Chapter 24: Clearing the Flying Fur Beast Swarm
"So, everyone, don't you think that red-tasseled spear is incredibly powerful?" Zhang Tianming said with a smile to all the students present. "The person just now was County Magistrate Yan Huo, a level five Earth Martial Spirit Master. The weapon he's holding is his famous weapon, a third-grade spirit tool—the Fire-Tipped Spear. It's a sharp weapon tailor-made for him by a specialized spear-type Spirit Tool Master. This spear is not only incomparably sharp, but it also possesses the ability to transform spirit into fire and amplify spirit power attacks by three times. Remember, this three-fold increase is applied after the initial spirit power exertion amplification! Furthermore, the armor on his body is a third-grade spirit armor, which can weaken any attack's power by seventy percent and ignores all penetrating spirit power attacks."
Yang Tong was stunned to hear this. Ignoring penetration and blocking seventy percent of damage—this spirit armor was simply too powerful. The Fire-Tipped Spear was the same; if he could amplify his spirit power by three times through the Wind Wolf Fist's exertion method after awakening, and then have it amplified another three times by a weapon, it would be truly terrifying.
This was a level of power that thermal weapons could absolutely never reach. Even the most powerful C-type psionic sniper rifle couldn't match the power after such amplification. No wonder thermal weapons could never replace the status of cold weapons in the eyes of the strong.
"Are all the cold weapons used by those awakened experts tailor-made?" he asked curiously.
"I can answer that for you. There are mass-produced models of cold weapons on the market with various attributes, but their power varies greatly. Any expert with a bit of capital will choose to find a Spirit Tool Master to custom-build a set of offensive and defensive spirit tools for them," Zhang Tianming answered bluntly.
He rolled his eyes, thinking that it was no wonder the status of Spirit Tool Masters was so high. The number of Martial Spirit Masters was ten thousand times that of Divine Sense Masters, and Spirit Tool Master was just one of the major professions among Divine Sense Masters; not all Divine Sense Masters would become Spirit Tool Masters. Since Martial Spirit Masters wanting to improve their strength would definitely seek out Spirit Tool Masters for custom equipment... tsk tsk tsk... one could imagine how high the income and social status of a Spirit Tool Master must be.
At this moment, he already had the idea of becoming a Spirit Tool Master. The step of awakening was only a matter of time for him, and it was destined that he would be a Divine Sense Master upon awakening. He wasn't in a hurry; he was not even thirteen yet and had plenty of time. It would take one to two years for his soul to condense, then a period to stabilize, and once he comprehended will, he could undergo awakening. Awakening in his twenties wouldn't be considered too conspicuous.
Two hours passed quickly, and another group of people replaced him and the others.
Everyone went down to the first floor. Some sat in meditation to restore their mental energy, while others occasionally observed the battle outside through the observation ports.
"Yang Tong, how does it feel?" Feng Xiaobo asked with rare seriousness.
"Very powerful." He suddenly understood what Feng Xiaobo was asking about.
"Yeah, powerful, extremely powerful," Feng Xiaobo said, throwing a punch. "I want to be that powerful too!"
This was the first time he had heard Feng Xiaobo speak with such determination. He nodded and didn't say much.
Time passed day by day. The entire county town was almost entirely shrouded by the cries of beasts. Almost every moment, those cruel and cold roars could be heard, making one's hair stand on end.
The number of the flying fur beast swarm finally began to decrease. Compared to a few days ago, it had been reduced by at least half.
During this period, County Magistrate Yan Huo also led his subordinates several times to clear the beast corpses and collect beast crystals before distributing them.
It was his and Feng Xiaobo's turn to go up again. Over these few days, everyone had adapted to this kind of scene and become accustomed to the bloody sights.
He looked out from the firing port and happened to see County Magistrate Yan Huo leap onto the city wall. The armor on his body disappeared like flowing water and turned back into a belt.
County Magistrate Yan Huo took out a token-like object and tapped it lightly. A virtual image floated in mid-air. The image was of a person, and behind him, countless savage beasts of various types could be vaguely seen charging frantically.
"Yan Huo, we're almost unable to hold on. I've already ordered a retreat. How are things on your end?" the person in the image asked anxiously.
"How can it be so fast? I still have half of them uncleared here," Yan Huo said loudly.
"The savage beast swarm is for real this time. It's ten times more ferocious than sixty years ago. We must prepare for the worst."
"Fine, I understand. You guys retreat to the second line of defense as soon as possible. Be careful," Yan Huo said and closed the image.
He watched in a daze, tapped Feng Xiaobo, and asked, "What is that thing?"
Feng Xiaobo glanced at the suspended virtual image and said, "That's a spirit communication token, a fifth-grade spirit tool. Only awakened individuals are allowed to purchase and carry them. I've heard it has many functions, but I've only heard about it; I've never actually played with one."
"A fifth-grade spirit tool?! Is it that exaggerated?" He was startled. He had at most seen the set of third-grade spirit tool equipment on County Magistrate Yan Huo, and that was only at the lower tier of the third grade. Its power had already filled him with envy. Yet a "mobile phone" was actually a fifth-grade spirit tool? That was too much.
"It really is that exaggerated. If my grandfather hadn't told me this, I wouldn't have believed it either—that a tiny little scrap of a token is actually a fifth-grade spirit tool. Just how high is the technological content in that?" Feng Xiaobo was also very curious. Back when his grandfather was alive, he lived in Luoxing City and was very knowledgeable. Under his grandfather's influence, Feng Xiaobo was much more well-informed than an "outsider" and "shut-in" like Yang Tong.
The two chatted, but their hands didn't stop. Shooting at moving targets like this didn't require too much mental concentration.
County Magistrate Yan Huo then used the spirit communication token to contact an old man, speaking in a very respectful tone, "Great Master Zheng Xuan, the first line of defense at the front has been broken. We now need to ask for your help to clear out this troublesome flying fur beast swarm."
Upon hearing this, the old man grinned and replied, "It is my duty. This old man shall come at once."
After a while, an old man clad in golden spirit armor arrived on the city wall, riding a rather unique flying device.
"Lord Magistrate, this old man has arrived late," the old man said politely.
"Not late, not late at all. Great Master Zheng Xuan, please," Yan Huo greeted him.
Zheng Xuan walked to the edge of the city wall, where one more step would have sent him falling off. He looked up at the swarm filling the sky and took out a massive round shield as tall as a man.
The round shield itself appeared to be composed of countless palm-sized scales. One look was enough to tell it was extraordinary.
"Hey, Yang Tong, look over at the magistrate's side. There's a show to watch," Feng Xiaobo reminded him urgently.
He looked over, feeling curious. The old man clearly looked like an expert, but why did he take out a shield?
The old man nodded and said, "This old man shall show his humble skills." After saying that, he tossed the round shield into the air.