Chapter 27: War Puppet, My Lord—the Times Have Changed
[Congratulations, the Li family has gained the allegiance of all the villagers in Zhien Village. The entire village is willing to die alongside the Li family!]
[Obtained Incense +300!]
[Your descendant, Li Dalong, has won the hearts of the people, gained the faith of the villagers of Zhien Village, and acquired the trait: Hope of the Whole Village.]
[When fighting for the family forces, combat power +20!]
Before the screen, Li Xiang was intently watching everything happening within the family.
His blood was boiling. He had never considered the villagers of Zhien Village as a combat force until now, when he realized that the Li family had secured the loyalty of the entire village through their years of management!
This battle of family destiny was not just the Li family fighting; it was three thousand villagers!
"What is there to fear from the Wang and Hu families? Fight, let's crush them!"
"Ding-dong."
Just as he was getting excited, his phone rang. It was a message from his school asking why he was late. Looking at the sky outside, he realized he had been playing the game for two days without noticing.
Just as he was about to turn off the phone, a call came from his teacher.
"Li Xiang, did something happen at home? Even so, don't drop out. Only by studying hard can you change your life..."
"Sorry, Teacher. Please help me withdraw from school. Don't you think it's a waste of time for someone with my strength to still be studying? I won't say more; I'm busy with important business. I'll have someone handle the withdrawal procedures later."
"What kind of nonsense are you..."
Before the teacher could finish, Li Xiang hung up and turned off his phone.
Study, my foot.
As the ancestor of the Li family, I am going to lead the family in a magnificent battle!
...
Li Xiang stared intently at the screen.
As time accelerated, the once bustling Zhien Village gradually became quiet. Usually, the men would take their families to farm or tend to chickens and ducks in the streets.
But now, only the elderly, the weak, women, and children could be seen in the entire village, with some women even sharpening knives at their doors, guarding their homes.
In the Li family courtyard, only a group of maids guarded the carriages, where the brothers Li Yunlin and Li Yunbing sat.
"Brother, don't be afraid. The Ancestor has always been protecting our Li family; our family will surely return safely."
Li Yunlin patted his younger brother's head.
Suddenly, both of them looked toward the ancestral hall in surprise.
"Boom!"
A thunderous sound erupted as a massive object burst from the ground, gleaming brilliantly under the radiance of the sun!
"This is... the Ancestor has manifested!"
Li Yunlin was right!
Li Xiang had manifested!
He was now sitting in his room, his eyes glazed as he stared at the 500-inch screen, his expression solemn, hands poised on the keyboard and mouse, ready to act at any moment.
[You are operating the War Puppet.]
[Detection: mechanical arms 100%, laser cannon energy 100%, laser sword 100%, war barrier ready to activate...]
[Low-power mode for spiritual energy consumption initiated. Spiritual energy reserves at 99%!]
Li Xiang had used the War Puppet to roam this world before, but this was his very first real combat operation!
"Open the map!"
With a click, the map appeared in the upper right corner.
Thousands of small green dots had already appeared around the map of [Tailin Town]. The Li family's forces had arrived at Tailin Town before him!
He locked his gaze on the location of the Wang family on the map.
"You're the ones!"
Li Xiang narrowed his eyes, and the spiritual energy in the War Puppet surged, propelling it toward the Wang family with a fiery trail!
...
War had not yet begun, but the strongest had moved first.
He intended to use the War Puppet to draw the attention of all the experts in Tailin Town away from the Li family!
...
Meanwhile, in Tailin Town.
In the main hall of the Hu family, the experts of both the Tailin Hu and Wang families were seated.
The two family heads were drinking tea together, both wearing smiles.
The Hu family head said, "Heaven helps our two families. The Chen family dared to cooperate with the Li family, and now retribution has come. They don't even know that our Hu family has a disciple in the inner sect of the Tianhu Sect in Taiqing City. With just a small trick, the Chen family elders offended the Tianhu Sect and died in Taiqing City!"
"Hahaha!"
The Wang family head laughed heartily. "Thanks to Brother Hu, once the Chen family is gone, the Li family is nothing to worry about! I thought that within ten years, once Brother Hu’s ancestor reached the Golden Core stage, or my Wang family produced a False Core expert, we could pay the Li family a visit. That rumored peak-level spirit beast snake is nothing worth mentioning!"
"But who would have thought the Li family would be so reckless as to come to our Tailin Town to seek death."
It turned out that these two families had long known about the Li family's arrival; they had never stopped sending spies to Zhien Village.
"This time, we have set a trap in Tailin Town. Once the Li family is wiped out, we can sleep soundly!"
The Hu family head could not hide his joy.
The Li family in Zhien Village had developed too rapidly, causing them a sense of crisis, but now, everything was settled.
"Come, everyone, drink your tea. We just wait for these country bumpkins from the Li family to walk right into our trap. Everything they have will be ours!"
As they raised their cups, a "Boom!" echoed through Tailin Town, causing their expressions to change drastically and tea to spill from their hands.
"What's going on?"
When they stepped outside, the members of the Wang family widened their eyes. High above Tailin Town, a monster forged of steel was flying, bombarding the Wang family.
"Oh no, this thing has such powerful energy! It stands twelve zhang high, comparable to the False Core realm!"
The Wang family head could not have imagined the Li family possessed such a monster. Without hesitation, he rushed with his clansmen to save their home. "Brother Hu, go quickly and notify your ancestor to bring this monster down!"
"Right!"
The Hu family head did not dare delay. He looked solemnly at the War Puppet in the sky and told his clansmen, "Go call the ancestor. I didn't expect the Li family to have this trick up their sleeve; it's trying to distract us. Everyone else, be alert! I fear the Li family has other methods!"
...
At the same time, outside Tailin Town, people from the Chen family and Zhien Village had gathered, but they had hesitated to act.
Even knowing they were to fight the two great families of Tailin, they knew to scout the town's situation.
They discovered that Tailin Town was filled with magical arrays and the two families were heavily guarded, clearly having known about their planned attack and waiting for them to fall into the trap.
Just as they were unsure of what to do, "Look, what is that?"
A villager carrying a sickle, a kitchen knife, a hoe, a woodcutter's blade, and a manure fork pointed to the sky above Tailin Town, his eyes wide as copper bells.
The Li family members had already noticed!
"It's the Ancestor taking action!"
"The Ancestor has manifested! He is operating the War Puppet; he is helping us in his own way."
"Hahaha, with the Ancestor's protection, what do we have to fear?!"
The Li family members were overjoyed.
Over the years, the Ancestor had accompanied their growth, providing them with immense courage at all times. Now, after many years, the Ancestor had struck again, heading toward the most dangerous place!
"Lads, the Ancestor has already moved. He is breaking the traps of Tailin Town for us. Get ready; the moment of life and death has arrived!"
...
"Boom!"
Piloting the War Puppet, Li Xiang launched the first wave of attacks above the Wang family of Tailin!
A cannon port on the shoulder armor ruthlessly fired a laser cannon at the Wang family.
However, the Wang family was worthy of being a family with centuries of foundation. The moment the laser cannon struck, an array appeared, and the laser cannon, which could kill a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, only left a crack on the yellow light shield of the Wang family's defensive array before it quickly recovered!
[Second-order array detected.]
[Analyzing spiritual energy fluctuations. Consumes 5% spiritual energy; the opponent is recovering spiritual energy. Time rate: 3 seconds/5%!]
Li Xiang stared at the detection data before him.
This was the advantage of the War Puppet: it could monitor the opponent's energy, allowing him to find the best combat strategy!
"A second-order array that can withstand a full-power attack from a peak Foundation Establishment expert?"
Li Xiang snorted. "Then I'd like to see how long you can defend and how many spirit stones you have to burn!"
Li Xiang knew clearly that such arrays usually required a constant supply of spirit stones or some powerful magical artifact.
"Boom!"
He fired the laser cannon on his shoulder armor again!
[Laser cannon remaining energy: 97%.]
The War Puppet had independent energy sources throughout its body. Li Xiang calmly operated it to bombard the sky frantically while maintaining minimal energy consumption.
Gradually, he noticed red dots appearing on the map all around him!
As far as his eyes could see, in the courtyards of the Tailin Wang family, cultivators were looking up in terror, clearly frightened by the massive size and combat power of the War Puppet flying in the sky.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Li Xiang continued to bombard.
Finally, "Hmph, I didn't expect a mere country family to have the means to operate such a puppet."
"No wonder you had the confidence to come to my Wang family. But to come alone—I don't know if you are confident or just too arrogant!"
Two old men and three other cultivators flew toward him on swords, surrounding the War Puppet in an instant!
[Detecting enemies—]
[Two peak Foundation Establishment, one mid-stage Foundation Establishment, three early-stage Foundation Establishment!]
[Detecting weapon equipment—]
The War Puppet's eyes flashed with light, its internal AI capable of analyzing everything for Li Xiang, who was far away in the real world.
Li Xiang could even see their energy levels.
Not only that, but Li Xiang in the real world was also clicking his mouse, seeing some of the information about these enemies.
These were all the foundations of the Wang family!
In the center of the two peak Foundation Establishment ancestors, a seal the size of a human head was floating.
[Low-grade spirit tool detected. Analyzing spiritual energy and material composition—]
[Space, weight, hardness...]
Pieces of information floated before his eyes.
But after the Wang family members surrounded the War Puppet, they immediately launched their attack!
The techniques of the Foundation Establishment experts blasted toward Li Xiang!
"Hmph!"
Li Xiang was not panicked at all. As he clicked the keyboard, the War Puppet's core activated, and a pale blue energy shield protected his body, blocking all the Foundation Establishment techniques!
[Activating war shield, laser sword, laser cannon!]
[Entering combat mode!]
"Foundation Establishment, right? Spirit tools, right?"
Li Xiang looked at the solemn expressions of the Wang family members and grinned. "Times have changed!"