46 Strategy

The student cultivators could no longer contain themselves. They immediately went into an uproar.

"What the **** is that? Did you all see that? The pillar didn't just crack on the surface! It was completely obliterated!"

"Is that the power of a Commoner Rank cultivator? One must at least be in the Herald Rank to achieve this effect! What a wondrous way of using Snapdragon Punch!"

Group by group, they started to test out this new way of executing the Snapdragon Punch. Life-like Snapdragons kept appearing behind the backs of the groups. However, no one threw a punch out to test the effectiveness of the technique. This was after the City Lord's residence and not the Institute's training grounds. They just needed to know that they were capable of combining their might to form a more powerful version of the Snapdragon Punch.

It took five whole minutes before the groups and teams began to settle down from their initial fervour and excitement. They then focused their attention on Kael, waiting for him to give the next set of instructions.

"Next, I'll talk about battle tactics. In groups of five, you can deal with at least ten demonic beasts at any one time, provided that you don't break the defensive battle formation. I know that it is the first time for many of you to actually work in a group together, however this is really simple."

Kael then went into the details of how the group should adopt defensive measures in a formation, when the members of the group should deflect attacks, when they should go on the offensive etc. With this, the student cultivators had clarity in their mind about the kind of tactics they had to employ when facing a large group of demonic beasts.

Nobody needed to practice. That was the advantage that the student cultivators had; they already have lots of combat experience. It was just a matter of tying these experiences into the concept of a team.

"The most important thing is - if you meet a demonic beast that is higher ranked than you, use the combined Snapdragon Punch to completely obliterate the enemy. Though this will have consumption of your spiritual energy, it takes priority. This is because a higher ranked opponent has a higher possibility of disrupting your battle formations and tactics."

The student cultivators all nodded in assent.

Kael took out a scroll from his item bag and he unfolded it in front of the crowd.

"This is a map of Fledgling City's defenses. The Black Heart Forest is located north of the city, so that's probably the general direction of where the beast horde will come from. The city has four gates; north south east west. However most of the defenses will be concentrated at the north city gate. That is also where all of us will be stationed at."

There was an unlikely possibility that the demonic beast horde would take the long route and travel through other cities to reach Fledgling City's east west and south sides. That was because they would have to face resistance from other cities as well, hindering their plot of attacking Fledgling City. Hence, the north was where the main battle would take place.

Kael then proceeded to circle 17 circles at various locations spread across Fledgling City's north gate.

"These are the spots where the 17 teams of Commoner Rank Lower Phase cultivators will be located. As for the three teams of Commoner Rank Middle Phase, your role will be to travel across the entire span of the city's north gate and help any teams that are put at a disadvantage. In short, one category of teams will stay put at their positions, while the other category of teams will play scouting and routing of enemies."

"Question. How many demonic beasts are we looking at here?"

"You all already know that there are about 1000 demonic beasts, but in reality we are only dealing with about 300 of them. Using these tactics that I've mentioned, we should be able to contain them. Remember, we are fighting a war of attrition and endurance. We are not looking for a complete victory, but just to hold our ranks and let the enemies realise that they cannot breach through our defenses."

"That's only for Commoner Rank Lower Phase to Middle Phase monsters. How about those at the Herald Rank?"

"The City Lord's elite crack troops will take care of Commoner Rank Late Phase monsters. As for the City Lord, Richard Duran, and his right hand man, Patten Eagle, they are capable of dealing with Herald Rank Lower Phase demonic beasts. As for the leaders of the beast horde tide, they shouldn't be reckless to make a move as the Institute's higher-ups are watching closely as well."

"What about you?" Everyone was curious as to what role Kael would take.

"Suffice to say, I'll be controlling the terrain of the battlefield, making it easier for you guys to repel the demonic beasts. To that end, I'll have to make some preparations after this. I believe our session ends here. See you guys at the battlefield the day after tomorrow."

"Wait…" Mirana wanted to shout for Kael, however he was gone in a jiffy. Thrump could only shrug his shoulders at one side. Even a muddle-headed guy like him knew about the positive feelings that Mirana had for Kael.

After Kael left, the student cultivators began excitedly discussing among themselves about the battle that would take place the day after tomorrow. To most of them, it was the first time that they were involved in repelling a demonic beast horde tide. It was thus an exciting and dangerous mission that could sharpen their senses and propel them further down the road of cultivation.

Mirana could only look at Kael's receding figure with longing eyes. She was adamant about getting Kael's attention. This battlefield was a good opportunity to do so. With that in mind, she regained her senses and joined her team in a discussion about the battle tactics and formations...