World's Last Hope-Chapter 98: The Siege Begins
"The most dangerous aspect is that they seem to reproduce rapidly, making it highly likely that we’ll eventually be surrounded by their cocoons."
The faces of everyone in the room became darker as they heard Eric’s words.
"They can reproduce? How fast?" Varek asked.
Olivia began, "We didn’t spend a long time in the forest, but even in our short visit, one thing stood among all others... the thousands, if not millions, of cocoons all around the forest."
"Millions?!" A few shouts of doubt were heard around the room.
In response, Aria brought down her fist on the table, creating a loud sound, silencing the panicked Masters.
"We are the ones that will protect the city, so don’t you dare get cold feet now! If we do, what about the millions of people behind these walls?!" Aria, for the first time, showed emotion in front of the Masters, and it was one of frustration.
Clearing his throat, Varek spoke, "So... do you have any ideas?"
Eric leaned forward as he shifted his gaze to the map and spoke,
"Yes, rather than staying here like sitting ducks, I suggest we go to them."
"Go to them?" Varek asked.
Eric nodded as he explained, "Yes, I suggest we split into three teams. One would stay at the Gates in case an emergency occurs and the spiders manage to reach the city."
He moved his hands to two specific spots on the map.
"And for the other two to go into the wild and surround the spiders."
He slowly brought down his hands closer as he spoke, "The two teams would begin to pressure the spiders from both sides, not giving them a chance to escape. They would either be forced to return from where they came from, or they will attack the gates. But considering that the two assault teams would have narrowed their numbers and weakened them, this shouldn’t be a problem."
Silence fell around the room as everybody had the same question.
If this was the plan, who was going to maintain the safety in the city, watching the gates, and who was going to venture forth toward the unknown?
Eric, without hesitating, raised his hand. "I will be part of the assault team."
’I really want to test how much stronger I have become and what is the best way, if not fighting the monsters that I struggled with before?’ is what he thought.
Aria and Olivia raised their hands as well.
A moment later, Varek joined them.
In the end, it was decided that five Masters would remain in the safety at the gates in case something struck, while the rest would venture forth.
Varek coughed as he spoke, "So, seeing that we will have two assault teams, and conveniently two Grandmasters with us, I guess we need to decide who is going to join which Grandmasters."
It was natural thought, considering it was going to be most practical if the two Grandmasters split up rather than staying on one side.
Aria shifted her gaze around Eric and Olivia and was about to speak, but Olivia beat her to it.
"Princess, can Eric join my team? I want to talk about something with him."
Aria raised an eyebrow, but in the end, sighed, "Sure, you haven’t seen each other after all."
Eric felt like he was missing something but didn’t comment on it.
In the end, the teams were made.
Eric and Olivia, plus four other Masters, would be the ones that would flank the spiders from the east, while Aria and Varek along with four more Masters would be the ones attacking from the west.
The meeting was about to conclude until a soldier burst the doors open with a worried expression as he shouted,
"We are under attack!"
*****
"My name is Talon. But from now on, you will simply call me Master. I am clear?" the tall man with broad shoulders, missing his left eye, spoke.
"Yes, sir!" the awakened shouted in unison.
Kyle was among them, thinking, ’Okay, this is it! From now on, my training begins!’
"I can’t hear you!"
"SIR! YES, SIR!" the awakened shouted with all the might they could muster.
The Master smiled as he heard them and then turned his back to them as he pointed at the gate that was before them.
"I know some of you might be idiots, so I am going to spell out even the most basic thing for your simple brains to understand!"
He walked forward as he motioned for the others to do the same. "This here is one of the gates that allows us to go in and out of the city. We will protect it, as well as its perimeter, from any potential threat! Even if you may lay your lives on the line, am I clear?"
"Sir! Yes, sir!"
Talon smiled. "Good," he walked to a pallet where a variety of weapons were placed.
The Master shifted his gaze to his subordinates as he spat, "For me to train you, first I have to know what is your level of expertise in a fight and your general fitness level."
He pointed to the weapons made from silver on display. "As such, you will now all arm yourselves and come at me with the intention to kill."
Some of the awakened trembled at the mere thought of fighting a Master.
Not missing that reaction, Talon smiled as he added,
"The one that manages to put a scratch on me will get a whole cooked chicken for himself!"
Kyle’s stomach growled at the mere thought of eating a chicken, let alone a whole one for himself.
He smiled as his eyes shined a little.
"I am going to get this food!" he muttered under his breath in excitement, as he stepped forward and took a spear in his hand, considering that he was up against a Master. He thought it would be smarter if he kept his distance.
Seeing his actions, the others awakened also stepped forward, beginning to arm themselves.
Talon watched them with a wide smile as he cracked his fingers one by one.
"This is certainly going to be fun."
