Chapter 168 - Preparations Completed! Battle of Fort Begins! (1/2)

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

An imposing sound that echoed for miles was perceived from four different directions. They were the Imperial Horns used by the four guards in the service of Imperial Prince Long Tian. The sound was so loud and clear that anyone within the sound range could hear it.

”Hey! Is this not by chance-? ”

”It's an Imperial Horn! It's the gathering sign! ”

”How is it possible? Only army officers own one, and even then, it is only for the battle. They can't keep it for themselves.”

”But it is unmistakably an Imperial Horn. The only one who can have them among us students is- ”

”The Imperial Prince!”

”But why is he calling us?”

”I don't know, but I think it's about the swarms of c.o.c.kroaches we've seen. Honestly, they put me in a lot of turmoil.”

”I will go. What will you do? ”

”Wait, we'll come too.”

Such discussions were taking place in multiple sections of the immense forest. The various groups had been shocked when the c.o.c.kroaches carried out their attack. Some had even died surrounded by so many spirit beasts. Those survivors were all injured, and their spirit power was running out. Hearing the sound of the Imperial Horn was, therefore, as a godsend. Without delay, whoever listened to the sound of the horn ran with all the speed they could produce towards the meeting point.

Meanwhile, at the meeting point, Long Tian had given instructions on the construction of the fort. First of all, they had to create the perimeter, and the only material available to them in quantities that could accommodate thousands of people were the trees of the forest. So Ye and Xing, followed by the others, began to uproot the adjacent trees so as to also create enough space to house emergency accommodations.

Hei, instead, was commissioned to gather the spirit cores of each c.o.c.kroach and move their carcasses out of the fort area. Although most were first-level spirit cores and therefore not usable to pass the test, it was undeniable that they still had their value. Therefore, considering that he didn't like to waste the carcasses of those whom he killed, Hei carried out Long Tian's order without complaints.

'Long Tian is likely to want to use the monetary attractiveness of the spirit cores to win the trust of our other classmates. Indeed, having multiple common goals in addition to survival ensures the cohesion of the whole group.' Hei thought as he pulled out the spirit core of one of the c.o.c.kroaches covered in body fluids. But as he did this, he noticed an unusual detail—something he hadn't paid attention to so far.

'Is the soil excavated there? Why? Wait. Isn't that spot-? '

Hei quickly ran to where the soil had been dug, creating a hole without a specific shape. When he realized what had happened, Hei's face darkened.

'It is the hole we dug for those men in black who attacked us. The bodies are gone. Does that mean that the c.o.c.kroaches took the trouble to exhume them during the battle? Do they want to eat those bodies?'

Unfortunately, Hei had no way of finding an answer. He knew that spirit beasts ate humans, especially martial artists, as it was a nutritious source of food. But that c.o.c.kroaches had worried about digging, and recovering the bodies of several human beings during the clash was unusual.

'It isn't time to think about it. I have to do my job.'

Hei continued with his work, and so did the others. Occasionally groups of people would come attracted by the call of the Imperial Horns. Long Tian would welcome them and, after listening to their reports about the c.o.c.kroaches, he would assign each of them a task.

Within a couple of hours, about 3,500 people had gathered in that section of forest. Although not all first-year students were present, this number was far higher than Long Tian hoped for. Therefore, he made his four guards return and prepared to explain the situation.

Fortunately, with the help of the new arrivals, the fort was quickly completed. Even though it was only made up of wooden logs stacked on top of each other, having something to act as a barrier against those infernal creatures was a little reassuring.

”Silence!” shouted Feng Chen, attracting everyone's attention. Then he made a sign with his head to Long Tian to indicate that he could start talking.

Long Tian took a long breath and looked toward the crowd of people he had gathered.

”I guess many of you are wondering why I gave the order to play the Imperial Horns. As you know, several groups of c.o.c.kroaches were seen moving and flying a few hours ago. Someone even experienced first-hand the fury of these creatures. The beast tamer of my team informed me that the c.o.c.kroaches follow a collective conscience, and the various groups compete with each other. Yet despite that, the reality before our eyes was very different.

It is likely to have been an anomaly in the society of such insects. One specimen may have become strong enough to dominate the collective consciences of each group. After examining the reports you have given me, it is reasonable to assume that this entity is coming after us, although I don't know why.

This first attack served to probe the waters and understand our numbers and our strength. There are high chances that the c.o.c.kroaches will try to attack again, and this time there will be not just a few second-level specimens. We may have to face thousands of second-level specimens together with who knows how many first level specimens. As you can see, the situation is dangerous.”

Long Tian then paused to point out how dangerous the situation was for everyone. There was no need to explain why it was so. Thousands of second-level spirit beasts joined together. Just by hearing this, most first-year spirit soldiers had become pale as they trembled in horror at that vision.