God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Standing beside him were Jenny and Susan. Hunter was also standing there. However, he had his back to Cain as he addressed the crowd of beastmen.

With a grim look on his face, he finished with a heavy sigh,

"So that's it. Although our chances are slim, we do have hope. As long as we can target a single point in the encirclement and break it open, it's a straight road home..."

The men looked hopeful. However, they still understood they were not yet in the clear. Jutè, one of the wolfmen that had carried Cain into the cave spoke up, his droopy ears indicating his sullen mood,

"Hunter, we all have no reason to doubt you after all the sacrifices you have made for us. However, if what he says is true, then these weapons and armor will truly not be up to standard for the coming battle."

Hunter nodded, "Indeed. Which is why all that will be taken care of. We have plenty of time. We might be surrounded, but they won't attack yet until the entire army has converged. Stingè seems insistent on taking the lot of us alive."

Snapping from his thoughts, Cain grinned at the frowning wolfman,

"Stop looking so sad, doggy. I got all of you."

Jutè's eyelids twitched, 'D-doggy?!'

Cain turned to Hunter with a curious smile on his face,

"Hunter... You have the most knowledge of these men. Let's separate them into four different categories."

Hunter nodded, "Which are?"

Cain brought four fingers up,

"Strength, defense, and stamina..."

Seeing Hunter raise his eyebrows inquisitive, Cain smiled,

"Shield bearers. We need strong men who can hold the frontlines. The core of every army is its defense. They also need decent strength and stamina so they can hold out for as long as possible."

Hunter nodded, his brows creased with thought. Cain was happy he was taking it rather seriously. Bringing another finger down, he continued,

"Next is perception and agility."

"Perception and agility? For what this time?" Jenny asked.

Cain grinned, "Archers and sharpshooters. They will be the center of our attack."

"Hmmm..." Susan had a contemplative look on her face as she turned to Cain,

"How many shield bearers are you thinking? My Light Guardian can lead the charge so we won't lose too many men in the initial charge. However, considering how large the {Blood Abomination} army is, it still won't be enough."

"Offence is the best defense. Besides, we are going to be using the phalanx formation."

Susan's brows shit up, "The Phalanx formation?"

Cain snickered, "The next one is Strength, agility, and stamina."

"And the last one... is agility."

Susan nodded, "To sum it up... Defense, mid to long-range attackers, short-range attackers, and finally, scouts."

Cain was impressed she could understand just from the limited information he gave,

"Indeed. That shouldn't be too hard, right?" Cain said to Hunter who was still deep in thought.

Hunter shrugged, "That won't be a problem at all."

Eventually after a few hours, the entire camp of two hundred and thirty men was divided into four. Out of the total, thirty of them served as the defensive spearhead. These warriors, contrary to the life they once lived, had been forced into huge, bulky, beastly bodies.

While this might mean they were terrible at some things, it also meant they would be perfect candidates for others like carrying heavy shields and charging at the enemy, turning them into pancakes.

A whopping hundred and twenty out of the entire army were chosen to be archers. And this was for a good reason. Cain had very special plans for them, as they were the nexus of the plan to pierce through the encirclement. Or rather, the weapons they would wield were...

Seventy of them fit the description to be chosen as melee combatants, while ten were chosen as scouts...

The reason all of this was so easy was thanks to the buffs the different physiques provided. A beastman that bore a resemblance to a creature that was known for its strength would possess similar strength. Although it wouldn't be as great as someone who had the ability to farm strength stat points through the system, they were far stronger than normal humans.

Although they couldn't control regular mana, they were able to tap into elemental mana, although beastmen who could do so were very rare.

Still, Cain was happy with the results...

Once the gears were in motion, every single one of them began to burn with a burning passion. They all seemed excited for some reason.

Cain was excited as well. He could resonate with their flames. He could even see it in Hunter's eyes. He burned to tear through the army of {Blood Abominations} and have his revenge on Stingè.

Although the girls seemed nonchalant, he could tell they were also affected by the atmosphere.

With a chuckle, he spoke,

"Men... Prepare for battle!"

Roars of different timbres shook the walls of the mountain as the beastmen cheered with fervor.

***

Cain returned to the room he had met Hunter in and continued his work. He continued running tests and simulations in his mind.

Right now, his goal was to find other types of metal he could use, since the only metal he currently had was {Black Tungsten}, which wouldn't be suitable to make most of the components of the magical firearm he intended to create. He closed his eyes,

'This mountain seems saturated with metal elemental mana. Could there be rare metals buried within it?'

Cain couldn't rule that out. For all he knew, there could be hundreds of different untapped ore veins hidden within this mountain.

'Eye of Clairvoyance.'

Cain's left eye let off a chilling glow. He looked through the thick walls. This mountain was very different from the Evil Mountains. It didn't have the same sinister aura that was borne from the presence of a Primordial Devil.

Cain didn't feel anything off about it at all. It was definitely natural. The walls were also thicker. Cain didn't think a blast from a {Black Egg} could destroy it completely.

'Hmm...'

Cain's eyes narrowed as he found something auspicious. However, he needed to investigate further.

Standing up, he got to work. The room was mostly empty, save for the straw bed Hunter had been laid on. With a wave of his hand, Cain turned it into dust.

"Emblem of Darkness..."

A sigil woven from seemingly material darkness appeared above Cain's head as an invisible dome spread around the room and its surroundings.

Staring down at the ground, he made a few calculations. Then, he pointed his finger forward.

A huge ball of smoldering flames began rotating at the tip of his finger the flames condensed over and over again until the entire room lit up and the air began to distort.

'Seems more than enough.'

Judging that the power of the {Imploding Star} was enough, he released the spell.

BOOM!

The orb of flames made contact with the ground at an angle and exploded, destroying the hard rock and turning it into millions of broken rocky shards.

Dust rose and filled the room, obscuring Cain's vision. However, with {Eye of Clairvoyance}, he could still see clearly.

Beneath Hunter's room was another network of caves. Cain had simply made a hole through the roof. However, this one seemed much more complicated than the surface one.

'Interesting...'

Cain's {Eye of Clairvoyance} skill increased in effectiveness the more his perception and magic stats increased. Now, with the {Eye of Clairvoyance}, he could see as far as he could see with his normal eyes, which was a lot. For him, these thick walls were no longer a problem the moment he activated his {Eye of Clairvoyance}.

Discovering the system of caves hidden underneath wasn't too hard...

'Alright. Let's see what all this is about.'

With a single glance, he was able to sense that the density as well as the purity of the metal elemental mana increased the further down. However, from what he could see, the hidden cave didn't lead straight down. Rather, it was inclined at an angle and wound down in the opposite direction as the cave closer to the surface.

'Almost seems like something made these caves.'

Although it was possible, it was very improbable. Although mutant and aether beasts defied common sense with their magical and mystical powers, they still abided by logic.

Food...

The area around the mountain was way too barren for any creature to be lining on or in it. Even in the outskirts of the fragmented land, the {Blood Abominations} only migrated there for a while. And it wasn't completely barren.

Most of the creatures there were carnivores, so the smaller creatures were eaten by the big creatures, and those were then eaten by the bigger ones until a full cycle was created.

Regardless, Cain was curious to explore this mysterious place. He also wanted to see what treasures he could plunder...