The wall of ramparts stood tall over the surrounding land.
Some of the Cultivators were lined across the rampart, or the land in front of it.
Warriors of the mortal army accompanied them, too.
Stationed every few dozen meters was a large metal drum, symbols carved onto the cold, silver surface.
There was subtle worry and anticipation in their eyes, but they remained still and vigilant in their positions.
The dirt cloud had already approached them, and the first wave of the tides would be upon them soon.
They watched as the first of the beasts emerged from their line of natural obstructions, weaving around an artificial mound.
Another batch swarmed from around a trench, divided into two streams.
The Cultivators and warriors looked onward. A general stood ahead and shouted.
"Raise your heads and point your swords forward. Tonight, we will defend our Settlement, the next night, we fight again!"
"We will restore our peace and the peace of the lands, we will treasure our blood and return home in good health!"
"Stand fearless! Guard our Settlement! Overcome the tides!"
The mortal army shouted, and the Cultivators cheered.
With their morale significantly boosted, they charged forward with their weapons in hand.
The warriors on the ramparts readied their crossbows and Dao Arts.
Echoing with the cheers, the metal drums began to resound with the surging courage. It was a Dao Art medium meant to aid with morale.
It also served to cripple the enemy beasts' morale.
The General led at the forefront, swinging his polearm and tearing into a bear's neck.
Another ground warrior stepped to the side and dodged a bear's paw. Twisting his body and stabbing into the bear's stomach.
A Cultivator raised his hands and pushed forward. Qi currents flowed outwards and cut deeply into half a dozen bears.
Loud groans and roars shook the air as these mundane bears were injured or slaughtered.
Standing upon the ramparts, the warriors launched their long-range attacks.
Strings snapped as arrows whistled. Qi was shot out and drew arcs in the air, raining upon the front wave of the bears.
Blood flowed, and corpses began to pile. Immediately, the momentum of the tide had slowed incredibly.
The bears grew frantic, without their leaders, how could they hold onto the little semblance of order they had?
The General continued to push forward, beginning to enter into the deeper waves of the tide.
He was accompanied by a few Cultivators and ordinary warriors.
Bears fought and fell against them, and they continued to part the tides.
Eventually, there was disorder among the bears' momentum.
Some stumbled and were trampled by other bears. Some bears were pushed forcefully up the mounds or fell into trenches.
Some of them were even fleeing against the tides.
Their plan was succeeding. The first wave of bears had lost their will to fight and begun to run for their lives.
Of course, trying to flee amidst the tides was nearly impossible, resulting in the waves of beasts colliding against each other.
Now came the next step of their plan.
Pushing further through the tides and 'splitting' them.
Fear causes avoidance.
The first wave of bears feared the defensive line, thus trying to flee.
Now, they had to influence all the hundreds of bears.
The General led his small party forward, creating a force that divides the bears to move outwards and not forwards.
...
With the efforts of the three Third Foundation Cultivators, the majority of the Beast Kings were annihilated.
Dawn attacked the centre, while the other two took on the south-southwesternmost side and the south-southeasternmost side of the tides.
All three of them destroyed the authority that controlled this massive group of bears.
Now that the disorder had spread through the beasts, it was much easier to impose their will on the beasts.
Dawn was to continue further down the group, working with the General's party to completely divide the beast group into two.
The other two Third Foundation Cultivators would control how far the bear would flee.
Immersing herself in the world, Dawn could sense the frenzy and fear in the beasts.
She pushed forward, sometimes slaying a few mundane beasts and letting the blood waft through the air.
Her tassel bled redder and felt heavier, no longer fluttering so elegantly as a flag, and hung more like a war banner.
Smashing down on the corpses, she effectively released the foul odours of blood and guts.
Stepping over the red soil, she would continue and slay the next.
Dawn couldn't help but reminisce on those horrid memories.
In a sense, she was taking out her anger on these beasts.
Although they were not at fault for claiming the lives of Star Gazing Settlement's denizens, they were still a threat to the people of Iron Mountain Quarry Settlement.
She couldn't burn away the memories of losing her people to swarms of Night Graced Tigers and Night Graced Owls.
She couldn't burn away the memories of how helpless she was when trying to protect the hundreds of refugees.
She couldn't burn away the memories of splattering the injured into a horrific painting to spare them the pain of being eaten alive.
Dawn felt lightheaded as she swung relentlessly.
The sounds of tearing sinew and dying groans.
The sensations of the dry dirt becoming moist and red.
The scent of seared blood and burnt fur.
It all assaulted her senses, as she was immersed in the world.
Shaking her head, she dismissed everything.
Amidst the pain, she retained herself.
Instead of being overwhelmed, she let all that scarred her become fuel to her quiet flame.
This was not a time to weep or vent her anger, she refused to be overwhelmed by her faults.
To give in is to lose sight of what she is fighting for.
She resolved herself and stuck to her duty.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed forward against the beasts' relentless assault.
...
Eventually, Dawn had pushed her way through the massive group of beasts, appearing at the back of the horde.
She stood hundreds of meters from the defensive line.
The dirt cloud had mostly waned, allowing her to see the ground of beasts spreading outwards.
Their fleeing frenzy had driven them eastward and westward, away from Iron Mountain Quarry Settlement.
However, turning around, another massive cloud of dirt had risen.
Immersing herself in the world and detecting the approaching presence a few hundred meters from here, she analysed the beasts.
The stampeding sounds were lighter but more frequent. Their heights seemed smaller and longer rather than wider.
Dawn began to run back within the terrain of artificial obstructions, and she grabbed onto another ornament hanging from her body.
The first tide was far from over; another group of beasts would be upon them soon.
She sent some sort of signal forward, and it was received.
Silver Extreme contemplated what their next action was.
...