Chapter 9: Family War (Part 2)

Elder Nan Qiang smiled and said, “Don’t underestimate him. Hehe, he’s the best fighter here, and he enjoys the same treatment as an elder.”
Guo Shier saw that the most people were following Nan Yong, including many mid- and low-level disciples, though most of them were standing at the edge of the hall.
Guo Shier greeted him politely, “Hello, Nan Yong.” He didn’t look down on him because of his lower cultivation level—someone skilled in command didn’t necessarily need to be highly martial.
Nan Yong was a bit puzzled. In their family, those with weaker martial skills had lower status, and many powerful professionals looked down on mid- and low-level disciples. He didn’t expect Guo Shier to greet him. He said, “It seems the elder also likes command?” Observing from the side, he could tell from the few questions Guo Shier asked that this guest elder had a great interest in command.
Of course, Guo Shier was interested in command. In his past life, he had not only attended a formal military academy but also served as an officer. He smiled and said, “Hehe, I’m somewhat interested.”
Elder Nan Qiang wondered, “Commanding battles… requires specialized training. It’s very different from being a professional. It’s not about inheritance. Did Elder Guo also study it?”
Guo Shier didn’t want to be in charge of command. He knew how dangerous it could be—one wrong order could cost thousands of lives. He smiled and said, “Actually… I’m more interested in talisman boards and mapping talismans, hehe.”
Elder Nan Qiang replied, “That’s simple. I’ll give you a talisman board and the knowledge to craft mapping talismans. Such things… exist in all the ancient families. It’s no secret.”
Guo Shier was overjoyed. If he could bring these war tools back to his family, it would enhance their overall combat strength. He smiled and said, “Thank you, elder.”
Elder Nan Qiang said, “You’re welcome. Go back to your room and rest first. I’ve already arranged your lodging.”
Guo Shier wasn’t tired, but there were too many people around, and he was tired of interacting with almost strangers. As a guest elder, although the grand elders and clan elders were polite, they weren’t close to him. He didn’t bother trying to get along with them either. He said, “Okay, let’s go check out our lodging first.”
It was a unique small courtyard located on top of the Talisman Fortress. There were six small courtyards on top of the fortress—one for Guo Shier, one for Elder Nan Qiang, one for Elder Nan Qin, one for Nan Yong, with two more remaining empty. The clan elders lived on the lower floor, and below that were the residences of the grand elders and other elders.

There are only six such courtyards with a view of the sky—these are the best residences in the Fortress. Being at the top, one can also observe activities in the nearby areas. All flying vehicles and chases must stay away from this fortress, making it relatively quiet.

The two elders, Nan Qiang and Nan Qin, personally escorted Guo Shier to the courtyard before bidding farewell. They also assigned a dozen lower-level disciples as servants.

Standing in the courtyard, Guo Shier marveled at its elegance. There were three uniquely designed two-story buildings, surrounded by a stream with a small bridge and flowing water. There was also a small patch of flowering trees with pink blossoms. On the green grass lay tables carved from white jade, adorned with various fruits—most of which he had never seen before. They were colorful and quite beautiful.

Eagle Demon sat down at the table, picked up a red fruit, took a bite, tasted it, and immediately started eating heartily. “It tastes good, Shier. Try it!”

Guo Shier sat down, picked up an apricot-yellow fruit, took a bite, and said, “It’s indeed good. It has a fragrant taste. Hmm, not very sweet.”

Luo Zhan and Nan You also sat down. Nan You said, “These are fruits from the Tai Continent. That place produces all kinds of fruits, and these are among the rarer ones.”

Guo Shier asked, “Nan You, what about the Red Gold Continent… Do you plan to conquer it or just fight and leave?”

Nan You replied, “Of course, we plan to conquer it. This continent is very important. Our family has mobilized countless resources for this campaign—we won’t just leave after a few battles. We’ve already fought several times recently, and both sides have lost tens of thousands of professionals. How could we just give up? I estimate many professionals will die in this attack on the Red Gold mines. Sigh.”

Seeing him sigh, Guo Shier wondered, “Don’t you want to fight?”

Nan You shook his head firmly. “No, I do want to fight. Ideally, we should fight our way into the territory controlled by the Gujin Family, to all their key continents, and finally to the Gujin Continent itself, to destroy the roots of the Gujin Family—that would be great!” His face turned red, and his horse-like face became even more expressive.

Guo Shier had thought he had found a pacifist, but instead, it turned out to be a war fanatic. He rubbed his nose in exasperation and said, “I guess I shouldn’t have asked…”

Nan You said, “Elder, during this time, I’ll be your liaison officer. Well, do you want some experts assigned to you? The guest elder can be paired with experts at the grand elder level, while those at the elder level… can lead a large group.”

Guo Shierou shook his head and said, “No need. Why would I want so many experts following me?” Although he didn’t advocate staying low-key, he also didn’t want to show off. Having a group of experts around might seem impressive, but what’s the use of that? Once battle broke out and it was his turn to act, those people couldn’t replace him.

Nanyou said, “The first attack will take place in about three days. Is the Ancestor interested in going to take a look?”

Before Guo Shierou could reply, the soul of the old man Shuai began to fluctuate violently. “Go! Go, Shierou! You must go! It would be a huge loss if you didn’t! This is such a rare opportunity… Go!”

Guo Shierou’s soul trembled slightly. “Old Man Shuai, why are you so excited? What’s there to see in killing people?”

The old man Shuai cursed angrily, “Idiot! You fool! In wars, many professionals die…”

Guo Shierou interrupted him, “Nonsense. Of course people will die, many of them. What does that have to do with me?”

The old man Shuai was frantic, cursing bitterly, “You idiot! Don’t you know what’s most important about professionals?”

Guo Shierou replied without hesitation, “Of course I do. The most important thing about professionals is having a powerful soul!”

The old man Shuai cursed in anger, “You know it yet still refuse to go! You’re driving me crazy…”

Guo Shierou asked, “What do you mean?” As soon as he finished speaking, he realized what he meant and shuddered. “Old Man Shuai, do you mean… collecting the souls of those dead professionals? You… how can you do that?”

The old man Shuai replied confidently, “Why not? The souls of the dead… if you don’t collect them, they’ll soon dissipate in the air. Idiot, weren’t you happy when you collected the souls of mutated talisman beasts? Professional souls are the same—they’re also important materials. Otherwise… you surely wouldn’t hunt professionals to collect their souls, would you?”

Guo Shierou broke into cold sweat. Influenced by his past life, he found it hard to do such a thing. He said, “Old Man Shuai, let the souls of the dead dissipate. I can’t do that.”

The old man Shuai cursed, “You fool! I’m not asking you to collect the souls of your own professionals. I’m asking you to collect the souls of the dead professionals from the enemy side. Can’t you even do that?”

Guo Shierou was stunned for a while before saying, “Alright, I can go take a look.”

Nanyou knew that Guo Shierou had a powerful spirit priest and often consulted him on matters. At such times, Guo Shierou would remain motionless, seemingly lost in thought, so he didn’t rush him and waited quietly aside.

Guo Shierou said, “Nanyou, let me know when the time comes. We’ll go take a look together.”

Nan You said cheerfully, “Good, I’ll definitely come and inform you then.”
……
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, neither Guo Shier nor Yingmo Luozhan left the courtyard; instead, they focused on meditation. Guo Shier used the three newly obtained natural runes to repair the altar and refine the Moon Blade. Yingmo stayed in the small hut, continuing to refine his life treasure. Only Luozhan remained in the courtyard—he only needed to keep cultivating his soul, without the need for a separate retreat.
Nan You arrived on time.
Guo Shier, along with Yingmo and Luozhan, followed Nan You into the hall.
The hall was bustling with people. To Guo Shier, it resembled the command center from his past life, where all battle orders were issued.
Guo Shier glanced at the rune board, which clearly displayed the distribution of troops. Being an expert in military strategy, he quickly understood the overall layout. It was a straightforward formation: forces from the north and south would attack simultaneously, aiming straight at the stronghold of the Red Gold Mines. There were already many markers there, indicating that the main forces of the Gujin family were gathered there.
While not particularly ingenious, the formation was reliable. He shook his head slightly—this strategy required a large number of troops, relying on overwhelming strength to advance steadily, leaving the enemy with little choice but to fight back desperately.
Nan Yong came over. Noticing that Guo Shier had been staring at the rune board since he entered, he asked, “What do you think, Ancestor?”
Guo Shier replied, “If I were the commander of the Gujin family, I wouldn’t fight head-on. I’d use teleportation rune arrays to withdraw most of my troops, leaving only a small force to hold the position while the rest retreated to the outskirts to launch an attack.”
Nan Yong smiled. “They won’t retreat. Losing the Red Gold Mines would mean the end for their commanders, so they’ll definitely hold their ground. By the time we reach here…” He pointed at the rune board. “Here, we can set up rune arrays to control the entire area, rendering their teleportation arrays useless. By then… they’ll have no choice but to fight.”
Knowing he didn’t know much about the warfare tactics in this world, Guo Shier didn’t say more. He asked with a smile, “How many troops do they have for defense?”
Nan Yong replied, “Based on preliminary estimates, there are over six hundred thousand professionals and nearly seven million ordinary people, including two million mining slaves.”
Guo Shier asked, “They probably won’t come out to fight us, right? How strong is their defense there?”
Nan Yong said, “No, they’ll definitely come out to fight us. Just one or a few defense rune arrays won’t be enough to stop our forces.”

Guo Shierou shook his head secretly. He knew that without understanding the methods of warfare in this world, he couldn’t offer any real suggestions. He was unfamiliar with the wars here. Fortunately, he was a master at the level of an ancient ancestor, so even if he spoke nonsense, no one would dare to mock him.

Nan Yong said, “At the current pace, formal combat will start in two days. Is the ancient ancestor interested in going and taking a look?”

Guo Shierou nodded and asked, “Is there a task?”

Nan Yong replied, “Basically, the ancient ancestor doesn’t need to get involved directly. The only task is… when the ancient ancestor of the Gujin family appears, to hold him back so that they can’t attack our team. Of course, it’s enough if the ancient ancestor can hold back just one of them. If there are two masters at the ancient ancestor level, other reinforcements will be sent to handle them. However, based on our estimates, there’s at most one master at this level here, or maybe none at all.”

Guo Shierou said, “Alright.” Holding back a master at the ancient ancestor level—someone with a solid altar of three to five layers—should be within Shuai Lao Tou’s capabilities.