《Son of the Spirit Beast》Battle of the Fort
Advertisement
Chapter 169 - Battle of the Fort
The battle was about to begin. The cockroaches had arrived, and from how they had gathered their companions, they didn't seem to have any intention of friendly dialogue. But not even the first-year students of the Southern Royal War Academy were willing to give up without fighting. They were ready to put themselves at risk and become one of the next heroes who would mark the future era.
"Archers! Prepare to hit!" ordered Long Tian, who was in charge of that improvised army on the spot. Nobody contested that choice. It wasn't just for his title as Imperial Prince. All present were geniuses of their generation and knew when someone was worthy of commanding.
The archers stationed on the walls began to position themselves with their bows. Generally, those who used the bow as their primary weapon would be divided into two categories: material archers and spirit archers.
The material archers would use arrows made by a resistant material capable of absorbing spirit power. Their power would, therefore, depend not only on the amount of spirit power infused but on the maximum amount that the base material could absorb. Therefore, as their ranks rose, material archers would have to buy more and more valuable arrows. Although it was a constant expenditure, using existing arrows would reduce their consumption of spirit power.
Spirit archers instead used their spirit power to create an arrow. This arrow had no absorption limits and depended directly on the quantity infused by the martial artist. Since spirit archers created their arrows directly from their spirit power, they didn't have to buy new arrows continually. However, their expenditure on spirit power in battle would be faster than material archers.
"Shoot!"
Long Tian's order was followed by a series of arrow sounds that were fired from the bows. The arrows flew at high speed cutting through the air until they reached their respective targets. Each cockroach struck was pierced in depth by the arrows, yet they didn't stop. Despite the hole in their bodies, the cockroaches continued to advance.
"Shoot!"
Long Tian continued to order to shoot arrows as the cockroaches approached the fort. Since there were still tens of meters away, he wanted to take advantage of the distance to deal as much damage as possible.
"Archers, back off! Position yourselves in the center with the supporting martial artists. Support the air unit to keep our airspace free. Attack unit, move forward!"
The archers on the walls immediately descended and went to the center of the fort. Emergency tents had been set up there so that martial artist medics and chefs could assist those in need. At that point, there were also martial artist musicians who were waiting to start their Battle Concert.
As for the attack unit, Long Tian had divided all the martial fighting artists into two teams. The first would fight in the beginning while the second would enter when he gave the order. Those who fought in the first team would go to the center of the fort to get medicated or recover their energy. After that, the first and second teams would swap places again. That would continue until the cockroaches stopped attacking, or all of them were annihilated.
By doing so, Long Tian would ensure that each side of the fort had fighters with fresh forces, decreasing the chances of cockroaches breaking through their fort. Furthermore, although the internal area of the fort could accommodate all 3,500 people, it wasn't so large as to allow everyone to fight so many cockroaches at the same time. As a result, the division into two teams was also to ensure that the fighters had sufficient room for maneuver and not hinder each other.
Advertisement
The only ones who would have no rest, however, would be Long Tian and the three people named generals: Feng Chen, Hu Jie, and Hei. As the pivot of their respective side, they couldn't afford the luxury of resting and leaving their companions deprived of a leading figure. For this reason, the generals were chosen according to their fighting skills and abilities.
"Air unit, take off! First attack team, unleash your weapons! The second team will be waiting for the replacement order! Don't die! Survive so you can redeem your rewards!"
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"
The fighters gathered there began to scream with all their strength a battle cry as they released their spirit powers. The time had come.
Clash!
The cockroaches arrived like a madding crowd and crashed into the walls of the fort. The crash was violent, but thanks to the long formation etched by the formation scholars, the walls resisted such violence. Flying cockroaches filled the airspace above the fort, but the beast tamers with their flying-type spirit beasts were awaiting them. Below them were the archer unit attacking from the ground.
Soon, streams of blood began to pour from above onto the people on the ground. Yet no one cared about this; they didn't have time to worry or feel disgusted with such a thing. Their lives were at stake.
The non-flying cockroaches that were blocked by the fort walls began to climb them using the bodies of their companions as a ladder. However, the first cockroaches that managed to set foot inside the fort were mercilessly slaughtered instantly. But as their numbers grew, it was difficult for the humans inside to get rid of cockroaches as soon as they descended the walls. Soon, therefore, a chaotic battle began.
Thumm! Ding! Boom! Tootle! Fling!
Sounds of musical instruments began to resonate across the fort as a chorus of melodious voices rose in that dawn of blood. It was the Battle Concert created by the martial artist musicians. At their cultivation level, each martial artist musician could at most enhance up to three people at a time. But now that they were inside the Battle Concert, that limit had gone up to 5. It meant that every martial artist musician could empower up to 5 of their companions.
Suddenly, the battle power of the people affected by the Battle Concert's music increased as their senses became more acute, and their nervousness vanished to be replaced by a glacial calm. It was the power of the Battle Concert, a large-scale battle formation capable of empowering entire armies.
Peng! Stab! Crash!
The sound of weapons clashing against the cockroaches' resistant exoskeleton began to ring as fighting martial artists shouted their battle moves. Nonetheless, despite how noisy it was, it couldn't dominate the music of the Battle Concert.
"Full Combat Mode! Snake Fist! "
Hei, leading the unit in charge of protecting the east side, was moving quickly with Spider Run, Two-legged Mode. At the same time, he was using Snake Fist to deliver quick blows while his hair was manipulating his spear.
"Don't try to take their heads off. Aim for the abdomen! Stay at the edges of their field of vision; they tend to see less well in those points. Alternatively, target the eyes, the antennae, and the cerci, which are small appendages near the butt. They are how cockroaches can see beyond the eyes. If you have the Law of Fire, burn their hair too. Whoever possesses the Law of Light, create dazzling lights while whoever possesses the Law of Illusions can create red lights."
While Hei was fighting, he was advising on how to fight cockroaches. During his cultivation session, Hei had brought up his memories to find out if there were other important details about the cockroaches. And as he had hoped, after a long afterthought, he managed to remember other information that his mother had taught him years ago.
Advertisement
The other students who were under his leadership appeared amazed by such accurate information. Even the other beast tamers were impressed. Each of them knew in depth the species of spirit beasts they possessed, but very few bothered to study the other species carefully, except for some general information. Meanwhile, those pieces of information were circulating on the different sides of the fort as well, through Long Tian's four guards. In this battle, they served as spokespersons between Long Tian and the three generals.
With the information provided by Hei, the situation improved dramatically. The cockroaches were falling one by one, and since the walls were still holding up, they couldn't use the numerical factor to their advantage.
"Change! First Team back off! Second Team Forward! "
Long Tian gave the replacement order. The fighters of the first team, despite having fought for just ten minutes, could already feel the fatigue accumulating in their bodies. Some had been injured while some had even died.
Long Tian and the three generals drew back the line of combat to facilitate the replacement between the fighters. Once the maneuver was complete, the four led their respective units to return the fighting line to where they left off earlier.
In the meantime, the martial artist chefs and medics began to take care of the injured so that they could go back to fighting. The odds of success on this plan depended on how quickly they healed their companions and restored their spirit power.
The battle lasted for about half an hour. Fatigue was present in all of them, especially the respective commanders of the four sides of the fort. To last as long as possible, Hei had avoided energy-consuming moves such as Spider Lance or those based on his Elemental Laws. He had limited himself to using his spear and Snake Fist, which was one of his techniques with the lowest consumption. Yet as he was fighting all the time relentlessly, his reserve of spirit power was also decreasing gradually.
'If this continues, I don't think we can do it. The amount of cockroaches seems to be endless, and each body accumulated on the ground makes it more difficult to fight on foot. But if we were to move the combat into the sky, our expenditure of energy would become bigger and faster.'
The situation didn't seem to turn in their favor. The fighters of the fort had lost count of the number of cockroaches killed, but each time they killed one, two more would pop up. It was like a sequence that never ended.
Fortunately, the flow of cockroaches began to decrease, and the fighters inside finally had a few moments to breathe. However, this wasn't the end. From afar, twenty black spots, five on each side, could be seen advancing at high speed. They were cockroaches.
These specimens of cockroaches, however, were not like all the others. They were about two meters long, so they weren't among the largest specimens. But that wasn't the unique feature that distinguished them. No, it was something else.
These twenty cockroaches had a more massive body, and instead of running with the abdomen facing the ground, they were running using only the two hind legs. And unexpectedly from what one might think, they had an even higher speed than the other specimens that used all three pairs of legs to move. Furthermore, their cultivation was almost comparable to a fifth/sixth stage spirit soldier.
"Bipedal cockroaches!" Hei exclaimed that he couldn't believe his eyes. Suddenly another fragment of memories bloomed in his mind.
'Pay particular attention because variations in certain species may occur in the wild. For example, some spirit beasts that run using all their limbs may develop the ability to run on two legs just like you. Although it may seem strange, since they use fewer limbs to run, for some spirit beasts, it is a method of further increasing their speeds. Remember that if you have to deal with several specimens at the same time.'
Bao Bei had warned him of this danger, but since Hei was only a child at the time, it was reasonable that he couldn't remember every single piece of information he received. Swearing between himself, he summoned William, who was the guard assigned to him by Long Tian.
"Warn Long Tian that we have to stop them. Those specimens that run on two legs. If we let them do it, they could gain enough momentum to generate enough strength and break through the walls of the fort."
William nodded immediately and went to report to Long Tian. It only took a minute for him to return with a space ring, which he handed over to Hei.
"Here are four of the talismans we seized earlier. Entrust them to people with skill and take down those creatures. However, my lord said that one you have to stop the last one by force. We need to keep some talismans in reserve for future dangers."
"Okay. All right. Call me Lian, Leon, He Fen and Lang. Quick. "
"It will be done."
William ran like the wind and returned soon after with the three people chosen by Hei.
"Listen carefully. There is no time for questions. Take one and throw it at those two-legged cockroaches. Use all your spirit power without reservation. Then go to the rear."
"Understood!" Lian, Leon, He Fen, and Lang shouted in unison. The four trusted Hei and did as he asked. The situation was serious, and as soldiers, they could only blindly obey their general so as not to waste precious time.
'Don't worry about them. I will make sure they return to the rear safe and sound.' said Fenrir, who sensed Hei's concern for Lian. After all, whoever used those talismans would almost completely exhaust their spirit power. And in such a situation, this almost equated to dying.
"Thanks, Fenrir. I entrust it to you." thanked Hei before addressing his little sisters. "Ye, Xing. Would you like to take down a strong one?"
'A strong enemy? Who?' (Xing)
'Hooray! I got tired of these weak cockroaches.' (Ye)
Hei smiled at the light-heartedness of his little sisters and found his courage. As a general, the task of blocking the advance of those bipedal cockroaches was up to him. On the other sides of the fort, Long Tian, Feng Chen, and Hu Jie were preparing themselves to do the same.
"Well, then. Fire!" Hei shouted to his four companions.
Suddenly, four talismans flew through the air in the direction of the two-legged cockroaches that were now a few meters away. In an instant, as soon as the talisman and cockroaches came into contact, four intense explosions were generated. The same happened on the other sides of the fort. The affected bipedal cockroaches stopped their advance; there were severe burns on their bodies, and they were no longer able to continue. However, there was still a cockroach for each side alive. It was up to Long Tian, Feng Chen, Hu Jie, and Hei to take them down personally.
"Ye, Xing. Lock his sides. I only need a few moments to aim."
'Sure big brother, leave it to us.' (Xing)
'We won't just block him. We will make him regret attacking. '(Ye)
Even though their opponent was comparable to a fifth stage spirit stage, the two divine beasts weren't worried at all. In these months, they had improved a lot and didn't fear the spirit beasts that were only a couple of stages higher than them. After all, they weren't mere spirit beasts but divine beasts. How could they be so easily outclassed by other spirit beasts?
"Well said. I rely on you." Hei said with a smile as he charged his finishing move.
Advertisement
Saints Row: The World Is Yours
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, these are owned by THQ and Volition. This fanfiction follows and is loosely based on the aftermath of Saints Row: The Third. Steelport, a city that is the mainstay of violence caused by gangs. And within the Third Street Saint's success, the Boss's origins finally unfold. His name is Miguel Alatorre, a drug dealer who turned average Saint into its glorious yet laid-back leader.
8 75Deceiving darkness
This is a story about an archaeologist named Malum. In one of the caves that are located on the territory of Russia somewhere in the North, he finds a black sphere that teleports him to an unknown, cruel and bloody world. He is driven by one goal, to get power and return to Earth, but he faces a lot of problems that have to be solved as they come. This book is the first in a series of 5. Book number two will be published separately and will be a separate story of the character Damonion'o'Pitris. Currently under development. Publication dates are still unknown. The approximate date is the end of summer.
8 126Wanderlust
After having been given a prophecy at the Imperial Palace in New Tokyo, Sumire decides she's going to do some soul searching on an adventure to fulfill it. Nobody knows where it'll lead to, least of all the people involved. Wanderlust is a fantasy, action / adventure through California after a nearly apocalyptical event shatters the United States into the Divided Territories of America. The new wild west has started filled with guns, mist, swords, armor, and of course magic spellslingers. It has multiple points of view, mainly following two women in a story of connection, revenge, and focuses heavily on character development. I hope you enjoy. - - - A note on tags: as of writing there is currently no sexual content, but that will change later as the story progresses.
8 90Forced Development (What does it truly mean to live a fulfilling life?)
To get things started I would like to admit that this story does not bring much new to the table when it comes to the over-saturated Litrpg genre in terms of things like mechanics and power systems. Then what exactly am I trying to bring to the table with this work? A nice slow-paced novel about people maturing and growing older think of it as the re: zero or jobless reincarnation of Litrpgs. A story that tries to take into consideration how a worldwide system would affect the economics and culture of a world. A story that is much more character-focused than the typical heavy progression-focused novels this genre is known for. The RPG system, like any good power system, is there to actually explore the themes of the story and not just as a plot device for characters to get stronger. This is a story where we will see the growth of the Mc from being a baby to when he dies of old age. With plenty of heart-racing actions and intriguing plot developments along the way. Exploring themes like; What does it mean to improve at something and what does it mean to mature as a person? How does magic, the constant threat of monsters and people so much stronger than the average joe that they can destroy countries affect one's culture both on the micro and the macro scale? How people are affected by the culture in general? Generational trauma Nature vs Nurture Talent vs hard work What is morality, society, and people's opinions on both? What does it mean to be human and what does it mean to be alive in the context of a world with multiple sapient species vastly different from one another in basic biology? All these questions are going to be explored from multiple angles using the system as a catalyst for those discussions. So if any of does questions sound interesting to you what are you waiting for, I'm sure you are going to love this story. PS - Chapter come out every Friday at about the same time.
8 187Isseis useless brother
izuku Hyoudou is the unseen and unneeded brother who no one thinks about well other than his parents but what everyone doesn't know is that Ddraig has been training the boy to overcome even the balance breaker .
8 105The Hunt
Cecily's blade swung, hitting its mark as always. The man's arm fell to the cold grass of the prison with a familiar thud. He let out a blood curdling scream. A warning to the rest. Stay away, the Hunter is here. That's the name they'd given her, the Hunter. After she cut off the man who tried to rape hers masculinity, they stayed away. She'd made it clear anyone who tried to touch her would be hunted and slaughtered. Cecily kneeled down, pushing the man's face into the dirt so she could use his back as a seat while she trifled through his belongings. "You're hurting my ears," she told him, no remorse in her voice. "Quiet down before I really do kill you."The man but his lip, well aware that she wasn't lying. Sobs shook him, making for an uncomfortable seat. She, however, didn't particularly feel the beed to kill him. It happened, not often, but it did. "Oh, hush up," she hissed, taking out a bag of rations with her metal hand, "it doesn't hurt that bad."With her good, human hand, she dropped the plastic bag of food into her own bag. She pushed up, off the man back. As she was about to walk away, bag slung over her shoulder, brushing against her autumn colored braid, she turned back to him. "Consider yourself lucky," she said, no hatred in her voice, there never was. "Consider yourself lucky that you didn't do anything stupid. And even luckier if one of the scum bagged criminals in here feel a little light in their hearts and help you. Consider yourself luckier if you die there."With that, her old black and white Nike sneakers carried her off into the brush of the huge prison.
8 148