I Can See Your Combat Power

The Clan Chief Tang Zhi once said that a major war required the right time, location, and people.

Although Tang Luo had not yet identified where all three elements were, he believed they would be present. But as the devastating flood that was soon to submerge Xiling drew near, it was unclear whether the other two elements were present, and there was certainly no advantage in location.

The Tang family and the Mi clan, both highly skilled in naval warfare, have their own shipyards besides the massive Wancheng Treasure Ship. Even during a flood, warriors could fight by clinging onto floating debris. However, if a warrior at the Mortal Realm was knocked into the water, it would mean being far away from the battlefield. Although the Ascending Steps technique that the Tang Clan Mortal Realm warriors have could provide brief flight, most of those at the Mortal Realm could only hope to be lucky enough to find something to cling onto in the fast-paced floodwater.

If the Tang Clan was in this predicament, the situation would be even worse for other clans.

If the flood submerged the farmland, the impoverished minor clans wouldn’t know what to do. Hundreds of years of peace in Xiling had bred brutal violence that would explode as calamity approached, turning many warriors into irrational beasts. Then, Xiling would indeed be plunged into chaos.

Considering the Tang Clan itself, it had more than 300 branches alone, with even larger numbers in the main lineage branches. Each family had women, servants, and stewards who all needed protection, making it impossible to engage in war at such a time.

However, properly arranging for all these people was an enormous task involving hundreds of thousands, plus the hundreds of thousands of people in the new city, which meant that the Tang Clan would have to arrange for nearly a million people in the midst of the flood. And this was still just the people directly under their rule.

Moreover, there were numerous followers of the Tang clan who also needed to be taken care of, adding another hundred thousand people.

There are many mountains to the north of Xiling. Tang Luo was not worried that these people had nowhere to hide from the flood, but arranging for such a large population, even if all the craftsmen in the whole Xiling and warriors helped, was not something that could be done in a few days. Moreover, there were also the 30 Martial Ancestors being held outside of the Jianglin.

Initially, it was assumed that this was the prelude to a large-scale battle between the two clans, but with the sudden arrival of a natural disaster, it was clear that this was not the right time for a war. Furthermore, Tang Luo believed that the leaders of the two clans certainly would not overlook this situation.

The conclusion was that a war between the two clans was unlikely to occur in the short term.

“That’s a good thing.” Tang Luo sighed in relief, feeling as though he could finally rest after a long night’s anxiety.

By steadily developing with the massive amount of secret arts and resources they had gathered, the Tang Clan could easily overpower Mi Clan in ten years. Therefore, why rush into war?

Although his father Tang Sen was incomparably strong, he was only a warrior who just entered the Fierce Realm. He still has a long way to go in terms of power growth. As for him, he would be able to reach the Fierce Realm in at most a year and a half. If he also upgrades his Undying Battle Body to the fourth rank, he would be another unbeatable close combat warrior. Even without the destructive power of the Golden Rock Battle Body, he should nonetheless not be weak after awakening another divine ability. Wouldn’t it be great to fight then?

He had always had a negative attitude towards the current battle. The flood seemed to have come to help him achieve his goal, to smooth out the impending turbulence in Xiling and separate the two clans.

However, with the imminent arrival of a natural disaster, preparations needed to be made. After all, he was not alone. The three thousand members of the Righteous Gang were all under his leadership. Adding in their families, the scale was probably tens of thousands. Fortunately, there were enough mountains in the north, and it should not be a problem for him to have a mountain as a base. After all, the young master Tang was quite influential in the clan.

Moreover, he had asked Gong Zheng to organize a caravan to stock up on grain last month. The time was almost up, and they should be back soon. This way, he wouldn’t have to worry about the most scarce resource during a disaster – food. It was simply perfect!

“The Wind Media Department is such an important resource!” Tang Luo sighed in his heart. Disasters wouldn’t be truly terrifying if you could predict them.

Because you would have enough time to prepare. Getting the news ahead of others means a great advantage. You could first make arrangements for your families, and you might even have the capacity to help others.

All these advantages were brought by the information. Without the Wind Media Department that the Tang Clan invested huge resources in each year, how could they get the news of the flood thousands of kilometers away a few days in advance?

Tang Luo, who assumed that a war in Xiling wouldn’t happen, planned to leave the Wind Media Department and go to the Martial Hall first. He had to make arrangements for his younger brother and the children entrusted to him by Lao Bai. After all, they had just received news of the flood, and the family had not prepared yet. He had to go to school first and occupy a room to settle these people. After all, he who comes first, gets first. He deserved it as he was of the second sequence!

The news of the imminent flood changed all the tasks of the Wind Media members in the hall. The rapidly sent messages about the battlefield turned into pieces of paper being delivered one by one. Each one was corresponding to the master of each branch, proceeding methodically.

Compared to the chaotic battlefield information, the Tang Clan’s Wind Media Department was very efficient and experienced in delivering information related to the people’s livelihood.

In just a short while, all the letters were sent out, and the Wind Media members who had finished their work finally had a chance to chat.

As intelligence agents, they often had to hide their families. Some exposed Wind Media members even had to hide their families, which meant that many of their family members were hidden very deeply and led secluded lives. This made some Wind Media members worried.

Because the order and priority of each clan’s arrangement and evacuation are different. For the Tang Clan, the Secret Arts Pavilion is the first, the main branch family members second, the clan warriors family members third, all departments family members fourth, and finally the Martial Hall.

The Wind Media Department, along with other departments, had a low priority of evacuation, being of the fourth sequence. The greatest fear is that the evacuation would be too late to avoid the flood. After all, most of their wives and children did not have magical abilities, and could easily be obliterated by a wave.

“I wonder if there are enough rooms in the school. My mother is of weak constitution and cannot withstand exposure to wind and rain,” a young member of the Wind Media Department said, a worried expression on his face, to another member at the neighbouring table.

“You fool, you are actually worrying about this.” The member at the neighboring table sneered. “Do you know that in the past two years, many stone fortresses, wooden fortresses, and cave dwellings have been built on the eastern and western foothills of the North Mountain? Even just the North Mountain area alone can accommodate a million people for refuge. Our family members from the Wind Media Department have first priority in the fourth sequence. Even if we don’t get a place in a stone fortress, we should get a wooden one, right?”

“Right.” A member of the Wind Media Department at another table chimed in, “Ever since two years ago, the representatives of the three divisions started to collect grain and haven’t stopped since. There’s a ship returning each month offloading a large amount of new grain and salt. With the current reserves of our clan, we would be able to withstand even if the flood doesn’t recede and we need to start cultivating fields in the mountains.”

“Exactly. For the past two years, the Treasure Ship hasn’t set sail and the shipyard has persistently been building more boats, including ice boats! If the flood does not recede in the winter, turning the earth to frozen soil, we of the Tang Clan can still travel by ice boat. So relax, everything’s going to be okay.” Sometimes worries and fears arise purely from lack of information. As the center of information for the Tang Clan, aside from the youngest members of the Wind Media Department worrying about the flood, the older members sneered, full of disdain. This wasn’t blind confidence, but because the information told them that for the Tang Clan, this flood would have almost no significant impact.

Tang Luo, who was already at the door, paused as he listened to the chatters of the Wind Media Department members and his face darkened as if ink was about to drip from it.

With such strangely precise preparations, it seemed as though the clan had known about the flood two years ago. Otherwise, why would the Tang Clan, with the Wancheng Treasure Ship, build so many boats? Had they entered a boat race?!