Chapter 117: Arrival of support

The princess looked at Long Tao "what should we do to exterminate our enemy.". Long Tao put forward his queen and the bishop, which were led astray, trying to kill the enemy horse. But just when they manage to corner it, their king was already checked and mate. "What did you understand from the play I just showed you, princess." The princess got some idea, but she didn't find them relevant to this situation. "I would like for sir Long to elaborate on this play."

"It is a genuine step where I try to bait you with a piece that has done you quite some damage. You initially try to face it with divided attention, concentrating on both offense and defense. But just when a stalemate is supposed to be reached, I bait you to corner me even further. It would be shown as a mistake of mine, and the enemy would think this is a desperate measure to overcome the pressure due to stalemate. You choose to corner it, but just when you do, I do a simultaneous attack on your prime strategist and your king."

"Now you try to serve the purpose and save the king, but what you don't see is the fact that you just opened another pathway of attack, in the blind-zone of your king. He is killed, without a tinge of mercy and the game is over. What do you learn from this chatter, princess?". The princess thought for a moment before answering "you want us to stake you out for an appealing target, and while they do pursue you, you want to attack them from the back.". Long Tao nodded. 

"but don't you think it is a matter of probability of whether or not he would choose to pursue you. This is not a sure shot tactic.". Long Tao had to agree to this point. "I do agree, but that is what you will be doing. I will tell you who the temporary king is, and who is most likely to answer to my bait. I am providing this plan to you. Follow it as it is. You can improvise, given the situation demands it. "Long Tao picked up the horse. Jiao Bo agreed with Long Tao indicated his approval of Long Tao's plan. 

The princess and Jiao Bo knew that Long Tao wasn't telling them the whole plan, but they decided to stick with him. His methods were quite effective in general. "we will leave this matter to you, Long Tao. Do you need any support from my side."? "I did have one request; I would require you to give me 5 men. The lowest cultivation should be at Qi master level 5. He looked at the princess. "Your actions are quite critical at this time princess. You need to calm the court officials down and gather as many supporters as we can. The blow I dealt wouldn't last much longer. We must make the next move."

The crimson Lord world- 

Long Tao managed to absorb the second thunder ball. Although the thunder balls were a quite dangerous and unstable resource, one has to be aware of the fact that they reduce the cultivation time. The violent energy just opens up the meridian channels very quickly, but the damage needs a long time to recover. Long Tao was currently not concentrating on the recovery part. He needed to enhance his strength as soon as possible. The second ball didn't provide the same amount of benefit. Long Tao found it very difficult to open the fifth meridian. He barely managed due to the fact that the median was already on the verge of opening. 

The two thunder balls have resulted in opening 11 meridians. There were 17 more remaining till he reached the peak of tertiary meridian opening. Long Tao could feel his physical prowess going through a change. Although it was small, the increment was still notable. In a fair fight, this small increase can change the course of results. Long Tao took many of his healing and Qi pills. He was running out of pills. He needed to practice alchemy. 

The thunder ball was soon under absorption. This time he managed to have the energy under control. The meridians were already acquainted with this energy flow, and the damage done was minimal this time. Long Tao just hoped that he is able to open 5 more meridians. The process continued. But the results were soon visible, and they were not optimistic. He only managed to open 4 meridians. It was even less than last time. "you shouldn't lose hope." The keeper tried to console Long Tao.

"The last 13 are going to be a big problem. How do you propose we find a stronger source of energy.". The keeper understood the peril Long Tao was in "You seem to be depressed about the fact that your body cultivation wouldn't reach the required goal before your breakthrough, but you don't see what you have managed to achieve until now. Don't you feel any difference after intaking all that thunder energy."

Long Tao didn't understand the meaning behind the keeper's words. He tried to feel the difference, but except for the enhanced thunder capability, he didn't find anything at all. "all I feel is my enhanced thunder capability. "The keeper looked at Long Tao with a serious frown, but then a sudden thought strikes Long Tao. He tried to use thunder energy. "I managed to get past the 5th cycle of 9 thunder body. "Long Tao was astonished. He is one step close to the highest record ever achieved in the 9-thunder body art. His thunder compatibility was tyrannical, and so was his body strength. 

"as I said, all is never lost, and you will never be able to achieve all your dreams. You just need to continue the hard work, and results will present themselves" Long Tao decided to go to his master and ask for the rewards of breaking through the last two levels. He promised to provide him with many resources that might just help him achieve his goals." 

Jiao capital city-

The situation in the Jiao capital city has been chaotic in recent days. Many organizations and individuals were found massacred and the strongholds destroyed. What they didn't know was the fact that these organizations were the strongholds and secret bases of the rebel groups. Many assassinations stationed here were killed along with cultivators and the treasury and resources were all looted. The response from the royal court was very mild. 

"What is the current situation?", the hooded black figure asked. "the enemy is very covert sir. We have been keeping track of all the people in the royal palace, especially Jiao Bo and Long Tao, but they haven't moved out of their dwellings. Most of our people within the royal palace were massacred. The enemy seems to have information regarding our strongholds in the royal city. All the cultivators present on the premise were killed mercilessly. Not a single one was taken, hostage. "

"I think this is the work of a large group of people. They managed to strike multiple strongholds on the same day and didn't let even one of the cultivators get away. Each one was killed, without being able to raise panic. This is only possible when they overwhelm us completely. But we couldn't find a group that large moving around the city.". 

"what is our causality report.". "We have lost more than 400 men, all of them having cultivation ranging between Qi aster level 4 to level 9." The hooded figure banged his fists on the table. "that bastard Long Tao. He managed to hide another card in his hand. We need to regroup our people immediately. Tell each one of them to retreat and meet up with at least two other groups. We can't afford to lose any more people before the real play starts." Just then another man arrived.

"What happened?'. "Sir, this is bad news. The first regroup of people was killed but what seemed like a new group in play. This group just arrived within the capital and encounter us regrouping. They didn't even ask for any information before killing each one of those people." The black figure rose from his seat with anger. Another group of enemies. This is getting out of hand. Long Tao's hidden sleeve of cards was still unaccounted for. 

Long Tao's courtyard-

Long Tao was practicing his daily routine. The gear has been switched up in terms of weight. He has gained much more stability on his body by doing this. Long Tao started to understand what it meant to have mastered a certain technique. He was practicing his boxing techniques. The Dominator's fist was still getting better and better every day. 

"You have arrived." Long Tao stopped practicing and looked to0wards a secluded corner. Su Menqi soon emerged from there. "Did you manage to complete the task?". "We have wiped the group of people who were retreating. We got our hands on 35 cultivators. I let go of one of the spectators, just like you said. Hope it doesn't backfire."