I Can See Your Combat Power

However, after hearing Tang Luo’s words, Tang Yi was somewhat skeptical and asked in response, “A loophole? What do you mean?”

“Please look here.” Tang Luo spread a map on the table before them, pointing at the marked locations of the thickly dotted battlefields between Xiling and the western foothills of North Mountain and the southern foothills of North Mountain, “These two locations are where the Mi Clan alliance army and our clan are fighting. You both must be more familiar with the situation on these battlefields than I am, so I won’t elaborate. What I want to share with you is actually about the troop distribution.”

Although keeping guard over the Mi tiger allied team was part of his duties, the frequency of their attacks was rather limited, allowing Tang Luo to devote lots of attention elsewhere. Especially, in recent days, after the completion of the ‘Heaven-reaching Tower’, Tang Luo gained a bird’s eye view. This perspective covered not only hundreds of miles around North Mountain, but the situation in two battlefields in the southwest as well. So, as long as there were no movements detected from the Mi Tiger alliance, Tang Luo was focused on the battlefield.

“The army of the Mi Clan is huge, with hundreds of Martial Ancestors lying on the periphery of North Mountain, leaving our clan with only the capacity to defend, and not counterattack. However, from my observation over the past few days, they aren’t as formidable as they appear. They merely employ a clever method to create an impression of having us at their mercy,” Tang Luo explained while he pulled out the top half of a thick stack of portraits, passing them over to the two men. “Take a look. Aren’t these Martial Ancestors familiar?”

While saying this, Tang Luo felt somewhat uneasy as the portraits he had drawn resembled child’s graffiti. He could only emphasize the distinct features, hoping to evoke the two men’s memories.

About twenty to thirty portraits were in this pile. Once the two men started looking, they couldn’t readily recognize any of them. However, based on Tang Luo’s textual notes on the features, they recognized the characters.

They included elders from the Mi Clan, renowned Martial Ancestors, heads of the Seven Great Noble Clans, and figures of fame across Xiling. But the Wind Media Department contained much more detailed information about these individuals, leaving Tang Yi and Tang Hongjun clueless about Tang Luo’s intentions. Still, they perused the portraits seriously, expecting some vital information.

But after going through all the portraits in turns, they found nothing unusual. These were just ordinary portraits, and apart from being poorly drawn, there was nothing special about them.

Tang Yi put down the portraits he had seen on the ground, looking disquieted as he asked, “Is this what Minister Luo perceived as a loophole? Please, explain where the loophole lies?”

All these were well-known strong Martial Ancestors of Xiling who had gained fame since their youth. To consider them as weaknesses was absurd.

Not only was Tang Yi confused, but Tang Hongjun was also puzzled at this point. He put down the scroll in his hand and similarly asked, “I couldn’t find any irregularities either, could Minister Luo please explain?”

Seeing that both men had finished viewing the portraits, Tang Luo nodded, “Since you both have seen the portraits, I have a question. Have either of you faced them on the battlefield?”

“Of course!” The commander of Shenwu army, Tang Yi, responded impatiently, “Although they aren’t the top figures in the Mi Clan’s alliance, they are pillars, central to the war effort. Otherwise, do you think those ordinary scrubs could hurt me?”

The Second Elder, Tang Hongjun, also nodded in agreement, “Yes, all these people are combat enthusiasts at heart – some have left a deep impression on me.”

“Hmm.” Tang Luo nodded in satisfaction, suggesting the crux of the problem lay right here.

However, the sudden silence under Luo’s umbrella told Tang Luo that neither man grasped the point of showing the portraits. One looked bewildered, and the other slightly irritated, neither understanding his intention.

“Alright, alright.” Realizing both were figuratively blind to the point he was trying to make, Tang Luo decided it was best to be more direct: “The Commander Tan Yi and the Second Elder, one commanding the western front, the other, the southern battleground. The portraits show thirty individuals and you both battled against them all. Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”

The two men’s eyes brightened in an instant, like lightning flashing across their minds, seeming to grasp something but failing to pinpoint it. They were as anxious as cats on a hot roof, faces deeply furrowed.

Tang Luo did not want them to keep guessing since he had already hinted so explicitly, so he went straight to the point: “After we replenished our spiritual techniques in the Minor Spiritual Realm, the strength of our Martial Ancestors improved significantly. Although the Mi Clan alliance is powerful, they cannot pressure both battlefronts easily. The biggest reason they’ve managed to give us this illusion is that they strongly control the attack rhythms. Certain about our inability to retaliate, they assembled a mobile force and rove between the two battlefronts.”

“Over the past four days, I observed every attack the Mi Clan alliance initiated on the battlefield. There were over sixty Martial Ancestors involved in each attack, one third more than our defending forces. Hence, every battle is exceedingly arduous for us. But I wonder, have either of you noticed that the Mi Clan alliance has never initiated attacks on two battlefronts simultaneously?”

By this point, Tang Yi and Tang Hongtao had fully understood Tang Luo’s implication. In other words, when the Mi Clan launched a siege, that was the weakest moment for the other battlefield.

Strength and weakness are relative concepts. Sixty alliance Martial Ancestors against about thirty from the Tang Clan is surely a strong force. However, thirty or so from the Tang Clan against a similar number from the alliance – it’s clear who’s strong and who’s weak.

The commander of Shenwu army, Tang Yi, was suddenly ecstatic. After listening to the Mi Clan’s combat technique, several counter-strategies flashed in his mind. He wished he could rush to the battlefield to share the news with the Head Minister and Clan Head.

As his excitement began to wane, he saw Tang Luo reach for another pile of portraits on the table. Setting them before the two men, he said, “This is the combat deployment of the Mi Clan, but our chances to counter are limited. The Mi Clan alliance outnumbers us, and even if they evenly distribute their forces on both battlefronts, they are not weak. So to damage them significantly in one go we must aim to split their forces. At least to the point where they no longer have the capacity to fight on two fronts concurrently!”

Tang Luo put away the stack of portraits representing the pillars of the war and set another thick stack before them. Then he said, “These are the weakest in terms of spiritual power among the standing armies on both battlefronts. In my opinion, they can serve as points of weakness for an initial breakthrough, and are priority targets!”

The two men excitedly took the portraits from Tang Luo. Identifying the Martial Ancestors on the battlefield through his markings, they began to recall their battlefield performance. The more they recollected, the more ecstatic they became.