Chapter 820 Barracks Trip: Mission Briefing

Zixin had completely thrown the twins into his plan without much info. Lee Seng and Keng got the jist of what was happening. The new recruits were being taken to the Saviors Forest for a scout excursion while most of the experienced guards stayed behind.

"You'll be put into teams of four and be randomly planted throughout the forest. Find your way to the Saviors Temple while staying alive. The monsters at the Forest are low-ranking creatures, but it does not mean there will be any high-ranking monsters. Run if you must. Any questions?" Zixin informed the recruits. A hand went up and Zixin pointed over at them. A soldier stepped out of line an saluted before asking their question.

"How are we getting there, Captain? Isn't it a long walk to the Saviors Forest?" The new recruit asked.

"In normal circumstances, it's about a couple day's journey on foot." Zixin nodded. "We've procured scrolls for everyone to use. It'll randomly take you and your group to a random point in the forest. These scrolls are enchanted to do that and only that. Anymore questions?" Zixin scanned the group. No one raised their hands and Zixin clapped his hands. "Get into your per-assigned groups and await take off."

The recruits grew loud, chatting away as they filed into their groups. Zixin turned and made his way over to the seasoned soldiers who were going on the excursion with them. He chatted away with them, finishing up the last bits while Lee Seng watched the recruits. There was a collective buzz of nerves with the recruits. This was the first time they were going out on an excursion.

A boisterous three-tailed Fox Spirit, rallied with his two 'allies'. He puffed his chest up and had an air about him. He looked over at the lanky two-tailed Fox Spirit that fell earlier and glared at him before opening his mouth to speak.

"We'll be the first to get to the Temple before any of you do!" The three-tailed Fox Spirit announced, loudly. He naturally caught eyes and radiated a charisma fit for someone who'd go places in life. "But, two-tails over here, will lag behind. If only we were in a team with nothing but three-tails." The recruits were already accustomed to such behavior. They stayed away from the two-tailed lanky Fox Spirit. If the snarky and charismatic Fox spirit found out anyone was befriending the two-tailed lanky Fox Spirit, nothing but bad things would come their way.

"Gio's in for a time…" A Fox whispered. They pointed at the two-tailed Fox Spirit who glowed with a strange intensity.

"Ready to go?" Zixin's voice snapped Lee Seng out of it. He glanced at the twins, who nodded.

"You could've told us what we were doing, beforehand." Keng complained to Zixin.

"What fun would that be?" Zixin asked. "Plus, we have everything under control."

"I didn't even get a word from Lily about this."

"I'll check." Lee Seng turned and closed his eyes. He focused on Lily and felt a connection go through. "Lily, can you hear me?" It was quiet for a second and then Lily came through.

"Oh, Leader Lee Seng!" Lily's chipper voice came through. "I didn't think you'd contact me! Are you back in Daros?"

"Yeah." Lee seng nodded. He shifted in his spot as he lowered his head. "I just wanted to confirm Captain Zixin contacted you about—"

"Right!" Lily interjected. "That's today! I was wondering how Captain Zixin was going to disperse his members around the forest! Ah, crap! I totally forgot about it! I haven't prepared any lodging for them!"

"It's alright." Lee Seng spoke with a calm voice. "Keng and I are with Captain Zixin and his recruits. We'll handle dispersement and help monitor. Change the Temple to house about a hundred people total."

"Will do, sir. Is there anything else I can do? I'm sorry I forgot."

"It's alright." Lee Seng smiled. "Could you possibly get a couple med bays up and running, too? Better to be safe than sorry."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"How's the training going with Fae and River?" Lee Seng asked.

"It's going well. Fae and River are working perfectly fine with their daily tasks. Energy training is taking longer than usual because River has Energy Smell. He's been in Revit as of late. I've been taking Fae around and focusing on her. I think you and Keng would benefit much more if you taught them than I. I'm still learning."

"You know what you need to know. Don't worry about it." Lee Seng reassured Lily. "But in the meantime, prepare the Temple. Keng and I will probably bring some people by to prepare food and get Captain Zixin's men settled."

"Sure thing, sir. I can send word to River if we need him." Lily suggested.

"Mmm, do that. Fae and River can shadow Keng and I today." Lee Seng nodded. Keng tapped on Lee Seng's shoulder, bringing Lee Seng's attention to him.

"We're ready to go." Keng whispered. Lee Seng nodded and looked back down.

"I gotta go. See you in a bit." Lee Seng said.

"See ya soon, sir." Lily said her goodbyes and cut the connection.

"Does she know?" Zixin asked as Lee Seng turned.

"She forgot to tell us since we were on a mission. I'm having her prepare now." Lee Seng answered.

"In the meantime, we can have the recruits start leaving." Zixin looked at the closest soldier and nodded at them.

"Alright!" The soldier shouted. "One person from each group come and grab a scroll! Line up and be ready to go!"

"Will the scroll drop them from all the way here?" Keng asked. "Or do we need to portal them over there?"

"You'll portal my men and I to the Temple. They'll use the scrolls and find their way over to the temple themselves." Zixin answered. "It is a scouting exercise, after all."

"If that's the case…" Lee Seng glanced at Keng. "Shouldn't we show them what the temple looks like?"

"Do what you will. I've done my job." Zixin shrugged. Lee Seng looked at Keng, who nodded at him. Lee Seng cleared his throat and waited until everyone grabbed their scrolls.

"You'll use your scrolls and be randomly teleported onto the forest." The five-tailed Fox Spirit told the group. He looked over at Lee Seng, who moved over to stand next to him. "Savior, do you have anything else to add?" Lee Seng lifted his hand out and conjured a 3D image of the tower. Lee Seng messed with the light until he got matching colors.

"This is where you need to go." Lee Seng told everyone. The recruits peeked and tiptoed to see the image. Lee seng lifted up higher, allowing everyone to have an easy view of it. "And this is the forest…" Lee Seng zoomed out. "Like your Captain and your senior said, you'll be transported into this forest. From the edges of For'wut, it takes a couple days to get to the Temple. If you're one of the lucky few, you'll spawn closer to the front end, but don't let that sway you into thinking you'll be first." Lee Seng pulled the image away, drawing all of the attention onto him.

"There's monsters about, so do your best to not die. We wouldn't want new soldiers dying on us." Lee Seng smiled. "If you are in trouble and need to get out, draw this one rune." Lee Seng drew the rune for 'beacon' and swiped it. A blast of light flew up into the sky. "'Beacon' will alert us if you need help. Savior Keng and I, as well as our other Saviors and your seniors, will be on the lookout for these beacons."

"Don't use the beacon rune unless it's absolutely necessary." The five-tailed Fox Spirit told the recruits. "Using the beacon means you are in danger and need to be extracted or helped. Of course, if you are caught using this beacon rune for shenanigans, you will fail the mission and be subjected to punishment."

"Does that suffice?" Lee Seng looked over at Captain Zixin.

"Yes." Captain Zixin nodded. "If everyone is ready, open your scrolls and start your mission!"

"Yes, sir!" The recruits shouted. One by one, groups began to fire out in bolts of light, flying straight towards the forest.

"Let me introduce you to my team." Zixin motioned at the other soldiers. Four soldiers lined up next to Zixin. They saluted in unison while Zixin went through their names. "Let's start from Rudy onwards." Rudy the five-tailed Fox Spirit stepped forward and saluted, again.

"My name is Rudy. It's a pleasure working with you, Saviors!" Rudy introduced. He stepped back and the next one stepped up. It was the six-tailed Fox Spirit. He had a chill demeanor and was all smiles.

"My name's Ena. Pleasure to be working with you all." Ena introduced. Ena stepped back as a five-tailed Fox Spirit woman stepped forward. She had bright red hair that went past her shoulders.

"A pleasure to work with you, Saviors." The woman saluted. "My name is Fen." Fen stepped back into place as another five-tailed Fox Spirit woman stepped forward. She had sapphire hair that was braided. She wore lighter armor than the rest of the group with a large backpack on her.

"My name is Nixie. It's a pleasure working with Captain Zixin's brothers. Please take care of me." Nixie bowed.

"It's a small group, but these four are more than capable of handling the rowdy group of recruits." Zixin smiled. Nixie stepped back into place and Zixin gave Keng and Lee Seng the thumbs up. "With that, I think we're ready to go. Y'all got everything?"

"Yes, Captain." The group answered in unison.