A Failure's hopeful Journey

You Xi Wang stood in front of the tunnels along with his team. He said with his back to the people, "When you go inside these dark holes, remember the light in your heart. Remember that there are people waiting for you back home. Remember that only with a calm can you get past the storm. Your best friends, the people who walk the path of life and death along with you, are also by your side. 

Do not let go of the spark inside the eyes that sent you here. The dark inside is not eternal. Think of being a traveler in the night, you will be surrounded by dark, but it is not without the dawn that you will bring. We are the phantoms. We dwell in the dark to bring light to the hearts of those, who need it. 

We are the phantoms of hope, and we never break down. Men! Pick up your arms, we fight this darkness." 

The last few words were said loudly, the people behind him roared, "Hoo-ah." 

You Xi Wang had already devised a plan of attack. There were mainly two big tunnels. One to enter and one to exit. As the depth increased, the web of tunnels became complex. The teams will divide as they moved forward and encountered more diversions. They all were given a teleportation charm. 

This charm would lead them all to the teleportation array You Xi Wang had set up outside the holes. It would not take out only one person, but the whole team. They all had one clear instruction, they had to place the sealing array flags after every five meters forward they moved. They did not have enough array flags on their hands, so it was decided that they will proceed until the flags in the hands of every team has finished. 

The dwarves were also working their asses off to meet the needs of the outlanders risking their lives inside the tunnels for them. Djal and his people were also included in the phantoms. They were going to play support to the rest of the people in the army. 

You Xi Wang led the front with his team and the rest were to follow him by a gap of five meters. This distance was kept to make sure that none of the movements of the teams was obstructed by the people behind. Allan held a spirit gun, Neo held his halberd, Fenny was playing support as usual, and Yuki was to tag along with Neo.

The Maestro was going to fight free at the front but also be present to provide emergency support. Fenny was to hold the command chain in the battle. The team entered the tunnel. The ceiling height was a little low. You Xi Wang said, "This will definitely not be easy." 

Fenny at the back said, "Change to spirit guns, We cannot make much of a movement with this ceiling height." 

Allan nodded and said, "The progress may be slow but it will be safe and smooth." 

Neo sighed and said, "Here I wanted to show you guys the dance of the war god, Xi Wang taught me." 

Yuki said, "He improvised it for you. The version is different." her voice was cold as she took out her spirit gun. She did not want You Xi Wang to teach Neo his first self-made move, but the boy said it is okay. She had a point you know. The first move created by the people will always have the potential to grow and was their own invention. 

So, teaching that sort of a move to someone out of the family was not a popular opinion. Neo grimaced when he heard her say this. He was also aware of his selfishness, so did not retort. You Xi Wang said, "Dark mass, ten meters ahead. Tell the teams behind to make sure they get every fish that escapes the net." 

Fenny immediately relayed the message to the people behind. She also told them all to switch weapons and use spirit guns. No grenades were allowed, the ceiling might collapse. They were not allowed to make big sounds to alert some monsters sleeping in the darkness. They were also not allowed to fire the spirit guns at full intensity. 

If the spirit ray got damaged any weight-bearing pillar then they might be buried under here forever. They could have used their own elemental skills but since they were now using spirit guns, they cannot use spells or it will affect their movement forward. 

After ten seconds, the phantoms had entered the dark fog and the first thing they did was to seal the fog and stop it from advancing forward by sealing array flags. Suddenly, You Xi Wang shot the spirit gun with his legs slightly bent as he walked forward, followed by him, Yuki, and Neo also started to shoot. 

The dark tunnels were illuminated and roars of creatures echoed inside the tunnels. The people following behind them were none other than You Zhichi and her team. They were surprised to see the level of cooperation between You Xi Wang and his team. It was not only the way they took down the enemies. 

Their breathing, their footsteps, the cover and fire rhythm of the people were on a different level. Luna, the sniper in You Zhichi's team said, "They have spent lesser time together than many of us here. Why can they achieve such cooperation?" 

You Zhichi was about to reply when Gena spoke up, she was a temporary add-on in this team, "They have spent a long time in the lost sector. Our squad almost never stopped fighting, injuries, curses, pain, they faced it all together. To save Yuki, Xi Wang took on a blow and almost lost his eye. The team was the same, they covered each other in a place where fending off for their own was hard. 

They never stopped fighting and trying new things. You Xi Wang is called the god of war not because of his range of skills or his strength only, but also because he brought back his whole squad alive. A place with a ninety percent mortality rate was cleared by them. With zero deaths. This is not possible with time or planning but trust. Unconditional trust and the strength to uphold that trust."