Chapter 115 Deserters!

"What am I missing here?" William couldn't help but wonder. Something kept bothering him. He missed a little thing, and he didn't have time to consider what it was right now.

Even if he knew the monster tide's true and scary nature from the start, he related everything to the techniques he gave to Berry.

If so then the monster leaders would bring the three gates here, to fasten their invasion of the clan and find him or Berry or both.

However, from such a layout, it only meant that the monster army leaders didn't only want to kill him and Berry, but they wanted to destroy and totally annihilate this entire clan.

And that would be explained by how the monster leaders arranged the other two gates to isolate the clan, buying themselves enough time to do anything they wanted with the clan without any outside interruption.

"Am I just overthinking things here or what?" William questioned himself and thought that this might be related to how brutal and overconfident the other side was.

So, he shifted his attention away from such thoughts and focused over the matter in hand.

"What will you do?" At this point, William knew it was a moment of truth that'd show each one's calibre.

Spirit masters were the ones destined to fight against heavens. But not all had such unwavering will and loyalty towards something, even if it was towards their clan and people.

At the true moment of life and death, people would show their true faces. Cowards would run away, and brave ones would remain behind and fight till their last breaths.

William waited, patiently watching the faces of the young spirit masters in front of him as if he was a master teacher assessing his disciples.

He didn't doubt the survival of himself and the clan in this battle. After all the secret all lied within the things he kept forging all this time.

Yet he kept such little and known information shielded from them. At this moment, their minds would only think about one thing; would they stay and die, or flee and live?

"I'll follow you," the first to speak was none other than Lina. William knew he said he wouldn't force anyone to follow him, but he felt Lina's decision was expected.

He knew what essence this girl was forged from. "I'll also follow you," and the second to voice out her opinion was none other than Berry.

If anyone else here had an effect over everyone's decision, then it would be simply Berry. If she, the little princess of their clan, would move out to the frontline, despite her weak constitution and spirit power, then how about the much stronger ones here?

"I'll go!"

"Count me in!"

"Don't try to give me this bullshit about running away. I'll stay and fight. This is just a glorious place to fall in!"

Three spoke at the same time, and they were Lang, Kong, and Ary. William nodded inwardly in his heart, as he knew his previous assessment about them was right.

"I… I will stay behind," but not all the spirit masters were the same. Just as many voiced their desire to join the fray, few spoke about their desire to remain behind.

Yet when William scaled everyone, those who got cold feet and cowardly weak hearts were just four.

Four out of the group of over seventy spirit masters here wasn't a bad percentage at all. William took a note in his heart about this and knew this clan was indeed worth saving.

He might try to help them from time to time. Such good spirit masters were something he aspired to nourish and support. He even thought about adding a few to his future team and helping them with each step in their cultivation.

If most of the spirit master world was just like this bunch of kids here, then things would be greatly different for humans.

However, William knew if this was considered a very good result, this was still an exception. If he went to another place, be it clan or academy, the percent of cowards, traitors, and deserters would skyrocket for sure.

"Fine," he didn't take anything to the heart. Those who were cowards weren't destined to achieve anything great but having their lives prolonged in such a dishonourable way, "those who decided to remain behind can retreat now. Go back, go far into the depth of the clan, and take shelter there."

William didn't show an offensive attitude on his face or tone. He even advised them not to stay here and retreat far in the back.

"Bunch of cowards!" Yet not everyone held the same mentality and line of thoughts as William. "I'll have a word with the clan elders about them later on!"

"Don't," William slowly shook his head, while stopping Claine from making things worse for these kids.

"But…"

"Don't expect everyone to be just like you," William said in an honest tone, not only for Claine but for everyone present here, "the spirit world isn't a nice place and life isn't that simple. Having few with weak hearts and will is inevitable."

"They should have recognised to whom their loyalty lied!" Kong seemed to also adopt the same idea of Claine.

Frankly, most of them saw these four retreating spirit masters as traitors who abandoned the clan in their most dire situation.

"Recognising something and having the power to protect it is something entirely different," William slowly said, "running around to extract weak seedlings will only bring misfortune to the clan and great trouble in the long run."

"This…"

"Just consult with your seniors and elders when everything is settled," William knew he said enough, and even if he tried to explain, most wouldn't get even half of what he'd say.

And above all, time was already against them.

He didn't just need to stabilise the situation here, but to also try to save the entrapped reinforcements. The two armies sent by the academy and supporting clans were also facing grave dangers.