Chapter 524: War Preparation

"Ning Zhuo?" Lu Hongtu's heart moved, feeling the name was a bit familiar.

Immediately, he recalled the intelligence regarding Ning Zhuo.

The first time Ning Zhuo entered his field of vision was during the initial ambush. Before the ambush, the Thousand Peaks Forest side learned of the prophecy Ning Zhuo made before the battle.

Lu Hongtu designed it because of this.

After the ambush had both victories and defeats, the old monster Shi Zhong publicly stated that he was very interested in Ning Zhuo.

Therefore, Lu Hongtu and others did not take action against this mere Foundation Establishment cultivator who could make relatively accurate prophecies.

However, although the old monster Shi Zhong was active, he repeatedly ambushed and plundered the transport teams of the Liangzhu Kingdom in the rear near Canglin Xiancheng, but he never took action against Ning Zhuo.

A piece of military intelligence Lu Hongtu recently learned said that Ning Zhuo and Mu Lan became husband and wife.

At first, Lu Hongtu thought this was false intelligence.

But later, after Lu Hongtu learned more details and understood many inside stories, he knew that this intelligence was true.

He sighed at the time: "This Ning Zhuo has some luck!"

Lu Hongtu knew that Ning Zhuo was his enemy.

Regarding the contradiction between the Ning family and the Six Caves Sect, he also knew the truth.

Although it was his side that was wrong, the world pays more attention to strength than right or wrong.

Lu Hongtu deliberated and immediately said to the two ghost cultivators in front of him: "Ning Zhuo, is it? He is also my enemy."

"Oh?" The white-clothed ghost cultivator Tian Shuang made a puzzled sound.

Lu Hongtu explained in detail, which immediately narrowed the distance between him and the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts.

The black-clothed ghost cultivator Di Hui said guardedly: "On Ning Zhuo, there are the lives of my Soul-Eating Sect disciples. This person we are going to capture alive and take back."

Lu Hongtu: "I don't mean to compete with the two of you."

"He is just a small Foundation Establishment cultivator; if he were at the Jin Dan level, I would have already taken action to eradicate him."

"Being able to attract the two of you to take action to capture him alive, this Ning Zhuo can be considered lucky."

"It's just that... this person is actually also the prey of the old monster Shi Zhong."

"If the two of you want to capture him alive and take him away, it is best to seek the consent of the old monster Shi Zhong."

Tian Shuang shook his head immediately: "Otherwise. The old monster Shi Zhong is just interested in him, while we have the hatred of killing fellow disciples with him."

"In this matter, the old monster Shi Zhong should make concessions for us!"

Di Hui shrugged his shoulders and said with an indifferent tone: "I feel that you all value the old monster Shi Zhong too much. Although he possesses the Earth-Walking Technique and can freely shuttle through the battlefield, he has never shown amazing performance in frontal combat."

"Such a demon cultivator has no great use. Maybe in the next battle, the enemy army will have prepared means to restrain his Earth-Walking Technique."

Hearing this, Lu Hongtu was slightly surprised.

He subconsciously turned his gaze to Long Ye.

Long Ye smiled at him.

Lu Hongtu immediately understood—Long Ye intentionally concealed the news that the old monster Shi Zhong was at the Spirit Transformation level from the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts.

In fact, this piece of military intelligence was only known to the high-level officials of the Thousand Peaks Forest.

If the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts knew that the old monster Shi Zhong was at the Spirit Transformation level, they would not have such an attitude.

Lu Hongtu thought for a moment and understood Long Ye's intention.

"It seems that the Long Wang Temple side wants to promote the contradiction between the old monster Shi Zhong and the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts."

The old monster Shi Zhong is a newly promoted Spirit Transformation level, and a homebody demon, who once probed the earth veins of the Thousand Peaks Forest, and his intentions are obvious.

Therefore, the old monster Shi Zhong poses a huge threat to the status of the Ginseng Long Wang.

It's just that now the Liangzhu Kingdom's army is outside, and the Ginseng Long Wang is probably quite troubled, wanting to deal with the old monster Shi Zhong but unable to spare his hands, so he had to use this kind of trick.

After Lu Hongtu realized the intention of the Long Wang Temple side, he immediately chose to cooperate with Long Ye.

After continuing to talk for a while, Long Ye summoned servants to lead the two ghost cultivators out and treat them well.

Lu Hongtu and Long Ye were left alone in the room.

Lu Hongtu advised: "Long Ye, nowadays, Du Tiechuan's intention is quite obvious, which is to finish the whole work in one battle!"

"Therefore, whether our side can take his military strategy Iron Flow Flat River is crucial!"

"Once our side succeeds, the morale will inevitably rise, the military heart will gather, and we will occupy a great advantage."

Long Ye sighed: "Du Tiechuan is worthy of being one of the Grand Generals of the Liangzhu Kingdom. If he advances slowly and fights continuously, our side occupies the terrain and will be able to continuously bleed his army."

"Now he has done this, and our side has to deal with it. The cost of hiring the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts this time is extremely high."

Seeing that Long Ye also knew the key to this great decisive battle, Lu Hongtu continued: "Long Ye, according to my thoughts, why not ask Young Master Kidney Deficiency to take action again."

"If Du Tiechuan is injured again, the balance of victory in this great decisive battle will undoubtedly lean more towards us."

Long Ye sighed and shook his head slightly: "I have already used this method."

"But Young Master Kidney Deficiency is too greedy. This time, the asking price is fifty times that of the last time! It's a lion's opening."

"Fifty times?" Lu Hongtu was also surprised and took a light breath.

He pondered: "Is this price a negotiation strategy of his?"

Long Ye sighed: "Perhaps. Since Lu Cave Master is interested, why not go on a mission and try to persuade Young Master Kidney Deficiency to take action again."

"I'll give you a bottom price."

"Twenty times!"

"If it exceeds this price, our side will find it difficult to pay."

Lu Hongtu took the order and retreated.

He raced against time, immediately escaped quietly, and visited Young Master Kidney Deficiency in a mountain courtyard.

Although both were at the Nascent Soul level, Young Master Kidney Deficiency's strength was far beyond Lu Hongtu's.

Lu Hongtu showed a low posture: "Young Master, I came here this time because I have something to ask for."

"The enemy army is strong, if we don't take action early, I am afraid our army will fall into a predicament. So I want to ask Young Master to take action again and assassinate the enemy commander. If Young Master can be a little tolerant with the remuneration, our Thousand Peaks Forest will definitely do our best to repay Young Master."

Young Master Kidney Deficiency's face was pale, without a human look, and he lay on the lounge chair, barely opening a slit in his eyes to look at Lu Hongtu.

His voice was very weak, like fine rain in the wind: "Lu Cave Master... regarding the last time, this young master has successfully seriously injured Du Tiechuan, it was you who didn't follow up with troops."

"This time, if we want to assassinate again, the difficulty will soar more than a hundred times. I asked for fifty times the price, which is already a discount."

Lu Hongtu indicated that taking out fifty times was indeed too difficult, and military expenses were consumed heavily every day.

If other materials were used for deduction, would it be feasible?

If it were paid in installments to repay the debt, it would also be a more implementable method of handling.

Young Master Kidney Deficiency sighed faintly and said lightly: "Deduction with other materials is too troublesome. I generally only accept spirit stones, which is convenient."

"Payment in installments, this young master will never accept."

"If your side loses this battle, who should I go to for the debt?"

"If you want me to take action, there is only one payment, and it must be paid in advance."

After Young Master Kidney Deficiency finished these words, the whole person was like a layer of rice paper, paralyzed on the lounge chair, and even his breathing weakened a lot.

Lu Hongtu was surprised in his heart.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, it would be difficult for him to imagine that such a patient who was extremely weak on weekdays and had difficulty speaking a sentence had the combat power to threaten the Spirit Transformation level.

Lu Hongtu had no choice but to say goodbye.

His ability to persuade was very strong, but in front of Young Master Kidney Deficiency, he had no room to play.

As the military advisor of the alliance, his time was very tight.

After returning to Long Wang Giant Pillar Mountain, he immediately met a group of key figures secretly.

An old man wore a robe woven with green pine textures, with a beard as green as pine needles, who was the Green Pine Mountain God.

A young and handsome man, wearing a white jade stone crown, was the Bai Shi Mountain God.

There was also the Iron Deer Mountain God with a pair of deer antlers, and the Purple Ying Mountain God who radiated purple light at all times.

"This time to deal with the Iron Flow Flat River military strategy, you are all the main force. All losses will be repaid by the alliance at double the price." Lu Hongtu said.

Green Pine Mountain God stroked his beard and said nothing.

Bai Shi Mountain God was silent.

Iron Deer Mountain God was very direct: "If it's just this kind of benefit, then I won't do it."

Purple Ying Mountain God snorted coldly, showing disdain for Lu Hongtu's reward.

Lu Hongtu was not annoyed, smiled, and said patiently: "What requirements do the four have, you can put them forward first, let's discuss them well."

While the Thousand Peaks Forest Alliance was actively preparing for war, the review on Wood Wheel Town also reached the last time.

On the high reviewing stand, flags fluttered, rustling in the wind.

Only Du Tiechuan stood proudly on the reviewing stand, maintaining this huge magic treasure at all times.

In his overlooking field of vision, armies moved forward slowly, and the military appearance was prosperous!

Those who could support until now, every army was equipped with heavy armor, without a single exception.

The soldiers wearing heavy armor had consistent steps, and the ground shook slightly with every step they took.

The heavy armor reflected a cold metallic luster in the sun. The sound of armor plates interlacing and colliding, combined with the sound of every footstep, was continuous and shocking.

Thick armor, swords, guns, halberds, and other weapons, and even shields, and even heavy-duty mounts, together constructed these streams of steel.

Among them, each army also had differences.

The Red Flower Battalion's red flower flags fluttered, the soldiers' postures were straight, half of them were Jade Steel Heavy Armor and half were ordinary heavy armor, and the military heart was gathered on Mu Lan at the very front.

The Bai Yu Battalion's soldiers were equipped very gorgeously, each set of heavy armor was as white as snow, and the surface of the armor was as smooth as a mirror. The soldiers all held long spears, the spear tips stood like a forest, flickering with cold light. At first glance, the entire Bai Yu Battalion was like a white city wall moving slowly.

The Fire Cloud Battalion's heavy armor was also equipped by themselves, each set of red copper heavy armor, the style was open and publicized, most conducive to the release of spells.

And the heavy armor of the Three Generals Battalion was also half Jade Steel and half ordinary heavy armor. The three generals of Liu, Guan, and Zhang were riding horses at the very front, and in a slightly later position, Ning Zhuo was also riding a Foundation Establishment level demon horse.

Unlike the previous embarrassment, this time he looked calm and felt at ease.

Since refining the Fire Element Heart Temple, he had almost gone all out, hiding in the Fetal Breath Spirit Boat, actively promoting his own physical foundation.

In the continuous several reviews that followed, he gradually surpassed the increasing difficulty, from gradually adapting to being at ease, and his progress was extremely rapid.

Ning Zhuo, sitting on the horse's back, even started to slack off at this moment.

"The great decisive battle is imminent, how much combat power do I have available?"

First is Ning Zhuo's own cultivation.

He practiced one of the three sect supreme methods, cultivating essence, energy, and spirit together. His cultivation was at the early Foundation Establishment stage, having already crossed the obstacle of opening the field and entered the stage of treasure medicine nourishment.

The physical foundation had soared a lot recently, and its specific strength could completely resist ordinary weapons and resist a small part of magic tools.

The soul foundation had not improved much since leaving Fire Persimmon Xiancheng, and it was still the normal standard of two hundred times.

In terms of talent, early wisdom had no follow-up development, and the other talent was still shrouded in fog.

Ning Zhuo's luck returned to a normal level after being inexplicably strong before.

"But my five-element realm is at least at the Grandmaster level, capable of founding a sect and creating methods on the battlefield."

"The divine abilities are Human Life Hanging Thread, Stone Casting Earth Treasure."

Having experienced some events, Ning Zhuo was more cautious in using the Human Life Hanging Thread divine ability. Once used, his combat power would inevitably soar by a large margin.

As for the Stone Casting Earth Treasure divine ability, its specific efficacy was to turn all things in the world into stone materials, and then use time to temper them, making the stone materials gradually turn into precious treasures. Because its effect was very slow, it had no practical combat value.

Currently, Ning Zhuo mainly used it to cooperate with the Fetal Breath Spirit Boat for physical cultivation and as an auxiliary means to disguise as the old monster Shi Zhong.

Just from what Ning Zhuo mastered, his cultivation progress was amazing. At sixteen, he reached the stage of treasure medicine nourishment, leaving his peers behind by countless streets.

The short board of the physical body was made up for a lot, and there were small achievements in the soul.

Talent was yet to be developed, and it was enough for now.

The change in luck made Ning Zhuo inexplicable. The big-headed teenager was a layman.

Although the two great divine abilities were not main combat divine abilities, their auxiliary functions were extremely strong.

Especially the Human Life Hanging Thread divine ability, which had wonderful uses in daily interaction. It was just too wonderful, so Ning Zhuo had to cover it up to prevent it from becoming a target that everyone guarded against and targeted after being discovered.

And the Stone Casting Earth Treasure divine ability, although obtained easily, had few applications at present, but it was definitely an excellent tool for operation, and the future was bright.

The realm was the most excellent. This made Ning Zhuo's spell means extremely rich. Coupled with the top-tier Five Elements Qi Law, Ning Zhuo's long-range combat ability was extremely considerable.

Compared with long-range combat, his close-quarters combat ability was lackluster.

Before, Ning Zhuo made up for the short board of close-quarters combat skills in the Ten Thousand Medicine Sect. Coupled with the rapid progress of his physical foundation recently, this short board was also made up for a bit.

But compared with his long-range combat ability, the difference was really not just a little bit. ===== CHAPTER 525 =====

Although the Earth Treasure divine ability of Shi Zhu was obtained easily and currently has little application, it is an absolutely excellent tool for management, with a bright future ahead.

His cultivation realm is the most outstanding. This has made Ning Zhuo's spellcasting methods extremely rich. Coupled with the top-tier Five Elements Qi Law, Ning Zhuo's long-range combat ability is quite considerable.

Compared to his long-range combat, his close-quarters combat ability is lackluster.

Previously, while in the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect, Ning Zhuo made up for some of his shortcomings in close-quarters combat techniques. Coupled with the recent rapid progress of his physical foundation, he has also made up for some of this shortcoming.

But compared to his long-range combat ability, the difference is truly not just a little bit.