The second step of Feng Luotian's plan relied on arrays. Cultivators used these patterns for many purposes, and a well-placed formation could change the course of a battle.
Arrays could be designed to serve various functions: enhancing a cultivator's physical strength, barring enemies from entering a sacred area, improving success rates for pill refinement, or reinforcing the durability of weapons. To create one, cultivators used Theríon to draw specific magic patterns on the ground or other surfaces. As long as one possessed the hidden knowledge of the design and sufficient Theríon, an array could be used anywhere.
The effectiveness of an array depended heavily on the quality and quantity of Theríon poured into its lines. While those created by stronger cultivators produced much greater effects, they could also be augmented with external energy sources. Monster cores acted as potent catalysts to amplify these effects.
Despite their versatility, these arrays were difficult to master. While basic arrays were simple enough for many to learn, more advanced versions required immense precision, concentration, and mental toughness.
Talent played a decisive role—perhaps only one in a thousand cultivators possessed the innate gift to become true array masters. Developing a new array from scratch was an even more grueling process, requiring years of research and experimentation.
Fortunately for the villagers, Luotian had mastered a wealth of these arrays during his past life. In the earlier meeting, he had explained the fundamentals and taught the villagers a few basic ones they could perform, his voice steady as he simplified complex concepts into actionable steps.
The Theríon Augmentation Array was the centerpiece of his plan.
This array consisted of two distinct types of magic circles: ground marks and body marks. To establish the array, the villagers drew ground marks to define its area of effect, each mark spaced no more than ten meters apart to maintain a cohesive flow of energy. To benefit from the power, they also needed to draw corresponding body marks on their own skin.
Once active, anyone with a body mark standing inside the perimeter would experience a surge in their Theríon, allowing them to contend against stronger cultivators.
But because it could not bridge the gap across entire levels, Luotian proposed reinforcing the array with Four Fangs monster cores, an enhancement that would enable those within the array to fight opponents one level higher. This boost applied primarily to those below the Four Fangs rank. For cultivators like Wu Neng or others at higher levels, the array's effect would still be minimal.
To achieve this, each ground mark required one Four Fangs monster core. But since Raven Village was small, only forty-some were needed to cover the entire area. This meant the village utilized only a fraction of their stock of monster cores, leaving the remaining ones for a darker, more secretive part of the plan.
And to avoid alerting any bandit scouts, the villagers acted as though they were going about their daily chores—the slapping of clothes against stones, the smell of woodsmoke from cooking fires, and the quiet tending of livestock filled the air. But once safely inside their huts, they worked diligently, their fingers writing Theríon patterns under Luotian's instructions.
While the adults focused on the Theríon Augmentation Array, two children—Wu Xin and another girl who bore a striking resemblance to Wu Ya—played near the village entrance. They giggled and chased one another as the second girl drew seemingly random shapes in the dirt with sticks. Their actions appeared innocent to any watching eyes.
* * *
The Vulture Bandit Troupe reached the entrance just as the villagers finished preparing. The ordinary sounds of morning chores fell silent at their arrival.
Aside from their leader, Jiu Hao, the vice leader Mao Quanzhou, and the stronger bandits who stood at Five Fangs or above, the rest of the troupe trailed behind in a ragged line. They were gasping for air as they struggled to keep pace with the reckless, relentless stride of their leader.
"Hand over the item, or else you'll all die today!!" Jiu Hao roared, his voice a physical blow that rattled the window frames of the nearby huts. He wasted no time, his demand cutting straight through the heavy silence.
The village remained eerily still. Not a single soul responded. The only sound was the faint, haunting whisper of the breeze through the dry thatch of the roofs.
"Come out here and hand me the item!!" Jiu Hao shouted again, his tone laced with a clear irritation that promised violence.
Still, there was no answer. The silence was so profound it made it seem as though he were screaming at a ghost town, abandoned to the dust.
"Have they all left?" Mao Quanzhou asked the lookout, frowning at the silent huts.
"No, Vice Leader. They're all in their huts," the lookout replied promptly, his voice trembling slightly under the scholar's gaze.
"What were they doing before we arrived?" Mao Quanzhou pressed, the gears of his mind turning.
"Nothing unusual, Vice Leader. They were just doing their regular chores—cooking, washing, tending to the fields," the lookout answered with unearned confidence.
"Are you certain?" Mao Quanzhou's tone was sharp, a needle pricking for the truth.
"Yes, Vice Leader. I'm positive."
After a moment of cold calculation, Mao Quanzhou issued his command. "Alright. Fourth Squad and Fifth Squad, go inside and retrieve the item. Kill anyone who stands in your way. As for you, Jiu Hao—stay put!"
From an outsider's perspective, it might have seemed as though Mao Quanzhou were the true authority of the troupe, especially as the fiery Jiu Hao stood obediently still, reining in his bloodlust after being ordered to wait.
"Yes, Vice Leader!!" the assigned squads responded in unison, their blades clearing their scabbards with a collective, metallic hiss before they charged into the village.
Mao Quanzhou remained uneasy. He had sent the weakest squads first to test the defenses and find out whether the villagers were truly too frightened to resist.
The two squads combined consisted of a dozen bandits, led by two squad captains at Six Fangs. Given the shattered state of the village, their success seemed all but guaranteed. The strongest defender was the head, Wu Neng, who stood at Seven Fangs. Everyone else was Five Fangs or lower, with most far weaker.
What's more, the village had been battered by previous raids. Dozens of their fighters were still nursing broken bones and internal injuries, including half of their Five Fangs Fighters. At present, fewer than twenty villagers were even capable of lifting a weapon, and the majority of those were women.
Two Six Fangs Fighters, backed by a hardened squad of bandits, should have been more than enough to wipe out the village effortlessly. Yet, what unfolded as the first bandit stepped across the threshold was far from what anyone expected.
When the bandits reached the dusty center of the village, the heavy wooden doors of the huts creaked open. The villagers began stepping out one by one, their silhouettes framed by the dim interiors.
Among them was the village head, Wu Neng, his presence calm but imposing, his feet planted firmly upon the hidden lines of the ground marks.
The Fourth Squad captain counted the defenders and sneered. "Wu Neng, hand it over, or you and your people will die here today!"
The only response he received was a thunderous roar that seemed to vibrate from the very earth itself.
"KILL!!"
At the command, Wu Neng and the remaining fighters charged forward. The air shivered as their Theríon flared, the hidden Arrays under their clothes humming with sudden, violent life. They engaged the squad captains in a fierce battle, the ring of steel on steel echoing sharply against the surrounding huts.
Elsewhere, Wu Ya, now leading the women of the village, burst from the shadows. With an aggressive grace, they fell upon the rest of the Fourth and Fifth Squads.
Empowered by the Theríon Augmentation Array, Wu Ya's strength had surged exponentially. She was now able to easily defeat Four Fangs Fighters and hold her own against enemies one level above her. This same unnatural advantage played out across the battlefield; the villagers, their veins burning with the amplified energy of the monster cores, overwhelmed the unprepared bandits. The "sheep" had suddenly grown the fangs of wolves.
One by one, the bandits fell, their cries cut short as their numbers thinned rapidly in the chaos of the narrow alleys.
As desperation took hold, the Fourth Squad captain cried out, his voice cracking and shrill with a panic he couldn't hide: "Vice Leader, help!! We need reinforcements!!"
The scattered huts screened the fighting from the entrance. Outside, the leaders could hear weapons clashing and men screaming, but they couldn't see how badly their squads were losing.
Hearing the distress call, Mao Quanzhou frowned, the tapping of his fingers ceasing as his confusion grew. "First Squad and Second Squad, go check it out!" he commanded sharply, his voice cutting through the noise.
Mao Quanzhou wanted to know what had changed, but he wasn't willing to walk into a possible trap himself. He sent his men to investigate.
The First and Second Squads were a different breed—far stronger than the previous two. Combined, they boasted four Six Fangs Fighters and enough seasoned manpower to handle nearly any unexpected situation. Confident in this overwhelming display of force, Mao Quanzhou believed they would easily subdue whatever small spark of rebellion had arisen.
Meanwhile, the moment the first and second squads responded to the desperate cry for reinforcements, Wu Ya disengaged from her current skirmish. Her silhouette blurred as she dashed toward the village entrance, the dust swirling in her wake.
Wu Ya stepped into their path. With a mocking smile, she called over the clatter of their armor, "I suggest you evil men stay out of my village."
The sudden appearance of a lone woman caused the bandits to skid to a halt, their confusion lasting only a heartbeat before breaking into coarse, mocking laughter. The heavy scent of cheap ale and sweat rolled off them in waves.
The First Squad captain licked his lips, his gaze traveling over her with a sneer. "Sweetie Pie, if you hand over that item for our boss and agree to become my woman, I'll call off my men. What do you say?"
The bandits behind him chuckled darkly, their breaths heavy with malice and the anticipation of a different kind of conquest.
Wu Ya's expression didn't change. "If you won't listen, then do as you wish."
Without another word, she turned and sprinted back into the village, her boots barely touching the dirt. As she crossed a specific, predetermined point near the scattered huts, she stopped abruptly. She spun to face the encroaching horde and unleashed her Theríon, her aura flaring in a brilliant, defiant pulse of energy as she stood her ground.
"Hmph!! One way or another, you'll be mine today!" the First Squad captain cursed, his eyes gleaming with a dark, focused intent. He raised his arm, his fingers clawing at the air as he commanded, "Kill everyone else and leave her alive!!"
"Got it, Big Brother!!" the bandits howled, their voices echoing with a feral bloodlust.
The First and Second Squads surged forward as one, the collective weight of their feet pounding against the earth like a war drum as they rushed to breach the village perimeter.
But the moment the lead bandit's boot stepped onto the village's soil—
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
A series of deafening explosions erupted from beneath the earth, tearing through the incoming ranks like literal thunderclaps. The air was instantly filled with the acrid smell of burnt Theríon and iron. Flesh and bone were shredded apart by the hidden force, the ground painted a sudden, violent red as the bandits' screams and groans replaced their war cries.
The once-confident attackers were reduced to writhing, broken figures scattered across the smoking dirt, their arrogance obliterated in a single, blinding instant.