Conference Before the Battle
Yue Qianchou raised his hand to his eyebrows in a military salute and said, "Everyone, please sit down!" After saying that, he walked to the end of the long table and sat down. Guan Yu then walked to the seat that was supposed to be Yue Qianchou's. The two of them were directly opposite each other, one at each end, just turned around. Guan Yu was originally unwilling to sit there, because the position he was standing in should have been reserved for the leader of the team.
However, Yue Qianchou refused. His reason was that he hadn't been there long, and Guan Yu was the actual person in charge of daily training and management. He needed to help Guan Yu establish authority, because Guan Yu, the Chief Instructor, was actually the weakest in terms of cultivation among the group, although he was working hard to catch up. Yue Qianchou only needed to focus on one thing: being the spiritual leader of the team.
The platoon and Platoon Leader began to report their training progress to Guan Yu in turn. Yue Qianchou listened attentively like an outsider, and took the opportunity to observe everyone. He was quite satisfied with the results; the rigidity characteristic of cultivators was no longer visible on their faces. Instead, everyone was full of energy and had the vigorous spirit of soldiers.
After listening to the report, Guan Yu began to announce the battle plan to everyone. This plan was hard-won! Some time ago, Yue Qianchou obtained the locations of the Spirit Stone mine of various sects from Hundred Charm Demoness. He selected the locations of the Daluo Sect and Qingguang Sect to study, only to find that Hundred Charm Demoness had prepared a lot of detailed information for him, clearly indicating the personnel guarding and daily routines of each Spirit Stone mine.
Yue Qianchou personally investigated each location on-site, traversing all the Spirit Stone mine of the Daluo Sect and Qingguang Sect, doing so secretly to avoid revealing his whereabouts. Finally, he produced this battle plan.
"The Daluo Sect has fifteen Spirit Stone mine, Qingguang Sect Spirit Stone mine six. Our goal this time is to plunder these twenty-one Spirit Stone mine." After stating the goal, Guan Yu distributed jade tablets to everyone, saying, "The jade tablets in everyone's hands contain detailed information about each Spirit Stone mine."
"Ah..." Everyone looked at each other in surprise. They hadn't expected the operation to be so massive, requiring the attack on twenty-one Spirit Stone mine at once. They all looked somewhat troubled.
Yue Qianchou, who had been sitting silently in the back, suddenly laughed and said, "Everyone, don't hold back. Feel free to voice your opinions! The goal is naturally to better accomplish this mission."
As soon as he expressed his opinion, one of them stood up and said, "Leader, I come from the Daluo Sect and know a little about the Daluo Sect's Spirit Stone mine. Ever since the Illusion Demon Palace attacked the Qingguang Sect's Spirit Stone mine, the Daluo Sect has strengthened its defenses at each Spirit Stone mine, assigning an elder at the early Tribulation stage Realm to oversee each one. Although our three companies have the advantage in numbers and strength when attacking a Spirit Stone mine, we don't have a single person who can contend with a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator. I'm afraid that even if we manage to capture one mine, we will suffer huge casualties. Not to mention the Qingguang Sect, it's practically impossible to capture all fifteen Spirit Stone mine of the Daluo Sect one by one."
After he finished speaking, Yue Qianchou raised his hand and pressed him down, gesturing for him to sit down, and then smiled and nodded at Guan Yu.
"Your concerns have already been considered by the leader, and a meticulous plan has been made. Let me give you an overview of the situation." Guan Yu glanced at everyone and said in a loud voice, "The Qingguang Sect has six Spirit Stone mine, each guarded by one late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, three Nascent Soul Middle Stage and three early-stage Core Formation stage cultivators, a total of fifteen Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, and about one hundred and fifty miners of varying cultivation levels. This kind of strength is a piece of cake for us; taking them down one by one is no problem. The Daluo Sect has fifteen Spirit Stone mine..."
At this point, Guan Yu's expression turned somewhat serious. He stood up and continued, "Each mine is guarded by a cultivator at the early Tribulation stage Nascent Soul Realm, ten at each stage of the Core Formation stage and Foundation Establishment Realm. There are nearly two hundred miners, whose cultivation levels vary, mostly around the Foundation Establishment Realm. Most of them, like the Qingguang Sect, are Qi Refining stage disciples. If the Daluo Sect hadn't sent any early Tribulation stage Transcending Realm cultivators to guard the mines, it wouldn't be a big problem. In fact, the opposite is true. Therefore, the leader has already laid an ambush in each of the fifteen Daluo Sect mines with an early Tribulation stage cultivator. As soon as we make a move, that cultivator will take action to hold off the other side's Tribulation Transcendence stage expert. Moreover, in case of any unexpected events, the leader will ask Sister Bai from the Misty Palace to personally intervene. I'm sure no one doubts Sister Bai's strength."
The group exchanged glances and nodded. This arrangement wouldn't pose much of a problem, but they wondered where the leader had gotten fifteen more Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators. Did the leader have another force? At this moment, someone else stood up and asked, "Instructor, this is certainly a good method, but attacking one Spirit Stone mine will inevitably alert their sects. What if the Daluo Sect and the Qingguang Sect send out a large number of experts? I believe that neither the Daluo Sect nor the Qingguang Sect is as strong as we can withstand. How can we then target other Spirit Stone mine?"
Yue Qianchou sat at the back, smiling silently. His subordinate's words were somewhat discouraging, but he didn't care at all. This was exactly the atmosphere he needed. Only by pooling everyone's wisdom and efforts and having everyone participate could everyone's enthusiasm be increased and the shortcomings of the battle plan be more effectively supplemented. After all, he was not a god who could calculate everything perfectly.
Guan Yu gestured for the man to sit down and said, "First Company, the commander has considered your concerns. Therefore, there is a very important task in this operation that your First Company needs to accomplish. First Company, find any mine map from the jade tablet. The location marked with '1' on the mine map is the location of the various mine communication arrays. Before the attack begins, your company First Company first select a platoon and hand it over to the commander for personal command. The commander will lead them to completely destroy the Spirit Stone mine's communication arrays, preventing the enemy from leaking information about the attack. At the same time, the entire force will end the battle as quickly as possible. Does anyone have any questions?"
Everyone shook their heads and focused their Divine Sense into the jade tablet to examine it. Sure enough, it contained topographical maps of twenty-one Spirit Stone mine. A closer look at the terrain revealed that their recent training had been preparation for attacking these Spirit Stone mine. The location marked with a "1" should be the location of the mine's communication array.
Guan Yu looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Since there are no more questions, the attack will proceed using the latest training method. Dismissed and prepare!"
"Yes!" Everyone stood up and quickly left the operations room to make their own arrangements. At this moment, Yue Qianchou said in a deep voice, "Yun Chang, in half an hour, all combat troops will assemble and depart."
Half an hour later, a rapid and loud bugle call rang out in the military camp. A group of fully equipped, masked men in black quickly poured out of the barracks and assembled in three teams in the square. Guan Yu rode his tall horse and paced below the platform, Yue Qianchou stood on the platform with his hands behind his back, watching the scene below.
Just then, a streak of light descended upon the military camp gate, and Qu Ping'er arrived with Little Wu Chou. The two had been drawn there by the sound of the bugle. Lately, Little Wu Chou had become quite attached to his beautiful sister-in-law, making her take him to experience the feeling of Sword Flight every day, which the little rascal was thoroughly enjoying. As the two were about to step into the camp, they were stunned by the imposing presence within. So many people stood together, all dressed in eerie black, arranged in perfectly aligned squares, yet so quiet that only their breathing could be heard. A strong sense of impending doom gripped the air, preventing the two from entering.
Little Wu Chou was startled by the imposing aura, hiding behind her sister-in-law and peeking out at her brother who was looking down from the platform. Yue Qianchou glanced at the two people at the door, raised an arm, opened his palm to the crowd, covered everyone with his Divine Sense, and then shouted in a deep voice, "Let's go!"
In an instant, everyone on and off the stage vanished. The military camp was completely empty. Qu Ping'er and Little Wu Chou, however, dared not enter. Reluctantly, they turned and left hand in hand without a word...
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