147: Chapter 147 A New Round

In the council hall of the Chief's Tent, the core members were gathered.

A map made of Savage Beast skin was spread across the low table in the center of the council hall.

The position of the Upstream Ferry of Lingxi River was marked with gravel, and the location where the Shadow Clan vanguard had been annihilated was marked with golden spiritual powder.

The golden light spot on the Savage Beast skin map looked like a quiet sun, but the area surrounding that sun was a deeper shade of gray.

Zhao Linger stood beside the Savage Beast skin map, her large, round eyes filled with an unprecedented gravity.

Since returning to the Bright Tribe, her Spirit Sound Affinity had continued to maintain a vast sound wave detection network centered on the tribe.

The aftermath of the Shadow Resonance echoed faintly in her detection, and the low-frequency communications of the Shadow Clan wound through her network like cold snakes in the wilderness.

"Ten Tier 1 Barbarian General Shadow Clan vanguards have been annihilated." Her voice was half a degree lower than usual, and her Spirit Sound Technique delivered the sound precisely to everyone's ears.

"But the Shadow Resonance has already transmitted information to the Shadow Realm. Ying Wuyue has perceived what happened through the Shadow Link."

She took a deep breath.

"A message came through the Shadow Resonance: 'I will come personally.' It is possible that Ying Wuyue is coming to the Central Wasteland Region himself."

The council hall fell silent for a moment.

Ying Wuyue was the Shadow Clan's agent in the Central Wasteland Region.

As a Barbarian King-level Shadow Clan member, his status within the Shadow Clan was undoubtedly high, and the pressure was palpable.

Wang Sheng, at Tier 2 Barbarian General, was two full major ranks below a Barbarian King.

Zhao Linger closed her eyes and probed again for half a breath. Through her Spirit Sound Affinity, she captured a faint, trailing shadow frequency within the aftermath of the Shadow Resonance.

"It's the new movement trajectory of Zhao Mang's Blood Wolf Tribe.

After the Shadow Resonance occurred, Zhao Mang's main force changed its marching route, accelerating directly from the south toward the northern part of the Central Wasteland Region.

The journey that originally took three days will now only take two."

Two days.

Heavenly Strategist Shangguan Xuan stood beside the Savage Beast skin map, her eyes contemplating the next key move.

Her stance outlined a tall, slender figure beneath her Savage Beast silk robe, and her long, silver-white hair drifted slightly on her shoulders.

The sharp light in her eyes was keen and precise as she scanned every marked point on the Savage Beast skin map.

"We struck first and successfully wiped out the Shadow Clan's vanguard at the Upstream Ferry of Lingxi River.

Because the formation base was not completed, the enemy cannot teleport directly to the battlefield via their shadow stronghold. This is a major victory for us." Her voice was steady and clear.

"But if Ying Wuyue is truly coming personally, it means the threat to the Bright Tribe from the Shadow Clan has upgraded directly from a Savage General Rank 1 vanguard to the Barbarian King level.

And Zhao Mang's acceleration means he is no longer waiting for the Shadow Clan's reinforcements to complete their deployment; instead, he intends to launch an attack on the Bright Tribe ahead of schedule.

With Zhao Mang's thousand men applying pressure from the south and the Shadow Clan waiting in the shadows for a fatal opportunity to strike, this is an upgraded version of a pincer attack."

"How much time do we have?" Wang Sheng's voice was steady, his Tier 2 Barbarian General golden spiritual power flowing slowly within his body.

"Zhao Mang's troops may arrive at the south bank of the Lingxi River in two days.

Afterward, they may complete the encirclement of the Bright Tribe within about three days."

Heavenly Strategist Shangguan Xuan's eyes scanned the position of the south bank of the Lingxi River on the map.

"Ying Wuyue's current status is uncertain.

The Shadow Clan acts cunningly; they will strike at a fatal moment, and that fatal moment will be when we are engaged in a head-on battle with Zhao Mang's main force and our spiritual power is heavily depleted."

"So…" Wang Sheng's fists slowly clenched. "We have two days of preparation time."

"Correct." A sharp light flashed in Heavenly Strategist Shangguan Xuan's eyes.

"Two days.

Reinforce the city walls, deploy defensive lines, stockpile elixirs, and train troops.

In two days, Zhao Mang's thousand men will appear on the south bank of the Lingxi River."

Shen Xun'er stood before the council hall window, a smile of gentle yet firm resolve in her moist, almond-shaped eyes as a Moonlight Priestess.

Her silver-white hair drifted slightly on her shoulders, and her Savage Beast silk under-robe shimmered with a moon-white glow in the council hall's spiritual lamp light, while the golden-white light of her Moonlight Blessing swirled faintly at her fingertips.

Her presence as the primary wife was unassuming, yet as clear as moonlight illuminating everything.

When Wang Sheng was fighting on the front lines, she was the guardian behind the Bright Tribe.

"The Star-Moon Protective Shield can cover the entire village, but facing an attack on the scale of a thousand men, the energy will be continuously consumed once the Star-Moon Protective Shield is activated." Her voice was gentle yet professional.

"I can maintain the Moonlight Blessing to cover the city walls and barracks during the battle, but if Zhao Mang adopts a war of attrition, I fear the energy replenishment will not keep up with the rate of consumption."

Frost Mage Lin Shiyun stood in a dark corner of the council hall, her silver-white hair drifting like snow in the darkness, her ice-blue pupils as cold as ever.

Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her Savage Beast silk mage robe shimmered with a faint ice-blue glow in the shadows.

The Frost Mage's spiritual power swirled faintly at her fingertips, and ice-blue light condensed into fine frost.

"The Frost Defense Line can freeze the ferry on the south bank of the Lingxi River, preventing Zhao Mang's thousand men from crossing the river directly.

However, Barbarian General-level warriors can shatter the ice walls, and the duration of the Frost Defense Line depends on my spiritual power consumption." Her voice was cold yet precise.

"If Zhao Mang's main force crosses the river from three ferries simultaneously, the Frost Defense Line can only last for two hours at most."

Su Mengyao was in another corner of the council hall, the Nature Druid's emerald green hair cascading down like a verdant waterfall in the spiritual lamp light.

Her emerald eyes held a floral, gentle smile, but deep within that smile was a stubborn determination like vines.

"The Spirit Garden defense line can extend dense Nature Traps outside the south gate.

The vines can entangle Savage Beasts and Barbarian Warrior-level fighters, but Barbarian General-level fighters can break free." Her voice was gentle yet weary.

"The true purpose of the Nature Traps is to delay the offensive rhythm of Zhao Mang's main force and buy time for the Holy Light Cavalry to charge."

Murong Xue stood beside the Savage Beast skin map, her silver armor shimmering with a cold light in the spiritual lamp light of the council hall.

There was no fear in the Holy Light Knight's brown eyes, only determination.

Spiritual power swirled faintly over her silver armor, and the white-gold Holy Light Resonance Rune flickered slightly on it.

"The thirty Holy Light Cavalry can launch a charge when Zhao Mang's main force is crossing the river.

The cavalry charge that I lead personally can crush the formation of Barbarian Warrior-level fighters head-on, but you will need to personally deal with the Barbarian General-level fighters." Her voice was low and powerful, her silver spear tilted slightly in her hand.

"I will lead by example, charging at the front and retreating at the rear."

Liu Ruyan stood silently in the shadows of the council hall, the Phantom Assassin's figure appearing and disappearing in the darkness.

Her smoky, mist-like eyes held the cold determination of the shadows, and her Phantom Dagger flipped silently between her fingers.

"The five members of the Light and Shadow Legion can assassinate officers below the Barbarian General level from the shadows while Zhao Mang's main force is crossing the river, disrupting their chain of command.

But if it is Ying Wuyue…" Her voice was soft yet clear.

"If Ying Wuyue truly strikes, the Light and Shadow Legion cannot contend with a Barbarian King-level Shadow Clan member.

The true purpose of the Light and Shadow Legion is to… protect Wang Sheng before Ying Wuyue strikes."

Hua Jieyu sat kneeling in a corner of the council hall, her pale green Savage Beast silk medical robe glowing with a soft, moist luster in the spiritual lamp light.

Her almond-shaped eyes held a gentle smile, but deep within the smile was the professional calmness of the Hundred Herb Medical Immortal.

Her slender fingers were lightly crossed on her knees, and her fingertips were stained with an unnatural red from spiritual power backlash.

"The stock of Shadow Residue purification elixirs is sufficient, and there are two holy light amplification elixirs left.

The Light Healing Technique combined with Hundred Herbs Affinity can provide continuous healing on the battlefield, but recovery from spiritual power backlash still takes time.

In two days, my Power of Hundred Herbs can recover to seventy percent." Her voice was gentle yet firm.

"The combination technique of seventy percent Power of Hundred Herbs with the Holy Light Healing Grass is enough to deal with the Shadow Burns of Barbarian Warrior-level fighters.

The Shadow Burns of Barbarian General-level fighters require your Light Healing Technique combined with my Power of Hundred Herbs to be purified."

Wang Sheng stood before the Savage Beast skin map, his Tier 2 Barbarian General golden spiritual power flowing slowly within his body.

His brown eyes scanned every marked point on the Savage Beast skin map.

The Upstream Ferry of Lingxi River, the south bank of the Lingxi River, the Bright Tribe, the Savage Beast Forest, the location of Zhao Mang's Blood Wolf Tribe… Like a precise chessboard in the wilderness, he placed a key piece on the battlefield chessboard.