Chapter 59: Wang Liang's Plan

"Good eye—that’s the incense and golden statue of the Mountain God from before. This is a valuable treasure. I’ve been consuming it for four whole years and have barely made a dent. I wonder how long your golden statue will last."

The dark-skinned bald man said this as he scrutinized the City God Lu from head to toe.

His gaze successfully provoked Lu, who drew his sword and called toward General Hua’s side, “General Hua, is there any way to breach the city? I want to take him down.”

Before General Hua could respond, the dark-skinned bald man seemed to notice something. He let out a startled sound and shifted his attention from Lu to Wang Liang, who was trailing behind.

Upon seeing Wang Liang, the bald man appeared agitated and abruptly rose from his seat.

“Prime meat.”

Wang Liang sensed the deep malice emanating from the bald man and decisively stepped forward, pointing at him. “Bastard.”

The bald man nearly leapt down wielding his black axe, but thankfully, he regained his composure and refrained from making the first move. Instead, he remained atop the pile of trees guarding the pass, shouting curses without the calm demeanor he had exhibited when provoking Lu.

Lu also took note of the situation. Pulling Wang Liang aside, he said, “Talented Daoist, you’ve seen it too. This place is tough to attack. Do you think we can lure the black bear down to fight?”

Wang Liang glanced upward, recognizing the dark-skinned bald man as the target—Black Bear Lao Hei.

He even knew his stats.

[Name: Black Bear Lao Hei (Second of the Four Heavenly Kings)]
[Gender: Male]
[Profession: Monster]
[Level: 29 (BOSS template)]
[Attributes (unequipped): Strength: 50+, Agility: Unknown, Constitution: Unknown, Spirit: Unknown, Status: Unknown]
[Talent: Taunt]
[Skills: Devour Corpse Level 4, Earth Strike Level 2, Life Regeneration Level 3...]
[Secondary Profession: None]
[Description: This isn’t just a black bear; it’s another Black Whirlwind—the kind that only knows how to kill.]

It could be said that Black Bear Lao Hei was a pure tank character.

Of course, Wang Liang only knew the term “tank.” To draw him out for a fight, they needed someone even better at taunting.

Wang Liang didn’t think he could pull that off.

Moreover, the bear’s strength was over 50. Though the upper limit was unknown, it was clear that strength was not his only or even primary attribute. Facing such an enemy, Wang Liang lacked confidence.

Especially since there was no way to set up formations here—the next battle would undoubtedly be a chaotic melee.

But Lu spoke up, and Wang Liang had to consider the consequences.

“It’s possible to lure him down, but we must devise a foolproof plan. At the very least, we can’t let him escape back, nor allow him to break our formation.”

Hearing this, Lu’s heart skipped a beat. Indeed, this talented Daoist had a background. From his words, it was clear he had commanded at least hundreds of thousands in major battles.

This realization wasn’t unique to Lu; General Hua and General Yu also noticed. Wang Liang’s strategic intent was obvious: after luring the enemy out, they must prevent any chance of escape.

This was a consideration of consequences before battle—a hallmark of a strategist.

So when Wang Liang spoke, they were willing to listen.

Unaware that he had revealed his experience, Wang Liang said, “If it were me, I’d fall back a bit and clear the forest behind us. Use that wood to build siege weapons, then set up magical formations where the forest was. We’d need a powerful containment array—at least one that traps the enemy, leaving no chance of escape.”

Here, Wang Liang recalled the most optimistic scenario the players had discussed before the fight.

“If possible, separate him from his defensive position and drag him to our battlefield.”

Lu hesitated but could hear that Wang Liang had been following his own plan since deploying troops: lure the enemy to a battleground of his choosing.

Only before, Wang Liang commanded fewer than a hundred righteous warriors. Now, his target was the entire Yanggu County allied forces.

After some thought, Lu said, “We can fight according to your plan, but how can you guarantee to lure the enemy to the designated location?”

“Simple—burn the wood.”

Wang Liang had already set his sights on the temporary wooden pass that Black Bear Lao Hei used.

The small demons weren’t capable builders; all they could do was pile wood together.

Wang Liang could rely on this. The remaining demons hid behind the wooden pass or in nearby woods.

Once the Yanggu allied forces attacked, they would appear atop the wooden pass to stall the army. Then, another group of demons could cut off supplies from the rear.

Wang Liang was quite familiar with this tactic. These demons were roughly summoned; their setup was crude.

That’s why Wang Liang wanted the nearby forest felled—not only to prevent demon ambushes but also to use the wood for his own purposes.

After gaining command of the army from Lu, Wang Liang sought out General Yu.

“General Yu, your aquatic ghost soldiers have some control over water, yes?”

General Yu slapped his forehead eagerly. “Of course. I can’t vouch for everything, but water control is instinctual for all aquatic races.”

“If I ask you to extract the moisture from some felled wood, how far can you take it?”

General Yu pondered before replying, “Like dry timber.”

Wang Liang pointed toward the wooden pass nearby. “What about the wood there?”

“That’s tougher. We need to touch the wood to cast spells. But perhaps we can extract pine resin and condense it.”

“That’s easy—I can handle that.”

Wang Liang gave orders. This time, auxiliary soldiers chopped wood, the ghost soldiers from the City God’s temple gathered dry branches and leaves nearby, and the aquatic ghost soldiers controlled the water, turning the felled timber into dry wood and collecting pine resin gel, mixing everything together.

Watching Wang Liang’s actions, the master of the distant mountain monastery couldn’t help but ask, “Daoist Lu, that looks like a giant torch he’s making.”

“It is a torch. He wants to set a fire, and he’s added some herbs to it—an old recipe for mosquito-repelling torches.”

“What’s his intention?”

A mountain breeze swept by, catching Lu’s attention. His eyes brightened. “He wants to use fire to smoke out Lao Hei.”