Yun Lei dipped the brush in ink before he started drawing on the blank piece of paper before him.
Trying to get everyone on board with his plan would be quite difficult without them knowing what it was first. He thought that the best way of accomplishing what he wanted was to let his plan speak for itself. After all, he was confident everyone in the room would be able to recognise its merits.
As he was drawing, he spoke, "The problem with beast tides is that they attack in large numbers. While in theory, a single Body Tempering Realm Cultivator should be able to deal with all 700 of those beasts, it is not so in reality.
"Why? That's because it's a defensive battle. A single person isn't enough to keep every single beast occupied."
In the middle of the paper, Yun Lei had drawn the rough shape of the walls surrounding Ether Cloud. An arrow pointing towards the walls represented the tide.
Finally, Yun Lei drew a funnel-like shape which got wider the further it got from the walls.
"We know the general direction the beasts are coming from and we have the Body Tempering Realm Cultivators to deal with them. Three in fact." Yun Lei first looked at his wife, then the Head Guard and finally another member of the meeting who hadn't spoken yet.
"The problem is containing the beasts during this time and not letting them wreak havoc. Along the lines I've drawn, our combatants will create a human funnel that will do exactly that.
"Here and here," he pointed at the two points that made the mouth of the funnel, "is where the strongest Energy Sensing Realm Cultivators will be deployed. Their job will be to cull the numbers as well as lead the tide down the funnel. If necessary, they will also be responsible for widening the line to fully engulf the entire tide.
"Of course, such a thing wouldn't be possible for every type of beast out there but Savage Boars are very dumb creatures and operate solely on instinct. As soon as they sense that approaching the funnel wall leads to death, they will begin avoiding it and rushing straight through.
"Which is why the weakest of our troops will be here." He pointed to the portion of the wall directly after the mouth. "This is the least likely point of contact. Placing the weakest of our forces here will allow us to minimise the casualties.
"From there, the troops will be arranged from the weakest to the strongest, the closer one gets to the end of the funnel, the stronger the wall needs to be.
"Although the beasts will try to avoid the walls, the walls will begin narrowing while their numbers remain the same. Contact is inevitable. This is why the stronger troops will be placed towards the end.
"Finally," Yun lei pointed to the end of the funnel. "The Body Tempering Cultivators will be placed here and they will do the bulk of the work. Since the beasts will be nice and lined up, they can go all out without any worries and quickly demolish the tide."
Yun Lei had finished what he wanted to say so he simply put down the brush and sat down. Now, it was out of his hands. Whether or not they followed his plan was up to them to decide.
"Any objections?" Yun Wei asked.
There were fifteen people in that room, all experienced combatants who had no doubt fought Savage Boars before. They had enough insight to understand that Yun Lei's plan would have a very good chance of working.
The fact that he had immediately identified the Body Tempering Cultivators, even the one he had never met before, made them give more merit to his plan.
The troops were immediately assembled and the march to the wall began. The City Guards were evacuating the civilians to the shelters built specifically for their safety in the event of a tide.
The combatants came in all kinds of shapes and sizes. From big burly frontline warriors to sleek, light armour wearing archers, all of the forces of Ether Cloud had one thing in common. Hanging from their hips were tablets with the word 'Yun' on them.
For the foot-soldiers, the tablet was made of wood, for the captains of small teams, it was made of copper, for commanders it was made of iron. Only select members of the Yun Family had the same kind of jade tablet that was on Yun Lei's hips.
Since the tide didn't leave much time to organise, the orders had only been passed down to the commanders who passed it down to the captains. The night made the battle that much more difficult but there was little they could do about that.
However, that too could work to their advantage. The soldiers who made up the funnel would all have lit torches. The beasts, who feared fire, would try harder to avoid the walls.
Yun Lei chose to stay atop the city wall, alongside the Governor. On the battlefield, he would only be a liability. The troops greeted Yun Meili with a bow as she reached her designated position. With the Governor's absence, she had the highest authority in the field.
Yun Lei looked on with satisfaction as the troops quickly mobilised without a hitch, like a well-oiled machine.
"They're well trained."
Two comfortable looking chairs had quickly been prepared atop the wall. One, the Governor was sitting on, the other was clearly meant for the son-in-law of the Yun Family.
"Yes, the Commanders are quite capable. However, I had hoped you would keep Mei'er from the front lines."
"She will be quite fine." Yun Lei smiled as he took his seat. "An unused blade begins to accumulate rust. She can get some practice and also use this opportunity to earn the troops' respect. I see this as a good thing."
Yun Wei just let out a defeated sigh. His daughter would never listen to him anyway. He had hoped his son-in-law would hold her back but he had pushed her to the most dangerous spot himself. Although it was true that she wasn't in any real danger, the heart of a father couldn't help but worry.
The stamping of hundreds of feet was the prelude of the upcoming tide. A loud horn was blown, signalling the troops to be at full attention. The combatants were tense as they held on to their weapon, awaiting the inevitable.
The first of the beasts soon broke through the treeline. It was like they didn't even see the funnel, they headed straight for the city walls.
Savage Boars were rather weak beasts, near the bottom of the food chain. Their extremely high birth rates made them ideal prey for many of the carnivorous beasts and even the humans in the city. Their solitary nature meant they rarely gathered in a single place when they were not mating, making them easy to pick off. Even a group of well-trained mortals would have no trouble hunting a straggler.
The beasts looked quite like ordinary boars, with a long pig-like snout, furry body, and stumpy legs but, there were many distinct dissimilarities. Their tusks were a lot longer, with red patterns running through them. They had pitch-black eyes that didn't reflect any light.
The first contact was between the flanks of the tide and the mouth of the funnel. The warriors quickly and ruthlessly attacked the Savage Boars, rapidly killing any of the beasts that got close enough. As expected, the fanned-out tide quickly started coming together and headed down the funnel.
Yun Lei saw this and smiled. Things were going according to plan and since the beasts mindlessly rushed forwards, there hadn't been any life-threatening injuries amongst the combat force.
As the funnel gradually narrowed, more and more clashes began to occur. The troops' battle cries and the boars' painful wails began to fill the air. The scent of blood thickened with every beast that fell.
Although it wasn't apparent on his face, Yun Lei was thrilled with this development. The battlefield in front of him was moving according to his design and his side had the overwhelming advantage. What seemed difficult to do before had been made so simple that it appeared easy. There was a joy in it that he had never felt before.
Yun Wei was more impressed than he had expected himself to be. His son-in-law's plan worked so well it was almost like Yun Lei was commanding the tide to do exactly what he wanted.
The battle progressed and the tide finally reached the end of the funnel. This moment was the one Yun Meili had chosen to draw her sword from its sheath.
Before she headed to the battlefield, Yun Lei had pulled her into his arms. He had given her a kiss on the lips before whispering just two words into her ears, "Impress me."
She had every intention to fulfil her husband's request.
As Yun Meili took a step towards the oncoming tide, she unleashed the full aura of an 8th stage Body Tempering Cultivator. When she swung her sword in a horizontal slash, it was as though time itself had stopped.
For a brief moment, everyone on the battlefield only had their eyes on Yun Meili. The concentrated profound energy on her sword's edge spread out as a beautiful crescent moon, reaping the lives of the beasts as though mowing through grass.
The lives of tens of Savage Boars had been extinguished in a single instance.
Before everyone came to their senses, Yun Meili had already dashed forward into the midst of the tide. Seeing her in their path, the beasts attempted attacking her but, of course, they lost their lives without even realising how.
Wherever she went, the blood of the beasts was spilt. Her attack was ruthless and relentless. Not a single one got past her.
Her pure white robes had been dyed red but she remained unfazed. Her untied hair should have disturbed her movement but it simply followed behind her in a hypnotising dance. Every one of her movements was intricate, elegant and beautiful.
Yun Meili's presence turned that gruesome battlefield into a work of art. She was a fairy, fluttering about in a field full of flowers.
Seeing the beasts fall like flies, the troops attacked with renewed vigour. As if to keep pace with her, they attacked with everything they had.
Yun Meili stood still for a moment, gathering profound energy on the edge of her blade. Her brilliant blue eyes looked emotionless as they fell upon the beasts in front of her. In one devastating attack, the full might of a Body Tempering Cultivator was put on display. The arc of her profound energy cut through the entire tide.
Not even a single blade of grass had been left in the wake of her attack. The tide had been wiped out, just like that and it had barely even been five minutes since the first contact.
The troops who had been near that path of devastation were sweating bullets. Some had been mere inches away from death.
A loud horn was blown indicating the end of the battle. The troops let out thunderous roars of cheer.
"Long live Young Lady Yun!"
"LONG LIVE YOUNG LADY YUN!"
"Long live Ether Cloud!"
"LONG LIVE ETHER CLOUD!"
In the middle of the battlefield, stood Yun Meili, slightly out of breath. Her blood-soaked figure amidst the sea of corpses was full of beauty. The moonlight gleamed off the blade of her sword in a cold and dangerous elegance.
Many of the troops found themselves holding their breath. Because of the heat of the battle, many hadn't gotten the luxury of gazing at her figure.
The stories of the Young Lady's beauty were spread far and wide but it was still better to see with one's own eyes than read a thousand books.
Uncaring of the reverential gazes of the troops, Yun Meili sheathed her sword and began walking towards the city wall.