Chapter 735

"We can't rely on Zhao Quan right now. From here on, we can only take it one step at a time.

"But the problem is, the resistance army has a grudge against us. Our path may be very difficult.

"Everyone needs to be mentally prepared in advance."

The crowd exchanged uncertain glances.

Before, it was for the family's survival that they had no choice but to throw in with the nobles.

But just a few days later, the nobles had been driven back.

Now it seemed the family had once again reached a critical moment for survival.

Zhao Shizhang said:

"Last night, almost every county and town across Snowfield City was hit by a sudden attack.

"The nobles couldn't react in time, so they must have suffered devastating losses.

"Next, whether it's the resistance army or the Yizuye Society, they'll definitely go wild enjoying their spoils.

"And we are their spoils.

"So the situation we face is very grim. Everyone needs to be ready for battle.

"However, it's not only us who will fight. There's also the Xiao family, the Qi family, the Liu family, and other scattered households.

"Our Brook Village will resist.

"If it's only one or two resistance bands, dealing with them is still no problem for us, though we'll still end up losing quite a bit.

"But what worries me is if those from the Yizuye Society also join in.

"So we've discussed this with the heads of the other families.

"If a resistance band invades, it's best if we can pay them off to leave. If not, we'll resist with everything we have.

"If the Yizuye Society invades, we'll try our best to scrape together money—more money—to pay them off. Try not to start a fight, since their strength may be even greater than the nobles'.

"But there's no need to worry. The Yizuye Society's target is the nobles. They probably won't look down on small families like us—after all, our family assets are thin. They have better targets.

"Everyone should understand, right?"

The crowd nodded quietly.

Although the feeling in their hearts was bitter, the reasoning was clear to all.

The resistance army resists the Yizuye Society—they are the heroes of the common folk.

But they also hold some hostility toward commoner families.

Still, their strength is ultimately rather weak. If money can't settle it, then there's nothing for it but to fight.

Besides, there are many bands of resistance.

Most of them don't even know each other, and some are even hostile to one another, riddled with internal conflicts.

On top of that, everywhere is unstable now.

The resistance bands are all busy scrambling for their own gains, making it hard for them to band together against any single family.

Correspondingly, the Yizuye Society's target is the nobles.

The nobles' assets and family wealth are far thicker than those of commoner families.

And even if the Yizuye Society sets its sights on families, it would surely be the big clans in the counties and towns.

They wouldn't come to a village like this to rob a small clan like the Zhao family.

This analysis won general agreement.

But Zhao Chi had one question.

What about the demonic beast quota?

Before, the nobles held things up and took care of most of the demonic beasts.

But now the nobles have suffered heavy casualties, so there will surely be many demonic beasts left unhandled. The situation should be even more severe than last time.

Among the resistance bands, a few are genuinely decent.

They truly have goals, ideals, and policies for governance.

But most are still just primitive bandits and robbers.

Fighting and killing is no problem for them, and neither is plundering.

But asking them to shoulder responsibility and take on part of the demonic beast quota—that would be hard.

And what about the Yizuye Society?

This Snowfield City is a human city.

The Yizuye Society are only temporary guests here.

Asking them to take on the nobles' former responsibilities?

That's no different from asking outsiders to support a household—who would agree to that?

If the extra demonic beasts go unhandled...

The demonic beasts will break through the formation and enter Snowfield City directly.

Zhao Chi's parents died because of a demonic beast incursion.

Thinking of this, Zhao Chi suddenly felt that having the nobles around wasn't entirely bad.

Although they oppressed the common folk and levied heavy taxes, at least they still played a managerial role.

The city could still function normally.

Relatively speaking, it was still stable.

But now...

Zhao Chi sat in a corner, thinking these matters over and over.

The meeting continued.

The discussion turned to combat coordination: who would pair with whom, and what level of enemy they would face.

Fight solo? Or form a team for group combat?

Naturally, some wanted to fight on their own, while others preferred joint operations.

Zhao Shizhang said: "Everyone has different strengths and different fighting styles. We won't force this point — as long as you can deal with the enemy and bring out the maximum combat effectiveness, that's fine. Everyone confirm in the system shortly."

Next, they began discussing the contribution ratio for expenses.

War, after all, burns through money the fastest.

Once fighting starts, the loss of durability alone cannot be ignored, let alone anything else.

When a blade is swung, the attacker's weapon loses durability, and the defender's armor or shield also loses durability.

If a hundred soldiers go into battle, the equipment wear from a single fight is no small sum.

And if there are also personnel losses, the damage is even greater.

Moreover, there is always the risk of defeat.

Once defeated, the whole game is lost.

All things considered, it's better to just pay out a sum of money.

Although Zhao Chi had won two championships and the clan had promised to invest resources in cultivating him, for now everyone still treated him as just a beginner lord and didn't pay him much attention.

Those taking part in the discussion were still the same elders, along with a few clan brothers.

Zhao Chi didn't mind.

After much discussion, a contribution ratio was assigned to each person.

Zhao Qizong said: "Alright, I've sent it out to everyone through the system. Please confirm."

Zhao Chi received a system notification.

【Please confirm combat method】

【1. Solo combat】

【2. Team combat】

Zhao Chi chose solo combat.

For Zhao Chi, dealing with enemies of the same level should pose no problem.

Moreover, the upcoming battles are real combat, not virtual — he has to give it everything.

Zhao Chi didn't want to reveal his full hand in front of the others.

Better to fight on his own.

And fighting alongside others would only mean facing stronger enemies from the Shiliye Society; he might as well fight alone.

This is just a combat method — pick whichever one suits you.

【Please confirm contribution ratio】