Chapter 10: Attack and Defense (Part 2)

Guo Shier said, “Alright, let’s go back. Today’s mission is complete.”
The old commander said disappointedly, “Boring!” He retracted his head and disappeared from the top of the altar.
Nan You also said, “Let’s head back. I’ve received a message asking us to rest. That’s it for today.” The group turned and flew back. The flying vehicles in the sky also returned to their respective locations.
Soon, everyone landed in the camp. They had talismans that allowed them to pass through the defensive arrays without being blocked.
Guo Shier’s tent was next to the main command tent. The overall commander of this army was Nan Yong, but he stayed at the base to direct operations. The actual commander in charge was named Nan Xiong, a high-ranking holy master. Besides Guo Shier and others, he was accompanied by four clan elders and ten senior elders. In the military camp, every important officer was protected by skilled fighters.
The tent wasn’t large, with thick animal skins laid on the ground. Guo Shier sat cross-legged, and people brought him various cooked foods. The food here was slightly more refined than what he had back home. As the patriarch, he enjoyed many privileges, including an unlimited supply of fruits in addition to food.
Nan You left for a while before returning with a few people and saying, “Patriarch, Commander Nan Xiong has arrived.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Nan Xiong, sit down.”
Nan Xiong was a tall, strong man. His professional rank wasn’t very high—just that of a high-ranking holy master. Like Nan Yong, he had great command skills and was a well-known commander within the Gu Nan family, his status equivalent to that of a clan elder.
High-ranking professionals weren’t rare in the family, but high-ranking commanders were different. There were very few of them, and they were highly valued and held high status. In the Gu family, there were a few types of talents that were extremely precious: commanders, experts in financial management, and experts in family administration.
Nan Xiong sat down and said, “Patriarch, it seems we can’t rest today…”
Guo Shier asked calmly, “Is there a night attack tonight?”
Nan Xiong shook his head. “No, it’s not us… It’s the enemy who plans to launch a night attack. I just received the intelligence. Heh, I’ve already made arrangements, but I need the patriarch’s support.” Movements of this scale required the commander to handle them personally; no ordinary soldier could be sent to deliver the message. As the pillar holding the camp together, the patriarch held a very high status.
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Mm, go ahead and explain.”

Nan Xiong said, “The other side also has an ancient ancestor-level expert. The information we have is that he arrived today and will come tonight. We need the ancient ancestor to hold him off. As for the other experts, I’ve already assigned suitable people to deal with them.”
Guo Shier asked, “What’s the strength of that ancient ancestor-level expert?”
Nan Xiong replied, “He’s an expert at the third-tier solid-form altar level, named Hu Zhihui.”
Guo Shier was surprised and said, “Oh, he’s not from the Gujin family… Is he also an honorary ancient ancestor?”
Nan Xiong said, “Mm, he seems to be an expert who was hired not long ago. We don’t have detailed information, but it’s said that the Gujin family paid a huge price to bring him here.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll hold him off. Is there anything else I need to do?”
Nan Xiong said, “Nothing else. Just hold Hu Zhihui at bay. I’ll send someone to pick up the ancient ancestor tonight.” With that, he stood up and left.
Guo Shier smiled and said, “This can be considered mercenaries, right?”
Since there was no concept of mercenaries here, Eagle Demon asked, “What are mercenaries?” Guo Shier explained briefly, saying, “Actually, we’re also mercenaries. The Gunan family paid a lot to hire us to help complete tasks and earn rewards.”
Tian You said, “That’s not the same. You’re an honorary ancient ancestor of our family. If you were mercenaries, you’d get paid per task and could leave once it’s done. That’s completely different from the status and treatment of an ancient ancestor.”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “We’ll set out at night. The two of you follow me, and Uncle Luo will still use my altar.”
Luo Zhan smiled bitterly and said, “Sigh, we’re all high-level great sage masters yet still need Twelve’s protection. It’s so frustrating.”
Eagle Demon laughed and said, “Then you should level up quickly. Otherwise, you won’t be able to move freely.”
Guo Shier said, “Uncle Luo, don’t be discouraged. With your skills, you’re among the best at both the North Talisman Gate and the Chenxiao Sect. But here, it’s not enough. From now on, we’ll always be in groups of three. Who knows where we’ll end up? We need stronger skills—we must keep leveling up.”
Luo Zhan said, “Actually, I’m already quite satisfied. But here… I really can’t stop. There’s constant pressure to level up and improve my strength. Heh, at the North Talisman Gate, there’s no such pressure at all.”
Guo Shier said, “Sigh, we still haven’t found Master Luo Jie or Grandpa Nan Shan. I wonder how they are. Master Kumu and Masteress Monier… Maybe they’ve already reached the altar expert level.” His expression turned somber. After rushing all this way, they still hadn’t found a way back home.

Eagle Demon reassured him, “Don’t worry. We’ve all advanced to the altar, so they should be in a similar situation as well. Especially Old Master Luo and your Grandpa Nanshan—they received the inheritance of the Black Symbol People, the Three Altars of Heaven and Earth Soul… They got the inheritance of the Soul Altar, so they should be able to advance quickly.”
Nan You was surprised, “Black Symbol People? Do they even have an inheritance?”
Guo Shier asked, “What’s the matter?”
Nan You replied, “The inheritance of the Black Symbol People vanished long ago. To think there’s still an inheritance… If our family had such a skilled person, that would be amazing. Do you know where they are? Hehe, our family could hire them. The power of the Soul Flame of the Black Symbol People is truly incredible.”
Old Shuai poked his head out and asked, “Who… who is the heir of the Black Symbol People?”
Guo Shier said, “It’s none of your business. Go back!” His body trembled slightly as he forced Old Shuai back into the altar, preventing him from showing his head again. Annoyed, Old Shuai poked his head out once more and cursed, “You brat! Don’t force me to go back!”
Eagle Demon laughed and said, “Nan You, stop asking. We can’t find them. We’ve searched outside for so many years without even seeing a trace of them. We got lost ourselves.”
Old Shuai said, “The Soul Flame is a great thing. If you can find them, ask for one… I know how to obtain it.”
Guo Shier sighed and said, “It would be great if we could find them… Anyway, let’s not talk about this. Let’s get ready to set out at any time. We have a mission tonight.” He was no longer afraid of the experts at the third-tier altar. With his own skills, he might not be able to kill them, but holding them back wouldn’t be a problem. If Old Shuai was willing to step in, killing them wouldn’t be difficult either.
Old Shuai said, “Kid, I’m serious!”
Guo Shier reassured him, “I know, I know. But we need to find them first. Don’t worry. As long as we can find them, getting one Soul Flame is a piece of cake.” He believed that if he could find Master Luo Jie and Grandpa Nanshan and ask them for a Soul Flame, it wouldn’t be a problem at all.
Only then did Old Shuai satisfactorily pull his head back.
Nan You said, “If we can find them, our ancestor can also invite them to the family.” Since recruiting Guo Shier, his status in the family had risen sharply, so he was eager to recruit more experts.
Guo Shier said, “Nan You, you’re overthinking it…”
Nan You chuckled and said, “Yes, yes. Actually, I’m not overthinking it. I just want to hire some experts.”

At midnight, a great sage entered and said, “Ancestor, the time has come.”
Guo Shier stood up and said, “Let’s go and have some fun.” The great sage was speechless. This was a battle, yet the ancestor said it was just for fun. With a bitter smile, he followed him out of the tent.
Outside the tent, everything was silent; not a sound was heard, except for the light emitted by the talisman lamps. A cold wind blew, and Guo Shier said cheerfully, “Is everything ready?”
The great sage replied respectfully, “Yes, everything is arranged.”
Guo Shier didn’t ask further and immediately summoned his altar, ascending onto it. Luo Zhan followed and stood behind Guo Shier at the top of the altar. Then, Eagle Demon and Nan You also summoned their own altars and sat on them.
The four of them flew into the air. Guo Shier looked back and saw numerous hunting carts hovering in the distance, with faint talisman lights glowing, ready to set off at any moment. Passing through the defensive talisman array, Guo Shier flew high into the sky, where the battlefield belonged to altar-level experts. Old Shuai poked his head out and said, “There are quite a few people…”
Guo Shier said, “I know. They must be here to deal with other altar-level experts. Hmm, interesting. If we had more clan elders and grand elders here, wouldn’t their soldiers be in trouble?”
Nan You nodded and said, “If there aren’t enough experts to hold them back, that’s indeed the case. That’s why every clan attaches great importance to altar-level experts. Their combat capabilities are too strong; once a battle starts, without corresponding experts to hold them back, their disciples’ lives will be sacrificed, resulting in huge losses.”
Guo Shier and the others flew very high, invisible from below. They waited quietly.
Suddenly, Old Shuai said, “They’re coming!”
Guo Shier exclaimed, “Damn, so many altar-level experts!”
There were sixty or seventy solid and virtual altar-level experts flying toward them, swarming over like a horde. Old Shuai said, “Don’t move. The highest among them is just an expert with a two-story solid altar, and there are eleven with one-story altars. The rest are virtual altar experts. Their ancestor hasn’t shown up yet.”
Immediately, a large number of altar-level experts from this side also rushed forward.
Eagle Demon said, “Things are moving down there!”
Guo Shier cast a vision-enhancing spell and clearly saw the army of the Gujin clan charging in like a tide. He said, “They’re charging over… It’s useless, right? With the defensive talisman array, it’s hard to break into the camp.”

Nan You said, “That’s their ancestor’s task—to break the defensive talisman array.” Then he laughed again and added, “They probably didn’t expect that our ancestor here can match experts at the third or fourth-tier altars. Hehe, things are going pretty badly for them.”
Guo Shier immediately realized that he had appeared on the battlefield several times, always sitting on an altar, and his altar was clearly only two tiers high. That’s why the enemy had assumed there were no ancestor-level experts on their side.
Luo Zhan said with a smile, “It’s really deceptive, huh. This time they’re going to suffer.”
The old hero said, “Here he comes! Kid, you should be able to handle him. I have other things to do. Don’t worry; if there’s danger, I’ll step in.” He reassured Guo Shier.
Hu Zhihui, controlling his three-tier altar, rushed straight toward the camp. He needed to break the enemy’s defensive talisman array within the allotted time to provide the greatest possible support to the troops launching a surprise attack below.
Guo Shier suddenly disappeared and teleported right in front of Hu Zhihui, saying calmly, “Your opponent is me!”
Hu Zhihui was shocked. He abruptly stopped his altar and then saw Guo Shier appear. Unable to suppress a sneer, he said, “Just you? How dare you block my way?” He had noticed Guo Shier earlier but had never taken him seriously. What was so special about an expert with a two-tier altar?
Book 26: Strategic Battle Against Fiendish Beasts