"Let's go take the boat instead," said the Dragon bloodline female magus.
Thanks to the status and authority she had as a Full Moon magus, Shena easily acquired one of the boats Zodiac City possessed, and before long, the trio found themselves sailing along the coast heading towards their destination.
"Set sail! Full speed ahead!"
In reality, the group would actually reach their destination faster if they flew using orbiters or went with Emery's [Spatial Gate]. However, the female magus insisted that they should use a boat as their means of transportation.
When faced with Emery's confusion, Shena replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "As your guide, it's only to be expected for me to try and give you the best possible experience?"
A smile could be seen on the female magus' face as the boat they were traveling in moved along the water, moving up and down as the waves against it. It seemed that she was really enjoying the fact they were currently at sea – being a water magus all that.
"I completely agree" Klea said as she took a relaxed position on the deck. Her hands were on her head while her legs were stretched to the maximum as her body lay on a lounger, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the breeze caressing his body.
The Zodiac City Barracks was located on the outskirts, about two hundred miles away from the city. Much to Emery's surprise, the place was actually a compound as big as the city itself, with tens of thousand warriors living – all half-blood.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWith Shena walking in front of the two as they made their way to the barracks, every guard they came across immediately stopped in their tracks upon seeing them before continuing to bow respectfully.
While responding to the greeting given, the female magus gave a brief summary of information about the place and the people to the two people she was escorting. It turned out that the barracks were separated into three complexes, according to their respective uses and occupants.
The first complex, which was located at the outermost area of the compound, was for trainees who were sent from many half-blood planets. There were twenty thousand of them came for training, all had aspirations to join the ranks. Alas, each year only around 20% of them would be accepted as Zodiac City warriors.
The second complex, which was located between the first and third complexes, was for the official warriors of the Zodiac City. There were a total of twenty thousand of them on standby in the barracks while more than fifty thousand were out in the fields carrying out various missions. These warriors all had the minimum strength of a rank 7 warrior and rank 2 bloodline.
Last but not least, the third complex was reserved for the elites of Zodiac City warriors and located in the deepest area of the barracks. A total of two thousand people were on standby, ready to be assigned to dangerous and high-risk missions. They all, at least, rank 8 or saint-level warriors; there were also acolytes amongst their ranks.
Hearing the numbers, Emery couldn't help but ask a question."Why does the king need so many? Doesn't the alliance have an army? If so, then what is the difference between these soldiers and the Magus Alliance's?"
As if she had expected the question, the female magus swiftly began to explain.
"In addition to continuously sending manpower to the frontlines where the war is raging, there are more than 2,000 half-blood planets in our universe and 80% of them are lower realm worlds that require various forms of assistance and protection, which is where Zodiac City came into picture. The main reason being the fact most of the half-bloods didn't get along well with the humans and vice versa, hence most such missions were delegated to Zodiac City."
Emery nodded his head in agreement. The half-bloods, after all, indeed possessed stronger physical qualities. But thanks to that, they received persecution and prejudice from humans who were the majority race. It also didn't help that most half-bloods had a pretty hard time controlling their emotions, hence conflict with humans of different cultures and past animosities were bound to ensue if left unchecked.
The three of them walked deeper into the barracks, and Emery was fascinated to see the half-blood warriors who possessed distinct bodily features such as feathers, horns, and scales, training together in an orderly manner. Most low-rank bloodlines generally have similar features when they transform, hence they are easier to distinguish from high-rank bloodlines.
A moment after they visited the third complex, Emery realized something. He noticed how the warriors in the second complex were training in groups with those who have the same bloodline as them, while the elites were mixed into one squad and trained together. At this realization, he couldn't help but wonder the reason so he asked the female magus.
"Oh, that? It's nothing complex really. The warriors are basically soldiers, hence they were classified based on their position."
Shena began to go into rounds of explanation.
The Goat, Boat, and Turtle bloodlines which were known to have higher endurance than other bloodlines were trained as first line defenders in tactics, abilities and skills to make the most of their innate traits.
On the same note, the Tiger and Wolf bloodlines which possessed unmatched ferocity and physique were ideal for melee attackers whereas the Bird and Bat bloodlines born with higher perception were the epitome of ranged fighters.
As for why elites were trained differently, it was because the types of missions they carried out were generally broad and dangerous so versatility was required in them. In order to truly become elites, in addition to extraordinary strength and ability, they needed to understand the characteristics of other bloodlines and find ways to combine strengths and weaknesses. This quality was exactly what set them apart from warriors.
Emery put all the information to note in his mind, Emery himself never really knew the characteristics of the other bloodline, probably it's a good idea to spend a few days training with these half blood warriors.
Finally, the group arrived at the command center located in the middle of the barracks. It was a large fortress-like building, filled with a dozen resident magus trainers. As for the position of the barrack commander, it was rotated among the 12 Flag Bearers of Zodiac City.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThis year, the Wolf, the Goat, and the Bird bloodline were in charge, hence when they stepped inside the conference room they saw three out of the 12 Flag Bearers, all peak stage magus. One of them was the person Emery was looking for.
"Chief Heorgar!"
The man was in the middle of a discussion with the other two Flag Bearers, but as soon as he saw Emery he quickly excused himself.
The demon wolf was actually quite surprised by Emery's arrival, in addition to the Dragon bloodline female magus' presence beside him. However, he did not linger on the matter now that his junior was here already.
Remembering the two people he was with earlier, Heorgar briefly introduced the other two Flag Bearers.
The Bird-bloodline Flag Bearer named Toyami was a very distinctive man with his extremely thin build and pale white skin. But despite his frail appearance, Emery could sense that the other party was a peak Full Moon magus.
As for the Goat-bloodline Flag Bearer, name Brava was a middle-aged woman with a haughty expression on her face. What immediately caught Emery's eyes from her features was the two swivel horns on her head.
"I will first take my leave since my junior is here visiting me," said Heorgar to the two.
Without even waiting for a response, the demon wolf brought Emery and the other two outside the conference room.
Realizing how close Emery was with the magus, Klea put on her best behavior and said, "Hello, Senior Heorgar. My name is Klea nice to meet you"
Heorgar glanced at the Egyptian Queen, then looked towards Emery saying, "You're quite popular, aren't you? What happened to the other two girls?"