As more and more soldiers flooded into the training grounds, there wasn"t much room left to hold all of them, thus, the fox-kin gradually lined up and formed a well-disciplined square, in which the higher ranked troops were stationed further up.
The 13 clan heads stood in front, and their respective clans stood in a single-file line behind them. At the forefront of the large army, was a decently large podium where only Caesar and Musashi sat. They were currently gazing at the huge ma.s.s of men below them, waiting patiently until everyone arrived.
Within the time it took to brew a cup of coffee, the rest of the soldiers finally arrived. The normally barren training grounds was densely packed and it wasn"t even possible to see the ground.
As such, the many fox-kin were quite uncomfortable, however, they still held raised their hands and saluted towards Musashi and Caesar. To them, it didn"t matter how bad they felt, they were more concerned about being respectful to the top two leaders of their clan.
Thankfully, their loyalty was not disregarded by Musashi. He raised his hand high in the air, signifying that they could be at ease. He then took a few steps forward and used a large amount of mana to make his aura appear much more extraordinary.
"My family…" he roared at the top his lungs and paused for a moment, to let his words sink in with the ma.s.sive amount of warriors in front of him, "Our once mighty and influential clan has been reduced to a tragic state… our children are starving, our men dying, and our women are forced to work. We cannot even sleep peacefully, as the trolls are constantly using underhanded means to attack us" Musashi shouted emotionally, his deep and raspy voice entered into the souls of all those present.
His words were returned with utter silence. The many soldiers merely looked down in shame, all of them felt as though victory was impossible. They not only let down their clan leader but also their friends and families. None of them could even look Musashi straight in the eye, some even started to silently weep.
In this long ongoing war, they had fought many skirmishes with the trolls, however, they lost every single one of them. They watched as their friends fell, and the trolls relished in rewards. They watched as their female warriors were ravaged in front of their eyes.
The mood in the training ground turned extremely sour, however, Musashi"s speech was not over yet, "even though this true, even though we have lost much, we have not fallen yet. We have fought skirmishes in the past, but never a full-fledged battle, we must stake EVERYTHING on the line, if we want to win!" Musashi roared, and the many soldiers lifted their head up in shock.
"WE WILL NOT JUST SURVIVE, NO, THE ENTIRE WORLD WILL SEE US THRIVE. NO ONE CAN WRITE OUR HISTORY…" Musashi thundered with his fist raised in the air, striking morale in the many soldiers below. The fire in their hearts rekindled and they roared back in unison.
Their deafening shout shook the ground, and even the animals in the nearby forest fidgeted in fear. This, however, only lasted momentarily, until finally, Musashi raised his hand once again, effectively silencing the crowd.
"Unfortunately I am an old and decrepit man, I can no longer lead you young and promising soldiers into battle, thus, I have decided to relinquish my t.i.tle to my granddaughter"s husband, the strongest warrior in our clan, and my very own grandson… he has proven himself worthy time and time again, and now, I shall give him what he deserves" As Musashi spook to here, a silver crown suddenly appeared in his hands from G.o.d knows where.
Seeing this crown, many fox-kin warriors gasped. They had only heard stories of the crown Musashi possessed. There were many theories as to why never took it out, although no one actually knew the specific reason why.
It was similar to the crown Caesar"s father had back in Rahvin kingdom, however, the one is Musashi"s possession appeared to be silver, it had three blue gems embedded into the front and a dragon coiling around the rim. Even Caesar was tongue-tied and acknowledged its beauty.
Musashi slowly walked towards Caesar and presented the crown in front of him, but before handing it to Caesar, he looked towards the crowd once more, "if there is any who disagree with this coronation, please speak now, or forever hold your peace" he said challengingly towards the large crowd, expecting some sort of retaliation.
Fortunately, the entire army remained silent. None of them could challenge Musashi"s decision, not to mention the fact that Caesar had long proven himself. Whether it was the citizens, warriors, or even maids, all of them accepted him.
As such, Musashi breathed a sigh of relief and gently placed the crown atop Caesar"s head. He had long planned something similar, he feared that when he died, the clan would start in-fighting. But now, he could let his worries rest.
Once he placed the crown on Caesar"s head, Musashi felt as though a few hundred pounds were lifted from his shoulders. While in contrast, Caesar felt the exact opposite, the entire clan was now his weight to bear.
Thankfully, Caesar was quite used to carrying such a heavy burden. Back in Rahvin kingdom, or even back on earth, he always held the most important position. Thus, his expression didn"t contort in the slightest as he took a few steps forward, to where Musashi was just standing a few seconds ago.
As he walked forward, Musashi stepped back and sat down. He was exhausted, oh how long he had dreamt of this day. Although it wasn"t his real son, in which he envisioned, he was still content with Caesar"s ability.
Once Caesar reached center stage, he spread his arms out and opened his eyes wide, "the trolls have long been knocking on our doors, as such, it is finally time we answered them. It is time to avenge our family, our friends, and our fellow clansmen. DON YOUR ARMOR AND WEAPONS, FOR IT IS FINALLY OUR TIME TO COUNTER-ATTACK" Caesar shout resounded throughout the training grounds and caused the soldiers" blood to boil.
The army was silent for a few seconds until finally, they roared back in response. Determination, anger, hope, fear, and even pride were reflected in their eyes. Many emotions flashed across their faces, however, they all shared one thing in common. They all mentally prepared themselves for death.
Suddenly, a strong wind a.s.saulted the training grounds and fluttered Caesar"s long silver hair that perfectly matched with his crown. His red eyes seemed to glow and his figure was deeply embedded into many warriors" hearts.
As Caesar gazed upon the high-morale soldiers, he couldn"t help but smile, and even a small chuckle escaped from his lips. The first step to his long plan had finally been completed, and now all he needed to do was to simply destroy the trolls.
With this in mind, Caesar"s eyes turned cold as he peered into the direction where Andrea left, "it should be about time…" he whispered and shifted his attention to Akari, it was about time he prepared his little ambush.