FVN Chapter 44 The Overlooked Target
Chapter 44 The Overlooked Target
Will the Demon Cave believe Zhan Tang's explanation?
"The tactic of 'borrowing a route to attack Guo' is too obvious. The War Hall claims to refuse, and the Demon Cave might believe it to some extent, but it will certainly not be completely unguarded."
With swift, flowing strokes, he drew a deep circle around the area symbolizing the main city of the Demon Cave, the ink almost seeping through the paper.
That invisible defensive line was the biggest obstacle to the surprise attack plan.
"Is the agreement between you and Zhan Tang limited to simply allowing passage?"
"Could we borrow some of the War Hall's troops, or other assistance?" Xuanming asked again.
"The agreement only covers passage," Yue Tianji said slowly, taking a sip of tea.
"Furthermore, to avoid any suspicion from the Succubus Cave, I'd like to offer two small suggestions!"
"Firstly, it was to reveal the matter of the messenger to the Demon Cave."
"Secondly, the War Hall should remain inactive while the main city of the Demon Cave is undefended."
"If a direct assault doesn't work, then we'll have to find a way to weaken this defensive line."
Under what circumstances would the Succubus Cave mobilize the forces protecting the main city?
Xuanming pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked again, "Sir, have you deployed all of Huanchenbuwu's troops outside the formidable pass guarded by the Demon Cave?"
"nature!"
"Such a dangerous place, if we want to take it down in one fell swoop, we must go all out."
Having received an affirmative answer, Xuanming lowered his eyes and continued to deduce the answer in his mind.
"As the master said, Huan Chen's military strength is roughly the sum of the two sides."
"Such a full-scale invasion will surely give the Demon Cave the illusion that Huan Chenbu is determined to fight to the death."
"Once the pass is breached, there will be no more defensible terrain within the Demon Cave. With the pass in dire straits, they will surely send a large force to reinforce it."
Even if the Demon Cave harbors suspicions and feigns to transfer troops to test the waters, as long as the War Hall follows your plan and remains inactive, their suspicions will greatly diminish!
The arrow in Xuanming's pen suddenly extended forward, crossing the circle that symbolized the defensive line, pointing straight at the core of the Demon Cave.
Afterwards, he drew a striking question mark next to the battle hall.
"Does the War Hall intend to be the fisherman, watching Huan Chenbu and the Demon Cave weaken each other while they profit from the chaos?"
No, that's not right!
"If Zhan Tang truly harbored such intentions, he would likely outwardly comply with your plan while secretly defying it, constantly finding excuses to postpone the time for borrowing the passage."
"The longer the Demon Cave and Huan Chenbu fight at the northern pass, the more their strength will be weakened, and the greater the benefits will be for the Battle Hall."
"But why did he agree so readily?"
"The four great generals stormed the heart of the city, their commander-in-chief was killed, and the main city changed hands. Once the news spreads, the morale of the Demon Cave army will surely collapse."
"At that time, Huan Chenbuwu can easily annex that territory, and his strength will not decrease but rather increase."
"With the Demon Cave destroyed, the natural barrier of the north is lost, rendering the natural barrier of the south virtually useless."
"Does the Master of the War Hall really believe that, under these circumstances, Huan Chen Bu Wu can still keep his promise and share the Demon Cave equally with his War Hall?"
Xuanming was completely baffled.
Recalling those dynasties in the history of the Dragon Kingdom that suffered from instability due to a lack of rulers, Xuanming couldn't help but ask again.
"Sir, is the current head of the Battle Hall the founder or the successor?"
The Heavenly Secrets: "The Founder!"
Upon hearing this unexpected answer, Xuanming's brows furrowed sharply.
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end he didn't make a sound.
"Mr. Yue is unlikely to offer any objective evaluation of his defeated subordinates who fell for his tricks!"
"Asking is pointless, forget it!"
"Since he's the founder, he shouldn't be sidelined by his subordinates; therefore, my previous thought is invalid!"
Xuanming put down his brush, replaced the paper in front of him with a blank page, and then picked up his brush again to dip it in ink.
He started to organize his thoughts from the beginning, constantly exploring other possibilities.
Half an hour passed quickly, and five or six sheets of scrap paper, filled with writing and then crossed out, were piled up on the table.
His thoughts seemed to have hit a dead end, and he couldn't find a way out.
Although there was no time limit for reading the secrets of heaven, the bet that Xuanming had secured himself put him under immense pressure.
He was so engrossed in his deductions that he didn't notice that Yue Tianji had put down his teacup and was idly flipping through the discarded cases he had pushed aside.
"No, that's not right!"
Time ticked by, and Xuanming's mind grew increasingly agitated with each failed attempt, leading him to replace the paper more and more frequently.
Yue Tianji simply looked at the pages Xuanming had written on without offering any advice.
The two of them remained focused on their writing, while the other silently observed, without disturbing each other.
For a moment, the only sound in the study was the rustling of papers.
Suddenly, a soft laugh broke the harmonious atmosphere in the room.
Xuanming paused, looked in the direction of the sound, and saw Yue Tianji looking down at something.
He appeared calm, though a faint smile lingered on his lips.
"Sir?" Xuanming's eyes were full of doubt.
"It's nothing, continue your deduction!" Yue Tianji replied casually without even looking up.
Although Yue Tianji said that, Xuanming still felt a slight tightness in his heart when he looked at the paper in his hand.
Was there something wrong with my initial thinking?
Xuanming looked at the papers he had pushed aside, trying to figure out if there was a problem.
When his gaze fell on the right corner of the table, he suddenly froze!
He stood frozen in place, motionless, with only a little blood slowly spreading from his neck to the tips of his ears.
His gaze was fixed on the few sheets of paper that hadn't yet been pushed away from the corner of the table.
A dozen or so breaths later, Xuanming suddenly lowered his head and wrote something rapidly with his right hand holding the pen, while occasionally asking "why?"
He seemed to have received some inspiration and was seriously deducing what he was thinking.
However, his peripheral vision kept shifting between the white-robed scholar beside him and the corner of the table to his upper right, never focusing on the important matter at hand!
After a cup of tea, Xuanming put down his brush, stretched his right wrist, and stood up to get a teacup from the tray, seemingly tired from writing and wanting to have a sip of tea to relax.
He casually placed the teacup on the right corner of the table, then picked up the teapot again and filled the cup with tea.
Hold the teacup with your right hand, and gently lift your arm to take the teacup off the table.
When the teacup was about half a foot off the table, Xuanming suddenly frowned and let out a soft hiss of pain, as if he had accidentally aggravated the injury on his right shoulder.
His wrist trembled slightly, and the teacup in his hand shook, spilling half of the tea instantly.
Xuanming put down his teacup with annoyance and quickly picked up the few sheets of paper around him that were almost soaked with tea.
After a few dozen breaths, Xuanming cleaned up the water stains on the table and picked up the teacup again to his lips.
As Xuanming lowered his head to drink water, his gaze fell directly on Yue Tianji, who was still sitting opposite him.
Yue Tianji remained calm and focused, seemingly oblivious to the commotion on his side.
Xuanming breathed a sigh of relief.
He finished drinking the water in his cup and quickly put the teapot and teacup back in their original places.
Only then did he casually sit back down and pick up his pen again.
But the pen tip hesitated to fall until the crimson on the ear gradually faded, and only then did a new ink mark appear on the page.
Just a dozen breaths after Xuanming began writing, Yue Tianji suddenly looked up at the right corner of the table, which had already been cleaned.
Recalling the boy's series of actions just now, a complex look flashed in Yue Tianji's eyes.
"That's too deliberate!"
Turning his head to glance at the boy who thought he had eliminated the 'evidence', Yue Tianji sighed helplessly once again.
He then picked up the stack of papers he had already read on his left and put them together with the page in his hand.
Then he started picking and choosing inside, as if he was looking for something.
After a few dozen breaths, Yue Tianji took out one of the pages and placed it on the table, then began to select pages again.
The paper was covered in ink, densely packed with deduction entries, crossed out and added, added and revised repeatedly.
The rest of the content was normal, except for the two characters "Battle Hall". They were not only written in a very small size, but were also squeezed into the lower left corner, as if they had been excluded.
A moment later, Yue Tianji picked out the second page.
The position and size of the two characters "战堂" on this image are normal, but all the strokes are distorted.
It's uneven, crooked, and incredibly ugly, probably vying with the previous character for "grain" for the title of "the ugliest character ever seen by Yue Tianji".
On the third page, the words "Battle Hall" were completely removed from the front and appeared on the back of the page, as if they had been banished to the cold palace by the person who wrote them.
On the fourth page, these two words are not treated differently from the other words, except that they are preceded by the words "disgusting".
After another dozen or so breaths, Yue Tianji put down the paper in his hand, seemingly having finished making his selection.
He reached out and picked up the four pieces of "evidence," looking at the childish doodles on them with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
A fleeting hint of indulgence crossed his eyes before he slipped the four pieces of paper into his sleeve.
Meanwhile, a certain "naive," "deliberate," and "concerned about face" teenager was completely unaware that there were still some of his "crimes" that had slipped through the net, and he was still locked in a fierce battle with the "Battle Hall."
The boy's thoughts were once again blocked by that dead end.