After the two youths performed the oath-swearing ceremony inside the Christian church, they continued on their journey, speaking as they went. They had a more important task to accomplish: to undermine the morale of the army and compel the soldiers who had gone to war to return home, to stop fighting.
This plan was conceived by Gong Changfa, who was also Yue Cangshan's master. He understood one crucial thing: if internal strife erupted in China, other powers would undoubtedly benefit. With the efforts of Shen Feng and various other cities, once the Great Ice Age ended, China would become the world's foremost power. However, if internal conflict persisted, it wouldn't even retain its second-place position. Therefore, fighting was out of the question. If anyone had to back down, it would have to be the other factions, because Shen Feng's forces were a cohesive unit and would not retreat. The ones to retreat would naturally be the ragtag groups.
Especially since Shen Feng had received guidance from many people and understood the principle that entering the game later allowed one to reap the rewards of the entire situation. He believed this implicitly, which was why his actions were like a thunderous rage. If Shen Feng were to fight at full strength, their side would likely suffer immense casualties, which would not be worth it. Furthermore, brothers fighting amongst themselves would inevitably become a laughingstock for outsiders. No matter what, Shen Feng needed to achieve victory, and others should stand down.
However, persuasion was clearly not an option, as these individuals were incredibly stubborn, making it very difficult to convince them. The only viable course of action was to shake their foundations, to instill strong doubts in the soldiers they commanded, causing them to return to their homes. This, in turn, would force their other ability users to heed the advice of their subordinates.
In other words, this plan was akin to pulling the rug out from under them, to shake their rule from its very roots, making them understand that only by uniting could they defeat other countries, thereby prompting them to support the change in the power dynamic.
He himself could not execute this crucial plan. After all, his power was evident to all, and he could not remain in the military camp indefinitely. He had to fight alongside the members of the Qi faction. He had neither the time nor the opportunity to do this, so he entrusted the task to his disciple, Yue Cangshan, instructing him to complete this objective at all costs.
Previously, Du Fansheng had been unsure of what he could do. The battlefield changes were rapid, and his father was still roaming the skies, waiting to reap the rewards of the entire situation. In such circumstances, he would inevitably have no time to manage other matters on the ground. Coincidentally, he met Yue Cangshan now and understood what he needed to do.
"As long as the two of us complete this plan to pull the rug out from under them, we will definitely be able to change the tide of the battle, at the very least, make China's ability users change their minds and support my father!" Du Fansheng thought to himself.
Thus, the two of them pressed on towards the Arctic Circle, undeterred by the wind and snow. The further north they went, the colder it became. Especially when they reached the vicinity of the Arctic Ocean, they were stunned by the sight before them. Snow fell everywhere, and the accumulated snow on the ground was several meters deep. One misstep and they would be buried by the snow. To walk, they had to use snowshoes; otherwise, they would easily fall in the snow. They did not possess the skill of "treading on snow to find plum blossoms" and had to resort to a crude method, strapping on two pairs of snowshoes to their feet, which allowed them to advance quickly.
"Did my father do this? I never knew he had such abilities before. So he can also cause snow. I thought he could only summon typhoons. It seems my vision was too narrow!" Du Fansheng muttered to himself.
At that moment, the two of them suddenly heard the sound of artillery explosions in the distance. Although it was far away, the sound was enough to make them sensitive. So, the two of them headed in the direction from which the artillery explosion sound came. When they arrived nearby, they discovered that tens of thousands of troops were engaged in combat with a large number of shrimp and crabs emerging from the sea.
The army was divided into several factions, and within each faction, trenches had been dug. In particular, ice cities were constructed using the power of ice and snow, preventing the shrimp and crabs from easily clearing them. Humans could stand on the walls and shoot down from a commanding height, thus holding a distinct advantage.
Humans have always relied on wisdom to achieve victory, so it seemed that humans should have the upper hand in this situation. However, the firepower of the human side seemed unable to keep up with the speed of the shrimp and crabs emerging from the sea. Instead, the human side appeared to be at risk of having their city breached.
"These people are truly clever. They've learned to use water to pour onto the city walls, forming a protective lock in a short period. It would be great if this skill could be recorded in books!" Yue Cangshan couldn't help but praise their actions upon seeing this situation.
"Kid, do you never read books? Why do I feel like you're a cultural desert? This has long been recorded in books, and even in novels. Don't you understand this?" Du Fansheng said to Yue Cangshan.
"I never read those miscellaneous books, so I've probably never read the novels you mentioned either." Yue Cangshan didn't understand what his elder brother meant and could only explain his situation.
"Forget it, I'll explain it to you. Anyone who has read 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' will understand how this is done: building city walls while fetching water to pour on them. Since the weather is cold, this water will quickly freeze into solid ice blocks, thus forming sturdy city walls. As long as you've read the book, you'll understand this principle," Du Fansheng decided not to mock his uncultured younger brother, as he had been studying abroad for a long time and likely had no time to read.
"Should we go help next? It seems these people have already expended a lot of energy and might not be able to hold on much longer. If we go help now, we might gain their favor!" Yue Cangshan asked at this moment.
Du Fansheng replied, "You should stop for now. We don't even know the specific situation, and you want to help? Are we going to fight alongside these people? This will only be a waste of energy. We must understand the overall situation and figure out how these shrimp and crabs appeared before we go to battle!"
Yue Cangshan asked, "These crabs and shrimp from the sea are all emerging from the water. Do we still need to figure out how they appeared?"
Xiao Long explained, "You fundamentally don't understand this. To figure out how these shrimp and crabs appeared, you need to understand their habits. Generally, in areas rich in algae, these fish and shrimp grow rapidly. But this is the Arctic Ocean! Even though the mineral content is very rich, algae don't grow well. There shouldn't be such a large number of fish and shrimp appearing in such a short time. So, I suspect there's something in the water. Only by solving the problem in the water can the situation be completely changed!"
Du Fansheng was different from his sworn brother. He had received a strict education since childhood, so he also understood one thing: when encountering a situation, one needs to analyze the root cause and solve the problem from the fundamental level, rather than fighting randomly, which would be futile. He had already noticed the strangeness of the battle situation.
Normally, in many cold regions, various plants and algae are not suitable for growth because the low temperature inhibits the activity of various proteases, slowing down the metabolism of humans and other animals and plants. Therefore, these areas are not suitable for growth. Only in areas with suitable temperatures can animals and plants grow rapidly. Yet, now, a large number of shrimp and crabs are emerging from the water, which seems abnormal. The most basic problem is, where do these animals get their food? They cannot appear out of thin air. Without food, these shrimp and crabs would not grow.
Next, the two of them quickly approached the sea. They also discovered a problem: many holes had appeared under the floating ice, and the shrimp and crabs were emerging from these holes. However, the situation underwater was unknown to anyone.
"Do you have the ability to fight underwater? If so, go and find a way to see what's under the ice," Du Fansheng said to Yue Cangshan.
Yue Cangshan replied, "I don't have that ability. If my senior brother were here, he could melt a large area of ice in an instant because he controls infrared rays, while I control ultraviolet rays. Although I can directly attack the cells of various animals, I cannot melt the ice here!"
After hearing his brother's reply, Du Fansheng said, "Neither of us has the ability to fight underwater right now. Although I can control electric currents, I wouldn't dare to go into the water casually because there might be other dangers in the water. If even the ice cannot be melted, then I certainly can't go in."
As the two of them were discussing on the shore, suddenly, a person approached them rapidly from a distance, shouting as they neared, "What are you two kids doing here? Hurry up and leave! This place is very dangerous, and the human side is about to lose. Don't linger here!"
Upon seeing this person appear, Yue Cangshan said, "Senior Brother! I am Yue Cangshan. Since you're here, it's easier. Quickly use your abilities to melt the ice here. We want to know the situation in the sea!"
It turned out that the person who appeared here was the senior brother Yue Cangshan mentioned. In fact, his senior brother was the one who taught him how to use his various abilities.
Yue Cangshan then said to Du Fansheng beside him, "This is the senior brother I told you about these past few days. His ability is to control infrared rays, which can convert light energy into heat energy. That's why I said he can solve the current situation! His name is Song Nanxi."
Song Nanxi, upon arriving, recognized one of the people there as his junior brother and couldn't help but ask, "I couldn't see clearly from a distance just now. I didn't expect it to be you. Why are you on the battlefield now? I told you not to come, why don't you listen?"
"We're here to help. Hurry up and find a way to melt the ice here. If we want to solve the crisis here, we must solve the problem from its source!" Yue Cangshan quickly said.
Song Nanxi nodded upon hearing this and said, "I originally heard that the main camp was about to fall, which is why I rushed back. I didn't expect you two to be here as well. Then let's work together to solve the crisis of these shrimp and crabs. It's strange, these giant shrimp and crabs, I don't know how they are breeding so rapidly!"
Afterward, Song Nanxi began to unleash his abilities. He originally intended to scold his junior brother and tell him to stay away from the battlefield, but the situation on the battlefield was critical. If he didn't act, the army on their side might be finished. So, he quickly unleashed his power. Large amounts of sunlight shone upon him, and the infrared parts were absorbed. Humans could not see these infrared rays, but they could feel them.
A large amount of infrared radiation shone on the ice, increasing the internal energy of the ice molecules, or in common terms, generating heat. As these ice blocks heated up, they melted rapidly. In just over ten minutes, the thick ice blocks along the shore had turned into water.
Du Fansheng and Yue Cangshan also came to the seaside to observe and were greatly astonished, for right at the shoreline, there were three enormous sea beasts: a crab, a lobster, and a giant starfish!
"I knew something was strange. So there were three sea beasts here. It goes without saying that the crabs and lobsters are rapidly breeding their offspring, which is why there is a continuous stream of shrimp and crabs emerging from the water. As for the starfish, I don't know what its ability is!" Du Fansheng said.