After a period of discussion, Han Ning’s plan was temporarily shelved.
The logistics personnel who had successfully evacuated earlier gathered the corpses of the Insect-men and insect swarms from the Red Centipede Tribe and Green Moth Tribe that were scattered throughout the academy.
Since the Ah Mei Insect Master was present, the academy handed over the corpses from the Green Moth Tribe to him. After all, he had contributed a great deal, so it was only reasonable for him to reclaim what belonged to his tribe.
As for the Red Centipede Tribe, Han Ning also gave a portion of those resources to the Ah Mei Insect Master to appease the resentment in his heart.
Han Ning took advantage of the discussion to rest for a while, recovering some of his Physical Strength. Together with Yin Yi, he laid out the bodies of the academy’s fallen personnel and Soul Beasts one by one in a spacious, open area, placing them on soft bedsheets.
Looking at the once-vibrant faces that had now forever departed this world, everyone wanted to cry, but they found their tear ducts had run dry. No tears would fall.
To prevent anyone from being mistaken for dead, the academy’s medical team carefully examined every "deceased" individual. They actually found one student whose heart had only temporarily stopped and was now beating again, as well as several Awakened Level Tree Spirits and Tree Demons that still showed signs of life.
Unfortunately... for the rest of the people and Soul Beasts, no matter how many times they were re-examined, the conclusion remained grim.
Just as they had for memorial services in the past, the survivors gathered before the bodies of the deceased. They bowed deeply three times to the teachers and students who had sacrificed their lives to defend the academy.
Dean Wu’s eyes were red-rimmed. His face, etched with the wind and frost of years, was filled with profound sorrow. He let out a long sigh and spoke in a heavy voice, "As I’ve said before, I ask all of you: do not give up on the hope of living. I believe our lives will get better and better from now on. We must not let their sacrifices be in vain."
「...」
After the simple memorial service, the injured were moved into buildings that hadn’t been damaged in the battle.
The fireballs launched by the Red Centipede Tribe’s swarms were extremely destructive. When they hit a building, while they couldn’t melt the steel rebar outright, they could incinerate everything else.
Therefore, after the short-lived battle, of the dozen or so apartment buildings in the dormitory area, only four on the outskirts remained relatively intact.
This place had originally been the temporary residence for the newly-joined foreigners and the several dozen people who were unwilling to join the academy. It was now occupied by the academy’s teachers and students.
As for the others, they were arranged to rest in the more distant academic buildings.
Mr. Louis, the man who had started out in an expensive suit but was now wearing a cheap jacket, had some complaints about this. However, a single murderous glare from Teacher Zhou sent him grumbling and deflated on his way to the academic buildings with his luggage.
The Ah Mei Insect Master and Aketu received their compensation and returned to the Green Moth Tribe.
Han Ning, Dean Wu, and a dozen or so other surviving combatants stood or sat in the lobby of a dormitory, continuing their discussion on future strategies.
"Right now, all of our frontline combatants’ Soul Beasts have been wiped out. We must raise a new batch of Soul Beasts as soon as possible. Otherwise, forget about the threat from the Red Centipede Race; we wouldn’t even be able to withstand a minor beast tide," Dean Wu said, pulling himself out of his grief for a moment, his tone serious.
"Everyone’s physical constitution is a world apart from what it used to be. We no longer have to limit ourselves to contracting with Silver Lotus Wood like before. We can choose Soul Beasts with higher Talent. I think some of the insect-type Soul Beasts from the Red Centipede Tribe would be very suitable for us."
Han Ning made the suggestion on the spot, thinking of the extremely high-temperature flames spewed by the Flame Fire Vermilion Centipede and the Flaming Sun Flying Armor.
Dean Wu sighed softly. He understood that the student before him probably felt a strong sense of guilt for not being at the academy when the attack happened and was now desperate to contribute. He spoke in a gentle tone:
"Sigh... Xiaohan, I know what you mean. Regarding your plan, can we wait until the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm breaks through to the War General Level and gains the ability to birth a second Subordinate Insect before we discuss the details?"
"Okay." Han Ning pressed his lips together and nodded.
"Besides the Red Centipede Tribe, we can also look for more powerful Longevity Species insects from the legacies left behind by the Green Moth Tribe and the Yinsaike Race. These Soul Beasts have relatively clear cultivation methods that can raise them to at least the War General Level, and perhaps even allow them to break through to the Lord level.
"As for the Silver Lotus Wood, we lack specific, more advanced cultivation methods, so we can’t help them break through to the Lord life-level."
Aside from Yin Yi’s path, Han Ning naturally wanted to help the others by using his panel to deduce the evolution paths for other Soul Beasts, but his panel couldn’t be used by anyone else.
Finding Soul Beasts with an initial Talent starting at E or D would offer much broader prospects for development.
But... as the two of them discussed how to choose and cultivate new Soul Beasts for everyone, the others didn’t seem very enthusiastic.
Everyone was still immersed in the grief of their own Soul Beasts’ deaths, finding it difficult to muster the spirit to participate in a discussion about choosing new ones.
Their old comrades-in-arms had just died, and now they were being rushed to choose new Soul Beasts. For everyone, this was undoubtedly a difficult thing to accept.
As Han Ning and Dean Wu continued to talk, they suddenly noticed the atmosphere in the hall was off. Both of them instantly understood and fell silent.
"Never mind," Dean Wu said. "Everyone, go back and rest for now. Get a good night’s sleep. Those of you who need to vent, find a place and let it all out. Now isn’t the right time for a rational discussion."