Chapter 616: Exploitation

"What is this?"

Tang Zhao stared at the halo beneath his feet, sensing the Qi that seemed to be slumbering within it. The more he looked, the more interesting it became, and he fell into deep thought.

It seems... like I've seen this somewhere before?

Judging by the patterns faintly formed by the luster, this was undoubtedly an Array. Although only the tip of the iceberg was revealed, he could tell that the scale of this Array was not small. Relying on his attainments in Rune Formulas, he could even discern a portion of the Array's direction and veins.

But Arrays are not all the same. Every sect, every lineage, and even every Talisman Sword Master has their own style of forming Arrays. Knowledge is not shared between them, and even a veteran Talisman Sword Master might not necessarily recognize them, let alone fully understand them.

This Array... was also quite crooked and evil, to the point that Tang Zhao felt it couldn't even be built successfully by relying on Rune Formulas alone; it must have been mixed with something else.

Another system.

This kind of evil path felt somewhat familiar; after all, its characteristics were very distinct, and it was hard to forget once seen.

"Right, it's the Turtle Bandits!"

Once Tang Zhao thought of this, he drew his sword before he could even think it through, slashing a few times to destroy the traces of the Array before him.

Could anything from the Turtle Bandits be any good? It's never wrong to slash them first; perhaps it could prevent a conspiracy.

Following that, Tang Zhao carried his sword and walked forward through the ruins, pushing aside rubble as he went to reveal the complex Array inside, occasionally dropping his sword to hack at it a few times.

Having walked through most of it, Tang Zhao had already seen the layout of the Array clearly. He continuously deduced it in his heart, and although he lacked the assistance of his Glasses, he still guessed eight or nine out of ten, becoming increasingly certain of his conjecture—it really was the Turtle Bandits, who are pervasive and impossible to kill.

And this should be the very Array he was most familiar with among the Turtle Bandits' methods—

Large-scale War-grade Teleportation Portal.

In Jianzhou and Yunzhou, the Turtle Bandits had used, or attempted to use, this Teleportation Portal to transport large-scale troops to the scene, instantly turning the tide of battle; it was a very practical Array.

As for how Tang Zhao knew the specific contents of the Turtle Bandits' Array, that was, of course—asked out of them.

Yunzhou had captured quite a few Turtle Bandits, among whom was a certain high-ranking royal with poor luck who was willing to cooperate with the work of the Yunzhou Jing'an Division to a limited extent, and quite a bit of intelligence was indeed asked out.

Tang Zhao had always felt that the Large-scale Teleportation Portal was a very useful good thing, so he specifically communicated with the Jing'an Division in charge of interrogations to see if they could help ask about the principles and knowledge behind it.

The Jing'an Division naturally agreed to such a small matter and did indeed ask for some knowledge, but firstly, it was not detailed, and secondly, it lacked the precious materials monopolized by the Turtle Bandits, such as the Basalt Crystal used to construct the gate, so it still couldn't be reproduced.

However, Tang Zhao still grasped the general construction method; at his current level, he was one who could ruin more than he could accomplish.

He certainly couldn't preside over the construction of a Teleportation Portal entirely, but if an Array were placed before him, he would definitely be able to recognize it and could dismantle it in a few quick moves.

Just like now.

Tang Zhao moved like a whirlwind to cut at the Array in the surroundings. Manying, who had been immersed in her emotions and lost in thought, gradually sobered up. Her mood calmed slightly, but she discovered that Tang Zhao, who had been enlightening her just moments ago, had walked quite far away and was still burying his head in searching for something.

Manying asked in confusion: "What's wrong? Is there something in the ruins?"

Tang Zhao said: "It should be a backup left behind by Anxing Manor, a Teleportation Array. It can transport large groups of people in and out. I am destroying their means."

He was not afraid to tell Manying; regardless of what identity Manying held, she certainly could not have a favorable impression of the Turtle Bandits or Anxing Manor.

After all, the Turtle Bandits were enemies of the Golden Crow, which by extension made them enemies of the Ruyi Sword; at the same time, the Turtle Bandits were plotting against Wangliang Mountain, which by extension meant they were plotting against the Abyss Envoy.

At the same time, Anxing Manor's involvement in the affairs of the Long Life Society made them indirect accomplices in the slaughter of the Abyss Envoy; Tang Zhao was certainly not wronging them.

With several layers of hatred superimposed, Manying truly hated the Turtle Bandits. Added to the fact that she had just commanded the altar to blast Anxing Manor to pieces, the two sides were already locked in a fight to the death.

Manying asked about the specific efficacy of the Teleportation Portal and suddenly exclaimed in shock: "They have such a large-scale transfer method? Doesn't that mean the previous strike might not have been entirely successful, and they still managed to run away?"

Tang Zhao nodded: "It's very possible. If they can build such a large Teleportation Array even in the ruins, how could they lack preparations at their own home? They didn't transfer here, so they must have other safe bases, perhaps even more than one. This is truly a cunning turtle with three burrows."

Manying hummed with dissatisfaction, then continued: "You want to destroy this Teleportation Array? Will that be enough?"

Tang Zhao said: "Then what do you suggest?"

Manying had a clear mind, and the White Fox had also said that her second sister, Mange, was the mastermind of Baiyujing back in the day, so Tang Zhao asked her for a plan.

Manying said: "If you discovered a spy among your subordinates, but they didn't know they had been discovered, what is the best way to handle it? Is it to kill them? Or is it to use them as a front to send false intelligence and counter the other side?"

Tang Zhao realized: "Jiang Gan stealing the letters?"

Immediately after, he began to think about how to utilize this Array.

Should he keep this Array, let them teleport over, and then cut it off halfway through? Let them lose their reinforcements and annihilate the panicked half of the people, achieving the effect of attacking them while they are crossing the river?

No, that would be too crude.

Manying organized her thoughts on this side and said: "You said they are cunning, so they must have more than one base. Therefore, destroying this place is actually of little use. They can easily switch to another base to continue their plan, and then you won't even know where they will gather, and you will have completely lost your intelligence channel."

"Conversely, if we don't touch this place, the possibility of this place becoming a new base is still very high."

She said affirmatively: "Because there is no other such uninhabited open space above the second tier of Wangliang Mountain. Their own manor has been destroyed; if they don't want to crawl up tier by tier from the foot of the mountain, this is the best choice. As long as we set up in advance, we can make the enemies on the opposite side walk into the trap we have laid themselves, becoming birds in a cage."

Tang Zhao nodded. Compared to only calculating for one wave but not necessarily being able to kill many effective forces, opening the full-map perspective would certainly yield greater benefits. By the time the Turtle Bandits turned this place into a new base, the time would be close to the critical point. Tang Zhao would then launch an attack, re-enacting a scene where countless preparations are destroyed in an instant.

Turtle Bandits, oh Turtle Bandits, do you know what despair is?

Tang Zhao thought about it and even felt a little sad for the Turtle Bandits.

Hahaha.

Feeling invigorated, Tang Zhao immediately set to work preparing.

First, he had to reconnect the Array he had just destroyed.

Tang Zhao felt a slight toothache. This actually made him experience the feeling of reaping what he sowed one step ahead of time.

If he had known, he wouldn't have slashed it so decisively.

It was only because it was him—not only was he proficient in Array knowledge, but he also carried quite a few materials in his Time Jar, which could be used to make up for it. If others had destroyed it, it would be destroyed, and it would be impossible to reconnect it; at that time, any plan would only be a plan on paper.

After busying himself for two hours, Tang Zhao finally finished repairing the Array he had destroyed. This meant—it was equivalent to doing nothing for most of the day, just left with a body full of sweat.

Fortunately, there were no signs of the Array being activated during this time. It seems that even after suffering such a blow, the Turtle Bandits would have to rest in a safe zone before they could invest in the tense construction of a second base.

Now it was time for Tang Zhao to think about how to arrange his own methods.

Monitoring, teleporting, destroying... various Rune Formula Arrays and ideas changed back and forth in his mind, building different shapes like building blocks, and finally, several formed ideas took shape.

First, he couldn't leave too many methods; he couldn't treat the other side as fools. The more methods left behind, the more traces there would be, and the more likely it would be to be exposed. And he had to leave behind methods for concealment...

One layer of methods superimposed on another layer of methods; in the end, it would become increasingly cumbersome, and the traces would increase rather than decrease.

Fortunately, it was now very close to the Sacrifice, and the Turtle Bandits shouldn't have time for a particularly detailed screening, so as long as he could get past the first wave of detection, the chances of winning would be high.

There was one more point, which was to cover up the traces of himself and Manying having been here.

Although the rubble shifted slightly from the movement of walking, an ordinary person would not be able to tell, but who is to say that every brick and tile here was not specifically arranged? It is just like sticking a hair to a doorway; an outsider might not notice, but the Master could immediately tell that someone had come.

Clearing traces individually is difficult; it is better to use some external force.

Tang Zhao pondered for a moment and asked, "Sister Mange, don't you find it strange that Ghost Disaster has seeped into the Shadow and flooded the manor?"

Manying was slightly startled when she heard his form of address, but she accepted it immediately; whether it was Manying or Mange, both could be called Sister Mange. She quickly understood what Tang Zhao meant and said, "It is not strange. Ghost Disaster often spreads into the Shadow; if there were no protective dams built, it is perfectly normal for it to be flooded by water. This is a good idea."

Tang Zhao immediately carried the pipa out of the ruins and poked his head out to look around; he discovered that the water had grown even larger and had already submerged the foot of Pale Moon Manor.

"It seems there is no need to intentionally divert the water." Manying, who had more authority on the matter, observed the Momentum of the water and said affirmatively, "I observed that the flood dams of Pale Moon Manor are already in tatters; they definitely have not been repaired for a very long time. That group of people does not understand this. If you dismantle the old parts a little more, the manor will naturally be flooded once the You Water rises."

Tang Zhao nodded; this was for the best. The less human interference there was, the more naturally it could be glossed over.

His heart stirred, and he asked, "Is it still there?"

Manying knew who Tang Zhao was referring to and said, "It is. Its aura is very obvious, and it is still angry. But it has not come over here; it seems it does not care about us."

Tang Zhao nodded and muttered, "Incompetent rage, huh?"

Taking advantage of the time before the water arrived, Tang Zhao rushed to employ some methods, primarily for surveillance, and then there was one crucial grand move: giving the Turtle Bandit an extra meal.

Tang Zhao had originally considered whether to leave a pool of water and let Aqin stay in the water to monitor, but he immediately rejected this idea.

He had previously heard some of the intelligence relayed by Manying and knew that there was a Western Pillar of State who condensed water as a tool. He guessed that her Sword Image was related to water; given the title of Pillar of State, it was either Kan Water or Dui Marsh. Considering this was the west, it was likely the Kan Water Western Pillar of State.

The swords of these Pillars of State are very strong. If the Sword Image involves water, she might be able to grasp a portion of the laws of water, so leaving Aqin, this reflection in the water, would be too dangerous.

Therefore, he left behind several of his most proficient Rune Formulas and used various methods to hide them.

Manying saw one of his methods and said, "This is A Yu's Sword Art."

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "Yes, Miss Ling's Sword Art is very suitable for concealment."

In addition to Ling Baoyu's Sword Art, Tang Zhao also used "Disappearance" as protection, making everyone subconsciously ignore his Talismans. With such layers of protection, plus the tight time constraints and the flooding of the You Water, the Turtle Bandit should not be able to detect them.

Having set up the general layout, there was still no movement from the opposite side. Tang Zhao finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to think about who would monitor this place.

He himself was spread too thin and certainly could not do it; it would be better to let...

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly shuddered, his expression changed slightly, and he said urgently, "Sister Mange! I must ask for your help this time. I have an urgent matter and must leave for a moment."

Yes, this urgent matter was a top-priority emergency—

The Golden Crow was summoning him.