Factions

Sunny addressed the ten thousand beastmen and women, his gaze sweeping over each individual. "By now, you all would have received the news, right?" He waited as a ripple of nods went through the assembled ranks.

"Ten thousand Wendigos are heading toward the city as we speak. Not only that, they are significantly stronger than you weaklings."

A collective frown creased the soldiers' faces; being called "weaklings" clearly didn't sit well with them.

"What?! Are you upset?" Sunny asked, a flat expression on his face. "Yeah, you should be. Because you are all weak." He continued, his eyes narrowed. "Look at you, the strongest among you is only a Sky rank. Truly pathetic."

"My… My king, aren't your words too harsh?" a muscular man ventured, a deep furrow in his brow.

Sunny studied the man for a few seconds before scoffing. "My words are harsh? Then you haven't seen anything yet." He turned to Star and Josephine, who stood silently behind him. "Withstand my step-sister's pressure for one minute. See for yourself if you are strong."

The men and women shifted their gazes to Star. After a few seconds of silent consideration, they nodded, their expressions resolute. Sunny raised an eyebrow and gave the command: "Don't hold back."

Star nodded in acknowledgment, then unleashed her immense pressure across the entire training ground.

"...?!!!"

THUD!!

PIFFFF!!

The sounds of knees hitting the ground and blood being spat out echoed across the field as half of the soldiers immediately dropped to their knees, their faces pale. Sunny's gaze settled on the muscular man who, despite the overwhelming force, remained standing, sweat beading on his face and running down his temples.

"You are just a Master rank; don't overestimate yourself," Star murmured, her voice calm, and then increased her pressure tenfold.

THUD!

".....?!!!"

The muscular man gritted his teeth, the increased pressure weighing down on him like a mountain. 'So powerful?!' he thought in mild shock. 'I… I can't hold on any longer.'

Sunny, Star, and Josephine watched as the soldiers dropped to their knees one by one, finally ending with the muscular man. Sunny shook his head in disappointment, then looked at Josephine over his shoulder. "Are these people your soldiers?" he asked, a deep frown etched on his face.

"They… Our strongest soldiers were sent to war against the Wendigos. No one came back, and we never heard from them. Even the captain just vanished," she explained in a low voice.

Sunny nodded slowly and turned back to face the kneeling soldiers. "If you all survive tomorrow, you will be entering the worst nightmare of your lives. That, I promise you." He then turned around, his back to them. "From now on, Star will be your new commander…"

"Huh?" Star turned to him in confusion. She had no idea or knowledge of becoming a commander. Although she was strong, she had little experience in battle.

Seeing her expression, Sunny added, "Your commanders will be Nicolas and Blood Eye. They will be back soon. Star will help you in your cultivation, so treat her as you would treat any commander."

The soldiers nodded, slowly getting to their feet, while Sunny turned to Josephine. "Walk with me." With that said, he walked away, leaving them on the training ground. Josephine nodded at Star, then turned and walked away, quickly following behind Sunny.

"Okay, guys." Star's expression instantly turned cold. "You all will start training until your two commanders return tonight! No rest! No break! No excuses! You will keep on training until they return, even if it's the next day!" She yelled, then snapped her fingers.

BOOOM!

The ten thousand soldiers blinked in shock as a ten-meter-tall wooden dummy rose into the air before them.

"This will be your first training. Five thousand Fighters, your task is to destroy this dummy before your commanders arrive. If you achieve this, I will personally give you your new elite-class armors…"

She pointed into the distance, and the beastmen and women followed her finger, witnessing ten slim dummies appear tens of miles away.

"The four thousand Shooters! Your task is to shoot those moving dummies. The rules given to the Fighters also apply to you all! Take down the ten dummies, and you will receive an elite-class armor."

She turned to the last group: Drivers and Pilots. "You guys will work with the Fighters and Shooters. Split into any groups and get going!"

The muscular man, Vince, nodded and took a step toward the ten-meter-tall dummy. Everyone watched as he channeled his energy and threw his most powerful punch.

BAM!!

A sonic wave spread out from the dummy, pushing the other soldiers two feet backward.

"Haha! That must have done it!"

"Yes! We passed the test!"

"Haha! Lord Vince is the best!"

Star turned her gaze to the smoke as it slowly dispersed, revealing Vince, his hand still stretched forth. Everyone watched as he withdrew his fist, and to their horror, not even a crack appeared on the wooden dummy.

"...?!!"

The ground was stunned speechless, dumbly staring at Vince and the dummy.

"This?! None of us can destroy it! You want us to lose!" Vince yelled, turning to Star.

"Attacking with your fist will only get you killed. You all have cores for a reason. Try to tap into your full potential, then try again. Now, all three categories should begin their training!" she yelled, walked toward a seat at the other end, and sat down.

Vince exhaled, sat in a meditating posture, and closed his eyes. Seeing his action, the seven thousand soldiers quickly followed suit. Star moved her gaze to the Shooters and sighed in annoyance.

'I am not a soldier, but their performance are so poor I want to puke. This will take time,' she thought.

__

Sunny and Josephine walked down the city, heading toward the gate.

"How big is Planet Zax?" Sunny asked.

"Half the size of the Star Planet ruled by the Star Nation," Josephine replied, following behind him.

"You mentioned something about other factions here, kingdoms perhaps. Who are they? How many are here?"

"Factions would be a better name. Most of them came from their nations to build a base here because they all thought the Beast Nation would be wiped out. There are four factions here: Humans, Xenons, Ogres, and lastly, Dragons."

Sunny stopped and looked at her over his shoulder.

"Dragons?" he asked in mild shock.