This was genuine fear.
The main forces couldn't keep up, the battlefield couldn't be expanded, and breaking through would be meaningless.
Of course, these weren't major issues. At worst, they could accelerate progress and deploy more personnel.
The main problem was not anticipating Lu Ding could move this fast.
More reports, more paperwork—if one 749 Bureau location wasn't enough, use two or three.
Allowing Lu Ding to continue advancing when knowing the enemy was targeting him specifically?
That would be reckless.
If something happened to Lu Ding, it would be catastrophic.
A surprise attack only works once.
Try it again, and the enemy would be prepared.
They'd set a trap, you'd walk in, get strangled—game over, completely screwed.
So Qiu Fu was truly afraid Lu Ding might charge headlong into danger.
Lu Ding did consider it.
But he immediately dismissed the thought.
He wasn't stupid—his mind remained sharp.
Night raids relied on the element of surprise.
Without absolute confidence in bearing the consequences of failure, the same trick couldn't be used twice.
His original plan was only to capture Tai Island as a defensive stronghold, then upgrade it, using information and combat advantages to expand their victories.
And to counter unforeseen crises.
The pessimistic Hetu Qi Refiner survived to the end.
Not because he was strong,
But because he waved a white flag, shouting: "I have intel!!!! I need to see Grand Duke Lu!!"
Even calling him "Grand Duke Lu."
Anyone would think he was their planted spy.
The soldiers notified Lu Ding.
The former Tai Island command center
Had become Lu Ding's personal office.
He entered, tore down the enemy's national flag, wiped the chair, and sat.
The Hetu Qi Refiner was dragged in,
Kowtowing before Lu Ding, trembling.
An unorthodox cultivator behind him kicked his knee: "How dare you stand before His Grace?! Kneel!!"
The kick sent him properly kneeling.
He hurriedly spoke: "G-Grand Duke Lu, I have information, could you—"
He wanted to beg for his life.
Not everyone had unbreakable resolve.
Some still wanted to live.
But Lu Ding gave no negotiation chance: "Take him away for distribution."
"At your command, Your Grace. We thank your generosity."
The unorthodox cultivator's eyes gleamed.
An Earth Observation realm cultivator!!!
Damn, even his master's master never got to use an Earth Observation Qi Refiner's corpse, yet he could!!
This wasn't just ancestral graves emitting smoke—this was ancestral graves exploding!
The Hetu cultivator nearly pissed himself.
At the mercy of these unorthodox cultivators, he'd suffer horribly.
Being half-unorthodox himself (though Hetu treated them better than Great Han),
He knew exactly what his Earth Observation realm meant to them.
Every inch of him would be utilized, wasted nothing.
"Your Grace! Your Grace! I'll talk! Tomorrow! Tomorrow, Tanaka Hirota is coming!!"
"That's the original plan!!"
"They're targeting you!"
"Tanaka carries 'Scholar Stripe-Special'—he's stronger than Suzuki Oshima! They plan to combine tiger-ox power to kill you openly on the battlefield!"
Lu Ding cared nothing for this Tanaka.
Only the 'Scholar Stripe-Special' intrigued him.
'General Stripe-Tiger' had given him a twelve-forms, tiger-type technique.
Logically, 'Scholar Stripe-Special' should also grant a twelve-forms technique.
Or a crucial method to synthesize twelve-forms techniques.
Forget Tanaka coming—Lu Ding wanted to hunt him now.
Lu Ding almost regretted acting early.
Should've waited for Tanaka to arrive, then taken both out together—a double prize.
Now Suzuki Oshima was dead, Tai Island captured—Tanaka probably wouldn't come tomorrow.
A two-person plan to kill him? Coming alone would require brain damage.
Lu Ding pondered: "Do you know his current location?"
The cultivator hesitated,
Eyeing Lu Ding nervously.
About to negotiate terms—
Lu Ding cut in: "Take him away for distribution."
"I KNOW!! East Kang Island! It's a joint Tai Island-Wei Gao defensive stronghold!"
This was an inevitable major obstacle ahead.
Wei Gao, who'd stayed silent, was waiting there.
The situation clarified:
Perhaps his overwhelming combat power and terrifying control forced the enemy to prioritize eliminating him.
Lu Ding feared nothing—bring it on.
But now arose a problem: to guard against potential Heavenly Perception ambushes, he needed seclusion to grow stronger.
Though his seclusions were brief
(Unlike Bai Hemen's lengthy absences),
With Tai Island freshly captured, he couldn't guarantee Tanaka's arrival tomorrow.
Besides, thieves plotting were worse than thieves stealing—this couldn't stand.
What if Tanaka came after his seclusion started?
Now that he held Tai Island, the enemy wouldn't send just one person to retake it—they'd mobilize entire armies.
Prevent their mobilization.
Coincidentally, he'd just obtained the Qi Refiner version of a nuke—[Tiger Qi Death Beam Cannon].
Just fly over, fire one or two shots... five or six... Hmm... still risky!
Screw it—drain all his spiritual energy!!!
Flip East Kang Island upside down.
Chaos would prevent their interference.
At this thought, Lu Ding deemed himself a genius!
When problems branch wildly with no perfect solution,
Uproot the entire problem tree!!!
Leave them overwhelmed.
Now he'd have time to upgrade.
He'd considered this earlier, but without [Tiger Qi Death Beam Cannon], he only had [Bloody Storm] for area coverage and [Way of the Jinche]'s charged strikes for power.
[Bloody Storm] required setup time and disturbed celestial phenomena—not ideal.