Chapter 238: The Eve before the Invasion
With Yun Li immediately announcing the start of the magical beast wave, the entirety of Wake City had spread the news like wildfire. Suddenly, the entire city exploded into action, as every single mercenary group that heard the news immediately trekked toward the city gates with their brethren to prepare.
With the news of combat to be close at hand, the atmosphere was unnaturally serious, but at the same time, everyone was rather excited.
The moment Jian Chen left the lord’s mansion, he returned back to the Kai clan where the seven Great Saint Masters and a hundred other members of the Flame Mercenaries ran up to greet him.
On the road, not a single caravan could be seen anymore, only a large amount of heavily armored mercenary groups heading toward the same destination. Among them, many of the mercenaries walked with an excited look to their faces; this time, the Mercenary Union in Wake City had issued a report that if they were able to provide the left ear of a magical beast, then they would be able to claim the money reward for killing a magical beast of its rank. The more ears they collected, the more rewards they could collect. While the magical beast wave was extremely dangerous, where one could lose their life if not careful, the allure of a monetary reward was tempting to those not afraid of death.
However this sum of money was all paid for by the city lord personally. Though it was not a small amount of money, with Wake City being so close to the Magical Beast Mountain Range and monster cores being a good source of money, it could be said that both Wake City and the lord were rich. Otherwise, they would have never been able to afford the type of walls a First Class City would have.
When Jian Chen led the hundred men to the city gates a thousand meters away, they suddenly found it harder to move as a large throng of men crowded the area and made it impossible to move.
At this, Jian Chen merely stepped back and spoke out to the seven Great Saint Masters behind him, “Clear the way for us!” The seven Great Saint masters were all famous people within Wake City with many people knowing who they were. So, many people immediately cleared a path for them, since many of the men felt intimidated by their presence.
Exchanging places with Jian Chen, the seven men’s presence spiked in intensity as Duo Kang shouted out, “Fellow brothers, please make way!” Under their control, the amount of power exuding from them had caused the road in front of them to suddenly clear out as if a sharp sword had cut through it and forced the group of people to move off to the side.
“Eh? Isn’t that the captain of the Golden Dragon Mercenaries? I didn’t think he’d be here…”
“That’s the captain of the Hot Blooded Mercenaries as well…”
“I’ve heard rumors that they dissolved their mercenary groups to join another group called the Flame Mercenaries. Though, I’m not sure if it’s true or not…”
The moment the seven Great Saint Masters showed their faces, they had immediately garnered the attention of everyone who began to talk about them.
Hidden behind the large group, Jian Chen followed the seven Great Saint Masters without gaining anyone’s attention. Just as the group was 500 meters away from the walls, suddenly a large commotion could be heard up ahead. Then, a heavily armored soldier came walking towards Jian Chen; it was the commander, Duo Li.
“Haha, brother Jian Chen, the lord and senior envoys are waiting for you at the walls. Allow me to accompany you.” The moment commander Duo Li saw Jian Chen, his voice grew even more polite than before.
Walking ahead of the group, Jian Chen returned the smile, “Then if you would please do me the honor in leading.”
Afterward among the astonished stares of everyone else, Jian Chen and Duo Li left together toward the city gates.
The walls of Wake City were that of the same standards of the walls in a First Class City. They were forty meters tall and twenty meters thick. On top of the walls, there were all sorts of soldiers of various strengths. Not only that, but many strong mercenaries were also on top of the wall. There were also thirty Magical Crystal Cannons mounted over the walls with five mercenaries manning each one with a trunk full of monster cores.
Commander Duo Li brought Jian Chen to lord Yun Li who was staring out beyond the city walls with a serious expression. by his side, there were a few well known figures of Wake City and the two envoys. Both of them were wearing black colored robes and did not look like they were ready to talk. Even if someone were to try to talk to them, it looked as if the envoys wouldn’t even bother to pretend to notice them.
“Lord Yun Li, what is the situation looking like now?” Jian Chen spoke softly to the lord.
Yun Li continued to stare out beyond the city without a change in his expression. “It’s not looking reassuring; this time’s magical beast wave has way more magical beasts than before. Brother Jian Chen, take a look. Their numbers are almost immeasurable.”
Jian Chen grew solemn after hearing that as he looked to where Yun Li was pointing only to see a black storm of magical beasts slowly make their way toward the city. He couldn’t even make out a single magical beast’s body, let alone count them.
With this spectacle, Jian Chen’s eyes could only narrow in concentration. For the mentally stupid magical beasts to walk forward in such a manner like this, there must be a Class 5 Magical Beast commanding them. After all, they possessed an intellect that while beneath that of a human, it was enough for them to control other magical beasts.
“This magical beast wave is quite peculiar. Lord Yun Li, I remember the last magical beast wave had magical beasts that just recklessly threw themselves at the walls. How is it this time they are walking in such a disciplined manner?” A white haired elder spoke out in confusion.
“That’s right, the last time Wake City was invaded, it was completely different from this one.” Another middle aged man spoke as he looked at the incoming wave with worry.
After the two had spoken, the men standing by Yun Li’s side began to debate among themselves. They weren’t men of lesser intelligence, each one of them could realize that something was amiss in this wave.
Seeing that everyone had felt something was strange about this wave, Yun Li knew that it was no use in trying to hide the secret anymore. Without pondering any longer, he spoke out loud, “Everyone, the truth is, this magical beast wave has a Class 5 Magical Beast hidden within it. For our Wake City, this magical beast wave could be said to be a test of survival of an extremely grim nature.”