Chapter 90: Tactical Thinking
Chapter 90: Tactical Thinking
“Qi Yuanfeng, you are responsible for the Northern District. The rest will assist. Any problems?”
Lu Hangzhi directly bypassed Lin Lang, taking over command. He issued the mobilization order directly to the twenty-plus rogue cultivators in the Northern District.
In his view, the veiled female cultivator had strong attack capabilities, but strategically, Qi Yuanfeng, possessing two Eighth-grade Spirit Beasts, could better oversee the entire battlefield. He could rapidly support any threatened area and stabilize the situation.
After speaking, he glanced meaningfully at the veiled female cultivator.
Her Magic Power was now fully restored. She gave a slight, silent nod, indicating no issues.
The others, having received Lu Hangzhi’s support while stationed in the Northern District, no longer saw him as an ordinary Sixth Rank cultivator after witnessing his true strength. All promptly voiced their agreement.
“Lin Lang, you command the disciples of the Imperial Wine Sect and Yuding Sect. Secure the Western District. Can you hold it?”
“…”
Lin Lang felt a surge of intense, burning rage.
The combined forces of the two sects numbered over forty, several wounded. They had previously defended both Western zones. Provoked by Lu Hangzhi’s words, reckless fury clouded his judgment. He roared:
“What nonsense was that?! Who defends the remaining East zone?! You?! Who?!”
Lu Hangzhi was just about to speak when the authoritative, anger-laced voice of Revered Qin boomed over the War Zone, reaching every ear:
“Hmph! Disciples of the Imperial Wine Sect and Yuding Sect, your performance in the earlier battle was deeply disappointing. Under these circumstances, this Venerable will personally take command of the Eastern defense.”
“…”
Revered Qin personally backed Lu Hangzhi.
He openly declared support for Lu Hangzhi and highlighted the consequences of Lin Lang’s earlier poor command, leaving everyone deeply embarrassed.
Lin Lang was utterly ashamed, his prestige hitting rock bottom. He hung his head, silent.
“Do not disappoint me again. If so many of you cannot even hold one direction, I will not be able to help you.”
The faces of the Imperial Wine Sect and Yuding Sect disciples flushed crimson with shame and defiance. Silently, they filed back to their combat positions.
With the three other directions secured, only the wide East zone remained unmanned, squeezed between the Northern and Southern districts.
Lu Hangzhi calmly returned to the Northern District.
Shrinking the battle lines meant his Spiritual Sense could easily cover half the East zone.
Although Revered Qin had taken responsibility for the East zone, the true guardian was him…
In their plan, the Revered’s primary target remained the Spirit Condensation Stage monster beasts.
With this thought, Lu Hangzhi pulled out the Flame-Rebirth Kirin. Unobtrusively, he channeled a stream of Magic Power into it.
Having expended its power in the earlier explosion, the Kirin’s aura had reached its lowest ebb, almost exhausted. This silver thread of power acted like welcome rain after a drought, rekindling a faint flicker of life within the spirit beast.
However.
There was little time for rest.
Screams rose near the northernmost War Zone, already overrun by Monster Beasts. The Tower Guard Venerable One resolutely activated the Reverse Two Forms Annihilation Array…
“Prepare!”
Lu Hangzhi shouted the warning.
Boom-boom-boom-boom…
Massive waves of Monster Beasts plummeted onto the battlefield adjacent to theirs.
The earth shuddered!
Scores of beasts swarmed, charging into Warzone Three Ninety-Seven.
“Those with slowing Art Techniques, release them now! The rest, hold your positions!”
Lu Hangzhi urged loudly.
His words prompted immediate action from surrounding cultivators!
Wind spells and mud-swamp Art Techniques blanketed a wide area far to the north, swiftly halting the onrushing horde.
Beasts arriving behind collided into a living wall.
Just as monsters surged towards striking distance, potent Heaven and Earth Power fell like judgement from the sky. Whistling winds sliced through the air like blades, tearing apart the bloody Qi shrouding the beasts’ bodies, effortlessly dismembering them…
Wind Scythe Formation!
A large-scale offensive formation with power equivalent to a Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage cultivator’s attack.
Even an Early Spirit Concentration Stage Monster Beast wouldn’t last long caught in it.
The whistling grew louder, sharper!
More and more beasts were torn apart by the wind blades.
Blood sprayed. Gore flew.
The entire northern front became a slaughterhouse for Monster Beasts. In moments, hundreds perished, their bodies shredded…
The thick, metallic scent of blood maddened and intimidated Monster Beasts in the neighboring warzone while simultaneously boosting the defending cultivators’ morale.
The fifth time.
This was Revered Qin’s fifth intervention, unleashing a wide-area assault formation to annihilate the beasts.
While their spirits soared, deep worry set in.
It was well known that a Spirit Coalescence Elder could typically activate such formations consecutively only three to five times before resorting to the Reverse Two Forms Annihilation Array…
Revered Qin was likely nearing his limit.
At that moment, the Northern District cultivators moved.
With the northern hundreds cleared by Revered Qin, Lu Hangzhi and the others focused their gaze on the surviving Monster Beasts within their warzone.
Capitalizing on the beasts being cowed by the Revered’s Wind Scythe Formation, the group unleashed their full power.
The veiled woman’s Profound Ice Sword.
Qi Yuanfeng’s attack Art Techniques.
Lu Hangzhi no longer held back. Six Flying Swords darted out simultaneously, crisscrossing wildly. Under the stunned eyes of spectators from the other three directions, each sword completed six trajectory shifts. Together, they took down thirty-six Ninth Grade Monster Beasts before sheathing themselves.
“One Thought Six Movements!”
“Every sword executing One Thought Six Movements. The killing speed truly skyrockets, forming an embryonic Sword Formation.
Once I truly achieve the minor achievement realm of Seven Motions with One Thought, refine the formation, and establish the forty-nine swords in a continuous cycle forming its core, the Sword Formation will activate itself. Reducing the swords’ travel distance will create an endless, relentless assault.”
Lu Hangzhi closed his eyes, digesting the insights. His gaze grew increasingly bright.
His One Thought Six Movements had reached Great Perfection. Only a single step remained before attaining Seven Motions with One Thought. He would break through soon.
“Soul-Concentrating Demon Beast!”
“Beware, everyone!”
Qi Yuanfeng yelled an urgent warning from the Northern District.
The cultivators tensed. Then, from amidst the stunned beasts in the neighboring warzone, a ferocious aura flooded with Heaven and Earth Power erupted…
A humanoid beast, wreathed in deep shadows, pushed through the stunned mass. Glowing blood-red eyes fixed on Warzone 397. With a slight shimmer, two identical wolf-headed humanoid beasts appeared beside it. All three accelerated, charging straight towards the defenders.
Simultaneously, the appearance of the Wolf Berserkers revitalized the other beasts. Bellowing, they abandoned caution and charged recklessly at the Matrix Tower.
Seeing this, the defenders collectively gasped, the threat overwhelming:
“This is bad!”
“The Venerable One has already acted five times! He can’t help us now!”
“We can only rely on ourselves.”
“But… we’re facing a Soul-Concentrating Demon Beast…”
The disciples of the Imperial Wine Sect and the Yuding Sect turned pale. As they discussed, one of them recognized the origin of that humanoid monster beast:
“Splitting into Clones—this is the unique skill of a Bloodthirsty Werewolf at the Spirit Condensation Stage!”
“We’re done for!”
“Bloodthirsty Werewolves excel at breaking through and move extremely swiftly. Their two Clones have cultivation at the Ninth Grade; even a Spirit Coalescence Elder would have difficulty discerning the real from the fake…”
Lu Hangzhi heard their words and thought to himself:
If it’s just about discerning the real from the fake, that’s not difficult.
Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three identical Bloodthirsty Werewolf monster beasts suddenly split apart. Their speed was indeed astonishingly fast; several cultivators’ Flying Swords all missed their mark.
But one sword was an exception…
The Strange Wind Sword!
A Flying Sword that was noticeably slower than the others suddenly surged in speed, accelerating directly from slow to an astonishing speed of light. It swept past the shoulder of the Bloodthirsty Werewolf on the left, slicing off half its shoulder, then the latter burst into black mist and instantly dissipated.
A Clone!
With one strike, Lu Hangzhi destroyed a Clone, eliminating a threat while also removing one of the Bloodthirsty Werewolf’s Clones. Everyone felt the pressure lessen significantly.
Meow!
At the same time, the Mirror Spirit Cat stood up on Lu Hangzhi’s shoulder, its pupils narrowing into slits, letting out a howl that pierced straight into the soul.
The Bloodthirsty Werewolf charging toward the Northern District shuddered, its pupils dilating. It came to an eerie halt, and after half a second, disintegrated into a cloud of black mist.
The Bloodthirsty Werewolf on the right had not expected both Clones to be broken simultaneously, exposing its true body. A flash of cruelty appeared in its eyes as it abruptly accelerated, passing through the undefended Eastern District and lunging toward the defensive line formed by Cheng Fei and the others.
It even knew to cut off the back line, pinching from both front and rear!
“Scram!”
Cheng Fei was greatly alarmed! Not daring to hesitate, he roared and a golden giant Sword Qi descended from the sky—he went all out from the start.
At this critical moment, no one else dared hold back, all exerting their full strength.
Flying Swords and Art Techniques whistled through the air, blanketing the sky as they blasted toward the Bloodthirsty Werewolf.
Ice Crystal Mist!
Before the Bloodthirsty Werewolf could react to evade, a wide area of Ice Crystal Mist suddenly descended from above. The sharp, piercing sounds of scraping ice crystals assaulted their Spiritual Sense, like a Demonic Sound flooding their ears…
Instantly losing their target and sense of direction.
Lei Qun succeeded with his first move.
Revered Qin’s azure giant hand arrived as expected!
Damn!
The Bloodthirsty Werewolf panicked. As it charged out, it was caught by a huge azure hand.
Roar!!!
Enraged, the Bloodthirsty Werewolf furiously channeled its blood energy to resist the rapidly invading cold…
Unfortunately.
It was only an Early Spirit Concentration Stage monster beast.
Facing an attack Formation driven by a Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage Venerable One, the defensive lines formed by its blood energy quickly collapsed one by one. Its body rapidly froze; amid a series of cracking sounds, its life force swiftly faded. Its flesh-and-blood body quickly turned to ice, until six Flying Swords crisscrossed, slicing and smashing the Bloodthirsty Werewolf’s body—the greatest threat in the War Zone was resolved.
“The Soul-Concentrating Demon Beast is dead!”
“Cheng Fei, Qi Yuanfeng, Lin Lang, each guard your own defense areas.”
Lu Hangzhi commanded loudly while sheathing his six Flying Swords one by one—this wave of monster beasts was not large; there was no need for him to take action.
“Received!”
“Haha, got it!”
“So naggy!”
The three responded differently, but their movements were equally swift.
Watching the Bloodthirsty Werewolf turn into a meaningless pile of flesh and ice, morale in the War Zone soared, and the flames of battle roared once more.
To shake off their tarnished reputation, the Imperial Wine Sect and Yuding Sect coordinated their Art Techniques and Flying Swords closely, finally unleashing the formidable combat power they should possess.
However, these people still did not know that the battle situation at Two Realms Mountain had already deteriorated drastically, reaching an extremely dangerous point where collapse could happen at any moment.
As the only one aware of the situation, Lu Hangzhi quietly distributed some Spirit Honey to Cheng Fei, Hu Bugui, and others.
Then he gave some to Qi Yuanfeng and the veiled girl, who were better at considering the bigger picture.
These were all individuals who could unleash powerful combat strength at critical moments to stabilize the situation!
As long as these people held firm, the War Zone’s situation could still be controlled.
As for the rest…
They could only leave it to fate.