"There is a beast tide"
"Beast tide?"
"Oh no" Someone dropped his cup in alarm and shouted, "I'm out of here."
Shouts of 'Coward' and 'Weakling' and 'Chicken guts' rung out while they all looked at the chubby man distastefully. The man didn't mind and rushed out of the stall. The man that came with the news addressed everybody.
"Fellow cultivators, I received news three minutes ago that a wave of beasts is fast approaching this town. From the looks of it, their coming is anything but friendly. There is no news of the Cultivation Base of their commander, but given the number and cultivation bases of beasts coming with it, I'm guessing it is at least a King class beast" Even the weakest King Class beast was equivalent to a peak Cyclic Core human cultivator. Everyone's expression turned grim.
"How quickly can the people in this region be evacuated?" Kong Xiang spoke out.
"Fellow cultivators, I received news three minutes ago that a wave of beasts is fast approaching this town. It is impossible to move such a large number of people in such a short period with our abilities."
"Is there anyone here who is a member of a large Sect?"
"I am" A masked person raised his hand, removing his mask. His face was quite young too. He spoke up, "I contacted my Sect just now and they spoke with other sects beside them. If we can last through this night, they will send someone to get rid of the beasts."Someone else spoke up,"My Sect said the same thing. The Sects in charge of this area are sending someone over here as fast as possible but it will take till tomorrow morning to reach here."
"Everyone, everyone" Kong Xiang waved his hand to draw attention. There was some silence, "I'm going to cut to the chase. If you are reluctant to stay behind and defend the commoners against this beast tide, now is your time to leave" Some people looked around awkwardly. Kong Xiang continued, "Remember that this is a beast tide, so there are definitely going to be some casualties. If your survival and combat skills are not up to the chase, it's better you leave now" Finally a Body Tempering Stage stood up and bowed, leaving."Someone else spoke up,"
"Now that we're left with those ready to fight, let me let you in on something" Kong Xiang stoked the flames, "For situations like this, there is a silver lining. We have no choice but to fight these beasts, but once they are dead, we can also obtain materials from their bodies: essence blood, bone, flesh, tendons, hoofs and so on. Better yet, due to the fact that we participated in the Beast Tide Defence Operation, the Cultivation sects will purchase these materials from us at a rate fifty percent higher than usual" Everyone's pupils widened. There was a faint battle intent brewing in the air now. "For those proficient in survival techniques but not combat, don't worry. We will all divide ourselves into smaller teams of five, with each group having those proficient in offence, defence, long ranged attacks, healing and stealth" Kong Xiang's suggestions worked like magic and soon, there were smaller teams all ready to fight.
"Please note that each team can only obtain the carcass of the beast they kill. For this reason all cultivators should wear the Image Recording Stone around their necks so proof of their kills can be verified afterwards" Kong Xiang was in a team with the young Cultivator from the Chess Square Sect. He was proficient in formations. Da Chen, the man talking to Kong Xiang earlier was proficient in defence techniques and was in the group too. The other two, Zhi Ran and Cao Tian were proficient in stealth and long ranged attacks. Kong Xiang took the role of a healer.
All the cultivators formed into groups and waited for the beasts' arrival.
"They are coming" Zhi Ran was a Earth elemental user proficient in the Earth Escape Technique, so she was more sensitive to earth tremors and vibrations. Some other people could feel it too and had uneasy expressions.
The sounds of pounding hoofs and feet became louder and soon enough, everyone present could see a swarm of beasts charging in their direction.
"ATTACK"