41: Chapter 41 The Strategist's Plan

Inside the Assembly Hall, the atmosphere was suppressed to the extreme.

"Bang!"

Chief Leader Bear Overlord smashed the hardwood table in front of him into pieces with a single punch!

"Trash! A bunch of trash!"

Like an angry lion, he paced back and forth, roaring, "One hundred men! And you couldn't even take down a nameless, insignificant little stockade! You've completely disgraced Dushan Stronghold!"

His copper-bell-like eyes swept over the silent, terrified leaders below, filled with violent Killing Intent.

"Big Brother, calm down!"

Liu Chengfeng stepped forward, his expression equally grave.

"This matter, I fear, is not that simple," he said slowly.

"According to the brothers who escaped, Panshi Stockade not only utilized the terrain to set an ambush, but its Stockade Master is also a formidable character with deep schemes and ruthless methods. To be able to completely annihilate Black Leopard and his fierce bandits, this Panshi Stockade is definitely not to be underestimated."

"Big Brother, we must not underestimate the enemy!"

Liu Chengfeng advised earnestly, "Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. We know too little about this Panshi Stockade. I suggest we first send scouts to determine their true strength—for instance, how many men do they have? What is the strength of their Stockade Master? How are their defensive fortifications? Only when we have gathered sufficient intelligence and formulated a detailed battle plan can we strike and succeed in one blow!"

"Enough!"

Bear Overlord impatiently interrupted him.

"Strategist, your courage is getting smaller and smaller!" He pointed at Liu Chengfeng and scolded him unceremoniously, "Fearing wolves in front and tigers behind—how can we accomplish great things like this?"

"I don't care what kind of schemes or tricks he has! If he can defeat a hundred pieces of trash, does he think he can stop me, Bear Overlord?"

He looked around at everyone and announced loudly:

"Pass on my order!"

"Tomorrow morning, assemble the troops!"

"I will personally lead the men to meet this so-called Panshi Stockade!"

"I want to see just how tough their bones really are!"

Bear Overlord's decision made Liu Chengfeng's brow furrow even deeper.

He opened his mouth, wanting to persuade him further, but seeing Bear Overlord's arrogant and stubborn demeanor, he ultimately chose to remain silent.

He knew that once his Big Brother decided on something, ten oxen couldn't pull him back.

He could only sigh secretly in his heart.

The night was deep as water.

Inside the Assembly Hall of Dushan Stronghold, the lights were still blazing.

The clamor and fanaticism of the day had dissipated, leaving only a few core leaders remaining here.

Bear Overlord sat upright on the tiger-skin chair, using a whetstone to sharpen his massive mountain-splitting axe, stroke by stroke.

The friction between the axe blade and the whetstone made a "swishing" sound, which seemed exceptionally jarring in the silent night.

His face still bore an indelible trace of anger.

To him, Black Leopard's crushing defeat was not just a simple loss of manpower, but a public provocation against his authority.

Since he, Bear Overlord, established his stronghold at Ghost Sees Sorrow, when had he ever suffered such a great loss?

He had to regain his standing personally!

Liu Chengfeng sat to one side, toying with the white paper fan that never left his side, his eyes flickering as he wondered what he was thinking.

He knew that it was already impossible to persuade Bear Overlord now.

His Big Brother had already entered a dead end, his mind clouded by anger.

The only thing he could do now was to secure as much of a winning chance as possible for Dushan Stronghold in this battle that was destined to be fought.

"Big Brother." Liu Chengfeng finally spoke, breaking the silence.

Bear Overlord did not look up, but merely let out a muffled "Hmm" from his nose.

"Since Big Brother has made up his mind, I will naturally support you with all my might." Liu Chengfeng's tone was very respectful, "However, I believe that we could perhaps make some adjustments to our battle tactics for this expedition."

"Oh?" Bear Overlord stopped his movements, looked up at him, and said, "Let's hear it."

Although he was arrogant and stubborn, he still had some faith in his strategist's wisdom.

Liu Chengfeng stood up, walked to the map, pointed at the location of Panshi Stockade, and spoke eloquently.

"Big Brother, according to the brothers who escaped, Panshi Stockade must have utilized the terrain advantage to set up heavy ambushes at the mountain pass."

"They were able to win once by relying on surprise. But if we are aware of their methods, it will be impossible for them to deal with us in the same way again."

"Therefore, I conclude that their defensive focus tomorrow will still be on that single mountain pass."

"If we launch a frontal assault, even with your invincible Divine Might, Big Brother, I fear we will suffer significant casualties. The lives of those bandit soldiers are worthless, but if we lose our elite brothers from the stronghold, it would not be worth the cost."

Bear Overlord nodded; these words spoke to his heart.

Although he was irritable, he was not stupid; he knew that these capable brothers under his command were his capital for survival.

"Then, in your opinion, what should be done?" he asked.

A barely perceptible glint flashed in Liu Chengfeng's eyes; this was the sentence he had been waiting for.

The white paper fan in his hand gently tapped on the map.

"Openly repair the plank road while secretly marching to Chencang."

He slowly uttered these eight words.

"Big Brother, my strategy is as follows."

"Tomorrow, we will split our troops into two groups."

"One group will be led by Third-in-Command, brother Du Wei, leading five hundred main forces to launch a feint from the front! The louder the commotion, the better; we must attract all of Panshi Stockade's attention to the frontal battlefield at the mountain pass!"

He looked at "Iron-Faced Judge" Du Wei, who was sitting to the side with a face as cold and hard as iron.

Du Wei nodded and said in a deep voice, "No problem."

Liu Chengfeng continued, "And the other group will be led by Second-in-Command, brother Nie Kong, personally leading an elite squad composed of thirty of our best brothers to take another route!"

The fan in his hand pointed to the area on the side and rear of Panshi Stockade, which was marked on the map as cliffs and precipices.

"Although the map shows this as a dead end, according to scout reports, halfway up these cliffs, there is an extremely hidden, goat-path trail, a path used by monkeys in the mountains, which ordinary people would never know about."

"This small path can lead directly behind Panshi Stockade! That must be the place where their defenses are weakest!"

He looked at the Second-in-Command, "Ghost Shadow" Nie Kong, who was sitting in the corner like a shadow, with almost no presence.

"Brother Nie Kong, your light-body technique is the best in the entire stronghold. If you lead this surprise force to sneak into Panshi Stockade without anyone noticing, and set fire to their granaries and barracks, it will create chaos."

"At that time, there will be chaos inside Panshi Stockade, and the people will be panicked. On the frontal battlefield, brother Du Wei can then take advantage of the situation to launch a general attack!"

"In this way, with a pincer attack from front and back, and coordination from inside and out, Panshi Stockade can be broken in a snap!"

Liu Chengfeng finished stating his plan in one breath, his face full of confidence.

This was a quite perfect plan.

The frontal assault was an overt plot, forcing Panshi Stockade to deal with it with all its might.

The sneak attack from the side and rear was a covert plot, catching the opponent with an information gap and striking directly at their vital point.

The combination of overt and covert plots could be called seamless!

"Good! Good strategy!"

After listening, Bear Overlord slapped his thigh fiercely and stood up excitedly!

"Strategist, you're really something! Let's do it!"

He laughed loudly, "After we break Panshi Stockade, I will make their Stockade Master watch with his own eyes as his women are toyed with by me! I will turn all their men into slaves to build our stronghold!"

"Hahahaha!"

Inside the Assembly Hall, Bear Overlord's arrogant and wild laughter rang out once again.

However, no one noticed.

While he was laughing wildly, Second-in-Command Nie Kong, who was sitting in the corner, had a flash of cold, sinister light in his eyes.

And Third-in-Command Du Wei, on that iron-cast face of his, also revealed a barely perceptible, complex expression.

...

Meanwhile, at Panshi Stockade.

Inside the meeting hall, the lights were also blazing.

Gao Feng stood alone in front of a huge sand table, his brows locked in a frown, his fingers tapping continuously on various positions on the sand table, while in his mind, he was rapidly conducting deductions.

Luo Shu, Luo Qin, Luo Hua, Old Qiu, and other core members stood on both sides, waiting quietly, not daring to make a sound to disturb him.

They knew that the Stockade Master was again pondering a good strategy to defeat the enemy and win.

"Stockade Master, although today's battle was a great victory, it has also completely enraged Dushan Stronghold."

In the end, Old Qiu couldn't help but break the silence, his face bearing a trace of gravity, "I reckon that blind bear will definitely bring people to retaliate personally tomorrow."

Gao Feng did not look back, still staring at the sand table, but asked indifferently, "Old Qiu, if you were an enraged bear, how would you attack a trap set by a hunter who had made you suffer a loss?"

This question made Old Qiu pause for a moment.

He thought for a moment and replied earnestly, "If I were that bear, I wouldn't walk the old path of the trap again. I would rely on my thick skin and great strength to just crash into the hunter's cabin and collapse it!"

Gao Feng heard this, and a smile finally appeared on his face.

He turned around and looked at everyone.

"What Old Qiu said is exactly what Bear Overlord will do."

He pointed to the position on the sand table representing the mountain pass, "He is a reckless man with courage but no strategy. Suffering two losses will only make him believe more in his own power. Therefore, tomorrow, it is highly likely that he will choose to use his Fourth-Order strength to forcibly break through our mountain pass from the front."

"However," Gao Feng's tone changed abruptly, "the strategist by his side, 'White Fan' Liu Chengfeng, is not a fool. On the contrary, according to Black Leopard's confession, this person has deep schemes and is full of tricks. He will never let Bear Overlord do such a stupid thing as a head-on collision."

"Therefore, I conclude that they will definitely find a way to avoid our most heavily defended mountain pass and find another way."

His finger slowly traced across the sand table.

Finally, it tapped heavily on the rear mountain cliff area that he had designated as a restricted zone.

"This is our only flaw."

Everyone's gaze was concentrated on that position.

"But Stockade Master," Old Qiu scratched his head and asked in confusion, "that place is all cliffs and precipices; even monkeys can't climb up there. How could they possibly come from there?"

"Ordinary people naturally cannot climb up," Gao Feng's eyes flashed with wise light, "but in Dushan Stronghold, there is one person who can."

He looked at Luo Shu: "Luo Shu, read the intelligence from Black Leopard's confession regarding Dushan Stronghold's Second-in-Command, 'Ghost Shadow' Nie Kong, to everyone."

Luo Shu immediately stepped forward and read clearly: "'Ghost Shadow' Nie Kong, Second-in-Command of Dushan Stronghold, a Third-Order Peak powerhouse. He is gloomy, narrow-minded, and skilled in light-body techniques and assassination. It is said that his light-body technique has reached the Transcendent level, allowing him to walk over snow without leaving a trace, scale eaves and walk on walls, and move as if on flat ground. He is the top scout and assassin in Dushan Stronghold."

After she finished reading, everyone's expression changed.

They finally understood that Gao Feng's worries were not unfounded.

"Once Nie Kong is allowed to lead an elite squad to sneak in from the rear mountain, all our defenses will become mere decorations, and the entire stockade will fall into a dangerous situation of being attacked from both front and back." Gao Feng's voice became grave.

"Then... what should we do?" Old Qiu was anxious, "How about we split half our manpower to go defend the rear mountain?"

"No." Gao Feng shook his head, flatly rejecting this proposal.

His gaze moved back and forth on the sand table, his brain working rapidly.

"Dushan Stronghold's forces are several times greater than ours. If we split our forces, it will only make our already weak forces even more stretched, ultimately allowing them to defeat us one by one."

"Moreover, this might be exactly the result the opposing strategist wants to see."

"It is very likely that he is using this method to force us to split our forces, thereby weakening our defensive power at the frontal mountain pass."

The corners of Gao Feng's mouth slowly curled into a cold and confident smile.

He looked at the cliffs, and a mysterious light that no one could understand flashed in his eyes.

"No, not only will we not split our forces, but we will also concentrate all our elites at the mountain pass!"

"I want the strategist of Dushan Stronghold to think that his plan has succeeded."

"I want him to pin all his hopes on that surprise force sneaking into the rear mountain."

Luo Shu was sharp and clever; she instantly understood Gao Feng's meaning, and her beautiful eyes sparkled with brilliance.

"Brother, do you mean... to use their own plan against them?"

Gao Feng nodded with a smile.

He turned his head and looked out the window at the rear mountain, which appeared particularly deep and mysterious in the night.

"He has a surprise force; could it be that I don't?"

"It's just right; it's time to let our 'Guardian Divine Beast' stretch its muscles."

"I want to see whether Dushan Stronghold's 'Ghost Shadow' is faster, or my Panshi Stockade's Tiger King is fiercer!"

...

The next day, at the first light of dawn.

Dushan Stronghold, which had been silent for the night, was like a poked hornet's nest, completely boiling over.

"Dong—dong—dong—!"

The muffled war drums resonated throughout the entire valley.

Countless bandits swarmed out of their respective barracks.

They held various weapons, with bloodthirsty excitement on their faces, and gathered on the open ground in front of the stronghold.

On the high platform, Chief Leader Bear Overlord was clad in a suit of captured heavy armor, carrying his iconic mountain-splitting axe on his shoulder, his eyes sweeping over the swarming crowd below like lightning.