Perched atop the city wall, Yanga stood alone. The lively crowd and numerous cultivators around him did little to break his solitude, as he remained deep in thought. His mind lingered on the information and task Elder Jasper had entrusted to him and the other two.
The job seemed simple, but that very simplicity made it challenging. Yanga quickly understood how important it was. To stop a flood, you don't block all the water you guide its flow. That was exactly the plan behind the second wave of the stampede.
They weren't planning to stop all the beasts swarming the city wall; instead, they would let some through into Mhlanga Village.
They would open a passage in the city wall's formation, and Yanga would lead one of the groups through it. His task was straightforward take down every beast that enters through the passage.
Since Yanga arrived in the cultivation world, this is his first attempt to lead a group of cultivators into battle, and he feels a bit out of sorts because of it. That's why he stands here, gazing into the void with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company.
Elder Jasper assured him everything was already set up and that he didn't have much to do. All he needed was to make sure everyone fought well and, if necessary, step in to protect them. Still, Yanga couldn't shake off his nerves.
This would be his first major undertaking leading a group, but part of him was also excited.
According to the information he received from Elder Jasper, the second wave of the Beast Stampede will be much stronger than the first. During the first wave, the strongest beasts in the Stampede were few, and they were spirit beasts.
During the second wave, there will be many more spirit beasts, and the entire army will be led by one or a few golden core-equivalent beasts, known as beast kings.
Elder Jasper could not predict how many Spirit Beasts or Beast Kings there would be in the second wave of the stampede. He was pretty sure that it should be over 10,000 Spirit Beasts, and at least 3 Beast Kings in the
Yanga's job was to take down any wild beasts that managed to make their way through the passage they were about to open. If the chance arose, he also needed to eliminate any spirit beasts that got close to the city wall.
Yanga stood there with nothing to do, his mind wandering as he waited for the right moment to act. He could have done many things, but somehow he just felt like doing nothing.
It wasn't that he was lazy or anything like that. It was just that he had already done everything he could do here.
Right now, what mattered most was for him to increase his strength, and to do that, he needed peace to cultivate. There was no way to get that standing on top of the wall, waiting for the stampede.
While standing there at the wall, Yanga was the first to see movement. Movement came from far away.
Before, when the first wave of the beast stampede started, all they could see was an immense cloud of dust in the distance that signaled the coming of the beast stampede, but this time it was different. The first thing was the sound.
The sound of a large army marching filled the air. It was unique, yet not quite like the beasts' march during the first wave.
This time, the rhythm was different, something Yanga couldn't quite place. If he had to guess, he'd say it was the steady beat of soldiers marching in formation, though that seemed far too organized for the Beast. Still, Yanga wondered.
The sound of the marching army drew the people's attention one moment they were moving easily back and forth along the wall as they made arrangements. But that same sound soon brought them all to a halt.
They all looked in the same direction that Yanga was looking, at the top of the wall, then they continued what I was doing with an increase in speed and efficiency. It was starting. Everyone knew that it was starting again.
Yanga stood still, gazing into the distance. It felt like ages passed between hearing the first rumble of the marching army and finally seeing it.
When his eyes fell on the second wave of the beast stampede, a jolt of shock ran through him.
There were just too many. The first wave had over 100,000, but this time, he couldn't even make a rough guess maybe over 10 million. Yet it wasn't the sheer number that troubled him most, but their size.
Unlike humans, beasts grow larger as they become stronger a wild beast is much smaller than a Spirit Beast, and a Spirit Beast is far smaller than a Beast King.
Watching an army march toward Mhlanga Village, Yanga noticed countless wild beasts at the front, with Spirit Beasts scattered among them. Yet, that wasn't what caught Yanga's attention.
He hadn't noticed it before maybe his cultivation was just too low but there was something else moving with the horde of beasts. It wasn't simply floating; it soared high above their heads.
The most terrifying part was that it wasn't alone. Five enormous creatures flew over the army, making their slow, ominous approach toward Mhlanga Village.
They were Beast Kings' golden core-equivalent monsters far beyond anything Yanga could hope to challenge.
Yanga wasn't the only one to notice; the commotion atop the city wall suddenly fell silent as eyes turned to the Beast Kings leading the army.
Elder Jasper's voice rang out, strong and clear for all to hear "Stand your ground and prepare! The second wave of the beast stampede is about to begin. Do what you can, but don't attempt anything beyond your abilities that's how people die. Now hold your positions and be ready. The battle will begin soon."
After Elder Jasper finished speaking, he soared away from the city wall, rising until he was level with the Beast King.
As he reached that height, others joined him. Watching the lineup of elders preparing to face the beast kings, he felt he'd give up anything just to witness a battle of this magnitude.
It was the first time Yanga had ever seen a Golden Core expert in action, and he was eager to watch, but there was no time. Ten people lined up behind him, waiting for his instructions, the very group that would follow him into the next battle.
Yanga turned to glance at the group behind him seven men and three girls. They were all much younger than he was, each at the foundation establishment stage, though at varying levels.
The strongest stood at the eighth level, and the weakest at the fourth level. Every one of them was technically stronger than Yanga, yet here they were, ready to follow him into battle.
Yanga took a moment to close his eyes. He took a deep breath, calmed himself, removed all distractions, and focused on the task ahead.
He looked at them all and said, "Listen up. I do not care what your background is. The only thing I care about is whether you are a liability or not, because liabilities will die in this next battle, but those who are not will survive."
The others looked at Yanga. Yanga could tell some of them wanted to say something, but since he'd reached number one on the kill counter, they knew he had the strength to back it up.
Yanga didn't give them any more time to think about it as he continued: "In the next battle, you follow my orders. If you follow my orders, I will try my best to make sure that you come out of this alive. Now, follow me. Let us take our place and be ready for this battle."
Then Yanga led his team to their own battlefield, where they would be stationed and tested.