Chapter 174 - Termite Battle

"Do you want to ask our boss to sign a blood pact? How dare you? We won't let you do it." Dae-Won, the leader of the guard group serving Long Tian, ​​exclaimed in a quivering voice of anger. Soon after, he and Hide, Xinya, and William drew their weapons. As bodyguards, they couldn't allow anyone to impose themselves on their boss that way, regardless of whether it was a spirit beast or a human being.

"Stop." Long Tian raised a hand, gesturing for his four guards not to attack. Then he turned to the five lords of the forest. "What exactly do you want from this blood pact?"

'A warranty. That you will keep your word about everything you promised today.' the second level bear replied to the Imperial Prince.

"Okay. In any case, it was my intention to keep the word. Signing a spirit pact changes nothing. It's just that I cannot promise you that there will be no human raids at all. After all, not all humans who live on the continent respect the laws of the empire. I hope you understand this."

'We understand. Good, since you've accepted, let's proceed then.'

"Wait. I haven't finished yet. Since we are making a blood pact, I would like you to respect what you promised as well. Furthermore, since you are the five lords of the forest, all five of you will have to sign the blood pact. Otherwise, I should consider the contractor the true lord of the forest and the others his subordinates."

At Long Tian's words, the five second-level spirit beasts showed signs of anger and disgust. All of them had long been rivals, and their pride prevented them from even imagining themselves subordinates to one of the other four. Therefore, Long Tian's words forced all five of them to sign the blood pact.

To the side, Feng Chen and Hu Jie had a slight smile on their lips. They knew Long Tian well and knew of his ability to take advantage of his interlocutor's pride to get what he wanted.

'So, his every move, every word he said, it was all in order to obtain a blood pact with all the five lords of the forest. In this way, he obtained an assurance from all the parties involved.' Hei reflected as he watched the blood pact process between Long Tian and the five spirit beasts.

Signing a blood pact was no trifle. You had to be very careful with the terms of the pact, or you would have risked death in the event of a break. In addition to that, the signing process itself was considered to be a dishonorable gesture because it meant having fallen into a desperate situation so as to require a blood pact.

After the blood pact was signed, the five lords of the forest left to prepare for battle. Hei, Long Tian, and everyone else returned to camp, where their classmates were waiting for news.

"I bet you are impatient to know what happened a little while ago. As you know, I sent Hei forward to find out about the cockroaches. He was able to bring useful information. Our real enemy is not the cockroaches but a pair of termites who have taken control of the cockroach colonies. From the information we have, the termite king is a newly advanced third-level spirit beast."

When Long Tian uttered the words' third level' terror and despair spread through the fort, after all, the first year students were just spirit soldiers; those with the highest cultivation didn't go over the third stage. How then could they face a third level spirit beast that was comparable to a spirit master?

"I know. A third level spirit beast is not something that each of us can face alone. However, you aren't alone. You have your comrades. In any case, your opponents will only be second-level spirit beasts. I will be the one to take care of the termite king. Besides, we managed to make an agreement with the five lords of the forest. They, together with their subordinates, will help us destroy the termites once and for all.

Just one little clarification. The raid mission will be very dangerous, and many of you are unlikely to survive. If you want to stay here, there will be no repercussions. You aren't yet a soldier, and therefore you aren't imputable of desertion according to martial law. But be aware that if you decide to stay here, you will be immediately given the number of spirit cores that correspond to you but nothing more. Not even the prize from me. After all, this prize is for anyone who is willing to give me all his strength to the end.

Furthermore, your safety will no longer be my concern. Therefore, you will have to think for yourselves if you get attacked, and I'm not just talking about cockroaches. The agreement with the forest lords concerns only the troops who will come with us to attack the cockroaches nest. You have an hour to think about it. After that hour, we will leave."

Without pausing to explain further, Long Tian went to his tent, followed by his guards and all the others who had accompanied him before.

Once inside, Feng Chen finally asked what he had been keeping inside all this time. "Long Tian, ​​you said that you would take care of the third level termite king. Are you going to use it?"

Long Tian nodded yes, "Yes. There is no other way. The Battle Formation of the Imperial Family is our trump card. Even if I don't like to use it, I am forced this time. With the enhancement of the Battle Concert, I should be able to acquire a power comparable to the termite king."

Hearing this, Hei was amazed and asked. "Can you reach the termite king's power level?"

Long Tian turned to him, "If it's a newly advanced spirit beast, yes. The Battle Formation of the Imperial Family is an atypical battle formation. Instead of making the users fight according to a precise pattern, this formation takes away the spirit power of those who use it to channel it into a single person. Dae-Won and the others can perform it, and thanks to them, I can momentarily reach the seventh stage spirit soldier. With the enhancement of the Battle Concert, I would reach the level of a spirit teacher who is just advanced. However, the problem is that I don't know how much the termite king consolidated his cultivation. I need someone who can fight with me."

"I doubt anyone is capable of reaching that level of power at the moment. Xieren and I can use a pair battle formation. But at best, we could reach the fifth spirit soldier stage. But if there are no better candidates, you can count on us." Feng Chen said as Huli Xieren confirmed with a nod of their heads.

"The same goes for me. Even if I don't have a battle formation, as you know, my skin is rather hard. I should be able to hold on for a while without dying." Hu Jie also proposed to fight together in Long Tian.

"In that case, I think the best candidates are Lian and me." All of a sudden, Hei said these words.

"What do you mean?" Long Tian turned to him.

"Lian and I are able to enter a battle formation with Ye and Xing, my two spirit beasts. With the enhancement of the Battle Concert, we should achieve a power similar to yours."

This time it was Long Tian's turn to be surprised. He didn't expect such a card from Hei. Even if he came from a remote place like the Forgotten Ocean, Hei once again proved to have techniques not inferior to the Eight Big Families, and to the Imperial Family.

"Okay, then. If you say you can do it, you, Lian, and your spirit beasts will fight alongside me. Feng Chen, Hu Jie. You take care of the termite guards instead. Even if the lords of the forest said they could handle the guards on their own, I don't trust them enough to leave entirely such a task to them. And that even if they are under the influence of the blood pact. We can't afford any of the guards to interfere in the fight against the termite king."

At that point, Long Tian made the final arrangements and dismissed everyone so that they could go to get ready. There wasn't much time left, and every second was vital to reach the best conditions.

*

The allotted time was over. The time had come. Of the 3,500 first-year students gathered in the fort, about 3,400 remained. However, that number was expected to decrease. As for the other 1400 that made up the remainder of the first year, their status was unknown. But it wasn't the time to worry about the others. Each of the first-year students would have to fight to the end to stay alive.

Thanks to Long Tian's speech, none of the fort's fighters chose to stay. Long Tian was a fire in the night represented by the cockroaches and termites. Without his command and the power shown by those who fought under his service, the other students felt that they wouldn't last by themselves.

"Let's move! Keep a steady pace, but don't consume your spirit power unnecessarily! "

The mass of students began to move. Given their number and distance from the cockroaches' nest, Long Tian calculated about a full day's walk with a short stop of a few hours during the night. Their goal was to get to the nest the next day in the afternoon. It was vital for them to fight with the favor of the light rather than with the blindness of the darkness.

The journey was silent. Each of the spirit soldiers assembled there had a myriad of thoughts in their heads, and they weren't in the mood to speak. Hei felt that way too. Although he had experience in fighting a far stronger enemy, this time, things weren't as favorable as against the Red Devil. He wouldn't fight against a weary and tired opponent. Instead, he would have to face an opponent at full strength.

"Whatever happens, stay close to me. Together we will do it." Hei said to Lian, who was beside him and his little sisters who were on his shoulder.

The three of them were also quite nervous. They knew that this time the danger was far from being comparable to previous fights. However, like Hei, they felt that together they could overcome anything.

"Sure. Always." Lian replied with a smile as she took Hei's hand.

When he felt the warmth of Lian's hand, Hei calmed down and continued to march, holding the hand of the blue-haired young woman who had never left his side since the day he met her.

And so, after a full day of walking, they finally reached the border of the cockroaches' territory. The latter, aware of an unusual number of movements in their territories, had gone to report to the termite king. The third-level spirit beast immediately connected the fact to the accident of the other day when someone was spying on it from afar. It quickly ordered all the cockroaches to gather around the nest and recall who was in other areas of the forest.

In the meantime, the five lords of the forest and their subordinates had also arrived. By using their names and the prospect of being able to level up without consequence, the five lords of the forest had managed to gather more spirit beasts than they had initially planned. It was a good thing as they didn't entirely know the exact number of soldiers that the termite king had managed to gather.

"It's time. Let's begin!" Long Tian shouted with one of his swords up toward the sky.

At his battle cry, the four Imperial Horns rang out, marking the beginning of the charge. Since it was a direct assault on the enemy base, there was no need to be stealthy. So, he chose this approach to improve everyone's mood.

The battle strategy chosen was rather simple - charge towards the heart of the enemy base and engaging its commander. In the meantime, everyone else had to buy time while Hei and Long Tian killed the termite king. However, not everyone would charge against the spirit beasts under the termites' influence. The supporting martial artist would remain in the rear to heal the wounded and restore their spirit power.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound of human footsteps and spirit beasts merged into a disordered melody of death, which was greeted by an equally ferocious and destructive melody. Cockroaches, termites, and mantises. These were the units available to the termite king. Their numbers were incalculable for the fighters involved, but it didn't matter. What they could do was continue waving their weapons until all their enemies died.

Long Tian, ​​leading the army of spirit soldiers, began to make his way through the huge number of enemies. Behind him were Hei, Lian, Leon, Lang with Fenrir, He Fen, Feng Chen, Huli Xieren, Hu Jie, and his four guards. In addition to them, the silhouettes of the five lords of the forest could be seen not far from them.

The termite king had seven guards who were near the peak of the second level. The five lords of the forest would face five of them, leaving the remaining two to the human spirit soldiers chosen by Long Tian. Leon, Lang, Fenrir, and He Fen would face one while Feng Chen, Huli Xieren, and Hu Jie would face the other. Hei, Lian, Ye, Xing, and Long Tian would have to deal with the termite king instead.

"Charge! Don't let them stop you!" Long Tian continued to spur on his companions who were blocked one by one by the enemy spirit beasts. But, in the end, they arrived at the center of the enemy base.

There, the termite king, together with its queen, was waiting for the arrival of the enemies. The seven termite guards had formed a circle guard and were swinging their jaws threateningly. They were visibly enraged because some dirty humans had dared to attack their king.

'Stop.' the termite king said to its guards before turning its gaze to the group of humans and the five lords of the forest who had arrived at its nest. Apparently, the prey has stopped wanting to hide and has come here to be eaten. How generous on your part to avoid the trouble of chasing you one by one.'

'Chase us? Bring it on! We will see how generous I am when I will stick my claws into your ass.' The second level tiger exploded in anger at the words of the termite king but didn't attack. Although it was a spirit beast who preferred to act rather than speak, it knew the danger of taking a misstep in combat.

'Termite King! Why did you do all this? You know that even if you were to survive and win, you would still die at the hands of humans. What is the meaning of your actions.' asked the second level bear.

'I am a king. I don't need to explain my actions. If I have decided so, then there is no way for you to change your future. Enough with the chatter, let's start. My lady is hungry. Therefore, as a king and her companion, it is now up to me to bring her some food.'

With this, the termite king indicated to the termite queen to go to a cave a little further. Evidently, despite the words of contempt it had just uttered, it didn't feel so sure it could fight and protect its queen at the same time.

"Long Tian, ​​we are about to begin," informed Hei that had closely followed the exchange between the termite king and the lords of the forest. Long Tian nodded that he understood and indicated to his four guards to come closer. It was the time of the Battle Formation of the Imperial Family.