'Just as I expected, good job with the analysis Bob. Now, how do I handle this…'
Zhang Dong had returned to his own fortress after things had cleared up. After helping his sect push the enemy soldiers away he had some time to wind down. The respite would probably be short and he expected the next charge soon. Now that the cat was out of the bag and his enemies knew about the strongholds, they could send in a more organized force.
Thus he focused on a way of sabotaging his enemies. This he could achieve thanks to these talismans that he had grabbed of the other nascent soul masters. After so many of them got away he developed a way of getting to these items. Then it only took Bob a little bit of time to pinpoint the location where users of these talismans were taken.
It was just one location within the Long Clan's region. It wasn't that far off from his own lands and was probably the area where they had their base. The city near it was populated by many people and a lot of powerful branching families of the Long Clan lived there. It was a good spot for a well-defended base.
'All of the talismans trace back to the same location, so I can assume that all of the nascent soul masters that escaped me are probably there… now what to do with this information.'
This was a war, his enemies wouldn't give him any mercy while he was still somewhat restrained. The easiest tactic here would just be to teleport himself to that location by using one of the talismans. Once there he could toss out a bomb to blow up their escape route and render the escape system useless. Now here came the problem and once again, Zhang Dong's moral compass got in the way.
'What if it's close to a residential district and kills some bystanders?'
There were multiple ways for him to get people killed if he sent out a bomb through the talisman. If he was less merciful he wouldn't bat an eye, it would be easy to just blow up the entire city with all the enemy cultivators stationed there. It was a decision that a leader trying to lessen the casualties on his side should take. Yet he couldn't, the thought of blowing up unsuspecting residents that had nothing to do with this struggle, was not something that he could stomach.
'I at least have to stay true to my way of life… otherwise, I'll not be any better than the murder hobos I made fun of in the past. There is luckily another way of going over this, the location isn't that far off… I should be able to get there within a few hours…'
Luck was on his side with this one, instead of using the teleportation talisman to go there himself he could just use his system. During his trip to the central region in the past he did create a save point for teleporting. It was made outside the main Long Clan city in another location and he could still go there.
'I just need to sneak in, get in there and disable the formation…'
He wanted to go there and examine their base of operations before going with the nuclear option. Perhaps he was worrying too much and the area was away clear of any non-combatants but he didn't want to risk it. It was impossible to pinpoint the locations due to how the talismans worked. He was given an area of about a hundred kilometers with the city in the middle for the potential drop.
'Should I use some type of remote camera first and then use another medallion right afterward? But they would just turn off the formation if something strange appeared…'
For a moment he considered sending in an automaton that could forward him some information. Yet it would probably cause his enemies to become more cautious. If he wanted to keep the casualties of innocent civilians to a minimum, there wasn't really any other way. The main reason he forced everyone to create these strongholds was to not involve regular people in the fight with the Long Clan.
'We aren't that far this time, so the spirit point usage won't be that bad…'
"Lan Fei."
"Yes Elder, can I help you with something?"
After making up his mind he called out to his current secretary. The woman entered the room slowly while swinging her hips from side to side. Her body had matured with the use of the sect's body refining technique which made it hard to focus. It became clear that she was trying to entice him with that voluptuous form, just like in the past. When interacting with other people her walking cycle wasn't this overblown. She even made sure to wear a more revealing robe and the constant bending over didn't help either.
"I might be gone for a while, I need you to keep it a secret."
"A secret? But what should we do if the enemy appears? We aren't ready to activate the ultra wall formation."
"Don't worry, just use this."
"This is?"
After walking over he handed Lan Fei a small item. It was just a plate with a red button on it. Under the button, there was a short sentence 'Press to get help.' It wasn't really much, it was just something that would inform him about them having trouble. There were several ways of tackling this depending on the magnitude of the enemies that could arrive.
"It's a panic button, use it when you think the enemies will get through the shields but if it's possible to last out, refrain from using it."
"I see."
The chesty woman nodded but could see that her bouncing mounds of flesh weren't as effective as in the past. She could tell that the man that had been so shy all those years ago had changed. Yet this was her only chance to get herself into a higher position, thus her little ploy continued to Zhang Dong's dismay.
"That will be all, I shouldn't take that long to come back."
"I'll take my leave then~"
So she did while continuously swaying her hips in an over-the-top manner. Even someone like him was having trouble looking away which she somewhat noticed. After she was finally gone, Zhang Dong pulled up his map and pointed at the teleport location.
'If Liena was here she would have my head… better never mention this…'
His wife was somewhat of a jealous type. Even though he didn't show that much interest in other women, his family had a history of fooling around. While this was somewhat annoying, it was understandable with someone like Zhang Jin around. It was the same for all the other men in the world, he was the oddball out that practiced monogamy.
"Let's go then… but first."
The face that belonged to the demon hunter started shifting around into something older. His body size and musculature decreased as he changed into a lanky-looking old man in a flowy robe. This person was one of the cultivators that he managed to defeat in the last confrontation that took place not that long ago. The battle was still fresh so there were ways for him to explain his late teleportation escape.
After putting on the robe of the man he defeated and feeling somewhat dejected by the old man's smell, he was gone. His body turned into blue particles and within a fraction of a second, he was at the old save point he created. In the distance, he could see a large city that had brought him to his older brother.
It brought back a few old memories. Long Qing didn't seem like a bad person, he had a somewhat laid-back personality. It seemed like he wasn't taking this world that seriously but sooner or later the two would have to confront each other. The problem was his wife whom he adored and who was his true target. There would probably be no way of explaining to him that she wasn't truly a cultivator of this world.
'I don't really know what she is… That Demon Lord didn't feel like a real person either, more like a defensive program that activates when something breaches the protocols.'
It wouldn't be strange for the woman to behave normally when they met again. It was possible that she might have not even known of the Overseer's existence. It could be some sort of parasitic existence that took over whenever it wanted. Yet, it could be the other way around and the Empress had never existed in the first place.
'Hmm… They don't seem that bothered for people that should be at war…'
Thanks to his shadowy form he was able to quickly sink behind some shade in the clouds. From there he had a nice view over these lands. His mind was sharp and he remembered how this place looked in the past. Not much had changed and people were just going around as if nothing was wrong. It was as if they didn't believe that the war could reach this far here.
'We are really getting underestimated, it can't be the same inside the Long Clan. They would have never pulled that stunt otherwise…'
It seemed that the Long Clan's branching families weren't taking this seriously. They were potentially fed the wrong information while working for the Long Clan. Perhaps they even thought that they were winning. If that was true then this strange behavior could be explained.
'Are they actually sending these people out to get slaughtered, could they be planning something?'
Zhang Dong didn't expect a sight like this so he didn't even bother investigating this spot beforehand. It was possible that the Long Clan was just trying to gather more information about their new enemies. Sending in waves of moderately strong branch clans would give them the information that they wanted and none of their core members would lose their lives. Then after it was all done, they could move in to claim victory.
'Hm… what if I show these people the true potential of their enemy… Would they start deserting?'
A thought crept into his mind. Cultivators were people that weighed their decisions. If something was very disadvantageous they would even abandon their own sects. Their loyalty to the Long Clan was merit-based and if they figured out that there was no way of gaining those. Then perhaps they would start fleeing.
'I wonder…Well, first let me check out that base of theirs, maybe if I cause some havoc there…'
Soon he departed with a thought in his mind. Perhaps if he scared the allies of his new enemies enough, the war could be shortened exponentially.