Hao Xuan was standing in front of Hash with his Glaive, breathing heavily. There were sword marks and scratches all over the ground and it looked like someone was making a strange design because of how they all fit together.
Ensis was silently standing on the side of the courtyard staring at them with a book and a pencil in his hands.
"Captain, you have improved a lot," Hash smiled, "Your basic glaive handling has become almost perfect and without any openings. Although you still need experience in the hectic battlefield and against larger beasts, still there is not much I can teach you here," he shook his head and put the sword away.
"Thank you for all the hard work. I can't tell you how much it helped," Hao Xuan also smiled in return and stored his glaive.
"Please don't mention it," Hash bowed and walked out of the courtyard.
"Now you only need to increase your cultivation master," Ensis walked over with an umbrella and held it above Hao Xuan's ahead.
Hao Xuan shook his head and pushed it away, "I'm already drenched, what's the point of taking cover now?" he said while holding out his hand and gathering a few raindrops in his palm.
After silently staring at the rainwater for a few minutes he mumbled subconsciously, "Is it just me or is the water getting colder and colder by the day?"
Ensis looked up at the rainclouds as his eyes glinted with hidden emotion. He wanted to say something to Hao Xuan but stopped and only followed up with, "Perhaps it is."
It had almost been seven weeks since Hao Xuan settled at Galena. He had been training every day, both alone and with other people. This included Cav, Hash, Maddy, Kuo, and even his four guards, Luke, Mia, Aria, and Mason.
Hao Xuan wanted to get as much fighting experience as possible because even though he had some powerful techniques, he hadn't partaken in too many fights before this so he was quite inexperienced.
Of course, they all were more than happy to oblige and keep him company.
He returned to his room and changed into a new set of clothes. Zhurong, Black, and White were all jumbled up together on an old shirt of his in front of the fireplace, sleeping cozily.
From afar, it just looked like Zhurong had a black collar and a small white leash. All three of them had been with Hao Xuan for a very long time now and basically knew nothing else. The smell of his clothes calmed them down when he was out, and served as a good substitute.
Mia was still looking for every excuse in the book to be able to spend some time with Zhurong but Black and White always scared her away. She was somewhat afraid of snakes, although not to the degree of calling it a phobia.
Zhurong, of course, used this to torment her whenever she came close. As the 'older brother', he would order Black and White to chase her whenever he was bored. It looked really comical from a third person's point of view. A grown woman running away from two little worms who seemed to be smiling ear to ear was not an unfamiliar scene in the Mad Saints courtyard.
It even made Hao Xuan worry a little when he saw how sadistic Zhurong was becoming. He would often scold him, "Just let her pet you a few times, what's the harm in that?"
And Zhurong would look at him like he was told to go sell his body. He would then sulk in the corner of the room for a few minutes until he got hungry again and then would come running back like their last interaction had not transpired at all, leaving Hao Xuan almost speechless.
He would shake his head and call Zhurong, "Shameless to the highest degree," who in return would look at him with a confused expression, "Shamelessness? Is it good? Can I eat it!?"
*Bzzt*
Hao Xuan's spirit band vibrated, it was a call from Yangdi. He had only talked to Yangdi three times in the last 2 months whereas he would call Xu Qing almost every other day.
"Long time no see, what made YOU make the call this time?" he smiled looking at Yangdi's expressionless face.
"The thing you asked about, there has been some movement," Yangdi replied calmly, making Hao Xuan furrow his brows.
"How so?"
"There have been people inquiring about your identity for a while now but I couldn't find out who was behind them till now. It's the Mu clan."
"The Mu clan?" Hao Xuan's frown got even deeper.
"Yes. But obviously not many people have met you in person, let alone know your real name. So as of yet, no information has been leaked. But they have been getting creative and trying new things. It seems like they are trying to find one of the other eight captains and finding out about you through them."
The frown on Hao Xuan's face disappeared instantly and was replaced by a smile, "Let them. If it was so easy, the Red Legion wouldn't have its current reputation. And they don't even have any proof I did something so this is probably them trying to explore every avenue. Look into them, see if you can find something incriminating about the Mu clan," he waved his hand.
"And if you can't find anything, make something. I remember meeting the older brother, Mu Shuo before, he must have a few skeletons in his closet. See what you can shake loose from this tree," he grinned and ended the call.
He had already screwed with the Mu clan enough, but if they continued prying, he wouldn't mind doing a little more.
*Knock*knock*
It hadn't even been a whole thirty seconds before there was a knock on his door.
"Come in," he yelled.
The door opened and Mia walked in carefully, looking left and right warily. Hao Xuan sighed seeing her fidgeting like a child, "They're asleep, don't worry. What happened?" he gestured towards the shirt.
She looked over and let out a breath of relief, "The third unit was out hunting and they encountered the first wave of a beast horde. Senior Maddy went out for reconnaissance and saw the whole thing. It's a proper Grade 2 horde coming straight at us. Lt. Kuo is asking for you on the city wall."
Hao Xuan didn't waste any time and followed after her.
"Captain," there were a few dozen people standing on the wall. All of them saluted and bowed upon seeing him walk up the stairs.
"At ease. What's the situation?" he waved his hand and looked at Kuo who was looking at a local map.
Kuo looked up at Hao Xuan and opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, "Leave us," he said to the others and they all moved a few dozen meters away.
"Maddy found the horde, it's being led by a mutated Sanguine Griffin. There are hundreds of thousands of beasts in it and many of them are flying types. We...are in a difficult situation," he tried to sound calm but there was an audible shaking in his voice.
"The city defensive formations won't be able to hold on for more than a few days against a horde of this level, and we can't escape on foot with all the civilians. I've already sent a request for reinforcements but there hasn't been a reply yet. It's......not looking good."