Chapter 140: Ki Identification

Reslan didn't hold back when he started fighting Monica and Harley first.

He used a small flame to mimic the attacks of the Jarkales, and sent both Monica and Harley flying into a fence.

"Come at me! This is serious!" Reslan stomped on the floor and shattered the walkway. A nearby statue fell down and collapsed into the fountain. "He's stronger than I am! All of you together will need to beat him."

"Behind you!" Priscilla's body swirled with flames and ice. She instantly activated Ki Transformation to form dozens of sharp ice spears that got hidden within a sack of flames. "Die you monster!"

Swoosh!

Reslan smirked and dodged to the side while a few dozen other ice spears crashed passed him and shot into a nearby building.

Turning in the air, he activated his flames to the maximum and floated back ten feet as wind blades and fire chains approached him from all directions.

"Not bad, but this is all it will take for him to defeat you!" Reslan snapped his fingers and a small fire ball split in fifteen directions.

Priscilla held out her hands to block the attack, but got pushed back several feet when it collided with an ice shield she'd made. However, behind her, fifteen of the Horned Students collapsed. Monica and Harley aptly defended, but Sheldon rolled onto the floor.

"Damn it! This is so unfair! You're too strong!" Sheldon finally managed to get onto his feet. "You're acting like we've had a hundred years to train like you!"

"Do you want to get slaughtered?" Reslan burst forward at his maximum speed towards Sheldon. He blurred and with his mountain like frame instantly slashed down. Sheldon gulped and crossed his eyes. For a moment, he really thought he was going to die.

"Don't hold back!" Priscilla held out her hands and formed a large ice shield that broke into pieces in front of Reslan. Her eyes seemed to drip with tears when she looked into his large eyes. "Sheldon, attack him with everything you got! Stop hiding your best abilities! Now's not the time to hold back your secrets!"

"Hoh, not bad," Reslan turned to Howard, "What do you think, Howard? Could they stop the General all together?"

"He beat me in less than a second. They might last three seconds," Howard shook his head. "However, Reslan. You might be able to beat him. If they can knock him down for one second."

Of course, this didn't take into account that they'd all have to be divided in three directions, potentially six. The White Mist Warriors might be able to help Howard defeat a platoon of Jarkales by himself, however, that left 20 students to be split between 200 Jarkales. 

The General probably wouldn't attack till the end of the battle between the weakest soldiers, but that meant 10 students for each platoon and just 1 Reslan to watch for the general. Howard wanted to be optimistic, but Priscilla was the strongest member of the group, and she lost to the General in les than half a second.

"What would you do then, Howard?" Monica summoned her ice marks. Her green hair fluttered in the wind while her power surged. She had been training her ice mark, and felt she reached a pretty good level of strength close to the entranceway to the A rank. "Can you see anyway for us to knock him over?"

"Yup, by a trick," Howard smiled and kicked the floor. "I have a feeling we know this area better. If we can get him to the sand dunes, he probably won't be able to use long range attacks. Maybe we can even build a tunnel for Reslan to surprise attack him from."

"Using the terrain, I agree," Reslan cleared his throat, and smiled at Howard. "Nice thinking, however, how can we know which direction he'll come from?"

"I can sense him right now," Howard said, feeling his stomach. "I absorbed a trace of his Ki yesterday. He will be coming from behind the East Branch."

Howard had learned a new skill called Ki Identification, which actually caused Reslan a bit of shock. He'd never been able to distinguish someone's Ki and he entered into the S rank. Such an ability would prove extremely critical. If only he said so sooner, perhaps they would have set up a trap already!

"Howard, quickly! Get Bermenthol and go in that direction and build a large tunnel for me to hide! It will be me, you and the White Mist Warriors versus the general and his 100 men platoon. Does that sound fair? You 20 will have to deal with all the others."

'Yes"! Monica said while cracking her knuckles. "Heh, I can't wait to show you what abilities I have hidden Howard. I upgraded the ice mark to something so strong you'll be surprised!."

"And I can't wait to see you after the battle." Howard said pointing at her and Harley. "I'm going to have so much fun kissing you two tonight after the victory!"

"Same old Howard." Harley sighed and crossed her arms. "Fine, we'll make it happen. Priscilla will lead one group, and I'll lead the second."

###

Howard rushed to start building a tunnel. Because only one Horned with them had Earth Ki Sensitivity, she came along to help build a tunnel.

She was in the group with Monica and the other Horned, but he didn't see her until she volunteered to help build a tunnel. They were right in front of a large sand dune that curved upwards about 100 feet. It was the largest sand dune he'd ever seen. With the sun blazing down on it, it seemed almost like a large mountain.

"What's your name?" Howard asked and smiled. "Why do you wear that large hat on your head?"

The girl's name was Teressa, and she had a large hat that had to be at least two feet long. It looked like a witches had that someone might find at a Halloween shop. She also had on a pair of blue swimming goggles and an interesting green shirt that said 'rebel' and a pair of short pants. With her pale skin and black hair, she was hard to label as anything else besides eccentric. 

"Teressa, I'm… I'm not very good with people."

"I like all girls! You'll be fine with me!" Howard smiled and pointed at the mountain. "You sure you can dig a tunnel to the other side in time?!"

"Y-yes! I love helping! Do you think Sheldon will watching me?"

"No," Howard said and shook his head. "I-I don't think he's watching you."

"Then I don't need to hold back," Teressa smiled and held out her other hand. Strange spikes began to grow out of her left and right fist before more started to spike out of her back. "This-this ability makes me look weird, but Reslan says it makes me a lot stronger."

"Hehe, I like it!" Howard nodded his head! "Keep digging! I promise Sheldon won't see you!"

"Howard, I found the two I was working for that worked with Virgil," Bermenthol did a slight bow to Howard. He had blood on his white attire, but seemed to be in better spirits. "I owe you my life for saving my wife and daughter. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Please install some wooden support to the tunnel she's building," Howard tapped him on the shoulder. His blue eyes and Bermenthol's golden eyes met. "Please, make sure it can support a 10 meter tall man! We also need to make sure it can't be sensed easily!"

"We'll do our best. I'm worried, though. They might know the location of our underground bunker," Bermenthol took a deep breath and scrunched his hand together. "I can't let anything happen to them, Howard. I need you to promise if anything happens to them you'll escape with my wife and my daughter."

"You can marry them for all I care! Just don't let them die!" Bermenthol started to cry. "Please! Please Howard! I'm literally a wreck right now! He-he tied up my wife and apparently checked her leg for a birth mark with his bare hands! I want to kill Vigil! again, but you already did that!

"We have to protect a lot of people right now, and for that I'll use my full strength," Howard smiled and held up his thumb. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to go and come up with a plan. If we don't crush the Jarkales immediately, and their range, we're all going to die. Not just your wife, all of us!"

"Well, this is a good place to fight them," Bermenthol nodded his head. "I'm proud of you Howard. In just a few days, you've made a lot of progress."

"I'm done," Teressa wiped the sweat off her head. She took off her goggles and Howard realized she was absolutely beautiful. "What? I work faster when I'm not nervous."

"Heh, you're just so beautiful," Howard said with a smile. "It's giving me a reason to want to protect you."

"Oh," Teressa blushed, "Hehe, well thank you, Howard! Protect all of us, okay? I actually like being alive down here. It's nice being able to wear what ever I want."

'I will protect you, however, I can sense them appraoching. They're passing the final river before we'll be able to see them at the distance. The battle has finally begun!"