Chapter 790: See Bai Di again

Over three hundred people, and basically all of them were vanguards; this loss was already quite significant.

Zhang Xu glanced at the remaining troops and said, "Moreover, we must be careful. Although Humanity lost this battle yesterday, their orderly retreat shows their military morale is still high. We cannot assume the enemy is weak just because we won by chance."

The other officers listened intently.

Zhang Xu continued, "However, precisely from this perspective, it shows the enemy's spirit. In the previous battle, without reinforcements, we would have been defeated. The enemy already knows the huge gap between us, so their morale must be arrogant. We should not engage in battle for now. They will see that we dare not come out and will assume we fear them. If we seize this opportunity, break into smaller groups, and infiltrate quietly, we might actually be able to go further."

"Breaking into smaller groups..." The adjutant pondered for a moment and said, "But with Humanity's observational capabilities, wouldn't breaking into smaller groups be direct suicide? After all, even small units moving around probably can't escape detection. Humanity only needs a few elite teams to pursue and wipe out many of our units."

Zhang Xu, however, said, "So we can't go head-on. We must coordinate. We first find a strategic terrain, set up camp against the mountain, and order the soldiers not to move rashly. We wait until the enemy's morale slackens, until the enemy's spirit becomes arrogant. When they see that we haven't come out for days, they will assume we are timid and surround us. Only then can we lead our troops out of the camp, attacking from a high position, like a surging waterfall, unstoppable. This is the strategy of 'when they are exhausted, we are full.' However, we do not prioritize killing the enemy; this is to show weakness to the enemy, to seize the opportunity to move around, and to tie down their overall forces."

This plan made the other soldiers fall silent for a moment.

They all understood. Although Zhang Xu made it sound like a brilliant plan, this plan was actually about having them scatter to attract the enemy's attention.

If Humanity were to pursue them, they would inevitably have to scatter as well, which would naturally disrupt the situation. The entire battlefield would be filled with small units of various sizes, and those who were lucky would naturally be able to escape from this chaotic situation.

As for those who were unlucky...

That would be death. They were the bait.

Moreover, in the context of the entire battlefield, their entire unit was bait. While it was said that the lucky ones could escape, in reality, the difficulty of this... everyone knew it. This was basically abandoning the direct battlefield and completely sacrificing their own side as a distraction to create opportunities for other friendly forces.

After all... there were seventeen teams.

"Junwei, can't we... really win?" At this moment, an officer couldn't help but ask.

They were not fools either. They knew that Zhang Xu must have weighed his options when making this decision, and the outcome of that deliberation could only mean one thing: Zhang Xu had determined that they could not win, and if they continued to advance with the main army, they would quickly be annihilated by Humanity.

Therefore, to be effective, they could only try to create opportunities for other friendly forces and, incidentally, fish in troubled waters. What if they reeled in a big prize? Right.

"We can't win. You haven't seen it? In that previous battle, what would have happened to us if there hadn't been reinforcements? Even with reinforcements, we couldn't even keep the enemy, and they retreated completely, at the cost of only forty people. How can we win against such organization and such elite troops?" Zhang Xu retorted.

His series of rhetorical questions left the others silent.

Indeed, Zhang Xu was telling the truth; it was simply impossible to win. Humanity's soldiers, he truly didn't know how they were trained.

"Since there's nothing more to say, let's do this then," Zhang Xu ordered.

But the adjutant stopped him, advising, "Junwei! Do you know how much this will affect morale?"

"If everyone is gathered together, fighting is their duty. They would die without regret. But is dying in battle the same as being sent to die?" the adjutant asked.

Zhang Xu replied, "Do the people Humanity left behind to cover their retreat not know they are being sent to die? Someone always has to do these things. If we want to win, we have to do this. It's all for the greater good."

"Yes, someone always has to die, but... someone also has to live. So why can't the ones who live be us? Junwei, with this order, the brothers in this tent might be willing to die with you, after all, our lives have been yours through all the battles, big and small. But what about the men below?"

"To die in battle and to be deliberately sent to die are worlds apart," the adjutant advised.

Zhang Xu sighed upon hearing this.

Although the adjutant said so, in reality, he understood.

These people were unwilling to do this.

If he forced the order, a mutiny might occur.

Just as the adjutant said, they weren't afraid of fighting, but they were very resistant to simply being sent to their deaths, even though it currently seemed like being sent to their deaths was the only way out.

Like a gecko severing its tail, or a brave man cutting off his wrist, life can only be found in death. Only by first putting oneself in a desperate situation can one then be reborn.

If they didn't dare to die, it would likely be very difficult to live afterward.

It's just...

War wasn't something he alone could decide. If he forced this plan and caused a mutiny, it would be even more unbearable.

Therefore, Zhang Xu chose to compromise, saying, "Then let's forget about it. We'll rest first, then continue advancing along the small path, proceeding slowly and cautiously, avoiding direct conflict."

"Understood!" The many soldiers responded in unison.

Then, they began to discuss serious matters, each starting to assign duties: who would clean up the battlefield, who would be responsible for the wounded, who would handle preparations, who would be on alert, and so on, arranging various trivial tasks.

No matter how grand a war, it ultimately comes down to these trivial matters. Strategic planning is strategic planning, but to execute it, it must ultimately rely on discipline and tactics.

Whether an army can be highly effective and disciplined is not determined by the commander's endless clever stratagems and unexpected moves, but by whether the soldiers can perform the most basic tasks well, such as forming ranks, setting up camp, cleaning the camp, folding blankets, and polishing shoes.

Therefore, Zhang Xu could only choose to yield.

No matter how good a plan, if it cannot be executed, it is just empty talk. The current soldiers would not accept such a plan.

However, just as Zhang Xu was beginning to arrange the specific troop deployment, tens of thousands of miles away, Shen Shuibi extended her palm, looking at her hand.

In her palm, there was a miniature landscape, and upon closer inspection, it was actually a scaled-down projection of the entire battlefield.

The saying 'The sun and moon pass over my shoulders, and the mountains and rivers are seen in my palm' – this was one of Shen Shuibi's Divine Abilities. Through this method, she could understand the specific situation of the battlefield in real time.

And the current situation...

To be honest, it wasn't looking good.

"Humanity's power is a bit strong. Can I make a move?" Shen Shuibi murmured to herself.

Li Qi was severely injured, so she was temporarily handling the coordination and command among the nation's leaders. At the same time, she herself was one of the highest individual combat powers on this battlefield.

And the current situation... it seemed she couldn't make a move.

Several generals on the opposing side were watching intently, precisely to prevent a super-standard combatant like Shen Shuibi, a fifth-rank, from suddenly intervening and affecting the battle.

Besides that, other battlefields were still on alert.

Only three fifth-rank cultivators had been deployed so far, indicating that the overall battlefield had not yet reached a state of full-scale war; it was still in a phase of gradual probing.

This attitude made Shen Shuibi feel a bit uneasy.

Logically, the Grand Ritual node should be a very important landmark. By occupying the Grand Ritual node, the Shaman Dao side would have sufficient terrain for defense.

However, judging by the forces Humanity was currently committing, they didn't seem to have a strong desire to protect the Grand Ritual node.

What was Humanity thinking?

Shen Shuibi frowned deeply, constantly deducing the situation in her mind.

And many of the deduced scenarios pointed to the same result: if she increased her investment just a little more now, taking down the Grand Ritual node would be very easy.

However, Shen Shuibi felt it wasn't that simple.

There must be a trick, and not just one or two. It was very likely that after she increased her investment, she would find herself trapped, unable to withdraw, turning the entire front line into a piecemeal reinforcement tactic.

But...

What if it was an empty fort strategy?

Humanity indeed wasn't planning to commit too many forces, only wanting to tie them down, while actually plotting something else.

There were many possibilities, a constant game of deception, difficult to distinguish.

"I need more intelligence." She rubbed her temples, finally making a decision.

More intelligence was needed, but where would that intelligence come from?

From the front lines of the battlefield, of course.

The Divine Ability of viewing mountains and rivers in her palm could be influenced by the opponent. She needed the perspectives of several living people to see with their own eyes, and these living people couldn't be too weak, otherwise they would be more easily deceived by illusions.

Difficult. Where could she find such people?

At least seventh-rank individuals were needed to possess such ability. Fifth and sixth-rank individuals could not directly interfere. A fifth-rank entering the battlefield would certainly be specifically targeted, unable to gather information, and a sixth-rank entering the field would basically be precisely sniped.

The reason a lower-tier battlefield is a lower-tier battlefield is precisely because it is difficult for both sides' advanced combat powers to intervene. If a Humanity sixth-rank appeared, Shen Shuibi would also eliminate them. Unless there's a full-scale war with everyone participating, it's still very difficult to break this established pattern of warfare.

The reason a pattern is called a pattern is because it is, to some extent, the optimal solution. Lower-tier battlefields have their reason for existence, especially in the contention over 'symbols'.

Thinking about this, she began to review the list, searching for available individuals in the entire Baiyue.

Although Baiyue was small, it still had several hundred fifth-rank cultivators and tens of thousands of sixth-rank cultivators. As for the lower seventh-rank cultivators, they were countless, and there was indeed a statistical list.

However, at this moment, she suddenly noticed a somewhat familiar name on it.

Bai Di.

Bai Di, the nephew of the White Snake Prefecture Prefect, had once experienced an adventure with Li Qi in the Earth Oil Realm. He was a practitioner of Martial Dao, a simple, rigid, serious young man, and very handsome. (See Chapter 118 for details)

This person, he's seventh-rank now.

Shen Shuibi quickly reviewed his specific situation.

After leaving the Earth Oil Realm, he chose to rebel against his family, not cultivating Shaman Dao, and instead became a disciple of the Dao Sect's Ninth Blessed Land, practicing Dual Cultivation of Dao and Martial Dao. Now that Baiyue was in trouble, he specifically returned from the Ninth Blessed Land to support the battlefield.

From the Ninth Blessed Land?

The Dao Sect's forces include Ten Great Grotto-Heavens, Thirty-Six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands.

Shen Shuibi herself came from the Seventh Grotto-Heaven, Mount Luofu, also known as “Vermilion Brightness True Heaven.”

And this Ninth Blessed Land before her was also like this, known as Wudang Blessed Land. Its original mountain name was 'Taihe Mountain', and it was the Dao-field of a Great Power named 'Mystic Emperor', also known as 'Demon-Slaying Heavenly Venerable'. After the Mystic Emperor who cultivated here ascended to true immortality, it was said: 'Without Xuanwu, it is not enough to bear it,' hence it was renamed Wudang.

Named after martial arts, it naturally centered its Legacy on martial arts. Although it was called the Dao Sect's Ninth Blessed Land and was even the Dao-field of a Dao Sect Great Power, their principle was 'practicing martial arts as a technique, cultivating Dao to refine the heart,' so their cultivation path was very peculiar.

Wudang Blessed Land, in normal times, practiced Dao, but they did not condense Martial Dao Divine Intent; instead, they followed the Golden Core Dao.

However, although they still cultivated the Golden Core, their Golden Core and the Qi within their bodies were extremely violent, known as 'Demon-Slaying True Qi', which was completely different from ordinary Dao Sect True Qi and closer in nature to Martial Dao Inner Qi.

Using this Demon-Slaying True Qi, they could activate the unique martial arts of Wudang Blessed Land, which were fierce and overbearing. Guided by Dao Sect Mind-Cultivation Techniques and Dao paths, these terrifyingly destructive martial arts were developed. At the same time, they refined the heart and Body Refining, using martial arts to replace the position of Dao Sect spellcasting, making it a very rare Dao path in the world.

"His cultivation is good, seventh-rank, and just right." Shen Shuibi deduced for a bit, finding no negative outcomes, so she formed a hand seal and sent out a signal.

With this signal, the organizations below began to move.

Issuing documents, mobilizing personnel, relaying orders, along with corresponding resource allocation, authority scheduling, and so on.

One order from Shen Shuibi would set many people busy.

After about several hours, a middle-aged man with a weathered face was seen arriving on a sword.

Bai Di... was no longer the handsome young man from before. Now, he appeared calm and weathered, looking around fifty-something years old, with the years having etched significant marks on his face.

However, one could still vaguely discern the traces of his handsome and refined features on his face. Even in his current weathered state, one could still perceive the aura of a handsome, mature man.

He no longer wore white robes, but a simple gray one. His hands and face, once like jade, were now weathered, especially his hands, which were full of calluses. The sword in his hand also appeared much more ancient.

The only thing that remained unchanged was the Sword Intent of the Xiezhi on the sword.

He still held the Xiezhi Sword, and even though the sword looked very old, its Sword Intent still shimmered.

The Xiezhi is a one-horned goat, known for its ability to discern guilt. When Gao Yao presided over trials, if a case was doubtful, he would have the goat touch the accused. If guilty, it would prod; if innocent, it would not. This is truly a Sacred Beast born of heaven, assisting in verifying justice.

This was an upright Spirit Beast, very much in line with Bai Di's character.

"Bai Di, greetings... Commander Shen." Bai Di stepped forward, seeing Shen Shuibi, and stammered slightly.

Clearly, he was somewhat surprised.

"Just returned from Wudang Blessed Land, not quite clear on the situation, are you? This campaign is being overseen by me and that Young Master Li you met before," Shen Shuibi replied.

This made Bai Di's eyes widen.

Wait, he had heard that the ones overseeing the campaign were a fourth-rank and a fifth-rank.

The woman before him was a fifth-rank, which was understandable; he had known she was a Dao Protector back then.

And the fourth-rank... was that Young Master Li?

That fast?!