198: A strategy of fighting alone

Wang Meng's insulting challenge was like a bucket of ice water poured over the newly formed Hundred Schools Society, but it also instantly ignited a quiet fire in Lin Zhou's eyes.

Inside the activity room, the atmosphere was thick enough to wring water from. Zhao Hao's face was ashen, his fists clenching until they cracked; Li Mo bit his lip, his fingers scrolling aimlessly on his personal terminal; Shi Lei, Wu Feng, and Little Soft Sun were so nervous they hardly dared to breathe. Wang Meng's arrogant departing silhouette and his mockery of "small fry and tin cans" still echoed in the air.

"Boss, let me go!" Zhao Hao stood up abruptly, Dragon prestige flickering in his eyes. "My Giant Dragons might struggle to face the Behemoths head-on, but harassment and containment are definitely no problem! Combined with Li Mo's traps and everyone's cooperation, we might have a chance!"

Li Mo also nodded quickly, pulling up data: "Yes, Boss! According to my preliminary simulations, if we all coordinate and use the terrain and traps for layered resistance, the final win rate is estimated at around 42.7%. Although it's below 50%, it's not without a fighting—"

"No," Lin Zhou interrupted them, his voice calm but carrying an indisputable decisiveness.

Everyone froze and looked at him.

"I accepted the bet, and the challenge is aimed at me." Lin Zhou stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the eternally rotating stars of the 'xinghai dome'. "The society has just been founded, and people's hearts are not yet steady. If this battle relies on everyone's strength, even if we win, others will say the 'Hundred Schools Society is just relying on numbers' and 'without the help of others, Lin Zhou's Hundred Schools of Thought are worthless'. What Wang Meng wants to suppress is me as a person, and more importantly, the path of the 'Hundred Schools'. This battle must be fought by me alone."

"Alone?" Zhao Hao blurted out. "Boss! Wang Meng has a hundred Golden Behemoths! Their average strength exceeds 45 points! Your subordinates are strong, but their numbers..."

Lin Zhou turned around, his gaze sweeping over every anxious, worried, or lost face in the room. "Precisely because of that, this battle is more meaningful. I want everyone to see that the Hundred Schools of Thought are not about tricks or numbers, but a true—Dao—that can overcome strength with weakness and defeat savagery with wisdom!"

He walked back to the conference table, tapped the holographic projector, and pulled up the "Wasteland" terrain map, along with the detailed data analysis Li Mo had compiled regarding Wang Meng's Behemoth Legion.

"But fighting alone doesn't mean blind head-on clashing." Lin Zhou's gaze sharpened like an unsheathed sword. "Li Mo, refine all the Behemoth data once more, especially the weakness analysis. Zhao Hao, you have the most experience fighting Behemoths; recall every detail of their combat habits and command patterns from your memory, don't leave anything out."

His tone carried a calm sense of control that instantly dispelled the panic in everyone's hearts. Zhao Hao took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and began to recall carefully. Li Mo quickly operated the terminal, constantly refining and simulating the data models.

The meeting once again became an efficient analysis session, but the protagonist was now Lin Zhou alone. Although Shi Lei and the others couldn't help with the core analysis, they listened with bated breath, hope reigniting in their eyes.

Li Mo's data panel was projected again, this time, at Lin Zhou's request, focusing more on the micro-behavioral patterns of individual units and battlefield interaction details.

[Target Re-analysis: Golden Behemoth (Individual/Small Cluster Behavior)]

Core Weakness Lock-on:

Sluggish Turning (Quantified): From full-speed charge to a complete stop and 180-degree turn, the average time is 2.1 seconds (affected by weight, inertia, and ground conditions). Turning from a stationary or low-speed start takes 1.5 seconds. Key: During the turning process, center of gravity adjustment is slow, and there is a brief weakness window in side and rear defenses (approx. 0.3-0.5 seconds).

Complex Terrain Penalty: Movement speed -35% and stamina consumption +50% in soft sand or boggy terrain; passage efficiency -60% in dense boulder obstacle areas (spacing smaller than shoulder width), prone to congestion.

Sensory Interference Sensitivity: When vision (smoke, bright light) or smell (irritating odors) is interfered with, judgment drops significantly, leading to misjudgment and irritability, and attack accuracy decreases.

Mental Resistance Fissures: Normal mental resistance is low (16-19). Berserk state is not seamless: there is an approximately 0.5-second period of mental confusion at the moment of trigger; after Berserk ends, there is a weakness period where mental resistance further decreases (temporary -5 points).

Command Execution Delay: Relies on simple roars and instinctive coordination; slow response to complex, changing tactical commands, with an average 1-2 second delay from reception to execution, and poor execution of commands requiring fine coordination.

Zhao Hao's supplement was even more intuitive: "These big guys are terrifying when charging in a straight line, but if you suddenly appear on their flank or behind them, the moment they have to turn around to hit you is really clumsy. Also, they hate unstable ground and poor visibility. Once they feel they can't catch you, they get extremely frustrated, attacking wildly and even accidentally hurting their own (though that's rare). Wang Meng's commands are usually just 'charge', 'spread out and charge', 'gather', and 'berserk kill'. I've rarely seen anything more complex."

Lin Zhou listened silently, his gaze moving back and forth between the terrain map and the data, his brain operating and simulating at an unprecedented speed. Tactical fragments were generated, collided, combined, and optimized in his mind.

The Hundred Schools of Thought are not just about power, but wisdom—a collection of methodologies.

"The core of this battle lies in one word—'Control'." Lin Zhou finally spoke, his finger pointing at several key locations on the terrain map. "Control the distance, control the rhythm, control the battlefield, and ultimately... control their life and death."

He began to explain his tactical concept, every detail crystal clear:

"First, distance control (Wind)." His finger traced the outer perimeter of the battlefield. "My twenty Elf Rangers' newly realized 'Lingbo Steps' will play a key role. They will not participate in frontal offense or defense; their sole task is 'luring' and 'misleading'. Using high mobility (+40% movement speed) and high evasion (+25%), they will roam the outskirts of the Behemoth Legion, performing harassing shots. The goal is not to kill, but to attract the attention of some Behemoths, forcing Wang Meng to split his forces for pursuit or at least disrupting the consistency of his army's charge. The boulders on the wasteland will be their best cover and turning points."

[Elf Ranger (LV31) Task Specification]:

Skill Usage: Maintain 'Lingbo Steps' throughout to maximize survival and mobility.

Attack Strategy: Use 'Righteousness Arrows' to shoot sensitive areas like the eyes, nose, and ears of the Behemoths, to provoke rather than kill.

Route Planning: Pre-set multiple traversal routes using boulders for cover, always maintaining at least 80 meters from the nearest Behemoth (Behemoth rock-throwing threat range is about 50 meters; at charge burst speed, 80 meters provides about 1.5 seconds of reaction time).

Danger Response: If flanked by multiple Behemoths, immediately retreat to the pre-set 'Trap Zone' or 'Bog Zone'.

"Second, rhythm control (Forest)." Lin Zhou's finger fell on several scattered boulder areas and the edge of a dried-up riverbed. "This is the area where Li Mo's traps will come into play, and it's also our pre-set 'Attrition Zone'. I need the Tiangong Dwarf Ballistae to perform a high-intensity 'welcome ceremony' before the Behemoths enter the trap zone."

[Tiangong Dwarf Ballistae (LV32, 50 units) Task Specification]:

Firing Phase: Fire in three alternating waves to maintain continuous firepower.

Firing Targets: Prioritize shooting elite individuals at the front, those trying to break formation, or exceptionally large ones. Focus attacks on leg joints and ankles.

Rune Activation: Temporarily attach 'Slowness' runes to one-third of the bolts (consuming Divine Power), not seeking to break defense, but only to further reduce their movement speed.

Position Selection: Establish semi-permanent firing positions relying on boulders, using terrain height differences to gain a field-of-fire advantage.

"After the traps are triggered, the Behemoth formation will inevitably fall into chaos and speed will be greatly reduced. At this time, my forty Lawful Merman Enforcement Squad units will strike as 'battlefield cleaners'." Lin Zhou's eyes turned cold.

[Lawful Merman Enforcement Squad (LV31, 40 units) Task Specification]:

Strike Timing: When the main Behemoth force is caught in the trap zone, the formation is disjointed, and obvious stragglers or small groups (3-5 units) have separated from the pack.

Attack Pattern: Do not linger! Cut in at high speed in a triangular assault formation, focusing attacks on 1-2 targets. Use the 'Law Enforcement' (damage bonus against chaotic/out-of-formation units) and 'Trident Mastery' skills to cause maximum damage within 5-10 seconds, specifically targeting lower joints and waist/abdomen soft spots, striving to disable their mobility in a short time.

Retreat Route: After one strike, regardless of the result, immediately retreat along pre-determined safe paths using smoke and boulders for cover, never giving the Behemoths a chance to encircle.

Core Goal: Not to kill, but to create disabled units, further slowing the overall Behemoth advance and exacerbating their chaos.

"Third, battlefield control (Fire and Mountain)." Lin Zhou's finger pressed heavily on the riverbed area. "This place will be the Behemoths' nightmare. The soft sandy soil, combined with my pre-emptive fine-tuning with Divine Power, will make it more adhesive. When the main Behemoth force is delayed, harassed, and steadily reduced in numbers, finally forced or enraged into charging into the riverbed area..."

He didn't finish, but everyone understood. That would be the final and most brutal battlefield of attrition.

"And my thirty Wenxin Elf Scholarss and thirty Tiangong Dwarf Heavy Shield Guards will hold the final position." Lin Zhou pointed to an area on the east side of the terrain map backed by a steep slope. "They are the 'Mountain', the flag that attracts the Behemoths to the final decisive battle, and the cornerstone that ensures our strategic depth won't be crushed in a single charge. The Elf Scholars will use 'Confucian Righteousness' to form a Domain, stabilizing morale and slightly weakening the Behemoths' ferocity; the Dwarf Shield Guards will form a dense shield wall, cooperating with the last batch of defensive traps for a final stand. The true killing move..."

Lin Zhou's gaze turned toward those forty Merman Law Enforcement units standing by like shadows, and the Elf Rangers who were always roaming the battlefield's edge.

"...will be delivered from the direction they least expect, when the Behemoths are at their most exhausted, enraged, and chaotic. Perhaps it will be a Merman assault from the flank, perhaps cold arrows from the Elves from behind, or perhaps... exploiting the weakness after their own Berserk state."

He laid out the entire tactical concept, every link interconnected, pushing the capabilities of every unit on his side to the limit and calculating every single weakness of the Behemoths.

Zhao Hao remained silent for a long time after listening, finally letting out a long breath: "Boss... this tactic of yours is practically treating those Behemoths like puppets on strings. If it can really be executed as planned... Wang Meng is going to lose very badly."

Li Mo also quickly completed a new data simulation, his voice carrying excitement: "The new tactical simulation win rate... 68.3%! Provided all units strictly execute orders and Wang Meng has no unexpected trump cards."

"68.3%..." Lin Zhou mulled over the number, his gaze deep. "It's enough. The battlefield changes in an instant; there is no such thing as a 100% victory. But with a 70% certainty, it's worth a shot. This battle must not only be won, it must be won beautifully, won so that all doubters are silenced, and won so that the words 'Hundred Schools' are truly etched into people's hearts!"

He looked at every member in the activity room: "For the next two days, I need your full assistance. Li Mo, according to the new tactics, refine the placement coordinates and trigger conditions for every trap and turn them into precise construction plans. Zhao Hao, simulate the possible reactions of the Behemoths in various situations, especially the irrational orders Wang Meng might give when enraged. Shi Lei, Wu Feng, Little Soft Sun, although you won't directly participate in the battle, you need to observe and learn, while also making emergency preparations. In case of any changes, you will be the last line of defense."

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison, no longer lost, only filled with burning Battle Intent and unreserved trust in Lin Zhou.

Fighting as a lone army, but not standing alone. Behind him was the wisdom and belief of the entire society. Before him was the touchstone to test the quality of the The Way of the Hundred Schools.

Lin Zhou looked out the window, as if he could already see three days later, on that wasteland, the wind rising and clouds surging, fire dancing amidst the yellow sand.