Chapter 86: Man vs. Beast Part 1

"Shields formation up! I want a five row formation!" Lu Shu roared as the soldiers scrambled into position. "First row, hold only your giant shields. Augment your defenses and brace for the enemy's assault. Second and third row, ready your spears. Second row will stab between shields. Third row will stab as the second row redraws their spears for another attack. Fourth row, you are their replacements. If one falls, I want the squad leader to call out and replace that fallen soldier. Do not let the formation break! Fifth row. Your priority is shooting at the enemies. I want it to rain with your arrows and their blood."

"Yes, general!" they cried.

"General, General Han Jian is moving the mages up. I am to assist your flanks and have our mages assault those who try to flank you," Cao Wei said as he appeared behind him.

"Good. You heard that men! Focus on the offensive and push forward! They are stronger, but are not men. Beasts are not organized as well as men. That is why we rule and they scatter. Trust your fellow soldier and keep your shields up!" Lu Shu roared.

"Master?" Bakura said as Shu motioned to him.

"I want you assist the second row in attacking the magical beasts that try to break through the formation. If one is downed, drag him to the back as he gets replaced," Shu said as Hao slept atop the tiger as it joined Lu Shu.

"Yes, my lord. I will not fail my task," Bakura bowed and left to join the second row of the formation.

"Brace yourselves!" Lu Shu roared as the magical beasts finally arrived. "Archers, open fire! Cao Wei, make sure those enchantment magic buffs are holding on those shields. You know what to do if they try to flank. Fourth Row, keep your eyes opened and be ready to join the fight at any time!"

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"Augh!" one of the soldiers cried as a magical beasts nearly broke past him as its rhino horn made a small dent on the shield and bruised his arm.

"I never liked rhinos," Lu Shu spat as he threw a spear of lightning at the rhino, blasting it into ash. "Magical beasts are like regular beasts. They have the similar anatomies. Do not assume they only know how to attack a certain way. Mages, concentrate your magic on those who attack from medium to long range!"

"Shield Wall, use your control over your element. Let it flow through your bodies and make your legs unmovable! Push forward. Bash them with your shields and keep your formation tight!" Lu Shu roared as some of them started to hesitate. "Do not retreat. Any who do will have their limbs torn apart by horses and their families whipped to death! Your life or their lives! Do not retreat. Push forward or I'll cut off your head and replace you with someone better!"

"Fuck it," one of the shield wall soldiers said as he decided not to run.

"I don't want to die," one cried and tried to run. Bakura pierced his balls and cut off his head as he fell to the ground in pain. The bloody, cruel act erased all thoughts of retreat and the soldiers immediately began to improvise their techniques to withstand the assault of the beasts.

"Get that soldier's corpse and see that his family is whipped to death," Lu Shu said. "I was not joking. If one retreats, more will follow and we will lose. I will not let one soldier's cowardice affect my army."

"Yes," Cao Wei nodded his head and told the scouts to retrieve and identify the body as Bakura brought it to them.

"I need one replacement to the second row!" a soldier cried as one of the spearmen grabbed the shield of the traitor.

"Tell them what I ordered Co Wei to do," Lu Shu said coldly and the soldier that was chosen to replace the spearmen nodded violently before rushing to his position. "Beasts are not men. They run away from beasts more powerful than them. Drive them back! Multiple spearmen should target the same magical beast. Let it know fear. Advance and keep your shields up!"

Lu Shu watched as the shield wall no longer defied his orders as the soldier from the fourth row told the soldiers what he said. He noticed the magical beasts no longer attacking as a huge wave as they realized they could not break through the formation, the magical beasts scattered as they tried to run.

"All forces, charge and kill the enemy! Maintain a distance of one hundred feet. Spread out and kill the enemy!" Lu Shu yelled.

"Finally!" the second and third row of soldiers cried as they ran past the shield soldiers and started attacking the magical beasts, five attacking a single magical beast. The shield soldiers were taken back to be healed by the fourth row of soldiers as the fifth row of soldiers rushed to cover their allies and slow down the enemy retreat with their arrows.

"Now that is the chaos of war," Cao Wei laughed as the battlefield became a mix of magical beast and soldiers all over the valley. The magical beasts had fear instilled in their hearts and Lu Shu let his men capitalize and kill to their hearts content.

"You can only use that formation for so long. When the enemy starts retreating and not facing you, is when you dissolve the formation and charge the enemy at full force. Let's just be glad they're not human, or humanoid Hyperion," Lu Shu said as even Hao started hunting. The Holy Spirit Beast was tied to him and would have his cultivation like his wraith servants. If Hao was going to be hit, Wraith launched a secret attack from Hao's shadow and retreated as Hao turned to the magical beast in anger.

"Your little guardian lion cub and skeleton swordsman are frightening indeed. No wonder wraiths are highly sought for as is the aim to be a true Archon," Cao Wei sighed as Bakura and Hao led a one-sided slaughter.

"We did not fight the elite as Meng Ce is fighting them with the Dragon Army. Also, this island is not the main headquarters of all magical beasts below the Spirit Knight tier," Lu Shu said as he and Cao Wei leisurely walked through the battlefield, killing magical beasts with lightning spears of flying daggers of fire.

"True. We are lucky in that regard. Although, we lost quite the amount of soldiers. About twenty cavalry soldiers and two hundred and six foot soldiers have died since we first set out. Less then a quarter but still our soldiers nonetheless," Cao Wei nodded. "They will be replaced when we launch the final offensive on the last island in our path."

"We should expect the Hyperion to interfere. I don't believe the magical beasts would let them travel this far through their waters," Lu Shu nodded.

"Report from Great General Meng Ce," a soldier said as he arrived during the chaos. "The leader of the magical beasts of this island has been captured as well as most of the elite that served it. There is also troubling news from the scouts that tried to scout the next island."

"What is that?" Lu Shu asked.

"The island has fallen to the Hyperion. However, the leader of the magical beasts is at the tenth stage of the Spirit Shaman tier and has been left alive to kill us. The Hyperion have made several outposts and built a giant fortress in the heart of the island. How big, none of our scouts discovered as they were killed before they could investigate further," the soldier reported.

"Now we know the answer, General Lu Shu. I thought we were the reason the magical beasts panicked and gathered in the valley. They weren't hiding from us. They were hiding...." Cao Wei began.

"....from the Hyperion," Lu Shu finished. "No wonder they stayed inside their nests. They were like people of a conquered city trying to hide from the invaders. Tell the soldiers not to kill these magical beasts and to capture them instead. We need all the fighting force we can get. If the soldiers are willing, let them bond with the magical beasts."