Chapter 20: Discussing Countermeasures

After thinking for a moment, Fang Yun realized that he had never encountered a situation like war in either of his lifetimes. He was worried that if he offered an idea, it might lead others astray. Therefore, he looked at the oldest elder, Fang Jianting, and asked, "Old Ancestor, do you have any suggestions?"

As the living fossil of the clan, he should have some experience with such matters of war. As the old saying goes, having an elder in the family is like having a treasure!

Fang Jianting leaned on his cane, stroked his white beard, and gently said, "Clan leader, there's no need to panic. Our Fang family has gone through so much already. I remember when the cultivator from three generations ago passed away, we faced attacks from other forces as well. At that time, we only had five innate-level martial artists, and the situation was far more dangerous than now. Yet, we survived, and this time will be no exception!"

At this point, Fang Jianting looked at Fang Hao and asked, "Hao boy, have you found out the origins of these eighteen pirate groups? Who are they, how many innate-level martial artists do they have, and are there any cultivators involved?"

Fang Hao stood up and said gravely, "Great-grandfather, we have roughly determined the situation. The enemies are not simple! Just counting the innate martial artists from the Black Widow, Wei Changhai, and Mo Rongxiao's pirate groups alone, there are over ten. If each of the other pirate groups has at least one innate martial artist, that would mean more than twenty in total. Based on our estimates, there could be more than thirty innate martial artists among them! As for whether there are any cultivators, we cannot confirm that yet."

Hearing that the enemy had thirty innate martial artists, the clan elders present felt a bit panicked. Although they had faced battles before, they clearly had never encountered a situation with dozens of innate martial artists. The disparity in strength between the two sides was quite concerning, making them anxious.

Even Fang Yun felt that the chances of victory on their side were slim upon hearing this news. He had previously thought that having ten innate martial artists was a significant advantage, yet it turned out that a random group of pirates had nearly thirty innate martial artists. Was the innate level so undervalued in this world?

Seeing the scene becoming somewhat chaotic, Fang Jianting struck the ground heavily with his cane, producing a loud thud.

"Alright, why the panic? The enemy hasn't arrived yet! Why are you all so flustered? Do you plan to surrender just because the enemy has more numbers?"

Fang Hong quickly interjected, "Great-grandfather, we have no such thoughts. Those pirates are incredibly ruthless; even if we surrendered, we wouldn't survive. We are simply discussing countermeasures!"

Fang Jianting shot him a cold glance and snorted, "Is this how you discuss countermeasures? I think you're just afraid!"

Then he turned to Fang Yun, his voice softening a bit as he addressed everyone, "Don't worry, the enemy's numbers are not so overwhelming. Those pirates with innate martial artists are already considered a mid-sized pirate organization. Where would they find so many pirate organizations? Our Fang family doesn't have that much allure. Most of the other pirate groups are merely fillers!"

Upon hearing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

However, Fang Jianting continued, "But don't rejoice too early. The pirate factions led by the Black Widow and others do have some strength, and when combined with other factions, based on the current estimate of innate martial artists, there might not be thirty, but twenty are still possible."

"Ah, Great-grandfather, could you please finish your sentence? Are we supposed to be worried or not?" Fang Lin, sitting opposite Fang Jianting, protested.

"Whether to worry or not depends on your own abilities. If you think you can handle it, then there's no need to worry! If you can't handle it, then worrying won't help!"

After saying this, Fang Jianting turned his head and no longer paid attention to the crowd. He had said what needed to be said; the rest was up to the younger generation to figure out. After all, he didn't have much time left, and the Fang family would ultimately depend on these descendants.

Seeing this, Fang Lin could only shake his head helplessly and then turned to Fang Yun, saying, "Clan leader, even if there are only twenty innate martial artists, it will still be very difficult for us to handle, especially since we don't know if there are any cultivators among them!"

Fang Yun nodded; this was indeed the case. The Fang family only had ten innate martial artists, and that included the visibly incapable elder, Fang Jianting. This meant there were only nine innate martial artists left, plus himself, the cultivator.

However, although his status as a cultivator appeared prestigious, he lacked any combat experience, leaving Fang Yun unsure of how much fighting capability he could actually contribute. Moreover, he also had to consider the possibility of other cultivators appearing. Given this, facing more than twenty innate martial artists with just nine people was indeed a significant pressure.

Seeing that Fang Jianting had stopped speaking, Fang Yun turned to Fang Yong, who was in charge of the island's guard team. Among those present, he seemed to have some experience.

"Elder Fang Yong, do you have any suggestions?"

Fang Yong pondered for a moment before saying, "Actually, we're not completely without a chance. The family guard team has excellent weapons and armor. Although we may not have as many numbers as the pirates, our combat effectiveness is still quite strong. What we mainly lack is high-level combat power. In this regard, if we want to defeat those pirates, we'll have to rely on some of the family's resources!"

At this point, Fang Yong looked around at the other elders and then at Fang Yun. The other elders fell silent upon hearing Fang Yong's suggestion. This method could indeed work, or rather, it was the only way; other methods wouldn't have much effect given the disparity in strength.

However, on one hand, the family's resources were ultimately limited, and every bit used would mean less for the future. On the other hand, as innate martial artists, using the family's spiritual talismans required the consumption of their own blood essence. Blood essence was limited for everyone; once used, it would leave lifelong repercussions, and could even render someone useless.

The cost was indeed significant, and unless absolutely necessary, no one wanted to pay that price. It wasn't that they were afraid of death; it was just that who would want to become a cripple if it could be avoided?

At that moment, Fang Zhou, who had been silent, spoke up first, "If necessary, I can activate the spiritual talismans!"

Next to him, Fang Lin added, "Count me in! As long as we have the talismans, we can defend against this attack!"