Chapter 107: So you like punishment?

——(POV Li Huang, digging the moat)——

"This wouldn't stop any powerful beast but it can trap a portion of weaker beasts." I told my fellow diggers after we were done digging the moat. My plan was to use this moat as a crowd handling method so that the corpses that will pile up behind the walls don't create a platform for the beasts to enter the fort. Of course, this too can fill up given enough time but we will use the same method that me, Hu Anjing, and Ye Ling used when fighting the horde of giant giant apes, we will store the bodies in storage rings regularly.

"Li Huang, I think others are giving you face by being silent but I have to tell you. This pitfall is not deep enough to kill any of the beasts in this trial." Cai ZhenKang said like how a big brother points out his younger brother's errors. Cai ZhenKang really felt proud that he was pointing out this flaw in Li Huang's plan. What he didn't see were the odd looks that others were giving him because of his words.

"…Did you think we are going to kill the beasts just with the fall?" I didn't want to be the bad guy by judging him so I opted to ask him straight.

"Than what else?" Cai ZhenKang said and made a weird expression as he looked around to show that nothing here can damage the beasts other than the gravity.

"We are going to place formations here that would aid us in killing them in different manners…" I told him. Others seem to know this from the beginning so it was only Cai ZhenKang that looked surprised.

"Ohhh! And how in the world we find enough material for this many formations?" Cai ZhenKang said with the same face as before. I think I would rather he bicker with me like usual to this big brother persona that he has going on.

"Yes, didn't we already use many formations for the fort?" Hou Shuqing, the chief disciple of the Divine Arrow sect asked. He and others also donated formation to the cause as they didn't want our heavenly sword sect to get all the recognition and didn't think what we had would be enough. My pockets appreciate their kind gesture as they have lessened the burden on me but I do have enough materials for all the formations that are in place and will be placed and some change.

"Don't worry about that, I have the necessary materials all we need to do is place them." I told them. It wasn't like I wanted to extort them when they donated materials, I just didn't want them to think that we want all the glory to ourselves. But now that there is no need for such thoughts, I can use my resources to finish this fort, and then we can rest… probably.

"Okay then, let us finish this part too." Li Wanrou said and started walking toward me.

She stretched out her hand toward me and looked at my face. No, she didn't want to hold my hand or anything like that. She wanted to take some materials so that she can start working on the formations.

I also did the same and materialized the necessary materials from my storage ring right above her hand. The moment they would appear, she would store them in her ring, so from an observer's perspective, it was like the material was flicking in and out of existence.

"I will get to work." Li Wanrou said and walked away to start her work.

Others kept looking at me as they didn't know what to do. Should they do the same or was that a family-only sort of thing? To put an end to their thoughts I spoke to them.

"Everybody can come and take a portion of the materials as this way we can work faster." To make it even easier, I start pouring the materials on the ground so that they don't have to do it the same way Wanrou did.

All the members came and took a portion with them and we got back to work. I think I have to ask for a vacation after this trial.

…

Everything went well and we were making progress steadily. In 40 minutes we were done with two-thirds of the moat. The formations got easier to form as we got the hang of it and the material placement wouldn't take as long as it used to at the beginning.

"Good work everyone, at this pace we can finish this in 15 minu—*BOOM*" I said, and suddenly the sound of an explosion could be heard really close to me and a big projectile was heading toward me. Thinking that Jin Fen was finally out of patience, I decided to finish it once and for all.

Without thinking much about it I just sidestepped so that the projectile won't hit me. Soon the projectile passed my face and smashed into one side of the moat.

After the clouds of dust settled a little, we could see the projectile was a human being, a human being that we were all too familiar with.

"…Cai ZhenKang?" I muttered. I couldn't believe it was him.

"What happened to you?" I asked him as I was really confused. I couldn't find anything or anyone in the surroundings so it couldn't be an attack and even if it was I can't believe that someone could smash Cai ZhenKang to the wall this easily.

'…well, There is Hu Anjing but that is beside the point…' I thought.

Cai ZhenKang got out of the wall and scratched his head awkwardly.

"Hahaha, it was nothing. I only confused [Shadow Bittercress] and [Devil's Bitterweed] so this happened." He said as he pointed to the two herbs in his hand. He has placed the wrong materials in the formation and that resulted in this explosion.

"…You are still confusing them. That one is the [Shadow Bittercress] and the other one is the [Devil's Bitterweed] ." I told him with a deadpan. I didn't consider the fact that Cai ZhenKang is often careless or else I wouldn't put him in the team when we were going to set formations, a task that needs focus.

"Oh! Then this wasn't what made the explosion. Hahaha." Cai ZhenKang laughed nervously in the end as he saw the eyes on him. This explosion could damage all the formations so no one was fine with it.

"Okay, you can sit this one out." I told him with the best-forced smile that I could muster. Keeping him could only result in more explosions.

"But… But what would I do then?" Cai ZhenKang said as if he was lost because now he didn't have a task.

"Why don't you go and cut the trees that are near the fort so that we could have a better watch over those regions?" Li Wanrou said. She didn't know that Cai ZhenKang would die to swing his axe at something, she just said the first thing that she could think of that would make Cai ZhenKang move away from anywhere that they were setting formations.

"Yes, yes. That would be a great help!" I enthusiastically nodded to her words as I know Cai ZhenKang would be occupied with it until we finish every formation in the fort.

"HAHAHA, you should have told me that there was such a task. Don't worry as the pillar of this fort I will carry this task all by myself." Cai ZhenKang said and jumped out of the moat and ran toward the nearest tree that he could locate.

"HAHAHA." I could still hear him laughing as he was running.

'Oh boy. I hope his master don't hold me accountable for this habit that Cai ZhenKang has formed.' I thought and honestly I was more afraid of this than what Jin Fen would do.

"Okay, now we can work with ease." I could almost see Cai ZhenKang destroying the fort before the beasts could even try if he were to continue with the formations.

Everyone nodded to my words and we soon start working again.

——(POV Hu Anjing, the outer wall)——

"Ye Ling, go and check if there is no big problem." I asked Ye Ling to do a routine check on everyone who was helping with the various formations.

"Yes, senior sister." Ye Ling said and went to do her task.

Looking around I found the disciples of the White Moon sect and He Junli. They were all working but He Junli was seemingly supervising them. I say seemingly because there was no sign of supervision there, she was just resting while others worked. Although I'm not working with everyone else right now, I do check every formation around so it is not like I am passing time here.

'This He Junli is really a spoiled brat as Huang said.' I thought. I would like to say something to her but it wasn't something that I could meddle in as they were not from our sect and as long as others finished their sect's assigned work portion, I couldn't say anything as the fort leader.

…

"Senior sister, every formation is set and the fort is fully fortified." Ye Ling gave me the report on the tasks. Now we can sit and wait for the beast hordes to come knocking at our doors.