Strategic Planning
Lingyun Tower.
The most luxurious top-tier restaurant in Star City.
Standing 49 meters tall, from the top floor one can see a large portion of Star City.
At this moment, on the rooftop of this pavilion, the Snow River Sword Master narrowed his eyes.
"Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad!"
She said calmly, "This Gu Jinlai is truly arrogant beyond measure. I thought he would sneak into Amakusa Pavilion under the cover of night and deliver a thunderous blow, but I never expected him to launch an attack openly..."
"By wantonly injuring people in the city, even if the Meteor Guards directly take action to capture them, the many forces gathered outside the city will not be able to say a word against it. He has given Su Wen a legitimate opportunity to avenge his daughter."
Chen Yue was also somewhat surprised.
"We can't let Su Wen get there first."
The Snow River Sword Master stroked the superior Spirit Artifact, Wind, Snow, River and Mountain, in his hand. "The greatest strength of a flying sword lies in its unpredictability. Unlike Shi Chen, I don't tell Gu Jinlai in advance when Gu Jinlai draw his sword. He probably doesn't even know that he has become fish on my chopping block."
"Really."
Chen Yue strained his eyes, as if he had seen something, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "This Gu Jinlai is truly oblivious to his impending death. He actually allowed his subordinates to control that killing Spirit Artifact and use it to assassinate the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Grass Pavilion..."
"Um!?"
As Spirit Transformation True Person, the Snow River Sword Master possessed astonishing eyesight and witnessed this scene as well. "It seems that the fate of this Gu Jinlai has truly run out."
With a smile on her face, she was possessed by a spirit, which she poured into the spiritual sword Yin Spirit, Snow, River and Mountain.
"Let me draw my sword and put an end to his arrogance. Let him understand that a Spirit Artifact like him, who relies on external Spirit Artifact, is nothing more than..."
Before he could finish speaking, a scene unfolded in his field of vision: two close-in weapon systems being flipped over, a scene reminiscent of Gu Jinlai.
The Snow River Sword Master's confident words, which sounded like a final judgment on his life, came to an abrupt end.
"Two killing Spirit Artifact..."
Chen Yue, standing to the side, couldn't help but widen her eyes. "He... he actually has two more killing Spirit Artifact!?"
She abruptly turned her gaze to the Snow River Sword Master: "Master, Gu Jinlai he..."
"..."
The Snow River Sword Master maintained the state of Yin Spirit controlling the sword.
She looked at those standing amidst the killing Spirit Artifact, even...
One of the killing Spirit Artifact seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally aimed at Gu Jinlai in his direction.
She saw the power of the killing Spirit Artifact that Gu Chifeng was wielding.
Such a dense storm of metal erupted...
Breaking through the defenses of an ordinary flying sword is by no means an easy task.
No wonder the flying sword that Shi Chen shot out was intercepted by Gu Jinlai.
She believed that her Wind and Snow Rivers and Mountains, with its sharpness and ability to pierce through the air, was more lethal and capable of penetrating defenses than Shi Chen.
But it was unbearable...
There are only two such deadly Spirit Artifact Gu Jinlai.
Even when necessary, Gu Chifeng's killing Spirit Artifact can be turned around to create a barrage of fire.
In this situation, no matter how much confidence she had, she would not be able to break through this barrage of fire and shoot down Gu Jinlai, who was located within it.
For a moment, the flying sword activated by the Snow River Sword Master was caught in a dilemma: whether to shoot it or not.
"How so!?"
Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, You Chang, frantically dodging, roared in terror, "The forging of such a deadly Spirit Artifact must be extremely difficult! How could he possibly have three?!"
A single killing Spirit Artifact can withstand the attack of a Spirit Transformation cultivator's flying sword.
With three deadly Spirit Artifact now available, the Spirit Transformation cultivators of Dragon Sparrow Manor will definitely not make a move again. In other words...
They have to rely on their own strength to fight against these three deadly Spirit Artifact!?
Shocked, You Chang's reaction speed slowed down.
The next moment, a bullet, like a laser flame, grazed past his body.
The bullet's kinetic energy, contained within it, caused him to sway as it merely grazed past.
In that instant, his figure was completely locked onto by the close-in weapon system, and hundreds of bullets, like a storm, rained down on his body.
Even though he was True Person of Spirit Refining, and possessed a top-grade armor purchased at great expense with astonishing defensive capabilities, he still couldn't withstand the fire of a 30mm caliber bullet for more than a second before all his defenses were torn apart, and then...
Tearing the body apart.
Before the Amakusa Pavilion Master could even let out a scream, he was blasted into a bloody mist by the torrent of metal.
"Sect Master!?"
The surviving Amakusa Pavilion experts were shocked to see Yu Chang die tragically under the close-in weapon system in just one breath after making his move.
Especially now, with Gu Luochen and his group carrying ten Gatling guns and firing continuously, blood flowed like a river wherever they swept the bullets.
Occasionally, some of them would manage to reach Gu Luochen and the others, but...
Those demon warriors around him were no pushovers.
Hundreds of demonic warriors swarmed forward, capable of overwhelming even True Person Spirit Refining, let alone the scattered and disorganized Condensing Gang Condensing and Core Forming cultivators!
The enemy's strength caused a sense of fear to spread rapidly among the crowd.
"The killing Spirit Artifact in the hands of people Gu Jinlai are too powerful. Even the Pavilion Master, who is proficient in movement Movement Method and wears top-grade armor, cannot withstand them... And he has three more such killing Spirit Artifact!"
"Run! Run! The combined forces of the Heavenly Gang Sect and the Meteor Guards have been defeated by these people, we can't stop them!"
"Qi Refining are good, but you have to be alive to enjoy them. Besides, do you think I'll die from using six Qi Refining Pills a year? I'm outta here."
The alarming casualty rate, coupled with the fact that a group of Core Forming at the Core Formation and Gang Condensing stages of the Amakusa Pavilion were newcomers who had little sense of belonging to the organization, meant that the Amakusa Pavilion had a high mortality rate.
Realizing that almost every person they sent died, those who had recently joined the Amakusa Pavilion for profit—those at the Core Forming, Gang Condensing, and Qi Refining— were the first to flee.
Such a flight would obviously have a chain reaction under such high pressure.
Those experts who originally had the courage to charge for their sect scattered in all directions.
"Stay calm! Stay calm! We can win! We still have a trump card!"
Seeing this, the Supreme Elder Zuo Bu'er shouted, trying to rally people's hearts.
However, as soon as he appeared, Gu Chifeng had already pointed the close-in weapon system at him.
The next moment, accompanied by dense streams of light, everything in between, including flowers, trees, armor, and walls, was torn to shreds. Zuo Bu'er had no time to shout and focused all his energy on dodging and retreating.
Even the Supreme Elders at the Spirit Refining Realm were forced to retreat, powerless to resist.
People's hearts are scattered.
The disciples, who still wanted to struggle, dared not linger any longer and fled in disarray.
The entire Tiancao Pavilion had over forty Core Forming Formation stage, and over three hundred at the Gang Condensing and Qi Refining stages. Its size was comparable to the combined forces of the Heavenly Gang Sect and Zhang Lu. And yet...
The battle lasted less than ten breaths from start to finish before collapsing completely.
Their actual casualties were less than one-fifth.
This scene, witnessed by Dong Hanxue who was also in the crowd, waiting for her chance to strike, made her sigh.
The tide has turned.
Gu Jinlai the remaining two Spirit Refining of Tiancao Pavilion had fled under Gu Chifeng's pressure, Gu Jinlai waved his hand and said, "Gu Chifeng, Gu Luochen, Gu Qingmei, you continue to maintain firepower suppression. The rest of you, enter Tiancao Pavilion, plunder the supplies... take the silver related to our debts, and we will retreat in an incense stick's time."
"Yes."
Upon receiving the order, everyone immediately took on their respective duties.
They either seized commanding heights or flooded into the key locations of Amakusa Pavilion, their efficiency reaching the extreme.
Gu Jinlai, it has remained beside the two close-in weapon systems, maintaining a state of shared spirit.
Target...
Not only were there Spirit Transformation cultivators from Dragon Sparrow Manor marked by radar, but also Meteor Guardian Su Wen.
Given the chance, he felt that Su Wen would not hesitate to strike a swift and decisive blow, eliminating him, the enemy who had killed his daughter, or rather, humiliated him and caused him heavy losses.
Although he had three close-in weapon systems, which theoretically could withstand the attacks of three Nascent Spirit Transformation cultivators at the same time, he dared not gamble.
The best outcome would be to maintain a deterrent effect, preventing Dragon Sparrow Manor and Su Wen from having any opportunity to make a move.
That's why he's been standing here, looking around.
The time it takes for an incense stick to burn quickly passed.
The nearly one hundred members of the Gu Clan who rushed into the Amakusa Pavilion carried large and small bags.
Some people even ran over carrying large boxes.
Anyway, they are all cultivators of the Gods and Devils Body Refinement School, so things weighing tens or hundreds of kilograms are as light as nothing in their hands.
If time hadn't been limited, they could have even dismantled the roof beams of Amakusa Pavilion and taken them away one by one.
"No one's making a move?"
Gu Jinlai, it's hard to know whether to feel fortunate or regretful.
When the time was up, he didn't hesitate. "Let's go!"
At that moment, he and Gu Chifeng led the way with three close-in weapon systems, while Gu Luochen, Gu Qingmei, and others guarded the perimeter with "Thunder" machine guns. Then came the Gu Clan disciples, one by one, returning laden with spoils.
Led by Gu Jinlai, they brazenly defeated Amakusa Pavilion, looted all its treasures, and then swaggered out of Starlight City.
Countless people witnessed the entire process, but no one came to stop it.
Starlight City has no city walls.
The group of one hundred people quickly left the vicinity of Starlight City.
"Ancestor, no one is chasing us, and there is no warning of flying swords attacking us."
Gu Chifeng moved closer to Gu Jinlai.
Although he had previously learned to use the "Crimson" close-in weapon system, and even the "Crimson" in the name of this close-in weapon system was taken from his name, the feeling of learning to use it and actually using it in combat was clearly different.
At this moment, there seemed to be a lingering sense of unfinished business on his face.
"It's best if they didn't come."
Looking at the group returning laden with spoils, Gu Jinlai immediately ordered, "Assemble with our army, and then... we will retreat."
"Retreat?"
Gu Chifeng was taken aback.
Then something occurred to him. "If we evacuate at this time, will it arouse suspicion from Star Province and Longque Manor, and cause them to attack us prematurely?"
"The reason I chose to attack Amakusa Pavilion at this time is twofold. Firstly, the Spirit Transformation Grand Cultivators from forces such as Purgatory Sect, Yellow Heaven Sect, Cold Moon Sect, and Yellow Spring Sect have arrived. Secondly, there is only one day left before the grand event begins, and they will definitely not easily mobilize their manpower for us at this time."
Gu Jinlai, he paused, "Besides, we demonstrated stronger combat power than expected in this battle. Leaving now would only make them happy."
This is probably why the Meteor Guards didn't attack him when he left Starlight City.
The overall situation should be prioritized.
"Our objective has been achieved."
A slight smile, Gu Jinlai present, evokes the feeling of knowing the enemy's entire plan in advance and profiting by exploiting the information gap while walking on the edge of a knife...
It felt great.
Strategic planning is nothing more than this.
"Starlight City has become a powder keg and will explode soon. We must leave tonight. Let them fight however they want; it has nothing to do with us anymore."