A major part of Sage’s combat ability had been his reliance on a swarm of large insects. While this wasn’t a fact known to many people in the Dou Kingdom, it was certainly not a secret. Additionally, the Dou Kingdom was home to the Chong Clan and its many branch families. In order to keep a lower profile, Sage had to stop relying on an army of insects or it would only be a matter of time until he screwed up and his identity was leaked. This led to his current plan.

He’d always wanted to try something along these lines, but after the success with King he was ready to give it a go. Previously, he’d been trying to instill more and more complex ‘programming’ among the colonies of ants. Unfortunately, they had a limited mental capacity. Just like it took a strong body to support a powerful Qi, it took a strong soul to support a powerful mind. It was the weakness of insects and also the reason they were the perfect target for the Insect Immortal Index. Fortunately, this all changed when Wan Ling found a specific beast for him. It didn’t seem like much at the time, but once Sage got a closer look he was intrigued as to the possibilities and he’d already raised quite a few of them in preparation for experimentation.

It was named the ‘Ten Shouldered Rhino’, though Sage preferred to call it a ‘Cuttlebeast’. The many types of squid were all called ‘ten shouldered’ or ‘ten wrist’, and the Cuttlebeast seemed to fall into that classification. Essentially, it looked like someone had attached the head of a cuttlefish onto the body of a rhinoceros or hippopotamus. A large and rotund body covered in intricate designs, with a very ugly tentacle covered face. It spent most of its time in the water, the Demonic Beast was an ambush hunter that snatched things up and dragged them into the water to drown.

At first glance it just seemed like a very ugly Demonic Beast version of a hippo. A closer look would instead reveal that it carried most of the traits of the cuttlefish while also being much larger and having lungs instead of gills. It could change the color and texture of its hide to camouflage with its environment, was much smarter than other beasts of the same power level, and lastly it laid eggs. Most wouldn’t care about that last fact, but to Sage it meant he could use it! If he could pass on the increased intelligence from a Cuttlebeast into an insect he could dramatically improve their capabilities.

A few months later.

Ruanfu got a Human Seal, turning into a precocious and sometimes terrifying little girl with snowy white hair and a piercing gaze. King was bragging about twenty wives, and Sage had finally finished the first of his new bugs. He named them ‘Emerald Hoplite Beetle’, but mostly referred to them as Hoplites to keep it simple. If things went right, he was going to have hundreds of them, so he kept the name nice and simple.

They were a combination of a Cuttlebeast, Fat Grass Worm, Charming Lance Beetle, and an Emerald Dragonfly. The Dragonfly provided a nice bright natural coloring, and silk spinnerets in the wrists. The Charming Lance Beetle formed the basic body structure and advanced pheromone signaling. The new Fat Grass Worm’s that he’d picked up in Daggerguard City provided a very powerful regenerative ability, and the final Cuttlebeast made the Hoplite quite intelligent and also gave it exquisite camouflage abilities.

From a purely physical standpoint, they were actually weaker than his previous insects. The various rounds of mutation and combination had ended up with a smaller and less physically powerful specimen. More energy had been diverted into having a larger brain. At the size of a Saint Bernard, with vibrant emerald coloring and a face full of tentacles, it was quite terrifying. Even so, it was nothing to write home about in comparison to the barn sized Charming Lance Beetle, or the Chameleon Mantis with bladed limbs as big as swords. It was also slow and clumsy in flight, as well as a poor burrower.

The real purpose for the Emerald Hoplite Beetle was to be a recipient of a Human Seal. Sage linked with the previous generations of Hoplite and used a Memory Sphere to shape their ancestral memories. The basic culture of humankind as well as some rudimentary knowledge was instilled into them. The ‘first’ Hoplite was actually not a single individual, but a whole generation. He raised a handful of ‘elders’ himself and began to train them how to create a Human Seal. It was a very much simplified seal and was far from perfect. The end result was a bunch of demi-human insect people.

The Tiankong Retreat was going to be their first temporary village. He accelerated the growth and maturation of the first generation and chose the most intelligent of them to start the second generation. The rest of the first generation became his soldiers. In order to create a powerful Mercenary Company he’d need quite a bit of manpower. Cue, the creation of the Hoplite Tribe. By masquerading as a new type of beastman, it would become the perfect cover for his new army. The next step was to establish more villages, populating them with Hoplites, and therefore reduce future suspicion.

Sage brought along half of the second generation of Hoplites with him, while the other half were left at Tiankong Retreat to tend to the ranch. He went north with King and they established a much simpler village just over the border to the Dou Kingdom. The area was nearly devoid of natural resources, which made it a very safe place, but also a very undesirable one for humans or beasts. Without any resources, those living there would have little chance of growing powerful. Sage didn’t mind, since it meant the decoy village could live in safety. Along with the ancestral memories of human culture, and crude human seals, they were also shown how to weave their silk. Strong and light the silk was woven into clothing, weapons, shields, armor, and everyday items. The silken goods would be excellent trade goods for them. If they survive.

Sage returned to Tiankong Retreat and helped them to usher in a rapid third generation while he continued his other breeding projects. The second project was progressing rapidly and had gained a lot from the Hoplites. He’d even trained some of the second generation Hoplites to assist him with it. There was a grove of Spirit Plants that he was specially cultivating using Arborist techniques that was integral to the project.

The third and final breeding plan was just about ready. Stepping into the Universe Ring, Sage sent a Hoplite over to retrieve King and Ruanfu. When the two arrived, he gave them a smile and pointed at the room he was in, “Do you remember this room?”

Ruanfu, who looked like a white haired ten year old girl, shook her head, “Nope!”

King looked at the floor and then he reached out and ruffled Ruanfu’s hair, “This is where you were hatched, Fu’er. It’s amazing how big you’ve grown in just a year.”

Ruanfu took another look around, examining things more closely. She ran her fingers over the lines on the ground and then scratched her head, “It doesn’t seem that great.”

Sage laughed this time. These beasts truly matured quickly, only a year old and already so intelligent. He pulled a large egg out of a Storage Ring, about the size of an ostrich egg. Far smaller than Ruanfu’s had been, but still quite large all things considered. It seemed ordinary, other than the dark red color of the shell. He placed it in the center of the array and smiled at Ruanfu, “The room is nothing special. If you weren’t hatched here it wouldn’t be worth a thing. We’re just here for the array. They cost money to build so it’s better to use one we already have. So, are you ready to learn why we’re here?”

Ruanfu was busy staring at the big red egg and only half listening to his words, “Yeah yeah. What’s that for? Who’s inside?”

King was also unsure of what was going on, but he stayed quiet to watch. Sage was his master after all.

“This is another egg of course, and inside is something I’ve been working on for quite a while. Can you help me hatch it?”

Ruanfu had to think about this for a little while before she nodded her head, “You only brought me candy one time, but King said you ran out, so I forgive you. How do I make it hatch?”