Chapter 392 – Tang Chou’s Plot
Translated by: Berrrybunz
Edited by: TN and DeAndreR
“Tell me your views.” Bing sat in front of Tang Chou like a strict procter.
“Yes.” Tang Chou was calm. After yesterday’s victory did not seem to have invoke any tinge of excitement in him: “This subordinate’s initial thought, was to formulate an appropriate and suitable battle strategy. My powers are not up to par and hence limited in my combat skills. That is why I hoped to formulate a type of battle strategy that could utilize those with weaker strength in battle.”
“Just like the first battle plan?”
“Yes.” Tang Chou continued: “I have been musing about why is the Army so reliant on the military leaders when it comes to battle. Then I discovered that each soldier in the Army was training different martial techniques at their own pace in the absence of proper coordination. Different martial techniques, hence different powers. Only an exceptional military leader has the ability to combine these elements seamlessly into an efficient battle strategy. From what I have observed of the Army, it is not possible to allow each soldier to practice its own martial technique. Hence, mechanical spirit weapons is the solution to this problem of ours.”
“The cards used by the mechanic spirit weapons?” Bing asked.
“Yes.” Tang Chou replied: “The card holders of each mechanic spirit weapon can hold 3 types of Spirit Cards. And with the help of the martial spirit residing in each of the weapon, it would take a shorter time for a mechanic martial artist to master them. Even though the prowess might be diminished, the Army can reduce the number of skilled martial artist it needs.
“Could it be possible that these mechanical martial artists stop practicing their individual martial techniques but instead focus on training their True Power instead?” Bing wondered. He knew that such a transformation could possibly revolutionize the modern warfare as they know it.
“This is how my battle tactic works.” Tang Chou assured Bing: “In my tactic, the requirement of the Army for skilled martial artists will decline greatly, allowing us to boost our reserve.”
“But if you were to meet with an enemy who is elite in its fighting abilities, you are bound to lose terribly.” Bing could foresee the weakness of this tactic. The 3 forms of martial abilities that Tang Chou would focus on is not the specialty of the individual soldiers in the Army and without the presence of a military leader, it would be difficult to control the movement and coordination of the troops. With these problems compounded with the encounter of a formidable opposition, a loss would be inevitable.
“Sir, we are the Cannon Fodder Army.” Tang Chou replied: “Furthermore, our aim is not to guarantee victory, but is the ability to endure inflicted offenses by the opposition.”
“Are you referring to a tactic utilizing ‘a sea of people’ ?” Bing asked
“Yes Master.” Tang Chou exclaimed: “The Lupus Constellation is suited for such a tactic because it possesses an abundance of troops. We have the ability to draw on our huge reserve to replace our causalities, much faster than what our opposition can do.”
Bing was silent. He knew deep down that Tang Chou’s tactic was both brash and simplistic. However, the Army did not possess skillful martial artists but they were swift in their attacks. Complementing this with the “sea of people” tactic, the might of their offenses would be greatly improved.
Bing was reluctant in accepting this tactic since it would involve a significant sacrifice in terms of the rapid depletion of its martial artists. As a passionate military instructor, he valued the life of every soldier. Such a sacrifice is something that is hard for him to bear.
Upon glancing at Tang Chou, Bing had mixed feeling about it.
What a cold-hearted being.
Tang Chou was not about to explain his approach, but he said: “This type of tactic is derived from the current circumstances we are facing. If we want to advance a step further, we would need the Fornax Constellation. Once we possess the Mechanical Spirit Weapon Technique, the population of the Lupus Constellation and the resources from Fornax Constellation, the Southern Cross Army would then have a strong fighting chance in the Heavenly Road.
Bing nodded: “No wonder you have been pushing for the Fornax Constellation strategy. You had this planned all along.”
Tang Chou replied: “Sir you are right. We need to learn to utilize less powerful soldiers to increase our chance of survival in this current warfare. With that, we can then buy the time to develop our soldiers and create a formidable fighting strength in the future.”
Bing’s impression of Tang Chou had completely changed. He felt that he had been underestimating the abilities of Tang Chou. He did not expect a mere staff officer to be able offer such a profound insight into military strategies. This was evident that Tang Chou possessed an acute ability to assess the battles of a warfare with an analytical mind.
Bing asked again: “What are your views on the army’s higher level military strength?”
“In the near future, I can foresee that you, master Crane and Master Ling Xu would be the Army’s higher level military strength.” Tang Chou continued: “However, in the longer horizon, we will need to create a long-term training plan to prepare for the development of our fighting abilities. Only this way will our military strength be augmented.”
Bing was visibly more calm than he was before. Compared to the previous “sea of people” tactic, this plan was much more acceptable to Bing.
“But there is one problem.” Bing replied: “The Lupus Constellation only has a weak energy concentration, hence it would take a much longer time to train them. To keep using the Energy Hall would be a great expense on us.”
Tang Chou seemed to have thought through this problem before: “The Ancient Energy Room. Though Fornax Constellation cannot take up a lot of people, but compared to the Cetus Constellation, in which they possess a relatively strong energy concentration. It possesses a concentration of up to 31%. Among the 10 Equatorial Palace Halls, this is considered a good concentration. Furthermore, the Cetus Constellation has a direct Star Door to Lupus Constellation. As long as we are able to conquer the Cetus Constellation and open up the starry door, we can swiftly achieve the migration of the Lupus Clan.”
“Cetus Constellation!” Bing was shocked and smiled: “This surely is a worthy opponent!”
It was also a good time for Tang Chou to seek his revenge. After what happened last time at Cetus Constellation, Tang Chou would have grasped the slightest opportunity to carry out his revenge.
However, the enemy is still one of the 10 Equatorial Palace Halls / Celestial Equator. Bing asked: “What are the chances for us to emerge victorious from this battle?”
“If we have 40 teams, it shouldn’t be much of a problem.” Tang Chou replied.
“40 teams!” Bing was shocked. Each team consisted of 100 men, which meant that he would require 4000 men for the battle. This is not a small amount.
Besides the time required in training them, it would be a challenging task to fit each of them with a Mechanical Spirit Weapon. And to find 4000 of such weapons is definitely not an easy task.
Tang Chou could feel Bing’s concern: “The Mechanical Spirit Weapons that we are currently using is already outdated. The new Mechanic Spirit Weapon, Vanguard, which was designed by Sai Lei has been finalized. The cost for each weapon is about 30 million Star Coins. For 4000 weapons, the total cost would be around 120 billion. Each Mechanic Spirit Weapon would require 3 Ranked 7 Spirit Cards. If they are Silver Grade Spirit Cards, it would cost about 2 million each, so one weapon will need 6 million, which will total about 24 billion. With the current strength that the Army possessed, the training schedule could be compressed to about 6 months and the cost for training would be around 32 billion. Including supplies, the total cost of this war would cost around 200 billion.”
“200 billion…” Bing was dumbfounded.
Bing suddenly felt guilty. In his entire life, he had always been thrifty. Spending just one billion would have already made him feel miserable. Now, there was this guy who dared to asked for 200 billion straight up without hesitation.
“We do not have to pay it all at one go.” Tang Chou explained: “Recruiting martial artists is a long drawn process. The cost for Mechanic Spirit Weapons and training fees are all expenses that are consumed consistently. In fact, only 20 billion is required to initiate the war. To be able to conquer one of the Equatorial Palace Halls at the cost of 200 billion, is also considered cheap.”
Bing was left speechless as he looked on at Tang Chou.
Tang Chou did not mutter a word and looked back at Bing.
Both were in a daze.
After a moment, Bing replied: “Very well Second Lieutenant. Your plan is excellent. But I can tell you honestly that the estimated cost of it is beyond what I have expected. Our main aim is still Fornax Constellation. If we proceed to attack Fornax Constellation, how many men do you think we will need?”
“6 teams.” Tang Chou replied with hesitation: “Fornax Constellation has a total of 4 Star Doors and each door requires a team to control. The remaining 2 teams would be the main offensive into the Fornax Fort.”
Bing shook his head: “You only have 4 teams.”
Tang Chou did not try to haggle: “If that’s the case, then we will only try to control the flow of the Star Door to the Cetus Constellation. The other 3 teams will combine their attack onto Fornax Fort.”
“How long do you need?” Bing asked.
“There is no problem in regards to the number of men.” Tang Chou replied: “Our barracks now has the strength of about 1000 people. We will just need to select 200 out of them. We can then shorten the training period from there.”
The news of Three Spirits City possessing formidable mechanical martial artists had already been spreading like wildfire. Many martial artists had been drawn here by its reputation, causing the number of men in the barracks to swell significantly. However, the barracks have only provided these outsiders with some battle guidance, not much different from the martial artists of Mo Family and Lupus Constellation. Since these martial artists already possessed a foundation in martial arts, their training period would be greatly reduced.
If it was an attack on Cetus Constellation, these outsiders might be overwhelmed by fear due to the ferocity of their enemies, hence it would be hard to rely on them. However, the attack on Fornax Constellation should not be difficult for these martial artists.
Bing replied: “Very well, Second Lieutenant. You can now start on your preparation.”
Tang Chou replied solemnly: “Yes Sir.”
As he watched Tang Chou leave, Bing breathed deeply. There were a lot of other events that also supported this battle, such as the partnership with Mo Family and their assistance in the preparation.
Bing went to find Sai Lei and asked her: “Sai Lei, what do you think of Fornax Constellation?”
Sai Lei was surprised by what Bing had asked her. She replied: “You are trying to conquer the Fornax Constellation?”
“That’s right!” Bing nodded: “What other place is more suitable for us other than it?”
“That’s very good to hear!” Sai Lei was excited: “I had always wanted the Army to conquer the Fornax Constellation! Those residing in Fornax Constellation are good for nothing. Only when it is under me, grandmaster Sai Lei, could it finally unleash its full potential!”
Bing let out a wide smile. Having Sai Lei’s support was a relief.
“When are you all moving out?” Sai Lei asked: “What do you require me to do?”
“Mechanical Spirit Weapons, and we need a lot of them.” Bing told her.
“No problem!” Sai Lei said excitedly. “As long as I have the supplies on hand, creating Mechanical Spirit Weapon will not be a problem.”
“That’s good to hear.” Bing nodded.
Sai Lei suddenly thought of something: “If you got the time, you should take a trip down to visit Old Man Fei. It seems that he might have discovered a very powerful item. The Old Man was unstable and his face was bright red. He was constantly finding me to see if you were back.
“Old Man Fei?” Bing wondered.