(Author: Hello! Regular Wednesday release. So far, no potential hiatus as I still have some written chapters. Now Lu Shu will lead his Tiger Army in islands not conquered by the Yan Dynasty. How will Lu Shu and his army fare on land? What kind of magical beast will try to kill him? Enjoy.)

----------Chapter 4: Enemy Tactics-----------------

"Reporting, Lieutenant General Cao Wei and the mages have finished making the diamond bridge and have secured the area. General Lu Shu, under Great General Meng Ce's order, is to march the Tiger Army onto the main path. Each of the eight other armies will enter the island on different shore sites. Beware of enemy ambushes," a soldier of the Dragon Army bowed and left.

"So the tactic is to make multiple bridges in case one falls. One army might stay to protect the bridges while the others enter the island after traveling down the beaches. So the tactic of General Meng Xuan is to have the expedition army conquer the island by surrounding and closing in on the enemy. Quite ruthless. In this way, there won't be survivors," Shu noted as he stared at the map of Giant's Chain. However, he only knew the distances and shapes of the islands. The island's terrain was unknown to all. The scout's only made one path to the heart of the island.

"Quite an ambitious plan. Making a net to trap a dragon," Lu Gong agreed. "What really worries me is that we only received a report on the path the scouts made. Eerily enough, none of them encountered magical beasts and only saw fresh traps. It is sure to be a trap."

"Make sure our archers are well defended. I'll have to ask for our scouts, and anyone with sensitive spirit sense and mana sense to position themselves on the flanks. If there is going to be an ambush, I'd rather walk into it prepared than blindly walk into it," Lu Shu said. "The ambush also works in our favor. It means the enemy will focus their attention on us. That should buy some time for the other armies to position themselves all over the island. Get the men ready to march!"

"Yes, General Lu Shu," Lu Gong cried and ran out of the tent with his captains.

"Your army is being used as bait. Perhaps this is a test to determine your ability as a leader," Ken warned.

"Hmph. A mere general at the ninth stage testing me?" Shu laughed, knowing this was Meng Xuan's plan. "Damned strategist. I'll never move according to one's strings. We're not going to be just bait. We're going for a slaughter."

They all stared at Lu Shu as he took out the Sentinel Bow. All their eyes widened as they could tell it was a Divine Weapon! How did the second prince get his hands on that? Shu mounted his collared tiger and marched his men down their diamond bridge, the army not letting their guard down as they walked over the water to the next island.

"Today we march into the island, the one island before the heart of Giant's Chain for magical beasts below the Spirit Knight tier. No doubt, the magical beasts will be waiting for us on the path. You are all Practitioners and mages of the Yan Dynasty's army! We will slaughter all the magical beasts in our way. We will not waver! We will not fall!"

"We will not fall!" the soldiers cried, and began to prepare for the invasion.

"Send the scouts ahead. As soon as they detect something, have them fall back and report immediately," Lu Shu said to Cao Wei.

"Yes, general," Cao Wei bowed his head.

"Lu Gong, the forest is a terror for cavalries. Keep the cavalry here and protect the bridge. If our expedition army underestimated the enemy, we'll need a way to retreat. The whole strategy is to surround and close in. The cavalry should be safe here," Lu Shu ordered.

"Yes, general," Lu Gong bowed his head and the two lieutenant generals left.

"How do the Hyperion normally fight as a pack?" Lu Shu asked Ken.

"Usually, they move according to a strong alpha. Not only is the alpha usually the strongest, it is also almost always the most intelligent. Kill the alpha and you disperse the pack. They never attack far from their shelter. It is also unwise to blindly attack their homes. The females are especially fierce there and some of our weak branch clan members died from berserk nursing magical beasts," Ken answered.

"It is usually best to draw them out by attacking the entrance from afar, using magic," Jiro answered. "Then, isolate the stronger ones using barrier magic and using area attack spells on the clustered, weaker magical beasts. If you ever want to go in while they live, it is best to send in summoned creatures to avoid casualties. Even stealth magic or techniques have a tough time as magical beasts can hear or smell you."

"Okay. Tell that information to the captains under the lieutenant generals," Lu Shu nodded, staring at the map of the island. "I want the men ready to launch in an hour."

"Yes, Prince Lu Shu, the advisors said as they were not members of his army.

With the Sentinel Bow in his left hand, all eyes followed Lu Shu as he led the march into the forest. Everyone remained quiet as Lu Shu closed his eyes, feeling the environment with his spirit sense. He would occasionally snap his fingers, a bolt of lightning spearing ahead, followed by a death cry. A scout returned, saying he found a nest of magical beasts at the hills further ahead. Signaling his men, Lu Shu watched as the soldiers formed a shield wall and slowly advanced.

In front of them was a hill with a door about twenty six feet high. It was cracked and moss already grew around it. If giants existed, this could have been a home for it. He stopped his collared tiger in front of the shield wall and roared: the Great Spirit Integration technique sending sound waves so powerful that it could actually be seen by the naked eye. The ground cracked and trees splintered as the sound waves washed over to the old door in the hill side, the sound heightened further as it bounced of the walls. The soldiers could hear the hill shudder and some parts of the ceiling collapsed, evident by the loud crashing noises they heard.

"Mages at the ready. Burn them all! Practitioners, create formation barriers and isolate the strong ones," Lu Shu ordered. Then the enemy came. They were magical beasts at the sixth stage, gorillas with a rhino's head and a scorpion tail. Lu Shu didn't know what it was and watched as the fire mages attacked, the magical beasts howling as they were burned alive.

"Shields!" Lu Shu cried, breaking boulders with a wave of his hand as the gorillas grabbed the very earth beneath them and threw boulders five feet in diameter. Lu Shu opened his arms, dozens of emerald spirit swords appearing around him. The soldiers advanced their shield wall as the gorillas were forced back as many trying to flank the soldiers were impaled by Lu Shu's swords.

Lu Shu shouted at the earth mages and they made the battlefield shake. Suddenly gorillas covered in fire burst from the ruined home, berserk with rage. Lu Shu scoffed and did his radiant howl technique, a howl of an unknown creature resounding as huge, fast crescent waves appeared, slicing the gorillas that were in their path. Lu Shu nodded at Cao Wei, the archers drawing back their arrows as the shield wall lowered their shields on the ground.

"Fire!" Cao Wei roared, a large volley of steel raining down at the gorillas.

"Charge!" Lu Shu roared, the foot soldiers also shouting as they ran past the shield wall who made openings to let them through. Lu Shu personally beheaded the stronger magical beasts that were isolated by the formation barriers. After a little over half and hour, the entire next of magical beasts was cleared out.

"Back to the path," Lu Shu ordered, the soldiers nodding and quickly returning to the marked path of the scouts. They cleared out two more nests but no magical beasts were on the path.

"This is strange. All we've been doing is clearing the female and juvenile magical beasts. We found no young magical beasts or the adult males. Even the weakest of the females was not above the sixth stage," Ken frowned.

"Could the whole island be united?" Lu Shu asked.

"Impossible. General, this island is over five hundred miles. Only an exceptionally powerful magical beast could have done it," Lu Gong said.

"Still, there could be no other explanation for the lack of ambush attacks. Any force being invaded would have used guerilla tactics to slow an invasion force. Even attacking our supply to halt our advance should have been expected," Cao Wei disagreed. "Either that, or..."

"An army advanced too far or was ambushed and annihilated early on. Thus, giving the enemy a way out of the net," Lu Shu finished.

"What do we do? This trap might even be worse than an ambush," Jiro asked.

"There is an ambush ahead of us. I can sense the spirit energy of several magical beasts ahead. Our scouts should also be returning soon," Lu Shu said, a frown on his face.

"General!" a scout cried, cupping his hands as he bowed on one knee.

"Report," Lu Shu ordered.

"Yes, general. We detected a large number of magical beasts guarding the entrance to a valley below. The path, the scouts that came here made, leads into the valley, avoiding the mountains that surround it. General, they amassed their forces in numbers far greater than our own. However, we have the geographical advantage as he have to descend a hill side to go to the valley, giving us control of the high ground," the scout reported.

"What stages are they at?" Lu Shu asked.

"The weakest ones were at the seventh stage. Most were at the eighth stage but we were not able to find any magical beasts at the ninth stage," the scout reported and left.

"It seems they have united. The news doesn't seem so.." Lu Gong began as he stopped to see a scout hold his left arm, blood seeping from a wound.

"Reporting from the Rabbit Army, we were supposed to enter the island from the opposite side of Tiger Army. However, we were ambushed by magical beasts of the ninth stage. General Sun Zhou and the Rabbit Army has fallen. The magical beasts are being led by a black dragon magical beast at the peak of the ninth stage. However, we believe it to be an true Archon magical beast. Otherwise, General Sun Zhou would not have fallen so easily," the scout said and rose. "I must report to Great General Meng Ce. May the Heavens favor you, General Lu Shu."

"Both fears are realized," Ken said as Lu Shu said the horde of magical beasts was approaching. "We're not even in the valley, where the real trap is, and we are being ambushed already by another force.

"They divided their forces. I can sense they are only at the seventh stage," Lu Shu said, opening his eyes. "THey are testing us, hoping to dwindle our numbers before we enter the valley.

"Shall I issue the retreat?" Lu Gong asked.

"No. It is too late. We'll lose even more men," Lu Shu said. "I want all mages to concentrate on using wide area attack spells and area-of-effect spells. Lessen their numbers and force them into a bee line for the archers."

"Mages, enchant the arrows. I want to see them explode on contact," Cao Wei ordered.

"Shield wall up front. Soldiers, make sure to spear in between the gaps of the shield wall!" Lu Gong roared.

"They're here," Lu Shu said, as a cloud of dust appeared. As they looked up at the hill, the valley on the other side, the magical beasts seemed endless as they descended. "Have a scout return to the bridge and summon the cavalry once we defeat the horde. Momentum is the key to a cavalry's victory and a descent onto a horde, from the high ground, is the best for it."

"Yes, general" Cao Wei bowed and summoned one of his scouts and relayed the orders.

"Earth mages and Practitioners who use the earth element come forth," Lu Shu ordered.

"Yes, general," a large group bowed.

"When they get in range, I want the earth mages to create pits on the ground. Also create rock walls. The weakness of a charge down hill is that you get stomped to death if you stop moving," Lu Shu ordered. "Earth Practitioners, you control the earth. Make it soft and turn it into sand below the surface. I want as little magical beasts to attack the shield wall as possible."

"Yes, general," the soldiers cried and began taking their positions and following the order.

"I want all mages capable of summoning to summon flying creatures. All wind mages are to focus their attention at the skies. Kill all flying magical beasts on sight. Archers, watch the flank and shoot any that attempt to break through it," Lu Shu roared. "I will not allow the Tiger Army to suffer the same fate as Rabbit Army!"

"YES, GENERAL!" all the soldiers shouted as the magical beasts finally entered within their range.

"Shields up!" Lu Gong cried as the magical beasts could be identified. They could see gorillas, elephants, tigers, lions, snakes, eagles, crows, owls, and other magical beasts raze the hill side with their advance as they approached.

"Now!" Cao Wei cried, rock walls sprouting as deep pits appeared all over the battlefield. Some beasts crashed through the walls, some dropping into the pits.

Still, the charge advanced. Arrows struck flying and non-flying magical beasts alike as spears of wind soared into the sky. Lu Shu created over a hundred swords, sending them flying and killing many magical beasts as they impaled through one only to explode as they got stuck in another. Little Hao moved restlessly next to Lu Shu as Bakura kept its bone fingers on the grips of its swords.

"Success," Lu Gong cried as many magical beasts that moved too fast were caught in the quicksand as they ran on what seemed like normal plains.

"Watch the skies!" Lu Shu said, crescent blade so water decapitating many magical beasts as the mages summoned flying creatures and demons from other worlds. Some magical beasts trampled on those who sank on the quicksand and finally arrived at the shield wall. Spears impaled the magical beasts as the soldiers pushed with their shields.

"Push and advance! Push them to the quick sands! Earth Practitioners, create spikes and pierce them belly-up! Ice Practitioners, send freezing winds into the sky! Practitioners that use darkness, take away their sight!" Lu Shu roared as he pushed out with his hands, a wave of lightning shocking and pushing back some magical beasts.

"Don't let any gaps appear! Condense and push through them!" Lu Gong cried.

"Mages, target the clustered enemies and don't let them attack the flanks!" Cao Wei roared.

Lu Shu narrowed his eyes and wings of vermillion appeared on his back, he rose to the sky and all the spirit energy seemed to condense into him, the very air storming as if he was the center of a tornado. Lu Shu raised his hands into the sky, thousands of swords made emerald spirit energy appearing. Lu Shu roared as he pointed downward, the swords flashing past him like lightning. Blood sprayed and the ground ruptured as the magical beasts were helpless against the onslaught, no match for a Practitioner of the tenth stage using spirit energy of a Sword Immortal.

Lu Shu wasn't down as a black cloud appeared, gradually growing in size. Blue lightning crackled and the sky grew dark as the light could not penetrate the black clouds. Then, all the flying magical beasts were bombarded with lightning bolts as Lu Shu used his Black Cloud Desolation technique.

He was like a god among those below the Spirit Knight stage, the highest being able to interfere with mortal affairs. No one had ever seen so much powerful techniques used at once. They all wondered how much spirit energy Lu Shu had. The clouds dispersed as the shield wall was able to push the magical beasts onto the quicksand. Slowly, the ambush was stalled. Lu Gong ordered the shield wall to extend and the magical beasts were soon the ones that were surrounded and on the offensive.

"Show no mercy!" Cao Wei cried and all the mages finished of the magical beasts.

"Victory! We have victory!" Lu Gong cried, all the soldiers cheering as the white mage apprentices began using their healing magic on the injured.

"Only a few dozen killed. Only a little over a hundred," Ken observed as he had watched from the treetops.

"Lu Shu's plan was a success. Not only that, I've never seen a Spirit Shaman with so much spirit energy," Jiro shivered.

"Let's just hope our clans don't anger him," Ken grinned.

"To hell with the Li Clan. They can all burn except for uncle and his son," Jiro thought as he and Ken returned to the Tiger Army.

"The plan was a success, general," Cao Wei grinned.

"They were at the seventh stage. The remaining forces of the horde will be more wary of us. While their number is lower now, only the elite are left. We have to contend with magical beasts of the eighth and ninth stage. I'm sure the horde that slaughtered the Rabbit Army will have returned into the valley using the secret route they used to ambush the Rabbit Army," Lu Shu said silently. "The scout should be leaving to summon the cavalry. Send another scout to Great General Meng Ce and ask for them to try to enter the valley from where the Rabbit Army was supposed to enter. If my guess is right, the enemy was securing their escape route and killed the Rabbit Army as it was discovered. I don't want to take the valley only to know they escaped. Also send word for reinforcements. Perhaps the Shield Armor Army as they should have entered the island to our right and arrived in front of the mountains."

"Yes, general," Cao Wei bowed and left as Ken and Jiro arrived.

"Congratulations," they said.

"What's the plan now?" Jiro asked.

"We rest and wait for now. When sunset comes, we strike with the reinforcements. It is harder to fly at night and we can ensure less assaults from above and focus solely on the ground," Lu Shu answered.

"We wait for reinforcements before we storm the valley.