"Is that all of them?"
"No Patriarch, we are getting more support than we had previously assumed."
"Oh? Did they send more of their elders than we expected or replaced them with inferior members from their ranks instead?"
Zhang Dong was hovering up in the air along with Zhang Kuo. Below him was a temporary encampment filled out with tents and various abodes that had spatial technology. This was the area where they decided to gather all of the troops from other sects and clans.
It was previously occupied by a whole city but after the demi-humans passed through it was turned into rubble. This rubble was then absorbed into his golden bastion that was daily growing in power. Yet to achieve the next transformation he would need to wait, the rate of the upgrades had substantially slowed down and it would probably not reach the third level anytime soon.
"No Patriarch, all the sects and clans have followed our instructions and given up half of their fighting forces, they have been all accounted for."
"But unless I'm bad at counting… aren't there too many people here? I can even see Qi condensation juniors…"
Zhang Dong had scanned the entire area and found many weak cultivators arriving from all sorts of places. For this coming battle, the weakest he recruited were foundation establishment adepts, anyone below that would not really be able to participate in the coming battle.
"These people have heard our call to battle and decided to aid us for their own reasons."
"Own reasons? Are they the ones that lost their homes or families to the demi-humans?"
"Yes, Patriarch."
"That explains a lot, Kuo do we have a place for them in our army?"
"Some are strong enough to join the battalions, others could be used for various errands and support but their allegiance is questionable. Some of them probably see this as a chance to increase their fame."
"Hm…"
He looked at the people here, even without using his system he knew that some of them probably had ulterior motives. This wasn't something new, the easiest way to earn support with a large sect would be to help them. Many of them probably hoped to get taken under the wings of the rising powerhouse that was the United Element Sect.
'Do they expect us to accept them as outer sect disciples after it's over?'
"Let them stay, for now, offer each one a small reward after the siege is over but not too much… Examine the problematic ones and do the usual, we can't allow ourselves to have assassins in our ranks."
There was no reason not to use the larger forces to his advantage. He could always place them in the defensive formations as human batteries. Everything in this world ran on spiritual energy and cultivators were small nuclear power plants exuding this energy.
"As you command."
'Things are ramping up but will it go as well as with that Vampire guy? Will that guy actually come?"
In the previous battle, he had managed to be victorious for a reason. His forces were stronger and he also had help from powerful allies. This time around it was slightly different as everything was on his shoulders. There was no one on the level of those demi-human leaders that he could ask for help, besides one person that is.
"Hm?"
"Excuse my late arrival, Lord Lucius was against this idea but luckily I'm not a Knight nor a noble!"
"Glad that you could make it Argus, your help is much appreciated."
"I wish that my motives were unbiased but I do have my reasons for helping you."
"That hurts, I thought that we have become the best of friends, you hurt me deeply!"
"Ho ho ho."
Argus laughed but Zhang Dong knew the real reason that he had arrived to help him. This reason was part of the previous lie about the holy sword. The grand wizard was hoping to find another part of the relic at the other fortress of the demi-humans. It somewhat made sense that if one part was at the first castle then the other would be in the possession of those body refiners.
'Would be nice if Lucius and the other knights aided me but I can't be too greedy."
His helper was here on his own accord but he could not expect Argus to prioritize the battle. Probably if things got troublesome with a quick teleportation spell he would be gone in a second. He was there to find the relic and perhaps would leave if that detection device stopped working.
'I could try to imitate the frequency again but that aegis thing is a shield, it's signature might be different…'
Zhang Dong had thought of using his unwilling allies in another pact but didn't want to overdo it. If the Wizard here gave him some ranged support from a safe distance then it was more than enough. His opponents were usually weaker when attacking from an outside location.
"Well, if you need something just ask one of my retainers or you can make yourself at home. Take this seal, show it to anyone if you have any problems."
Before Argus left he was given the Patriarch's seal of approval, with it there would be no one obstructing his way. There were still a few limits as he would not be allowed in areas like the engine room with the golden egg. Soon Zhang Dong pointed toward the giant floating golden palace that was hovering over them. Argus had seen it already and was salivating while looking at it. It was clear that he was a man of knowledge and something of this scale would be a very interesting research topic.
"Astonishing… I will see you later then, my friend."
After taking care of his friend he floated up to examine the state of his troops. As the illustrious leader, he didn't really need to do anything at this point. All the other nascent soul masters could do all the grand speeches and move the forces around for him. His presence was the only thing that they needed to be aware of.
'Ah, there they go again, treating me like the second coming of God…'
Yet again he was receiving bows from the cultivators with less power. This wasn't true worship as the only thing they were doing was out of fear. All of them were conditioned to fear the strong. If they were convinced of a large power disparity the cultivators of this world would lower their heads. Sometimes if the gap was not something that could ever be crossed they would abandon all hope.
'I can trust these people to flee the moment we start losing… not very trusty allies but it's better than nothing.'
He believed that a large chunk of the people here would abandon their posts in the face of true adversity. Yet some of them were just looking for a place to die, husbands with dead wives, brothers with parents or siblings that had fallen to the demi-humans. They had a similar trait of having a certain look in their eye, a face of someone that was ready to end it all.
'Those will probably better be suited for large-scale defensive formation augmentation than the frontlines…'
Even though he tried to justify his decision of allowing people like these to join the coming war it didn't go well with his morals. If he could he would just go there alone like in the old days, regretfully his strength was not at such a level that he could take on a full army of demi-humans with multiple leaders.
Before these types of thoughts clouded his mind he pushed them aside. For the coming siege, he needed to become heartless or suffer the consequences. There was no place for a weak mind when going against a strong opponent. The only positive notion in all of this was that he was going against a ruthless enemy who seemed to lack any morals. There was no chance of clearing things up with diplomacy like he was able to with Lucius.
…
Minutes turned to hours and a few days had passed since they had gathered here. Their current location was the closest region to the northwest lands populated by the demi-humans. The large scale flying ships that his sect painstakingly produces were slowly rising up into the clouds. They carried various cultivators, young and old, male and female.
They had all gathered here with one enemy in mind but with various things motivating them. Morale was high as everyone cheered at him as he placed himself at the front of the arrow formation. Right in the middle was the grand relic, the Golden Dong Palace. Even though to him the name was a joke to the people it carried a meaning, the name of one of the strongest masters in the whole Empire.
'Everything will be fine.'
He reassured his trembling heart while trying not to look nervous before this massive group of people. Without performing a long-winded speech he took out a brand new shiny sword. It was recently forged by him from some of the superior metal that he discovered in his new fortress that also came equipped with a proper forge.
This forge was not quite as advanced as the crafting abode but it had its uses. One of them was the smelter that could produce high-quality ingots for forging purposes. Thus by spending a truckload of spirit points and other resources he created this holy sword. At first glance, it looked like a golden prop that a person would place over their fireplace but in reality, it was a true masterpiece.
It was created by Zhang Dong to magnify his current strengths. It included the knowledge of the three Daos that he was a grandmaster of and could only show its full potential when wielded by him. With this magnificent blade in hand, he was ready to go against his new enemies.
"Follow me, brothers and sisters, towards victory!"
He pointed his sword towards the cloudy sky that was above them. With a swing forward the same clouds started parting. The cultivators from the other sects and clans couldn't even blink as they saw Zhang Dong cleave the sky in two.
The path that was created in the sky was their destination and the place where the Demi-humans were gathering their forces. The flying ships started speeding forward while the loud humming sound of the flying fortress signaled its activation. Everyone started shouting as they advanced toward their final destination, it was time to rid their lands of this scourge.