To achieve a goal, one doesn't always need to confront directly. Indirect tactics, applied skillfully, may be even more effective. A head-on clash, unless overwhelming power is assured, often ends in mutual destruction.
Such is the current state between the alien races and the human race.
The humans, especially those of Great Yi, have carved out a formidable presence. The issue now isn't how to defeat them, but how to halt their expansion, how to prevent the celestial cities from reaching their destinations. For this, indirect means may prove more fruitful.
"According to what I know," Fan Wencheng said, "within the Great Yi Dynasty, each celestial city is anchored in a wilderness region. The cities are constructed with something called Xuanhuang Stone Bricks, extremely hard and almost indestructible. Moreover, every city is equipped with teleportation arrays. These arrays allow for instantaneous support from other cities."
"Even if one could cut off a city's communication temporarily, the distance between neighboring celestial cities is only about a thousand miles. At a cultivator's pace, reinforcements can arrive within a day. Every celestial city is a fortress. If you can't break through, you can't remove that nail. If the Vermilion Bird Legion faces defeat, they can simply retreat behind the walls. And once they're in the city, good luck getting them out. Human cultivators are excellent defenders. To breach their walls requires several times—maybe even ten times—their numbers. Great Yi especially excels in defense. Their Divine Crossbows are devastating, capable of firing ten bolts in a blink. In coordinated volleys, it's a storm of arrows."
Fan Wencheng laid out his knowledge systematically.
Each word revealed his deep understanding of the Great Yi Dynasty—its battles, strategies, and war machines. It was clear that Fan Wencheng had taken great care in gathering intelligence and dissecting every military engagement with meticulous attention.
Great Yi's defensive capabilities are overwhelming.
More than anything, no other force could maintain such an endless supply of arrows and bolts, especially the sheer number of mechanized bolts pouring from the Divine Crossbows—enough to make any would-be attacker's scalp tingle.
The defeat of the beastman alliance had already proven this. Without the relentless arrow barrages, the result would have been very different. Against Great Yi, assaulting a city was nearly suicidal.
Only an idiot would pit their weakness against the enemy's strength unless absolutely necessary.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" the werewolf chieftain asked Fan Wencheng.
Everyone knew that Great Yi's greatest strength is its fortress cities. Each is like a hedgehog—almost impossible to handle.
They had no solution for this issue. Each battle was a bloodbath, with wave after wave of arrows showering down on them.
"Direct combat isn't in our favor," Fan Wencheng said. "But humans are bound by morality—by ethics, by sentiment. These act like shackles upon their behavior. Morality has brought humans a brilliant civilization, but also a fatal flaw."
He sneered.
"We won't engage head-on. We'll go around. Poison them, destroy their roads, create disasters, and obstruct them in every possible way. Destruction is always easier than construction. Working from the shadows, we control the tempo. This wilderness is our domain."
"But what if that still doesn't stop them?" the two-headed ogre interjected. "The humans have plenty of clever people. They have entire legions, and each city houses tens of thousands. Who knows what kind of powerhouses might be hiding among them?"
"That's why I said these are temporary measures. If all that fails, I still have a trump card."A sinister glint flashed in Fan Wencheng's eyes.
"A trump card? Don't keep us guessing. Speak."The ogre looked impatient.
"Use human slaves as a wall of flesh. If they dare move forward—we kill one. Take another step—we kill ten. A hundred steps—we kill them all. Kill! Kill!! KILL!!!"
The tent fell into stunned silence.
Even the alien chieftains turned pale. This plan was not just ruthless—it was diabolical.
"Brutal…""Poisonous…""Why didn't we think of this before?"
The werewolf's eyes shone with excitement.
It was a humanity-shattering scheme—a weapon aimed squarely at the heart of human morality.
"This will work," Fan Wencheng said coldly. "Humans are hypocrites, bound by sentiment and ethics. Since Great Yi is now a kingdom, those moral expectations matter even more. They can't afford to turn a blind eye to the lives of their own kind. If we force them to choose between expansion and their people's lives, they'll hesitate."
"If they kill their own to move forward, their reputation and legitimacy will collapse. Even their most loyal citizens will begin to question them. And once public trust breaks, so does the kingdom. The king of Great Yi would be condemned, spit on by ten thousand voices. He will be shackled by his own people's ethics."
Fan Wencheng was merciless in his understanding of human nature.
Throughout history, similar tactics had been used. When Mongols invaded China, unable to breach strongholds, they would capture villagers and drive them in front as human shields, forcing defenders into a moral dilemma. It worked. Gates fell. Cities became mountains of corpses.
That strategy had toppled countless cities—not through might, but by exploiting human compassion.
"This is too vicious…"The elven princess Anerya frowned, visibly disturbed.Such tactics trampled over every moral line. Morality wasn't exclusive to humans—any sentient race had emotions, family, empathy. Even the aliens couldn't completely stomach it.
"It's only for the humans," the snake demon leader said coldly. "Great Yi's expansion benefits no one. If their cities spread, no one is safe. In times like this, cruelty becomes necessity."
"Not only that," Fan Wencheng added, "we'll hide a few blood clans among the human slaves. Even if the humans rescue them, they'll be bringing vampires into their own cities. Once inside, they can infect others, spreading like wildfire. Eventually, an entire celestial city could fall silently, becoming a blood clan haven."
Hiss—The tent erupted with gasps.
This plan was even more sinister than the last.
Blood clans were hard to distinguish from humans in appearance. Once embedded in a city, they could turn the population from within—silently converting thousands. If executed perfectly, they could topple a city without lifting a blade.
It was cold, cruel, and brilliantly strategic.
Fan Wencheng's schemes were not only effective—they were monstrous.
"Good, excellent. Mister Fan, you truly are ruthless. Just as it should be. To fight the humans, we must abandon all sentiment. We're already locked in a blood feud. What's the point of holding back now?"
The two-headed ogre roared in agreement, visibly thrilled.
"Agreed," said the ratman chief. "We've got plenty of human slaves. Maybe a few won't matter to Great Yi—but tens of thousands? Let's see how they respond then."