Ch. 221..230
Chapter 221 Not What but How
After a full minute, Shang finally made his choice.
It wasn't an easy one, but Shang believed that it was correct.
"I choose…"
"19."
The jester's smile widened as he looked at Shang.
"Now, that is interesting," he said as he appeared directly in front of Shang, looking him deeply in the eyes.
For just a moment, Shang felt fear arise in his heart.
"Even though I blocked your thoughts from my perception, I was still very certain in being able to foresee your choice since I know everything about you."
"Yet, who would have guessed that I would be wrong?" the jester mused as he looked into Shang's eyes with a mad grin.
"I was sure you would choose 22."
"Tell me, why did you choose 19?" the jester asked without moving away.
Shang felt very uncomfortable with the jester so close to his face.
Shang took a deep breath to organize his thoughts.
"There are several reasons for my decision."
"Originally, I wanted to choose 22. After all, it is an increase in power for a sacrifice. This is exactly what I have been telling myself. I told myself that this is how I want to live my life."
The jester waited for the reasons.
"But, for now," Shang slowly said. "I don't want to commit to a path."
"Commit?" the jester asked with interest.
"Yes," Shang said. "You told me that I have already asked the question I want to ask before and that I should wait for the Commander Stage. This means that I will get the answer to my question."
"The answer to the question: What kind of attitude would be most effective on my journey?"
"Well," the jester said, "you phrased the question a bit differently, but it's essentially the same."
Shang nodded. "I have been stuck between two paths for the last two years. Do I help others, or do I hurt others?"
"However, it isn't that easy. If I help others, I will also receive their help, but at some point, the help others can provide me is worth less than what I give them, which will hamper my growth."
"This means that I can't fully commit to this path."
"If I hurt others, I gain many resources that increase my power, but on the other hand, I will also be under constant danger, and that danger might cost me my life. Danger is good for growth, but too much danger will kill me."
"This means that I also can't fully commit to that path."
"As the God of this world, you should know best what kind of attitude would work best for me, and until I have that answer, I won't commit to anything."
"Now, if I chose 22, I might have done something that could force me down one of the two paths."
At that moment, Shang looked at the jester.
"And wouldn't it be very entertaining to watch me hear about the correct path without being able to walk it?"
"Just like teacher heard about the free deaths in the trial after having already become too old to take advantage of it."
The jester only smiled.
"But that isn't my entire reason."
"Another reason is that I feel a bit bad for circumventing the rules of my Affinity. Of course, feeling a bit bad won't stop me from doing what I have to do to become powerful."
"I achieved these three points not with my power but by cheating. I don't want to get something handed to me if I don't deserve it."
"Of course, as I've said, I'm still willing to do it, but this reason also played a small role in my decision."
"And then there are two more reasons."
"Two more?" the jester asked with a smile. "You really thought a lot about this choice."
"These two reasons have to do with my impression of you," Shang said.
"What is your impression of me?" the jester asked.
Shang took a deep breath.
"Unstable, often illogical, mad, chaotic, playful," Shang said.
There was no reason to keep Shang's thoughts a secret. The God already knew what Shang thought of him.
Sure enough, the God didn't react.
"However, all of that doesn't matter. What you want is entertainment," Shang said. "For someone of your power, this is probably the only thing that interests you. There might not be a path forward anymore, which forces you to look down."
At that moment, the jester's smile vanished.
The entire atmosphere changed.
Earlier, Shang had felt like he was a plaything, but now, he felt like he had hurt the player.
Shang guessed that he had hit the nail on the head.
This was probably a sore spot for the God.
"You're lucky you're entertaining," the jester spoke with a deadpan tone.
This was the first time that Shang heard the God speak in such a tone, and it sent chills down his spine.
"And that's the thing," Shang said. "You want entertainment."
"I was certain that I would choose 22 at the beginning, and I thought that you also predicted I would choose 22."
"So, why not make this entertaining and circumvent your expectations?" Shang asked.
"Hahahaha!"
The jester laughed loudly.
Surprisingly, the jester laughed for quite a while.
"You have no idea how long it has been that I have been surprised like this!"
"I expected you to think of yourself while making this choice, but you were actually thinking of me, which completely changed your choice!" Freeᴡebnovel.cᴏm.
"And in the end," the jester said with a mad grin. "By thinking of me, you suspect that you are automatically thinking of yourself by proxy, right?"
"Yes," Shang said with a nod. "I don't want to serve. I don't want to be your entertainment."
The jester didn't react.
"However, what I want isn't important. In front of you, it isn't important what I want. I don't have the power to defy you yet."
The God took note of the word "yet", but he didn't comment.
Seeing a toy begrudgingly comply while feeling resentment was fun.
"I don't like to bow to your whims, but if I want to achieve my goal, for the time being, I have to. Defying you will only send me to an early grave or worse."
"But there is one more reason."
The jester leaned on his hammer as he looked at Shang with a grin. "Tell me."
Shang furrowed his brows.
"This was the most important reason."
"You told me that I have the choice, and my future depends on which choice I make."
"However, what if it doesn't?"
The jester didn't react.
"What if my choice is actually meaningless?"
"You can change the rules whenever you want. Believing that these two choices are the only choices I have might be incorrect."
"It might be possible that it doesn't matter what I choose."
"But it might matter how I choose."
"The answer might not interest you. Maybe, you are only interested in the reasons for why I have chosen whatever I chose."
"And because of that, I chose 19."
"Because it is not something you expected."
Silence.
For around five seconds, no one said anything.
"How very interesting," the jester said.
"You know, I felt quite annoyed when you circumvented the drawback of using Entropy by abusing my power."
"But now, I feel even better than if you had gotten 22 points without relying on my power."
At that moment, the jester vanished into nothingness.
Something dark materialized about fifty meters away from Shang.
Shang immediately recognized the object.
It was the God's gigantic throne.
And on the throne sat the actual body of the God.
He was smirking as he leaned his head on one of his fists.
"You get your 22-point-reward without having to do anything you don't want."
"Well played."
Chapter 222 The Trial Is Over
Shang looked at the God on his throne.
"What would you have had me do if I chose 22 without an interesting reason?" Shang asked.
The God lifted his left hand, and the hammer of the jester appeared in it.
"As you know, I regularly change my decisions on a whim."
Shang didn't say anything.
The God looked at the hammer. "You wouldn't have directly killed someone, but you would have indirectly killed thousands."
Shang took a deep breath when he heard that.
"I would have given you this hammer," the God said with a grin, looking at the hammer.
Then, he looked at Shang.
"And would have asked you to hit Warrior's Paradise's foundation."
The hairs on Shang's neck stood on end.
"And what would have happened?"
The God only smirked. "Can't you imagine?"
"It would have toppled over like a tree."
Shang felt a deep, black hole of terror open in his chest.
Yes, Shang could deal with killing his enemies.
But killing thousands of innocent people?
Destroying the very thing he had called home for over a year?
Shang imagined the gigantic city falling over and turning into rubble.
All the smiths, alchemists, warriors, Mages, children, guards, clerks, nearly everyone would have died.
Only True Mages and Commander Stage warriors could hope to survive such a disaster, and their survival wouldn't even be certain.
The God only smirked as he saw Shang's expression.
"Wouldn't that have been entertaining? Seeing you watch the grieving people around you. Their crying faces getting etched into your mind, knowing that you were the responsible one."
"They would all search for the cause, and an endless resentment would be born inside each and every one of them."
"But you would be the only one that knew."
"You would know that you are responsible."
"A secret you can't tell anyone, including your master."
"Unable to share such a heavy burden that spreads guilt throughout your entire being."
"Every day, afraid that someone would find out your secret."
"Their faces, haunting you."
"That would have been entertaining enough for me to give you 22 points. Wouldn't you say so?" the God asked with a smirk.
Shang's stomach churned.
He couldn't imagine being in such a position.
It would have been terrifying.
"But, lucky you!" the God said with a grin. "You managed to gain your reward without having to do such a thing."
Shang didn't say anything. His mind was still thinking about what it would have felt like to be in such a situation.
It was terrifying.
"Now, don't get hung up on unimportant things," the God said. "It's time for your reward."
SHING!
Two books appeared, and they hovered in front of the God.
"What do you want?"
"Do you want something that makes it easier for every warrior to reach the True Path Stage?"
"Or do you want something that increases the Battle-Strength of every General Stage warrior and higher?"
"You can have one of the two."
Shang pushed the hypothetical situation out of his mind and focused on his choice.
But Shang didn't need to deliberate for long.
"How very boring," the God said, but his smile didn't leave his face.
One of the two books disappeared, and the other one dropped down in front of Shang.
"Something that increases the Battle-Strength of warriors, it is," the God said.
"Read the book. After reading it, the book will vanish, but you will have gained initial mastery in the ability it teaches. Everyone else will need to slowly learn this skill, but as a bonus, you get to learn it instantly. Not all of it, of course, but enough to increase your Battle-Strength by quite a bit."
Pack!
A second book appeared in front of Shang.
"Give this one to your predecessor. He will know what to do."
"And if he doesn't…"
The God's smile widened.
"Well, it doesn't matter. He knows what he can and can't do."
"See you soon, Shang."
Shang looked at the two books, and when he looked back at the God, he had vanished.
Silence.
Shang was the only one inside his world now.
Shang only waited in silence for several seconds.
He didn't need to fight anymore.
He didn't need to fear the God's mood anymore.
The trial was over, and Shang had gained his reward.
For a long time, Shang thought about all the opponents he had fought in the trial.
He had fought so many battles.
Then, Shang took a deep breath and took hold of the book that was prepared for him.
For the next 30 minutes, Shang read through the book.
It wasn't very long, but the concepts inside it were complex and foreign.
Shang had learned quite a bit in the academy over the last year, but the concepts in this book almost seemed alien to him.
It was like this book followed a completely different path.
When Shang was done reading the book, all the foreign concepts fell into place in his mind, seemingly of their own volition.
Everything suddenly made sense.
After Shang read through the book, it turned into dust.
"Did the book also work on you?" Shang asked Sword.
"Yes," Sword answered. "This will close the gap between warriors and Mages even more."
Shang nodded. "The procedure will only close the gap in the General Stage, but as the Mages become more powerful, they gain more and more advantages. The procedure alone isn't enough to close the difference at that point."
Shang took hold of the other book and looked at it.
"But the concepts in this book will make quite a dent in the advantages the Mages have."
"If I had known this concept before attempting the trial…"
"I would have probably gotten two more points. I would have had a chance against the porcupine, and I would have won against that warrior without using my ability."
For a while, Shang and Sword talked about the concepts in the book and how to properly apply them during battle, but Shang quickly realized that this would take at least several days, if not weeks.
So, half an hour later, Shang decided to leave.
As Shang left his world with the book, he only had one thought.
'I wonder how powerful the warriors will become with this ability.'
Chapter 223 New Plane of Fighting
Shang slowly opened his eyes in the real world.
Shang was inside his room in the academy's basement, which wasn't very pleasant to look at. There was only a table, some chairs, and a bed. That was about it. It looked more like a fancy prison cell than an actual room.
The Dean noticed that Shang was back and looked at him.
"How did it go?" he asked.
Shang looked at his teacher.
"22 points."
The Dean nodded. "That's better than I expected. I feared that the weak Middle General Stage beast would be too much for you, and I also expected you to fail your fight against the Average Early Adept."
"It seems I underestimated you."
"I assume you used your peculiar Ability to gain three free points?"
Shang nodded, but his brows furrowed.
At this moment, the procedure and its effects went through Shang's head.
The procedure had upgraded his body by one level, which essentially granted him three additional points per category, giving him nine free points.
Then, his Affinity gave him three additional free points.
So, the procedure and his Affinity had given Shang twelve points in total.
Shang had left the trial with 22 points, and if he subtracted the twelve free points, he would be at ten points.
In short, without these two things, Shang's Battle-Strength was about as powerful as the Dean's Battle-Strength had been back then.
"You seem to be unhappy with your results," the Dean said as he noticed Shang's expression.
"The only reason why I got so many points was the procedure and my Affinity," Shang said. "Without them, I would have only gotten as many points as you, and several of those fights had been incredibly close."
The Dean's expression didn't change.
"So, you are disappointed that you only are as strong as the strongest and most talented warrior in the world," the Dean said.
Shang listened to his teacher, but he didn't look at him.
He knew that it might not be "appropriate" to feel bad about such an accomplishment.
However, Shang just couldn't help himself.
He wanted more.
"Remember this, Shang," the Dean said. "If I had access to the procedure for myself, I would be able to fight the strongest High Mages on my level."
Shang looked at the Dean.
That didn't sound very believable.
After all, the Mages had even more advantages than just their Mana Sources.
"You seem skeptical, but it's the truth," the Dean said. "Don't forget that the strongest aspects of us warriors are our techniques and our battle experience. At the moment, the gulf regarding the baseline is so wide that technique won't be able to change anything, but if that gulf can be closed just by a little bit, all the techniques become important again."
"Even if the High Mages have even more advantages, you can diminish a lot of their advantages with hard work, experience, and willpower."
"Don't think that I am only someone on the level of Duke Whirlwind or any other Duke."
"If I had access to the procedure, and if I were on their level, I would be able to fight evenly with a Duke."
"Their additional advantages are the only reasons why I can't directly just kill them."
"Don't take my accomplishments lightly, Shang," the Dean said with a cold gaze. "You don't know what it means to be on my level."
Shang only listened to his teacher in silence.
He wasn't sure if his teacher told the truth or if he was only trying to appear more impressive to curb Shang's disappointment.
"What's the reward?" the Dean asked.
The Dean had already noticed the book in Shang's hand, but he didn't take it.
After all, this was Shang's reward, not his.
Shang lifted the book and looked at it.
"This is something that will increase the Battle-Strength of all General Stage warriors and higher."
"It will also help you a lot."
The Dean became interested and extended his hand, waiting for Shang to hand the book over.
"The God said that you should know what you are supposed to do," Shang said as he put the book in the Dean's hand.
The Dean's hand didn't retreat immediately, and his eyes focused on Shang.
"You met him?" the Dean asked with a glint in his eyes.
Shang nodded. "We had a… talk. You could call it a talk."
"He wasn't very happy that I abused the rules," Shang said heavily.
The Dean had met the God, and he knew how unstable he was.
He knew very well that Shang could have very likely died there.
The Dean hadn't thought much about what to do with the reward. Originally, he only wanted to take a look at it, and if it were useful, he would practice it. Then, he would probably teach the more talented students in the academy the technique.
The Dean hadn't met the God in over a century, which made the God almost appear surreal and nonexistent.
Hearing that Shang had talked to the God again put newfound respect into the Dean.
He was not allowed to forget that there was someone watching their every move and that someone could end their existence with a mere thought.
After some seconds, the Dean pulled the book back and skimmed through it.
The Dean also had a warrior's body, but his mind was still on the level of a True Mage, which granted him incredible comprehension abilities.
In just two minutes, the Dean finished reading through the entire book and internalized all its concepts.
The Dean closed the book and put it into his internal world.
Silence.
For a while, the Dean only looked at the wall as he fell into thought.
How amazing.
How interesting.
How creative.
How powerful.
This book opened up a completely new plane of fighting for all powerful warriors.
At this very moment, the Dean was so very glad that he had spent so many resources on Shang.
The Dean had invested so much into Shang, and now, his investment was paying off.
This was worth far more than everything he had invested into Shang up to now.
"If I had known the concepts of this book earlier," the Dean said, "I would have been able to stall the Exploding Mountain Turtle for several times longer. The Mages would have been able to create a second Spell, and maybe even a third one."
"Maybe, we wouldn't even have needed Jerald to intervene," the Dean mused.
Shang nodded.
He could very well imagine how the fight would have gone.
The Dean wouldn't have won on his own, but he would have been able to stall for far longer.
During the Day of Chaos, the Dean hadn't even been able to injure the Exploding Mountain Turtle. He had only danced around its feet, his physical strength too weak to draw blood.
With this book, he also might not have been able to injure the turtle, but he would have been able to cut off several stones. On top of that, the Dean wouldn't have needed to get as close.
Didn't need to get as close?
Yes, this was the very technique inside the book.
This book taught a method to infuse a weapon with a certain kind of Mana. If one attacked in the correct way after infusing their weapon with this Mana, one would be able to launch a ranged attack.
It wasn't as powerful as a direct attack, but it was still very dangerous.
The Dean could have danced around the turtle, shooting one spear strike at it from a distance after the other.
The Exploding Mountain Turtle would have been forced to chase the Dean with its stones.
Sure, eventually, the Dean would make a mistake, and the Exploding Mountain Turtle would hit him, but that moment would be further away.
This book opened a completely new plane of fighting for warriors.
It allowed warriors to also attack their opponent from a distance.
Chapter 224 Faction
The Dean looked at Shang.
"What do you want in exchange? This book is worth far more than I have invested in you," the Dean said.
"Is it?" Shang asked in an uncertain voice. "Without your help, I wouldn't have gotten that many points regardless."
"Sure," the Dean said, "but without my help, you would have still made about eight or nine points, and these eight or nine points have nothing to do with me. By gaining about eleven points or so, you would have already repaid everything I invested in you."
"But you gained 22."
"So, what do you want?"
After hearing the Dean put it like that, Shang agreed.
Yes, the Dean had helped him a lot, but Shang would have also gotten a lot of points without his help.
"There is something I want, but I don't know if you can help me get it."
"Tell me," the Dean said.
"Do you know about the Old King's Trial in the Wild Forest?" Shang asked.
The Dean nodded. "It opens once a year for only the most talented Adepts. The quota for joining the trial is heavily contested by all manners of big families."
Shang also nodded. "I recently found the trial on accident, and Sword told me that the very ore I seek can be found in there. It seems to be one of the rewards."
The Dean frowned as he scratched his goatee.
"That is truly very difficult," he said. "The Old King's Trial is only reserved for Mages, and the Trials in there are also designed to be completed by Mages."
"Even if you were allowed to enter, I doubt you would gain many points. After all, it isn't only Battle-Strength that's important in there. The trial also tests the mastery the Adepts have over their Elements and Spells. As someone with a warrior's body, you wouldn't get far."
"And with that comes the problem. If I could guarantee that you would get something out of the trial, it wouldn't be so hard to convince the others to let you participate."
"But I can't. Because of that, everyone will automatically assume that giving you a spot would be like throwing it out of the window."
"Imagine a room with ten people and three valuable gems. Everyone wants the gems. After a long time of deliberation and negotiation, three people get the gems."
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"And then, one of them just destroys it."
"This will, naturally, draw the ire of everyone else."
"Additionally, Jerald doesn't have full control over the Old King's Trial just because it's inside his territory. His estate manages the Old King's Trial, but, officially, it belongs to the Skythunder Kingdom."
"The Skythunder King doesn't get involved in the Old King's Trial as long as there are no major complaints."
"But if he hears that a warrior was able to enter it, he will very likely become furious."
"Even if I give Jerald everything I own, he might not agree. This is something that can endanger his life and family," the Dean said.
Shang frowned.
He had already anticipated that getting him into the trial wasn't easy, but he hadn't expected it to be this difficult.
"So, there's no chance?" Shang asked.
The Dean scratched his goatee for a bit longer.
"Getting you into the Old King's Trial is impossible."
Then, the Dean looked at Shang.
"But you don't need to enter to get what you need."
Shang lifted an eyebrow.
"Tell me, Shang. Where did you get all the ore for your sword? Did you harvest it yourself?" the Dean asked.
Shang shook his head, and a moment later, he realized what the Dean meant.
The Dean noticed that Shang had realized what he meant.
"I'll talk to Jerald," the Dean said. "If I am willing to support his heir, Mattheo, he could maybe convince Mattheo to get the ore for you."
"Of course, the rewards from this trial are very valuable, and they could very well be the difference between someone becoming a True Mage and someone becoming a High Mage."
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"Additionally, if Mattheo manages to get an amazing score, the value would only skyrocket."
"What if the ore is only worth one point since the ore probably has no use for a Mage, but Mattheo manages to gain ten points? Wouldn't he throw nine points away?"
Shang's brows furrowed.
This was difficult.
Getting this ore might endanger Mattheo's future.
"However," the Dean said slowly, "there might also be a possibility that Mattheo could convince someone less talented than him to help him. Of course, Mattheo would need to promise them quite a bit of wealth, and I should be able to handle that."
"Naturally, there will be many, many more problems with that, but that is something Mattheo and Jerald are very good at. They are politicians, and they live in this kind of world."
The Dean nodded. "Yes, I think we can make this work."
"Is that all you want for now?" the Dean asked.
Shang nodded. "Otherwise, I'm only interested in things that can increase my power. Techniques obviously won't work since I have to rely on my own, but I can use ore for my weapon and resources that increase my mastery of the basics of Magic. It would also help to have something that increases my Stage by a level."
The Dean nodded. "That's not a problem. I will go and talk to Jerald. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. Until then, wait here."
Shang nodded. "Thank you, teacher."
"This is a trade, not me helping you," the Dean said. "There are no thanks necessary."
After saying that, the Dean left the room to talk to Duke Whirlwind.
Shang remained in the room and further theorized how to incorporate the ranged attacks into his battle style with Sword.
And, sure enough, two hours later, the Dean returned.
Surprisingly, the Dean didn't look relaxed at all.
He had a solemn expression on his face.
"There is a cheap way and an expensive way," the Dean said. "I can handle both of them, and what he wants is well within the debt I owe you. Originally, I wanted to directly decline the cheap option, but I think you are powerful enough to make your own choice."
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Shang lifted an eyebrow when he heard that.
"The things he wants for the expensive way are about 70% of what I owe you, but I can handle that. You will still gain all the support you need until you reach the Commander Stage. You will essentially get the ore, free of charge."
Shang didn't like what he was hearing. After all, why would the Dean prefer spending so much money if the cheap option didn't have some kind of caveat?
"And the cheap option?"
The Dean looked at Shang.
"Jerald wants you in his faction."
Shang's brows furrowed. "Faction? As in, political faction?"
The Dean nodded. "He wants you to take up a new identity in his new territory, the battlefield. He wants you to wear the Haze Mask for the duration you stay there and act as an informant for him."
"There are many traitors amongst our ranks, and he needs someone that can gain the trust of these traitors without arousing any suspicion. According to him, you have a certain aura of aggression and ruthlessness to you ever since you underwent the procedure, and he thinks that will make people think that you are someone that's willing to betray their faction."
"However, he knows you, and he knows that he can trust you with something like that."
"If you do that for him, he will get the ore for you, for free."
"Of course, you also have to show that you are worth the investment. If he's happy with your results in the battlefield, he will bestow further rewards."
Shang only looked at the Dean.
The Dean looked back.
"I feared that you would choose this option," the Dean said. "I assume my advice to not get involved in politics won't have an impact on your choice?"
Shang sighed. "It's just that I don't want to get something without working for it. I want to achieve my goals, not get them handed to me."
The Dean looked at Shang for a bit.
"You remind me too much of my younger self."
"Fine, the cheap option, it is," the Dean said.
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"However, we need to make you unrecognizable, change your battle style, change your looks, and change your power. This will take about six months, but after that, everything should be fine."
"Let's start by getting you to the Early General Stage."
Chapter 225 Group of Warriors
"Welcome, everyone!"
Right now, it was morning, and a group of 20 warriors was gathered near the northwestern border of the Farm Line.
The warriors all wore different outfits.
Some of them wore furs.
Some of them wore armor.
Some of them wore normal clothing.
However, one thing was the same.
All of them were at the Early General Stage.
Except for one.
The person that had just spoken wore an expensive-looking set of green armor and a spear, and while everyone else was at the Early General Stage, he was at the Late General Stage.
The gathered group of warriors only politely smiled at the officer's greeting.
"I'm from the Duke's personal army, and it's my responsibility to get you to the northern border," he announced.
"All of you have signed up for one reason or another."
"Some of you want to make a good impression on the Duke," the man said as his eyes went over a group of men wearing a set of standardized, immaculately cleaned armor.
"Some of you are here to gain experience," the man said as his eyes went over a group of young men wearing uniforms from the Warrior's Academy.
"Some of you are here to make amends," the man said as his eyes went over some people wearing furs and leathery armor.
"And some of you are here only for the reward," the man said as he looked over a group of three people wearing masks.
"However, today, all of you are equals. It doesn't matter why you are here. While you are here, you are one and the same," the officer declared.
"Excuse me?"
The officer looked at one of the students. "You may speak."
"Thank you, sir," the student said. "I am fine with working together, and I have no problem with anyone here."
Everyone was waiting for the but.
The student's eyes went over the three masked men. "But I, at least, want to see the faces of my comrades. If I am going to trust them, I want them to trust us enough to at least show their faces."
One of the rugged-looking men snorted with derision. "Go back to your-"
BANG!
The officer rammed the butt of his spear into the man's abdomen, making him immediately keel over in pain.
"Did I say you were allowed to speak?" the officer asked with an admonishing tone.
"N-No, sir," the man said through gritted teeth.
The officer nodded and looked at the student, his smile returning. "Our three friends have a reason to keep their faces hidden," he explained. "We are lacking manpower due to the increase in land and the Days of Chaos."
"Because of that, we decided to extend our reach of acceptance, if you will," the officer explained.
"This includes fugitives, former bandits, and especially immigrants from our neighbors."
Not everyone understood what the officer meant, but most of them did, and they looked at the three masked men.
Immigrants from our neighbors?
That meant traitors.
It was no problem to go to a different territory if one wanted. However, it was a problem if that person had sold themselves to their ruler's faction.
While all of these lands were ruled by the Skythunder Kingdom, and while the normal peasants believed that the Skythunder Kingdom was united, in truth, a bloody war for resources took place right beneath everyone's noses.
Towards the outside, the Skythunder Kingdom portrayed an image of a powerful and united force.
But inside, all the Dukes were silently battling each other for resources and land.
The King, of course, knew that all of this was taking place, but he didn't care. He had officially forbidden the Dukes from battling each other, but he would only enforce this rule if someone managed to collect irrefutable evidence of that happening.
The King believed that the treachery and war would keep his Dukes and armies strong and ready for battle.
Before the King had taken over, the Kingdom had been a land of peace, and when another Kingdom attacked, the Kingdom suffered a lot.
The Old King had sacrificed himself to stop the war. The Old King had been an altruistic person, which was reflected by the way his Kingdom was and by his own actions.
But the new King found this freedom-loving ideology to be a ticking timebomb.
Other Kingdoms wouldn't care if the Skythunder Kingdom was nice or not.
They only coveted their lands.
Shang was among this group of people, and he was one of the three masked individuals.
Eight months had already passed since the trial, and Shang had been taught a lot by Mattheo and his teacher about the hidden politics.
Just as Shang had expected, the person that had tried to destroy Warrior's Paradise two years ago had been Duke Mithril, the Duke to the north of Duke Whirlwind's territory.
A year later, Duke Whirlwind had struck back by making the Ice Wyvern fight the Volcano Wyrm.
How did he accomplish that?
Well, according to calculations, one of the Abominations would appear in the northern parts of the battlefield, and it was a General Stage one.
The Ice Wyvern and Volcano Wyrm dealt with half of the territory each. If an Abomination appeared in the south, the Ice Wyvern would kill it, and if it appeared in the north, the Volcano Wyrm would kill it.
How did the Zone Beasts tell if the Abomination appeared on their side?
Mana Sense.
If there were more Ice Mana, the Ice Wyvern would deal with it, for example.
However, just before the Abomination had appeared, several True Mages had detonated Ice Bombs at the location where the Abomination would appear.
So, when it appeared, the Ice Wyvern felt that there was a lot of Ice Mana around the Abomination, which meant that this was its responsibility.
Yet, the Volcano Wyrm felt that the Abomination was very close to its territory. After all, the entire north was coated in Fire Mana, except for that small spot. So, it was obviously its responsibility to kill it.
In the end, both of them went out to deal with the Abomination.
But when the two saw each other, they began fighting.
Both felt like the other was encroaching on their territory. Additionally, as beasts of opposing Affinities, they didn't like each other that much anyway.
In the end, the Ice Wyvern won, and the Volcano Wyrm fled back to its Zone.
That was when the Ice Wyvern claimed the entire battlefield as its own.
And this group of people?
Well, they were here to make the place habitable.
The wildlife in the new Zone was still unstable, and the ecosystem was undergoing an upheaval.
Fire beasts walked around in icy lands, and the ice beasts fought them.
On top of that, over the long years of fighting, the flora had basically been eradicated except for a few exceptions.
When the Ice Wyvern had claimed the Zone, the battlefield had been nothing but a war-ravaged wasteland filled with General and Commander Stage beasts.
And now, as the owner of these lands, it was Duke Whirlwind's job to make this a rich and prospering land for his people.
The Storm Eagle Zone had been managed to near perfection, transforming into a land brimming with wealth and gold, and he wanted to transform the previous battlefield into a similar land.
And it was the job of this group of people and many others to achieve this goal.
Of course, Duke Mithril would do his best to destabilize the Zone by infiltrating it with his own people.
Which was why Shang was here.
It was his job to sniff out these agents and either kill them or report them.
Chapter 226 Four Groups
The officer looked at the student. "Does this answer your question?"
The student nodded and stepped back.
The student hadn't thought that these three masked men were most likely traitors from Duke Mithril's side.
Their status also explained their need for a mask.
Everyone hated traitors, no matter to which faction they belonged. Someone that backstabbed their home was very easy to hate.
One of the masked men slightly lifted his hand in a nonchalant fashion.
The officer gestured for him to speak.
The man looked at the student. "Not everyone wearing a mask is wearing one because of the reason you might think."
"Some of us are just not interested in getting embroiled in politics."
"We are here to do our job. Nothing more, nothing less."
The man stepped back and went silent again.
"Of course," the officer said with a smile.
Then, the officer took out his spear and turned around. "We need to get going. We have to reach our goal by nightfall. Since we don't have much time to spare, I will be dealing with all the different beasts we find."
The group of soldiers gathered their things and prepared themselves.
Then, the officer charged forward at an impressive pace, and the soldiers followed behind him.
All of the soldiers were running at around 80kph, which wasn't their top speed, but still very tiresome.
This was probably a test from the officer to see which of his soldiers were worth anything.
The group ran towards the northwest, completely ignoring the road, and after just a bit, they had already entered the Wild Forest.
Some of the students became nervous. The group was charging through the wilderness without any care for safety. This was far too reckless!
However, the other warriors didn't care.
They were 30 warriors at the General Stage. The only thing that could endanger them was a Late General Stage beast or stronger, and those didn't exist this far to the north of the Wild Forest.
"Why don't we introduce ourselves while we run?" the officer shouted from the front. "Let me start. I'm Lance, and I'm a sergeant in Duke Whirlwind's personal army."
The officer's voice reached all the soldiers, even though they were loudly charging through the forest.
"I will go next," one of the soldiers that was obviously here to make a good impression shouted. "I'm…"
The soldier introduced himself with a voice brimming with confidence and charisma.
After him, the other guards that wanted to make a good impression spoke up, introducing themselves.
The former bandits and masked people quickly gave this group of soldiers a name.
From this day forth, the group of soldiers that wanted to impress their superiors was dubbed the Bootlickers.
After the Bootlickers were done introducing themselves, the students came next.
Half of the students managed to appear competent and smart, but the other half seemed nervous to speak to so many foreign people while charging through the wilderness.
The former bandits and masked people dubbed this group Rookies.
After the last student was done introducing themselves, no one spoke for a while.
"I told you to introduce yourselves," the officer shouted from the front with a stricter tone.
Eventually, one of the bandits took the initiative, but he didn't say much.
He gave an obviously fake name and said that he was here to earn money.
The other bandits followed suit, giving out fake names and seemingly random reasons for why they were here.
The Bootlickers and Rookies were disgusted by the clear disrespect coming from these barbarians, which gave this group the nickname Scumbags.
Lastly, it was time for the three masked individuals, which were, by far, the smallest group.
"You can call me Zero. I'm here to earn money, and I hate politics, which is why I'm wearing a mask. I have no interest in being scouted by any faction. I don't care about your beliefs. I don't care about your promises. I'll do my job, and you won't see me again."
The masked individual that had just introduced himself, Zero, was around 185 centimeters tall and had long black hair. He wore a black mask with elaborate designs that only revealed his mouth.
On his back, he wore a gigantic, curved sword. It was wide and was seemingly made of rough, black stone. His weapon oozed violence and brutality.
"You can call me One. I'm also here to earn money, and I'm wearing a mask because I don't want people to find out my identity. I don't want to drag my family into this conflict. Just like the person before me, you won't see me again as soon as the job is over."
The second masked individual was around 175 centimeters tall, had short black hair, and wore a blank, black mask, which covered his entire face.
On his back was a long, slightly curved sword with only one edge. It wasn't nearly as massive as Zero's sword, but it was just as long. His weapon spoke of a battle style that preferred speed and quick but devastating strikes.
"I'll follow the trend of the other two and will take on the name Two. I'm here for the money, and I'm wearing a mask because I don't want my former colleagues to know who I am."
Some of the soldiers threw curious glances at the last individual.
He introduced himself with the very identity that a masked individual tried not to be associated with?
What was his plan?
Two had medium-long black hair, was around 180cm tall, and wore a star-shaped, black mask that only revealed his mouth and nose.
On his back was a rather short, black spear. In comparison to most spears, it didn't have a wide head, making it resemble a giant needle more than a spear.
After the introduction, the other groups of soldiers dubbed the group of masked individuals Numbers.
"Let me extend one more welcome to all of you!" the officer shouted from the front. "Now that we all know each other, I will be telling you about your job and your new home for the foreseeable future!"
As everyone continued running, the officer introduced everyone to the history of the battlefield and what had happened in it ever since the Ice Wyvern had taken over the Zone.
Some minutes into the explanation, the group left the Wild Forest and entered the wilderness of the Ice Wyvern Zone.
From then on, some of the soldiers noticed some weaker General Stage beasts from time to time, but none of the beasts attacked them.
Beasts weren't stupid, and this group of people definitely didn't feel easy to kill.
An hour later, the group passed a town.
Another hour later, the group passed another town.
In the past hours, many of the soldiers began to talk to each other while the officer briefed everyone from the front.
But some hours later, some of the weaker-willed soldiers stopped talking as they concentrated on keeping up.
Running for so long at such speeds was draining their concentration, and they didn't want to talk right now.
Of course, everyone stayed within their group.
Two hours later, most of the soldiers stopped talking as they were concentrating on keeping up.
Some of them were already starting to lag behind.
Near the beginning, the Bootlickers had been at the front, followed by the Rookies, followed by the Scumbags, followed by the Numbers.
Now, the Bootlickers were at the front, but they had stressed and strained expressions.
Following them were the Numbers, which showed no exhaustion.
Behind them were the Scumbags.
And in the last place were the Rookies.
The officer noted how everyone was performing in silence.
"Stop!" the officer shouted as he raised his spear.
The group stopped behind him.
"We are now at the border between the Old Ice Wyvern Zone and the New Ice Wyvern Zone. From now on, things might get dangerous since there are no typical, categorized wildernesses in here."
The officer smiled as he looked at his soldiers.
"Who knows? Maybe we will meet a Commander Stage beast."
Some of the soldiers became nervous.
The officer looked at everyone, and he took special note of the three Numbers.
'All three of them seem to be powerful and experienced warriors,' he thought.
He looked for a longer time at them to remember their features.
Zero, the tall man with long black hair and his gigantic curved sword.
One, the shorter man with short black hair and his long, one-edged sword.
Two, the average man with medium-length hair and his very peculiar spear.
The three Numbers stood near the front, waiting for the officer to continue wordlessly.
One of these three was Shang.
But which one?
Chapter 227 Numbers Talk
After a bit of rest, the group continued down the slope.
The Ice Wyvern Zone had many mountains and hills, and the battlefield was basically a gigantic crater that had been created over many years of war between ice and fire beasts.
Of course, the clash between the two Zone Beasts hadn't helped the land. Their clash had happened in the north, and if it weren't for them, the other side of the crater would begin in the middle of the battlefield.
However, since they fought, a huge chunk of the north was also destroyed, leaving behind a kilometer-wide crater, which was just as deep as the central crater of the battlefield.
One only needed to imagine a big crater in the center of the map, which then stretched into the north for several more kilometers.
As the group of soldiers charged down the steep decline, they had to evade several spikes of ice. Over the long years, the fire had molten the ground in many parts and pushed it towards the south. However, these waves of earth had been frozen by the Ice Mana, essentially locking them in place.
Because of that, several frozen spikes of earth pointed towards the south, making travel very inconvenient for people that couldn't jump several meters into the air.
Luckily, as General Stage warriors, these spikes were nothing more than a couple of bigger pebbles on the road, but, of course, it was still draining to constantly jump over them.
"Why did you say that you were a traitor?"
Two looked over to One, who had just asked the question.
"Why do you care?" Two asked.
"Because, if you like it or not, we three have been lumped together," One answered. "We can trust no one, but there should at least be some trust between the three of us."
"How can there be trust without reciprocity?" Two asked. "I gave you a sensitive part about my person, but you didn't give me anything."
One snorted. "And how am I supposed to believe that what you said was true?"
"What reason would I have for endangering myself?" Two asked.
For a while, One didn't answer. "Assuming you told the truth, why? Why did you tell the truth?"
"I want to take revenge on the people that hunted me in the past," Two explained. "My words will surely attract them."
For a second, One wanted to comment that this was a stupid idea. After all, if the enemy knew where and who Two was, they wouldn't send some weak warriors. They would definitely send someone that had the power to kill Two.
But then, One saw the Space Ring on Two's finger, and he realized that Two probably had his real weapon stashed away, making it difficult for the enemy to actually find out who he was exactly.
One looked at Two's weapon and guessed that this weapon wasn't Two's actual weapon.
Maybe Two was even imitating another traitor to make the enemy underestimate him?
"What if I belong to Duke Mithril's faction?" One asked.
"So?" Two asked. "What does it matter? You don't know anything about me, and you have learned nothing. This conversation has changed nothing between us. If you were part of the enemy, you would try to kill me, regardless if I talk to you or not."
"You're quite smart," One commented with a rough chuckle. "I like to have someone smart on my side."
"And how will you plan on getting me to your side?" Two asked.
"We'll have plenty of opportunities to prove our intentions to each other," One answered. "We have a full year ahead of us, and we will come into conflict with humans and beasts alike during that time. If words can't convince you, my actions will."
Two remained silent for a bit.
"Alright, then I'll wait for your proof."
"Don't worry. It might happen sooner than you would think," One said with a chuckle. "Anyway, I need to also talk with our other… friend."
One looked over at Zero, who was running down the slope just ahead of them.
"I wouldn't get my hopes up," Two said. "Zero feels like someone that doesn't care about words. I think you would get further with money than with words."
Two couldn't see One's face due to the mask, so he couldn't judge One's reaction to his words.
"Maybe," One said mysteriously.
And then, he accelerated to catch up with Zero.
Many other soldiers in the group had difficulties with the constant jumping, but One seemingly danced over the huge, icy needles without a care in the world.
In just a couple of seconds, One arrived besides Zero.
"You said you were interested in money, right?" One asked.
"I am," Zero answered directly.
One looked at Zero more closely and noticed that he also wore a Space Ring. This meant that Zero could very well also have hidden his true weapon and equipment.
"Are you willing to earn additional money?" One asked.
"Depends on the amount and the risks," Zero answered. "I won't jeopardize my payment from Duke Whirlwind's faction for a lesser amount."
"No, nothing like that," One quickly explained. "I don't want you to go against our mission."
"Then, I'm listening," Zero said.
Zero couldn't see One's face, but he imagined One to be smirking under his mask.
"You see, we three have been lumped together by everyone else. You can see that by the distribution of the team," One explained.
"Get to the point," Zero answered with some annoyance.
One didn't like that Zero interrupted him so quickly, but he kept his annoyance in check.
"Two isn't very interested in forming a team without some strong proof of trust. He seems to be more on the ideological than the materialistic side of things."
"I said get to the point," Zero interrupted again.
For two seconds, One didn't say anything.
"I'm willing to pay you an additional 50% of our salary, but I want you to follow my orders," One said.
"When are the payments, and what do you want me to do?" Zero asked.
"The payments are every month upfront," One answered, "and I won't make you do anything that will endanger our primary mission. I just don't want to be alone amongst a big group of people that might betray me at any moment."
"Fine," Zero answered before he stretched his right arm to One. "First payment."
"Wait a second," One said. "I won't agree without some insurance."
After saying that, One took out his own Space Ring and summoned a contract.
He quickly filled in some blanks on the contract and signed it before handing it to Zero.
Zero took a glance at the contract and snorted. "Don't waste my time."
"What do you mean?" One asked. "The contract reflects what we have just agreed upon."
"Yes, it does," Zero answered, "but that's a dummy contract. I don't need a contract, but you wanted one, and now, you are offering me a dummy contract."
One chuckled a bit. "I only wanted to see if you were actually experienced in the shadier ways of doing business. After all, we are all wearing masks, and we hide our true selves."
The first contract vanished, and a new contract appeared, which One quickly signed.
After receiving the contract, Zero looked at it for around five seconds before signing it.
A second copy of the contract appeared beside it, and One took that copy while Zero kept the original.
"Payment," Zero said as he extended his hand to One again.
One took out a huge sack of gold from his Space Ring and threw it to Zero.
Zero leisurely stored it in his own Space Ring.
"I'll contact you if I need anything," One said.
"Sure," Zero answered.
And then, One went back to Two, and they continued talking.
Zero simply continued running alone.
Chapter 228 Hardfire Spider
After around two hours, the team reached the bottom of the crater, leaving the troublesome icy needles behind.
But now, they had to climb the gigantic and long slope to the north. The Volcano Wyrm Zone had a very high altitude. After all, the Zone was essentially one gigantic mountain, over ten kilometers tall.
After a bit of climbing, the officer and One noticed something.
One went over to Zero. "As my first order, I don't want you to get involved."
Zero had also noticed what was going on, and he nodded.
"Boys, who wants to prove themselves?" the officer shouted with a smirk to the team behind him. "Who's willing to take on an Early General Stage beast with only two people?"
The Bootlickers wanted to jump forward to prove themselves, but when they heard that they were only allowed to fight in a pair, most of them gave up.
But there were still some of them that were interested.
"I'm willing," One suddenly shouted.
The Bootlickers gnashed their teeth when they heard One shout. Right now, they regretted not shouting sooner.
"Fine, and who will be your partner?" the officer asked with a smirk.
One looked over at Two.
Two realized what One had planned, scratched his chin, and nodded. "I'm also willing," he shouted.
"Alright, then get to it," the officer shouted. "There's a Hardfire Spider to the east of us. Everyone else, you can take a pause and watch our comrades fight!"
Right now, some of the Bootlickers were happy that they didn't jump forward while the Scumbags only snickered.
A Hardfire Spider had a deadly fighting style. It wasn't uncommon for a team to have a casualty while hunting one.
One and Two didn't seem to mind as they charged towards the east.
After some seconds, the two of them noticed a two-meter-tall and very wide spider in front of them. It was seemingly made of hardened magma, and it quickly noticed the two people charging at it.
"How confident are you in killing it?" One asked.
Two took out the long needle-like spear from his back. "This weapon is made to kill beasts."
"Great," One said. "Then, I will be the distraction while you kill it."
After One said that, he charged forward. The others couldn't tell what kind of ability he was using, but One had become very fast while charging forward.
CRRRK!
The ice around the spider turned into steam as its body began to glow in a hot and bright light.
Then, it also charged toward its opponents.
BANG!
The spider jumped, its body leaving behind a cloud of steam.
One suddenly changed direction and shot to the side.
BOOOM!
The spider landed, destroying the surroundings as fire appeared around it.
The watching soldiers only snickered when they saw the Hardfire Spider's attack.
Hardfire Spiders had the rare Lava Affinity, a mix of the Fire and Earth Affinity.
They had the explosiveness of fire, which increased their speed, and the weight and defense of Earth.
Of course, the tradeoff was that Hardfire Spiders couldn't attack from a distance.
But they were extremely deadly in melee range.
CRK!
One's curved, long sword hit one of the spider's armored legs, making its armor explode off its legs.
Some of the watching soldiers knew what One had used and recognized his Affinity.
He had infused his weapon with Metal Mana, which gave it a certain property of destruction.
A Metal Mana wasn't very useful against most beasts, but when it came to heavily armored beasts, it could show amazing potential.
Several warriors called warriors with a Metal Affinity Armor Breakers.
When the spider noticed that a big part of its armor had been destroyed, it became enraged, and fire shot out from around its body.
One continued circling around the spider as he protected his face with his curved sword. The sweltering heat could severely injure an Early General Stage warrior, but One was wearing a set of armor that was powerful enough to resist the heat.
The spider turned towards One and swiped at him with one of its legs.
Originally, it had wanted to bite him, but this annoying insect was too fast and nimble. The spider couldn't properly align itself with its target.
One noticed that the leg was coming, jumped, and put his sword in front of him.
CRACK!
A big piece of armor fell off the spider's leg, but One was thrown several meters into the distance.
However, One easily landed without any issues.
"Job's done!" One said with a voice that suggested a smirk.
"Counter Execution," Two's voice entered One's ears.
One snorted. "Fine. I said I would prove my trustworthiness. For now, let me trust you first. You better not disappoint me."
Two didn't answer.
The spider exploded with fire again.
BOOOOM!
A gigantic explosion came out of the spider's back, and it jumped forward at incredible speeds.
One held his curved sword in a blocking position but didn't move.
Ssshhh.
Some quiet sounds of wind and snow came from between the spider and One.
And then, the sound exploded into the howling sounds of a heavy storm as snow and ice gathered in a previously empty location between the two combatants.
Two had appeared between them, his thin spear pulled back.
His left arm caressed the spear, and its tip was coated in dark-blue ice.
BANG!
Two exploded forward and struck forward with his spear.
The spider was currently jumping with its underside first, but it would have landed before reaching its target.
However, now, Two had intercepted it, and it couldn't stop its jump.
Two put his entire power into his spear.
And then, he pierced forward.
The ice on the spear hit the spider's underside.
CRACK!
The ice and the armor on the spider's underside broke into pieces.
At that moment, the ground beneath Two exploded in Ice, which allowed him to release a second strike.
CRACK!
The tip of the spear punched through the spider's underside, and the spider released painful screeches.
CRRRR!
The weight of the spider's charge pushed Two back, leaving behind a deep trail of destruction.
BANG!
Two's back hit the side of One's blocking sword.
CRACK!
The spear left the backside of the spider, and the combatants stopped sliding.
The feet of the spider were wriggling helplessly as they couldn't touch the ground beneath them.
One jumped on Two's shoulders and jumped forward.
His curved sword left a black arc in its wake.
SHING!
The curved sword cleanly passed through the spider's unarmored head.
This was the weakness of Hardfire Spiders. Their entire body was armored, but their heads couldn't deal with all the heat of their own bodies, leaving them unarmored there.
The spider's body seized and twitched.
But the fight was already over.
"See?" One said as he landed. "I didn't betray your trust, right?"
Two pulled his spear back and let the spider fall to the ground.
"You didn't," Two said. "I think you can view this part as a good first impression."
"Great!" One said.
Zero watched all of this from a distance.
'They're quite powerful,' he thought.
"Well done!" the officer shouted with some polite clapping. "This will enter the report. If you continue like this, you will surely receive a bonus at the end of the year."
"You can leave the corpse for the wildlife. As the agreement stated, you forfeit the corpses of the beasts you kill in here. Of course, the payment is more than enough to make up for it."
One and Two walked back to the group under the interested gazes of their comrades.
Several of the Rookies were amazed, while the Scumbags and Bootlickers watched those two with furrowed brows.
These two were too strong.
If these two kept performing this well, their own bonuses would be put into jeopardy.
Some of the Scumbags looked over at Zero.
If they could make the Numbers fight each other…
Chapter 229 Jobs
After the brief run-in with the spider, the soldiers continued.
On the way, they found one other beast, but this one was at the Middle General Stage.
The officer and two Bootlickers took care of the beast, and the officer gave those two some praise before continuing. The two Bootlickers haven't shown amazing power, but they were good enough to survive and gain some attention from the beast, which allowed the officer to kill it.
One hour later, the group finally arrived at their goal.
It was a newly built town with over twenty-meter high, dark blue walls.
Shang, disguised as one of the Numbers, looked at the walls and was surprised how quickly the Mages of this world managed to build such gigantic walls.
"Wait here," the officer said, and he walked towards the town on his own.
The soldiers on the wall were careful and only let the officer in after they exchanged some words.
The officer remained inside the town for a couple of minutes.
When he returned, he was accompanied by two other people.
One of them wore the same armor as the officer, but the third person wore a set of armor that vastly outshone the other's set of armor.
Shang felt a feeling of severe threat come from that person, which told him that he had to be at the Commander Stage.
The Commander Stage warrior looked over the gathered soldiers and nodded.
"Bring them to their new home," he ordered the officer.
"Yes, sir!" the officer shouted with a salute.
The Commander Stage warrior nodded and entered the town again, followed by the second officer.
"You heard it, boys!" the officer shouted to his group. "It's time to get to your new home!"
The Bootlickers and Rookies saluted while the others remained silent.
After that, the officer led everyone towards the northeast.
In the next hour, some of the Scumbags and a couple of Rookies began to fall behind.
They had been running all day, and they just couldn't run anymore.
The Rookies helped their comrades, but the Scumbags left their comrades behind, not caring if they survived or died.
Luckily, the Scumbags that lagged behind could still see the group in the distance. They were in luck that there was basically no flora in the former battlefield.
Eventually, the officer stopped and waited until everyone arrived, which took a couple of minutes.
The tired group looked around and gritted their teeth in frustration when they saw nothing around.
That meant more walking.
Right now, everyone was on top of a smaller hill. By now, there was not much ice left on the ground, but it was still snowing lightly. However, the snow quickly melted as soon as it hit the ground.
The ground on the hill was warmer than the air, which told everyone that they were close to the Volcano Wyrm Zone.
At the moment, it was evening, but due to the thick cloud cover, it seemed like it was night.
"This is our new home!" the officer announced.
The soldiers looked around in confusion.
This hill?
The officer only smirked. "We will build an outpost at this exact location!" he announced.
The group of soldiers wasn't very enthusiastic about that.
"Now, I will distribute tasks based on what I have seen of you so far!"
After that, the officer called one person after the other to the front.
"You will build the wall," the officer said to one of the Scumbags.
The Scumbag gritted his teeth.
He had been one of the ones that had lagged behind, and he was sure that this was the reason why the officer gave him the most thankless job out of all of them.
Building a wall was boring, tedious, took long, and exhausting.
It was the worst job.
The frustration of the Scumbag turned into rage, but he didn't dare to complain.
Even though the officer talked very casually with everyone, the Scumbag had seen what the officer had done to one of the Scumbags when they talked without permission.
In the end, the Scumbag left with three other Scumbags to build the wall.
The officer drew a deep line in the ground to symbolize where the wall was supposed to be built while the others waited for their assignments.
Based on the line, the wall would end up with a circumference of about a hundred meters.
"I want it ten meters tall, and I want two gates," the officer said, pointing to where the gates were supposed to be.
"Sir, what are we supposed to use as material?" one of the Scumbags asked in a polite and careful tone.
The officer only smirked.
"You three at least managed to get to this hill with your own strength," the officer said.
Then, the officer looked at the five students that had lagged behind, who had been helped by their comrades.
"They didn't," the officer said.
At that moment, the students knew what was going to happen.
The students that had lagged behind turned white, while the other students felt shocked and guilty for helping them.
From the side, Shang watched all of his with a raised eyebrow, which couldn't be seen through his mask.
'This officer definitely doesn't foster unity,' he thought. 'It seems like he cares more about individual strength.'
Punishing a soldier for helping another soldier was very abnormal. Usually, the military transformed a group of soldiers into one entity.
This was obviously not what the officer had in mind.
The officer called the five Rookies that had lagged behind to the front.
SHING!
Five pickaxes appeared before the officer.
The five students looked at the pickaxes in dread.
Then, the officer pointed at a different hill, nearly a full kilometer away.
"I want the good stuff," he said. "The stuff that's at least ten meters deep in the ground!"
"Your job is to get the good stone and bring it to the builders. You don't have to cut the stones into uniform sizes. That is part of the builders' job."
Everyone looked at the hill in the distance.
From this position, they could see the surrounding kilometers rather well, and they could see several General Stage beasts from here.
It was a dangerous task.
"Sir, with all due respect, we-"
BANG!
The officer slapped the student so hard that several of his teeth fell out.
"Who told you to have no willpower?!" the officer shouted with an enraged voice. "Your body is just as powerful as everyone else's, but you lagged behind!"
"Well, since you slacked off on the journey, you obviously need more training! A few days of mining and carrying heavy stones should bring some discipline into your lazy head!"
The other Rookies were horrified while the Scumbags snickered.
There were no more complaints.
After that, the officer called forward the bootlickers and gave them the task of building several houses, each one serving a different purpose.
Materials?
They would have to also get the stone with pickaxes.
However, this group of soldiers had two things that made it easier for them.
First of all, the stones didn't need to be the hardest materials. As long as the building didn't fall over when a General Stage warrior accidentally fell on it, it would be fine.
Second, they were allowed to manage themselves, which meant that not everyone had to do the hard task of mining stone the entire time. They could just do rotations.
After that, the officer called forward the remaining Rookies.
"You guys seem like you need some training. So, you will be responsible for dealing with all the weaker beasts in the surroundings and the ones that threaten the mining path especially. I don't care how you kill the beasts, but I don't want to see any beast from up here! If there is a Middle General Stage beast or stronger, you will report that to me!" the officer ordered.
The reactions were mixed.
Some of the Rookies were happy that they didn't have to do boring manual labor, but others felt nervous and a bit scared.
Then, the officer called the remaining Scumbags forward.
"You seem like a bunch that's amazing at saving your own asses," the officer said.
The Scumbags didn't like what the officer was saying, but they didn't dare to raise their voices.
"Because of that, your responsibility will be scouting! You will scout up to ten kilometers to the north, which is where the Volcano Wyrm Zone starts, and 50 kilometers into every other direction! I want to know what beasts you see, where you see them, their power, and I especially want to know if you see any humans!" the officer ordered.
The Scumbags grimaced.
This was an extremely dangerous job.
Now, only the Numbers were left.
The officer looked at One and Two for a bit and then focused on Zero with a frown.
One guessed what the officer was thinking and walked over to Zero. "He and I have an agreement. I trust his strength."
The officer looked at Zero for a bit more.
One and Two had proven their strength, but he hadn't seen Zero fight yet.
However, since One had vouched for Zero, the officer didn't mind.
"You will stay on standby here," the officer said.
"Your responsibility is to deal with any Middle General Stage beasts. Do you have the power to do that?" the officer asked.
The officer hadn't asked if the others were able to deal with their tasks since it was expected of them to have the power to do their tasks.
But killing a Middle General Stage beast was beyond the normal scope.
One and Two seemed to have been rather comfortable in their fight with the Hardfire Spider, which was why he thought about letting them have this job.
The three Numbers looked at each other.
"I want extra payment."
The officer looked at Zero with furrowed brows.
One and Two also looked at him.
"I can assure you that, if you manage to kill a couple in a group, your bonus will be, at least, above average, even if the performance for the remainder of your stay is mediocre," the officer said.
"Fine with me," Zero said.
One and Two looked at each other and nodded. "We agree," One said to the officer.
The officer smirked and nodded. "Good!"
Then, he turned to everyone else.
"Now, do your job!"
Chapter 230 Strength
Over the next hour, everyone started doing their work.
The officer was watching everyone from the hill, ensuring no one was slacking off.
Just ten minutes into the hour, the Rookies began to engage the first beast.
They were all attacking a single beast, which was only at the Early General Stage.
Of course, since there were only four Rookies that weren't doomed to mine stone the entire time, the fight was still relatively even.
The officer watched the Rookies attack the lone Early General Stage beast with disdain.
Four warriors were evenly fighting with a beast on their level.
That was way below the officer's standards.
He wanted powerful soldiers, not average ones.
But for now, he let them gain some experience.
After around two minutes, the beast died, and the Rookies rested.
"Get moving! Don't make me come down there!" the officer shouted loudly from atop the hill.
The Rookies looked with shock at the officer.
They had just killed a beast! Weren't they allowed even a second of pause?!
In the end, they went to the next beast with gritted teeth.
Five minutes later, they killed the second beast, and the officer shouted at them to continue going.
Over the next 30 minutes, the Rookies killed two more beasts.
While they were walking to the next one, the officer snorted.
"These idiots," he said just loud enough for the three Numbers to hear him. "I don't know if they are just not paying attention or if they can't see what's in front of them."
"Let one of them die," the officer ordered the three people standing behind him. "They have to learn."
"Understood," One said as he charged forward.
Zero and Two followed closely behind.
The Rookies were currently charging at a huge salamander. It was over three meters high and over ten meters long. It was redish-orange, and it simply stood motionless at one spot.
The Rookies closed in and got into formation.
Then, they attacked the same way they had attacked the other beasts.
Two of them charged at it from the front, wanting to get its attention.
However, the salamander didn't move.
When they saw that it didn't move, they attacked it with their weapons.
CRK! CLINK!
The heavier weapon managed to crack some of its scales, but the lighter weapon bounced off.
The Rookies immediately halted, their eyes wide with shock.
That wasn't an Early General Stage beast!
The salamander noticed that it had been attacked, and its eyes focused on the two warriors right in front of it.
BANG!
One of its feet threw one of the soldiers into the distance with a slap, breaking several of his bones.
Luckily, the warrior managed to block the attack, which saved his life.
The other tried to run away, but the salamander opened its mouth and released a violent breath of fire, which engulfed the warrior.
The warrior screamed hysterically in pain and rolled down the slope, trying to get rid of the fire.
Some seconds later, he managed to get rid of the fire, but all his belongings except for his weapon had been burned away.
His body was covered in severe burns, but most of them healed in the blink of an eye.
The Numbers noticed this.
'He has a warrior's body,' they thought simultaneously.
The warrior's body was the only reason why that warrior had even survived. He had used up all his Mana while he had been burning to a crisp to heal himself.
The other two Rookies had long since fled, leaving the first two alone.
The Rookie that had been thrown into the distance quickly fled.
The salamander looked at all the humans near it and eventually focused on the warrior that had survived its fire.
This had been the one that broke its scales.
The warrior fled towards the hill, and he saw the Numbers charge toward him.
Hope appeared in his eyes. "HELP!" he shouted loudly.
At that moment, One extended his arm to the side, stopping the other two.
Horror and shock appeared in the warrior's eyes.
"Sorry, only following orders," One said with a voice bereft of regret or guilt.
Before the warrior could understand what One meant, he heard a loud explosion come from behind him.
CRSH!
The salamander opened his mouth and bit off the warrior's upper body, chewing on it for a bit before swallowing.
The other Rookies looked with horror at the spectacle.
One of their comrades had died!
They all looked at the three Numbers with anger and hatred in their heart.
They could have saved him!
Monsters!
Murderers!
Traitors!
The Numbers waited for a bit before they scattered.
On the way here, they had talked about their tactic, and they had already come up with a plan.
The salamander ate the legs and looked at the three warriors approaching it.
It hadn't cared much about the earlier warriors, but these three felt dangerous.
Good!
Many beasts had an inherent drive for battle, and the salamander's instincts told it that it would become more powerful if it won.
One charged in with incredible speeds, and the salamander focused on him.
BANG!
The salamander charged forward and tried to bite One.
One immediately jumped back. While fighting the spider, he had been confident in evading its attacks while staying at melee range, but this salamander was way more dangerous. Because of that, One kept his distance from the salamander at over ten meters. This would give him enough time to react to its attacks.
The salamander barely missed, and it jumped towards its prey again.
The salamander was way faster than One, but One perfectly outmaneuvered it. He was only moving when the salamander had already made its move, which gave him just enough time to get out of range.
Eventually, the salamander realized that this approach didn't work, and it released a searing breath of fire.
One was engulfed by the blazing fire, hiding him from the salamander's eyes.
The officer on the hill only smirked.
Right now, the officer saw One crouched behind a gigantic shield, which had been summoned from his Space Ring.
'Quite clever,' the officer thought.
The salamander noted that its fire was still being dispersed by something several seconds later, which made it think that its prey was still alive.
The salamander intensified its fire as it tried to burn its victim into nothingness.
Sadly, it couldn't see the gigantic shield beneath its stream of fire.
Suddenly, the salamander saw One charge into the distance.
A second later, the thing that had stopped the salamander's fire began to slowly vanish.
The shield could only resist so much fire before melting.
Suddenly, the salamander noticed a blue light come from the edge of its vision, and it focused on the light.
A deep-blue, icy spear was rapidly moving closer to the salamander's pupil!
Out of reflex, the salamander immediately jumped to its left to evade the spear.
"RAAAAAH!"
The salamander heard a rumbling, deep shout come from the place where it was currently jumping towards.
Its vision focused on its goal, and it saw a man with a colossal sword shouting in what appeared to be rage.
All the muscles on the man's body seemingly blew up as his entire body was pushing power into his sword.
And then, when the salamander's body reached the man, Zero's gigantic sword smashed forward.
BOOOOM!
A fiery explosion appeared behind Zero, his entire body pushing forward with everything he had.
"RAAAH!"
The salamander's body was still in the air, and its side was turned to Zero.
Zero's sword hit the side of the salamander's body.
CRACK!
The heavy and gigantic sword punched through the scales and cut through the salamander's body until it hit the salamander's spine.
CRK!
The spine cracked under the power of the sword, but it didn't break.
And then.
BOOOOOOM!
A violent explosion of fire came out of the sword, which was buried in the salamander's body.
CRACK!
The spine cracked apart, and the force of the explosion cleaved the salamander in two!
The two halves of the beast passed beside Zero as his sword exploded on the ground.
Silence.
One and Two looked with shock at Zero.
Zero had told them that he could kill it if he got an opportunity, but they hadn't expected that!
The sheer brutality and power behind this attack were insane!
That guy had cleaved a Middle General Stage beast into two halves!
The officer's eyes also widened when he saw Zero's power.
All the soldiers had long since stopped working to watch the fight, and they were just as shocked.
Zero slowly stood up and walked to One.
He didn't say a word.
One only looked at Zero, his expression indiscernible behind his mask.
'The shout should have masked my absence of exhaustion,' Shang thought as he stood in front of One.
'If there are traitors in this camp, they will definitely take note of me. With my proclaimed greed for money, they are more likely to pay me off instead of getting rid of me.'
'They can't ignore someone like me if they want their plan to work.'
Yes, Zero was Shang.
Over the last couple of months, Shang's body had undergone an insane growth spurt, making him reach about 185 centimeters.
His hair had its growth accelerated by Magic, and the muscles of his body had increased in volume due to some medicine he had taken over the last couple of months.
The Dean had given Sword a great number of Peak General Stage ore to upgrade it and to allow it to change its shape.
In order to make Sword this massive, the Dean had spent over 50 units of ore!
Sure enough, no one would be able to link the old Shang to Zero.
They were completely different.