Chapter 1561: Formulating a Counterattack Plan
Several Dao Heaven experts suffering from Nan Shen-induced stress syndrome twitched uncontrollably as they saw the small stool slammed onto the table.
Bati buried his head under the table like an ostrich, Piers turned away, not daring to look. Baldr rubbed his forehead, grinding his teeth, while Odin, face dark, pressed his hand to his brow. The Magician simply turned around and faced the wall.
Grudge points skyrocketed!
What the hell, basically everyone here has had their head cracked open by that small stool, and you're proud of it?
Seeing the round-table meeting fall into dead silence, Yang Jian kept giving Jiang Nan signals, tugging at his sleeve.
(‧̣̥̇๑◔﹏◔ิ) "Tone it down a bit, okay?"
Aren't you afraid they'll gang up and beat you into the ground?
Still daring to bring that up? Half the people in this room are victims of your stool. If they get really mad and come at you together, the few of us won't be able to stop them, you know?
But Jiang Nan flat-out refused to save face.
╧╧٩(ꐦ°᷄д°᷅) "If anyone has a problem, I don't mind finishing the job on those I haven't cracked yet. Maybe I'll even earn the title of Blue Star Head-Cracking King!"
Grudge points went absolutely crazy.
Yang Jian's forehead broke out in cold sweat.
(‧̣̥̇･᷄ㅂ･᷅) "Ah ha~ ahaha... our Jiang Nan is still young, still a child, doesn't know any better. Please don't take it to heart, okay?"
But Piers and the others only grew angrier. "Still young, still a child"? Getting your head cracked by a child? That's even more embarrassing, alright?
Odin, dark-faced: (̿▀̿̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀̿̿)̄ "He's cracked the most heads! Let him speak!"
Even Odin had spoken, so the rest also wanted to see what plan Jiang Nan had in mind.
Jiang Nan placed both hands on the round table, his expression gradually turning serious.
"Right now, the most urgent problem is the Moon Eye crisis! Before the dawn on the lunar far side arrives, we must break through the One-Eyed Species' obstruction, deal with the Star-Devouring Giant Worm, and fill the Moon Eye."
"All of this must be accomplished within eleven days."
"During the Dawn War, everyone saw how tough the One-Eyed Species were! A single Yuzu-rank One-Eyed is already comparable to a Starlight-level fighter! Without proper countermeasures, they can even go toe-to-toe with an average Dao Heaven."
"Over a hundred thousand One-Eyed! How do we take them all out in such a short time? Even with anti-Pupil Race weapons, how many people would we have to sacrifice to deal with them?"
At this point, everyone's hearts sank.
It wasn't just the manpower issue—even if Pang Badi worked himself to death, he couldn't produce that much equipment in such a short time.
Jiang Nan's gaze turned heavy: "I've done the math. Even if we sacrifice a million people, we might not be able to finish off all the One-Eyed."
"Even if we win—if we lose a million people on the moon, can we really call that a win? If that many high-end human combatants die, there's bound to be a generational gap. What about the future?"
"Even if the Moon crisis is solved, can we still keep playing? The Holy Star won't stop. If they stir up more trouble, what will humanity use to fight back?"
"It's still a loss. Whether we win or lose in a direct confrontation with the One-Eyed in a counterattack, it's still a loss. I don't think any of you want to see your friends and brothers fall on the moon."
At that moment, the atmosphere in Sun Hall grew heavy.
Bati clenched his steel teeth: "I don't want to think about it anymore! Never again!"
Koronov tightened his fists: "If we can't do this, and we can't do that, then what do we do?"
A sly smile curled at the corner of Jiang Nan's mouth.
(๑¯ิ⌔¯ิ) "Since we can't fight them head-on, let's recruit the One-Eyed to join us! Subvert them!"
"Make them help us instead."
For a moment, everyone stared at Jiang Nan like he was an idiot.
(≖д≖) Eh?
Subvert the One-Eyed? Have you lost your mind?
When others can't beat the enemy, they join them. You, however, when you can't beat them, you try to get the enemy to join you?
Qian Benying's mouth fell open.
(*ﾟﾛﾟ) "I gotta say, Boss Jiang, you're good-looking, but your dreams are just as beautiful."
Piers rolled his eyes: "Not even your daydreams are this wild. Why would the One-Eyed help us?"
Jiang Nan pouted: (￢～￢) "Don't let your thinking limit your actions. Why couldn't it happen?"
"A long time ago, the Pupil Race also had their own home planet, just like Blue Star. They had freedom. But the Holy Star turned their world into a Star Ruin, branding the entire race with slave marks."
"They were enslaved by the myriad races, used as mining tools, squeezed harder than a production team's donkey."
"If you had to work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with no pay, would you be okay with that? Now there's a chance to break free from oppression and gain freedom—wouldn't you be willing to take the gamble?"
Everyone swallowed hard. Damn, even the worst factory owner wouldn't push that hard, right?
Being branded with a slave mark is way too miserable.
Piers frowned: (◞･ˇ_ˇ･) "When you put it that way, it does make some sense, huh?"
Jiang Nan smiled: "No one likes being enslaved, because the power of life lies in disobedience."
"As long as the desire for freedom in the hearts of the One-Eyed hasn't completely died out, there's room to work with."
Quinn's eyes lit up: "Oh? How exactly? Since you brought it up, you must have a plan, right?"
Jiang Nan frowned, then shrugged casually: "Not yet, but we can think about it together."
"Once the One-Eyed become fighting strength on our side, our 'power banks' can finally be put to good use."
At this, Odin and Bati's faces darkened. Could you use a different term? Don't we have any dignity?
Pang Badi rolled his eyes: "If you don't have a plan, why the hell are you talking nonsense? It's still just a pipe dream. Let's talk about something practical."
Jiang Nan shrugged and steered the conversation back to the Alliance base.
Yang Jian, however, furrowed his brows. He knew Jiang Nan too well. If he didn't have absolute confidence, he wouldn't have brought it up at all.
But Jiang Nan was unwilling to reveal the plan in front of everyone.
What was he guarding against? Did he still suspect the possibility of a leak?
Now Jiang Nan began to break down the counterattack plan point by point.
"For now, the most important thing is to complete the Matrix Alliance base construction as quickly as possible and equip it with basic anti-Pupil Race weapons."
"Dao Heaven-level fighters from each country will lead elite squads to form multiple guerrilla units, harassing and attacking the One-Eyed on the Moon Eye."
"When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we advance. Harass them from multiple directions, tie down their forces so they can't focus on mining the Moon Eye, and slow down the rate at which the moon is being devoured."
"I don't think anyone here objects to that, right?"
Everyone nodded. This was an effective tactic when the enemy was strong and we were weak. It would also greatly reduce casualties during these harassment attacks.
Jiang Nan shifted his tone: "Also, Odin and the Magician don't need to go to the moon. Once the counterattack begins, Boss Pang will definitely be a prime target for assassination."
"Stay on Blue Star to protect him. With your abilities, you'll definitely keep him safe."
Pang Badi's face went pale. Damn, am I really that dangerous?
Odin frowned slightly, then nodded with a smile.
-`(˶‾᷄.̮‾᷅)´- "Alright. I'll guarantee his life."
Odin didn't want to be too conspicuous. He had his own considerations.
Jiang Nan's arrangement suited him perfectly.
"We will fight the counterattack, but we can't neglect Blue Star. It's still our home. We need to keep some Dao Heaven experts behind to guard it."
"Next is the Alliance Matrix's base on the moon. If we harass them enough, we might provoke Ruisen into launching a large-scale attack on the base again."
"Even though our joint forces now have the ability to resist the One-Eyed, it's better to avoid battles when possible. We need to minimize casualties."
"So, we still need to run. Even after building the Alliance's moon base, it can't be too bloated. It must retain the ability to move at night."
Wu Zang jolted.
=͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇) "Hiss—you want to make the Alliance base a floating one too?"
Jiang Nan spread his hands: ʅ(･´‸･｀)ʃ "Why not? In that case, the spatial-type Spirit Mire cores become the biggest key. We don't have enough of them at the moment."
"If everyone thinks it's feasible, after the meeting, I'll pick a few people and take a spin through several spatial-type Spirit Mires to collect some cores."
"Bai Kou, we might need to requisition that half of the Hanshan Spirit Mire core you have."
"I think this won't be a big problem for all the spatial-type fighters here, as long as we work together."
At this, Baldr, Magician, Qian Benying, and the others nodded in agreement.
Qian Benying was especially excited. Maybe she'd even get a Dao Heaven-grade spatial-type Spirit Pearl or something.
Why wouldn't she go?
Piers also agreed, since this was for everyone's benefit.
A mobile base would greatly reduce casualties.
Jiang Nan continued to lay out plans in great detail, even giving precise assignments to everyone present.
He utilized the resources at hand to the fullest.
From time to time, others offered counterarguments. If their points were valid, Jiang Nan readily accepted them.
After all, even Jiang Nan couldn't be flawless no matter how meticulous he was.
Ye Zhenguo, Wang Dalei, and the others watched Jiang Nan holding forth at the round table, their faces beaming with pride.
In fact, Jiang Nan had already become the de facto strategist for this counterattack.
It wasn't that every Dao Heaven expert submitted to him or did whatever he said.
It was simply that the plans and methods Jiang Nan proposed were the best solutions available at the moment. None of the Dao Heaven experts were stupid.
If his action plan were completely unreliable, they wouldn't listen.
To some extent, Jiang Nan was now carrying the banner of the counterattack, at the forefront of this era.
Bai Kou watched Jiang Nan's profile. Strangely, that flustered feeling of a rootless duckweed disappeared from her heart, replaced by an inexplicable sense of security.
Perhaps, in this Sun Hall, Jiang Nan had the lowest rank.
Yet it was him who was formulating plans that would affect humanity's future counterattack, earning the approval of the majority.
What determines whether someone can lead an era is never their strength alone.
It is the intangible personal charisma they radiate, step by step earning recognition, until one day they naturally stand in that position.
It is the direction of people's hearts, the trend of the times, and the choice of an era.
Bai Kou could now be sure.
Jiang Nan... was definitely that person of this era.
But Yang Jian wore a contemplative expression. Although Jiang Nan's arrangements were correct, every time they reached the most critical action steps, he would naturally shy away from them.
How to fill the Moon Eye, deal with the Star-Devouring Giant Worm, even subvert the One-Eyed and ignite the star—he didn't say.
But clearly, Jiang Nan definitely had a plan in his mind.
What was he hiding?