Death... and me

Roan received Rean's message and immediately looked at Calina.

"Let's go. Remember to keep the same pace. As soon as you see Kentucky flying in the skies, charge through the right side with your group while I do the same through the left. The formations and things like that will be up for you to decide."

Calina nodded.

"Alright. Let's go."

Soon after, she disappeared on the right side. Roan didn't waste his time either and guided his group through the left.

Rean's group continued to run for another minute. Rean then felt Roan's presence through their Soul Connection and immediately gave Kentucky an order.

Soon after, Kentucky flew up in the skies while burning with White and Black Flames.

*Creeeeee!*

The cultivators from Cassen immediately stopped, thinking that Kentucky would use the same attack again.

"Come, damned bird. We are ready for you now."

All of them prepared to attack and strike Kentucky down as soon as he charged into them. However, Kentucky stayed in the same place. It was then that they saw Rean's group moving even further away.

"Fuck! It was just a distraction! Liko's group will keep an eye on the Demon Beast. The rest of you, after them!"

Everyone immediately resumed their chase. However, Rean's group suddenly stopped and turned around. Out of nowhere, the escaping group was now coming directly at them.

"Wedge Formation!"

The cultivators on Rean's group then assumed an inverted V shape with Rean right in the middle. Those with the best defense abilities charged in the front while the rest followed behind.

The Cassen group was taken aback for a moment. They weren't idiots. Rean's group had a lot fewer cultivators. If they suddenly decided to attack, then something definitely wasn't right.

Sure enough, two more groups of cultivators immediately appeared from the sides. 

Calina looked at Roan's group in the distance and immediately understood what he wanted.

"Triple Line Formation. Create a wall to prevent the enemy from escaping."

Roan looked at that on the other side and nodded with a satisfied expression.

"Triple Line Formation!"

The Cassen group quickly saw itself surrounded. A few even wanted to hastily get away and leave everyone behind. However, that would only make them a bigger target since they could see a few smaller cultivation groups who waited behind the enemy's ranks. 

The leader of Cassen then gritted his teeth as he said.

"Since they want to fight force against force, let's give them that. Everyone, full power ahead! Use all your best skills and crush them!"

In the end, this group of Cassen was still bigger than Rean's group alone. Only when the two bigger groups from Roan and Calina joined the attack were they evenly matched. Since Rean's group had the smallest number, one couldn't blame Cassen for trying to aim at it. Besides, different from Calina and Roan's one, there was no support behind Rean's group.

Rean saw that and smiled.

It turned out that Roan and Calina's groups weren't the main attackers. The fact was that the highest cultivation and attack power was within Rean's group. In that case, Roan and Calina would form a path so that Rean's Wedge Formation would once again sweep forward with pure might.

However, that wasn't all.

A burst of Spiritual Energy began to come out of Rean as he lifted his free hand in the air. Not long after, all the Light Element on the surroundings started to charge at him, accumulating right above his hand into a giant sphere of whitish energy. Anyone could tell that Rean had spent a lot of Spiritual Energy just to do that, not to mention the time necessary. Fortunately, his group was still some distance away from the enemy, which gave him the required time. Just as both groups were about to clash against each other...

'Life Style, Fifth Form, Light Aura Burst!'

The sphere of Light Element burst for real! At the same time, Roan and Calina's groups covered their eyes. As for the enemy group, they didn't know what was going to happen. There was no way they would close their eyes when their opponents were right in front of them. That being said, they went all blind because of the sudden extreme brightness.

But that was just a side effect of Rean's Fifth Form. Immediately, Light Element entered the bodies of everyone around Rean. Their combat strength, which was already the highest between their three groups, soared!

That's Rean's new skill. He could now enhance everyone's combat power at once. Not only that, but through his control of the Light Element, he could also prevent it from affecting the enemies. Only the allies received the boost, while the others saw nothing more than an explosion of brightness.

Of course, there was a significant difference in this skill compared to Rean's First Form, Enhancement. The Enhancement Skill was a lot more potent since Rean directly touched his friends' bodies. It could also last for more than an entire minute now that Rean was in the Core Formation Realm.

As for Light Aura Burst, the increase of strength wasn't as sharp. Also, the increase in strength would only last 15 to 20 seconds at most. However, Rean could enhance everyone's attack power inside the area of effect. Compared to touching each person and using the second form several times, the Light Aura Burst was much more practical. It was a skill made for large scale battles!

Calina and Roan's groups then clashed against the Cassen group's sides, cutting off any path of retreat. Simultaneously, the boosted Rean Army charged through the enemy's ranks like a herd of buffalos. In the cultivation world, this clash was even more frightening, with skills flying everywhere!

*Boom, boom, boom...*

*Clang, clang, clang...*

*Swich, swich, swich...*

Hearts got pierced through, heads were sent flying, limbs fell everywhere. It was a real slaughterhouse. There was nothing beautiful about that scene.

Calina and Malaka, obviously, didn't like that, but they didn't stop. When there was a war, people would die. If they held back, they would be the ones lying on the ground. 

That was one more of Roan's objective. To teach the two girls and any other naive male or female cultivator in their army how wars looked like. Whether a side would emerge victoriously or not didn't matter, corpses would be left behind anyway.

The Cassen cultivators that recovered from the blindness saw the situation and immediately tried to flee through the gaps. They couldn't care less about what would happen to the rest of the group anymore. However, Roan had prepared small groups of three by the rear, especially for these moments.

Those who managed to leave the encirclement would immediately encounter the attacks of those cultivators.

The entire encounter didn't last for more than a minute. In the end, just ten or so cultivators with higher cultivations were able to escape after paying hefty prices.

However, Roan, Rean, and Calina knew that it wasn't over. Back then, when Calina was coming up with a countermeasure plan against this attack, they found out that another group would be coming to give support. In the Cassen group's eyes, the battle would take much longer than just a minute, and the last group was supposed to arrive to give the final blow.

Roan then looked at Calina, his meaning obvious. Right after, Calina received his Spiritual Sense message.

'Think! What's the next step? Where are we? How should you react? Should we retreat? Are your allies still in a condition to fight? How long do you think the next group will take to arrive? Could they have already arrived and are hiding to strike us? Give orders! I hope you didn't forget the whole situation after this last battle started. A commander never forgets his or her duty. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.'

Calina couldn't help but feel the pressure. She didn't forget her duty. As all three groups attacked together, she kept herself at the back, only giving support. Simultaneously, she focused on the time they spent to arrive here, started the attack, and defeated the enemy. In the past, she couldn't keep so many things in her mind at the same time. However, it was different now. Besides, deep down, she wanted Roan to recognize her skills more than anything else.

Rean, on the other hand, couldn't help but laugh mentally.

'I didn't know that you read the art of war.'

Roan shook his head.

'I didn't. I just so happened to have sent the guy who wrote that treatise into the path of reincarnation. When his information entered my mind so that I could do my job, this special sentence appeared several times. I have to admit that it was quite a good one, though.'

Rean was taken aback. Sure enough, death was really old.

Calina didn't hear that conversation, of course.

"The condition of our group is still good. Considering the place and the time we took to finish this, the last enemy group should be two to three minutes away from our position. However, there is a high chance that the cultivators who fled will inform them anytime soon. If they charge at us, there would not be enough time to build up an ambush."

"Still, the 24th group that is waiting for an attacking chance will not be able to charge through the gap left by this group. After all, they will retreat the moment they see that we are not here anymore. The best option would be guerrilla warfare that prioritizes reducing losses, just enough to hold this group here. That will create the perfect opportunity for the 24th group."

Calina then looked at Roan.

"The 24th Group is under Lavile's command. Do you think he would notice this change?"

Roan smiled faintly.

"He will. I already sent someone to tell him what is about to happen."

Roan then looked at Calina.

"Well thought. You can continue."

Calina couldn't help but feel a burst of happiness. It was incredibly rare for Roan to not point any mistake. However, everyone immediately looked at her bright expression and gave her a few meaningful smiles. Poor Calina immediately became as red as a tomato.

Suddenly, Malaka murmured in her ears. 

'I don't mind giving up my brother if it is you.'

Sure enough, Malaka might act like a spoiled child, but she wasn't an idiot.

"Shut up!"

Calina then immediately changed the topic.

"Pay attention, assume the Echelon Formation. We will charge forward until the enemy notices us. After that, change into a Center Peel Formation and retreat while keeping the enemy's attention."

Everyone nodded as they assumed the positions and marched forward.