Born in Blood

"There's going to be a beast invasion soon." Lloyd said severely, sitting across Liam in one of the underground restaurants.

Liam gulped a mouthful of food and raised his brows. "What kind of magical beast?"

"Lava Lions, hundreds. They're monstrous beasts with the ability to conjure up magma and spew it everywhere, devastating the surroundings."

"Why don't the noble soldiers do anything?" Liam asked, a bit shocked at that number.

Lloyd sighed. He had no appetite to eat anymore.

"Invasions aren't common. Usually, the Royce family sends strong cultivators to clear them out before it gets to that point."

Lloyd scowled.

"They tried to do the same… but didn't know a Rank-4 beast was among them."

Liam stopped chewing.

"A Zenith ranked beast?"

Lloyd gave a firm nod.

"Regular Mortals can't hope to hurt it — they need to have at least two centers of power at the third rank, or at least close to it… and there needs to be at least four or five of them. Only similar Zenith's can fight it one on one."

Liam raised his brows in awe.

'To think that Zenith's are so strong… and Celestials are even stronger.'

Lloyd rubbed his eyebrow.

"Thing is, the beasts are heading for the peasantry, not the wealthy side of Ucladd. Which means that we won't get any support from them against defending it."

Liam cursed loudly, catching the attention of the surrounding people.

"You can't be serious. Why can't they just send the peasants underground temporarily?"

Lloyd shook his head with a frown.

"These nobles are a lot more shallow than that. The underground serves as a hub for traders that come from other cities. If they hear anything about a beast invasion, they might grow fearful and avoid trading with them."

"There's good news to this, though. They've already started building a new base for strengthening their forces. They'll provide nourishing pills and potions for free, too.

"Besides, the Rank-4 beast will be taken care of by a Zenith, but we'll have to deal with its underlings until he arrives. There's a good two weeks until the invasion, so prepare well."

Liam pursed his lips and nodded.

***

Over the next two weeks, the new guild base was erected – a large rectangular building.

It contained various facilities that helped the weaker ranked cultivators of the guild, including areas with higher concentration of 'Ora', and areas that helped speed up the expansion of the mental sphere.

That method of training was quite ingenious. The small inscribed area consisted of nothing except for a drugged Rank-3 Oppressive Toad in the middle, a frog-type magical beast that was mental attack based.

The Toad was roughly the size of a large bean bag – having blue skin with white protruding bumps on its slimy body.

With each croak, it applied bursts of pressure on all the cultivators around it – whoever was the closest, had the most pressure on his mind.

Accompanied with the Psionic Rune, it could speed up the expansion by heaps.

Granted, it hurt like balls, and too much exposure had negative effects.

Needless to say, nobody expected a child to sit so close to the frog. Especially since most common cultivators were way at the back.

Liam had split his time between advancing his body and spending his time in that area, and he was close to the upper-stage.

When the news of the invasion reached the peasantry, shock spread like wildfire. Many begged to be allowed inside the nobles' side, but were firmly denied. Beaten, even.

Eve for one wanted to leave the city with her son, but Liam had stopped her from making that decision.

"All carriage routes are blocked off."

Eve opened her mouth but no words came out.

"Just be patient, ma. I already said I'll protect you, didn't I?"

Liam felt guilty seeing his mother look so worried, but it was for her own sake.

Other than that, Liam's schedule continued until finally, there was just one day left until the beast tide arrived.

Liam was in Rogan's forgery.

The businesses underground still functioned normally, since those present weren't allowed to leave – but the nobles enticed them with wealth. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐧𝗲𝘁

Rogan hadn't planned to leave at all, but shamelessly accepted the payment anyway

The blacksmith had tired eyes and a natural scowl on his face, but in his hands, were a pair of blades.

"Rank-3 Shadow Lykos. I spent some time on its endurance – it should take at least a month before it shatters. Apply some 'Ora' into it, and it'll become ethereal without losing its sharpness."

Liam smiled and took the katana and wakizashi – the blades of which had a completely black sheen. The hilt was stitched with diamond patterns, and a wolf fang hung from a string at the bottom.

Swinging it a few times, his smile grew wider.

"Thanks, old man."

Rogan scoffed.

"Don't try to butter me up, rascal. I know you have some hidden agenda."

Liam chuckled.

"I'll be leaving, then. I'll need to prepare."

The blacksmith nodded in response.

"Next session, I'll have you begin the Forging technique. You're ready for it."

Liam nodded as he left – immediately heading back to his cave underground and throwing the bone strengthening pill in his mouth.

The taste was horrible, but once the contents entered his stomach, its effects were immediate.

His bones grew warmer and warmer, before reaching a boiling point.

He closed his eyes and manipulated 'Ora' to enter his bones, a slight frown visible on his face.

As the 'Ora' gathered on his skeleton, the bones suddenly grew a layer thicker and sturdier.

The process continued until all his bones had reached that state.

Liam heaved a deep sigh with a slight smile on his face.

'Should be the peak of Rank-2. Now, all I need is just a few wounds for me to advance to the third rank.'

Finally, the day of the invasion arrived.