Totem Strategy

The following day, just as the support team had predicted, it continued to rain in Cloud Fang City.

Under the eaves, the water droplets formed a curtain.

With a new tent, the orcs at the Raccoon Dog Dream Theater were even more enthusiastic about rehearsing. The courtyard was filled with the sounds of lines being recited and the clanging of wooden weapons during stage fights.

To Su Ming's disappointment, Zijin was unable to find any loopholes in the warning totem.

"Its design is too conventional," she told Su Ming with great regret, "And it's a mature design that has been around for hundreds of years."

"Isn't there even a single loophole?" Su Ming asked, unwilling to give up.

Zijin sent over a calculation sheet filled with runes.

"Unless you tamper with the totem pole's hardware and embed a spy structure in its core circuitry."

"This is so that it appears to be working normally when controlled by the ' Wolf Fang Key '."

Su Ming immediately said in an annoyed tone:

"... If I could just get closer to those totem poles, would I have needed to go through all this trouble?"

"But this is the only way," Zijin said truthfully. "The design of these broken pillars is rigid and boring." Su Ming had no choice but to calm down and think about it seriously.

Modifying the hardware is certainly troublesome, but if it's done, the walls of Cloud Fang City will become doors that can be freely passed through.

This result is very tempting.

"Alright, I'll think of a way." Su Ming waved his hand dismissively. "Scholar Bay Owl, go do something else."

"Hmm?" Zijin raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking for a beating?"

Su Ming was fearless and confident.

Anyway, you can't reach me right now.

"What's wrong with being a little arrogant?"

Zijin chuckled softly.

"Fine, but don't be a coward when you come back."

****

Su Ming put on a rain cloak, took Lang Yefu's hand, and went out. As they crossed the courtyard, the employees all turned their attention to the half-werewolf.

Even with her impressive disguise, Lang Yefu still looks quite young, with above-average looks and a very hot figure.

"Why has the boss's taste suddenly become normal?" one of the orcs muttered under his breath.

"This is so different from the old lady we brought in last time," someone quietly echoed.

Even with the sound of rain obscuring their voices, these whispers could not escape Su Ming's notice.

He wanted to punish these gossipy people, but given his performance as a "level four" magic swordsman, he shouldn't have such keen perception.

Lang Yefu also took all these words to heart.

"I'm curious." She moved closer to Su Ming, her tone filled with undisguised interest, "What were your previous aesthetic standards?"

Su Ming glared at her.

"I'll allow you to have an extra serving of meat at lunchtime."

"Then you stopped asking that question."

Lang Yefu hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to eat melon seeds or meat. "Alright," she reluctantly agreed.

****

Led by Lang Yefu, the two arrived at the military totem-making workshop in Cloud Fang City.

Since the warning totem that was working online could not be interfered with, Su Ming decided to target the replacement parts.

The place is surrounded by stone walls, guarded by soldiers at the entrance, and bustling with people coming and going inside.

"The warehouse is also inside," Lang Yefu said, "But getting in requires going through multiple identity verification procedures."

Su Ming looked at the location and then at the city walls on the horizon.

"How about doing it during transport?" he suggested.

"The totem on the city wall is damaged; will it be transported here?"

"How many of them do we need to tamper with?" Lang Yefu asked.

"Seven roots," Su Ming provided the data for the Zijin solution.

Lang Yefu considered for a moment. "Normally, there will be a captain leading a team of about ten people."

Su Ming frowned slightly.

"Replacing the totem core will take me about five minutes."

"But mind control and memory manipulation can only be done one at a time by Jinxiu and me."

If even one person realizes what's happening, or if the memories of the others don't match up afterward, it's easy to expose a flaw.

Lang Yefu's eyes suddenly lit up.

She thought of a good place, so she grabbed Su Ming's cloak and carried him quickly.

Soon, the two arrived at an alleyway with no signs on either side.

"I've been here once," Su Ming sighed. "The red-light district."

It was morning, and it was clearly too early for the place to open; only one orc woman was leaning against the doorframe.

She was only wrapped in a few pieces of dyed linen, her clothes open, and faded tattoos on her arms.

Even in the rain, a strange and cheap fragrance permeated the air. Curtains hung in the windows of the houses on both sides, and stained glass adorned the doorframes.

The orc woman held a long, thin pipe in her hand and exhaled a puff of smoke.

Upon seeing Su Ming, her face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Hey, young man, so early? Want to come in and have some fun?"

Su Ming waved his hand dismissively.

"How about letting the soldiers pass through here?" Lang Yefu said. "This is the easiest place to separate them."

Su Ming looked back at the location of the totem warehouse, then at the city wall in front of him.

The road conditions here aren't bad, or rather, the roads in Cloud Fang City aren't much better.

If the city defense area that needs "repair" is carefully selected, it is indeed possible to allow soldiers transporting warning totems to pass through this area.

"But how can you be sure that these orcs—" Su Ming gestured with his chin towards the orc woman standing on the street, "Will patronize their business?"

Lang Yefu patted her chest, her full curves swaying beneath her clothes.

"Don't worry, I have a plan!" she said confidently.

Su Ming observed the direction of the street and continued forward with Lang Yefu in the direction they had come from.

The two stopped two hundred meters away from the city wall and gazed into the distance.

The city wall, shrouded in rain, resembled a gray divider separating Cloud Fang City from the wilderness. Totem poles stood tall on the wall, and guards patrolled lazily back and forth.

Besides the warning totem, there are also a large number of attack and defense totems. However, in non-combat situations, the other totems are in a dormant state, and only the warning totem glows faintly.

Lang Yefu's gaze fell on the tops of the totem poles that were much taller than the battlements.

"Using lightning?"

Su Ming shook his head.

There's no suitable weather in the near future.

He told Lang Yefu:

"According to the Scholar Bay Owl's design, what needs to be destroyed are the seven sticks that are connected together."

Lang Yefu was immediately stumped. Lightning was too random to cause continuous destruction.

She raised her hand, and five sharp claws emerged from between her fingers.

"I might as well charge in and chop down seven pillars; that shouldn't be difficult."

Then I fled directly out of Cloud Fang City.

Lang Yefu is planning to expose herself.

Su Ming chuckled and shook his head.

"I know you're not afraid of death, but this is nothing to worry about."

"I've made the arrangements. Send Black Claw!"

****

Su Ming and Lang Yefu selected the seven warning totems that needed to be destroyed, ensuring that the maintenance team would pass through the red-light district when they arrived.

The two then returned.

Lang Yefu took one last look at the city wall. "I really like that plan to buy 'energy-absorbing lightning tips' from the lower-ranking soldiers," she suddenly said.

Water Chestnut Island is a large, mountainous island with dramatic topographic uplift, resulting in frequent lightning strikes during heavy rain.

The totem poles planted at the highest point of the city wall are naturally the favorite targets of lightning.

"I can imagine the orc guards sneaking off to pick them, only to find they're all gone before they can get their hands on them."

"Human nature is the hardest thing to control," Su Ming said.

Lang Yefu began to settle accounts.

"An ordinary city, with over five hundred different totems."

"Fifty copper coins each, and a city costs twenty-five gold coins."

"Such a small investment, even a single major severe convective weather event, could severely damage the city wall's defense system."

"It's an absolute money-maker!"

She was amazed; her eyes lit up.

"How did you guys come up with this... well, it's infuriatingly clever strategy?" Su Ming laughed.

"Actually, this is a historical battle example from my hometown."

"A border conflict that began decades ago has escalated into a prolonged war of rotation due to various reasons."

"Our personnel on the front lines, in enemy territory, purchased first-gear transmission gears from large trucks at high prices through civilian contacts on the enemy's side."

Lang Yefu clearly didn't know what a "truck" was.

"They're the alchemical beasts responsible for transportation," Su Ming explained. "The enemy's alchemical beast operators initially sold spare parts secretly, and then they started dismantling and selling the active, in-service parts."

"Can it move without this?" Lang Yefu asked.

"It can also be driven in second gear, but in this situation, the alchemical beast cannot carry heavy loads, cannot climb slopes, and is prone to breaking down," Su Ming said.

Lang Yefu was quite surprised.

"Wouldn't the enemy's logistics system collapse if a war broke out?"

"That's right. Once mountain warfare started, the enemy's supply trucks suffered all sorts of malfunctions, some even overturning and causing ammunition explosions," Su Ming laughed. "And they couldn't find spare parts to repair them."

He stepped into a puddle, splashing muddy water everywhere. "Excellent, a classic case of 'cutting off the fuel supply'!" Lang Yefu exclaimed.

****

Later, Yise began to dress in the room.

She wrapped her breasts tightly to flatten her curves, then added padding to increase her height.

Yise created loose lines around her eyes and jawline, and concealed her delicate skin with taupe paint.

Soon, she transformed herself into a mature-looking middle-aged woman.

Su Ming immediately clapped, and even Lang Yefu felt inferior.

"You could totally play the mother of the Wolf Fang Princess," Su Ming remarked.

"That's the Queen!" Ximina exclaimed.

Yise went out and soon arrived at Black Claw's stronghold.

Two Black Claw members were guarding the door. As soon as she approached, they issued a warning.

Yise pressed the collar, activating the voice-changing spell on it. "I'm here to see your leader, Hubiang!" she stated her purpose.

Soon, Hubiang was summoned.

In just a few days, the half-fox looked much more haggard, with sunken eyes and bloodshot veins.

His plan to smuggle illegally brewed liquor encountered setbacks at every turn during this period.

Hubiang's bribe was like throwing good money after bad; not only did it fail to get the wine in, it also cost him another 20% of the goods.

He was extremely anxious and on the verge of a breakdown.

Hubiang looked at Yise with obvious impatience.

"Who's looking for me? Get to the point quickly, I don't have time—"

Yise raised his hand and slashed horizontally to the side.

With a muffled thud, a stone pillar as thick as a thigh snapped in two, the upper half wobbling twice before crashing to the ground.

Yise displayed just the right amount of "level four" Dou Qi power.

In the orc power system, level four is the threshold for Intermediate Rank combatants, falling into the category of being somewhat strong. Sure enough, as the pillar collapsed, Hubiang's attitude immediately became more respectful.

"Sir, what brings you here?" he immediately bowed and asked.

Hubiang felt incredibly aggrieved; the greater the strength, the more powerful one could crush the other!

His desire to climb the ladder of extraordinary power and reach the Intermediate Rank grew even stronger.

****

Yise took out a gray leather bag about the size of his palm.

"These contain seven talisman leaves, which can temporarily disable the warning totems on the city wall for ten minutes."

Upon hearing this, Hubiang's eyes lit up, and he even paused for a moment.

This is something that can solve his immediate problem!

"Really?"

"What good would it do me to make fun of you?" Yise sneered. "I heard about your predicament and came to your rescue."

She tossed the bag to Hubiang. He hurriedly caught it, opened it, and found seven leaf-shaped objects inside.

Each talisman leaf is the size of a palm, with extremely fine silver patterns embedded between its veins. Magic Power flows, sometimes condensing into tiny specks of light, and sometimes disappearing into the depths of the leaf, emitting a solid, stable, and restrained energy fluctuation.

This kind of thing is clearly not something to fool people.

"Sir, what are your conditions?" Hubiang asked.

He doesn't believe in free lunches.

Yise was very pleased with Hubiang's understanding.

"I know you don't have any money to give me right now." She held up two fingers.

"So after your shipment arrives, I'll take 20%!"

Hubiang's eye twitched violently, and his grip on the bag tightened.

After giving away another 20% of the illegally brewed liquor, and deducting all expenses and costs, he barely broke even on this liquor-selling operation.

There was absolutely no profit.

With a flick of Yise wrist, the bag flew from Hubiang's hand and returned to his own. "What, you can't bear to part with it?"

She tossed the bag in her hand, looking at Hubiang with amusement.

"These things of mine didn't come cheap to make."

Hubiang deflated instantly, his shoulders slumping.

Clearly, this was someone who somehow found out about the situation and came here hoping to get a share of the profits.

After much deliberation, Hubiang agreed to Yise's request.

It would be good if he could make up for the deficit; otherwise, he would lose everything and be finished.

Hubiang was clearly uneasy.

"Sir, may I test this talisman leaf?" he continued.

"Sure," Yise readily agreed. "The warning totems come in sets of seven, and all seven must be used together, otherwise the nearby totems will still fluctuate. You understand, right?"

"... Of course."

"Take this set for testing," Yise said. "Just give me an extra 10% of the goods later." Hubiang's expression immediately changed; he couldn't possibly accept an extra 10%.

But Yise wouldn't budge.

"You think these things are picked from trees?" she sneered. "Seven sheets per set, used once and then discarded. If you want to try them, I'll naturally factor in the waste!"

The negotiations immediately reached a stalemate.

Yise suddenly thought of a solution.

"In this case, the commission remains unchanged."

"I'll give you a simplified version that only works for one minute. Test it."

One minute wasn't enough time for Hubiang to make the transport, but it was enough to prove its effectiveness.

Hubiang thought this was a great idea and immediately agreed.

****

Yise left quickly.

About three hours later, she returned to Hubiang, bringing seven new rune leaves. "They're ready. Take them and test them."

Hubiang held the seven talisman leaves in his hand and examined them carefully.

The structure is the same as before, but the materials used are obviously much rougher, and the drawing was rushed and very rudimentary.

The fact that it could be completed in such a short time demonstrates that the rune maker behind this warrior is quite powerful.

On the back of the talisman leaf are written the corresponding totem pole location and that it must be used around 8 PM.

"There are such restrictions?" Hubiang asked.

Yise rolled his eyes.

"Do you think it's easy to disable the warning totem of Cloud Fang City?" she said impatiently.

This isn't a major problem; the chosen section of the city wall is actually in a very good location, suitable for smuggling goods.

Hubiang immediately put away the talisman leaf.

"Then I'll finish testing tomorrow night, and we can discuss the contract in detail?"

"Fine!" Yise replied confidently, "I doubt you'd dare to act recklessly."

Yise returned to the Raccoon Dog Dream Theater, took off his cloak, and immediately ran to Su Ming's room.

The latter is deploying electronic devices and making various communications with the rear.

"How did it go?" Yise asked Su Ming, "Did Hubiang fall for it?"

Su Ming switched to the monitoring work group.

The monitoring personnel immediately reported that Hubiang was still looking for someone to analyze the composition of the Fu Ye, and the process was not over yet.

"This guy is so slow," Yise, clearly annoyed.

She plopped down in the chair and reached out to tear off the prosthetics from her face.

"That's just how Hubiang is," Su Ming said, not at all surprised.

After removing her makeup, Yise went back to her room and reviewed the script, discussing her understanding of the story with Ximina.

Lang Yefu was immediately captivated by the story of "The Flame of Succession Arc" and joined in.

"The story of the Cangxiao Dynasty's fire control efforts has always been vaguely described in legends." She said with great emotion, "Your performance will definitely cause a sensation." Yise was somewhat surprised.

Do you think we'll go on stage to perform?

Lang Yefu's expression froze instantly.

Ximina, however, offered words of comfort.

"The script is here. Once the Plundering Clock is dealt with, you can act as much as you want."

"That's true." Lang Yefu finally realized.

****

An hour later, Black Claw finally released its results.

Hubiang consulted two level-three wizards who conducted a thorough analysis and confirmed that the runes drawn on the leaf were indeed interference runes.

Such a simple talisman leaf has no physical destructive power.

Hubiang then made a painful decision: he bribed a guard on patrol to affix a talisman to the designated totem pole the following night for testing.

"Finally, we fell for it!" Yise clenched his fist. "Hubiang only thinks the rune leaf materials are valuable, and no one would fool him," Lang Yefu laughed, "But he never dreamed that our goal is to blow up the pillar."

Yise sent over were genuine explosive talismans!

This is a set of runes designed and drawn by Zijin.

Even a high-level wizard might not be able to easily see through their true nature, let alone these amateurs.

"It's not surprising," Su Ming said. "Hubiang was already at his wit's end, with no other choice."

As for why he was in such dire straits, it was clearly thanks to the "care" he received from his team.

Su Ming opened the schedule, and another task was marked in green.

"The totem poles were blown up, and that's how the operation proceeded."

Su Ming slid his finger down, his eyes sharpening.

"Next, we need to devise a way to silence Hubiang without arousing suspicion!"