Surrounded by mounted warriors all around, Kairos and his group stood side by side without any look of panic on their faces.

No one could’ve expect such a turn out.

This situation is somewhat of a wonder on the battlefield. If a commander sent a group deep into enemy ranks to their deaths, it wouldn’t be a revolutionary thing, but for a group to request such a thing themselves – moreover it was approved – this might be a first in history.

The Dark Hall are now deeply regretting not asking for a scheduled report from the Snowdrifts and hold tighter control.

The original intention was give them free rein and in return to create segregation in the name of keeping the mission’s secrecy; at the end of the mission, the Dark Hall planned to use this to their advantage by minimising the blame they would receive.

They believed that with the Soul Slips in their hands, the Snowdrifts would be playing on their palms. They didn’t expect that this fish in their net could still threaten them.

But right now, this group made up of big names and powerful background is in peril because they delayed approving reinforcements.

If they did not do anything, then their reputation will be going down the drains.

“That bastard. Esley! He dare to cross us? What did he mean by pigheads?” the Red Ghost complained.

“Exactly. There is only one pighead here, and that’s you,” the Copper Ghost rebuked.

“Whaddya say? You wanna have a go?”

“Who toldya to send Esley that message! It’s no wonder you’re the Ghost of the Combat Hall, you muscles-for-brains!”

“Why not?! He is only a puny Martial King!”

“Why not?” the Silver Ghost intercepted, “I’ll tell you why. Just because he is the only Nine-Parallel Soul, he can kill you and no one will dare to say a word. If he packs up and leave today, any kingdom will welcome him with both arms wide open.

Now, do you understand why?”

“R...r…right. Then, what should we do now?”

“Gosh, did you grow up by eating bricks? We send out the reinforcements that the Snowdrifts requested of course!”

The Hall Master suddenly spoke, “Hold on, do we have any mass teleportation ward in the Northern Keep?”

“We don’t have any that could hold 2000 men. The maximum load is only a hundred.”

“Use that then!”

“But, sir, it will be a hefty cost! We have to spend operating cost of the Northern Keep to fire up the teleportation runes twenty times, and it will still take nearly two whole days to finish.”

“The reparations will come from the Silver Ghost for his failure. Is there any objection?” the Hall Master looked at the Ghost of Death Hall with an intense glare. The room will silent and commands were quickly given.

“Now, let’s hope those twerps could hold out two days.”

…..

At the same time, Kairos has just finished explaining to his men, “… and that’s why we still have to hold out two days.”

Enclosed in the middle of the enemy’s ranks, he had been giving the group a briefing. It wasn’t as if the enemies could hear him when he was surrounded by a thousand eight hundred men and women.

The leaders of the different squads saluted Kairos with no signs of unease.

In contrast, their soldiers felt less composed with the barbarians on horseback looking more feral wolf than human.

…..

Granted, when Kairos first told his plans to those in the command tent, the captains and leaders all displayed fascinating expressions. Some faces looked so incredible that it roused the Historian bloodline in Snow’s veins and it caused her to start taking pictures for her records.

For Kairos who loved the legends of old, he had never expect how his own will turn out for the future generations. Starting from this incident, the number of stunned faces that Snow recorded over time was so staggering that it eventually became a topic of debate for archaeologists of the latter days. But, in the nearer coming years, it will become a popular contest for people to copy the ‘Snowdrifts Expressions’.

Incidentally, Kairos will sneak into the competition in undercover and win the 3rd place from mirroring everyone on his team: Alan, Jim, Edward, Tommy, and even himself.

After years of hanging around his friends, his mimicking is undoubtedly uncanny, but lost points when he tried to display how he himself looks when shocked.

The judges told him, “You got the others down to the smallest details, only except for Lord Kairos whom you appear unfamiliar. His shocked expressions…”

Kairos repeated in anticipation, “Lord Kairos’ shocked expressions…?”

After a pause, the judge said: “There are none.”

“What?”

“None! You widening your eyes is your own interpretation. There had never been a picture of Lord Kairos becoming surprised.”

“I’m sure there are.”

“Nil.”

“Seriously?” Kairos breathed with disbelief. He didn’t realise that even now, his facial countenance appeared no different from before.

…..

“Well, let’s get to work! Gather into the Gammadion Cross Formation Second Variation: Hydra! (萬字陣法: 九頭龍), " with another shout from Kairos, the group moved into a formation that at first looked like a swastika, then quickly became the picture of a monster with nine heads; an upgrade from the original.

It was a spiral-like array with openings that looked like a mouths and aimed to pull the opponents into the openings.

The Second Variation is less mobile, but made use of the greater numbers in the array.

Their team did not step onto the battlefield unprepared. Many of the formations that Saint Empire uses had come from Kairos who invented it through gleaning the stars. If the upper echelons had to hold back in fear of revealing their trump cards, then Kairos who made those ultimate moves only had to fear if he used the appropriate one for the situation. After all, once the enemies learnt of one formation, he could still switch to a dozen others.

“I haven’t been studying ceaselessly for the past four years for nothing!” Kairos suddenly clutched his fist in bravado and smiled.

The horsemen were riled up at their sudden movements, and plenty of them made whistles from being impressed.

“Wooo, I’ve thought the southerners are all cowards.”

“These ones are pretty brave, and from their movements they are well-trained.”

“To fight them is an honour.”

“Oie, leave some ears for me alright? I am doing my adult promotion exam.”

“Get your own. Who isn’t hoping for a promotion?”

On the Snowdrifts’ side there was absolute silence. No one in their group is a greenhorn. The strange thing is, their mounts were nowhere to be seen while in formation. At the same time, the four tacticians, Small, Smaller, Snow, and Leaf are busy working, ensuring that they have the most complete and updated ground situation.

Their group, though looking as a single unit, has been separated into four sections for this battle, each numbering four hundred and fifty men.

One tactician is positioned in the middle of each group, while two groups will answer to Luciette and the remaining two are led by George.

Facing them, the northerners appear confident to say the least. Their leader, a veteran barbarian chief, frowned at the defensive measure the Snowdrifts had taken instead.

“I’ve been concerned at the lack of fear they have,” he said quietly to his lieutenant.

The barbarian next to him took a second look at the Snowdrifts then questioningly asked, “Their soldiers appear weak and frightened to me.”

“No, some may appear nervous but look at the ones in the middle, the younglings. They are the leaders of the group, and if anything they looked eager.”

“Yes sir, I’ll tell the men to be careful.”

“Send a detachment and find out the use of the strange formation they are standing in.”

The horsemen that were pacing around suddenly stopped. They separated into four groups in four directions around their target, then two groups opposite each other charged forward when a horn was blasted. A second blare came a moment later and the remaining two groups rode off.

Against footmen, the cavalry had distinct advantage with their charging speed.

Kairos took a glance at them and a sharp glint flitted across his eyes. He could see that they are using the traditional crosswind formation.

Two lines of cavalries will ride straight at each other with their target in the middle. They will trample all who are in their way and head in and out of the enemy ranks in one go like a fearsome meat shredder.

Following their exit, the second set of two cavalries will charge at the enemy flanks. This timed attack at four different directions will mash up a group. Even without seeing it in action before, Kairos could tell of the power it held. It was as though a giant had lifted its mace above their heads.

His response was instant, and in this regard, his reaction speed is above even the brilliant tacticians.

“Step to your left!” Kairos roared and immediately, his leaders repeated his commands at their soldiers who in turn also shouted out the commands.

“Step to your left!”

The group spun on its place. Their movements were just in time. The entire Hydra formation turned anticlockwise as the first cavalry touched the exterior ranks.

Suddenly, as though wool being spun into a yarn, the two lines of horsemen that were supposed to cut through their group were drawn into the spiral formation. The enemies themselves charging in without any resistance.

From above, it’d look as if a many-headed beast is devouring its prey.

The original star formation that the Gammadion cross formation came from was a vast spiral disk formed by countless stars.

It was majestic when Kairos’ consciousness first travelled the sea of stars. But, re-enacted on foot, it became a voracious and insatiable beast.

“Reverse Slash!” Kairos said.

And immediately everyone roared out in unison, “Reverse Slash!”

The barbarians that had entered this death trap had started slowing down out of an instinctive feeling of fear and trepidation. But at this moment, following Kairos’ command, blades slashed at them from their back, pushing them deeper into the spiral lest they are shredded.

Pain drove them rolling off the beasts they are riding on, then another roar erupted from Kairos’ throat, “Split!”

The captains who mouthed his command and the soldiers following suit yelled out the same word, “Split!”

The nine-headed hydra suddenly seemed to double in number while the barbarians found themselves separated from their mounts. Those beasts of war were dragged away.

It was unbelievable to the northerners that those fearsome creatures tamed by their powerful warriors had obediently followed the Snowdrifts.

But the beasts could tell that great predators are eyeing them; that a single false move would be annihilation.

These creatures are more sensitive to bloodlust than humans and they were all scared stiff.

Breed for war, no normal murderous aura could pin them down, but this time, it was coupled with the absolute authority of Ancestor Dragons. The dragonlings that Kairos reared had always fed on the flesh of wild beasts, and they looked at these mounts as their food.

Of course, the Snowdrifts wouldn’t waste such a valuable resource by feeding them to the dragonlings.

“HALT!”

A tremendous shout came from the Barbarian Chief overseeing this particular battle. His voice assailed them from all sides and just in time before the second set of horsemen touched the Hydra Formation.

Jim couldn’t help but exclaim, “Whew, they were so close,” when he saw that the enemy was merely fifteen paces away.

Edward nodded while Tommy and Alan expressed their disappointments.

“B1!” Kairos said softly.

The command was carried down the ranks like a wave and the soldiers readied their hands by a holster hanging by their side.

It was only now that the Barbarian Chief shook his head in disbelief as he realised what the Hydra Formation did. He said to his lieutenant with a pale face, “Our men were swallowed. They were like meal down a beast’s throat. Have the second group change course, at once.”

Two short blasts were sounded from their war horn, and immediately the horsemen turned back. It was just in time, as they had continued approaching thanks to their inertia despite the previous command to halt. They were merely five paces away from the ‘hydra’ when they managed to turn back.

At this time, Kairos said, “B3!”

B1 was a codename that stood for prepare your Bows.

B2 was an order to draw their strings. But Kairos skipped right to B3: Rapid Fire.

There were many benefits from issuing commands this way. At least it was easy to remember, when B stood for Bows, and the numeric determined the type of action called upon. This way, a unit could be quickly trained and it also provided a foundation for future commands to be added in the same manner: S1 for hands on the sword hilt, S2 for a defensive stance, and S3 for attacking.

In a skirmish where the enemy could hear every command the opposite side had given, using codes would be delay the responding speed.

Not only so, Kairos had an underlying motive that may prove useful in future warfare.

With ring finger, pinky, and thumb holding the bow, and the index and middle fingers wrapping around a couple of arrow shafts, they lifted up bow and arrows from their holders in one smooth movement.

The arrowheads were pointed downwards, but not for long, as the other hand grabbed the nocks and drew the bow string in one flow.

Those nocks were made specially, with a wider opening to allow archers quickly load their arrows without much need to adjust, but a narrow pincer-shaped base like the tradition nocks to ensure accuracy.

Shots were fired before the horsemen could fully turn their backs at the Snowdrifts.

The arrows flew outwards in a circle. Some flew parallel to the ground at them but most rained down, and a great many perished including their chief.

The northerners found out for the first time, just what kind of enemy they are facing.