That Shaman Ox fellow didn't know the relationship between Yu and Lu and the Shaman King, but the guard captain was well aware.
With a great battle on the horizon, handing Yu and Lu over to a Grand Shaman was nowhere near as safe as keeping them by the Shaman King's side.
Wu Dang said calmly, "Only by following him do they have any hope of survival."
The guard captain's brow furrowed slightly. He clearly didn't agree with this assessment, but in front of the Shaman King, he didn't dare voice his objections too openly. He could only remain silent.
Outside the royal city, Yang Kai led the pair of twins back toward his encampment. After a moment, he suddenly turned around and asked, "Which of you is Yu, and which is Lu?"
Both women halted. The one on the left spoke up: "I am Yu."
The one on the right said: "I am Lu."
Yang Kai bared his teeth in a grin and nodded. "Got it. Hmm, the Shaman King said you've been cultivating in the Shaman God Temple since you were little. The Shaman God Temple… is it fun?"
Both twins frowned. Yu said in a low voice, "The Shaman God Temple is the most important place in the entire Barbarian Tribe. Only the most exceptional shamans are qualified to enter and serve the Shaman God. It is no place for play."
Lu followed up: "Please watch your words, My Lord."
Yang Kai shrugged, having vaguely grasped the personalities of these two shamans. He said no more and led the way forward.
Before long, they returned to the encampment. The Barbarian warriors and shamans who were drilling saw that he'd gone out and come back with a pair of beautiful twins, and couldn't help but show their surprise.
Yang Kai clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention and announced loudly, "These two shamans are Yu and Lu, specifically assigned to our Witch Ox Unit by the Shaman King himself. Consider yourselves acquainted. I hope everyone can get along peacefully, work together with one heart, and stand united against the demon folk!"
Everyone responded in unison. The rough-looking bunch stared at the twins with undisguised admiration. If not for the fact that Shamans Yu and Lu held far too exalted a status, someone would certainly have worked up the nerve to approach them.
Those shaman apprentices and shaman warriors stepped forward even more deferentially, bowing in greeting to the two shamans.
Yu and Lu merely gave faint nods, their gazes sweeping over the members of the Witch Ox Unit with a hint of scrutiny.
"Carry on with your training." Yang Kai waved his hand, then turned to the twins. "You should join them as well. The Shaman God Temple only taught you how to cultivate shamanic arts — it probably never taught you how to apply your abilities on the battlefield. Take these few days to get familiar with it. Don't be fumbling about when the time comes to fight."
The twins nodded slightly.
Yang Kai whistled to the side. In the next moment, the Eagle King, which had been crouching on the ground, raised its head as if responding to a command and let out a piercing cry.
The giant eagles soaring in the sky answered one after another. Before long, they descended carrying numerous archers, landing on the ground.
Quite a few archers looked deathly pale. They scrambled off their eagles' backs, ran to the side and retched violently. Others swayed on their feet and collapsed onto the ground on their backsides.
"My Lord! What are your orders?" A Hua walked over with a longbow slung across her back, her bearing valiant. Her face was slightly pale as well, but compared to the others she looked far better — at least her steps weren't unsteady.
Yang Kai said gravely, "I've just received orders from the Shaman King. I'm to send twenty-five giant eagles to the royal city."
A Hua's eyes widened in shock. "Send away twenty-five giant eagles? Then that means…"
Originally, each of the seventy-five giant eagles had been paired with one archer. If twenty-five were sent away, that meant twenty-five people would lose their aerial mounts. For any archer, this was absolutely unbearable.
These archers were all elites of the Witch Ox Unit, handpicked strong fighters. In terms of marksmanship, no one was meaningfully better or worse than anyone else.
"So I'm giving you one day. After one day, the twenty-five who performed the worst will return to their respective ground units. Understood?"
A Hua pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Understood."
Yang Kai waved her off. "Go. I'm leaving this matter in your hands."
"Understood!" A Hua turned around, her feelings complicated. She looked up to find seventy-four pairs of battle-hungry eyes fixed on her. No further explanation was needed — everyone had heard Yang Kai's words crystal clear. If they wanted to keep their giant eagles, they had to outperform the others in this final day.
Before long, all seventy-five giant eagles rose into the sky in unison. The sight was nothing short of spectacular.
Yang Kai returned to his wooden hut, swallowed a demon beast inner core, and sat down in meditation.
One day later, A Hua came to report on the sky riders' situation. After Yang Kai's final decision, twenty-five archers with comparatively weaker performance were removed, and the vacated giant eagles were sent to the royal city.
The days that followed passed uneventfully. The Witch Ox Unit's twelve squads continued their intensive training in an orderly fashion, and as time went on, their coordination grew ever smoother — especially with the addition of Yu and Lu. The shamans of the Witch Ox Unit could now cast their shamanic arts across all three thousand warriors, something they had been unable to achieve before.