47 Preparations

Now that Kael had gone through the minute details as well as the macro issues of the battlefield, he felt more relaxed. The student cultivators were equipped and prepared to fight the battle. This mentality caused half of the battle to be won already.

The next thing he had to do was to survey the battlefield and lay down his groundwork there. On his way out of the City Lord residence, Kael ordered 20 of the City Lord guards in the residence to follow him. Although it wasn't under the direction of Richard Duran, seeing that it was Kael himself requesting for manpower, they didn't dare to neglect his order and obediently followed him out.

At the north gate of Fledgling City.

Kael wasn't unfamiliar to this area. In fact, when traversing to and fro from the Black Heart Forest, he had to go through this north city gate.

When briefing the student cultivators earlier on, he already had an inkling of how the battle was going to take place.

First, the demonic beasts would attempt to crash through the city gate and flood into Fledgling City to start a massacre. Even though they were aiming for cultivator cores, Kael believed that the methods of the sentient demonic beasts were to strike fear into the general human populace itself as well. Thus it was highly likely that going through the city gate would be their priority.

Secondly, if the barrage against the city gate failed, they would attempt to scale the walls to rush into the city.

The defense brief that Kael instructed the student cultivators was thus to protect both the city gate and the city walls. That was why there were 17 locations spread out across the entire span of the northern city gate and walls.

However, due to the limited amount of student cultivators he could command, Kael realized that there were still a few loopholes that could be breached amongst the defense, considering how he wanted the student cultivators to act in groups to minimize casualties.

Kael saw the possible gaps where the defense could be breached, and he decided to fill in the gaps using this sparse amount of time left.

Kael ordered the 20 guards, "Procure shovels and massive amounts of flammable Cyanthus Liquid. The liquid should be easy to get because the Cyanthus Flower can be found everywhere in the vicinity of Fledgling City. Quickly."

The guards quickly responded and left to get the items in the name of the City Lord faction resisting the demonic beast horde.

Twenty minutes later, the guards came back to the northern city gate, carrying sacks and bags in all shapes and sizes. In it were the shovels and Cyanthus Liquid. The citizens of Fledgling City were eager to respond to the call of Richard Duran and Kael to resist the beast horde tide, hence the items were easily made available.

"Good. Start digging ditches that span about 100 metres wide along these areas…" Kael pointed out the locations where the ditches were supposed to be. The guards worked ceaselessly to make Kael's request come to fruition.

After three grueling hours, the guards were finally done. They were also thoroughly exhausted, with many of them panting for air.

Kael patted one of them on the back and said, "Tomorrow, right before the demonic beast horde tide comes, you all will be in charge of filling the ditches with the Cyanthus Liquid."

"Young Master Kael, forgive us for asking, but is this used to repel the demonic beasts?"

"Yes. You guys don't need to know the details, you just have to fill the ditches with the Cyanthus Liquid."

The guards were confused. From their perspective, the ditches were all dug in random locations. That was because they weren't briefed on the activities of the student cultivators.

Furthermore, Cyanthus Liquid was flammable but it only ignites when it comes into contact with something extremely cold, like ice. Normal flame arrows wouldn't be able to ignite the Cyanthus Liquid to give off cold Cyanthus Flames.

Cyanthus Liquid was primarily used for cooking ingredients in normal households. Though it was general knowledge, no one in Fledgling City had actually ignited Cyanthus Liquid before, because ice was a precious commodity that were kept in limited stocks in the cellars underneath the City Lord chambers.

However, the precondition of using ice was actually perfect for Kael, who had recently cultivated a basic ice constitution. He could utilize the power of ice element to spark off the defense…

---

By the time that Kael and the guards were done, it was already evening and close to nightfall. The rest of the City Lord's army was already swarming the city walls and the gate, with torches illuminating the dark sky. They were prepared and awaiting any sudden surprise or ambush from the demonic beasts.

Subsequently, the student cultivators assembled as well. They were all guarding the locations that was assigned to them by Kael.

According to the reports, the attack will come the day after tomorrow. However, the beast horde tide could come sooner, either tonight or early the next day. That was why Richard Duran and Wallie Dawson decided to deploy the defenses already and put everyone in Fledgling City in high state alert.

It was a tense atmosphere. Silence pervaded through the night. The only sounds that could be heard were the crickets screeching in the forest in front of the city gate, as well as the rush of wind trying to extinguish the never-ceasing flames on the torches.

Everyone waited in anticipation, however the night passed quietly.

Everyone here was a cultivator, hence they wouldn't feel tired spending the time in vigil. Hence, they were all still in an optimum state.

However, the silent atmosphere was finally broken in the dawn of the morning.

"Howl! Roar! Woo! Screech!"

All sorts of sounds from demonic beasts could be heard from within the forest. There was a deep rumbling sound. This could only be produced by massive groups of beasts gathering together and stomping towards a common direction.

The demonic beast horde tide was finally here!