Bedrock City, a bustling scene unfolded.
Those who repair fortifications, transport supplies and Calamity Beast, and perform routine tasks.
People moved through the Bedrock City.
On a certain street, several figures were walking side by side.
One of the figures, with a flaxen ponytail, was speaking.
After a long pause, Han Ling let out a soft breath and said:
That's roughly how the whole process went.
"What about casualties?" Shen Heng nodded slowly.
"There were probably eight or nine hundred wounded, but..." Han Ling paused, then continued, "Of the fallen members, twenty-five were from the Supervision Bureau, and three hundred and twenty-three were ordinary soldiers."
"But we killed more than 4,800 Calamity Beast!" Zhou Xuan quickly added from the side.
Three hundred and fifty dead, four thousand eight thousand killed? That's a ratio of one to fourteen?... Shen Heng paused slightly, glanced at Zhou Xuan, and then turned his gaze to Han Ling.
"Nearly half of the Calamity Beast Calamity Beast were killed when they started to flee. At that point, they were too preoccupied to care about anything else," Han Ling explained.
"Hey, it's like when you're being chased by a tiger. I don't need to run faster than the tiger, I just need to run faster than you," Zhou Xuan laughed from the side.
Shen Heng nodded thoughtfully.
Similar to ancient warfare, when both sides set up their formations in an open field to fight, actually not many people die; two or three out of ten are considered a lot.
Large-scale annihilation often occurs when one side is routed and the other side pursues it.
He understood a similar principle, but because of the different nature of warfare, he didn't have a very real grasp of it.
To annihilate the enemy after their defeat?
Shen Heng lowered his eyes, deep in thought.
Is there any way to prevent the Calamity Beast from resisting until they are only 20-30% remaining before starting to retreat?
Zhou Xuan sighed, somewhat regretfully saying, "There are quite a few injured people; each of us is injured."
"After all, there are two Fifth Tier Calamity Beast, and that area isn't open, which is disadvantageous for Han Ling and Qin Yu in their fight," Shen Heng said, unsurprised.
"Well, right?" Zhou Xuan slumped his shoulders.
"By the way," Shen Heng looked at Zhou Xuan and Zheng Guomin, "How long until you reach the Fifth Tier?"
"I might need another month or two. My body isn't at its full limit yet, and my Configuration is still far from perfect." Zheng Guomin took a deep breath.
"And you?" Shen Heng turned his gaze to Zhou Xuan.
"I'm almost there, just the Configuration is a little off. I'll make a few more adjustments, and it should be done!" Zhou Xuan raised his hand and pinched it.
"Okay, as soon as possible!" Shen Heng nodded.
For cultivation at the fourth to Sixth Tier, besides absorbing Origin Power and tempering the body, the only necessary cultivation is adjusting the Configuration.
The Configuration needs further adjustments to improve its controllable Origin Power limits and stability.
Only in this way can we break through to the next level.
Everyone has to go through this step; Han Ling and Qin Yu have already done so.
Well, Shen Heng didn't leave, but he can't control his own Configuration.
Shen Heng stopped and looked towards the command center, then quickly looked away and said:
"You all go and rest first, I'll go and report to Elder Zhou!"
Everyone nodded and left.
Shen Heng then walked towards the command center.
Upon arriving at the command center, Shen Heng looked at Zhou Zhenguo, who was sitting at the long table, deep in thought as he studied a map, and asked:
"Did Chongshan City hold out?"
"Yes, but the cost was quite high; nearly half of the troops were killed or wounded." Zhou Zhenguo withdrew his gaze and nodded heavily.
"It's good that you've pulled through." Shen Heng nodded slowly.
"Yes, it's good that you managed to hold on." Zhou Zhenguo nodded, then looked at Shen Heng and asked, "How did the operation go?"
"The overall situation is good, although..."
The two exchanged a brief overview of the latest intelligence, after which Zhou Zhenguo steered the conversation back on track.
"In our last discussion, we came up with a new idea. Take a look."
The last discussion? The question of whether the Sky-Sundering Kamaitachi would organize another attack by the Calamity Beast... Shen Heng looked at Zhou Zhenguo and asked, "What are your thoughts?"
"Assuming the Sky-Sundering Kamaitachi brings the Calamity Beast back again, what are the possible scenarios?" Zhou Zhenguo asked.
Shen Heng pondered for a moment and said, "Two methods. One is to organize large numbers of Calamity Beast from the Light Gate connecting to the Ruins Realm; the other is to requisition some calamity beasts from other Anchor Point, or places like the Eye of Earth Marrow, where large numbers of Calamity Beast Calamity Beast gather."
"That's right!" Zhou Zhenguo nodded. "If it's the first scenario, we might not have any good solutions, but if it's the second..."
After a pause, Zhou Zhenguo reached out and made a grasping motion towards the map in mid-air, which quickly shrank in front of him.
Then, he raised his finger and moved it across the map, and after a moment he raised it slightly, zooming the map out again above the long table.
Centered on Bedrock City, the map shows several gray dots pointing to the upper right, each with a corresponding photo.
Are these gray dots the idea Elder Zhou was talking about?... Shen Heng looked at the map, his mind racing.
If it's the second scenario, Sky-Sundering Kamaitachi summons Calamity Beast from other places, then...
Shen Heng glanced at the direction connecting Bedrock City with the various gray dots and continued to extend outwards.
At each gray dot, there is a red dot representing the gathering place of the Calamity Beast.
Then, those pictures... Shen Heng looked at each one, which, while not as treacherous as Bedrock City, still possessed considerable geographical advantages, and finally turned his gaze to Zhou Zhenguo.
"Your idea is to pre-position some firepower in these areas and then launch a preemptive attack when the Calamity Beast arrive?"
"Yes, that's right!" Zhou Zhenguo nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Shen Heng withdrew his gaze and slowly nodded.
Each of those points was located on a straight line between Bedrock City and the gathering point of the Calamity Beast.
Why on a straight line?
For the Calamity Beast Calamity Beast, there is only one way to recruit them from other places.
The notification was then given, instructing the Calamity Beast at each gathering point to travel to the location of Bedrock City, gather at a specific location when they were still a certain distance away, and then approach to attack the city.
Otherwise, if we had to travel to each Anchor Point to requisition the Calamity Beast, it would take far too long.
It would be faster to directly summon the Calamity Beast from the Light Gate connecting to the Ruins Realm.
Therefore, if the Calamity Beast choose the second method, it will be very advantageous for them!
After all, the dispersed beast tides posed a much smaller threat to them.
If we can eliminate a portion of them before they gather, it might even prevent the Calamity Beast from continuing their attack!
"Now, the only problem is how much firepower to send," Zhou Zhenguo said. "If too much firepower is sent, and the Calamity Beast don't take such action but instead bring in more Calamity Beast from the Ruins Realm, then the firepower on Bedrock City will be insufficient, and that could be dangerous!"
Shen Heng looked at the map, pondered for a moment, and then said:
"We don't need too many for now; just have the soldiers carry the weapons they can."