While the Cloudmetal Consortium was plotting, Sage sent off a message and then returned to building defenses. With the time crunch they were facing he even diverted a few of the Hoplites and had them quickly start digging. It would look like they were just starting the mine in advance, but in actuality, Sage just wanted a private room where the Cloudmetal Consortium couldn’t spy on them. The human cultivators continued to carve stone blocks and Sage was refining them with simple array symbols. It was crude, but quick. When the Hoplites finished the private chamber, he let the stones accumulate so he could use the room.

Inside, he brought out his largest Formation Machine and started swapping out the formation plates. He set it all to varying degrees of illusion arrays. He didn’t want anyone to find out about the Formation Machine so he didn’t use it to its full potential. Instead he just created a large outer array of obscuring mist. Inside that was a bewildering array to make people lose their sense of direction, and the last layer was an illusion that made a person think they’d walked completely through the array and had arrived at the other side from where they entered. Most would then turn back around and head back into the array, thinking the bewildering array had caused them to walk right past the center where they were heading to. Instead, they’d just turn around and walk right back out of the array.

The Cloudmetal Consortium had already retreated a dozen miles from the mine, splitting their forces into eight different groups to create a large perimeter. Unfortunately for the Jade Horde, the Fierce Tigers arrived an hour later and the Cloudmetal Consortium even attempted to battle with them. It was all a show, but from the Jade Horde’s position, it was hard to tell. Whitestaff informed Sage of the development and he immediately understood what was going on. The ‘battle’ had been far too quick and neither side had any casualties.

One of the men in an orange and black striped outfit rode up upon the back of a huge tiger. It looked quite similar to a normal tiger save for being the size of an oxen and the tiger’s lower legs had spikes all over them. Hundred Spike Tigers. They were the Fierce Tiger Mercenary Team’s signature mount and their claim to fame. The Beast was quite powerful and only their limited number held the Fierce Tiger’s back from taking over a county. A Hundred Spike Tiger was born at the fourth rank and reached the fifth rank at maturity.

From the looks of things, the Fierce Tigers were serious. They had arrived with two dozen Hundred Spike Tigers. Considering they only had a total of 100, it was quite a large investment of strength on their part. The man that had separated from the main force had a bald head and a long beard braided into a single plait. The Hundred Spike Tiger he rode was a bit larger than the others and it slowly walked towards the Hoplite shield wall, looking down at them all. Then the Tiger came to a stop and the man just sat there, staring towards the hole in the ground that he’d been informed was where Ling Sheng was hiding.

Sage came out from the underground, giving a big wave to the man on the tiger. He walked up towards the back of the Hoplites and then hopped onto a large rock, “Greetings! I didn’t know the Fierce Tigers were coming to visit! You should have told me earlier so I could have a better welcome prepared for you. I’m quite amazed that the Cloudmetal Consortium didn’t bother you, they want this land and it’s surprising they would let someone else come to make an offer.”

He reached up and rubbed his head, “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t actually know why you’re here, I was just guessing. Please forgive me, Brother Tiger.”

Sage made sure to speak loud enough that the Cloudmetal Consortium could hear him. Even a dozen miles away, it was very likely they were eavesdropping with a technique of some sort. He just wanted to make it obvious that he saw through their silly plan. Of course, he still had to deal with the Fierce Tigers, first.

“There you are. My Brothers said you offended them at the Kang Clan gathering. Since the Jade Horde is so new, we are willing to let you off. This mine is a good enough gift to meet the requirement. Just hand it over and we’ll let you off this time. You should be more cautious in the future and treat your betters with more respect.”

“How funny you are, Brother Tiger! Did you come up with that joke, or did those three from the Kang Clan gathering come up with it? Haha, now come on down off that tiger and come over here. I need to finish building the wall, but I can take a break to greet you. Come, let’s drink some wine.”

The man on the tiger was not pleased. His overbearing and arrogant attitude had shifted to a sort of furious annoyance. It was obvious he was making demands. There were a dozen Hundred Spike Tigers here! Didn’t this idiot know that he was supposed to be afraid and intimidated?

“It seems you don’t know what’s good for you. Then we’ll have to do this the hard way.”

The Hundred Spike Tiger turned around and walked back to the rest of the Fierce Tigers. Of the five hundred that had arrived, most of them were riding horses. A hundred were on the backs of various types of tigers, lions, or even giant wolves, but they all paled in comparison to the dozen Hundred Spike Tigers. When the man rejoined his men, he bellowed out some orders and the five hundred man cavalry team formed ranks. They spread out, encircling the mine and pulling out their weapons.

Sage just smiled and stepped back. The Hoplites stayed in formation, their tight ranks and interlocked shields making them look like an impenetrable wall. On the other hand, the Fierce Tigers were all mounted, but their lines were loose and undisciplined. Each of the Hoplites had a spear poking out over the top of their shield. The Fierce Tigers were not only riding different types of mounts, they also had completely different weapons. Even the almost 400 of them riding horses were vastly different. There were a few scattered groups that all used the same weapon, but even those small squads weren’t enough to make up for the huge disparity. Even so, Sage pointed out the unified looking squads to Whitestaff and she passed down the orders to the Hoplites to be wary of them.

The bald man who led them gave an order and the Fierce Tigers prepared to charge. It was at this point that Sage waved his hand and activated the array formations. The initial array was a protective wall, creating a shield just behind the rows of Hoplites. They could step forward to attack, or step back and be protected by the shield. The shield it created wasn’t an absolute defense, but it was a semi-permanent array. It would act upon any energy attacks like a thick layer of water, slowing them down and dissipating energy. The Formation Machine wasn’t nearly as powerful, and he didn’t want it to get burned out, which is why he set it to merely be a sensory effect.

The Fierce Tigers started their charge, rushing towards the mine from every direction. Black smoke suddenly rolled out from behind the Hoplites and rushed towards the Fierce Tigers like a wave. A few of them faltered, but most stayed strong and continued their rush even as their faces grew a little pale. The wave of smoke didn’t seem to do anything, but then the light flickered and many of the horsemen suddenly disappeared. The Fierce Tigers weren’t attacking from every direction, they were actually all attacking directly from the front. There was a frontage twenty five men wide and about twenty deep. The complete encirclement was an illusion to hide their true assault.

The black smoke had exposed them. To make matters worse, the black smoke was followed by a blue mist, one that towered up into the sky and completely obscured their vision. The many Fierce Tigers started looking even more uneasy, but their confidence was again bolstered when their leader activated a talisman and the blue smoke was pushed back, clearing a ten foot perimeter around them as they charged forward. Many of them were already starting to regret the attack they were making, but it was too late.

He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount.