Ch. 161..170

Chapter 161 Hunters

Shang watched as one team after the other engaged the beasts. They were exclusively hunting the Commander Stage beasts and ignored the few General Stage beasts that ran past them.

A lot of General Stage beasts had been killed, but a couple of them had managed to flee past Warrior's Paradise.

Obviously, they were running towards the north.

The Wild Forest would welcome a massacre today, and the General Stage beasts would even reach the Farm Line.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ However, Warrior's Paradise was prepared for that. All the normal hunters and a couple of Commander Stage warriors were defending the Farm line. Additionally, the Farm Line was protected by the dogs and several Adepts.

Shang was certain that the Farm Line wasn't in much danger. The majority of General Stage beasts had already been killed.

However, things were different for Warrior's Paradise.

Commander Stage beasts could damage the mountain on which Warrior's Paradise was built. If they had free reign, Warrior's Paradise might actually be destroyed.

The teams were targeting specific beasts, and basically all of these beasts were very close to Warrior's Paradise.

Meanwhile, the True Mages concentrated on the most powerful flying beasts. The weaker Commander Stage flying beasts would be shot by the ballistae, while the ones in the later levels had to deal with the gigantic fireballs.

That was the reason for the gigantic fireballs in the first place. The smaller fireballs were enough to kill basic Commander Stage beasts, but the more powerful ones would be able to resist the fireballs.

However, if three True Mages combined their powers, even a Peak Commander Stage beast would find some difficulties in surviving.

The Wasteland and Canyon were made up of around 50% Wind Affinity beasts and 50% Earth Affinity beasts. The Earth Affinity beasts were running along the ground, while the Wind Affinity beasts attacked from the sky.

Of course, the Wind Affinity beasts were a more direct threat to Warrior's Paradise. Sure, the Earth Affinity beasts could severely damage the city's foundation, but they couldn't just destroy the entire city with a single attack.

However, the Wind Affinity beasts could completely obliterate a ballista or a group of Mages. Because of that, they were the higher priority.

The teams quickly engaged their targets.

Shang saw that most teams followed similar strategies, but there were variations.

Most teams had a very fast and agile warrior attack first to gain the attention of the beast. The beast would try its best to hit the warrior.

Due to the power difference, the warrior couldn't possibly block these attacks. The difference in power between their bodies was just too vast. If someone with heavy armor and a heavy shield attacked the beast, they would very quickly be flung into the distance.

Because of that, evasion was the only viable option to survive a beast's attack at that level.

Every team also used bows and arrows. Some of the bows Shang saw released arrows at unreal speeds.

Of course, due to the powerful defense of the beasts, the arrows only scratched them. Some blood was drawn here and there, but none of the injuries were fatal.

Of course, the beasts weren't stupid. After realizing that it wasn't easy to kill the hunter in front of it, the beast very quickly focused on the ones shooting the arrows.

Just like a swarm of fish, the team would disperse until the beast could only target a single human. The chased hunter would put the bow away and take out their weapon.

And surprisingly, this hunter also used a very fast weapon.

It was almost like the hunter had drawn the beast to them.

At that point, the strategies of the teams varied.

Some of them continued shooting arrows at the beast while juggling the beast between them.

Some of them charged directly in after the beast was sufficiently distracted.

Some of them just kept fleeing while bombarding the beast with arrows.

Some of them continued going just like this until the beast got used to how the team fought. But if the beast targeted a specific hunter, the hunter would suddenly take out a gigantic weapon and unleash a devastating attack. The beast wouldn't be prepared for such a powerful attack.

There were many strategies among the teams, but one thing was the same with all the teams.

Their teamwork was absolutely stellar.

It was basically perfect.

Of course, these tactics mostly only worked on beasts that attacked with their body.

One shouldn't forget that there were also beasts that attacked with their Affinity, and those fights were very different.

An Earth Affinity beast that attacked with its Affinity also had a way more powerful defense on average. After all, if one constantly attacked from a distance, speed wasn't as important.

At that point, the hunters would have to close in on the beast and attack it from a close range. Of course, the hunters were all very experienced, and they also had ways to deal with such beasts.

Some of them unleashed devastating attacks with very heavy weapons, while others used Magical items to damage their prey.

One of the hunters had taken out a shining Mana crystal and had thrown it at a beast made of nothing but stone. As soon as the Mana crystal hit the beast, it exploded and left behind a terrifying crater in its body. The remaining hunters used the opening to kill the beast.

The teams showed incredible versatility and teamwork. Everything had basically been perfected.

And then, there were the Mages.

There hadn't been a lot of Mages that followed the hunters, but there had been a couple of them.

Shang could see five teams of Mages from where he was. He could only see the southern side from his position.

These five teams targeted the biggest and most powerful beasts on the ground. One fireball killed every single one except for the ones with the most powerful defensive abilities.

But those would die with a second one.

If a beast survived the first blast, it certainly wouldn't be in a condition to counterattack. The second blast followed very quickly, and the beast would be torn apart.

Shang noticed that no team of hunters targeted these mighty beasts.

The difference between warriors and Mages was laid bare in front of Shang yet again.

The hunting teams couldn't even fight the strongest beasts while the Mages tore them apart with ease.

The difference was shocking.

While all of this was going on, several Earth Mages had also jumped to the base of Warrior's Paradise. They weren't here to fight but to repair the mountain.

They all took out huge piles of ore and stone to repair the damage the mountain had received when the Storm Eagle had passed over the city.

Shang watched the hunters and Mages work with fire in his eyes.

Everyone involved was far above his level, but he still learned a lot.

Shang managed to analyze all the different beasts that were fighting. Hearing about abilities and names was different from actually seeing the beast in action.

Sure enough, this opportunity to watch the war was valuable. No wonder every student wanted the quota.

In front of Shang, a practical demonstration of the most powerful humans and beasts around took place, and it would continue for several hours.

The knowledge he gained by watching couldn't be evaluated in gold.

For the next couple of hours, Shang simply watched the fighting going on below him.

From time to time, Shang asked Yiral something, and he would always answer with an explanation.

Shang's knowledge about warriors, beasts, and Mages rose with every second.

Chapter 162 Exploding Mountain Turtle

"Get down!" Yiral shouted, but Shang was faster. He had already jumped down from the wall before Yiral could even start shouting.

BOOOM!

A second later, an explosion of wind occurred above them as a bird with an incredibly long beak shot towards one of the ballistae.

The ballista barely missed the Spear Stork, and it was about to be destroyed.

BANG!

Suddenly, the officer in golden armor jumped forward and blocked the attack with a tower shield. Surprisingly, the officer managed to halt the attack of the Spear Stork, but the entire tower began to shake under the stress.

The Spear Stork was only in the Early Commander Stage while the commander was at the Peak. So, even though he was a human, their bodies were about equal right now due to the difference in their levels.

Yet, the wind of the Spear Stork still broke the ballista. It would need to be repaired.

SHING!

The commander took out a spear and stabbed the Spear Stork's chest.

CRK!

The Spear Stork's ribcage was destroyed as the spear destroyed its insides. With a kick, the officer threw the Spear Stork over the wall.

"Report!" the officer shouted as he looked at the soldiers beside him.

"The limb has been destroyed! It will take about a minute to repair!" a soldier with a silver uniform shouted as he summoned a new limb.

A limb was the long part at the front of a crossbow. It was the part that held the string in place.

The officer quickly gave several commands as he stepped to the front of the tower in a defensive position.

This was already the second time this had happened in the last couple of hours.

Shang had been watching and learning for over four hours already.

In these last four hours, Shang had learned an insane amount of information. Every second, he was learning more and more just by watching others fight.

By now, things had calmed down a little bit, but not by much. There were fewer beasts than in the initial wave, but there were still a lot.

The Mages were still bombarding all the powerful beasts they saw, but they didn't need to fire continuously.

The Spear Stork had only been at the Initial Commander Stage, which was why the Mages had ignored it. It was the task of the ballistae to deal with these weak beasts.

The warriors were incredibly good at firing the ballistae, and they had a hit rate of over 95%!

Yet 95% meant that one in twenty hits would still miss, and this Spear Stork had been one of these misses.

However, the Mages were even better at hitting. In the last couple of hours, they had only let a single beast through, which had been a Peak Commander Stage Spear Stork.

Spear Storks were already insanely fast, and one at the Peak Commander Stage was definitely in a class of its own when it came to speed. Not even the Mages had been able to hit it.

However, before the Spear Stork had reached the Mages, its head suddenly exploded, and its body hit the mountain below Warrior's Paradise.

Shang hadn't seen what had killed the Spear Stork, but there was only one thing with such destructive power in Warrior's Paradise.

The Dean had attacked.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Shang had only seen a black streak light up for an instant. In the beginning, he hadn't been sure what that black streak was, but he realized what it was when he saw the Dean stand on the walls with his black spear in his hand.

He had thrown the spear, and the spear had returned of its own volition.

Sword could already move on its own with a bit of speed. A sentient weapon at the True Path Stage could probably move far faster.

By now, it was noon. According to what Yiral had said, the Day of Chaos didn't go over the entire day. It generally stopped late in the afternoon or early in the evening.

This meant that about half the time had already passed. Four or so more hours, and the Day of Chaos would end.

Shang jumped on the wall again and continued watching. By now, he had gotten used to the Mages' terrifying power. There was no way to compare a Mage with a warrior.

Warriors needed to fight in teams over the course of a drawn-out battle to kill a beast.

Meanwhile, a Mage could unleash one or two spells to deal with one.

Even more, the Mages weren't only superior in terms of destructive potential. No, they also moved faster than the warriors.

They weren't running around, but from time to time, they simply shot to the side with absolutely insane speeds.

This was probably the Mana Step Shang had heard about in Vice-Dean Ranos' class.

Over 90% of the beasts couldn't even get close to the Mage.

The 10% that got close would find themselves far away again after the Mage used Mana Step. From those 10%, only 3% managed to get close again.

And from those 3%?

At that point, the Mages would simply use different kinds of Spells to keep the enemy at bay.

Fire Mages exploded the area in front of them to create a smokescreen.

Wind Mages created powerful wind to hinder their opponent while casting their destructive spells.

Earth Mages simply created barriers.

And that was when even the remaining beasts found their death.

Of course, these Mages were only fighting beasts on their level. They weren't jumping levels, but their dominance over opponents on the same level was already impressive enough.

Another two hours passed, and the beasts calmed down even more.

Around 10% of the fighting warriors had died, which was average for a Day of Chaos.

Only one Mage died because he had been targeted by two incredibly fast beasts at the same time while dealing with a third one.

That had just been horrible luck.

"Soran will do the procedure."

Shang turned to the side as he suddenly heard a deep voice.

He saw that the Dean had suddenly appeared beside Shang as he looked at the horizon.

Shang wasn't sure what the Dean was talking about at this moment. "What?" he asked.

"A True Path beast has attacked the Empress Cobra Zone, and Whirlwind is busy dealing with it," the Dean said without acknowledging Shang's words.

Shang took a deep breath.

A True Path beast!

"Red Alert!"

Shang suddenly heard the officer in golden armor shout. "It's an ancient Exploding Mountain Turtle!"

"Soran will do the procedure in case I don't return," the Dean said.

For some reason, the Dean's words only entered Shang's ears. Even Yiral, who was directly beside Shang, didn't hear them.

At that moment, Shang's eyes widened as he realized what the Dean meant.

Duke Whirlwind was busy with the Empress Cobra Zone.

And now, a True Path beast was also attacking the Storm Eagle Zone!

As the only True Path Stage warrior in Warrior's Paradise, it was up to the Dean to deal with that beast.

However, the Dean was a warrior.

Even though the Dean was the most powerful warrior in the world, a True Path Stage beast was probably even more powerful than him.

SHING!

A burst of air pushed Shang against the wall as the Dean shot into the distance.

In the distance, in the Canyon, a mountain was slowly moving forward.

It was nearly 500 meters tall.

This was the Dean's enemy, the Exploding Mountain Turtle!

Chapter 163 Someone

Shang looked over the wall, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

This was a turtle?!

Shang could only see a mountain move across the Canyon!

It swayed to the left and right as it slowly crept forward. From time to time, the mountain hit one of the Eternal Spires, which quickly began to vibrate. Some ore fell from the Eternal Spires from time to time, but most of them were still in one piece.

However, Shang knew that if the turtle decided to destroy the Eternal Spires, it could do so. It was just too troublesome to destroy the Eternal Spires, which was why it walked around them.

Additionally, if such a gigantic Spire collapsed onto the turtle, even it would feel that. After all, the Eternal Spires weighed way too much.

"Mages, red alert protocol!" the officer in golden armor shouted.

Shang looked over and saw the Mages on the wall move around. Nearly half of them were gathering in one place while the other ones continued shooting at the powerful flying beasts.

The Mages in the Wasteland retreated closer to Warrior's Paradise as half of them suddenly shot to the sky as they activated their Jumping Talismans.

The hunters also retreated to the north. Up to now, there had been a dividing line going from the east of Warrior's Paradise to the west. Now, it moved up north, creating a protrusion in the dividing line. The protrusion was Warrior's Paradise.

This meant that more beasts would attack Warrior's Paradise and that fewer beasts would attack the hunters. After a while, the beasts came closer to Warrior's Paradise. The remaining Mages in the Wasteland bombarded the beasts, but with the added pressure together with their fewer numbers, several beasts were closing in.

BANG!

Suddenly, one of the beasts was split apart together with the ground beneath it.

Just now, the Mana Austerum in the middle of the city had shone with a green light.

At the same time, at the base of the Mana Austerum, some of the Mana Stones that had gathered the pure Wind Mana had turned grey.

The Mana Austerum shone green from time to time, and in the end, no beasts managed to reach Warrior's Paradise.

Several beasts noticed that other beasts had died a mysterious death, and they decided to avoid Warrior's Paradise.

They traveled further north, which was where the hunters were waiting.

Initially, the pressure had been normal for the hunters.

Then, when the line had retreated, the pressure on them had let up.

No, the pressure returned to normal with the added beasts charging to the north.

Everything was planned perfectly.

The Mana Austerum dealt with the added pressure after so many Mages had jumped back into Warrior's Paradise.

Of course, every single use of the Mana Austerum burned money, but that was still better than Warrior's Paradise being destroyed.

The Mages that had come back to Warrior's Paradise were manning the defenses while nearly half the Mages gathered in one gigantic diagram.

The Mages all stood in certain places, and their bodies formed several rings that extended into each other.

At the place where all rings met were two old men. One of them wore expensive green robes while the other wore expensive grey robes.

Shang hadn't seen a grey-robed Mage yet, but he had learned about them in Vice-Dean Ranos' class.

They were Mages that focused on Element-Neutral Magic.

Soul, Mind, Arcane, Mana Manipulation, and all such things counted to Element-Neutral Magic.

The Mages all began to chant.

Boom!

Shang could hear a loud explosion coming from the distance, and he looked over.

The gigantic mountain had stepped out of the Canyon!

Now, Shang could see the entire thing.

At first glance, this beast definitely didn't look like a turtle. It simply looked like a walking mountain with giant feet made of stone.

However, a head filled with stone shards and stone spires extended out of the mountain as it looked down on everything beneath it.

The head resembled the head of a snapping turtle a lot. Its stone spires and stone shards reminded Shang of the aggressive outcroppings of the scales of a snapping turtle.

In a way, it resembled a dragon's head quite a lot.

It seemed ancient, aggressive, mighty, and filled with wisdom.

The explosion Shang had heard had come from a step the Exploding Mountain Turtle had taken.

Cold sweat ran down Shang's back as he saw this monster.

It was a moving fortress!

It was a moving island!

It was a moving mountain!

It didn't move very fast, but it didn't need to.

It still moved faster than a city, which was all the speed it needed right now.

"Is this normal?" Shang asked absentmindedly as he looked with shocked eyes at the Exploding Mountain Turtle.

"No, it's not," Yiral said from the side. For the first time, Shang could hear nervousness in Yiral's voice. "Around every second Day of Chaos, one True Path Stage beast leaves its area in either the Empress Cobra Zone or the Storm Eagle Zone."

"When they exit, Duke Whirlwind deals with them most of the time, but I can't see the duke here today. That probably means that there is something holding him up, which is probably another True Path beast."

Shang nodded. Yiral hadn't heard the Dean's words, but he was right. The Dean had told Shang that there was a True Path Stage beast in the Empress Cobra Zone too.

"Every four years or so, there are two True Path Stage beasts that leave their area," Yiral said. "However, as far as I know, they have never left their area at the same time."

"Over the course of eight hours, what are the chances of two such powerful beasts leaving their habitat at the same time?" Yiral said with uncertainty.

Neither Shang nor Yiral spoke for a while.

"Do you think there's something behind that sudden change?" Shang asked.

Yiral looked with furrowed brows at the distant Exploding Mountain Turtle.

"Less something, and more someone," he said.

Shang lifted an eyebrow. "Do you think a human is involved?"

"The duchies and kingdoms are at peace, but only superficially. There is an intense competition and conflict going on, and many people would benefit from Warrior's Paradise's destruction," Yiral said.

"If Duke Whirlwind loses his biggest symbol of status and wealth, he would be less valuable for the Skythunder Kingdom," Yiral explained.

Shang became more nervous as he looked at the approaching Exploding Mountain Turtle.

If this were a coincidence, it wouldn't be so bad. After all, coincidences happened at random.

However, if a human was behind this, it meant that the human had planned around everything and that they were very certain in their plan to succeed.

The Exploding Mountain Turtle was moving rather slowly, which should give them a lot of time to prepare.

But if the planning human was still willing to go through with their plan, it meant that the speed of the Exploding Mountain Turtle had already been accounted for.

That meant that its speed didn't matter.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ As Yiral and Shang became more nervous, the Dean had finally arrived at the Exploding Mountain Turtle.

And then, the Exploding Mountain Turtle showed why it carried its name.

Chapter 164 Betrayal

Suddenly, a hole opened up in the mountain on the Exploding Mountain Turtle's back.

The hole was dark, and Shang couldn't see what was inside it from his current distance.

The Dean was running towards the turtle, but he was still about a kilometer away.

And then…

BOOOM!

Shang's eyes widened as he saw the ground in front of the Dean explode!

It had happened instantaneously!

An instant later, the Dean exploded out of the dust cloud uninjured, and he continued running towards the Exploding Mountain Turtle.

After some seconds, the dust cloud vanished, and Shang could see what had caused the explosion.

It was a ten-meter-wide rock!

A 50-meter-wide crater had formed around the rock, and cracks were visible all around it.

'The turtle has shot that gigantic rock out of that hole with such insane speeds?!' Shang thought in shock.

Such an attack was even more destructive than the gigantic fireballs the Mages had formed to take down the powerful flying beasts!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Shang looked away from the rock as he heard three explosions happening in only a single second.

More holes had opened up in the turtle's body, and it had fired three rocks at once!

The Dean was no longer running in a straight line but zigzagging.

If only a single rock hit him, he would turn into a puddle!

At that moment, Shang realized that the Dean might actually die.

The Dean had always felt incredibly powerful to Shang, but that beast in front of him was even more dangerous!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Even more holes opened up on the mountain, and more rocks shot out of them.

One explosion after the other rang throughout the horizons as dust without end surrounded the turtle's and the Dean's bodies.

The turtle was shooting out five rocks per second now!

The turtle's body didn't even sway while firing these rocks, and it continued walking forward like it wasn't doing anything else!

It was truly worthy of the name Exploding Mountain Turtle.

By now, Shang couldn't see the fight anymore. There was too much dust around the two combatants.

However, Shang heard more and more explosions, which meant that the Dean was still alive in there.

The Dean should be in attacking range by now, but the rocks also shot downward around the turtle. Even more, due to the small distance between the holes and the Dean, evading the rocks became even harder for the Dean.

Shang knew that the Dean was powerful, but that might be even too much for him.

The Dean might have managed to evade every single rock up to now, but how long would that last?

A single hit and he would die.

A single mistake, and it would be the end.

Even if the Dean managed to evade 99% of all rocks, it would only take the turtle 20 seconds to unleash 100 rocks!

Shang's heart rate climbed higher and higher.

If the Dean died, would Shang be able to survive?

If the Dean died and the turtle focused on Warrior's Paradise, would he even be able to escape?

Judging by the speed of the rocks, Shang could very well imagine that the Exploding Mountain Turtle could hit them from its current location.

If Warrior's Paradise were bombarded by this turtle…

It would turn the entire city into rubble!

Suddenly, Shang felt an incredible amount of Fire Mana gather on the wall, and he looked over.

Above the circles of Mages, a ten-meter-wide fireball had appeared!

Shang had never felt so much Fire Mana in his life!

The big fireballs from earlier were nothing in comparison to this gigantic one!

Shang was certain if that fireball hit the Exploding Mountain Turtle, even it would sustain severe injuries.

This fireball was essentially a miniature nuke!

Now, Shang realized why the Dean had attacked the Exploding Mountain Turtle, even if he basically had no chance of victory.

He had to distract the turtle for the fireball to hit. The fireball would probably move at incredible speeds, but with a single rock, the Exploding Mountain Turtle could destroy it from a distance.

The Exploding Mountain Turtle had to be fully focused on an enemy around it. That was the only way how the fireball could hit!

The surrounding Mages stopped chanting. Only the two in the middle continued.

Then, the two of them stopped as well.

The Mage in grey robes looked at the Mage in green robes with furrowed brows.

The Mage in green robes nodded with a grimace.

The Mage in grey robes gritted his teeth.

The Mage in green robes pointed at the Mana Austerum, which quickly began to shine green.

A green light left the gigantic fireball and entered the Mana Austerum. Down below, a couple of Mana Stones were filled with Wind Mana.

Shang grimaced.

He had expected such an outcome.

If this were merely a coincidence, it wouldn't be so troublesome. After all, the gathered power of over 70 True Mages was terrifying. Even a True Path Stage beast would get severely injured by such an attack.

However, since this was planned by a human, they had probably known about the Mages.

They had made plans to ruin the defense.

The grey-robed Mage looked at the Exploding Mountain Turtle with a frown.

And then, the fireball shot at it.

However, since all the Wind Mana had been sucked out of the fireball, it was comparatively slow.

Sure enough, the turtle noticed the gigantic fireball in the distance and shot a rock at it.

BOOOOOOOM!

The fireball exploded far away from the turtle, creating an explosion over a hundred meters wide. The shockwave ravaged the land as dust was thrown towards the horizon.

At the same time, the green-robed Mage spoke a loud, unfamiliar word.

Six Mages in green robes were illuminated inside the circle, and their eyes widened in shock.

SHING! SHING!

The green-robed Mage in the middle suddenly unleashed two waves of wind, and two of the Mages were split apart vertically.

Obviously, these Wind Mages were the traitors.

Shang could tell what had happened.

The enemy had sent some Wind Mages to sabotage this attack. They had probably delivered incorrect Mana, which would have thrown the Spell out of balance. If that Spell had been unleashed, it might have shot in a random direction.

It might have shot towards a tower or into the middle of Warrior's Paradise.

The calculations had probably been prepared beforehand.

Shang guessed that the fireball would have probably shot at the Mana Austerum if the Wind Mana hadn't been siphoned out.

The Mages wouldn't have screwed with the Fire Mana since that could have led to the fireball exploding amongst them. The Mages might be enemy agents, but they wouldn't want to die.

Luckily, the two Mages in the center had been prepared, and they had already had a Magic Circle prepared to keep track of the delivered Mana, which allowed them to find the traitors.

At the same time the green-robed Mage killed two traitors, the grey-robed Mage pointed at two other Wind Mages.

The Wind Mages immediately lost their consciousness and fell over.

They had been subject to a Mind Attack.

The remaining two Mages very quickly realized what was going on and were about to run away.

But suddenly, a red shadow appeared behind one of them.

The Mage had been caught by surprise, and he hadn't even been able to create his Mana Shield or use his Mana Step.

The red shadow had simply appeared out of nowhere!

SHING!

The Mage was cut into four pieces as two curved swords slashed through him.

It was Vice-Dean Ranos!

The other Mage saw that she was the last one and quickly created a Mana Barrier.

The other Mages were looking on in shock and confusion.

What had happened?!

Why did their Spell fail?!

Vice-Dean Ranos shot at the last Mage, and she quickly readied her Mana Step.

Vice-Dean Ranos pointed towards the Mage's left and right.

Several crystals shot out of Vice-Dean Ranos' arms and hit the surroundings of the last Mage.

An avalanche of different Elemental Mana surrounded the Mage now, and the Mana around her became unstable.

Suddenly, the Mage vanished as she used Mana Step.

50 meters in the distance, she materialized again, and she jumped into the city.

She spoke more words, but her face turned into shock mid-fall.

BANG!

She landed on a house below her, falling through the roof.

Vice-Dean Ranos shot after her.

Vice-Dean Ranos had lots of experience when it came to dealing with Mages.

His opponent was a Wind Mage, and the most common tactic for Wind Mages was to use Mana Step to get away and then use a Wind Element Spell to become more mobile.

The crystals he had unleashed had coated her in mixed Mana, ruining her Wind Spell.

Because of that, her Spell failed, which meant that she fell into the house.

Vice-Dean Ranos jumped over the wall.

SHING!

Suddenly, a huge, red crystal appeared in Vice-Dean Ranos' hand, and he threw it into the hole of the house.

BOOOOOM!

The entire house exploded in a ball of fire!

Vice-Dean Ranos summoned an azure Mana Stone, and his armor absorbed the Ice Mana that had just been released.

Then, Vice-Dean Ranos landed in the burning building.

Shang could hear several small explosions come from inside the building, but after a couple of seconds, everything calmed down.

Then, Vice-Dean Ranos walked out of the burning building with a body and a head in his hands.

He threw them to the side and looked back to the wall at the grey-robed Mage.

The grey-robed Mage nodded with a smile and gave Vice-Dean Ranos a thumbs up.

He had incapacitated the other two Mages with his Mind Magic. They were still alive, which meant that they could interrogate them for information.

Suddenly, something moved in the corner of Shang's eyes.

Shang looked over, and his heart nearly stopped.

The Exploding Mountain Turtle had jumped!

It was currently in the sky, and time had seemingly stopped.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ As if it were the only moving thing in the world, the Exploding Mountain Turtle's legs extended downward.

And then, over a hundred holes opened up in the soles of its feet.

Everyone looked over in silent shock and terror.

And then, over a hundred rocks shot at the ground below it like they had been shot out of a shotgun.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The surrounding kilometer was turned into a zone of absolute destruction!

The Exploding Mountain Turtle had realized that there was something in Warrior's Paradise that could be a danger to it after destroying the gigantic fireball. Because of that, it had decided to end the fight quickly.

BOOOOOM!

The Exploding Mountain Turtle landed, and a cloud of dust consumed it.

Silence.

For several seconds, nobody talked.

And then, the distant explosions returned, but this time, they didn't come from the rocks.

The imposing head of the Exploding Mountain Turtle peeked out of the dusty cloud.

It no longer looked at its surroundings.

There was nothing left in its vicinity that could threaten it except for Warrior's Paradise.

And that also wouldn't be a threat for much longer.

 

Chapter 165 The Plan Around The Plan

Time slowed to a crawl as the turtle looked upon the distant city.

By now, the turtle was only around 20 kilometers away. Sure, that was a great distance, but it definitely was within the turtle's range.

At that moment, Shang felt like he had come face to face with death.

What could he do?

Nothing.

Just like the entire day up to now, Shang couldn't do anything.

Everything surrounding him at this moment was far above his power. He could, at best, be an observer.

If even the most random soldier decided to kill Shang, there would be nothing he could do.

At this moment, Shang felt powerless.

His life lay in the hands of others.

Slowly, several holes opened on the mountain on the turtle's back again.

They pointed towards Warrior's Paradise.

Shang felt his hair stand on end.

BOOOOOOM!

An explosion occurred.

However, it wasn't within Warrior's Paradise.

No, it came from the turtle!

Shang's eyes widened in shock.

What had he just seen?!

Out of nowhere, a huge part of the turtle's mountain was literally blown off!

The turtle's body swayed to the side as a deep, rumbling growl came out of its mouth.

It was like the turtle had just been hit by a gigantic bullet!

Tons and tons of stone fell off the turtle's back, and blood began to flow out of the mountain waves.

It was almost like a volcano had erupted, but instead of lava, it was spewing blood!

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Shang looked at the other Mages to see what they thought of what had just happened. Most Mages were just as shocked as Shang, but the green-robed and the grey-robed Mages only smirked as they looked at the turtle.

At that moment, Shang realized something.

The enemy would have planned for everything.

However, the enemy had still been caught off guard as the traitorous Wind Mages had been revealed, which meant that they had not planned around that.

Or, more precisely, the enemy of the enemy had planned around that.

Shang didn't know how these complex Magic Circles worked, but he guessed that creating a Magic Circle to find out who supplied faulty Wind Mana probably needed preparation.

That meant that Duke Whirlwind's people had been prepared.

And if they had been prepared, it meant that they had probably been prepared for everything.

The enemy had launched an attack on Warrior's Paradise, but Duke Whirlwind had planned around the attack!

However, if they simply stopped the attack, it wouldn't be enough. They also had to gain something out of it.

So, they acted like they had fallen into the trap to lure out the traitors. Now, they had killed four traitors and had two more in custody.

They had made their gains, which meant that the façade could end.

They could finally deal with the turtle.

And what did they use to deal with the turtle?

The Exploding Mountain Turtle had to take several booming steps to the side to regain its balance after such a huge part of its body had been blasted off.

During that time, an inconspicuous speck in the distance slowly landed on the ground.

It was a man with long green hair, Wind Mana storming around him.

It was Duke Whirlwind!

Duke Whirlwind glared at the turtle as he extended his left arm forward. "You better not have killed my friend," he whispered.

At that moment, a black speck shot out of a dust cloud and fled to the distance.

It was the Dean!

However, nearly half of the Dean's body was destroyed, and his spear was carrying him to the distance since he couldn't run on his own.

Duke Whirlwind saw him and smiled a bit.

Then, he looked back at the turtle. "Seems like your death will be swift, after all."

Meanwhile, the turtle had recovered, and it glared at Duke Whirlwind from above.

Over ten holes opened up on its mountain, and in an instant, over ten gigantic rocks were shot out of its back.

CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!

Duke Whirlwind waved his left arm around. With each wave, it was like he was batting away the stones with a gigantic, illusory hand. In the end, all of the stones had missed Duke Whirlwind.

"Trying to fight against a Mage in ranged combat," Duke Whirlwind ridiculed.

Duke Whirlwind slowly walked forward as something appeared in his right hand.

It was a perfectly cut crystal with several emerald circlets revolving around it. In total, there were four emerald circlets around the crystal.

"He's using his Focus," Yiral said from beside Shang. He knew that Shang couldn't see it from this distance.

"How many rings does it have?" Shang asked. By now, Shang had learned what a Focus was.

"Four," Yiral said.

Shang took a deep breath. "Just as I've expected, Duke Whirlwind isn't just an ordinary High Mage."

What was a Focus?

A Focus was the primary weapon of a Mage. Not only did it allow the Mage to cast several spells, but the Focus also gathered Mana from the surroundings to further strengthen any spells it cast.

Focuses were the most expensive equipment Mages had to buy in their lives, consuming most of their wealth.

The circlets described how powerful the Focus was.

A High Mage could only use a Focus with up to four circlets, but that didn't mean that every High Mage had one.

Due to the price of the Focuses, buying a Focus with four circlets required the High Mage to have killed and sold at least 20 True Path beasts.

On top of that, the crystal in the center could also be of different qualities, increasing the price even more.

Judging by the Focus Duke Whirlwind was using, Shang didn't think that he was just an ordinary High Mage.

Duke Whirlwind was probably, at least, in the Mid High Mage Realm.

And the Exploding Mountain Turtle?

It was in the Early True Path Realm.

The Exploding Mountain Turtle continued bombarding Duke Whirlwind with stones as it slowly walked back.

Duke Whirlwind kept using his Wind Mana to deflect the stones to the side as he slowly advanced, Focus in his right hand.

And just two seconds later, the Focus began to shine with a green light.

BOOOOOM!

The turtle's mountain exploded, the top half shooting into the distance as rubble.

The Exploding Mountain Turtle released a painful and intimidating shout, but it didn't help.

BOOOOOM!

Another explosion occurred a second later, and a gigantic chunk of the turtle's left half was destroyed.

The force that hit the turtle flipped it over, creating a quake in the Wasteland.

This time, Duke Whirlwind didn't immediately unleash his next spell.

However, he still spoke Incantations at ridiculous speeds.

And five seconds later, he was done.

Duke Whirlwind held his Focus high.

BOOOOOOM!

From a distance, Shang only saw the air between Duke Whirlwind and the Exploding Mountain Turtle vibrate and distort as the sound of grinding metal and stone echoed throughout the horizons.

And then, Shang saw the turtle separate into two pieces!

A clean cut went through the entire turtle's body!

Its organs were flowing out of its body as blood filled the Wasteland.

The Exploding Mountain Turtle became quieter and quieter until it eventually stopped making sounds.

It was dead.

Duke Whirlwind put his Focus away, summoned a handkerchief, and cleaned his hands.

"And that's that."

Chapter 166 The Day Of Chaos Ends

As soon as the turtle died, the soldiers and Mages cheered.

They wouldn't need to die today!

However, Shang only took a deep breath.

This hadn't even been a fight!

Duke Whirlwind had essentially just played around with the Exploding Mountain Turtle!

The very thing that had threatened everyone, including the city and the Dean, had been taken care of by Duke Whirlwind with just a couple of waves of his hands.

Many things had happened recently, but from when the Dean had attacked the Exploding Mountain Turtle to its demise, barely two minutes had passed.

In two minutes, the Mages had finished their spell, had failed in it, had dealt with the traitors, and Duke Whirlwind had dealt with the threat.

Even if Duke Whirlwind had moved at his maximum speed, he wouldn't have been able to get here from the Empress Cobra Zone in just two minutes.

This meant that Duke Whirlwind had never actually fought the True Path Stage beast in the Empress Cobra Zone.

He had been here from the very beginning!

By now, the Dean's body had started to recover, and he could walk on his own.

From a distance, Shang could see the Dean talk with Duke Whirlwind as they walked back to Warrior's Paradise.

He didn't know what they were talking about, but they didn't seem to be nervous or in a rush.

Apparently, Duke Whirlwind didn't need to hurry to the Empress Cobra Zone to deal with the True Path beast there, which meant that someone else was probably dealing with it.

By now, no more Commander Stage beasts were leaving the Canyon. Earlier, they had been scared of the Exploding Mountain Turtle. A lot of them had fled the Canyon, but many others had decided to hide.

One had to remember that most beasts of the Canyon had been hidden deep underground from the very beginning.

Powerful Wind Affinity beasts hid in the caves in the Eternal Spires.

Powerful Earth Affinity beasts hid underground.

Only the ones that hadn't had a hiding place had fled to the Wasteland.

And now, after seeing the corpse of the True Path Stage beast in the Wasteland, their motivation to stay only solidified.

The Mages and ballistae dealt with the last remaining Wind Affinity Commander Stage beasts.

After that, the Mages jumped to the Wasteland again to clean up.

In just 30 minutes, no more battles took place.

The Day of Chaos had essentially ended.

The only missing part was the official conclusion.

"You can walk around now," the officer in golden armor said to Shang and Yiral. For the past hours, he had completely ignored them as if they didn't even exist. "It's over."

"But you shouldn't leave Warrior's Paradise unless you want to die."

After saying that, the officer ignored Shang and Yiral again.

"So, what did you think of today?" Yiral asked.

Shang looked at the distance. Duke Whirlwind and the Dean had already returned to Warrior's Paradise.

"Today, I learned how truly powerless I am still," Shang said.

"I only look at my classmates and compare my power to them, but all my classmates would be just as helpless as I am today."

"The academy is only one step on my path to power."

"Beyond my classmates are the hunters."

"Beyond the hunters are the teachers."

"Beyond the teachers are the True Mages."

"And beyond the True Mages are the beings in the Fourth Realm."

"And beyond those are the Kings."

"And beyond those, the Zone Beasts."

"I still have a long way to go," Shang said. He wasn't sure if he was speaking to Yiral or to himself.

"That's the purpose of why you are here," Yiral said. "Back on my first Day of Chaos, I felt the same way. I was just as helpless as you back then."

"And I am still helpless now. The best I can do is to pull you to safety with my experience, but that's it."

"Remember this day. Never strive to be the best of your Grade, but the best overall."

"Don't compare yourself to other students but to yourself."

Shang listened to Yiral's words and burned them into his memory.

"Thank you for everything today. Without you, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to see the true power of the world," Shang said.

"You should thank teacher Niria, not me. I'm here because she told me to," Yiral said.

"I will thank her as well," Shang said.

The two of them could move around now, but they decided to stay. They could return to the academy, but there was something they wanted to witness.

Over the next hours, the soldiers calmed down and chatted with each other, leaving only a couple of them on standby near the ballistae.

The Mages had already left the walls. From what Shang had heard, the Mages were having a gathering to discuss everything about today.

Shang wasn't the only one that had learned a lot today.

Even for True Mages, seeing beings in the Fourth Realm act was still something they could learn from.

Two hours later, the soldiers began to go near the northern edges of the wall.

The Mages had returned to the walls to watch.

It was the early evening, and everyone in the city was waiting.

And finally, it was time.

In the distance, a gigantic green shadow appeared above a mountain.

The Storm Eagle had returned.

This time, Shang got a better look at it.

It was absolutely massive.

Shang guessed that it probably had a wingspan of over five kilometers, which was inconceivable for a living being.

One of its wings completely covered the entirety of Warrior's Paradise.

Shang looked at the Storm Eagle in awe.

Then, he saw it open its beak.

"Hey, wake up!"

"Wh- what?"

Shang realized that everything was dark, and he opened his eyes.

As Shang opened his eyes, he saw Yiral looking down on him with a grimace.

He seemed to be in pain.

Why was he in pain?

Then, Shang noticed that he was also in pain. However, he had only been able to feel the pain after asking himself if he also was in pain.

He wasn't in much pain. It was only about as painful as a strong concussion.

He barely noticed it.

"What happened?" Shang asked in confusion.

Hadn't he just watched the Storm Eagle pass over them?

"It screeched," Yiral said with a grimace. "You've been out for around ten minutes."

Shang quickly sat up, but for a moment, he felt like his world was spinning.

It had screeched?

"That's exactly why no teacher takes students in the Beginner Grade with them."

Shang looked to his side as he heard a familiar voice.

It was teacher Niria!

"Have you learned something today?" she asked.

Shang was still a bit perplexed by the sudden shift.

It was like he had been teleported from one place to the next in an instant.

Just now, he had watched the Storm Eagle, and an instant later, he woke up on the ground.

But in the end, Shang nodded. "I learned a lot. Thank you, teacher Niria. Thanks to you, my horizons have been expanded."

"No thanks necessary," teacher Niria said. "You were the best hunter, and you deserved it. Now, get down from the walls. The guards are already shifting around uncomfortably. They want us gone but don't want to be too rude."

At the side, the guards looked away.

Shang stood up as his mind slowly stopped spinning.

After that, he followed teacher Niria down from the wall.

Yiral quickly said his goodbyes and went to his home in the Farm Line.

Shang talked with teacher Niria about what he had learned, and she elaborated further on the things Shang had learned.

When it was dusk, the two of them separated.

Shang went back to his room and sat on his bed in silence.

"The Day of Chaos," he silently said to himself.

Silence.

"Today, I have been helpless."

"Today, I was only a watcher."

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ "Maybe the next time, I will still be a watcher."

"But the time after that, I will be powerful enough to truly take part in the Day of Chaos."

"I might not become powerful enough to be a help in Warrior's Paradise, but I will be powerful enough to defend the Farm Line from the General Stage beasts."

For over an hour, Shang only thought about everything he had witnessed today.

He understood why every single student desired the quotas for the Day of Chaos.

This was an invaluable experience, something money couldn't buy.

And then, Shang stood up with newfound conviction in his eyes.

"I need to become more powerful!"

"More powerful," Sword said.

Shang looked at Sword and nodded. "Let's start right now!"

"Start," Sword answered.

And then, the two of them began to train in their techniques.

Shang would train harder than ever before, and he would put his everything into learning about this world!

His first goal: Become the best student in the academy!

 

Chapter 167 First Semester

Time passed.

Shang's conviction had been reaffirmed by the Day of Chaos.

This time, he had been helpless during the Day of Chaos, but in the future, he wouldn't be as helpless.

Right now, Shang was at a level of power where he didn't count as relevant to any major cities. Sure, Shang could probably become a high-ranking officer in a town, but his goals went much further than that.

Shang trained until the life in the academy went back to normal. The piles of corpses had been cleaned up by the hunters and had been sold for profit.

Warrior's Paradise had spent a ridiculous sum of money for the Day of Chaos, but it had earned far more.

This was what Warrior's Paradise was all about: Finding profit in danger!

And thus, Shang's life in the Warrior's Academy continued.

During the mornings, Shang took part in whatever theoretical lesson was available. The lessons mostly consisted of politics, geography, and Magic.

During the afternoon, Shang took part in the lesson for the Caterpillar Class.

During the evening, Shang took part in either sword training or in beast classes.

During the early night, Shang trained with Sword.

During the late night, Shang either concentrated on his Affinity or went to sleep. Of course, he still slept very rarely.

Days passed.

A week passed.

Two weeks passed.

Shang went to sleep again. He felt like shit again, but it wasn't as bad as the previous times. With each time he went to sleep, he adapted more and more.

A month passed.

By now, Shang had been in the academy for two months.

"Seems like you win again, Shang!" Astor shouted with a loud laugh.

By now, Shang had managed to increase his win rate against Astor to above 50%.

"I still have an advantage in level," Shang said to Astor.

"So? Don't compare yourself to others but look at your past self. Yes, you are at a higher level than me, but you have made tremendous progress. Right now, I'm learning more from you than you from me during our fights," Astor said with a smile.

In the beginning, Astor had appeared a bit proud and distant, but by now, he had warmed up to Shang.

Astor was actually a very sociable warrior. He was the typical, gruff warrior one would imagine.

Another two weeks passed.

"Five Javelin beaks," the clerk in the Hunting Guild said as he put 1,250 gold on the counter. "Not bad. Keep at it."

Another month passed.

"Look at this guy," a random person in the swordsmanship class said. "He actually managed to beat level four by now."

"So? He's at the same level as the teacher's help. He's still way too weak," another guy said.

"Sure, but the guy is from the Caterpillar Class, right? They're generally not that powerful."

"Oh? He's from the Caterpillar Class? Then, sure, he's not bad, I think."

Another month passed.

"You are in the top 48%, Shang," Vice-Dean Soran said to Shang as he handed him a piece of paper. "You made quite a bit of progress in a short amount of time. Not bad."

The end-of-year exams had just taken place. The entire Grade would take part in a tournament, and the bottom 10% would be expelled from the school.

Shang had placed in the top 48%.

That means that he was about average.

By now, Shang had been in the academy for about five months.

In the beginning, he had been at the absolute bottom. He had been one of the weakest people in his Grade. He had been so weak that he had even been put in the Advanced Grade, a grade filled with students a level weaker than him.

"I think we can put you in the Preparation Grade now," Vice-Dean Soran said.

When Shang heard that, he became excited.

He was finally powerful enough to fight people of his level!

But wait, hadn't Shang only reached the average for the Advanced Grade? Wouldn't he be counted as trash in the Preparation Grade?

Not really. Every class took part in the same tournament. Since the students in the Caterpillar Class were much weaker than other students, the average Caterpillar Class student was only in the top 70%.

So, in the Preparation Grade for the Caterpillar Class, Shang would essentially count as slightly below-average. He definitely was ready to advance a Grade.

After that day, Shang joined the Preparation Grade.

He met his new classmates, who welcomed him.

Shang didn't feel too weak, and he was on their level.

The only special thing about him was his age, but the class didn't really care.

Now, Shang didn't only need to fight Astor anymore. Now, he had so many more opponents!

As Shang advanced a Grade, the other lessons changed as well.

The theoretical lessons now mostly talked about General Stage beasts, Adepts, and General Stage warriors.

All the lessons were focused on preparing the students for their life as General Stage warriors.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ The teachers didn't change for Shang. Teachers weren't assigned a Grade but a lesson. One teacher taught all Grades but at different times of the day so that the lessons didn't overlap.

The Beginner Grade was special since they hadn't chosen their profession yet, which meant that their lesson schedule was also very different.

Because of that, the three lessons per day were shifted.

Now, Shang's day started with swordsmanship class and beast class, followed by theoretical classes. In the evening, Shang would take part in the Caterpillar Class lesson.

One would assume that Shang would have it tough in the Preparation Grade, but that was not the case. Shang's starting place for the Preparation Grade was much higher than his starting place for the Advanced Grade before.

He had fully integrated.

He was no longer an oddity.

People also slowly forgot about what Shang had done in the past as time passed on.

Nobody looked at him with frightened expressions anymore.

Now, Shang was only a normal student.

He was in his appropriate Grade.

He wasn't outstanding.

But he also wasn't trash.

He was a very normal student.

Even though nobody remembered Shang's actions anymore, nobody attacked him.

Attacking people of the Preparation Grade was essentially unheard of.

Shang's life continued.

Another month passed.

By now, Shang had fully gotten used to sleeping. He still felt a bit bad every time, but he had acclimated to it.

It was normal now.

The bloodied face had also nearly completely vanished.

Shang only saw it in his dreams.

During the day, he didn't even think about it.

Another month passed.

And it was time for the Day of Chaos again.

Yes, six months had already passed.

By now, Shang had been in the academy for about seven months.

Teacher Niria had given Shang another quota, and he accepted it.

Even though nobody paid any attention to Shang, and even though he appeared extremely average, when it came to hunting, Shang was in a class of his own.

In fact, Shang had already attempted to fight General Stage beasts on his own.

However, he had always relied on a backup plan, which he inevitably had to use.

Shang was no longer helpless in front of General Stage beasts. He could fight them for a while, and even if he failed to kill them, he could still retreat.

This was part of Shang's secret training.

He was pushing himself more than anyone else when it came to beasts.

As the Day of Chaos began, Shang stood alone at the southwestern tower.

He didn't need Yiral anymore since Shang had learned to distinguish basically every beast that lived in the Storm Eagle Zone.

The Storm Eagle passed above the city again, and it was just as impressive as the first time he had seen it.

The Day of Chaos started, and Warrior's Paradise was under attack again.

But this time, no True Path Stage beast appeared.

Shang had been in danger several times, but he had always fled at appropriate times.

With his new knowledge, Shang managed to siphon out even more knowledge by watching the True Mages and Commander Stage hunters fight.

Shang knew many more theories now, and his own Martial Art had advanced by a lot.

And before he knew it, the Storm Eagle returned to the Storm Eagle Zone.

The second Day of Chaos had ended.

And Shang returned to the academy.

Chapter 168 Rise

During the first Day of Chaos, Shang had been under Yiral's protection the entire time. If Yiral hadn't been there, Shang would have died many times over.

During the second Day of Chaos, Shang managed to survive on his own. Well, at least as long as one ignored all the guards that dealt with all the beasts.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Shang had learned even more during his second Day of Chaos, and he took a several-days-long break from his classes to work on his own fighting style.

Shang returned to class, but his Battle-Strength seemingly hadn't changed.

That was because he was fighting humans.

When it came to beasts, Shang had become much more powerful over the last couple of days.

A month passed.

"Guess who's back!" Astor shouted with a wide smile as he arrived at the Preparation Grade Caterpillar Class lesson.

Astor had reached the Peak Soldier Stage!

Shang only smirked.

The two of them quickly fought.

Shang lost horribly.

By now, Shang was slightly above-average in the Preparation Grade Caterpillar Class, while Astor was outstanding.

He could already attempt to fight for the top spot in the Preparation Grade.

After the fight, Astor looked at Shang with shock.

"Man, you've become really powerful!" he said. "It's hard to imagine that you have only been here for a bit more than half a year!"

Yes, Astor had won convincingly, but the fight hadn't been easy for him. He didn't need to unleash his Affinity, but he had to fight with everything else he had.

For the first time, Shang could see his actual progress.

Astor was no longer a level weaker than Shang, but Shang had still managed to fight him for quite some time.

Of course, this fight had been a one-time thing. Shang was still a bit too weak to teach Astor something right now.

Because of that, Shang had to fight someone else from the Preparation Grade while Astor fought the most powerful students.

Another month passed.

"You will join the next practical lesson and watch from the side."

Shang looked with shock at the person that had suddenly spoken to him.

It was Vice-Dean Ranos!

Vice-Dean Ranos had never spoken to Shang!

"Yes?" Shang asked.

"You should know enough about Mages by now, and the Dean needs you to prove your power against Mages in the future," Vice-Dean Ranos told Shang. "The procedure is to close the gap between warriors and Mages, and winning against Mages is the best way to prove that the procedure works."

"For now, you don't need to fight them. Simply watch the other students fight them and learn from their fights."

Shang only nodded. "Alright. I also think it might be time for me to see how warriors and Mages fight."

After that, Vice-Dean Ranos left.

A couple of days later, Shang followed the red uniforms of the Preparation Grade to the Mage's Academy north of the northeastern Wild Forest.

And then, Shang saw the students fight each other.

It was a massacre.

The Peak Apprentices had already received their Pure Mana Sources, which meant that their control over their Affinities had spiked to a ridiculous degree. At that point, the advantage of the Mages had already taken hold.

And it would only grow more and more pronounced the more powerful everyone got.

A class that specialized in dealing with Mages only managed to win one out of every five fights.

However, the Apprentices didn't ridicule the warriors. Instead, they were rather impressed by them.

Even though the Mages won nearly every fight, none of the fights were easy. The fights had always taken a while.

As Shang watched the students fight, he realized the most important things when it came to fighting against Mages.

And to Shang's surprise and delight, these things were identical to what one needed to fight against beasts.

Speed, adaptability, and flexibility.

A warrior had to close the distance to be a threat to a Mage, which made speed important.

Adaptability was important to counter the multitude of Spells the Mages shot at them.

And flexibility was important to dodge the Spells.

All of these things were important against beasts as well.

When Shang realized that, most of his nervousness left him.

He had feared that he had to create another fighting style to fight Mages. Luckily, his fighting style against beasts was already perfect for fighting against Mages.

After this day, Shang joined the red uniforms every weak to watch their fights.

After a while, the red uniforms also warmed up to Shang and actually talked to him.

Most of them were normal people that had something against Mages.

Maybe a Mage had done something to them in the past.

Maybe they simply feared the oppressive power of the Mages.

Maybe they only wanted to fight against the most powerful humans in the world.

Everyone had different reasons.

Another month passed.

"Please take care of me," Mattheo said with a polite smile as he joined the Preparation Grade for the Caterpillar Class.

Shang had been pleasantly surprised when he saw Mattheo, but that was quickly replaced by deep shock.

By now, Shang had learned a lot about battle and Mages in particular.

And for the first time, Shang could feel Mattheo's true power.

As a warrior, Mattheo was great, but he wasn't at the peak.

But as a Mage, Mattheo was absolutely terrifying.

As Shang stood in front of Mattheo, he felt helpless.

It was like Shang was standing in front of someone at the General Stage.

Mattheo noticed Shang's look and only smiled politely. "You've made terrifying progress, Shang," he said.

Shang didn't know how to answer that.

Mattheo was an absolute monster!

"Come! We've never fought before," Mattheo said with a smile.

Shang took a deep breath.

Yes, Mattheo was terrifyingly powerful, but as a warrior, Shang could fight him!

The two of them fought.

Who won?

Mattheo.

But he had won only barely.

When Mattheo saw that he needed to unleash all his abilities as a warrior to fight Shang, he grew even more impressed.

Shang's current power was quite good, but that was not the impressive part.

The impressive part was how much Shang had grown in the past ten months!

From this day on, Mattheo became Shang's main opponent. The two of them were simply perfect for each other since their power was about equal.

Another month passed.

"Where did you get that?" the clerk in the Hunting Guild asked.

"I hunted it," Shang said simply.

The clerk only looked at Shang with suspicion, but he paid the money anyway.

Shang had just delivered the corpse of an Initial General Stage beast.

Shang had finally made a breakthrough in one of his aspects recently, and it had increased his power by a lot, allowing him to kill his first General Stage beast.

The fight had been absolutely brutal, but Shang had won.

He hadn't had any help.

The beast hadn't been injured before the fight.

It had been a fair fight.

And Shang had killed it.

Of course, the beast was only a General Stage Vanishing Snake, which meant that it was below average in power in a direct confrontation.

However, it was still a real General Stage beast.

Another month passed.

"I… lost?"

Astor lay on the ground with widely opened eyes.

He was in shock.

Astor slowly lifted his head as he looked at Shang.

"How did you become so powerful?" he asked in shock. "How did you suddenly become so fast?"

Shang only smirked.

On this day, Shang became the strongest student in the Caterpillar Class.

Another month passed.

Shang had the ability to choose any of the three quotas he had received for the Day of Chaos.

Shang was at the absolute top of his class in three lessons.

Caterpillar Class.

Hunting.

General knowledge about Zones.

Shang was now in the top 10% of students, including all classes.

Shang hadn't learned any advanced Martial Arts, but he still managed to become more powerful than most other students.

He had worked so incredibly hard to achieve all of this.

From absolute trash, he had ascended to become the absolute top.

Shang was no longer lacking in any field.

Now, Shang was outstanding in every field!

So, which quota did Shang choose for his third day of Chaos?

None!

Shang wouldn't choose any of the quotas.

Today, he wouldn't watch others fight.

Today, he would fight himself!

He would defend the Farm Line from General Stage beasts!

 

Chapter 169 Falling Out

Silence.

Shang was waiting in silence along with several other warriors.

Some of the hunters knew Shang since he had visited the Hunting Guild several times by now.

After a full year, Shang had grown by quite a bit. By now, he had reached 180cm, the average height of men in the western hemisphere on Earth. Of course, Shang wasn't fully done growing, but he also wouldn't grow by much more anymore.

Shang guessed that he would essentially end up just a bit below 190cm in a year or two.

Sword had also grown. Since Shang had grown by a bit, Sword had decided to elongate as well so that Shang wouldn't need to change his fighting style.

According to what Sword had said, it could change its size by a little bit, but it needed new ore every time. On top of that, the ore had to be higher ranked than what it was currently made out of.

Over the last year, Shang had earned a lot of money, which he had used to upgrade Sword to the Late General Stage. He was still missing a lot of money before he could attempt to upgrade Sword to another level since the prices started to skyrocket at the Peak General Stage.

All of the hunters around Shang were in the General Stage, making Shang an oddity amongst their ranks.

Originally, a couple of hunters complained since they saw Shang as a liability, but the words of a couple of teachers shut them up.

Since many teachers specialized in politics or killing other humans, they didn't join the defense of Warrior's Paradise. In order to defend Warrior's Paradise, one had to be confident in taking down Commander Stage beasts, which was very different from fighting other warriors at the Commander Stage.

Because of that, sadly, most of the teachers weren't powerful enough to be a good help in the defense.

However, here, they were a great help!

So what if they weren't great hunters? The beasts were literally an entire Stage below them.

Of course, the teachers mostly acted as a last line of defense and would only get involved if a beast managed to slip past the wall of hunters.

There were also a couple of Adepts in the mix, but they would act as a secondary line of defense.

The hunters would constantly fight.

The Adepts would kill the beasts that slipped past the hunters.

The teachers would kill the beasts that slipped past the Adepts.

Why was the defense structured in this way?

By the hunters' choice.

In comparison to Warrior's Paradise, the Farm Line was not under any threat during the Day of Chaos. Sure, a lot of General Stage beasts would charge right at them, but they were only General Stage beasts.

With several teachers of the Warrior Academy and several teachers of the Mage Academy defending this place, the Farm Line wasn't in any danger whatsoever. It even extended to the fact that a lot of teams of hunters defended the border between the Wasteland and the Wild Forest.

Defending the border was very dangerous since they would have to survive the entire brunt of the wave, but profits blinded people. As long as they were careful not to take on too many beasts at once, they could bring in a fortune.

"And you are fine with that?" Shang asked teacher Loran.

"I should be the one asking you that question!" teacher Loran shouted back in fury. "Are you actually insane?! No sane person would do that!"

"How do you think I managed to become this powerful?" Shang asked back evenly. "I've managed to grow this much by continually pushing myself again and again. If I don't keep pushing myself, my Martial Art will never reach sufficient heights. It has to be forged under life-threatening danger."

"Bullshit!" teacher Loran shouted. "Your Martial Art is already equivalent to something someone at the Mid General Stage would be able to create after a full year of research! You're only at the Peak Soldier Stage!"

"A little danger is good, but you are actively playing with your life!" teacher Loran shouted. "At least let me make sure that nothing goes wrong!"

"But that's the thing, teacher Loran," Shang said. "As long as you are nearby, my mind won't be fully focused on the battle. As long as you are watching me, I will never feel in danger. If I don't get pushed to the limit, how can I find the inspiration I need?"

"Do you even hear yourself?!" teacher Loran shouted. "You are planning on killing a General Stage beast on your own, and not only that, no, you also forbid everyone from even watching your battle! From the very first day you arrived at the Academy, I knew that you were a crazy nutcase!"

"Then stop arguing with a crazy nutcase," Shang said with a frown. "If you're not fine with my arrangements, go talk to Vice-Dean Soran."

Teacher Loran looked like he was about to blow up. "You know exactly what his stance is!"

"Then, there you go."

Some seconds of silence passed as teacher Loran debated with himself.

"Mervin, Olga, and I have come to an agreement," teacher Loran said with a quiet but threatening tone.

"I knew that you and teacher Mervin were friends, but I didn't know that teacher Olga is also so close to you," Shang said, his tone not very respectful. That was because he knew what the new tone of teacher Loran meant.

Teacher Olga was the teacher that taught general knowledge about the Zones. She had offered her quota to Shang this year as well.

Teacher Loran narrowed his eyes, frustration, anger, and unwillingness in his eyes.

"We came to the agreement that we won't teach someone that doesn't value their own life," teacher Loran said.

'And there it is. Just as expected from teacher Loran,' Shang thought.

'Teacher Loran and teacher Mervin are very idealistic, and they take their ideals way too seriously. Teacher Mervin is always going on and on about the path of the sword.'

'Righteousness, stability, conviction.'

'A sword is not a mere killing tool but a weapon of judgment and righteousness. A sword should only be drawn if there is no other way left.'

'Life is precious, and the respect of the sword blah blah blah blah.'

'And teacher Loran is always going on about morals and promises and being a man and all that stuff.'

'And now, here we have it. I'm training in a way they don't like, but instead of giving me my own choice, they want to railroad me into something they want from me.'

'They even went as far as to threaten me. Telling me that they won't teach me anymore, which basically means that they won't allow me to join the special training class after I reach the General Stage.'

'Dude, I'm 24. I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions.'

'Also, do you think I actually believe that shit? Training in genuine life-threatening danger? What's the fucking point? There are risks that can be evaluated and risks that can't be evaluated.'

'Sure, I can train in life-threatening danger, but I always want to have a last safety net. I don't actually want to just risk my life like that.'

'But, guess what! I can't tell you that the reason I want nobody watching is so that I can unleash all my power. If I keep fighting openly, I can't use my Fire nor my Darkness Affinity. The General Stage beast will turn me into minced meat!'

Teacher Loran only looked at the glaring Shang for several seconds.

"I'm not an idealist," Shang said. "I do what works."

"What's that supposed to mean?" teacher Loran asked.

"It means that you can go ahead with your threat."

Teacher Loran's rage exploded. "You are willing to throw away your entire future just so you can gamble with your life?!" he shouted in fury.

"I'm throwing nothing away," Shang countered with an annoyed tone. "I respect you and teacher Mervin for your power and knowledge. However, at the end of the day, this is still my life. I get to decide what I do with my life."

"You are not my father."

"You are not my friend."

"You are my teacher."

"And I very much don't appreciate it when you threaten my future just so that I will do whatever you want me to do."

"So, stay in your lane! We are having a business relationship, nothing more!" Shang shouted with quite some anger in his voice.

Teacher Loran violently gritted his teeth, but then, he only took a deep breath.

Then, his eyes turned cold.

"If that is how you see things, fine," he said almost calmly. "This is your life."

"But I hope that you will one day realize that your life doesn't only belong to you."

"If you manage to survive today, that is," teacher Loran said before he walked away.

For some reason, when Shang saw teacher Loran leave, he felt a sting in his chest.

However, over the last year, Shang had learned to deal with emotional pain.

He and teacher Loran had never seen eye to eye.

They had never been compatible.

'It was bound to happen sooner or later,' Shang thought. 'My current feelings are what I would have inevitably felt in the future.'

'He and I are teacher and student. We haven't even really talked outside of school.'

'Sure, in some way, we are connected as teacher and student.'

'However, you tried to order me around with a threat.'

'Your life is your life.'

'My life is my life.'

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ And then, Shang looked away from the Farm Line and looked towards the direction of the Wasteland.

'It should start soon.'

Chapter 170 Trash Bird

After several minutes, Shang saw the Storm Eagle pass over Warrior's Paradise. From a distance, it looked even more magnificent.

As it flew over the Farm Line, the trees at the edges of the Wild Forest started to shake violently, and many of their branches broke off. A couple of trees even broke in half.

Today, Shang learned that the Storm Eagle was responsible for the divider between the northeastern and northwestern Wild Forest.

The people huddled in their houses in safety. If they were hit by that wind, they would be severely injured.

Luckily, the Farm Line was over two kilometers lower than Warrior's Paradise, making the wind much weaker. If the Farm Line were built at the same height as Warrior's Paradise, several houses would be destroyed.

Shang felt a sudden burst of wind, and he had to use nearly all of his power to not get swept up in it.

Fortunately, the wind only kept up for a couple of seconds.

The Storm Eagle quickly vanished, and silence returned to the Farm Line.

The Day of Chaos had begun.

Shang walked to his post to await his fight. He was at the very edge of the northwestern forest.

The hunters in front of him had been instructed by Vice-Dean Soran to let an Initial General Stage beast through.

Since the Day of Chaos wasn't a danger for the Farm Line, it also served as training for new hunters. It was nothing special for the experienced teams at the front to let a weaker beast through.

The most experienced and strongest hunters were at the very front. They specifically targeted the most powerful General Stage beasts.

Due to their strength, the weaker beasts generally ignored them.

Because of that, a kind of filter was created.

The most powerful beasts would be caught immediately and herded in the middle of the street. There, they would fight the most experienced hunters.

The weaker beasts would see that beings beyond their powers fought in the middle, which would make them go along the sides.

That's where the less experienced hunters were.

The Adepts were placed in the very middle, behind the strongest hunters. Only the more powerful beasts were an issue for the less experienced hunters, and the Adepts would take care of them.

Like this, a filter in the form of a spearhead was created.

The experienced hunters were the tip of the spear.

The less experienced hunters and Adepts were the bottom of the spear's head. They were essentially in a single line.

Then, a big space with nothing was behind them, representing the spear's shaft.

And the teachers at the very end symbolized the shield.

The spear pointed towards the south, and Shang was essentially at the bottom-right corner of the spear's head, just touching the northwestern forest.

And thus, Shang waited.

After a couple of seconds, Shang heard the explosion of a ballista firing in the distance.

Warrior's Paradise had already engaged the flying Commander Stage beasts.

Two minutes later, the fastest beasts showed up.

"Incoming!" the team at the very front shouted loudly.

Everyone was readying their weapons.

The fastest beasts tended to also be the strongest, and the spearhead immediately went into motion.

The most experienced teams charged toward the most powerful beasts and pushed them to the middle.

This was a difficult task, but the enemy wasn't overwhelming. The True Mages in Warrior's Paradise also dealt with most of the Peak General Stage beasts. They also killed several Late General Stage beasts.

The Mages would only truly ignore the Mid General Stage beasts and weaker.

Because of that, the initial wave didn't have many truly powerful beasts.

The hunters quickly gathered the beasts in the middle and began fighting them with practiced ease.

These teams had gone through many Days of Chaos, and they knew exactly what they had to do.

After gathering the powerful beasts, the most powerful five teams left the fighting area to observe the incoming horde.

Soon, the first Peak General Stage beasts would arrive, and it was their task to deal with them.

And sure enough, about five minutes later, the first ones arrived.

The most powerful teams took on the Peak General Stage beasts at the very center in the front.

The Late General Stage beasts fought behind them.

The Middle General Stage beasts were pushed to the side after the Late and Peak General Stage beasts had arrived.

Several teams were already in battle, but even more teams stood on standby. They took turns fishing out a beast that was to their liking.

One could imagine it like a big stone in the middle of a rapidly flowing river. On the big stone were cranes that continually picked out the biggest fish to eat, leaving only the little ones alone.

This was not a battle of survival but a hunt.

It was a harvest.

The less experienced teams jumped onto the Initial and Early General Stage beasts, letting absolutely nothing through.

Over ten minutes, no beast made it through the wall.

And then, one particular beast arrived.

The waiting teams looked at the beast with a disgusted frown.

They didn't want to deal with that one.

Why?

Two reasons.

One, it wasn't worth much. Its feathers were nice as souvenirs and accessories, but they were not useful for much else.

Its claws were not the most powerful claws. Sure, they could injure the opponent, but they were rather small and fragile, making them unfit for weapons and armor.

Its beak was the only valuable part, but it wasn't that valuable.

In total, the beast was maybe worth 350 gold.

With Initial General Stage beasts walking around that had a bounty of over 1,000 gold, 350 gold was laughable.

If they engaged this beast, they would miss out on something that had way more value.

Also, it was only at the Initial General Stage, making it even less desirable.

As the beast passed the last team of hunters, Shang's eyes lit up.

His target had arrived!

He wasn't here for the money but to gain experience.

Shang saw a grey bird running towards him.

Yes, not flying, running!

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ It looked a bit like a mixture between an ostrich and a crane. It had grey feathers all over its body, two powerful but thin legs, and a body that could best be described as slim-fat.

It was slim in some places, but it also looked fat in other places.

However, it also had a long beak, similar to one a crane would have.

When Shang saw the bird, the image of a fit lady with a huge ass popped into his mind.

'Great, it's a Trash Bird,' Shang thought with a bit of annoyance.

Yes, the name of the beast was literally Trash Bird.

Why did it carry that name?

Because it was a scavenger.

It was rather fast, and it very rarely hunted on its own. Rather, it would run across the Wasteland to search for any scraps of food.

It was surprisingly fast at grabbing the food. It could expand its beak to a terrifying degree. Then, it would quickly gulp up several kilograms of food, which would fall into its stomach, which was near its ass, surprisingly.

Since the Trash Bird mostly ate the unusable trash the hunters left behind after killing a beast, it got its name.

Trash Bird.

There were quite a lot of Trash Birds in the Wasteland, mainly because they weren't a danger.

They didn't like attacking hunters, and they kept the place relatively clean.

If that were all to them, they might even be on the blacklist.

However, they also sometimes wandered into the Wild Forest to get something easy to eat.

That cost them their place on the blacklist.

So, what was the second reason why nobody wanted to deal with the Trash Bird?

When the Trash Bird saw Shang's eyes, it screeched loudly and ran to the side into the Wild Forest.

It kept screeching as it loudly rampaged through the forest in a sprint, destroying one tree after the other.

The second reason?

It was fucking annoying.