Blue Phoenix

As Hui Yue’s yell was heard, howls, screeches, and roars filled the air making everything tremble in response. As the ground shook, the beasts did not wait any longer as some transformed back to their original shape while others kept their human form while they rushed forward. Some took to the skies, others dug underground, but the majority stayed on the ground and followed straight behind Hui Yue.

Hui Yue at the front was still relying on his wings to move forward and with a gesture to Lord Pan and Wan Qiao he pointed towards the ballista looking weapons that the opponents had placed at the back of their army. One arrow was ready to be launched into the air to impale one of the many bodies that were taking over the sky, and ensure that they would never again rise to do battle. Seeing the gesture of Hui Yue, both Saints instantly understood their job and they sped up as they headed towards the weapons.

“Well then I won’t have to worry about that,” Hui Yue mumbled as he landed on the ground, only to be overtaken by beasts who had taken their beastly forms. Seeing how some of the beasts were rushing forward, the young man could not help but sigh. Did these beasts forget that they were supposed to be in groups of five? That they were supposed to be fighting together and protecting each other’s backs?

“Oh, hmm?” Looking closer, Hui Yue found that they regrouped just before they slammed into the large body of humans. Suddenly screams could be heard, followed by the distinctive scent of blood; the sounds of crushing bones was also loud during the otherwise quiet day.

Sighing deeply, Hui Yue looked at himself. His heart was beating rapidly and, licking his lips, he felt that he could almost taste the blood in the air. His inner wolf was breaking free, and with a final glance at the many beasts who were pouncing towards the humans, Hui Yue felt his muscles swell and his size increase. His hands turned to massive paws with razor sharp claws, his legs turned to hind legs with an astonishing force hidden within.

Hui Yue was now no longer a human; he was fully a beast and as a beast he felt his bloodlust increasing as the seconds went past. His bloodlust soared from the scent of blood that he could smell around him.

Releasing a massive howl which contained so much pressure that even the beasts around him made sure to stay clear of him.

“What a mess,” Hui Yue thought to himself as he looked at the battlefield in front of him. The beasts had slammed into the massive wall of humans and started to thrash about. They used claws, teeth, and weapons to prove that they were the stronger species. Human corpses littered the ground, and the beasts slowly grouped up into their five man teams, not allowing for the humans to take advantage of their large amount of soldiers.

Hui Yue was all alone on the battlefield, and many of the human soldiers soon found that they could attack this solo beast who seem to not act with others. Just as this was happening one could already see the corpses of a few beasts on the ground; beasts who had succumbed under the mass of humans.

Seeing Hui Yue alone, a group of thirty human experts all rushed towards him, and a smirk appeared on his face. His sinister expression showed his sharp teeth, and before the group had any chance to react, Hui Yue leaped towards them. His teeth sunk deep into the neck of the person closest to him after which he wristed his head from side to side, almost tearing the unlucky person’s entire head.

Stunned by this bloody and cruel execution, the other humans felt their hearts tremble. They were after all only Master and Practitioner ranked experts. All of them were so far below the rank of this massive red wolf which was standing in front of them.

Tasting the blood in his mouth, Hui Yue closed his eyes for a moment and felt that he was about to forget his human self. The beast in him was fully submerged in the act of killing, and with a swipe of his paw ripples appeared in the air as shockwaves were created. Shockwaves so strong that when they reached the humans, three of them were instantly shredded to pieces; their eyes filled with dumb confusion as they slumped to the ground, their blood mixing with the soil.

Taking care of the remaining humans was something Hui Yue did swiftly. He activated the blue cloud after which he easily shredded the rest to pieces with his strong claws. He dared not use his teeth once again as he knew that the taste of blood would make him lose control of himself.

As he was about to attack another group of humans as he saw that the sun was on the way down, and he quickly changed his shape back to that of a human. His wings reappeared on his back, and he flew into the sky after which he yelled loudly, “Retreat!”

The order was simple, but it caused all the beasts to instantly take a few steps back. Unwillingness was evident on their faces, but Hui Yue was stern and serious with his order, something which resulted in all the beasts following his command. After a few hours of constant battle, the battleground finally turned silent. It was filled with corpses of both humans and beasts at a rate of at least ten to twenty humans dead for each beast who was slain.

“Those idiots,” Hui Yue mumbled as he saw the large amount of dead beasts, but he also knew that it was inevitable. They were, after all, beasts, following tactics and discipline was not something beasts did easily so having some who forgot about their previously training was something he knew would happen.

As Hui Yue called for everyone to retreat, they withdrew around one kilometer from the area where the battle had occurred. As they did, Hui Yue quickly found various medicinal pills and herbs that he shared with the more wounded beasts. Other Wood element experts used their expertise to heal the more seriously wounded beasts. Soon their camp was filled with beasts moving from one side to another, rushing around to ensure that everyone had food and treatment.

There was one tent larger than the rest and within this tent, forty one experts were standing around a table.

“So we lost around two thousand beasts today,” Hui Yue said with a sigh. He felt that although he expected casualties, he did not expect this many so soon. “Two thousand is a substantial size considering that we only have four hundred thousand and the real war is far from started.” He continued with a sigh. “I guess it was difficult to remember what they needed to do, but we’ll remind them tomorrow. Let them rest for now; they need it.” He said with a sigh before he turned towards Wan Qiao and Lord Pan.

“How many of their ballistas did you manage to destroy?” He asked curiously. He had seen no arrows in the sky during the fight, but he had to admit that he was actually more focused on killing the soldiers in front of him than he had been on looking at the heavens above.

“We got four of them,” Wan Qiao said proudly, “Although we only got four, they should only have two left. But those two were protected by Saints, and we were unsure if we should have engaged in battle against the Saints yet so we stayed back,” She said with a shrug. For her, getting four out of six ballistas was already good, though Hui Yue could not help but have a wry smile on his face.

“You are allowed to fight their Saints,” He said seriously as he looked at all the experts within the tent, “The sooner you fight them, the better. Team up against them, do whatever, just make sure they do not have many Saints left when you are done with them. If they have too many Saints when it comes time for the siege, then we will be at quite a disadvantage.” Hui Yue lectured them, and they could all understand that he was very serious about this.

“The war will continue tomorrow. Tomorrow we allow for the humans to make the first move. If they come here to us all the better, then there will not be arrows from the city walls, nor will they have the ballistas for safety. Wan Qiao, Lord Pan, make sure to get rid of those final two ballistae as soon as possible.”

Sighing Hui Yue sat down in the chair. He had a headache and deep within he was filled with turmoil. Killing was not new to him, and he did not pity the ones he had to kill, although they were human. What he did feel uncomfortable about was how he had almost lost himself as a wolf. How he had enjoyed the metallic tasting liquid which entered his mouth, and how he had wished to taste more of it. He considered himself more human than beast, and this was truly confusing. Had he not already merged with the monk which let him think far more rationally with the calm to think things through, then he knew that he would have panicked long ago.

Waving his hand, he dismissed the experts within the tent as he sat down and wondered if he should make any traps to welcome the humans. Thinking about the Art of War and his personal experience in warfare, a smile appeared on his face as he left the tent. He then proceeded to summon an army of ten thousand experts after another.

The first battalion was given one task, and looking at them they were anything but energetic about the job they had been given. Despite this, they had been given a task, and they soon started doing as they were ordered.

The second group of soldiers were given a massive amount of ten-centimeter thick wooden tree trunks together with some blueprints, and their commander was tasked to oversee the creation of the items that Hui Yue wanted built. Then the young man moved towards yet another group of experts.

This group of experts were not exactly pleased with their task, but the commander understood the importance of the task he was given and ordered all his soldiers to complain less and work harder.

The night, which should have been completely tranquil was no longer silent; instead, hammering and the sound of digging could be heard all throughout the camp. The sun had set, and the moon was in the sky, but even so, no one could avoid hearing the sounds coming from the beast camp. The sounds were so loud that even a kilometer away, the humans were aware that something was happening, yet what it was none of them truly knew.

“Don’t worry about it,” The Grand Marshall said as he looked into the darkness in the direction of the beast army. “Although they are scheming something, they are beasts. Beasts’ common sense will always lose to their instincts, and as long as their instincts dominate we will win. It is not as though we have no hidden tricks up our sleeves.” He chuckled to the many experts who were standing by his side, and every single one of them nodded their heads in agreement. They had started preparing long ago, and they knew their opponents were beasts. It was logical that they had taken as many defensive measures as one could imagine. Even more than Hui Yue knew about.