Chapter 426: Ridiculous Strategy
The heavy-armored figure flew up to the sky, bathing in the foreign energy that accompanied his arrival. The energy, unlike the corrosive miasma of the Highland Realm or the chaotic buzz of the insectoids, was cold, orderly and radiated a sense of metallic zeal.
Under the gaze of Liu Zhongzu and the other cultivators, he raised his glaive and roared. A disciplined and resonant battle cry that spoke of training and purpose.
Following that, more figures climbed out of the Anchor’s hole. Hundreds of them. They moved with synchronized precision, forming perfect shield walls and phalanxes as if they were a single, well-drilled army.
Each was clad in the same silvery, heavy armor, each wielding a massive, glaive-like polearm. Their steeds, four-legged creatures that looked like a cross between a wolf and a reptile, stood in silent, disciplined ranks behind them.
Liu Zhongzu stepped forward and called out. Given how they didn’t immediately attack, he believed these Outer Realm inhabitants were capable of communication.
"Identify yourself." His voice, amplified by his peak Nascent Soul cultivation, boomed across the canyon.
The knightly leader remained silent for a moment, his featureless helmet tilting as if processing his words. "We are the Vindicators of the Argent Covenant. We claim this world-fragment in the name of the Prime Conclave. Your claim is irrelevant. Surrender or be purged."
Back in the store, Lin Mo frowned as he heard that.
Argent Covenant? Prime Conclave? Why does it remind him of some fictitious world from Earth? It sounded like something ripped from a high-fantasy strategy game or a space opera novel. But the threat they posed was anything but fictitious.
"Vindicators... What does that mean, Shopkeeper?" Wu Meiyu murmured from beside him, her eyes fixed on the perfectly formed shield wall on the projection. "Their discipline, their formation... They’re an army regiment. But they didn’t seem like cultivators."
"Indeed. They’re not cultivators, but they must have their own power system. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have the ability to invade this realm." Lin Mo added as his fingers flew across the Divine System Interface, pulling up every scrap of data the drones could gather.
"They saw a battlefield, they saw two opposing armies, and their first move wasn’t a blind charge. It was to establish a defensive position and issue an ultimatum. They’re assessing the situation."
He quickly sent a message through the command channel to Liu Zhongzu.
Shopkeeper: "Master Liu, do not engage directly. Their formations are designed for defensive warfare. They want you to break your forces against their shields. This is a new enemy. We need intelligence before we commit to a full assault. Stall them."
On the battlefield, Liu Zhongzu received the message, his expression hardening. The Shopkeeper was right. A frontal assault against that wall of steel and polearms would be a meat grinder, even with their numbers. And because of the abundance of foreign energy, he still couldn’t assess the strength of these new enemies.
He raised his hand, halting the eager advance of some of the more hot-headed sect disciples.
"Purged?" Liu Zhongzu called back with his tone becoming a mix of derision and authority. "You trespass upon the lands of the Realm of Nine Heavens. You are the ones who will be purged if you do not retreat into your hole."
The Vindicator leader didn’t respond with words. Instead, he raised his glaive high. In perfect unison, the front rank of his army slammed the butts of their polearms onto the ground.
THOOM!
A wave of cold, metallic energy pulsed outwards, rippling across the canyon floor. From there, a drawing of a line in the sand emerged like a declaration.
"Analysis confirms their power source is not based on a dantian or spiritual sea," Lin Mo mused, watching the data stream from the drones. "It’s... embedded. Fused into their armor and weapons. It’s like each soldier is a walking spiritual artifact. Furthermore, their formations aren’t just tactical. They link their power sources, creating a collective energy field."
"So, they’re like a living formation array?" Wu Meiyu’s eyes widened at the implication. "To fight them is to fight their entire army at once."
"Perhaps. They might be an inconveniently tough nut to crack," Lin Mo said, his mind racing. Brute force was out. This required something different. Something... absurd.
"Xiaoyu, how many [Taihao Spicy Noodles] do we have in the main inventory?"
Liu Xiaoyu, who had been watching the standoff with a frown, blinked in confusion. "Uh... a lot? Like, tens of thousands of packets? Why, Boss? Are you planning to feed them to death?"
"Not quite," Lin Mo’s lips curled into a dangerously mischievous grin. "I’m planning to give our army a convenient and very distracting new weapon. Patch me back through to your father."
On the battlefield, the stalemate was becoming tense. The Vindicators stood unmoving, a wall of silent, silver steel. The cultivators of the raid force were growing restless, their spiritual energies crackling with impatience.
"What’s the plan, Master Liu?" the Crown Prince Wu Tianlong asked, his own Celestial Field still active but its summons held back. "We cannot stand here forever. Their numbers are still growing."
More Vindicators were steadily emerging from the Anchor, reinforcing their phalanx, their numbers swelling from hundreds to nearly a thousand.
Just as Liu Zhongzu was about to respond, Lin Mo’s voice echoed directly in his mind through the command channel.
"Master Liu, I have a new strategy. It’s unorthodox, but I believe it will be effective. Do you have a hundred cultivators with proficiency in fire-based arts?"
Liu Zhongzu was taken aback but didn’t question it. He quickly relayed the order. A contingent of disciples from the White Ember Sect and other fire-specialized cultivators stepped forward.
"We do, Shopkeeper. What are your instructions?"
"I am authorizing an immediate supply drop via the Tactical Convenience Protocol. Tell them to be ready to catch. And tell everyone else to prepare for a... culinary assault."
Back in the store, Lin Mo’s fingers danced across the interface and smirked. He recalled how Xue Yuan, the prodigy of the Rising Sun Ocean Pavilion, got done in by the [Spirit-infused Potato Chips (Infernal Ghost Pepper Flavor)]. He’s about to try a similar yet more extreme way of utilizing a notorious store product.
It’s not even new. He had read from the previous Field Test Report of the Poison Demon Cult’s expansion in the Inner Abyssal Circle their convenient use of mundane store products even in the middle of the battlefield. For example, how Marrow Weaver got subdued by Venom Master Xun with a can of [Heavenly Dew Soda]
He selected a hundred packets of [Taihao Spicy Noodles] but not the ordinary kind. It was the Demon King Chili Edition, which was developed from the feedback of one customer who called the Customer Service for a spicier variant of the product.
He hadn’t tried it yet but those who did regret doing so. It was just too spicy even for a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.
"Let’s try this first." From the inventory, he accessed the supply drop function of the Guardian Construct Drones.
[Authorize Emergency Supply Drop: 100x Taihao Spicy Noodles (Demon King Chili Edition)]
[Target: Designated White Ember Sect and Fire-Art Cultivators]
[Delivery Method: High-Velocity Drone Deployment]
On the battlefield, a hundred Guardian Construct Drones, previously circling at high altitude, suddenly dove. They streaked through the air like metallic comets, each one dropping a small, carefully packaged parcel that landed perfectly in the hands of the designated fire-cultivators.
The Vindicators watched this maneuver, their helmets tilting in unison, their tactical minds unable to process what was happening. Their opponents were... receiving a delivery in the middle of a military standoff?
"What is the meaning of this?!" Yan Wei shouted in frustration from the ranks of the Azure Gale Sect. "Are we having a picnic?!"
Liu Zhongzu ignored him, his focus entirely on the Shopkeeper’s next command.
"Master Liu," Lin Mo’s voice came through again, "The noodles are not for eating. The Demon King Chili in that edition is... volatile. Instruct your fire-cultivators to infuse the noodle packets with their spiritual energy and then... throw them. As hard as they can, right into the center of the Vindicator’s shield wall. Treat them like talisman bombs."
A stunned silence fell over the command platform. The Crown Prince stared at Liu Zhongzu. The other Sect Masters exchanged glances of utter disbelief.
Noodle bombs. What a waste. Shouldn’t they be eating them? The Shopkeeper wanted them to fight a heavily armored, disciplined alien army with weaponized instant noodles. Will that be possible?
It was the most insane, most ridiculous and most inconvenient strategy they had ever heard.
Liu Zhongzu, however, simply broke into a wide, appreciative grin. He had learned not to question the Shopkeeper’s methods, at least when it comes to the application of his store’s products.
"You heard the Convenient Saint!" He roared to the confused fire-cultivators. "Infuse and throw! Put some heat into it!"
Hesitantly at first, then with a growing sense of bizarre determination, the hundred cultivators channeled their fire qi into the innocent-looking noodle packets. The plastic wrapping began to glow, the Demon King Chili logo on the front shimmering with an ominous, angry red light.
"Now!" Liu Zhongzu commanded.
With a unified shout, a hundred glowing-red packets of instant noodles soared through the air, arcing over the battlefield and landing squarely in the middle of the Vindicators’ perfect, impenetrable shield wall.