A stampede could be caused by many factors, either combined or in isolation. But at the end of the day, they always happened through the same process. Something would cause the migration of stronger demonic beasts into other territories. This would prompt the weaker demonic beasts there to either flee or fight and this would cascade. Thus, conflicts would arise between the various demonic beasts and the entire ecosystem would suffer. In the end, demonic beasts would become more and more desperate and some would even attack human settlements, until a true stampede finally occurred. During a stampede, an incredible number of demonic beasts could collectively attack human cities.
The phenomenon was not completely studied because the occupation of beast tamer was still too rare. And thankfully, a stampede was a rare event as well. However, this rare event was now happening on a scale that no one had ever seen before. This was a clear sign that someone had interfered with it. But now was not the time to think about the real cause, now was the time to protect the threatened cities.
As he was the only beast tamer in the group, Zeng Minghe started to talk with City Lord Dun Mofan.
"City Lord, Chief Elder Yisheng has already drafted some maps of the region based on the information we had received from Baziyun City. Unfortunately, we lack information on your end. And given the sensitive nature of the threat, cultivators tried to avoid traveling deep into the mountains. If fights erupted between demonic beasts and cultivators, it could hasten the occurrence of a stampede.
"So I will need everything you have, no matter how insignificant it may seem. According to what we know, your city should be threatened by 3-core demonic beasts at most. Thankfully, the demonic beasts are often culled. But the last reports we received indicate that many beasts have become stronger, so it's possible that a few could form a fourth demonic core during the chaos."
Indeed, during the various migrations of demonic beasts, many fights would occur. As such, a few beasts would devour other beasts of the same level or slightly inferior. If they devoured too many of them, they could even form new demonic cores. And a region with mostly 3-core demonic beasts could then produce 4-core or even 5-core beasts in a matter of weeks or months. Paradoxically, the longer the stampede didn't happen, the more destructive it could become. But trying to force it to happen could also push even more demonic beasts into it. Even beast tamers had to act with utmost caution.
"Of course I'll give you all the reports we have. We sent a few hunters to try and gather information. Many of them didn't come back... So we still lack a full understanding of what's going on, but I'll get you all you ask for."
"Thank you, City Lord. I was prepared for your information to be lacking. Such an event can indeed cause many casualties." Zeng Minghe turned toward the other three cultivators. "I will need your help to try and obtain more precise information on the demonic beasts. Just give me a few hours to examine the maps and piece together what Yinmen City has already found. Then, I should be able to give you clear areas to explore. However, you'll have to split up. And even then, that won't be enough to cover all the grounds we'll need to explore."
"Then, I will lend you the hunters with the most experience in terms of stealth."
"Thank you, City Lord. I was counting on them."
Suo Xiaolu and Shi Baoxie looked at one another. With just one look, they understood each other's feelings and Suo Xiaolu expressed their concerns.
"We will not split up! My Dao companion and I are always fighting together. No matter what hardships we have to face, we'll face them as one. I am sorry, but we'll stick together. I know that we'll cover less ground, but this is not negotiable."
Irritated, Zeng Minghe looked at the couple. Seeing the determination in their eyes, he had no other choice but to sigh and accept their decision.
"Then, we'll have to find a bit more hunters..." The beast tamer finally received the documents he had asked for. "Fellow disciples, it may take a few hours. You should go retrieve your weapons and get ready. I will send you deep into demonic beasts territory with almost no idea of what you will find for sure."
All three of them nodded and left the room. All their weapons and equipment had been carried by Yun Ping. Because he was the only Mortal Warrior in the group, he had been lent a spatial ring. It was the smallest kind of spatial ring. And the group really just needed their weapons, a few supplies and some equipments. It didn't take a lot of space in the spatial ring.
-
Yun Ping was already teaching a few battle formations to the hunters in the courtyard. Although they looked unruly, Yun Ping had had no trouble disciplining those men. First of all, he was used to working with mercenaries and knew how to talk to them. Secondly, they quickly saw his mastery of battle formations and realized that he would help them a lot. They all knew that some, if not many of them, were going to die in the operation. Although they could take solace in the fact that they would die to protect this city and that a part of the bounty received from the corpses of demonic beasts would be used to pay their family, they didn't want to die.
So when they understood that this Yun Ping could increase their survival rate, they complied without causing a ruckus.
Anyone could perform a battle formation as long as they had the right cultivation and followed the right pattern. But the efficiency of a battle formation depended on many factors. One of the major factors was simply how well coordinated the fighters were. Thankfully, mercenaries and hunters seldom fought alone. Thus, they already had a very good coordination among several small groups among them. Otherwise, a battle formation could even reduce the collective strength of the group if they were to obstruct one another. Yun Ping had already formed those groups and was teaching them a few battle formations perfectly tailored for them.
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If any group of cultivators could perform a battle formation of the appropriate level, being a battle formation master like Yun ping was different. They did not just practice or teach battle formations, they were able to coordinate them. They acted like generals and strategists on the battlefield. With their help, they could boost the efficiency of battle formations, coordinate them between each other, and also boost morale. The two main attributes for a good battle formation master were perception and battle intuition. They had to be able to read the flow of a battle and also the condition of their men to adapt the battle formations.
As the son of a general used to war, Yun Ping had a lot of intuition. Just by looking at a battlefield, he could tell which army was on top. He could deduce where the weaknesses were, where to attack, where to defend and where to retreat. Now that he was a Mortal Warrior, his perception had increased as he could feel the Qi in the air. Not only could it allow him to help those men improve their battle formations, it would help him on the battlefield as well.
Among the many principles, theories and tactics of a battle formation master, the most important ones were the Six Stratagems. They were Breathing as One, Letting the Deceptions of Gold and Mud Flow, Subduing Rivers and Mountains, Order in Chaos, Painting with Lies and Truth, and The Mundane General Enters the Hut.
Cao Yun had read about them, but even by observing Yun Ping, he could not see them. Indeed, only Breathing as One could be trained by the soldiers. The other five principles could only be witnessed on the battlefield as they pertained to ways to perceive the flow of battle, control it and even shape it. For example, Painting with Lies and Truth consisted in using both your own battle formations and even the battle formations of the enemy to create new battle formations. At the basic level, you could just use the battle formations to change the flow of battle, by creating openings in a defense and lure in some enemies for example. But at a more advanced level, you could literally build up giant battle formations using both your soldiers but also the enemies. It was like using several small array formations to create a bigger one.
Of course, these principles intrigued Cao Yun but he could only see them on the battlefield. And right now, they had no time to simply admire Yun Ping's work. However, the three cultivators didn't want to disturb him, so they waited for a moment of calm to ask for their equipments.
During the time they had to wait, Cao Yun also decided to visit Feng Yingyue's shop. Thankfully, it was in perfect shape. As soon as he saw the frontage, many happy memories came to him. Sadly, they were tied with the death of his family, but Cao Yun focused on the good. He walked through the shop and remembered Feng Yingyue preparing her pills and balms. Then, he walked the stairs and went into the rooms. He could still smell the perfume of Feng Yingyue. And in the room, he could remember his last night with her.
The first time he had met her was after the most tragic day of his life. And the very moment he had met her, he had killed his first man. To this day, Cao Yun was still wondering if he could have done things differently. He was not naive at all and knew that killing was sometimes necessary. For example, if he had had the opportunity to kill Luduo Bu before he had become more powerful, he would have. Unfortunately such an opportunity never occurred. And maybe killing Huang Lixin and the others was indeed the right thing.
But he still felt a sour taste in his mouth as he had lost control back then. Now he had mostly tamed the Drop of Wrath and he would not let something like that happen. Killing was one thing but doing it after losing control of his emotion felt worse. Moreover, it had been the first time Cao Yun had killed another human being.
But in all this tragedy, Cao Yun had met Feng Yingyue. And he was at his happiest when he was with the young alchemist.
-
When finally Zeng Minghe was done, he gathered around twenty hunters as well as Cao Yun, Suo Xiaolu and Shi Baoxie. In front of him on a table was the complete map of the mountains between Baziyun City and Yinmen City. At first sight, Cao Yun recognized the path he had taken with Feng Yingyue. Once more, memories resurfaced but he pushed them aside to focus on the meeting.
"I identified several areas I need you to investigate. You must find out what kinds of demonic beasts occupy those areas, their numbers, the way they act. In fact, even the plants may be useful. If you find animals, that could also be good information. Anything you might think is insignificant may help me determine how to act. Before the stampede occurs, we may be able to lessen its violence if we can cull out the appropriate demonic beasts. But, on the contrary, if we kill them without a clear plan, we may both increase the stampede itself and make it happen earlier. And we need all the time we can to prepare our defenses."
Zeng Minghe put small pawns and flags on the map to illustrate as he was distributing the various areas to everyone. He also gave them all the information he had at the moment. But of course the actual situation could change at any moment. Thus, they shouldn't take anything for granted. According to what they knew, there shouldn't be any demonic beast with more than three cores. But they had no idea if some of them had not been able to form a fourth one, or if a stronger demonic beast had not moved from one area to another.
Anyway, as their role was to gather information, they had to be as discreet as possible.
While Zeng Minghe was giving his orders, Cao Yun saw something interesting on the map. He recognized the mount where the couple of Mountain Fenghuangs he had met with Feng Yingyue had their nest. During his time in the Wubei Sect, he had read about demonic beasts obviously, since he had read about almost everything he could find. And he had discovered that the egg of a Mountain Fenghuang could take between four to five years to hatch. This was a very long time. The chick of two Mountain Fenghuangs, like many more demonic beasts, was born with only one demonic core. But apparently, depending on the bloodline of its parents, it would be faster in developing new cores once born.
Cao Yun could not be sure of how long the egg had been laid when they had met the couple. Maybe, the egg had already hatched and another Mountain Fenghuang had been born. Anyway, after all the memories with Feng Yingyue had resurfaced, Cao Yun felt the desire to see those beasts again. Feng Yingyue had even given them names, Feng'er and Huang'er. Somehow, they felt like acquaintances Cao Yun wanted to meet again to get some news.
Looking at the map, he saw Zeng Minghen put a flag very close to that area. He had designated a group of two hunters who were both 6th-grade Mortals. The area was considered a bit dangerous because of the presence of many 2-core demonic beasts and a few 3-core ones, maybe the Mountain Fenghuangs themselves. In the area, a Muddy Bashe had tried to kill those two birds, so Cao Yun had to admit that it was probably dangerous indeed. But given his current strength, he would have no problem killing such a demonic beast with a single powerful move.
"My friends, what about switching with me?"
The two hunters were surprised. Cao Yun had received an area that seemed a bit less dangerous than theirs. So they didn't have to think too long before accepting his offer.
"Wait, Chen Guo! You can't just change my orders like that and do as you wish. They are not just random. I put a lot of thinking into deciding which area was best for whom."