Chapter 53: War and Plans

Chapter 53: War and Plans

"And by consequences, I mean from the person who made…..Me"

The Sun Douluo who wears the clothing of an Omniyoji with a white Chinese-style top hat while the Moon Douluo who wears An Asuran-style armor are both shocked by the arrangement of rings and realize that they aren't dealing with any regular genius.

Here

It's a level that makes them afraid of 100k-year-old beasts or anything like a hyper douluo or higher.

They can make the rational assumption that Xue Tie doesn't belong to any known large organization as they would never willingly let a genius like this try to join them.

The most natural assumption would be that whoever Xue Ties' master is trying to let him gain some worldly experience or battlefield knowledge as he has proven himself in his organization's own rules.

The sun douluo returns to his chair and asks with a neutral tone. "What are your conditions and what else can you provide?" He asks getting straight to business.

"Well as previously mentioned. We wish to have a home we can call our own. This would come in the form of a mercenary organization which we would call the BloodHound Hall."

"As for what we offer. Other than the previously offered months worth of food and 121 (including himself) spirit masters above Spirit Elder. We also have more subordinates who can provide more food should the need arise. We also aren't so crazy to follow newly risen titled douluos. That's crazy talk." He provides his offer and then says something that offends both Titled Douluos.

"As such, we offer an 8 thousand-year-old Phoenix Cockscomb Sunflower for the Sun Douluo and a nearing 4 thousand-year-old Cinnabar Lotus for the Moon saint" he brings out two rare herbs. The 8 thousand year old herb is the original from the yin-yang well but he got a better one from the volcanic region.

As for the Cinnabar Lotus, Dugu Bo had used the original years ago to stave off his family's poison and this one was the oldest there. As it's a cold yin-type herb that is effective against poisons too, it should be useful for the Moon douluo who is an ice-type martial spirit according to their investigations.

The two titled douluos have greed in their eyes and after sharing a look with each.

"We have deemed your offer acceptable. You may have your people follow Xian to where you can set up your defenses. You will receive official orders later."

Xue Tie gives a light bow to them and sets the two herbs aside with a faint smile on his face as things are going according to plan.

He leaves the hall while the two douluos are made a bumbling mess and scatter for the two herbs to improve their strength before the war. The sun douluo knows that he can reach level 93 with this herb but it would be a bit rushed and he would need some time to settle it down.

As for the Moon douluo, he will only improve to 92 but with their compatible abilities. That is a giant improvement to their power.

Xue Tie meets with Xian the archer and they bring his people in who are puffing out their chests in an arrogant manner as they have full faith in their leader.

They set up a base near the Eastern wall which is part of the first defensive structures against the Heaven Dou Empire. His people get to work on constructing various simple defenses and traps in the vicinity. After all, their purpose isn't to defend but to show their power. Defense is only a minor factor and they can just use the castle walls' natural defenses for that.

(It is a castle in the west so I'm making it a medieval castle for simplicity sake. Since if I'm basing it off of defenses like those forts from the ghost of tsushima then the most basic spirit master can break that apart. Not very defensible to use regular wood against Spirit masters. Even if even normal wood is stronger than reality due to Spirit energy)

A few days are spent like this as people come to realize the inevitable war coming at them. Tension ensues in the castle and surrounding villages. The villages would normally not be affected as it's just the major locations that need to be taken down but since the Sun and Moon douluos had planted their people to act as scouts, the pressure is spread to the villages since it can implicate them in the war.

The castle residents and 'rebels' are slightly more relaxed as they have witnessed the number of people and resources provided. With them inviting the others for their training, a scene of unison and optimism is created which relaxes the people and prepares them to fight instead of just hanging around.

After 2 days the Moon Douluo has come out to reassure the people of their victory. He then met with Xue Tie once more to discuss the coming war. The both of them meet within the palace halls again and Xue Tie speaks.

"I congratulate the lord on his breakthrough" "A small matter, we have larger concerns to focus on" Xue Tie focuses on his words. "What is your command?"

The Moon Douluo reveals a large-scale map of the continent that includes their own land and the surrounding countries.

"Thanks to Mt. Qixiao, we only have to worry about the Balak Kingdom as our neighbor. They will likely be the first line of offense against us. According to the hidden reports of the former king, the Balak Kingdom has 2 titled douluos. But once Big brother exits seclusion, the strongest won't be his match. The other is also not my match now that I'm equal to him. This information was kept private to be able to stand against the overbearing Star Luo Kingdom. As long as proper preparation is made, we can easily withstand their charge and even weaken the Balak Kingdom for future endeavors."

The Moon Douluo reveals which makes Xue Tie ponder the map and the situation. He has a light grin on his face from the situation as it's an enticing situation for his own plans but he hides the smile and proposes.

"Have the scouts noticed any movement from the kingdom? If so then we can set up traps or sabotage ahead of time. No point in wasting lives that can be saved for later against more important enemies." he provides some supplemental plans and ideas since he hasn't been told much

"There has been evacuations from the villages bordering us from the Balak Kingdom but no other major movement. They are likely sending scouts to ascertain our power and defenses. Currently it's your own side that can be considered the weak point in terms of defenses."

"Doesn't that just mean the enemy will willingly throw themselves at my people and die?" A malicious grin on his face and the Moon Douluo realizes why they had set up such weak defenses.

"In fact, it's better for half our spirit masters with range capabilities to show themselves on the wall. It will show a strong willingness to fight from a distance or from the safety of the walls." Xue Tie says

"But why half? And what about our physical spirit masters?" the Moon Douluo queries.

"The better question is: how much does the enemy know about your original forces? We did our own research and we found little. That implies two things: 1: Is that the Heaven Dou Empire and its subordinate kingdoms had silenced all news of it. 2: You and your forces were thorough enough to take down all escapees and spies in the land thus keeping your numbers secret" Xue Tie reasons and when he mentions the 2nd part the Moon Douluo seems to catch on with a malicious grin of his own.

"Indeed, we were quite trusted by the previous king and had learned all sorts of reports and documents. We took down all the spy rings and secret tunnels first." The Moon Douluo clarifies and then continues speaking

"Which means by showing only half our ranged units. The enemy will believe it to be a foolish show of force and estimate that all other forces were loyal to the old king and were imprisoned!!"

"Correct" Xue Tie says. "We will maintain the half archers for the most half while my own people will work. My people will help set up traps outside the city walls to provide extra protection but the most important thing to establish…is a moat."

"A moat?" The titled douluo is confused.

"Indeed, a moat. A river around the castle which will limit movement towards here and we just need a simple bridge that we can collapse later until the war is won. The water would also let my elemental specialists make full use of it and practically double our combat power" Xue Tie explains, but one issue remains.

"Where would we get the water to make this moat? The nearest river is some distance away and would take days to set up. Also what stops the Balak kingdom from taking over the water themselves"

"Ah but ice can melt into water and will be resistant to any elemental control that the original casters don't allow. We just need a few big moves from the water that will weaken the enemy units or outright kill them off" Xue Tie ends and the Moon Douluo is feeling a bit pessimistic. He is nearing 38 years old and can be considered a genius within his own right for reaching titled douluo at such an age but before Xue Tie's mind and having reached the peak of Spirit Emperor at such a young age. He has no clue how they will be if they reach titled douluo.

But the urgent matter is to create a symbiotic relationship with him for the longevity of their new nation.

Xue Tie is unaware of the thoughts of the Moon Douluo but even if he was, he would only laugh and mock their foolishness as they are already on the path of doom.

(to make up for my early on errors, I am bringing down the standard age for when titled douluos are made from roughly 46-60 down to 36-50. Makes more sense for the longevity effects to make more sense if someone reaches this level at that age instead of randomly reverting to be in their mid 30s. Might as well have settled for 20s so they can look their best and brightest. More titled douluos would have gotten married if that was the case. Instead they are stingy and grumpy old men/women)

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Author Note:

I must declare that it is a coincidence that I named this kingdom the sun moon kingdom. It does not have any relation to the Sun Moon Empire in SL 2 or Sun Moon Federation in SL 3

I was just thinking of what type of martial spirits could be considered a rarity and with multiple unnamed kingdoms being subsidiaries of the heaven Dou empire it was possible for this to happen.

Not at all confusing that the Heaven Dou empire from SL1 split apart into two and the Sun Moon kingdom from SL2 became Heaven Dou after it was defeated by the two halves of the former Heaven Dou empire. Weird how that works.