173 The Calm Before the Storm (2/2)

These destructive minor strongholds under the seventh primary stronghold numbered in the hundreds. Together, they formed the Federation's Seventh Imperial Gate. They were like an impenetrable wall that had stood the test of countless Beast Tides to this day, prevailing at the end of each battle.

The flying cruiser descended and landed in the stronghold. Wang Baole and his friends met the commander-in-charge, a strong bulky man with a huge beard, and eased themselves into the crowd.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

During these three days, Wang Baole barely had any time for cultivation. He followed Chen Yutong's lead and inspected a portion of the Fire God Cannons.

Many disciples from the four Dao Colleges had also been assigned to this minor stronghold. Combat cultivators counted for the majority, but a number of Alchemy and Array Formation cultivators, as well as cultivators from other disciplines, were also present.

Everyone had their own task. Dharmic Armament cultivators tasked with the repair and restoration of Fire God Cannons, including Wang Baole's group, numbered at a dozen or more. All of them spread out to repair the cannons; only thirty cannons fell under the care of Wang Baole's group.

It was a low number; however, the Fire God Cannon was a machine of great complexity. During those three days, Wang Baole studied and inspected the machines ceaselessly; he had been blown away by the cannon's structure right from the start.

Every Fire God Cannon had been constructed from more than a hundred Numinous Treasures. Each Numinous Treasure formed one part of the machine. When the Fire God Cannon was activated, its power was more than the sum of all the Numinous Treasures combined.

It was precisely because of such complexity that ordinary cultivators were unable to manage when things went wrong. The warriors were not qualified to repair Numinous Treasures. Even Wang Baole, Zhou Penghai, and Sun Fang could only serve as assistants; the primary duty of repair and restoration fell upon Chen Yutong.

Wang Baole was already capable of crafting Numinous Treasures, though. As such, during these three days' study, his understanding of the composite Numinous Treasure grew at a rapid pace, astounding even Chen Yutong. The latter eventually grew confident enough to let Wang Baole go about the repair work independently. This lessened the team's workload substantially.

Such busy work continued for a week. Only after they had inspected all Fire God Cannons, as well as repaired and replaced the necessary parts, did Wang Baole's team have time to take a breather.

At this point, their mission was almost halfway to completion. What remained was to ensure the cannons' smooth operations during the Beast Tides.

During the time leading up to the Beast Tides, Chen Yutong spent a large part of his making friends with other disciples from the other Dao Colleges. Zhou Penghai eagerly followed suit, while Sun Fang got friendly with the military officers.

Wang Baole was the only one who took a greater liking to the warriors instead of the army commanders. During the course of the week, on many occasions, he found that many of the warriors were at the Ancient Martial realm. They were obviously not his match, but when they looked at him, their eyes were filled with admiration as well as protectiveness.

Not seeking to be protected but to protect Wang Baole, or to be more precise, to protect cultivators like Wang Baole!

Wang Baole's repeated encounters with such a protective streak left him greatly shaken.

Despite being a cultivator, these Ancient Martial realm warriors still thought of protecting him.

In their eyes, cultivators were few and rare; they symbolized hope; they were to be protected at all costs!

Cultivators who could create and restore Fire God Cannons all the more so!

As Wang Baole gradually came to this realization, a strange and indescribable feeling stirred within him. He saw many warriors his age, the battle scars many of them carried, and the marks left on their Dharmic Artifacts that spoke of countless damages and repair.

As he was cultivating in the Dao college, these people were engaging in life-or-death battles with monsters.

These were the warriors who gave their blood and life in exchange for time for cultivators to mature and strengthen and a more peaceful life for the common folk.

This was why as the work slowed down, Wang Baole chose to approach these warriors and, to the best of his ability, repaired and treated the flaws on Dharmic Artifact. His work and his character gradually led to his fostering a familiarity with the warriors.

After they got familiar with one another, on many occasions, Wang Baole forgot his position as a cultivator. He was different when he was in the company of the warriors.

”Come, who was it who said that I won't be able to beat him at arm wrestling? Let's put that to the test today. Loser washes the socks for everybody!” At the open square, outside barracks that housed a hundred odd warriors, laughter and cheering rang out loudly. Sat there was Wang Baole. He slammed the fist of a thick-muscled, grimacing man before him onto the table and shouted smugly.