As the intelligence gatherers returned one after another, the atmosphere in the clan's council hall grew increasingly tense. Mu Chen sat at the long table, his brow tightly furrowed, with the information his companions had brought back spread out before him. These reports were like scattered pieces of a puzzle, and he needed to find the crucial clues among them to identify the Black-Robed People's weaknesses and likely methods of attack. Lin Feng had brought back the contents of a conversation from the Black-Robed People's camp, which was undoubtedly an important lead. Mu Chen knew that they had to determine, as quickly as possible, what flaw the Black-Robed People's leader believed he had found in the clan's defenses. He suspected that this supposed flaw might involve some detail in the construction of the clan's fortifications, or that the Black-Robed People had discovered a potential problem in the placement of the defensive barrier or spiritual energy traps. "Lin Feng, think back carefully. Were there any unusual spiritual energy fluctuations or terrain features around the cave?" Mu Chen asked, looking at Lin Feng. After pondering for a moment, Lin Feng replied, "I was too nervous at the time, but I remember that the spiritual energy fluctuations inside the cave were somewhat chaotic, and that chaos seemed a little similar to the spiritual energy fluctuations of our clan's defensive barrier." Something stirred in Mu Chen's mind. He suspected that the Black-Robed People were researching a way to break through the clan's defensive barrier and had already found some leads. This meant they needed to conduct a thorough inspection of the barrier to see whether it had any vulnerabilities the enemy could exploit. The information Su Yao had gathered about the Black-Robed People's stronghold and the black boxes also drew Mu Chen's close attention. Those black boxes, covered in runes and radiating powerful, sinister spiritual energy, were clearly one of the key elements of the Black-Robed People's attack. "Su Yao, did you get a clear look at the runes on the boxes? Or did you sense any special properties in their spiritual energy?" Mu Chen turned to Su Yao and asked. Su Yao shook her head. "I didn't have time to examine them closely, but that sinister spiritual energy felt terribly oppressive. They also seemed connected to one another, as though they were components of some large-scale formation." Mu Chen reasoned that these boxes might be special tools the Black-Robed People used to strengthen their attacks or breach defenses. If they were components of a formation, its power could not be underestimated, and it would very likely pose a tremendous threat to the clan's fortifications. Combining all the intelligence, Mu Chen began to sketch out the Black-Robed People's plan in his mind. They might exploit the flaw they had found in the defensive barrier to draw the clan's defensive forces toward one direction during their assault, then launch a surprise attack from another direction using the formation made from the black boxes, catching the clan off guard. Mu Chen also had some ideas about the Black-Robed People's weaknesses. From the conversation Lin Feng had overheard, he could infer that the Black-Robed People were not completely confident in this assault, which meant they still feared the clan's new defensive measures. In particular, the defenses against soul attacks and the newly installed spiritual energy traps were likely things the Black-Robed People had not anticipated. Moreover, the Black-Robed People's command structure depended heavily on their leader, something that had already shown itself in previous battles. If they could find a way to disrupt or attack their leader during the battle, the Black-Robed People's offensive would fall into chaos. To further verify and refine his analysis, Mu Chen decided to send out the intelligence team again, focusing on the Black-Robed People's research into the defensive barrier's flaw and how they used the black boxes. At the same time, he assigned clan members to thoroughly inspect and reinforce the defensive barrier, especially any areas that might contain vulnerabilities. While waiting for new intelligence, Mu Chen gathered the clan's strategists, including the elders and several clan members with extensive knowledge of spiritual energy, to discuss ways to counter the Black-Robed People's black-box formation. One elder suggested, "If these boxes form some kind of spiritual energy formation, we can try to find a spiritual energy attribute that counters it and craft specialized magical treasures to sever the connections within their formation." Another clan member, who specialized in spiritual energy analysis, said, "We can also place devices around the clan grounds that interfere with spiritual energy fluctuations, disrupting the resonance between the boxes so they cannot form a complete formation." Mu Chen nodded in agreement. "These methods are all worth trying. We also need to consider that the Black-Robed People might change their attack strategy, so our defenses cannot address only one scenario. We must be prepared in every direction while remaining mobile, so we can adjust promptly during battle." After several days of intense preparations and research, new intelligence began arriving. The reports revealed that the Black-Robed People were indeed experimenting with ways to breach a particular spiritual energy node in the clan's defensive barrier. They seemed to have found a method that could temporarily disrupt the flow of spiritual energy through that node. As for the black boxes, repeated observations revealed that, when arranged in a particular configuration, they formed a powerful attack formation capable of releasing black rays that could corrode spiritual energy defenses. Based on this new intelligence, Mu Chen and the clan's strategists further refined their countermeasures. They installed multiple layers of protection around the defensive barrier's crucial spiritual energy nodes, including concealed Spiritual Energy Shields and spiritual energy mechanisms capable of automatically retaliating. To counter the Black-Robed People's potential use of the black-box formation, the clan members crafted a batch of magical treasures with special spiritual energy attributes that could absorb and neutralize the corrosive power of the black rays. At the same time, they installed more interference devices around the clan grounds, which could disrupt the spiritual energy fluctuations of the box formation at a critical moment. Meanwhile, preparations for the attack on the Black-Robed People's leader proceeded to the urgent beat of drums and gongs. The assault squad intensified its training. During the battle, they would seek an opportunity to carry out a decapitation strike against the Black-Robed People's leader and throw their command structure into disarray. Throughout the process of analyzing intelligence and devising strategies, the entire clan stood united as one. Everyone understood that this battle against the Black-Robed People would be a struggle between life and death. Every preparation they made would determine whether the clan could survive this crisis and safeguard its dignity and peace.
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