Fortunately, the stone fort 413 had not only enough rooms and barracks space, but also a small courtyard and even a fortified basement, to be used for wounded and provisions if under siege.
Pef immediately sent his staff to suffer their Awakenings, only keeping Xie and Erin by his side, for now.
He wanted Erin to realize why Pela was crying now. And she would, once the woman emerged a Spirit rank from the basement. Given the higher qi density here, condensing qi into the bones of the recruits would almost guarantee a rank increase.
Add to that delicious cooking and kinds words, and it became a certainty, for lower ranks.
'You want 5 weeks, for all them?' the glove asked a bit confused.
'Yeah. Major Wu needs to heal, the new guys need everything, and the women...not sure. They should reach Emperor rank, right?' Pef asked a bit in doubt.
'In 1000 years, and many many fights later. Or a few lucky kills.'
Pef thought about it for a while. A millennium was a short time in this world. 'Still, that's very good. I'll have 3 new Emperors in my pocket and whatever Erin is'
'Actually, Zhong will reach Emperor rank sooner. His Practice is very solid. Just needs a dozen wives...'
'But he hasn't married after his Sky ranked mentor...oh. It was a woman, wasn't she?' Pef reaized with a start. No wonder the man was so stone hearted.
'The indoctrination will fix that. Mental hang-ups are not tolerated. You didn't cry after your parents, did you?'
Pef growled a little, annoyed at the explicit mind control. Then again, as a leader of these people, he couldn't allow them to wallow and pant after lost lives.
He barely remembered Miss Fang now, although he was blind with anger at that time. Old pains washed away, to make room for the new pains that were certain to come.
'Keep a log for me. I will want to review the people I lost, when I become a Soldier' Pef said in a suffering breath.
'I will remember them for you, Aspirant. Now go and train' the glove ordered in a sterner tone.
Pef went to train, every day. Sword practice, archer practice, command practice. The latter was the requirement of Commander Ren, who hopped to retire and go home already.
And so, Ren crammed Pef's head, and his wives heads, with all the rules of the manual, the logistics of the wall, sending signals, feeding the 413 regiment, requesting spare equipment and weapons, and a hundred other small things the commander of a fort should know.
After 5 weeks, Pef had begun to understand how little he knew, of the task he took over.
Luckily there had been no major incursions in their sector, so he didn't have to protect his men, with his skills and qi.
Then, the first batch of newly Awakened officers emerged, stronger, healed, and mostly immune to disease.
Dong was close to his Earth rank, only a good fight or love story away.
Pela and Gian had crossed into Spirit rank, and got Wind and Water, which were rather normal elements for humans.
Earth was rare, and Fire the rarest.
Sure, rare bloodlines sometimes got wood, like Aria was bound to get, and possibly spider control or whatever the Disciples had. They preferred to die rather than talk, and chopping a limb didn't phase them.
Lieutenants Merri and Chu and Fon were also near the Earth rank peak, and decent water mages.
Pef called all of them together in the basement, including the new Core recruits, Gin and Gen.
"Guys, you have all finished the Xi method of qi. I hope you notice the bonus?" he asked rhetorically.
The crew nodded with different faces, from relief to wonder or grimaces.
"I will give all of you a storage ring, and the bones of an Earth rank turtle. Including the carapace. Well, to Gen and Gin I'll add some easy Core bones, to learn. You will Practice soul smithing, with your muscles and your soul, bending these bones to shape items for yourselves. It will be hard and time consuming. But that's how you will reach next ranks fast." Pef told them with a wide smile, and placed a fistful of rings on a table.
Major Wu looked at Pef, a bit unsure. He was Sky rank after all, even if he didn't practice smithing.
Pef explained with a shrug. "Combat also helps greatly, which is why we'll patrol the forest a bit and cause trouble"
The men smiled grimly. That's what they expected from the Wall.
"Also, you all heard the Emperor have those big harems? They're not just a perk of rank. The Legion method demands the training recruits experience love, to keep them human, and not become murderous demons. So, if you find someone attractive, go for it. Don't force it or press your attentions. That love, needs to be returned" Pef concluded with a warning.
Dong raised a finger. "But, what about..."
"Did you hear me? If the woman doesn't return your affection, move on. There's a billion women here. Although from my experience, it takes only 10 tries" Pef said with a thin smile.
He did somehow lucked out with 10 wives. Without even trying that much.
However, Pef had begun to suspect the glove kinda fixed some timelines or futures to fill the gaps left by lack of a training Soldier.
Pela rose a finger, a bit shyly. "So, if, my Earth rank...will you?"she stuttered with a blushing face.
Pef nodded, as he did promise. "If by then you still like me, we'll talk. In private, please"
The secret meeting ended, and everyone resumed their posts and training.
Next day, Pef and his wives descended again in the cellar, and our hero looked at Erin concerned.
"You saw what Pela and Gian went through. It was painful. But also immediate rank." Pef said while pointing at the bed next to him.
Erin sat on the bed gingerly, her hand clenched on her other one, the one with the ring.
"But I'm special, right? Just 5 weeks won't be enough?"
"It would be enough, to make you an ordinary Empress. Not strong, not special. Just there. Simple life, no worries, until a god gains enough power and wipes out humanity" Pef said with a shrug.
Erin glanced at Xie but she didn't react, just swirled qi around the room for some reason.
"So, that why...a whole year of pain. Not for ourselves, but for all the people. That's what the Legion does?" Erin asked a bit more wary.
"Yes. This glove, is not leather. It is the flesh of the General. She flayed herself, then soulsmithed that flesh, so that people gain the power to fight.
To defeat demons and gods that inject babies with spiders. And then, she did it again and again, billions and trillions of times, arming the Legions with god slaying methods and weapons. We are not her, to suffer for a billion years. But we can help, a little" Pef explained in a soft voice, and held out his gloved hand.
The blonde woman with a pixie cut stared at the glove for a second, then shook Pef's hand.
'Begin now, one year' Pef ordered with a broken heart.
Erin gasped, as the energy of heavens descended and started transforming her into a goddess. It was slow and painful, but such was the road to cultivation.
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To reach the heavens, you had to live through hell.
She laid on the bed, and Xie began helping her take off the armor and the outer clothes.
"Pef, please visit me okay? I want this ring to mean something, when...after I..."
"Okay. I'll come by everyday, and cook something for you, all right?" Pef said with a gentle smile then walked away.
Xie stayed longer, adding a make up paravan and some various tubs and sponges on a table.
"Thanks Xie, you're really great" Erin whispered in a pained voice.
"Xie is sleeping now. But I'm her soulmate, we can also be friends" a different woman answered, turning around and displaying silver eyes and a mysterious presence.
Erin coughed in surprise: "Who, how, same body?"
"Pef calls me Xia. I don't like that name, but it's the only one I have. See, Xie was once pregnant. But when she Awoke, the baby died, and I arrived in its place. A dead woman, but not really. And the irony is, once Xie ascends to Perfect Divinity, I will be free." the strange woman answered with a strange heavenly vibration in her voice.
"Oh, that's cheating...You died, but not"
"Exactly. Now, where do you think souls go, after they die?" Xia asked with some ulterior motive.
Another month later, after considering the practice of his men appropriate, Pef decided to become proactive.
Early in the morning, but after breakfast, Pef and his company of heroes, just the Earth ranks though, crossed the barren barrier and approached the forest, with cautious steps.
Behind them, the regiment was being roused and prepared to receive hostiles, 1000 Practitioners armed with long spears tipped with an Earth ranked spearhead. Behind those, 100 women with bows.
The Patriarchy kinda discouraged women to join the Guard, through hazing and other methods. They did have a reason, as women were generally weaker in strength at low ranks, and seeing women butchered by some beast was hard, even for the hardened veterans.
They were encouraged to practice the bow, and avoid melee. A sensible approach anyway.
Not like this moron Emperor, and his band of sycophants, going to poke the bear.
Sure, everyone expected the Emperor to fly away and yell orders from the safety of the sky, once the beasts were provoked.
But hour after hour passed, and in the distance, trees were being blown high into the air, and horrifying screams could be heard. The Guard waited, while their hands tensed on their spears.
The regulars came and brought lunch and water for the Guard, then ran away and hid behind the stone battlements.
The normals only had small bone axes with a spiked end, to help mop up small creatures, in dire need.
But mostly to trim plants or chop wood.
Towards the evening, the Emperor's party became visible, as a large patch of the forest had been flatten or otherwise vanished. About 10 square kilometers in front of the fort was now barren land, almost like an army had pushed back the forest for a year.
Pef felt exhausted as he walked back towards his fort, his qi recovering but slowly. This forest was indead fearsome, thousands of Core and even Spirit beasts everywhere.
So he decided to store every tree and bush, slicing and dicing, while keeping an eye out on his crew, making sure none of them fought more than one beast at a time.
The glove even let him know he had recovered two rare plants needed for the Blue Meridian Pill, some kind of vines growing over 900 meters tall trees.
Pef grinned at that. His new plan appeared to work great.
He stopped to check the Guard who seemed tired and scared, although they just stood here, not even a dead beast at their feet.
"Something hapenned guys?" he asked out loud.
"Hundreds of beasts...they are coming..." a young man muttered as he kept staring at the forest.
"Hmmm. Not those you heard, those are dead now." Pef replied with a shrug and walked away.
Xie struggled to keep up with him, tired from all the combat.
"Let's go to see Erin..." she said in a weak voice.
Pef agreed and took her hand. Major Wu and Commander Zhong dropped on the slope, too tired to move for a while.
"Monsters...both of them..." Zhong mumbled when a Guard came to offer him some water.
"Beasts never beg for mercy...impossible" Wu added, after gulping precious water.
"Now I can die happy..." Commander Ren concluded and fell asleep with his head on his knees.
Xie crashed on a bed next to Erin and fell asleep, while Pef rested a little next to the blonde wife.
"You both look awful. Was it a wave?" she asked a bit worried.
"Ah, no. We took a walk through the forest. Made it in about 3 kilometers..." Pef explained with a tired voice.
"You're crazy. The Patriarch himself, only advances one kilometer along the frontline" Erin whispered a bit impressed.
Pef patted her head with a smile. "He does that all along the wall though. I only had one sector to worry about"
"Still. You can barely see anything, so deep. There's trees and bushes and ferns and..."
"At first, yes. Not anymore. Now it's flat ground. My glove, can store wood like air." Pef answered tiredly, and fell asleep in her lap.
Erin gently dragged her fingers through Pef's black hair, a bit confused at the turn. "Idiot, you were supposed to comfort me...ah, but it doesn't hurt so much now..."
A few hours later Pef woke up refreshed. Erin slept peacefully, her breaths now even and steady.
He walked out and did a patrol along the perimeter, checking the night for surprises, but nothing yet.
'So, we just wait for an attack?' Pef asked himself.
'Keep doing this for an year. But, sell all the extra plant matter. Wood is valued here, since the forest is so dangerous'
Pef nodded. 2 billion people would burn immense amounts of fuel, even if only to cook.
Luckily the climate was warm, and there were enough rankers to chop stone for buildings. Cooking would be difficult, unless... 'Glass lenses. They could focus and heat water' he realized.
'Ah, neolithic solar power. Clever.' The orange glove said ironically.
'Yes. And mirrors too. I could make death beams of solar rays. If I calculate everything right'
'Take your lower ranks in the forest. Don't do anything radical until you have a support unit'
'I see. Jets of burning oil.' Pef answered after thinking for a minute.
The glove snorted in dismissal : 'That's for night attacks'
Pef flew up and checked the terrain. What he needed was a funnel, to force the beasts into the spears.
He arrived at the base of the hill and began laying stones like pavement. He flew for 3 kilometers out and laid another line of stones.
'Now a gentle congruence, not exactly perceptible, unless the beasts have oracles or such.'
'Go even wider then, the front line for these waves is 5 kilometers in general.'
'Yeah, and we'll force them to converge into 300 meters of high density spears'
'A few pit traps on the sides will instinctively bunch up half of the beasts straight in the middle'
'Okay, now I need cover to everything with a meter of earth, and then soak it in water.
'And a ditch full with spears'
'A small and shallow one though. Just to wound. Cripple paws and such. Maybe caltrops?'
'You don't have steel'
'Okay, thousands of wooden spikes then'
'Hidden in low grass'
Both the Aspirant and the glove grinned and snickered. A massacre was promised.