Chapter 573: Chapter Five Hundred Sixty Nine: Premonition

Tang Luo crossed his arms over his chest, a disgusted look on his face. He didn’t believe for a second that Xiao Baihe, who was over a hundred years old, was oblivious to everything. Pretending to be confused would not work on him.

Just by observing the man’s behavior and the direction he came from, it was obvious that he was completely unaware of the alliance between the two families, let alone the intricacies of the performance today. If he were allowed to carry on, it would be impossible for the Xiao family not to have a falling out with the Tang Clan.

The Tang Family had paid a considerable price to form an alliance with the Xiao Family and Tang Luo did not want such an important matter to be disrupted by one old man with a baby face. The only solution now was to force him back!

“What if the Great Elder of my family accepts your challenge today and accidentally kills the former Clan Leader of the Xiao Family in the process? Then what? Will Xiao Jinlin come out and challenge us next? If that’s the case, it would be less complicated for the ‘former Clan Leader’ of the Xiao Family to declare war against the Tang Clan directly!” Tang Luo spread his hands, calmly putting everyone’s greatest fears on the table.

He deliberately emphasized the words “former Clan Leader,” forcing Xiao Baihe to face this prickly problem whether he was genuinely confused or just pretending.

Xiao Baihe’s face was extremely serious, his eyes full of trepidation as he stared at Tang Luo. While he was truly furious at the death of Xiao Ziyu, he was far from losing his sanity.

Besides his wrath, his challenge to Tang Siyuan was largely an attempt to solidify the conflict between the Tang Clan and Xiao Family. He sensed that the ongoing conflict in Xiling would inevitably result in the victory of the Mi Clan.

Although he didn’t fully grasp politics, as a seasoned martial arts researcher and master strategist, he had unique insights into the strengths and weaknesses of each side. Now, with the Tang Clan occupying North Mountain and controlling Xiling, they seemed to have a substantial advantage, especially with the support of the vast North Mountain community.

However, Xiao Baihe keenly sensed that the Tang Clan’s apparent strength was but a facade. Capturing Xiling was not a viable strategy for victory but a path to destruction.

If the strength of the two clans were balanced, capturing Xiling would indeed be a good move for the Tang Clan. But now, it was definitely a blunder.

A hedgehog is not as strong as a predator, so its strategy against enemies is to curl up rather than fight. North Mountain, a chain of mountains stretching for miles, already had extensive defensive works that were hard to penetrate.

Moreover, now they had to divert troops to Xiling, further stretching their already thin line of defense. Thus, Xiling was definitely indefensible.

The Mi Clan wasn’t aggressively attacking now simply because they were coordinating their combined forces. Based on the few battle reports collected by Xiao Family’s Wind Media, Xiao Baihe had managed to approximate the Mi Clan’s combat strategy.

It wasn’t because he was exceptionally clever, but because the Mi Clan’s strategy was blatantly obvious, and even if you knew it, you couldn’t resist it.

Throughout this period, the strategy of the Mi Clan’s combined forces had been extremely unified and explicitly aimed at military training.

In summary, the Mi Clan’s military squads applied direct pressure at the front while the seven major families associated with the Mi Clan launched surprise attacks from all directions.

This tactic, to be honest, was not particularly clever. For typical territories, there are limited areas vulnerable to surprise attacks. But North Mountain was different.

To the north of Xiling were mountains, making the front lines virtually indefensible. There were a thousand possible flanking angles, and with the support of the seven major families, the Mi Clan had far surpassed the Tang Clan in both the number of strong individuals and military strength.

Imagine this, the Mi Clan’s main force was pressuring North Mountain from the front, while allied forces launched unexpected attacks from various angles within North Mountain. Countless teams would bomb the outer defenses and mountains using their warships. The long front line would not give the Tang Family an advantage; instead, it would exhaust them.

You’ll see that once the floodwaters recede, countless Mi Clan warships will sail from the now flooded Xiling towards North Mountain. At the same time, the Mi Clan will launch a fierce attack on North Mountain, striving to suppress the Tang Clan on the front line.

Both clans had comparable strength, and it took over ninety percent of the Tang Family’s energy just to withstand the frontal assault from the Mi Clan. How would they deal with the alliance troops that were like a fishbone stuck in their throat?

Unable to protect both ends, felt like arrows in the back. Under these manpower shortages, the Tang Family’s vast territory would become their downfall.

From the Tang Family’s current moves – continually strengthening the outer defenses and their living area’s defense capacity – they were adding to their folly.

No matter how strong the defense is, it is the martial artists who stand guard in the end. Building more defenses is useless without enough martial artists.

Although military strategies often advocate for quality over quantity, many instances of few defeating many can make one underestimate the advantage of numerical superiority.

But only those who truly understand military strategies know what war is about. It’s about people.

A capable commander studies major trends. They build their strategy through rapid operations, continuous strategic positioning, alternating conventional and unconventional warfare, in order to establish a superior position and then overpower the enemy.

Sometimes knowing can be more stressful than not knowing, because ignorance at least allows for relentless perseverance. But once aware of the enemy’s moves, worries inevitably cloud the mind.

I clearly tell you what I’m going to do. What can you do about it?

The so-called open stratagem: You know, but there is nothing you can do to stop it; all you can do is lose.

This is the strategy the Mi Clan is using now. Its success relies on the seven major families siding with them.

A large number of people does make one formidable!

So, on one side, the Mi Clan’s combined forces were attacking forts and cities with triumphant momentum. On the other side, the Tang Family continued to construct defenses, hoping to build a hundred-mile-long iron castle.

Xiao Baihe could almost foresee that not long after the start of the war, the Tang Family would be forced to retreat step by step, gradually shrinking their stronghold.

In the end, managing to retreat safely from Xiling might be their best outcome. A slight misstep, however, could result in a crushing defeat.

Seeing such a future, Xiao Baihe couldn’t allow the Xiao Family to just sit around and wait for their doom. Even though he was no longer the Clan Leader, he still had to consider the future of his clan. That’s why, when he learned about Xiao Ziyu’s death, he changed his mind and challenged Tang Siyuan.

He had intended to use his reputation for being rash when wronged to deal with the situation, but his plan was exposed on the spot by a young man. Xiao Baihe’s face clouded. He glared at Tang Luo, feeling an intense hatred.

If this matter hadn’t been openly discussed, the challenge could have proceeded. However, now that the issue had been escalated to the family level, he could no longer make purely personal decisions.

After all, the true representative of the Xiao Family, the Young Clan Leader, was present. He had no right to overstep his boundaries, and without a doubt, Xiao Qi would not let this challenge continue.