Chapter 578: Chapter 574: Sand Table Military Exercise

The elders in the council room stood up from their seats and gathered around the sand table to study the terrain of South Ridge.

Tang Zhi grabbed a handful of small flags representing the Martial Ancestors from South Ridge Beast Valley and placed most of them in the due south of South Ridge, then stuck the remaining few on some floating islands not far from it.

Studying the terrain, South Ridge had become an isolated mountain, surrounded. As the flooding slowly subsided, if the Mi Clan stationed troops at various bases and launched continuous attacks, the cost of defending South Ridge would be too high. The Tang Clan was already short of troops, and after losing several Martial Ancestors they were even more strained for resources. The council members’ brows furrowed tightly at the surprise attack by the Mi Clan at this critical juncture.

Could it be that they had to resort to using the offerings stored at the beginning of the war? The elders’ gaze turned to the Sect Head Tang Zu, who in turn looked towards the clan leader, Tang Zhi.

“We don’t need to use the offerings for now. With Sect Head Sen at the helm of South Ridge, the Mi Clan won’t be able to take it over in a short time.” Clan leader Tang Zhi said nonchalantly, focusing on the sand table.

“But eventually, South Ridge will be lost. In my opinion, we should let the Martial Ancestors retreat with the prisoners and secretly destroy the base of the danger peaks of South Ridge. Once the Mi Clan takes over South Ridge, we counterattack. Even if we don’t kill their main vein Martial Ancestors, we must obliterate their entire logistical support in South Ridge!” Second Elder Tang Hongjun, with his hands rested on the edge of the sand table, proposed his plan to Tang Zhi.

Rather than passively defending, Second Elder Tang Hongjun preferred proactive planning and attack. Since learning the cause of this flood, many elders thought about utilising Sect Head Tang Sen’s ability to create another set up. In Tang Hongjun’s view, this battle of South Ridge was an excellent opportunity.

This proposal, more active than that of Clan Leader Tang Zhi, won the approval of several elders. Even Sect Head Tang Zu was nodding. Clan leader Tang Zhi raised his head from half-done tactical calculations, observed the expressions of everyone, and also agreed with Tang Hongjun, saying: “The chance of success for Second Elder’s plan is high. Directing an assault from South Ridge Beast Valley to North Mountain is far closer and more concealed. After inhabiting South Ridge, the Mi Clan will definitely station a large number of troops. According to Second Elder’s deployment, it could indeed inflict heavy damage on the Mi Clan’s logistics and Ascended troops.”

“However.” Clan leader Tang Zhi stood straight, his calm eyes sweeping over all the elders present, regardless of Tang Hongjun’s slightly darkened face, he continued: “If we let the Sect Head’s ability come to light, the shrewd Mi Jin will definitely figure out the origin of this sudden flood, and the chances of the plan being exposed will greatly increase. The choice between options is up to the distinguished members to decide.”

After finishing speaking, Tang Zhi bent down again, took a few small flags from South Ridge Beast Valley, looked at several Mi Clan strongholds near South Ridge on the sand table, and continued with his own calculations, as if he was alone.

The few elders who had praised Second Elder’s plan moments ago were suddenly lost for words. Sect Head Tang Zu even sighed, “If it wasn’t for the Clan leader’s reminder, we might have made a big mistake.”

Tang Zhi looked up and smiled as a response. In fact, he could understand Tang Hongjun’s urgency.

But Tang Hongjun was after all, Tang Hongjun. He would not hold the position of second elder in the Tang Clan if he were mediocre. After a brief adjustment, he regained his composure, turning to Clan Leader Tang Zhi and saying, “My strategy was hasty and lacked thorough consideration, almost causing a great blunder. However, this allied army is aggressively attacking, wouldn’t defending South Ridge cause heavy casualties to our Martial Ancestors? Right now, South Ridge is an isolated mountain. Once it’s besieged, once the Martial Ancestors activate the Xuanji Jade, they will be unable to return for aid. How should we proceed?”

For the strong, defending is far more difficult than attacking, unless they are confident that they can withstand all attacks. Otherwise, using Xuanji Jade to avoid heavy casualties is something every powerful Martial Ancestor will face.

Although the defensive construction gives the defenders a first-hand and shelter advantage, facing a fierce attack from fifty Martial ancestor-level powerhouse would obliterate the hastily erected defences in three days. By then, what would the Martial Ancestors stationed in South Ridge do?

“The Mi Clan Alliance’s attack on South Ridge is not aimed at the North Mountain settlement, but for their final military exercise.” Clan leader Tang Zhi finally finished his calculations on the sand table, pointing to the flags in the south of South Ridge and said, “Please look, in the Mi Clan Alliance, the seven major families’ Martial Ancestors account for 60%. If they really want to capture South Ridge in one go, at least thirty main branch Martial Ancestors should attack the main battlefield.”

One who fails to understand the whole cannot handle a part; one who fails to understand the future cannot handle the present. Mi Jin acted like a spider, always one step ahead, setting traps, accumulating strength, and waiting for the right time.

This grand siege was merely a distraction to him. The truly deadly point was those points that had been taken long ago. No one knew which of these points were heavily guarded and which were just feeding grounds.

“Second Elder is right. South Ridge is destined to become an isolated mountain, but the goal of the Mi Clan Alliance is not the hard bone within the mountain that has defensive facilities, but the passage from North Mountain to South Ridge.” Tang Zhi pointed in the west direction of North Mountain and said lightly, “Even if the Mi Clan has the ability to seize North Mountain in one fell swoop, they would rather this battle last as long as possible. As long as we send troops to support, they will jump out from all angles for a massacre. After all, once they lose the defensive position, they would be unbeatable in a field battle due to their superior numbers.”

In this sand table, the Mi Clan has occupied more than ten points and can attack the supply line from North Mountain to South Ridge from four or five angles. If a war breaks out, this would be the most deadly.

The art of war is as fast as wind, as quiet as a forest, as fierce as fire, and immovable like a mountain. One who can only achieve one purpose, could never talk about any good strategy. The Mi Clan seemed to be marching in force, but their true strength was placed in the arrangements half a month ago. At this point they had revealed their cards, letting the Tang Clan realise the profound implications of these changes. Now, for the Tang Clan, South Ridge now represented a dilemma; it was tasteless to keep, but a pity to abandon.

After listening to Tang Zhi’s explanation, the elders looked at the southwestern strongholds where Mi Clan’s small flags were planted like they were seeing the claws of a devil, and even had the thought of giving up South Ridge directly.

However, they could not bear giving up South Ridge, as that would mean defending their own base, so they suppressed this idea.