Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 62 - 61: Experience from Superpower Battles: Don’t Limit Yourself to Superpowers
Liu Shuyue laid out her plan completely.
First, she intended to bring the Hunting Team from Hot Pepper Village to Jiufeng City to make up for the disparity in Cultivators’ strength between the two parties.
The Hunting Team members are villagers who had awakened combat abilities after being bathed in Dragon Blood, and they are now considered entry-level Cultivators, practicing the genuine Heart Method and Magic from the Lotus Cloud Sect, their strength not inferior to ordinary Loose Cultivators.
This group consists of about two hundred people.
Moreover, Hot Pepper Village is connected to the store by VIP accommodation, so there’s no fear of the enemy playing tricks like luring the tiger away from the mountain.
"Can they defeat those Loose Cultivators?" Chen Xuan couldn’t help but worry, "Vanquishing Demon Fiends isn’t the same as battling one’s peers."
After all, they are the dish he’s eyeing... no, his guests!
According to Liu Shuyue’s previous explanation, Loose Cultivators and Evil Cultivators are essentially the same; they all gained Qi sensing ability through a series of fortuitous events, practicing various cultivation techniques, often breaking laws, and are usually suppressed by the joint efforts of the Lotus Cloud Sect disciples and the Government.
But looking from another angle, being able to persist through such harsh cultivation conditions means they’re either notably talented or have incredible resilience, coupled with their experience in fighting desperately in all matters, their combat experience might far surpass that of honest and simple villagers.
Liu Shuyue’s expression was no longer relaxed like before, "Once they engage, casualties are inevitable. They’ve been Cultivators for too short a time, and I haven’t had the chance to teach them how to battle Cultivators. Fortunately, the enemy is scattered and should focus mainly on harassment and ambushes, so they have time to adapt."
The next step is to recruit militia, mainly from the Liu Family. Thanks to previous promotions related to the Immortal Family, the Liu Family holds considerable influence locally, and it shouldn’t be difficult to gather a force. Liu Shuyue doesn’t expect them to venture outside the city for field battles with the army, but under the protection of the Array, they can still block some of the enemy’s forces.
The final step involves Liu Shuyue herself.
As the strongest combat force, she needs to be the firefighter, attacking the enemy generals and officers when the army deploys, while also sniping the experts among the enemy Loose Cultivators, easing the pressure on the Hunting Team.
"If we can successfully repel their sieges several times and eliminate one or two local armies, King of Qi might realize he can’t use threatening to kill Yunzhou’s citizens as a tactic against me. If he keeps losing, he’ll have to consider whether his throne is stable." Liu Shuyue said slowly, "Of course, by doing so, I’d be openly rebelling, and King of Qi probably wouldn’t abide by the terms with the Lotus Cloud Sect."
Saying this, a trace of worry flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly overshadowed by even stronger resolve.
"Can I ask what exactly the terms are?" Chen Xuan asked curiously.
"Various nations recognize the Lotus Cloud Sect as the orthodox path, and the Lotus Cloud Sect sends disciples to assist the country and world," Liu Shuyue paused slightly, "But I heard it from my master, and haven’t seen the document myself, since it’s an agreement established over a thousand years ago."
"Would the Lotus Cloud Sect send someone to discipline you?"
She shook her head, "My master said the mountain gate only opens once a century."
"Then it doesn’t matter." Chen Xuan said dismissively. He even thought maybe a monarch had done this before, and at worst, faced retribution with death and national ruin.
"Even if the Sect sends someone to capture me, I would be guilt-free." Liu Shuyue’s awareness was clearly higher, "Because I’ve never once disobeyed my master’s teachings."
Chen Xuan smiled, "Your purpose in coming to me shouldn’t be just to share the situation."
"Indeed, this plan doesn’t have any leeway. If King of Qi is determined to escalate, we’ll inevitably fall into a disadvantage... even into dire straits." Liu Shuyue said seriously, "For example, if they deploy the Forbidden Guard or recruit Loose Cultivators from other nations at great expense, a single Hot Pepper Village can’t hold against them."
That’s a real war, Chen Xuan thought. "You want me to help fill this gap."
"Yes, you are my biggest trump card. King of Qi wouldn’t factor in your existence no matter how he computes." Liu Shuyue nodded, "I’m also willing to pay abilities as compensation; you can choose freely."
This was the first time she said such a thing.
However, Chen Xuan wasn’t in a hurry to engage in ability trading; if there’s going to be a big battle in Yunzhou, taking away her ability equals weakening their side. Liu Shuyue’s value isn’t solely in her ability; the Hot Pepper Village behind her is also a critical market with no room for mistakes.
"There’s no rush; it’s never too late to trade after winning."
"You’re sure I’ll win?" Liu Shuyue said, surprised. In the worst-case scenario, they’d have to face the full might a Kingdom could muster. With Chen Xuan’s aid, maintaining equilibrium would already be an ideal situation, yet he immediately insisted she would win.
"No victory, no payment." Chen Xuan appeared confident, "You return to Hot Pepper Village to gather personnel now. I’ll notify you right away once I have news."
After Liu Shuyue left, Chen Xuan’s eyes stared straight at Lin Qing, making him uncomfortable enough to ask, "Uh...what do you want me to do?"
"When I reviewed the Dimensional Limit Mechanism decryption files earlier, I found a section mentioning you once collaborated with many arm dealers?"
"Indeed it happened," Lin Qing searched his memory bank, "Early on, both the mechanism and those big companies needed weapons to arm their private troops. But after prosthetic technology advanced rapidly, the mechanism itself became the biggest arms manufacturer, and the cooperation ended."
As long as there’s such a case. Chen Xuan said, "Help me investigate them, check their scope of operations, and whether there’s been any recent contact with the Dimensional Limit Mechanism."
She tilted her head, looking at him for a long time, "Store manager, you’re not thinking of contacting them to buy arms, are you?"
"It’s not to invite them for afternoon tea, is it?" Chen Xuan shrugged, "You heard just now, a Liu Family and Jiufeng City’s citizens are facing troops from various states, and a two hundred member Hunting Team facing Cultivators far exceeding their numbers. The most feasible way to reverse this disadvantage is to upgrade weapons."
If everyone had a gun, would Yunzhou still be in chaos?
"Alright, I’ll help you get in touch." Lin Qing’s eyes flickered, indicative of massive data being searched by the brain machine, "Globally, six individuals match the data content...four of them have not been contacted by the mechanism."
"Can you mimic the Dimensional Limit Mechanism’s way of sending letters?"
"Forging a proposal? That’s not difficult." She nodded, "I can even borrow the external lines of the mechanism to send the official letters—reducing trust costs considerably. Wait a moment..."
Engaging in transactions with individual sellers or organizations, it’s obvious which would get a quicker response.
"OK, the letter has been sent."
"So fast?" Chen Xuan said, surprised.
"It was Lv who handled it." Lin Qing expressed pride, "But do you have so much money? Getting them to respond is easy, but without seeing the money, these people probably won’t supply easily."
After all, from a quantity standpoint, it at least needs to arm a militia unit.
"I won’t pay." Chen Xuan had a plan, "Since the mechanism deals business, it can use exclusive items from the mechanism for payment."
"You tell them the compensation is ’abilities’."
...
...
"Knock knock." Two knocks sounded from outside the study, "Father, it’s me, Gio."
Walter put down the book in his hand and gestured to the few strong men in the room with his finger. They immediately lifted a man with a bloodied face, gagged him, and dragged him into the next room. Then someone returned to wipe the blood off the floor with a cloth and rearranged the somewhat untidy chairs until everything was spotless like before, only then did he raise his voice and say, "Come in."
The door opened, and his eldest son, Gio Vis, quickly entered the room.
"Do you need something?" Walter asked in his usual hoarse voice.
"I just received a negotiation for a transaction, regarding light weapons, no specific category. I tried asking, and both M16s and AK47s were accepted." Gio said expressionlessly.
Walter felt a twinge of regret, as since Gio’s wife was killed in an explosion accident two months ago, he hadn’t smiled at him again.
Walter vaguely sensed Gio didn’t like this job, but he was the eldest son, traditionally expected to inherit the family business in the future.
"You can directly manage such matters; there’s no need to report them to me." Walter replied slowly, "Being able to reach you directly means it’s introduced by a friend, just remember to collect the money first."
The family runs an arms trading enterprise, selling both self-made products and popular items from others. They engage in legal and illegal business alike.
Unlike retail stores, the company’s business is all wholesale, large orders at competitive prices.
Light weapons like guns are considered minor considerations in transactions, especially the second-hand guns sold by weight, Walter generally wouldn’t bother himself with them, instead leaving the business to his children to manage, also a way to familiarize them with the company’s operations early.
"But this time, the proposal party is a bit special..." Gio hesitated.
"Oh?" Walter’s hand, originally intended to send his eldest son away, withdrew, "What’s special about it?"
"The other party claims to be the Dimensional Limit Mechanism...the transaction compensation is abilities." Gio said.
Walter Vis shuddered all over, immediately sitting up straight.
