Chapter 0083 - Rolls, Roles, and Four Years later

When morning came, Patriarch Ooran was already awake. The screams of his four Children had woken up many of those within the Castle grounds. It didn't take much longer for everyone else in the City to wake and watch as the Suns rose on their new lives.

The Air in Zao City brought fog over the Mountains foot. It lifted the city of Zao above the clouds. When the Suns were breaking through the darkness, all 145 members of the Zao Clan stood outside and took in a breath of fresh air. It was the first day, an important day to remember.

Wu Hai had rolled an Elemental body with Soul and Earth Magic, he had a bunch of sorting, interviews and planning to do. Making things easier on himself, he did as much as he could in advance. Before he started he made a pavilion and platform for people to roll the dice.

'Better to have ceremony, that way they treat this as sacred..' Wu Hai did a bit of thinking to himself. Then, he got the handwritten notes from Qu's interviews.

Excluding Mike, Jin, Abi, Kuzunoha and William, the other arrivals mostly had potential but no magic themselves.

Wu Hai had Qu bring out all the crystals they had in their collections, they were sorted by colors and shades to the best of Qu's ability..

Walking over, Wu Hai grabbed a cluster of red gems and tried to feed them to the black spot on his wrist. The little bastard had been eating up whatever it chose for a while without his permission. Wu Hai could wave crystals in front of it and occasionally it would reach out to eat them. Since the day was important, he didn't want any extra surprises.

However, despite his defensiveness toward the subject, nothing happened. The Spot seemed content and he had very important matters to attend.

Tossing the crystals back into the pile, he looked at the massive heap. He had fed lightning crystals to others because they were what he had on him but after the black spot fused with his wrist those numbers had dwindled.

Qu had stored the majority of the crystals for this reason, until now. A large portion of the tower's crystal reserves had been taken when Wu Hai used his first teleportation.

Every gem in the pile was precious. In this World, a single one would be enough to start a new life, and there were those, especially those on the outside that would kill for the chance.

When Wu Hai sent out his spiritual sense he could feel all sorts of variant magics, some were a little beyond his scanning abilities, making them unfamiliar and so he put dozens of crystals aside when he noticed them. He had hundreds of crystals in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes, he could hold a few back, including the few with a hint of a silvery glow. Some, like those with silvery or metallic glows to them, were rare among the crystal collection and he couldn't get more of them on a whim.

Wu Hai knew what was in someone's heart and mind when using the soul ability from the Dice. It was a very easy thing to pick up. The thoughts of others were a lot louder than the owners knew, giving a devious advantage to many and the truth all at the same time. His control had gotten fair enough to grasp when others were lying, it made the interviews very interesting and fast paced.

Looking out at the newest members of the Zao Clan, Wu Hai found his father to the right and his brother to his left. Then, with a dramatic flare, he looked back out at the Clan Members. There were things he wanted to say and he had everyone's attention.

"You represent the source of the Zao Clan's future fortune or doom. These crystals are part of the gift I'm going to bestow to you, as promised." Pulling out a Dry Erase board that he had picked up on Earth, Wu Hai wrote down all the combinations of the Dice and brief list of professions most suited for each power in the form of simple charts. On another board, he wrote his understandings of the crystal colors.

The context was easy enough to understand. He had several of the Gygax but hundreds of combinations existed.

The Dice were varied in their ability to enact changes but they all had a use. Wu Hai had the Size Die, which could change between tiny, small, medium, normal, large, and enormous. The Wooden Die had a total of six powers, it would take an existing power and change it. It was very similar to the Metal Die which could be used in combination to give an extra affinity.

The Form Die held six forms. Human, Demonkin, Vishnan, Dragonkin, Qilinkin and Elemental. Each held their own advantages and disadvantages.

Wu Hai took some time to explain the forms on the Gygax, "the sides bore the shapes of a Dragonkin, Elemental, Qilinkin, Human, Vishnan, and Demonkin. Many of the other races chose not to interact with Humans, much less each other."

"Gaining the abilities of their ancestors, each race ruled their homelands and rarely ventured out. They became myths for local populations due to their rarity." The Die was more like a beast cube..

"I will take some time to talk about the races while you all go over the chart, please take a look before you come up." Wu Hai took yet another deep breath before beginning, he had a lot to say and he wanted to unwind.

"The Dragonkin hail from the offspring of the Dragon and a Custodian, altered to be more humanoid, they had faces and tails. Some Dragons lack the wings to fly into the sky, could still manage to swim through the air like the 'River Dragons' and 'Golden Jiao.' The others, like the Black, Emerald, and Scarlet Dragon Tribes were of different origins and managed to keep their wings and breath by sacrificing some emotions and overall size in return. Their largest loss was due to their low reproduction rate and so the Dragons would often engage in sex with other species, regardless of the chance of children. The odds were simply too small and a Dragons life is long.."

"The Elementals are notoriously difficult to kill, unable to procreate they were always low in population. Their kind could often disappear from the public eye for long enough that nothing but themselves and the landscape would remain. To them, the conflicts of others are not matters concerning them unless provoked. Elementals are patient like the Rocks.. Fluid like the Rivers and when needed, raging like a Fire or Storm."

"It is said that some believe its possible to gain an Elementals abilities after feasting on an Elemental's Corpse but Elementals have no reason to interact and therefor it is generally treated as only a rumor. In the eyes of the authors of the History Books, no one they had ever met could harm one, let alone kill one even if it was in front of them. Elementals are a power closest to the Guardians and Custodians."

"The Qilinkin, more specifically their Elders, are especially fast. The common people of the world would see a passing light in the night sky and call it a shooting star. Most of the time, it was a Qilin or one of the Qilinkin. All of Qilin kind possessed a set of horns as a sort of crown on their heads, giving them a Regal persona. Worshiped by many bands of Humans, they are use to being given anything they show interest in.."

"Even if something was possessed by another, The Qilin were a greedy breed. They hoard riches and all things that caught their eyes. 'If you see a Qilin, beware the feathers, they can blind your senses.'"

"The Vishnan were a mysterious race, Hailing from the 4th planet in the sky their people come in ships able to cross the void. Their arrivals are very erratic and untimely, the Vishnan usually are associated with a dark omen. The distance between the planets in the sky was never great to begin with. Some of their kind had the ability to instantly transport from one place to another just by looking at it."

"The legends in the history books say that once a Vishnan had looked at the world in the night sky from his Homeworld and saw the great blue-green ball in the sky above him. Then he saw a sparkle on its surface. With a single point of reference he blinked and arrived on this world. Seeing its inhabitants, they were regarded as a sort of god from the heavens when he had revealed his origins."

"Attempting to enslave all those they see, the Vishnan are much like Demons. Their identifying characteristic is their dazzling blue skin, as it glittered it reflected all light. Their skin, much like the silver tongues of demons only helped to deify themselves in the eyes of the commoner. To see a Vishnan in the daylight before two suns, the light could blind many... but the Vishnan would probably die of Dehydration in the long run. Vishnan's could not remain outside of a liquid atmosphere for extended periods of time, only chancing out into the dry for a place to mate or gather slaves. Telepathic beings, those that met them usually ended up only as slaves that were forced to tend to surface world needs."

"The last form on the Dice is Demons, The Demon Kind. Demons are not evil beings. They did not even side with the Custodians, the most powerful race among the custodians progeny Demonkin came in a variety of form, some could change their shape, some were fixed and nearly all of the forms were extremely powerful. Demonkin were not born, they were crafted slowly. Bodies carefully created, one at a time, these creations were not often confused with the vassals of the evil ones. Although they would be animated from the dead, or be made of beast parts on occasion. These beings were majestic and noble. Commanding power that could outstrip most species. Their pride as a dominant species was endless.. that is until the the incident at 'Blizzard Rock' Some of the leaders among the meetings that met with betrayal came from the Demon Clan. The sheer intensity of hatred the Demons had for the Custodians had left the Demon Kind with a Kill on sight order for all 'Custodians', no matter the cost."

"Many of the species born from the custodians had their own way of doing things. Of the many species found on the worlds, only 6 were represented on the form die. The Humans were of simple design, but extremely versatile. They controlled magic with a rising pace and have expanded their territory into the lands of the Elementals and Dragonkin. If they went south, they would run into the Qilinkin.. to the southwest Demon kind had claimed much of the land, establishing its own borders that were very clearly marked by piles of corpses. Not even the carrion would survive in some places. That didn't mean that Demons were evil, but anything, absolutely anything stepping on what's theirs will die."

"Know a Demon by the nest of corpses surrounding them, a tale told to all generations to keep them breathing."

"The Corpses were not murders, but almost all self defense. Many beasts could not help but feel the intimidation auras coming from Demonkin, they would go into fits of rage and fling themselves upon the weapons of the demon before them. Humans were worse, much like the Qilin, Humans had problems with greed."

"The power of a Demon had been claimed a few times in history by another after defeat. The course of action on how to do so was never disclosed, but people still believed you could steal a demons power. They would come with Mages, Archers, Cavalry and Assassins.. most would perish instantly, The rest would be left to die screaming in pieces on the corpse mounds as further warnings, wailing into the distance. Demons were not petty or evil. But they were vicious, unforgiving and cruel to those that brought them indifference, conflict or disdain."

The Prince of the Zao Clan didn't want to leave anything to chance. He laid bare the information he knew from his Mother, the Stories she would read to him as a child, the bookstore of Master Jiang and the Tower library. Qu was able to elaborate on several things but Wu Hai had been doing a fine job himself.

Then, there was the Re-Roll Cup. It was silver and slender, its crystalline core was covered in delicate looking patterns. The Cup was just large enough to hold several of the Gygax at once. A Gift from Darkwing that the group had discovered in the Bazaar in Minaur City, it was a bargain to trade a few minor strength boosting potions in exchange. If Darkwing had not been generous enough to pass it over to, their fates would have entirely different and Wu Hai would have been a lot more hesitant in his choice.

"When you eat a crystal, you'll manifest a power or an ability of some variant. It could be a power you enjoy or want, it could also be something you're just not comfortable with. I will help those who feel a sense of rejection toward their newfound power. But, you will not be able to return to like you were before. However, all of these gemstones contain power and the changes are permanent. Ultimately, what you receive is up to fate but we know what some of the crystals do. Like these purple ones, they create lightning abilities. You had all seen a transformation earlier and not all transformations are equal. With that in mind, I am willing to let you change things, including your biological forms. In the Future, if you betray our confidence and reveal these methods to anyone outside of the sect the only punishment that awaits you is death, swift, severe and unwavering." Wu Hai wasn't sure if he was doing it right and the crowd could tell that the ordeal was anything but ordinary.

One at a time, everyone was coming up and taking the time to sincerely look at the whiteboard.

Wu Hai would suggest an appropriate sort of ability based on their responses in the interviews and if they didn't like it, he wasn't against letting them choose differently. If they had power they didn't want, maybe they wouldn't be motivated or resent the power altogether and then what would be the point.

"Qu, have everyone line up according to their desired profession and role. Then, lead them to me. The more organized they are, the easier this is going to be." Wu Hai had walked up to the Altar, his face was full of excitement and a bit of eagerness.

The ceremony was about to begin. The Stone Alter that Wu Hai had created just for this occasion, was built to boost the ceremonial attitude and pride behind the endowment of power.

The first of the group came up with Qu to answer more in depth questions, it quickly became the rest of the day.

"What's your name? Age?.. What did you do on Earth? What did you wish that you did on Earth? Did you play video games? Do you want to stay human?" These were the questions that were asked of everyone. A few of the refugees were reluctant to answer but everyone had questions they wanted to ask.

It took several hours just to sort out the details but once the first batch of interviews were over, he was already helping establish their roles and allowing them to choose how they wanted to live. Wu Hai forbid people from taking Demon Form if it was rolled, he wasn't prejudice over the matter but he, himself had a difficult time controlling his own emotions. It was prudent and necessary, everyone else seemed to agree but there were a few who salivated and hoped still hoped in secret to be a Demon Lord.

No one wanted to be a Vishnan after they heard about what Vishnan personalities were like. Some had seen the personality changes that Wu Hai had experienced with the Demon form at the Convention and during the rescue from the Laboratory. It helped detour thoughts of pleading for a Demon Body but in the end, curiosity is a powerful tool.

Of the Hundred or so people that Qu and Wu Hai had to interview. Most of their their previous jobs had been rubbish.

Qu Explained, "A lot of people refused to say they worked with foods, only about ten were willing to admit to it but none of them really wanted to be a cook. Anyone from mainland China usually had a military enlistment period, people who could cook, would be sent off to become cooks. From the interviews, I could tell that Cook was not a job Earthlings would normally line up for."

"Only one man was an Electrician that wished he was a Cook." Qu eventually gave Wu Hai the numbers while writing them on the other side of the white boards.

Reading the list, Qu's voice filled the surrounding halls so that everyone could listen.

"9 people wanted to research Magic at all cost." ..,

"25 Gamers out of the group want to be adventurers" ..,

"4 people turned out to be exceptional Natural Mages, I have special plans for them"..,

"5 were Guardsmen of some sort at one point." ..,

"21 of the people who came back had backgrounds in something called factory work." ..,

"11 People claimed to work in sales." Qu had a strange look on his face when he made the statement. Apparently, the responses came with a story he didn't feel like repeating.

"One Fire Fighter" ..,

"5 Professional Fighters" ..,

"One professional Gamer." ..,

"3 Nurses, One Surgeon, 7 Mechanics and 30 Farmers or gardeners. ..,"

"Ten people who claimed to be Demon Hunter Descendants." ..,

"Ah yes and Xuan Kim Li. He said that he was kidnapped before he passed out, he's over there." Qu pointed to a corner where Kim Li had collapsed in a dazed state.

Wu Hai looked at the marker board and erased the side with some drawings that Lei had done while he was not looking. He redrew another chart with the powers so that they could choose. He didn't want to miss anyone and he was determined to see it through individually, even if it took all night.

He really wanted to do things right but it was hard to choose between what was right and what was right for the sect. The more he thought it over, the less inclined he was to force anything on these people. "These are the roles we need, you can choose whatever you want. I'd prefer it if everyone does something specialized and chooses from the jobs written on the board but its your life, choose well." Wu Hai started raising his voice for everyone to hear. Lots of micro discussions were taking place.

If each person took less than two minutes, it was still several hours to get through them all. "The following are the roles we especially need. Raise your hands if it interests you, the roles can always be moved around, canceled or stacked. Honestly, what you do will be your choice.. So." Wu Hai had everyone's complete attention, it was in stark contrast to all the other times he had been speaking. 'Looks like rewards still seem to be the best tool for training..' having nabbed their attentions, he continued.

"General Potion Shop and Crafting." Seven people raised their hands and moved into a group.

"General Armor Shop and Crafting." Only two people offered or showed direct interest. Both of them also said that they wanted to be adventurers just minutes before.

"Weapons Shop and Crafting." Four hands went up ...

"Blacksmith and Machinist" A lot of hands went up, one of them commented about breaking the heavens with his future techniques. Many laughed but if even a fraction of what they thought was possible, were to actually be possible, theirs would be an interesting future.

"City Official!" No one raised their hand.

Wu Hai paused for a moment in disbelief. "No one wants to be in charge of stuff?" All the original Clan Members looked at Wu Hai and shook their heads as well.

"Okay." Continuing, Wu Hai rattled off more professions and job titles.

"Spell Caster and Researcher." Nearly all the hands went up. The goal of the questions wasn't to see who could do what but to see who wanted to do the extraordinary or odd.

"Jeweler and Power Gemstone Research." Three ladies and Jacob, the jeweler from before raised their hands.

"Farmer and Herbalist and Alchemist." Half of the group were interested in Herbalism or Botany. It was good to know that professional gatherers would eventually litter his future kingdom. Food would become an issue over time and people who understood alchemy had to tend to their own crops as well.

"Adventurer and Fighter!" The results was nothing surprising, most of the hands went up. The basis of gathering people at the convention was to find capable people who would rise to the occasion to fight if needed.

"Official Medical Department." Eight people were interested, including Doctor Dibali.

"Very well, Led by Dr. Dibali, provisionally." Wu Hai acknowledged Doctor Dibali briefly.

There were a lot of people, and a lot of roles. The most important factor was that they had to choose themselves. It wouldn't be a life, but a service if they didn't make the decisions that chose their path.

"When you're ready to roll please tell me what you're wanting and we can make this as fast as possible. While each of you might be done quickly, it will take hours to get through you all." Wu Hai wanted ceremony.

Standing before the Altar, the line had formed. They stood patiently and made their final choices while on approach.

Wu Hai had everyone get into large robes so that no one would become naked by accident, splitting clothes. Khan Ni had witnessed this problem several times and she often reminded Wu Hai that he needed to warn people when he was transforming. The few women that grew wings ended up topless at first, each time their amazement overshadowed any bashfulness they had in their previous existences.

Still, Wu Hai quietly urged them all to keep some decency.

In the end, of the Clansmen present, a hundred twenty seven had come from Earth. Forty of them chose Qilinkin bodies, and only four chose to stay human. Twenty five became Elementals and the remainder became Dragon-kin. Wu Hai didn't allow anyone to be a Demon-kin, he was afraid they would lose their rational minds at one point like he had nearly done a few times.

The bloodline of the Demons was not a joke to be toyed with or easily given away.

All Nine of the Onmyoji that came along with Kuzunoha chose to get a variant of soul magic with combat oriented, elemental bodies. Most took lightning but Kuzunoha took a Fire and Soul Combat Body. She had claimed leadership over the Zao Onmyoji Forces.

Xuan Kim Li didn't know what to believe. From start to finish, he still hadn't chosen to accept the reality of his situation. He didn't understand why he was taken into this world, he did remember what Wu Hai had said to him before they started teleporting. 'Xuan Kim Li, I sentence you to join Professor Quanli!'

'And then.. This..' It took a bit for him to grasp the context of his surroundings but Xuan Kim Li wasn't an idiot. No, he was a genuine genius, unless it was next to his Teacher, he had the confidence to out think them.

Professor Quanli's last moments were spent advancing what the world knew. As a Teacher he was strict but as a professional gamer he spent more than a decade at the top. The entire matter of the Professors Death was muffled with strangeness and all Kim Li could do was to put it behind him.

Xuan Kim Li broke his silence and ended up taking a Lightning-Mind power set from the Dice rather than gamble on random effects from other crystals alone, he wanted to learn as much as possible. If he was in the clan he could change whenever he needed, with the Clans permission. He was one of the few who had chosen to remain a human, there were too many existential questions that needed answering.

Everyone had chosen their roles, buildings and then, they gathered basic supplies from Qu.

He kept a record and didn't let people abuse the resources on hand. There was no electrical grid so most people read by candle or during the daytime if they didn't get a luminous stone or glow flower from Master Jiang.

The library was large and Wu Hai had brought quite a bit of the material he could find from Earth back with him. Once he emptied the contents of his spacial devices to Qu, it was sure to fill up a bit. Books were rare in the world but with a chance of fate Wu Hai had gotten, a vast amount of unique knowledge and stories would soon flood the world around him.

Wu Hai handed Qu his spacial ring and the Crusher for sorting after the ceremony had finished. When he pulled out the weapon he remembered the truck.

As he pulled out the tractor trailer, it landed on the lobby floor of the Tower with a squeak from the rubber tires. Jin wasn't inside at the moment but Wu Hai knew that whatever he had brought back would be important.

When Wu Hai opened it he nearly laughed until he fell over.

Inside the truck were a hundred laptops, a pallet of microscopes and 2 large Solar Power Generators.

The funny part was that Jin had expected Wu Hai to take the whole truck, every single square inch of the interior was filled with plastic alcohol bottles, pipettes, testing equipment and a Coffee Machine.

Wu Hai had given the full responsibility of sorting to Qu. He left him in charge of supply and Qu had been a stingy Tower spirit for a long time after, keeping things safe and secured within the tower was sort of his specialty.

After passing over the items that had been collected by the Prince on Earth, there was still a lot of work to do. The new arrivals had been given new bodies but it was still too early for them to begin training. Instead, the day was mostly spent on supplying them.

The new arrivals started work and research immediately, soon shops were filled with merchandise. The Clan didn't have a set currency but traded with materials. If a Clan member wanted something they had to use contribution points for things of a high value, regular supplies were given freely to those that had only just arrived. The Clan was experiencing a massive growth of its infrastructure, it was important that the earthlings honed their crafts and skills before dealing with or making contact with outsiders.

Contribution points were necessary, it didn't take long for the Twins to make it an easier choice. Initially, Wu Hai decided to use gold as the currency for the City. When the Twins heard this, they started producing gold in great quantity. It piled high. Wu Hai had seen gold used in other nations and it had done fairly well, gold was a versatile metal. However, after gaining the ability to create metals from nothing, something normal people couldn't do, he could easily produce gold after a while. In the best interests of the Sect and future of the Family, he could only resort to using contribution points within the city walls. As for outsiders, the Patriarch and Master Jiang had chosen to only accept trade in the form of materials, more specifically, herbs or beast materials.

Although, it took more than a year for anyone in the sect to spend anything.

The time quickly flew by.

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One year passed, then, halfway through the second year, the Princesses and the Prince Quartet were running amok. Calistown had reopened the Tea Shop with Lei making most of the Tea when she wasn't in seclusion with the Mountain Wind Spirits. The Clan regularly saw travelers come down the road, almost always, they were haggard and tired.

The Mudmen nearby had a habit of chasing them far into Zao controlled territory.

Zhan led multiple assault teams to take the Mudmen down but they were not the only enemy. Zao City had made a road that stretched all the way down the mountain, almost reaching a Ant Colony Collective. While the Ants themselves were enormous, they were easily slain unless they were swarming. Mudmen were not so easily removed, once dispersed, they eventually reformed. It took a few months for the Subjugation of the Mudmen and thanks to the efforts of Zao Zhan and the Dragon Squad, the battles were almost always one sided. Enraged Mudmen took a lot longer to kill but a method had eventually been solved, baked Mud was no longer mud..

Elementals were like that, consistent with their element.

On the third year, the residents of Zao City had grown restless. Their work efforts became more diligent and though time seemed to fly by, the City's population growth was beginning to explode by comparison.

While most of the Zao Clan was becoming a formidable force, Xuan Kim Li had only taken about a month to fully embrace the new world. With the aide of the Laptops and Generators they were able to make use of some of the technology from Earth. With a combination of Earth Techniques, Science and Magic power ,creating new tools everyday was Kim Li's passion and Wu Hai enjoyed the developments. The City was all the better for it as well.

One of the more frequented shops for the travelers was a other world gift shop. It had a lot of merchandise that Wu Hai had taken from the convention. None of it was directly for sale, it was only for trade and the cost was somewhat extreme. Most of the items were reproductions of what had been brought back but creating something like a book or toy was harder for the Sect's craftsmen.

By the end of the third year, traffic was bustling and trade had reached an all time high. Metals were in higher demand, the blacksmiths and metal workers were always trying new things.

Genba and the Cheng Twins had set up a warehouse to store the bulk of it. Prepared metals were necessary, not everyone in the clan had the ability to produce metals on demand.

Six months into the third year, word came from the adventure groups. A large army was marching across the plains and burning them.

The Army marched under a ghostly banner made from torn skin. If it hadn't been for the quick thinking of the scouts, they would have died before warning the sect, escaping the roving packs of scouts was harder than they expected.

A week later, smoke in the vast distance could be seen from atop the city walls..

A week after that, if the City didn't have Fei, The Mountain Spirit protecting them from the smoke, all of them would have choked to death on the plumes that spread from the desert and grasslands.

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"The Zao Clan has to do something, that army comes to the mountain, if we stand around, we will be surrounded." Harris slammed his fist into the table, denting it. Harris had chosen to be an alchemist, his love of chemistry even earned him the lead position. Due to his energetic nature, he was chosen to lead the Alchemy Division.

"Harris is right, both Abi and Williams groups have been reporting in every few hours. The Horde is coming this way. Our scouts report that someone is in control of the group stampede. From their best guess, two individuals are directing them, some half dead guy with a robe and another androgynous person." Zhan had Harris calm down, there was plenty of time to discuss things. What was important, was getting the information across all channels in the Sect's leadership.

Rachael had been taking the initiative to follow Zhan into battle briefs and with Patriarch Ooran on matters of the Clan. She had been helping relief forces at the gate and settling the new arrivals.

"No matter what, we will be forced into confrontation with them, its only a matter of time. We have to remain vigilant." Wu Hai had grown, his body was significantly stronger and his commanding attitude didn't slow down a bit.

"Xuan Kim Li's been working on a project that I think will help. Using the Alchemy and Chemistry labs, we've manage to make a significant advancement. His research has created a composite of materials that, after significant impact from magic or Mana, will explode. Its costly but it's functional." The looks from the other advisers during the Battle Briefing kept changing as the meetings went on but the Clan had not fought a real battle yet, only some wild beasts.

Fate could decide to be cruel, the Sect would have to kept their vigilance.

Wu Hai continued, "Which means, the bombs have to be detonated personally each time, or dropped from a high altitude. This also means we need to send out the Stealth Corp to mine the plains at the foot of the mountain... then wait for the enemy to cross it. The chain of explosions will create a lot of heavy damage to anything nearby, and its projected to burn for a very long time. We're talking about weeks of combustion depending on the crystal composition and we're using dust, so there is a high probability of an extreme reaction.."

"Something on this planet really burns for weeks? Bombs were scary on Earth, do we really need to make something worse?" Marcus Torres called out, he had grown up in a war zone.

Marcus was one of the Blacksmiths and an experienced machinist from Italy. He use to work as a ship builder and welder, his technical contributions were a big help to the Clan. Zhan had taught him what he learned from the Firewolf Brigade and together, they helped coordinate the strict training for the Stealth Corp.

"The Stealth Corp could mine the grasslands and the base of the mountain." Zhan and Marcus had discussed it at length but there were always others that had their opinions. "I think its best that we stick with your Brother's idea, what we need is an aerial strike. If we mine the fields, what happens afterward? Assumptions won't help us." Marcus had a point, not that it bothered him to dig in the dirt under the cover of darkness but he didn't want to have explosives where the children might one day play.

The Stealth Corp had eleven members. The Sect had invested a lot of time into them to help curb security issues in the beginning. It was easy to catch bandits or explore areas when no one could see you properly. Thanks to the shadow movement techniques that Wu Hai and Master Jiang had at their disposal, the stealth corp was considered the elite of the Clan.

"We're calling them Chaos Bombs" Xuan Kim Li answered. He pulled one out and laid it on the table in the Lobby. "Fire Crystals, wrapped in sifted dirt from the western mountain, ground into powder, mixed with thermite." Kim Li made a lude expression, he seemed very satisfied with the results.

"Its a shame that we can only make a few hundred. Our supply of Magical Gemstone has been quickly running out. We'll have to mine the western Mountain in the future. Every time I fly past, while probing, I sense thick pockets of minerals." Wu Hai had been giving out materials like they grew on trees, Crystals were harder to come by and they couldn't be produced as easily as flipping over a hand.

The approaching Army gave the City more reason to collect materials, this is, if they managed to survive.

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The Plains were filled with the peoples of various races fleeing the Horde of creatures being herded, some were eventually driven into the mountains and made their way to Zao City. Whenever they would arrive, they were tested by Lei and Qu, those that didn't seem like an immediate threat were allowed to stay while a few were arrested, driven away or executed.

Looters would cost lives in a War, not just lost property and mercy was not on the menu.