Chapter 168 - Preparations Completed! Battle of Fort Begins!
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
An imposing sound that echoed for miles was perceived from four different directions. They were the Imperial Horns used by the four guards in the service of Imperial Prince Long Tian. The sound was so loud and clear that anyone within the sound range could hear it.
"Hey! Is this not by chance-? "
“It's an Imperial Horn! It's the gathering sign! "
"How is it possible? Only army officers own one, and even then, it is only for the battle. They can't keep it for themselves."
“But it is unmistakably an Imperial Horn. The only one who can have them among us students is- "
"The Imperial Prince!"
"But why is he calling us?"
“I don't know, but I think it's about the swarms of cockroaches we've seen. Honestly, they put me in a lot of turmoil."
"I will go. What will you do? "
"Wait, we'll come too."
Such discussions were taking place in multiple sections of the immense forest. The various groups had been shocked when the cockroaches carried out their attack. Some had even died surrounded by so many spirit beasts. Those survivors were all injured, and their spirit power was running out. Hearing the sound of the Imperial Horn was, therefore, as a godsend. Without delay, whoever listened to the sound of the horn ran with all the speed they could produce towards the meeting point.
Meanwhile, at the meeting point, Long Tian had given instructions on the construction of the fort. First of all, they had to create the perimeter, and the only material available to them in quantities that could accommodate thousands of people were the trees of the forest. So Ye and Xing, followed by the others, began to uproot the adjacent trees so as to also create enough space to house emergency accommodations.
Hei, instead, was commissioned to gather the spirit cores of each cockroach and move their carcasses out of the fort area. Although most were first-level spirit cores and therefore not usable to pass the test, it was undeniable that they still had their value. Therefore, considering that he didn’t like to waste the carcasses of those whom he killed, Hei carried out Long Tian's order without complaints.
'Long Tian is likely to want to use the monetary attractiveness of the spirit cores to win the trust of our other classmates. Indeed, having multiple common goals in addition to survival ensures the cohesion of the whole group.' Hei thought as he pulled out the spirit core of one of the cockroaches covered in body fluids. But as he did this, he noticed an unusual detail—something he hadn't paid attention to so far.
'Is the soil excavated there? Why? Wait. Isn't that spot-? '
Hei quickly ran to where the soil had been dug, creating a hole without a specific shape. When he realized what had happened, Hei's face darkened.
'It is the hole we dug for those men in black who attacked us. The bodies are gone. Does that mean that the cockroaches took the trouble to exhume them during the battle? Do they want to eat those bodies?'
Unfortunately, Hei had no way of finding an answer. He knew that spirit beasts ate humans, especially martial artists, as it was a nutritious source of food. But that cockroaches had worried about digging, and recovering the bodies of several human beings during the clash was unusual.
'It isn’t time to think about it. I have to do my job.'
Hei continued with his work, and so did the others. Occasionally groups of people would come attracted by the call of the Imperial Horns. Long Tian would welcome them and, after listening to their reports about the cockroaches, he would assign each of them a task.
Within a couple of hours, about 3,500 people had gathered in that section of forest. Although not all first-year students were present, this number was far higher than Long Tian hoped for. Therefore, he made his four guards return and prepared to explain the situation.
Fortunately, with the help of the new arrivals, the fort was quickly completed. Even though it was only made up of wooden logs stacked on top of each other, having something to act as a barrier against those infernal creatures was a little reassuring.
"Silence!" shouted Feng Chen, attracting everyone's attention. Then he made a sign with his head to Long Tian to indicate that he could start talking.
Long Tian took a long breath and looked toward the crowd of people he had gathered.
“I guess many of you are wondering why I gave the order to play the Imperial Horns. As you know, several groups of cockroaches were seen moving and flying a few hours ago. Someone even experienced first-hand the fury of these creatures. The beast tamer of my team informed me that the cockroaches follow a collective conscience, and the various groups compete with each other. Yet despite that, the reality before our eyes was very different.
It is likely to have been an anomaly in the society of such insects. One specimen may have become strong enough to dominate the collective consciences of each group. After examining the reports you have given me, it is reasonable to assume that this entity is coming after us, although I don't know why.
This first attack served to probe the waters and understand our numbers and our strength. There are high chances that the cockroaches will try to attack again, and this time there will be not just a few second-level specimens. We may have to face thousands of second-level specimens together with who knows how many first level specimens. As you can see, the situation is dangerous."
Long Tian then paused to point out how dangerous the situation was for everyone. There was no need to explain why it was so. Thousands of second-level spirit beasts joined together. Just by hearing this, most first-year spirit soldiers had become pale as they trembled in horror at that vision.
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"However, even if we are in danger, it isn’t that there are no positive aspects. In the course of our life as martial artists, we will find ourselves faced with numerous opportunities. Some will die in an attempt to overcome them, and some will give up even before trying. But for those who can resist to the end, they will be able to take another step towards the top of the martial path.
Each spirit core is worth contribution points, and the Academy has made available resources usually not available at other times of the year. If we can get out of it, if we can kill the thousands and thousands of cockroaches we've seen, how many contribution points can we get? There would be enough for all of us to pass the test and get a large number of contribution points.
Regardless if you come from influential families or common origins, this is the chance that Heavens has given you to evolve as martial artists and reach the summit.
However, you must keep one thing in your mind. This isn’t a simple challenge like those in the Academy. This is a real battle. A war battle. Many of you are likely to die, which cannot be prevented. But for those who survive, I, Long Tian, one of the Imperial Princes, promise further rewards in the name of the Imperial Family!"
When Long Tian said those words, a roar broke loose in the ranks of first-year students. The fear and hesitation of before had been replaced by the desire for glory and power. As the Imperial Prince had said, this was an opportunity that had been given to them by the Heavens.
Long Tian didn’t continue immediately. He waited for the others to finish cheering and charging their spirits. Then he went on, “As a member of the Imperial Family, I will be the one commanding. My generals will be Feng Chen, Hu Jie, and Hei. "
Long Tian then motioned for the three to come forward so that the others could watch them. Hei was surprised to have been chosen, but he didn’t show it. In a situation like this, he couldn’t show doubts or disagreements with Long Tian's choices.
Hearing the names of the three, many were perplexed. They knew Feng Chen and Hu Jie and didn’t dispute this choice. But who was this Hei? Why had they never heard of that name?
“I am sure you all know who Feng Chen and Hu Jie are. As for Hei, he is a skilled beast tamer, and his battle prowess is not inferior to that of the other two. It was he who formulated the hypothesis of the unknown entity."
Upon hearing this, the others were skeptical. Did he have power similar to the children of the Eight Big Families? But even if they had doubts, they didn’t dare to contradict the Imperial Prince. They could only hope that the Prince's assessment was correct.
"Alright, now. We don't know when the cockroaches will attack, but we can't be caught unprepared. I want formation scholars to create a single formation on the perimeter of the fort. No complex functions are needed. We just need that the walls hold up to limit the charge of the enemies. Martial artist chefs must cook now and prepare as many meals as possible. Those who are injured go to visit the martial artist medics. The beast tamers with flying type spirit beasts will form a team and will take care of keeping the airspace above the fort clean. Those who have nothing to do now start cultivating. Even a single drop of extra spirit power is essential.”
At that point, Long Tian ended his speech. His orders had been given, and the generals decided. All that was missing was waiting. Wait for the enemy to come while they finish the final preparations.
"Why did you name me as your general?" Hei asked when the attention of those present had turned away from Long Tian.
“I said it before. Your battle power is first class. You also have a strong sense of battle. Just think of how you built your team or how you avoided the attack of the talisman at the end. You don't need to give precise orders. I'm there for that. But I need men with great power who can lift the hearts of those who are weaker. Having someone strong by your side is a strong dose of courage and a deterrent against fear. Unfortunately, the enemy is too numerous, so I must ask you to support me in this choice."
"Okay. I will do as you ask." Hei then turned and went to Lian and his little sisters. Since they had nothing to do, they went to cultivate together to restore their spirit power.
'I have to admit it. Long Tian's command abilities are exceptional. He was able to use his family name and martial artists' greed to gain their trust. Even in this desperate situation, he was able to give precise orders in no time. Now I understand why he has the total trust of his guards and the respect of Feng Chen and Hu Jie. Are all Imperial Princes like this? Or is it his own characteristic?'
The hours continued to flow, and the night began to lighten to make room for dawn. Preparations had been completed, and the fighters inside the fort were all cultivating to restore their strength. Only a few lookout men were awake while examining the surroundings in case of cockroach sighting.
Buzz! Shikka!
In the forest that was beginning to be illuminated by dawn, the sound of footsteps and flapping wings rang out. The spirit beasts that were in the path of such sounds fled away elsewhere, creating even more chaos.
The lookout guards noticed this change and rang the alarm bell they had set up as an emergency signal. Quickly, the sound of the bell made everyone wake up from their cultivation state.
“All in their places! Archers on the walls! The flying team prepares to ascend. Martial master musicians start your preparations for the Battle Concert. Martial artist medics and chefs position themselves in the center of the fort; focus on treating the others. Those who are injured or have consumed more than half of their spirit power withdraw immediately. Don’t try to show off or play the hero. You have to stay alive. One less man is one more chance of dying for your comrades."
Long Tian quickly gave his battle orders and assigned one side of the rectangle fort to Hei, Feng Chen, and Hu Jie each. Each of them was assigned a certain number of people to lead in battle.
"Are you ready?" Hei asked Lian, his little sisters, and his other teammates.
"Yes, we are ready." they all answered as they drew their weapons. As for Mareo, Haruno, Lilian, and Mia, they had been assigned to their divisions as they were supporting martial artists. So, Hei's team only contained attacking martial artists at the moment.
Shikka! Buzz! Shikka! Buzz!
The sounds were getting closer, and in the end, they could see the cockroaches. A wave that was even blacker and thicker than the one that had attacked them the night before. Almost ten thousand specimens. This was the number of enemies, and many of them were second level spirit beasts.
Seeing this, the faces of the spirit soldiers blanched as they tried to regain their courage. This was the opportunity of their life. They couldn’t escape with their tails between their legs; besides, they would surely die if they try ran alone. They could only fight to the end.
“This is a battle of life and death. If you don't want to die, follow my orders. In the name of the Imperial Family, I promise to bring you to victory. Future Soldiers of the Sun Empire, let's show these infernal creatures our strength!"
With the battle cry of Long Tian, the mood of the soldiers was raised again. Determination and fighting spirit arose in the hearts of each of the fighters. Fight! Fight with all of yourself to not die!