556: The Three Divisions

The Three Divisions

"I can barely feel my arms! I think that might've been the longest I've spun that staff."1

Qiang Rong laid there, huffing and puffing, trying to ignore the burning pain of overusing his body. Even controlling the staff in that matter was tiring and exhaustive, so much so that a master like him needed a bit of time to recover. 

The others were in better condition, sustaining just a few minor injuries. 

"We'll be reaching the city soon!" Zhu Xie shouted from the cabin, informing everyone. 

The monkey-kin couldn't help but sigh as he sat up and leaned against the wall. The others all watched from the ship and their home slowly came into view. 

This was what remained of the beast-kin and their people. 

There were over a hundred little towns and villages scattered around a sizable city in the middle of the continent. Each of those little territories represented a tribe and the city was where all of the elders gathered. They had their little features, some were shabby, others were well built, small or big, simple or elegant. But each one fit the needs of those living in it. 

But now they seemed all but abandoned, instead, residing within the city. 

Those towns and villages were instead filled with various little defenses and traps. Hundreds of seekers were spread out, building more walls, traps, ditches, and more. All of it was to slow and to thin out the hordes as much as possible, weaken them before they reached the main city. 

The city itself wasn't enormous but it was large enough to shelter thousands of people. A hub where trade between tribes occur, now turned into a fortress for this incoming attack. 

The stone walls were fortified with various armaments like cannons, and whatnot. There were several figures on top of the walls, watching from above. Many were on the ground, doing what they can to strengthen the city. 

Ao Qin gazed at all this, revealing a strange look as he continued to look around. 

"Hm, doesn't seem like many of them are here", he muttered. 

Ruishi Lei stood next to him, taking a glance before talking to the dragon-kin. 

"They're a part of Reclamation like us, where do you think they are?" he asked. 

The dragon-kin smiled, chuckling as the answer was quite clear to him. 

"Probably off hunting the strongest in the hordes, speaking of, I'm surprised you haven't gone off as well."

"I am a Zodiac now, I have higher responsibilities, besides, what's the point of searching them out when they're all coming here."

"Hah, well said, well said! In any case, I doubt there was anything that caught your eyes anyways."

Ao Qin laughed at Ruishi Lei's answer, putting his saber away. He then looked down at his bandaged chest, seeing the blood seeping from his chest wound. 

"In any case, this has opened up again. I'll probably need a day to recover enough to fight well, much less, revert. Which means that you'll be in charge of defending the city", he said. 

"And I shall."

The lion-kin answered nonchalantly but with a confident tone. It was as if he knew that they would survive. 

Ao Qin smirked at his comrade before taking another look down below. 

"Well, we've made it, I'm going to find someplace nice to take a nap. Go wake me when it gets a bit too rowdy."

He then yawned and walked away while the ship slowly descended into the city. Landing in front of the main hall, the Zodiacs walked out and entered to find the elders all gathered together. Compared to before, they were all dressed in armor and had their weapons by their side. 

Seeing them enter, Ruishi Wang stood up first, welcoming them all with a smile. At the same time, he glanced at his son who shared that look before turning his attention back to the group. 

"Ah, the Zodiacs, another successful expedition I hope?" he asked aloud. 

Lao Yang stepped forward looking at them all. As one of the eldest and most revered scholars, he did not need to show respect as his position rivaled theirs. 

"Indeed, every one of us lived through that nightmare of a place. And as you can see, we all need some time to rest, the warriors more than us", he said. 

"Then let them, but I'm sure that you have a few things to say, no?" 

Huxian Qie's voice echoed out, looking at them while covering her mouth with her fan. The goat-kin turned and looked at the Zodiacs. 

"Alright you all, go rest while you still can, have a good meal."

Everyone looked at him and nodded, slowly trudging away to their quarters to sleep. 

"Hah, a bed, finally..."

Shu Yi couldn't help but reveal his joy as the little mouse-kin walked off. 

Both Ruishi Wang and his son shared another look before his son left the main room as well. And now it was just the scholars and the elders. 

"So then Lao Yang, I assume you found something?" 

The elder of the Ruishi Clan looked at him deeply as did the others, who were all curious as to what had been discovered. 

Lao Yang looked at them all, holding a moment of silence before speaking. 

"Yes, we found something, an organization known as the Order of the Astral Sword." 

As the goat-kin spoke of what was found and what this clue meant to the elders, all of the tribe members were stowed away while the Seekers worked non-stop to fortify their home. But a few hours later, they were focused on themselves, checking their armor and sharpening their weapons. 

At this point, the sun was beginning to set and the night was about to fall. It was quiet, strangely quiet, peaceful in a way. Even then, no one could sleep, after all, this was their last night of peace, before the beast hordes come. 

And as the sun rose up, a certain shadow emerged from the depths of the forests. The higher the sun rose, the closer they came. The walls of the city were lined with warriors, all of them had an assortment of ranged weapons from bows to javelins and slings. The cannons and arbalests were manned by a trio of both Seekers from Preservation and Expedition. 

But there was no sign of anyone from Reclamation except for perhaps Ruishi Lei and Ao Qin. 

Both figures stood in the middle of the front wall, right above the gates. Wielding their weapons and wearing their armor, the duo looked off into the distance, staring at the crowds. 

"How's your wound?"  Ruishi Lei asked. 

Ao Qin sighed, glancing at his chest which was covered in his bronze armor. 

"Better, that medicine from Jin Nao certainly helped quite a bit." 

"That's good."

"Hah, what? Do you think you wouldn't be able to handle all of this? What happened to that lion's pride?" 

"It's about minimizing our losses. With all these beasts coming at us, this could be a blessing in disguise."

"If we manage to survive."

"Hah, in any case, it looks like they're done having their fun."

After saying so, Ao Qin revealed a smile as multiple figures shot out of the hordes, outrunning them all.

Running past the hordes and leaping over the defenses, they quickly arrived at the city in less than an hour. Scattered throughout the front wall, the other Seekers took a step back, revealing fear in their eyes. 

"Heh, the both of you look well! How's it been as a part of the Zodiacs?"

One of them spoke out with an arrogant tone while the others all looked at Ao Qin and Ruishi Lei. Their smiles were made only more scary by the blood and the heads of the beasts they hunted. 

In total there were a hundred and one of them, the entire Reclamation Division was here. 

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