A Chaotic World

Chapter 234: Plans for the Battle

"The strategic meeting?" Lu Tianzi took a quick look at Nanlan Qianxue.

"What? I am busy too, you know?" Nanlan Qianxue shrugged with a smile. "It's not like I was intending to sit down with you for long either."

Beimu Fei rolled her eyes at this scene. "Let's go, they are already expecting us. Don't worry, it won't take long."

"Fine, fine," Lu Tianzi quickly got up upon hearing the impatience in Beimu Fei's voice.

Just like that, the two Peak Essence Condensation realm martial artists headed to the command tent of the main camp.

"You are finally here," Formation Master Beimu was the first to acknowledge their arrival.

"Greetings to Marshal Xianming!" the two dared not neglect their manners, immediately clasping their fists towards the person in charge.

"Mm," Marshal Xianming nodded. "Let's not waste time. Formation Master Beimu, why don't you brief them on the matter?"

"Understood, Marshal," even Formation Master Beimu had to show some form of deference towards the kingdom's second in command. "As you should know, we have gathered here to discuss about our strategy for the upcoming battle. We have already come to a consensus, but the thing is, we need you two to carry out the bulk of the plan."

"Us?" Beimu Fei looked at her in surprise.

"That's right," Formation Master Beimu had to restrain herself from chuckling upon seeing the look of surprise on Beimu Fei's face. "Since they caught our forces in a killing formation earlier, we shall do the same. As what people commonly say, an eye for an eye. For this coming battle, we are intending to take over full control of Rockfall Plain by setting up a grand formation in the middle of the battlefield."

"What?!" Beimu Fei blurted out without thinking.

As someone who had been learning the art of formations by Formation Master Beimu's side for many years, Beimu Fei had a strong knowledge base regarding the subject.

Setting up any formation was something that required precise calculations and planning on the part of the formation master, not to mention a formation large enough that could allow them to take direct control of Rockfall Plain.

If the area of effect was too small, the enemy could simply bypass it altogether.

While that would create some form of inconvenience to the enemy, it would do little to gain control over the plain.

In order for the formation to truly achieve their aim, the area of effect of the formation had to encompass at least half of the entire battlefield!

Considering the difficulties involved, setting up a formation on such a scale definitely was not something that could be done in the chaos of battle!

At least, Beimu Fei did not have the confidence to do so.

Should anything go wrong with the setting up of this formation, it could bring about dire consequences, especially when the Scarlet Moon Army was relying on it as their path to victory!

And now, they actually wanted to leave such an important task to her and Nanlu Tianzi?

Even though it felt good to be trusted, it would be irresponsible of her to just agree to take on such a role!

"Set up a formation in the middle of Rockfall Plain? Will the Dragon Cauldron Army just let us do that?" Lu Tianzi questioned doubtfully as well.

"Of course they won't!" Beimu Fei chided anxiously. "Do you even need to ask that?"

"They will definitely try to stop us by any means necessary," Formation Master Beimu agreed. "That is why none of the Origin Core realm martial artists must be seen carrying out the plan. If I were to go around the battlefield setting up the formation, there is no way that they will just leave me be. On the other hand, they would never expect us to assign such a task to our juniors."

"I don't think I need to explain why the two of you have been specifically chosen for this task. But if you are not confident of carrying out the plan, do voice it out right now," Marshal Xianming continued solemnly. "I am sure you know the gravity of the situation here, so make sure to consider your personal limits before answering."

Beimu Fei did not have to be asked twice. "I don't think I am able to do it."

"Is that so?" Marshal Xianming gave an understanding nod. "As I thought, this is asking for too much, isn't it?"

"I think the same as well," Lu Tianzi added. "I have never tried setting up such a huge formation either, so I am not sure about the chances of success. Unless we are given some form of precise instructions, it will be difficult for us to be confident of success."

"Oh?" the Origin Core realm experts present immediately turned towards him in surprise.

"Do you mean that as long as we give you precise instructions during the battle, you will be confident of accomplishing the task?" Marshal Xianming narrowed his eyes as he tried to confirm what he just heard.

"That's indeed what I mean, Marshal," Lu Tianzi nodded.

"What?" Beimu Fei turned to stare at Lu Tianzi in disbelief.

Precise instructions?

In the midst of battle, just how precise could those instructions be?

It was not like Formation Master Beimu could be standing right beside them, guiding them through the entire process!

All they would be told was probably the rough location where the formation nodes should be placed, as well as the order in which these formation nodes had to be set up.

Yet Nanlu Tianzi actually said he would be confident with just that?

Confident, my ass!

But right as she was thinking that, Beimu Fei noticed a gentle smile slowly break out across her master's face. Formation Master Beimu beamed as she added. "Pardon my negligence, I should have thought to mention this earlier. On the day of the battle, I will certainly try to guide you along to the best of my abilities."

"Master" Beimu Fei felt her heart sink when she saw this.

From the looks of it, it seemed that her master was really looking forward to having them help out. For all she knew, her master might even have specially planned for this situation so that they would have a chance to enter the limelight!

Beimu Fei would hate to disappoint her master, but this concerned the fate of the entire battle.

No matter how much she wished to live up to her master's expectations, Beimu Fei still dared not promise to do something that she had little confidence in!

"It will be fine," Lu Tianzi's voice sounded out in her head at this moment. "I will guide you along if necessary. Otherwise, you can just assist me."

Lu Tianzi, just like everyone else, had seen the anxious look on her face. That was why he conveyed his voice to Beimu Fei in an attempt to calm her down.

"" Beimu Fei was speechless.

Guide me?

Just who is the senior here?

Seeing the unbelievably confident look on Lu Tianzi's face, Beimu Fei even suspected for a moment that Lu Tianzi was a complete layman who did not understand the difficulty of placing formations!

Of course, she knew that was impossible.

If nothing else, his spectacular feat at the Second Battlefront had already become famous within the Scarlet Moon Army.

That was not something that could possibly be accomplished by someone who only had a basic understanding of the art of formations.

On top of that, how could her master's student be this ignorant?

In other words, was he truly confident about this matter?

Beimu Fei could not help but give Lu Tianzi a good lookover.

This brat just how far had he grown in such little time?

"Fei'er, are you okay with it?" Formation Master Beimu's voice broke Beimu Fei out of her daze. "You do not have to feel pressured by Tianzi. If you are not feeling confident, feel free to say so."

"No, I am fine! I will do it!" Beimu Fei steeled her resolve and answered loudly.

Since Nanlu Tianzi was so full of confidence, she would just have to trust in him, that he would be able to take the lead and accomplish the task. This time, she had already resolved herself to take on a support role, aiding Nanlu Tianzi in whatever way she could.

"That's good to hear," Marshal Xianming nodded in satisfaction.

"Please pardon me, Marshal," Beiqian Zuo suddenly interjected at this moment. "But on second thought, I wonder if it really is the right choice to entrust such an important role to them without any sort of tests?"

All eyes in the tent turned towards him. However, many among them were actually looks of appreciation.

He might have been the one to speak up, but his words had reflected the thoughts of many of those present.

After all, they were all Origin Core realm experts.

Beimu Fei and Nanlu Tianzi might be excellent younglings with stellar accomplishments under their belt, but they were still part of the younger generation after all. In the eyes of these people, the two of them were still far too inexperienced.

Considering that, was this really the best course of action they could take?

Even though they had readily agreed when the Marshal suggested it earlier, most of them had done so out of respect for Marshal Xianming.

Deep inside, they still felt that it was far too risky a plan!

Marshal Xianming turned to Beiqian Zuo with a look of interest. "Oh? By saying this, does it mean that Elder Beiqian has an idea on how to proceed with the test?"

"Is Elder Beiqian doubting the heritage of my Beimu Clan right now?"

This time, it was Formation Master Beimu's turn to interject. Hearing Beiqian Zuo doubt the abilities of her students, she could not help but feel offended.

"The formation heritage of the Beimu Clan is well known to all. Of course I won't dare to do so," Beiqian Zuo respectfully clasped his fists towards Formation Master Beimu. "Thus, I certainly will not doubt the skills of Lady Beimu. But as for Nanlu Tianzi, the time he has spent under Formation Master Beimu's tutelage is relatively short. I believe that I am not the only one here who is doubtful of his ability to place down precise formations."

Even though Beiqian Zuo hated seeing Lu Tianzi in the limelight, he would not want to fall out with the Beimu Clan over him either. Thus, he tried to phrase it as tactfully as possible.

But despite his efforts, how could Formation Master Beimu not tell that he was trying to single out Lu Tianzi?

"Have you not heard of what happened at the Second Battlefront?" Formation Master Beimu questioned in return.

"Yes, I understand what happened there. But that doesn-"

"Then you should know that his knowledge in the art of formations is well above that of many Origin Core realm experts among us, and most likely above yours as well." Formation Master Beimu impolitely cut him off. "Since that is the case, I doubt that you will be able to come up with a suitable test either. So on what grounds are you trying to suggest a test?"

"Wha-?" Beiqian Zuo was rendered speechless for a moment.

Formation Master Beimu had spoken with such gentleness in her voice, but her words were like knives that cut straight to the bones!

He had still been trying to maintain cordiality with his words, yet Formation Master Beimu actually shot him down without leaving him a tinge of respect?

How aggravating!

But in terms of status, he was indeed far below Formation Master Beimu.

Unfortunately, the head of the Flying Dragon Hall had not joined the war. Thus, nobody from his faction was of equal standing to Formation Master Beimu, which in turn meant that none of them would be able to speak up for him here.

If they did so without getting prior consent, they could even risk incurring the wrath of the head of their Flying Dragon Hall!

In fact, it was not just Beiqian Zuo who had been rendered speechless.

Silence fell upon the entire command tent as everyone was shocked by the aggression that had come from the usually gentle Formation Master Beimu.

Of course, none of them was willing to risk offending Formation Master Beimu by speaking up for Beiqian Zuo at this juncture.

Some of them sneaked a few peeks at Marshal Xianming, only to see him maintain his silence as well, obviously not intending to get involved.

At the side, Lu Tianzi took a quick glance at Beimu Fei, only to see a smug grin on the latter's face.

It was obvious that this was not her first time seeing her graceful master take on such an aggressive stance.

Then again, that was to be expected as well.

After all, Formation Master Beimu was someone completely different from Elder Mingxin.

Earlier in the war, Beiqian Zuo had butt heads with Elder Mingxin on multiple occasions. During those incidents, Beiqian Zuo had shown Elder Mingxin no respect whatsoever, taunting her repeatedly without restrain.

But when it came to Formation Master Beimu, she had no reason to endure the taunts from Beiqian Zuo.

She was the head of the Beimu Clan, a top tier power in the Scarlet Moon Kingdom!

Even though she had always carried herself with genuine grace, when things came down to it, she had never failed to take a firm stand.

She had acted this way back then when she came for Lu Tianzi at the Lightning Crow Sect, and she was acting this way again right now.

After all, if she was incapable of even taking a firm stand, how would the Beimu Clan ever accept her as their clan head, disregarding her relatively low cultivation level on top of that?

"Ahem!"

Sensing that the atmosphere had become too tense for his liking, Marshal Xianming cleared his throat loudly to draw in everyone's attention. "If there are no further objections, I shall entrust this matter to you, Formation Master Beimu. Make sure that you prepare them well. If you encounter any problems, let me know immediately."

"Understood, Marshal," Formation Master Beimu answered. "I will not let down your expectations."

"That will be for the best," Marshal Xianming nodded. "As for the rest of you, I trust that I do not have to remind you just how important it is that you keep this a secret. If I ever hear that any of you spoke of this matter frivolously, even to your subordinates, be sure that the person will be severely punished!"

"Yes, Marshal!" the rest of the Origin Core realm martial artists answered in unison.

"All right, you may leave!"

With that, the meeting was adjourned, and everyone left to make their own preparations for the upcoming battle.