The Almighty Ring

“Get along with each other and make sure that you have your meals. The battle will start anytime between evening and night,” said Jiang Fei.

“Excuse me, I am Lu Feng of the Clear Hallow Sect. Can I have your name?”

A man came up front as soon as Jiang Fei gave the green light to socialize among themselves.

“Teehee…” Ariel chuckled before Jiang Fei could even say anything.

“Urgh!” the girl that Lu Feng was trying to get to know sulked and moved away from him with disgust. At the same time, she even gestured Lu Feng to stay away from her with a disgusted expression.

“Oh…” Lu Feng grunted with pain and embarrassment when the girl had blatantly rejected him.

“Haha! In your face!”

“Hey man, at least try and hit on someone within your league!”

…

Since the guys of the group dared not go against Jiang Fei, they started to make fun of Lu Feng as a means to vent out their frustration.

“Tch! At least I’ve got the balls to talk to them!” Lu Feng scoffed.

“Hah! At least I’ve got the brains to know my own capability!” said the man whom Lu Feng scoffed at. The girls were with Jiang Fei. Surely they know that they would be on a different league since they were in the same Sect as Jiang Fei. Even though they did not know what kind of relationship did Jiang Fei had with the girls, they could at least tell that something was off when they saw how the girls were staring longingly at Jiang Fei.

“I don’t need to repeat myself thrice. Rest while you can. When the battle starts, do not complain to me about being tired,” said Jiang Fei as he glared angrily at the guys that were having fun. He was irritated at the guys since they were not taking the battle seriously. When the battle starts, they would surely be a hassle. However, the way Jiang Fei said it, the guys misunderstood Jiang Fei’s intention.

These young martial artists thought that Jiang Fei was trying to flaunt his “greatness”. They thought that Jiang Fei was trying to warn the others not to mess with his girls. Hence, even though the guys started to quiet down and rest as Jiang Fei advised, they still did not treat the upcoming battle seriously.

While the guys were muttering by themselves, the girls started to talk with Jiang Fei’s girls happily. However, whenever the girls tried to bring up something about Jiang Fei’s personal life, Jiang Fei’s girls would not budge. They were, after all, trained to be the Saint’s Guard. Their manners were of military standards. There was no way these martial artists could get any information out of them.

As the sun started to set, twilight came and the Mutants came ashore. The problem was that Jiang Fei had no idea when or where they would arrive in Japan.

Even though 0541’s proximity radar’s range was large, it was only extended to a certain length. Any further and it would consume too much power for Jiang Fei. Besides, Jiang Fei had made good use of the other sects that were separated in the beginning. If the Mutants were going to attack, they would target them first.

“Have your final meal now. It’s going to be a long night for us,” said Jiang Fei when the sun finally set and disappeared from the horizon. Jiang Fei might not know where and when the Mutants would come, but he knew that they would take advantage of the dark to ambush the martial artists.

“0541, show me the map of Japan,” said Jiang Fei as he hid away from the crowd.

The communicator that Jiang Fei gave to each sect leader also acted as a location beacon. That made position tracking easier.

“From the position of the sects, I’d say the one that would be attacked would the Soaring Cloud Sect and the Zhangle Clan,” said Ariel when she analyzed the map and the positions of each sect.

“I have a different opinion. I don’t think that the Mutants would attack them,” said Jing Fei. The position of both Soaring Cloud Sect and the Zhangle Clan were far away from the other sects. Both of them were rather isolated, making it fairly easy to surround them from all sides. However, they knew that and had positioned themselves strategically. There were mountains on all sides and only one entrance to their position. Like the war of the convoy in the game, it would be hard for the Mutants to attack them.

“I agree with the Captain’s insights. My analysis indicates the Snow Mountain Sect, the Redsands Clan, and the Azure Cloud Sect would be the first to face an attack,” said 0541.

“But, all three of the sects are close to each other. They could easily provide support!” said Ariel.

“You have to see it from another point of view. Yes, they may be three sects but they are all clumped together. Think of them as one single group and they are all in the flatlands. Together, they may be strong but don’t forget that the Mutants have more soldiers to spare.” said Jiang Fei.

“I see. Doesn’t that mean that they are now in imminent danger?” said Ariel worriedly.

“Danger, yes. But not imminent. You really should not underestimate these martial artists. Their fighting experience have made them better than those Mutants. Even though they might be ambushed, they would not suffer too greatly,” said Jiang Fei. He knew that the older fighters of the sects were cunning foxes. They might suffer from their arrogance and pride but they would not go down without a fight.

“What should we do then?” said Ariel.

“Right now? Wait.”

With Jiang Fei’s command, 0541 put away the map and Jiang Fei started to think.

From others’ point of view, Jiang Fei might seem cruel. He knew that the three sects were about to be ambushed yet he chose not to warn them. He wanted to teach them a lesson. They were too arrogant! They would not even work with other sects, much less normal people. If they were given any help, they would not learn the lesson and would never understand the meaning of cooperation. People like them would not listen to facts and logic. The best that one could do was to let them learn it the hard way. Only through baptism by fire can one truly see one’s fault.

When the last of the sunlight was snuffed away, the sky went dark and the stars started to shine.

“Sheesh, why are they taking so long? Where are the Mutants? My fist itches for battle!”

“Who knows? What’s wrong with you?”

“Heh! You’re not the only one. My blade has longed for the taste of fresh blood!”

“Remember the bet, let’s see who gets the most kills!”

“You’re on! Put up the 30-year-old rice wine that you’ve been keeping!”

“Hahaha! It’s amazing to have everyone like this together! I’m so pumped up to fight!”

“Heh! May the best fighter win!”

…

Jiang Fei frowned when he heard the guys in his group. Through the communicator, the leaders had also started to chat lively. They were not even nervous about the fight. The elders might have lost the true sensation of war as they had been living in peace for far too long. By the looks of it, the martial artists were at a great disadvantage before the fight even started.

“I see movement! Enemies are here!”

Out of a sudden, someone yelled in the communicator. The battle had begun.