Window Dressing
Fourth, the margin for error in actual combat is extremely low, and its tactical value is entirely negative.
Many people believe that He Caitou's long-range heavy artillery can provide additional output, even if it is not the core, it is still a valuable asset.
In reality, in Shrek Seven Monsters ' fast-paced offensive system, He Caitou was not only not an asset, but rather a "tactical burden" for the entire team.
The core tactical logic of the Shrek Seven Monsters has never been positional warfare, but rather a blitzkrieg system of "Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection covering the entire area + Xiao Xiao's first-strike control of the field + Jiang Nannan's high-speed cut to the back row + Wang Dong'er's burst of light to break the formation + Bei Bei's frontal advance + Xu Sanshi's bottom-line defense".
The core of the entire tactic is "speed" and "surprise attack," aiming to complete the entire process of controlling the field, eliminating the enemy's carry, and breaking through their formation before the opponent can react, thus ending the battle.
He Caitou's charged cannon, from charging and aiming to firing, requires several seconds of preparation time, which is completely unable to keep up with the team's fast-paced attack.
In true top-level team battles, victory or defeat often hinges on a single second.
Jiang Nannan had already broken through to the enemy's back row, Wang Dong'er's Butterfly God's Light had already hit the enemy's face, He Caitou's cannon hadn't even fully charged yet.
By the time he finally unleashed a powerful shot, the enemy had either already been eliminated or had long since dodged. His output was consistently half a beat slow, failing to align with the team's tactical priorities.
Even more fatally, he had absolutely no ability to protect himself.
As a back-row damage dealer, He Caitou lacks escape skills such as teleportation and invisibility, as well as sufficient melee blocking ability.
The Cigar Martial Soul provides no defensive bonus whatsoever, and if an enemy Agility Attack System Soul Master gets close, the outcome is almost always an instant collapse.
To protect him from being flanked, the team had to allocate extra resources to guard his flanks. Either Xu Sanshi had to cover his direction, or Xiao Xiao had to step in to provide him with shields, and sometimes Jiang Nannan even had to go back to defend and save him.
In other words, in order to protect such a "nice-to-have" ranged damage dealer, the team has to actively weaken the front-line defense, crowd control density, and assassin's restraint, and draw back the combat power that could have been used to suppress the enemy to protect their own team.
This is a losing proposition no matter how you look at it.
In contrast, the other six monsters are all capable of fighting independently, taking care of themselves, and even supporting their teammates.
Huo Yuhao has a mental shield and ice-type defense, Wang Dong'er has light wings for evasion and flight, Bei Bei has dragon scales protecting her body, Xu Sanshi is the defensive ceiling, Jiang Nannan has an extremely fast movement technique that makes her impossible to catch, and Xiao Xiao has a cauldron soul for defense.
No one needs anyone else's protection; everyone is a positive contributor to the tactics.
He Caitou is the only one who is a "liability" that needs to be covered by the team.
Fifth, the input and output of resources are completely disproportionate, resulting in a serious waste of team development resources.
Soul Engineer is the most expensive profession in the entire Douluo Continent, bar none.
The cost of a high-level Soul Guidance Cannon is comparable to that of a top-tier Soul Bone. The cost of a single Fixed-Installed Soul Guidance Shell is enough for an ordinary Soul Master to cultivate for half a year, not to mention the daily maintenance, upgrades, and parts replacements, each of which is an astronomical figure.
As the team's dedicated Soul Engineer, He Caitou consumes several times more resources than the others.
As the core members of the Shrek Seven Monsters, the resources provided by the academy are fixed. If more is given to He Caitou, less will be given to the others.
But what did all those resources get in return?
In return, they gained a dispensable long-range damage dealer, a tactical burden requiring protection, and a position that could be easily replaced.
If these resources were saved and used to enhance Huo Yuhao's Spirit Power, find a light-attribute Soul Ring for Wang Dong'er, strengthen Bei Bei's dragon bloodline, and find a defensive Soul Bone for Xu Sanshi, the resulting increase in combat power would be far greater than adding another Soul Guidance Cannon.
Ironically, Soul Tool are universal items. The heavy cannon in He Caitou's hands would have no difference in power if used by Soul Engineer of the same level; in fact, a dedicated Soul Engineer would use it more skillfully and with greater power.
In other words, the team spent a lot of money cultivating not He Caitou himself, but the pile of Soul Tool in his possession.
The person is gone, but the equipment remains; it can be used by a different person just as well, and its combat effectiveness is not diminished in the slightest.
But the other six are different. Huo Yuhao's Spirit Power, Wang Dong'er's Light Martial Soul, Bei Bei's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Bloodline are all talents that cannot be obtained by throwing resources at them. They are unique to them and cannot be taken away or replaced by others.
Investing resources in them is a genuine "connection to personal growth," while investing in He Caitou is merely "renting the right to use a high-level set of equipment."
The relative importance is obvious.
Star Dou Forest, at the bottom of the Lake of Life.
A faint hint of surprise flashed in Gu Yuena's silver eyes.
She had assumed that Shrek, as the top academy on the continent, would select Seven Monsters, each with their own responsibilities, but she never expected that such a "resource black hole" would be mixed in.
Soul Tool?
In her eyes, it was nothing more than a trivial skill devised by humankind.
True powerhouses always look inward, tempering their Martial Soul, refining their bloodline foundation, and elevating their Divine Soul realm, breaking through the limits of life step by step.
Placing one's hopes for growth in external things is a choice made by the weak.
She could picture that scene.
In a fast-paced team fight system, everyone is rushing forward, but there's one person standing still, slowly charging up, requiring the others to be distracted and protect them. They're like a rotten apple in a perfect lineup.
What's even more ridiculous is that after investing so many resources, all they ended up with was a bunch of equipment that could be replaced at will.
Gu Yuena nodded slightly, her cool voice echoing softly from the silent lakebed. "Putting the cart before the horse."
Soul Master like He Caitou, who rely on external tools, will immediately revert to their original form and fall back into the dust once their Soul Tool are destroyed.
Only with a solid foundation can one stand firm in any storm.
He Caitou's path went astray from the very beginning.
At this point, some might ask: if He Caitou is so useless, why did the Shrek Seven Monsters choose him? Didn't the teachers at the academy see that?
The answer is simple: the limitations of the era, plus the fact that he happened to be riding the wave of the rise of Soul Tool.
The era in which Huo Yuhao lived was the point at which the Soul Guidance Technology of the Douluo Continent began to explode. The Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tool developed rapidly, putting great pressure on the original Douluo Continent III.
The entire continent is adoring Soul Engineer, believing that Soul Tool are the future.
As the number one academy on the continent, Shrek Academy naturally had to keep up with the times and add a Soul Engineer to the Seven Monsters to prove that it had also mastered cutting-edge Soul Guidance Technology.
It was under these circumstances that He Caitou was selected to join the Seven Monsters.
His existence was more of a "mascot of the era" and "the face of the academy's Soul Guidance Department" than because he was truly irreplaceable or indispensable.