Chapter 1776: Finalizing the Battle Plan

"That's the overall plan; there will be many more finer details involved in its execution, all of which have already been finalized by the general staff, and all orders will be issued to their respective units as soon as possible."

This battle plan was clearly something that had been carefully considered and well thought-out.

Dong Zi'an was very much correct in one point, which was that soul technology was far more advanced than it had been 6,000 years ago, and there were now far more types of mass destructive weapons available. Furthermore, virtually all of the federal military's weaponry had been transported to this northern front, and with that much firepower available, a comprehensive carpet bombing could be maintained for three days and three nights with no issues.

During this process, the most important thing wasn't to kill enemy units, but to weaken the abyssal army, which was why Yu Guanzhi had proposed for Tang Wulin to be present on the front lines.

6,000 years ago, the main disadvantage that the human army faced was that it was unable to truly kill the abyssal creatures, but a solution to this problem had arisen in the form of the Golden Dragon Spear.

Yu Guanzhi continued. "During this entire battle, the key will be Sect Master's Golden Dragon Spear, and the ones most familiar with Sect Master Tang are those from the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, so I would like to ask the Limit Douluos of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy to accompany and protect him. Of course, the military will also be deploying some powerful beings to accompany him as well."

Tang Wulin nodded in response. Even though his mind was entirely occupied by Gu Yuena, he had to focus on the meeting that was currently taking place.

"I have no issues with this plan."

Regardless of how much heavy artillery fire was deployed, it would be very difficult to harm Limit Douluos unless weapons of the same caliber as godslayer missiles were involved.

This battle plan was very direct, but it was undoubtedly also going to be the most effective, and it reflected just how important the sacrifice made by the Northern Legion had been.

If it weren't for the fact that the abyssal army had been restricted to the northernmost region of the continent, the situation would've been far more difficult to contain.

Qiangu Dongfeng suddenly interjected, "Based on the results of Na'er's scouting trip, the entrance to the passageway should be situated in the core circle of the northernmost region. The climate there is extremely unforgiving, so I still suggest splitting our forces up into two as that would give us better chances. If we launch a full-frontal attack, a huge amount of abyssal energy would be generated within a short time, and Sect Master Tang may not be able to devour all that energy on his own."

Dong Zi'an immediately chimed in in support. "I'm also of the same opinion. There's nothing wrong with the overall battle plan; we just have to split the duty of devouring abyssal energy to two people. Our Western Legion and the Northwestern Legion can protect Vice-chairman Gu."

This was quite a reasonable suggestion, and it was undoubtedly the best practical option.

Yu Guanzhi replied, "In that case, we'll make some slight adjustments to the plan so we can accommodate two cores instead of one."

Chen Xinjie suddenly said, "Regardless of whether we split up our troops or not, this is an extremely important battle upon which the safety of the entire continent hinges, so all personal differences must be set aside. Even if we split up, both branches must look out for one another. If anyone fails to do that, you'll have to answer to me."

Dong Zi'an chuckled, "Rest assured, we've all been serving for so many years; we know what our order of priorities should be."

Chen Xinjie took an indifferent glance at him. "That would be best."

After that came the discussion of the battle plan's finer details, and Dong Zi'an and Qiangu Dongfeng acted in a very cooperative manner for the rest of the meeting.

However, Tang Wulin knew that they had already achieved their goal. The Western Legion and Northwestern Legion were detaching themselves from the ground units, which meant that there was a very good chance that they wouldn't follow Yu Guanzhi's orders.

From Dong Zi'an's perspective, this would allow him to command his troops more easily and better collaborate with the Spirit Pagoda.

However, from Yu Guanzhi's perspective, this was a clear signal that the two legions weren't going to follow his orders.

This wouldn't have been a problem if Chen Xinjie had been the commander-in-chief as he was always able to repress Dong Zi'an. However, Dong Zi'an had never seen eye to eye with Yu Guanzhi, and Yu Guanzhi had already anticipated that Dong Zi'an would do something like this.

However, thinking about it from Dong Zi'an's perspective, he would most likely do the same thing. No one wanted their brothers to be put under someone else's command; what if the commander instructed them to sacrifice themselves as cannon fodder? 

The meeting stretched on for half a day and only concluded at noon.

"We'll end things here for today. Make the required preparations as quickly as possible; we strike at noon tomorrow," Yu Guanzhi said with a determined expression as he rose to his feet.

Noon was when the sun was at its brightest, which was when Evil Soul Masters would be at their weakest, so it was the ideal time to be launching an attack.

Thus, everyone rose to their feet with different thoughts racing through their minds.

The first thing that Tang Wulin did after standing up was turn his gaze toward Gu Yuena, who was also currently looking at him.

Tang Wulin's physical appearance hadn't changed much. With his current cultivation rank and incredible physical constitution, he wouldn't show any signs of aging for many years.

The only thing that had changed about him was the look in his eyes. Looking at him at such close quarters, Gu Yuena could clearly sense that his eyes were more mature and profound.

The emotions that he had outwardly expressed in the past were restrained, and his gaze was very placid, but Gu Yuena's heart still jolted as their eyes met.

They were so close with one another, and countless memories instantly welled up in both of their hearts.

If they weren't forcibly repressing those memories, involuntary mental manifestations would immediately surface around them.

Tang Wulin heaved an internal sigh and didn’t approach her. They belonged to different camps, and he didn't want to cause any trouble for her.

He had already decided on his own plan, which involved putting an end to the conflict with the Spirit Pagoda once and for all following the conclusion of this war. Once that happened, he was going to take Gu Yuena back no matter what, even if he had to abduct her.

Right at this moment, a voice that Tang Wulin utterly detested rang out. "Sect Master Tang."

Tang Wulin turned to find Qiangu Dongfeng standing right before him.

"Do you need something, Chairman Qiangu?" Tang Wulin asked in an indifferent voice.

A meaningful smile appeared on Qiangu Dongfeng's face, and he replied, "No, I just wanted to wish you good luck."

Tang Wulin responded in kind. "Then I wish the same to you as well. I hope I'll still be able to see you after this battle."

After that, Tang Wulin strode directly forward, and Qiangu Dongfeng was standing right in front of him, so they were going to crash into one another unless one of them stepped aside. However, Tang Wulin completely disregarded Qiangu Dongfeng and continued onward without displaying any intention of changing directions.

Qiangu Dongfeng's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and a hint of fierce killing intent flashed through his eyes. However, as Tang Wulin reached him, he still stepped aside at the last moment.

Due to his momentary hesitation, he was unable to completely avoid Tang Wulin, causing Tang Wulin's shoulder to brush across his chest, leaving a stinging sensation.

Tang Wulin then departed without taking so much as a single backward glance, followed by the four Limit Douluos.

Just as all five of them had passed Qiangu Dongfeng by, Zang Xin suddenly turned around with a smile, and said, "Chairman Qiangu Dongfeng, if I recall correctly, wasn't there a saying that goes 'a good something doesn't get in the way of others'? Haha!" [The literal translation of the saying being referred to here is "a good dog doesn't get in the way of others", so Zang Xin is implying here that Qiangu Dongfeng is a dog.] After that, Zang Xin also departed, leaving Qiangu Dongfeng to look on with a murderous expression and a tightly clenched fist.

Gu Yuena arrived by his side with a concerned expression, and asked, "Are you alright, Chairman?"

Qiangu Dongfeng took a deep breath to compose himself before replying, "I'm fine. We'll let them laugh while they still can. Let's go."

Looking on at Tang Wulin's departing figure, his heart was actually filled with remorse. It could be said that he had bore witness to every step of Tang Wulin's meteoric rise to the top.