Chapter 134: Plan Drafted!

Chapter 134: The Plan is Formulated!

All equipment had been inventoried, yet Chen Jian took only a small portion with him.

The reason was simple: those conspicuous items were safer stored in the Round Ring Merchant Guild's warehouse.

Since the real assault was still far off, temporarily keeping them here posed little risk.

Yet it was obvious that annihilating the four thousand demons within Anqing City required more than this modest arsenal.

Though they looked formidable on paper, their strength was merely numerical, not substantive.

Their tactical value was limited; to unleash any real combat effectiveness, Chen Jian would need additional support gear.

Thus, upon returning to Anqing City, Chen Jian immediately set about deploying a reconnaissance plan.

As dusk fell, he ordered Lei Jie and Xie Liu to venture into the city for close observation, while the four others already inside scattered throughout, gathering every scrap of information about the ruins and the demons therein.

He had much to do, but once broken into concrete objectives, it proved less complicated than it seemed.

First, he needed to ascertain the townsfolk's attitude toward the ruins and whether they harbored any willingness to confront the demons within.

Second, he had to map out the distribution of the Machine God Cult and the Holy Blood Cathedral's forces in the city, and discern their troop deployments.

After all, letting the tiger devour the wolf was also a viable stratagem.

Finally, Chen Jian contacted Wang Lizi, instructing him to disseminate the intelligence he had gathered thus far.

Human experiments, seedbeds, high‑intelligence demons, the sinister schemings of Huadu—

The more exaggerated, the better.

He did not wish to sow panic, yet he had to admit that panic could be a necessary tool.

Only when the locals recognized the threat lurking among them would they be moved to act.

Likewise, only when they grew fiercely resentful of Huadu and the demons would his squad's offensive bear a just cause.

The banner must be raised, and the soil into which it is planted must be firm.

With all three lines of action pursued simultaneously, by past ten at night they had already made initial headway.

Chen Jian heard from the townsfolk news of Anqing, and the innkeeper, embellishing his words, warned returning merchants to stay safe and detour far from the ruins.

“There are at least ten thousand demons there! We’ve ignored the ruins for far too long!”

“We used to think only monsters were a threat, but now it’s clear the demons are just as perilous!”

“Individually they’re weak, but now they’ve banded together!”

“This is no trifling matter; perhaps we should summon the Holy Hall Vanguard.”

When the innkeeper finished, a merchant chuckled and then said:

“The Holy Hall Vanguard? Merely a name without substance.”

“Haven’t you heard? An entire Holy Hall Vanguard was wiped out at Huangshi.”

“Their opponents were nothing more than a ragtag band of Huangshi’s stragglers!”

“Stragglers?”

The innkeeper curled his lip in disdain and said:

“Your information is utterly baseless—calling those Huangshi folks stragglers? They’re mimetic heretics!”

As he uttered the final words, his voice dropped.

“If you don’t know what a mimetic heretic is, go ask your Holy Blood Cathedral’s pontiff.”

“Even he would not dare act so arrogantly before a mimetic heretic!”

“You Holy Blood merchants may disrespect the Holy Trinity, but you must not slight the Holy Hall Vanguard—they are among the world’s mightiest fighting forces.”

“Then how could they fail against the mimetic heretics you speak of?”

“I can’t explain it to you; if you won’t listen, forget it.”

The innkeeper ignored the bickering merchant, who then sneered:

“Rather than praying for the Holy Hall Vanguard to save you, you’d do better to hope those mimetic heretics come slaughtering here.” “I’ve heard they’re at odds with the Bone Skulls too—they’ve killed plenty of water ghosts.”

“Who knows? They might even wipe out every demon in the ruins.”

“If that were true, it would be wonderful.”

At last the innkeeper sighed and said:

“If they could truly focus on the Bone Skulls, the Machine God Cult wouldn’t need to oppose them.”

“After all, the Machine God Cult still fears those heretics.”

“.”

The merchant spoke again, mocking, while the innkeeper fell utterly silent.

Having heard their exchange, Chen Jian returned to his room without betraying emotion, just as the reports from the two forward scouts arrived.

“We identified twelve settlements of varying size; the demons between them are not a single entity.”

“All the demons in those settlements are linked by their leaders—sixteen chieftain‑level demons in total.”

“Judging by size and speed, at least eight of those chiefs meet the standard of a fourth‑tier monster.”

“Each chief likely possesses considerable intelligence, and they communicate frequently among themselves.”

“We have confirmed Huadu personnel inside the hospital building marked on the map.”

“Their numbers are great—preliminary estimates put them at over a hundred.”

“Thick smoke pours from the hospital; I suspect it is their poison‑manufacturing facility.”

“That’s all we have for now; sporadic demon activity around the ruins’ periphery likely serves as sentinels.”

“I can’t get any closer; I’m preparing to withdraw.”

“Understood—fall back.”

Chen Jian lowered the radio and then spoke:

“The situation is now clear: the Anqing ruins are Huadu’s central stronghold for controlling the demons.”

“A decapitation strike should be feasible.”

“Following our experience at Hanshui, once their leaders are gone, the demons will likely lash out at nearby towns and settlements.”

“They lack brains and high intellect, so dealing with them won’t be too hard.”

“Thus our preliminary plan is clear.”

“We will behead every demon commander within Anqing City and every Huadu operative, utterly destroying their command structure.”

“Then we will divert the disaster eastward, actively luring the demons to attack Anqing.”

“Open‑field annihilation is difficult, but if they dare to come and step into our kill zone, our heavy‑ordnance will take effect.”

“Now, I am resolved.”

Chen Jian paused, then said:

“At 8 a.m. sharp, we set out promptly to return to the forward camp.”

“At 9 a.m., Lei Jie and Xie Liu organize a second close reconnaissance, establish an advance base, and clear the surrounding terror-demons.”

“At 11 a.m., we rendezvous with the garrison, kit up, and proceed to the advance base.”

“At noon, we depart from the advance base and launch the first combat reconnaissance.”

“Note: the purpose of this combat reconnaissance is to force the enemy to reveal their dispositions, fire support systems, and intentions, while simultaneously assessing their organization, command efficiency, and fighting resolve.”

“All combat units must make thorough preparations; the battle will begin tomorrow and we will enter a state of continuous operations.”

“Tonight, we rest fully.”

“Tomorrow we go to war!”

“End of chapter.”