28 Powerful Adversary

Tiger Continent, Death Valley.

As Caol only had three days to prepare for the siege, he called his elite group for a meeting. All of the youths in the Soaring Dragon Regiment were talented in different aspects. Some were more inclined to battle, others go for strategies.

Caol needed to discuss with them as he needed ideas on how to break through the stronghold. No matter what, they needed to take down the walls, and allow their main army to get in and conquer the fort.

A lot of familiar faces can be seen as they were heading to Caol's tent. Feng nodded to Caol as soon as he went inside. Feng became accustomed to battles as he was there when the army sieged the stronghold.

Caol did not want to waste any time and informed them of the duty that befell upon them. "General Yang wants us to lead the main army and take down the walls of the stronghold. We are the only elite force in this region, and before the Tiger Empire's elite soldiers get here, the Soaring Dragon Regiment needs to win this battle." The elite youths were shocked as it was a very heavy task to put on them. They were all too young and relatively inexperienced compared to the battle-hardened veterans in the army.

Caol continued, "As only one part of the stronghold's walls can be attacked, we need to break through from the front. The problem is, this plan will cause us quite a few losses."

A young woman spoke up, "Captain, if the enemy does not have any forces as strong as us, then I'm confident that we can break through with few losses." This young woman's name was Mei and she was the youngest in the troops.

"I'm afraid it is not easy. The enemy would most likely have very strong soldiers. A general of an army is typically a Martial Ancestor or a Saint. I would assume that there is at least one general in the stronghold. Count some commanders and high-ranking officers and we get a bunch of strong martial practitioners. Most of you have only broken through the Martial Master realm, and individually can handle 20 - 30 regular soldiers, at the most." Caol shook his head. It was bound to be a battle with sacrifices. He was just not sure if his elite group is ready for that kind of resolve. There were 101 people, including him, and if they were to break through the hurdles in this battle, they will most likely grow stronger.

The group of youths in the tent all hesitated as they understood Caol's meaning. They needed to prepare to fight for their lives. The group also saw this as a chance for them to soar higher into the clouds and be a true expert. It did not take long before all of them had a look of resolve in their eyes. "Captain, we are ready to fight to the death!"

Caol nodded, this was what he was waiting for. Of course, Caol did not want to send his soldiers to death, and will most likely protect them from harm. "Prepare for the battle! I need your weapons sharpened and your armors polished. Get ready as we will start in three days."

All of his elite troops left his tent and Caol was the only one left. He also needed to prepare for the battle. It would most likely be frigid, but Caol's blood was keeping him from staying calm. He thirsted for battle, and this is going to be his first stepping stone.

The army site looked peaceful over the next few days as the Soaring Dragon Regiment prepared. What they were not aware of was the Ravaging Wolves Regiment arriving inside the stronghold.

A fierce-looking woman sat on her chair as five young men went in her room. "Reporting to the General, the mission against the mountain tribes was a success. The Ravaging Wolves Regiment is ready to resist the invaders alongside the army."

"Good, you may rests now. Reports from our spies tell us of the Dragon Army attacking tomorrow. Make sure you get enough rest as it will be a long day." The woman, named General Yao, allowed them to leave. She was confident of the Ravaging Wolves Regiment, as the five soldiers in front of her had terrifying cultivations and were very strong for their age.

These five were nomads and there was no information the Tiger Empire could get about their backgrounds. The five young men settled in the Tiger Capital about six years ago and joined the military. They were promoted very fast and were given the authority over the Ravaging Wolves Regiment, one of the seven elite forces in their army.

Caol could not sleep, and instead went into meditation. During his training with Master Jian, Caol was able to have basic mastery over his qi control. Master Jian told him about the three stages of qi contol, namely the basic, intermediate, and expert stages. Usually, martial practitioners control their qi crudely, unless they had a systematic form of training. Immortal cultivators had a huge advantage in this regard as they focused more on the qi aspect.

This does not mean that immortal cultivators have weaker bodies. Once, Caol asked Granny Yu about the realms of the immortals. Grandma Yu told him that the people with spiritual roots start their cultivation by guiding the qi and refining their spiritual roots. This realm is called the Refining realm. As the qi in the spiritual roots get denser, it slowly forms a spiritual core. Once someone succesfully forms their core, they step onto the Condensing Core realm. The core formed is different based on an individual, but the most common thing is that they all have different elements. A cultivator with an aptitude for fire might condense a fire spiritual core, while a cultivator that is inclined more on the metal element will condense a metal spiritual core. This realm significantly increases the cultivators' qi reserves.

Usually, a cultivator who just started at the Refining realm is stronger than a peak Martial Artist, while someone at the peak of the Refining realm can fight most Martial Masters. A Peak Condensing Core cultivator, however, are most likely able to defeat any Martial Grandmasters and Martial Ancestors who just achieved the realm.

Granny Yu told Caol that Jianyi, the immortal he fought, was at the peak of the third realm of immortal cultivation, which is the Spirit Forming realm. A peak Spirit Forming realm is way more powerful than a Martial Saint.

Organizing his thoughts, Caol felt weak compared to the immortal cultivators. He was confident that he will be able to achieve that strength one day, but Caol was also kind of jealous as he wanted to cultivate too.

The next day.

Caol was up early as he needed to do a final check on everything before the battle starts. He already talked with the generals and they gave full support on the siege.

After checking that everybody was in place, Caol led his elite group and rode their mounts near the stronghold. The Soaring Dragon Regiment were given huge warhorses as their mounts. They were very fast and powerful, bringing along with it a form of intimidation.

As the Soaring Dragon Regiment started heading towards the stronghold, General Yang ordered the main army to start marching. Their march reverberated throughout the whole valley. The earth shook and formed a dust cloud as millions of people were organized as one.

They stopped at a reasonable distance from the stronghold, away from the reaches of the enemy archers. Caol was ready to give the order of attack, but he was cut off by a peculiar sight. The stronghold's gates opened and troops of soldiers came out. There were thousands of them, and they all looked very menacing. The flag bearers were holding a flag with a ferocious wolf on it. The troop stopped when they were 500 meters away from the Dragon Army.

Five people slowly rushed out of the formation on their mounts. They were getting near the Dragon Army, as if they weren't afraid of consequences.

A huge man spoke out, "Who is the leader of your Soaring Dragon Regiment? Come out!" His voice brought haughtiness and despise as he called out Caol.

Caol furrowed his brows as he was not prepared for this kind of development. He recognized the flags they brought and wondered, 'I thought they were still travelling from the innermost parts of the Tiger Continent. It looks like we had false information.' Even if he did not know what the other party wanted, Caol still came out and faced them.

"What do you want?" Caol asked as there had to be a reason for this. Feng followed Caol and went right beside him, ready for a fight.

This time, it wasn't the huge man who spoke, but a fairly handsome man. "I just wanted this war to be a little bit more interesting. Before our armies battle, my men wanted to fight you."

Caol looked at the four men in front of him. One was a thin guy who was playing with a dagger in his hands. The other one was the huge guy who called him out. The third one was a bald dude that did not speak. While the fourth one held a sheathed sword in his hands.

"Are you guys all going at once or does someone want to go first?" Caol felt that they were very powerful individuals and had the urge to fight them. It was the main reason he joined the army anyways, to fight strong people.

Once Caol said these words, the five young men heard confidence emanating from his voice. They were surprised because they already released a part of their qi, but this was enough to intimidate most people. They did this with the fight against the mountain tribes and fought off their strongest fighter before conquering them.

"I'll go first." The huge man could not wait any longer and had the same eagerness to fight Caol. He cracked his neck and got down from his mount.

The other four went far back to give them space. Caol hinted Feng to do the same. Caol dismounted from his horse and assessed the person in front of him. Caol did not dare underestimate him and checked his power level from the system.

[Name: Unknown]

[Power Level: 192,000]

His power level was way up high and was at least a Martial Ancestor. It was quite the shock for Caol as he guessed that this guy was in his early twenties. Granny Yu told him that a talented individual can reach the Martial Ancestor realm when he was 50. This guy was half that age, but more powerful.

'Where did these guys come from?' Caol activated {Kaio-ken} x2. He wanted to test his limits. Caol could easily finish the fight, but he still needed to retain his stamina as there were three, potentially four, more people that will fight against him.

[Name: Caol Gwynt]

[Power Level: 173,000]

The iconic red aura started to proliferate around him again. His power increase surprised the young men as amplifying martial arts were rare, and could case serious damage to an individual's body.

The huge man shouted, "Hehe, this is going to be great! Remember my name, kid. It's Qiang." Qiang ran towards Caol. He looked very heavy, but he was insanely fast. The ground beneath him cracked whenever he stepped on it. As soon as he was near Caol, Qiang unleashed a straight right punch on his face.

Caol dodged as the force behind the punch was very powerful. He could feel the shockwaves vibrating through the air. Qiang was not finished though, as he did a fast left hook at Caol's chin. Caol could only block it as he did not have the balance or time to regain his footing after dodging the first attack.

*Boom*

Caol flew away about 40 meters before he stopped. His arms were red and felt pain coursing through his hands. Caol did not mind, or instead, did not have the time to tend to his injury as Qiang was upon him again. This time, Caol went for an attack. He weaved and went straight to Qiang's chest and unleashed a Gargantuan Fist.

Qiang only stepped back a couple of feet. He grinned at Caol, "Your punch tickles. Why are you so weak?"

Caol did not say anything and aimed for a roundhouse to his neck. Qiang just stood there and allowed Caol to hit him. The kick by Caol brought with it terrifying winds as it almost tore through space with its speed.

This time, Qiang felt the kick but he was still standing. Caol knew that this guy was a tough nut to crack and immediately raised his {Kaio-ken} to x3.