I walked through a deserted street. The only thing that broke the eerie silence was a scream that would resound from afar from time to time. Suddenly, a young woman, no older than fifteen years old from appearance, entered my field of view from a side street.
She also quickly noticed me and ran toward me.
-"Help! That... That thing is chasing me! Big Brother, please save me!"
She moved behind my back and tried to hug me, but before she could touch me, she suddenly froze mid-movement.
~"Ugh, I'm not one hung up on all that staying virgin thing, but even I would feel nauseated by your Cultivation. How many thousands of men did you strip of their essence? Ugh. Even holding my sword right now feels dirty."
Continuing on my way, I threw away this cristal sword only to manifest another, while behind my back, the young girl's head fell to the ground. Before it could stop rolling, its appearance changed from youthful to one that parents would use to scare bad kids at night.
⌊ Hey! That's mine!⌉
⌊ Finders keepers.⌉~I rolled my eyes at the Wolf that was chasing that woman.~⌊ If you played less with her, she wouldn't have arrived near me.⌉
⌊ Pah! Don't be like that boring Lamb, Fox.⌉
⌊ Just go. If you lose to Acheron in hunting, it will be laughable.⌉
Hearing my words, Wolf quickly disappeared, and yet another scream sounded a few streets away.
After a few minutes of walking, I entered what was before the city hall. Inside, there were the strongest auras present in the whole city, not to mention Baiheng, who was also there. Entering unobstructed, I used illusions to hide myself, deciding to listen to what was being discussed inside.
-"What is going on?! Woman! You better explain what is going on, or I'll let my brothers play with you!"-A man wearing luxurious clothes shouted while glaring at Baiheng.
-"What can I say? I warned you that the Supreme General's strength is something you can't fathom. This is something all people speak about."
-"How can some false trash compare to true Cultivators, let alone me!"
-"Heh. How could I know that Greatest Young Master of Demon Path or something was so pathetic? I'm not from your Divine Realm, so I'm unaware of your forces."
-"Bich!"
-"Young Master!"
-"What now?!"
-"That woman is approaching quickly. We can't stop her."
-"Trash!"-That man sat back on his chair before he covered his face and started laughing.-"Haha! It seems I won't be able to leave this place. Then, I'll at least get some advantages before I'm forced out. Capture her."
On his order, two other people rushed at Baiheng.
-"What are you doing?"
-"Hehe, Miss. You said that you'll become a Dao Companion of one who is strongest in this trial, but as the trial for us is coming to an end, I decided to get my reward earlier."
-"So you consider that you are strongest here?"
-"That woman might be stronger, but she is a woman, not to mention a false human at that. So I see no other alternative for you."
-"Sigh."
-"Finally accepted the facts?"
-"No, I'm just shocked at how well Yae's books illustrate annoying 'young masters', that appear before the protagonist only to be stepped on in the next chapter. Before, I thought it was just some typical cliche, but it seems that people like that truly exist."-Baiheng expressed her genuine surprise.
-"What..?"
~"Had your fun?"
-"Yes."-Hearing my voice, Baiheng's face instantly brightened up, and she walked to my side.-"Next time, don't make me work with guys like that. It's disgusting."
~"Sure, I also don't want to ever meddle with guys like those."
-"Who are you?!"
~"Sigh."~Deciding not to waste any words and thoughts on those guys, I beheaded them all with a quick slash.~"There are still some strugglers in the city. You want to follow me or return to the central city first?"
-"I'll be coming back. I need to wash out that aura of those guys. Every part of my body that they stared at feels dirty."
~"Sure, I'll see you later then."
-"You better."
After opening the portal for Baiheng to return, I continued walking through the streets.
-"You want me to do something to that guy?"-Asked me Soaring Feather.
~"No need. I don't care about such a minor character, nor does Baiheng. He doesn't deserve to waste our time or thought."
-"That's true."
When the sun started to set, I met up with Acheron in the middle of the city.
~"I won."
Acheron nodded and turned her head away with a slight pout.
~"Let's go back. The rest can be done by the soldiers themselves."
We returned to the central city, where I started making arrangements for the now-empty city. I ordered the Contestants to be the ones who would remove any debris remaining in the city, including all heads that were rolling on the streets.
For a Cultivator, an image of the massacred city wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Many of those present were reasons for such things happening in real life, but even so, this should remind them that here, their background doesn't matter, while their strength doesn't allow them to do what they want.
Meanwhile, I gathered with Baiheng, Otto, and Riveria to talk about plans for the Contestants.
~"Now, there shouldn't be any more problems with insubordination, or at least all should now play by the rules presented to them. I'll take care of the battle aspect, so I hope you can deal with promising seeds individually."
-"Sure, I already found some more brilliant people. I'll play a little villain that wants to overthrow City Lord while he is absent."-Otto already had everything planned.
~"Try to get a good understanding of all those who will become leaders in the future. While right now we don't have enmity with any other force, who knows what the future will look like."
-"Don't worry, I was able to cheat Honkai. Some brats from the greenhouse won't be too hard to deal with."
~"Just be sure Kallen is close to you. With your strength, she might need to save you from some more eager 'righteous heroes' when you play the villain."
-"Good pretext for a date, as expected from you, Yue."-Otto smiled while picking up his wineglass.
-"If Otto is painted as the villain, it will be easy for me to present myself as an inexperienced but principled person fighting for civilians."-Riveria had also already prepared some plans.-"I'll try to find more support-oriented people, especially ones who are not affiliated with major force or are open to switch."
~"I'll have Baiheng cooperate with you behind the scenes, as I have to appear neutral."
-"Sure, I already found some strong guys and girls that will appreciate having more opportunities to earn points. But those of the last faction won't listen to our instructions."
-"Right, those 'Mercenaries'."-Otto's smile turned bad at their mention.-"Want me to deal with them?"
~"No, if those guys are decimated, we will have a problem with Herrschers later. We will have to tolerate them for now, but I don't mind if you pressure them slightly."
-"I'll play with them."
~"Just make sure that they can fight when those girls start to appear."
-"They will be unhappy if you don't deal with them personally."
~"How come everyone is so eager to challenge me? Sigh."
-"Isn't this your fault? You are always finding those who are good in certain fields and either try to beat them in that field or directly learn their skills."-Riveria directly complained about my usual behavior.
-"Pff, I still remember when you finally unleashed Kojirou's technique without using magic as assistance. Kojirou closed himself in his dojo for a whole week, doubting his achievements."-Gloated Otto.
~"To be honest, the Tsubame Gaeshi is one of, if not the, hardest technique I have ever learned. Not requiring any kind of understanding, talent, magic, or ability. Just pure sword skill derived from own's mastery of the blade. It was a good reminder that no matter how high your achievements are, there are always those who achieved the same if not even greater heights using their own way."
-"Yet you learned it in not even the month."-Riveria once again complained.
~"Don't compare me to others. Let alone my current powers and identity, the fact that I became Principle of Progress shows that I have a knack for it."
-"If you as so. Well, we can talk about that later. I need to use the purge of that city to start some of my plans."
~"I'll get myself busy with battles."
After finishing our quick meeting, everyone started moving on their own.
Time started to pass, and the battles began to intensify. Half a year quickly passed, and the time for the first Herrscher attack arrived. Agata was one who attacked us, and she used her control over fire to incinerate over five million soldiers before Acheron could engage her in combat.
Her attack also served as a wake-up call for all those who started to get comfortable in their roles. The Herrschers then began to appear regularly, first weekly, then twice a week, and now, when the first full year of the trial passed, those girls would attack every day, sometimes even acting in pairs.
Their attacks also started to take their toll on the city, as over 15% of total military personnel had been killed since the beginning, including more than 25% of contestants. Even the wall started to show traces of accumulated damage.
As this whole trial was also for me to train, I didn't use any Divinations beyond checking the current situation of the whole simulation, so I couldn't see the best path for the future. Using strategies and tactics, I was able to minimize losses and respond to the attacks, but slowly, the difference in abilities between me and the Generals started to show.
Currently, I was sure that I would be able to defend the outer wall for another two years with no breaches, but this was not enough to have certainty of securing victory in the whole trial.
The middle and inner walls were much smaller than the outer one, but this came with both benefits and disadvantages. Advantages were obvious, as reducing the length of the front allowed us to defend it with fewer units, and concentrating our forces allowed for faster response.
The problem was that the disadvantages were impossible to overlook. The available space for things like food and living will not only be reduced, as around 60% of the total space exists between the outer and middle wall, but this would make dealing with Herrshers without people being caught in combat much harder.
Consulting both Otto and Riveria, we came to the conclusion that we could last five years after losing the outer wall. If that time was to be extended, issues with morale, food, and people would start to occur.
Keeping the outer wall for the four years was beyond what I could feasibly achieve without paying too big of a price, but the target of over four total years was set.
And for that, I changed my approach to the defense and started making preparations.
-"Sir! We brought them here."
~"Let them in."
After I gave my permission, ten contestants entered the room.
-"We greet the Commander-in-Chief."
~"No need to stand on ceremony. I called you here as I want you to do a special job."
-"What are we to do, Sir?"
~"You ten are the strongest soldiers aside from me and Acheron, so I have a special mission for you. You will form a unit that will be given one job. To eliminate as many monsters as quickly as possible."
-"But won't that be a suicide mission?"-Asked one Contestant.
~"It'll definitely be a high-risk mission, but we will provide you with equipment and techniques so that you can achieve it safely."
-"What are the rewards?"
~"This is not a negotiation but an appointment. You can refuse, but know that there will be no second chance. After the successful mission, each of you will be promoted to rank 6 and be given a chance to apply for the command course for rank 3."
After hearing this, some dissatisfaction appeared on the faces of the contestants, but I just ignored them and pressed for their decision. In the end, they all agreed and then were taken out of the room to give them more details.
Creating this new unit was my move toward more active defense tactics, focusing on eliminating threats faster. Their job will be similar to what Herrschers are doing right now. Go in, deal as much damage as they can, and return.
In addition to that plan, the initiative to restore some damaged parts of the wall was also launched. It will be carried out in four steps: locating priority points, denaying the arena outside the located point, creating temporary fortifications, and repairing the wall.
This plan requires many more people and will also result in much higher casualties. As such, a mobilization order was also sent to the civilian population, conscripting 10% of people to the military, once again raising the number of troops.
The usefulness of conscripts was not great. This issue was heightened even more because of Cultivation, but in three years, those conscripts could be trained to the point of being capable of acting on the front, and as the progress of the war was not in our favor, we needed to employ more drastic and desperate measures.
The last project that was launched was the building of fortresses connected to the middle wall that can reduce pressure on the wall itself. The overall idea was to create additional parts for the wall to change its appearance from a circle to an n-pointed star.
To complete this, most of the non-essential work was suspended, and countless people were ordered to assist in construction. This made my popularity among civilians fall to the point where many considered me a tyrant, going as far as to accuse me of pitting the City Lord to die.
If Riveria hadn't stepped in to quell those voices, standing in my defense and explaining the circumstances of the war, there was a great chance that mutiny, if not even another rebellion.
If I were to point out any positive that happened this past year, it would be progress made between Riveria and me. While we were still a little far from what Loki wanted us to be, Riveria was finally able to overcome her haphephobia, and in some more quiet evenings, we would sit together on the sofa, reading and enjoying each other's company.
The progress in our relationship was used by Otto, who used some of his people to spread gossip about the two of us, painting me as someone who is willing to sacrifice my own name for her, while Riveria as someone torn between her responsibility to the city, and love to me.
This successfully redirected the attention of the masses from bad conditions to our situation, but because of that, an unforeseen consequence began to occur, troubling me and Riveria.