Shi Lang told the high council to be calm about the situation and not to jump to any conclusion or initiate any attacks against the Heaven-Howling wolf clan. He clarified that they only had one chance to get things sorted. He was not interested in taking unnecessary risks. He made it all clear to make the hot-blooded spirit beast leaders understand the gravity of the situation.
After the high council pondered and discussed the matter extensively, they sent out a scouting party. Tex was appointed as the leader as Jianhu was too hot-minded. So Tex was summoned to the council. The person readily accepted the task, but he asked for Shi Lang to be the advisor.
The spirit beasts had trained in a peaceful environment, gradually grinding themselves against the whetstone. However, they needed to gain experience, and their progress could have been faster. Shi Lang could prevent all the mistakes they could make and point them in the right direction.
Shi Lang had finished understanding the matter thoroughly, so he had nothing to do for the next few days. Then, finally, he agreed to be asked. The team also included Crystal.
...
Two days later, Shi Lang and a few team members regrouped outside the city limits. Shi Lang could not help but feel pumped. He was observing the surroundings very keenly. Finally, Tex asked him, "What are you looking at?"
Shi Lang replied, "Nothing, just that the wilderness is much freer than the cities."
A man chuckled and said, "You sound more like a spirit beast than we do."
Crystal watched this and stepped up to stand behind Shi Lang and said, "You all, Tex, might be appointed as the leader, but if you dared to talk without honorifics when addressing my boss, I will peel your skin away slowly and leave it to dry."
Tex nodded and said, "I agree with you, Crystal. Shi Lang has experience leading people, but I have never done that. But, thinking about it, the enemy we have to face is not simple, so no matter what my strength is, it will not help me deal with the situation ahead."
The team had five members, among which only two had experience leading and participating in military operations, Shi Lang and Crystal. As for the other three, they were the young elites of the heaven-soaring hawk clan. They were known for their visual prowess, capturing even the tiniest details from a greater distance.
Crystal heard this and said, "Since the leader agrees, let us reform the chain of command. Is that all right?"
Tex nodded, and his two clanmates followed. Crystal said, "Boss will be calling the shots, and I will be his deputy. Those who do not understand how it works can think of Boss as the elder in the high council, and I am the inquisitor from the judgment hall, while you three will be city guards."
Tex glared at Crystal while the other two nodded. They all adored Crystal. After all, she was considered the first beauty of the younger generation and fiery when not facing Shi Lang and his team.
Shi Lang looked at the team and nodded. Then, he said, "Fine then, we will use a diamond formation to move.'
Tex asked, "Who will be the core?"
Shi Lang pondered and said, "The enemy can lay in ambush, so let Crystal be the core. Then, we can have her cast her charm skills to deal with the enemy. As for the four corners, we will use spiritual sense to monitor the surroundings."
Tex nodded but then said, "What if our detection alerted the enemy?" Experts can detect spiritual energy and even use isolation formations to hide from us."
Shi Lang nodded and said, "You are correct, so we will use technological methods to detect the enemy in long range. For example, if they have isolation arrays built up, we can see them. As for alerting them with spirit sense, let us follow counter-detection rules and use the enemy's prowess against them. Then, we will be able to find them when we walk inside their range."
The team nodded, and Shi Lang's tactic was something they had never tried. They all had received training, but their way of the fight was still a bit too unorganized. The spirit beast community had gathered a vast knowledge of tactics and methods but preferred natural and raw methods. Yet, despite being taught the skills, the youth of spirit beast clans chose to head on battles.
They used their hoverboards to move toward the target. The hoverboards will help them travel faster through the wilderness. These hoverboards were specially made with spirit arrays carved on them. They ran on spirit energy consumed directly from the atmosphere. They were silent and undetectable by modern technology means.
Shi Lang chose them as a means of transport because he wanted to avoid attracting attention. The city where the Heaven Howling wolves lived was unofficially called Exile Town. However, the actual name of this location was Golden era City. This city was founded by the expert guiding the spirit beasts back to the human race and reuniting the two. However, after the wolves betrayed the race, they were confined in this city.
The spirit beast community was surprised when they surrendered so quickly back then. They had been fooled for such a long time. But thankfully, the secret was discovered, and it was time to set things right.
Twelve heavenly clan cities surrounded the exile town. All are located at a uniform thousand-kilometer distance from the exile town. These cities acted like barriers, and strict patrols were managed at the borders to ensure no exiles could pass through. The exiles were left to their measures in normal times until someone decided to breach the border.
This was one of the reasons they managed to keep the secret a secret—the rules made by the older generations needed to be more profound in law keeping.
Shi Lang and the team quickly crossed the border and came to the targeted territory's edge. Tex was at the front of the formation and suddenly said, "Sentries."
Shi Lang said, "Stop and settle down on the ground."
The place was covered with tall grass. The team hid under the cover, and Shi Lang asked, "How far?"
Tex replied, "Ten Miles out, but the wind carries our scent. They will be able to smell us."
Shi Lang shook his head and said, "Calm down. We are still at the border; even if we are discovered, we do not need to panic. Crystal, charm them, and Hiro, tag them."
The people nodded. After a few minutes, just as Tax predicted. The patrol team caught an unknown scent. Shi Lang said, "Crystal, do not let them come close to us. Our scent will rub off of them, and it will make their kin alert."
Crystal nodded and said, "Got you, boss."
Then she stood up, and her body transformed a little. She now had a fluffy silver tail sticking out from her tailbone and a pair of silver fox ears poking out of her hair. Shi Lang sighed and said, "This girl hid her transformation skill from me."
Tex looked at him and said, "You mean it is not obvious to hide skills?"
Shi Lang rolled his eyes and said, "This skill could have saved us much trouble. I will deal with her later."
…
Crystal moved through the tall grass, gradually approaching the patrol team. Finally, they both met at a five kilometers mark. The patrol team reacted and surrounded Crystal before they asked, "Who are you?"
Crystal replied in a pitiful tone, "Who am I? I thought it was you all who called for me."
…
Tex held his forehead and said, "She does not know shit about charm. What was that crap?"
Shi Lang snickered and said, "You do not know about charm. She uses these random words to confuse the patrol team and then uses her spirit technique to hook their consciousness."
Tex was surprised and wanted to ask more when Shi Lang said, "Hiro, go."
Hiro controlled his communicator, placing five standard nanobots on the patrol team's body. The man turned back to look at Shi Lang and said, "Boss, it is done."
Shi Lang nodded and said, "Good job, Crystal. Pull back. We are leaving."
Tex was surprised and asked, "Just this? Why not venture deeper?"
Shi Lang said, "Let the patrol do their work and map the region for us to see if they have any hidden weapon stations in the region."
Tex understood that Shi Lang wanted to take it slow and avoid the risk of casualties. So the team retreated to the border and set camp. Shi Lang told Tex and Hiro to monitor the movements of the patrol team while he and the other guy, Malco, went to a nearby city to buy camping equipment. Crystal volunteered to supervise the two rookies.
She was also responsible for keeping the high council posted on the developments.