Chapter 20: Discussing Strategies

After some thought, Fang Yun, who had never encountered war in either of his two lifetimes, was worried about leading others astray with his ideas.

So, he looked towards the eldest, Fang Jianting, and said, "Elder, do you have any advice?"

It seemed reasonable to ask; as a veritable living fossil within the clan, he surely had some war experience. There's wisdom in the saying, an elder in the home is a treasure indeed!

Leaning on his cane, Fang Jianting stroked his white beard, then spoke calmly, "Clan Leader, there's no need to panic. Our Fang Family has weathered many such storms before.

I remember when a cultivator from three generations ago passed away, we too faced an assault from other powers.

Back then, we only had five Innate Realm martial artists; the situation was far more dangerous than it is now.

Yet we still came through, and this time will be no exception!"

At this point, Fang Jianting turned to Fang Hao and asked, "Hao, have you ascertained the origins of these eighteen pirate gangs? Who are they, how many Innate Martial Artists do they have, and is there any involvement from cultivators?"

Fang Hao stood up and said gravely, "Great-grandfather, we've mostly figured out the situation, and it's not looking good!

Just counting the Innate Martial Artists from Black Widow, Wei Changhai, Mo Rongxiao, and a few other pirate factions, they already have more than ten. And if we assume that each of the remaining pirate gangs has at least one Innate Martial Artist, that's roughly twenty-five or more.

Our estimate is that there could well be over thirty Innate Martial Artists!

As for the presence of cultivators, we still haven't identified any."

Hearing that the enemy had thirty Innate Martial Artists, the clan's elders panicked. Although they had been through battles, they clearly had not faced a situation with dozens of Innate Martial Artists.

The stark disparity in strength was causing them to become frantic.

Even Fang Yun felt a slim chance of victory upon hearing the news.

He had previously thought that their side, with ten Innate Martial Artists, was quite strong, but now just a few pirate gangs had managed to assemble nearly thirty.

Had the Innate Realm become so devalued in this world?

Seeing the chaos brewing, Fang Jianting thumped his cane heavily on the ground, creating thudding sounds.

"Enough of this panic! The enemy hasn't even arrived yet, and you're all falling apart. What sort of behavior is this? Should we surrender just because the enemy is numerous?"

From one side, Fang Hong hurriedly said, "Great-grandfather, we have no intention of surrendering. Those pirates are incredibly vicious; even if we surrender, we won't be spared. We're merely discussing strategies!"

Fang Jianting glanced at him coldly and snorted, "Is this how you discuss strategies? From what I see, you're just scared!"

Then, looking at Fang Yun above, his tone softened somewhat as he addressed everyone, "Rest assured, the enemy's numbers aren't that overwhelming. For these pirates to have Innate Martial Artists, they'd have to be medium-sized organizations.

Where would they find so many pirate organizations? The Fang Family's resources aren't so alluring.

Most of those other pirate groups are just making up the numbers!"

The crowd sighed in relief upon hearing this.

However, Fang Jianting continued, "But don't celebrate too early. Black Widow and a few other pirate forces still possess some strength. Adding the others, the estimated number of Innate Martial Artists, even if not thirty, is still around twenty."

"Ah, great-grandfather, could you please finish what you're saying? Should we be worried or not?" Fang Lin, sitting opposite Fang Jianting, complained.

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

But if you can't, worrying is pointless!"

After saying this, Fang Jianting turned away, not bothering with the others anymore.

He had said his piece; it was up to the younger generation to decide what to do next. His time was running short; in the end, the Fang Family would have to rely on them.

Seeing this, Fang Lin could only shake his head helplessly, then looked towards Fang Yun, "Clan Leader, even if there are only twenty Innate Martial Artists, we're going to have a tough time dealing with them, not to mention the possibility of cultivators among them!"

Fang Yun nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. The Fang Family only had ten Innate Martial Artists, including Fang Jianting, who was clearly incapable of fighting due to old age.

That meant there were only nine Innate Martial Artists left, plus himself, a cultivator.

But even as a cultivator, despite the prestigious title, he lacked any real combat experience. How effective he would be in a fight, Fang Yun was unsure.

And they had to account for the potential appearance of enemy cultivators.

Against more than twenty Innate Martial Artists, the pressure on just nine people was enormous indeed.

Seeing that Fang Jianting was no longer speaking, Fang Yun turned to Fang Yong, who seemed to have some experience in managing the island's guard force and asked, "Elder Fang Yong, do you have any suggestions?"

After a moment of contemplation, Fang Yong said, "Actually, we do have a chance of victory. Our family's guard force has excellent weapons and armor, and even if we are fewer in number, our combat strength is not lacking.

What we really lack is top-level combat power.

In this regard, if we want to defeat these pirates, we must resort to using some of the family's foundations!"

At this, Fang Yong glanced at the other elders and then at Fang Yun above.

The other elders fell silent upon hearing Fang Yong's proposal.

This method could work, perhaps it was the only way; any other strategies would be ineffective given the imbalance of power.

However, on one hand, the family's foundation was finite; using it up was a painful thought.

On the other hand, as Innate Martial Artists, using the Spirit Talismans from the family collection required their own essence blood.

Everyone has limited essence blood, and using it would definitely leave lifelong repercussions, possibly even reducing them to invalids.

The cost was indeed high, and no one wanted to pay it unless absolutely necessary.

It wasn't out of cowardice, but who would want to become invalids if there was another way?

Just then, Fang's Ark, who had remained silent, was the first to speak, "If necessary, I can activate the Spirit Talismans!"

Beside him, Fang Lin also said, "Count me in! With the Spirit Talismans, we can hold off their assault and have a fighting chance!"