness after they were shot—into a format that made them very impossible to shoot with guns, figured out a way to use magic to determine the correct angles for an artillery bombardment, improved armor effectiveness, theorized how to jam enemy comms, deduced how to safeguard their own comms, and much more.
Reserve troops were briefed on when and how to act in case they became needed, and officers learned how to replace supposedly irreplaceable people if the chain of command broke.
Jet fighters and bombers covered the skies. The pilots trained how not to get in each other ways, checked the machines for issues, and practiced one last flight before the engagement.
Attack helicopters coordinated with passenger ones to kill enemies, deploy troops, and rescue warriors anywhere they might be needed.
Tanks and humvees were briefed on the updated tactics that potentialized their modern effectiveness or changed their usual deployment tactics.
Almost the entire war camp was in the Staging Area, getting used to each other and the ground they would be fighting at.
Any new Guardian arrival was sent straight there from the front desks. There was no time for promotion and proper training, yet Earth still needed warriors. Newly arrived E-ranks were immediately made into lieutenants or captains and taught the bare minimum to work with the others, while weaker Guardians became Sargeants or ordinary soldiers.
The new troops were kept separated though, and would only be used wherever they couldn't do any harm. As much as Earth needed fighters, it wouldn't do if those fighters messed up what good troops they already had.
Commoners were sent away unless they had enough military background. There was no time to train them anymore. Most complained, but Shen didn't care.
If his troops won, he would've proven the commoners weren't needed. If they lost, he would be too dead to care.
For he had decided to win or die trying.
Valentina's spell had made him kill innocents, and their blood was on her hands. Yet, he couldn't ignore the possibility that they might not be dead if he had acted more humbly. He was glad Alicia hadn't paid for his hubris, yet countless more had.
Shen owed Earth, and he would repay that debt by putting his life on the line for them. His honor demanded it.
So he would fight with his all.
May his Path prevail over his enemies.