Shang looked at the Eternal Spires in awe.
They were so far away, but he could still see them.
This was what every Commander Stage warrior strived towards.
Mining from the Eternal Spire could only be done by the strongest Commander Stage warriors in the world. Without a team of extremely powerful and experienced hunters, it was impossible to survive mining from them.
"Vice-Dean Ranos is a legend amongst warriors," Yiral said emotionlessly, "and the Eternal Spires are the proof of his legacy."
Shang looked at Yiral.
"Vice-Dean Ranos is one of only five warriors in the history of Warrior's Paradise that has managed to mine Eternal Granite solo."
Shang looked at the Eternal Spires.
Solo?
That meant that Vice-Dean Ranos had managed to fight against several Commander Stage beasts at the same time!
One had to remember that beasts became more and more powerful than warriors the more they advanced.
Beasts could keep up with the Mages, while the warriors couldn't.
Could True Mages mine the ore on their own?
Probably, but an average True Mage definitely couldn't.
Vice-Dean Ranos had managed to break the mold and managed to close in on the Mages.
"What about the dean?" Shang asked.
"If the Chief needs money, he mines Eternal Granite," the officer said from behind Shang.
Shang turned around and looked at the officer, who had arrived behind him.
"The Chief is our backbone. If we need a large amount of gold, he is the one that provides it to us."
Then, the officer pointed towards the south.
"That Eternal Spire, the one that looks different from the others," he said.
Shang looked over and tried to follow the officer's finger.
It took him a bit, but after a couple of seconds, Shang noticed that one of the spires had its tip cut off.
"That was last year when a True Path beast damaged the foundation of Warrior's Paradise. Duke Whirlwind paid an Earth High Mage to fix the damage by offering him very rare and very expensive materials."
"Of course, we still need materials to fix Warrior's Paradise, and the tip of that spire was the material we used," the officer explained.
Shang listened intently and looked at the Canyon and the Eternal Spires.
These Eternal Spires symbolized the ultimate goal of all warriors in the world, but for the Mages and the dean, it was only a playground, maybe even a garden.
"Everything is prepared," the officer said as he pointed at a place at the eastern end of the tower. "You two will stay there. The walls can withstand the wind, and if a beast manages to get on the tower, it will arrive at the southern end."
"You will stay on that spot for the entire day. As soon as the attacks begin, you are forbidden from talking to any of my men unless they address you first."
"Any Commander Stage beast with a level nine Wind Ability will throw you two off the tower, and you will die. If you see one approach, you will duck behind the wall of the tower."
"Am I understood?" the officer asked strictly.
"Yes, sir," Yiral said.
"Good. Don't die," the officer said before he went into the tower again.
Shang knew what the officer meant with level nine Wind Ability.
For beasts, there was a ranking system for their individual abilities.
There were ten levels an aspect of a beast could reach.
For example: if a beast had level five or level six speed, it meant that its speed was average when compared to every other beast at its level.
If a beast had level one speed, it meant that it was basically a moving snail.
If a beast had level ten speed, it meant that it counted as one of the fastest beasts in existence on that level.
A level nine Wind Ability meant that the beast almost certainly exclusively fought with its Wind Affinity. Their entire strength basically relied on their Wind Ability due to its strength.
The beast Shang had heard of on his first day in Warrior's Paradise, the Spear Stork, was one such beast. A Spear Stork was a long and thin bird with a beak that resembled a spear.
The Spear Stork had a level nine Wind Ability and level ten speed.
However, its Wind Ability wasn't offensive but auxiliary. It used its impressive Wind Ability to boost its own speed to the peak.
Of course, its defenses and variety in attacks were horrible, barely reaching level two.
Sadly, even though Shang knew what the officer meant, he didn't have that much knowledge about Commander Stage beasts.
"That's why I'm here," Yiral said. "I know all the beasts in the Canyon, and I will tell you what to do."
Shang nodded.
"If I tell you to do something, you will do so. Your survival is my responsibility today, okay?" Yiral asked.
Shang nodded again. "I will."
The two of them walked to the eastern end of the tower. The tower was in the southwest of Warrior's Paradise, which meant that beasts would come from its south and west. The eastern end of the tower led to the walls, which was why it was safer there.
While walking to the eastern end, Shang inspected the actual tower for the first time.
He could see three gigantic ballistae and over 20 guards. Six of them even wore silver robes.
As Shang reached the eastern end of the tower, he peeked over at the city.
The city was basically dead.
There wasn't a single person inside the city itself.
However, Shang noticed a lot of people on the wall below him.
There were a couple of guards walking amongst the group of people, handing them different objects.
But there weren't that many guards there.
Shang immediately realized what kind of people these were.
Mages!
Shang could see several groups of Mages, and on top of that, they were all True Mages!
And there were so many!
There were probably over a hundred of them just on this wall!
'Wait, if all four walls are like this, wouldn't that mean…'
'There are more True Mages than Commander Stage warriors in this city right now?!'
Once again, Shang was reminded that Mages ruled the world.
Commander Stage warriors were extremely rare, but True Mages were not as rare.
'Sure enough, the majority of the work will be done by the Mages,' Shang thought.
After arriving near the eastern wall, the two of them jumped up on the tower wall. It was only about two meters high, but two meters was high enough when they needed to duck behind it.
As the two of them waited on this spot, Yiral told Shang about several beasts they had to keep an eye on.
As time passed, the atmosphere became tenser and tenser. By now, the Mages also stopped lazing around as they gathered near the edge of the wall.
The warriors went to their ballista and waited.
"It's here!"
Shang suddenly heard a loud shout, and he looked towards the south.
"Look closely," Yiral whispered beside Shang. "Today, you will witness power beyond human capabilities."
However, Shang barely heard Yiral as he saw something shocking on the horizon.
Wings!
Gigantic wings, which were forming a gigantic V!
Shang could see them from here!
And then, the wings moved down.
And the Storm Eagle took to the sky!
