Days passed as Jim and the others continued their conquest of the north. After Clay showed everyone in rather demoralizing spars how he used his aura, they began to spend a considerable amount of time learning this skill.
With Clay's return, they got a lot more information about their situation which made it easier to plan for the future. Due to his logical nature, Clay also became someone akin to their strategist. Most of them thought that they would try to push as many people to the fourth ranks as they could before the expedition, but Clay had other plans.
Clay knew best that they didn’t have much time left but he wouldn’t send them blindly into the wilderness without taking the necessary preparations. Teaching them the use of aura was only the first of many preparations.
First of all, he used the beast in the north not to advance more people to the fourth, but second and third rank instead. His reasoning behind this was that the fourth rank took way too much energy with too little return.
It was a fact that the advancement to the fourth rank was huge, but there was a limit to how much a single person can do, there was big strength in numbers, especially if they can coordinate together and use their teamwork to their advantage.
Clay was preparing for not only their expedition but also the possibility of them needing to flee from the city. He knew that to survive, everyone needed to be of at least the second rank. Even better if they could get them all to the third.
Over the last few days, they started to hunt in groups with untrained people, putting them close to the dying beasts so that they could absorb their energy, to quickly advance in the ranks.
He also used the city to their advantage. Not only were they safer in the city because they could fight in a much more familiar and advantageous region but also because the beasts in the city were a lot weaker compared to the ones in the wilderness.
If they tried to replicate this training in the wilderness they would have a lot more casualties, as way more rank three and especially rank four beasts roamed this forest. They took advantage of the weaker beasts in the city to essentially give the other survivors free energy.
They had almost no casualties in this endeavor and in record time helped hundreds of people to advance to the second rank. Here was the point where Clay finally learned something he didn’t quite know yet.
The group first noticed with Lukas that something similar to attunement played a big role in their advancement. While people like Jim or Max could easily survive the second transformation, Lukas almost died at his second transformation and with the current survivors, it was no different.
The good thing was that everyone until now was able to successfully reach the second rank but some did so just barely. They didn’t know what would happen if such a person tried to advance to the third rank, but they understood that survival was unlikely.
This was a huge problem to them as this meant that some people would be forever stuck on one specific rank which meant that they could not grow stronger – at least not in a convenient way. They should still be able to learn something like aura but their body would never surpass the rank they are stuck on.
This was especially detrimental when beasts didn’t seem to have the same problem and were stronger, to begin with. This could have been manageable if only a few people struggled with the second transformation, but from the close four hundred survivors only a fourth didn’t show problems.
This meant that from these four hundred people only a hundred had even a proper chance of advancing to the third rank, not to mention the fourth. If they didn’t find a way of resolving this problem then the death of these people was set in stone.
Clay estimated that someone in the second rank was almost certain to die at some point in the journey through the woods. This just gave them more reason to just kill the ants and make sure they don’t have to leave the city.
One couldn’t forget that the beasts weren’t the only problem they faced in the wilderness. They somehow needed to transport four hundred people through the forest and cars weren’t an option. Not only were the streets destroyed, many cars broken and gasoline limited but the cars would also produce a lot of sound so this option wasn’t usable.
This threw up the question of how they would transport all of the resources they needed. This problem wasn’t apparent in the city, as everything lay close together but the moment they left, they would need to carry a lot of things.
Just a few examples would be weapons, clothes, medical supplies, food, water, sleeping bags, tents, and other useful necessities like ropes, flashlights, lighters, and tools like hammers, shovels, axes, and so on.
The list was endless and even if everything was not necessarily needed it sure would help a lot in surviving out there. Building a shelter without tools was harder than it looked. They were faced with a lot of problems and decided to limit themself to the most important ones.
They essentially needed four things to survive out there: food, water, shelter, and weapons. In the past, the first three may have been enough to survive but now the last was a necessity. They somehow needed to compensate for their inferior strength to the beasts and the best way to do this was by using weapons.
The problem of food was resolved by the beasts themself. Eating mostly meat wasn’t healthy but Clay showed that it worked for at least two months without serious side effects and they shouldn't take longer than a month anyway.
The second problem of water was harder to resolve but for the time being not a big deal as a big river flowed from Churchville very close to the next city, which also covered the problem of navigation.
The third problem could also be resolved as they can use the hide from the beast to sew bags and tents for the journey. Last but not least they faced the problems of weapons and that was the point that provided them the biggest headache.
Something like a knife can help but won’t cut it when facing the beasts of the wilderness. They needed swords or even better spears. They were fortunate to get so many weapons from the museum and Jasper's house but they were not endless and were also gradually breaking under the constant overuse.
In total, they had about three dozen usable weapons that ranged from swords, spears, and machetes all the way to axes. They each had their uses but when fighting against beasts the spear was by far the best weapon.
Not only proved it a huge range – giving the option to fight in formations – but most importantly if properly used can kill a beast in one hit. The spear was the weapon that could cause a rank two human to kill even a beast of the third rank all by himself.
You can be as strong as you want if a spear impales you from front to back, survival will be hard. There are of course expectations like insects who are, thanks to their exoskeleton, well protected but even this defense has its flaws and can be overcome.
The spear was also a cheaper option compared to a sword as it didn’t need as much metal. The shaft was easy to produce and they only had to worry about the head of the spear and if they should use a crossguard.
If they decided to use a crossguard the head of the spear would only be inserted to a certain point before it gets stopped, this makes it easy to use multiple times but heavily reduced the damage, especially after the beasts were enlarged to such an extent.
The spearhead alone may not sink deep enough to leave a life-threatening injury. This was problematic in many ways, as there often wasn’t the opportunity for a second attack. Most of the survivors had close to no fighting experience, combined with their inferiority in almost every aspect compared to the beasts they would in most cases die miserably.
Everyone who wasn’t part of the Vanguard or at least of the third rank would not get more than this one attack, so they had to make it count. In this case not having a crossguard would not prevent the spear from reaching deeper into the flesh.
The only flaw in this plan was that the spear was after one attack essentially gone. In the heat of battle retrieving it was impossible, only after everything calmed down can they scavenge for the weapons.
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After some further discussion, they decided to mass-produce simple spears. They had neither the time, the metal nor the skill to make a proper spear so they had to adopt a more crude version.
Fortunately, Dennis had some experience and insight into the art of making weapons thanks to his father. He taught everyone at specific times each day so that in a few more days everyone would have an idea of how to make a spear.
In the best case scenario, they find a sharp-edged object like a sharp stone that could be used as a spearhead by securing it with self-made cordage on a sturdy branch that was beforehand carved into a point on one side.
If there was no sharp-edged object around they could also just sharpen the branch until it was sharp enough. They did all of this to give the people a weapon they could quickly make out in the wilderness.
Weapons were a must to have a chance of surviving and considering everything they decided that the spears would be consumables, something that you use once or twice before having to replace it.
The idea was to overcome the beasts with numbers, encircling them and impaling them from every direction. It was after all very unlikely that someone could truly kill a beast with just one spear.
With all of this preparation ongoing, the church was bustling with activity and people were doing various tasks at once. Skinning the beast, using the leather for armor while some meat was smoked and preserved as rations. On another end, people were making cordage from plants, while others sewed tents, backpacks, and sleeping bags. Now another task was added as people produced spears, in such quantity that everyone would have at least one.
While all of this happened the Vanguard was making great progress in their conquest of the north. Now that they used the beast as walking energy packs to push everyone to the second rank the beasts were rapidly dwindling in numbers.
Together with Clay, Chris, and Jim, they had a total of three rank fourths. A considerable fighting force that was more than enough to suppress every beast roaming the north.
A total of two weeks passed since Jim sparred with Clay and they began with their preparations. During this time the city became eerie silent.
It seemed like they not only killed a lot of beasts but also that many didn’t dare to step into it again, knowing how dangerous it was. Today was a normal day like any other. They were almost finished with the preparations and were undertaking one of the last runs into the city to get the last batch of survivors to the second rank.
Apart from the usual members of the Vanguard, a total of two dozen people accompanied them; all of the first rank. They were nervous but had confidence that they would be safe. There were few casualties in this ‘training’ and they understood that they needed to advance in the ranks if they wanted to survive.
At the front was Clay using his aura to keep the complete surroundings in check. The last few days hunting felt for Jim like a walk through a park as ambushes became impossible without Clay noticing in advance.
His ability felt like a cheat code as they didn’t need to fear the most dangerous of situations; the unknown. They always knew in advance not only how many enemies they faced but what rank they were in.
Thanks to this they could always plan in advance and use the best-suited strategy. So one could understand Jim’s shock when Clay told him that a human of the fourth rank was walking towards them. Few people could reach this rank and Jim could only think of one person; Troy.
The others thought so too and readied themself for battle. Forming a circular formation with the rank ones inside, telling them to not move under any circumstances.
This appearance was very sudden and unexpected. It wasn’t like Troy to just appear openly without having some sort of scheme.
After waiting for a while Jim was finally able to see Troy turning around the corner. Walking towards them like he was on a stroll was a bold man that had burn scars all over his head, a stump of flesh remained where his right ear used to be. His eyes were wide open, his expression otherwise cold.
Spotting Jim at the front Troy’s expressionless face distorted into a wide smile. This was the first time Jim saw Troy in over half a month and was shocked by his appearance. A previous middle-aged man with a normal appearance, glasses, and a bitter gaze turned into some maniac that freshly escaped from a psychiatry clinic.
Due to the missing glasses and the scars the eyes of Troy almost seemed to be sunken into his skull giving him an inhuman appearance. The group felt a shudder run down their back after witnessing Troy crook this wicked smile.
Standing in the middle of the street with a casual posture, his left hand in his pocket, and a dagger in his right. He wasn’t standing far, maybe a few dozen meters, which made him that more threatening. The speed of a rank four couldn’t be underestimated.
Suddenly he dropped his dagger, drawing the attention of everyone looking at him, their gazes drawn to the dagger slowly falling to the ground – time seemed to slow down. The moment the dagger landed on the ground Jim felt a wave of energy rushing over him before his vision turned completely dark.
This was not like before where they were just dizzy or could see worse, being partly blinded, but true blindness, where nothing but the all-consuming darkness remained. The members of the Vanguard were calm, they had numerous fights and had ample experience they also knew of Troy’s ability.
The rank one survivors accompanying them were a different story and they were shaking in fear but not moving from the spot knowing that they couldn’t change the situation and just had to pray and wait. They didn’t have to wait for long as they heard Cly shout, “Birds!”
This singular word was enough for the others to understand what he meant. They fought all kinds of beasts and birds were by far the most annoying as it was hard to determine their numbers and kill them.
It was easy for some of the birds to fly from the wilderness of the city to scavenge for some easy prey but normally they wouldn’t dare to approach a group as big as them. This was too strange to be a coincidence.
But Jim didn’t care about why they appeared and more about their safety. It was almost impossible for them to fight without vision, the only one who could do so would be Clay with his aura and Jim with his sixth sense.
Sadly this sense of Jim was more reactive than controllable and the only one who could 'see' was Clay and he knew that as well, reacting quickly, giving orders. “Dennis at 11 o’clock, Max at 9 o’clock, Dave at 6 o’clock, Oliver at 2 o’clock, Chirs at 10 o’clock, Jim at 12 o’clock.”
This system was not thought of on the spot but a strategy they discussed beforehand should they face Troy and his nasty ability. After hearing about Clay’s ability Jake didn’t need long to come up with this strategy.
It was simple yet effective. The moment they lost their vision they would not move from the spot and wait for Clay to give them the direction of where the attackers were, by feeling their aura. The moment the orders were called everyone moved.
Everyone who had been called was someone with exceptional senses and experience fighting a wide variety of beasts, surviving through countless battles. They may be blinded but most of them could tell a threat even without seeing them and feeling the rushing of the wind when the birds divided down was enough to react.
In seconds the birds fell lifelessly to the ground, putting not much of a resistance showing their weak rank two strength. On the other side, Jim faced his own foe. There was only one person that stood directly in front of him; Troy.
He clearly felt the threat of death when Jim’s senses warned him from a swift stab to his face, avoiding it barely by stepping back. Jim gained a lot more insight into fighting and avoiding after sparring with Clay but it was not nearly enough to battle Troy especially if he was blinded like now.
Knowing that he could die if was even carless for a split second Jim could feel himself grow ever calmer, while he slowly got into a trance, avoiding every single attack thrown at him. Getting into a rhythm he began counter-attacking.
His blood started to rush, while his heart beat ever quicker and his temperature rose. Gradually Jim grew more fierce and aggressive while his attacks grew ever faster. Before long Jim was dictating the speed of the battle advancing and retreating as he wished, making full use of the length his blade provided.
Eventually, Jim was able to leave a few swallow cuts on Troy, who seemed oddly cold and silent. He had a weird promotion that Troy was planning something. Unfortunately, this feeling turned came too late as Clay rushed into the formation, screaming, “The enemy is inside the formation!”
The assailant was so silent and swift that Clay only noticed them after feeling multiple auras quickly vanishing from the inside of their formation. They had to quickly interrupt this slaughtering. Taking a gamble Clay screamed, “Emma at 7 o’clock!”
She was the only archer in their group but nonetheless, a huge help, having prevented serious injuries or even saved lives with one precise arrow to either distract or instantly kill a beast. She reacted quickly as an arrow whistled through the air, not long after a high-pitched scream followed it.
The assailant turned around angrily while the arrow embedded into its shoulder screaming, “You will pay for this!” Hearing the voice they could determine that the attacker was a woman.
The sudden attack also interrupted the woman as her aura leaked, giving Clay her exact position. “Emma at 1 o'clock, Evelin protect at 9 o’clock.”
She prepared herself but before Clay could even warn her the woman busted out in a sudden burst of speed, leaping over a huge distance easily avoiding the spear held in her direction, while she drove a dagger deep into the stomach of Emma giggling like a child.
Evelin reacted quickly, but still too late, only managing to drive her spear into the leg of the woman after she stabbed Emma. Before the woman could mutter another scream Evelin threw herself on her, pinning her strongly to the ground.
Not long after the others surrounded them helping in keeping the woman on the ground, who desperately looked to Troy who was still fighting with Jim, blood trailing down from his wide-open eyes.
He looked at Isabelle lying pinned down to the ground. They held eye contact for a moment before Troy sneered, turning around and retreating from the battlefield. Jim wanted to follow but the moment he tried a splitting headache insulted him, stopping him in his tracks.
After the headache subdued and Jim regained his vision he noticed that Troy was long gone. “Fuck!” Ignoring Troy for the moment Jim turned to look at the situation to see how they were doing.
Seeing the scene before him Jim was shocked, as the ground was littered with corpses from birds and humans alike. Only seven of the rank ones survived, but at least they didn’t lose any members of the Vanguard… that was until Jim spotted the commotion surrounding Emma as his eyes widened. “No–!”