Chapter 1255 - Precursor To War
"The Empire's Police Force."
Hearing his words, everyone was stunned, shooting glances at Hong Lian, wondering how she passed. Moreover, based on Krune's words, it seemed she had attained high status, causing them envy.
A girl, one that always considered herself as Hong Lian's rival, stepped forward, unable to endure it anymore, asking, "Director, how did we fail the test?"
"That's unnecessary for you to know," Krune smiled casually as he replied. "All you'll get to know is the fact as to whether you had passed the test or not. For the past one hour, everyone took their test. Those who passed would be accepted into the Empire's Police Force."
"Then…" She gritted her teeth, unwilling to stomach the fact that Hong Lian had passed while she failed.
"You're from the third year, right?" Krune asked, watching the girl nod in response as he smiled. "Then, it means you have two more chances. Everyone will get a chance to undergo the test once a year. So, better luck next year."
"Sir, but what are we being tested…" The girl was unrelenting in her behavior, wishing to be part of the group that passed the first time itself when she noticed words failing to form in her mouth anymore.
She then made eye contact with Krune, collapsing to the ground in fear. Even though all Krune did was stand in place, after unlocking the true potential of Mental Energy, he was like an entirely different individual.
Anyone that gazed at his eyes would feel as if all their secrets were laid bare before him. This was the reason the students harbored a fear of him recently.
None dared to speak up after that as everyone left the dome. Soon, another group of 50 students entered and repeated the same as the previous batch.
Krune's eyes lit up in excitement, for there were four people who passed in this batch. After informing the four students that they had passed, he watched the third batch.
Seeing the duration it was taking per batch, he made most of the students return to their dorms, giving them numbers, motioning for them to assemble at their respective time.
Eventually, after five days, all the students had been tested once. There were approximately 6000 students in the Imperial Academy now. This was already a sizeable number.
If not for the fact that the Liu Clan used a multitude of excuses to keep everything hidden, it was simply impossible for them to produce such a frightening number of Imperial Arms, given their excuse that one could only make two County Arms a year.
Fortunately, thanks to the Emperor's orders, it made it seem as if the Liu Clan had mysterious origins, with their members spread throughout the Empire, their total numbers unknown. That was how none questioned the number of County Arms users that were increasing in numbers every year at a staggering pace.
Among the 6000 students, almost 400 students managed to obtain a Cloud Whale. It pleased Krune tremendously because this number would only continue to grow in the future. It would be enough to station them in every town and city, ensuring peace would be maintained.
From the start, Krune never left the County Arms Division, relaying all his needs to Daxia Ting, who then mentioned them to the Emperor. And the Emperor did his best to fulfill Krune's orders, already setting up police stations in every town and city, ready to be occupied by the police officers once they graduated.
Krune then took a week to draft the laws the police officers had to follow, the things they had to investigate and solve, the crimes/activities that fell under their jurisdiction, the various means to track and search for clues, and so on.
Everything a police officer had to know, including the means to train and use the Cloud Whale, had been drafted into two scrolls. The first consisted of the laws, while the second was personal, containing training manuals for the Cloud Whale and its abilities.
He then passed on the two scrolls to the calligraphy department and made them create countless copies of the two scrolls, enough for all the police stations.
Once everything was done, Krune called for the police officers. The Emperor had also made an appearance to witness the event as everyone summoned their respective palm-sized Cloud Whales.
All Krune did was leave behind one statement for them. "Ensure our land is peaceful. That's the police force's only motto."
"Yes!" Everyone saluted before pointing their Cloud Whales into the sky, unleashing Air Needles simultaneously.
Seeing such a scene, Krune whispered to the Emperor, "Your Majesty…"
"We're ready!"
…
Demon City, a massive fortress erected from stone. In truth, it was a city that had been carved into a mountain, making it a natural fortress with walls spanning hundreds of meters in thickness.
It had a massive area, with a radius surpassing thirty kilometers. Bizarre-shaped buildings had been erected, with creatures of all shapes and sizes living here.
It was a utopia of sorts for the Nightmares, especially the Demons.
Su Daiyu stood atop a massive tower that was situated in the center of the city, overlooking everything. She noticed the many Demons walking about, living their lives, with each followed by many Demon Arms users.
Unlike before, the Demon Arms users were no longer human. They were Yin Beasts. Once the number of Demons reached the double digits, they pooled together their intellect, receiving help from some of the legendary Yin Beasts to improve their methods.
And that was the creation of Demon Arms that Yin Beasts could use. After all, even after using Demon Arms, humans were frail creatures. Moreover, they had short lifespans, unable to handle extended use and died quickly.
But for the Yin Beasts, that wasn't a problem. Plus, the Yin Beasts had an inherent characteristic of serving Demons. And it was here that they noticed an interesting relationship. The energy signatures of some Yin Beasts were similar to one of the Demons.
Every Demon noticed some Yin Beasts sharing the same energy signatures as them. And, when such Yin Beasts used Demon Arms of the Demon with the same energy signature, the output power was stellar while not much lifeforce was consumed, allowing prolonged use.
Though, for the Yin Beasts that had long lifespans, this was of no concern.
"What's on your mind?" Suddenly, the Demon that created Demon City patted Su Daiyu's shoulder, asking, "Are you concerned?"
"Concerned? About what?" Su Daiyu laughed, expressing a devilish grin. "I was just thinking about how we would be trampling the Empire."
"You don't need to think about it anymore." The Demon laughed. "You can witness it with your eyes."
"When?"
"Shortly."