Wild Crimson Rose: Beloved Handyman Prince’s Courtesan Wife

'Ugh... I was always horrible at chess. At least for business relations, it's one on one and I can read their expressions and do background research. Even rumor-mongers doing it for money can be traced. I can just brute force things with money and connections if need be. These kinds of situations on the other hand... some people can brute force it in a different sense. Unfortunately, we don't have any person or equipment that can achieve that.' She ġrȯȧnėd inside her head out of frustration.

She hasn't used that part of her brain in a long time. At the very least, she enjoyed making new poisons and researching weapons and medicine. Since those will have a right answer one way or another but strategies were another thing. 

"I reckon it'll be a long battle." Yun Tianhao said.

"It is better to be careful than to rush all-in." Another member piped up.

"Hm... Then, we'll have to be even more careful with the back line if we use a guerilla tactic." 

"But then, how will we keep the demonic beast trapped in the corner if we do that? Guerilla tactics don't have much hold."

"Hm... In that case, this might be difficult but how about we have one person hold the demonic beast's attention with support from the other people and switch with another person when they get tired? If we do that, though, we'll need someone that can use Talismans to help support him and make sure he doesn't die. While it's keeping the attention of the demonic beast, the other members will attack in turn so as to be careful the demonic beast won't turn it's attention to someone else." Shen Tianyu roughly explained what 'switching tanks' entails. Though she didn't like to use her brain on strategies, she did play a few games and watch some detective-styled shows to make herself feel smart in that aspect. This was just all stuff she had heard from those shows.

"I think Miss's strategy might work." One of the members held his chin in thought.

"How about we have two Talisman people tail the main tanks? That way, it'll be safer." Another member suggested.

"But then our firepower will be reduced. Though Talismans can be troublesome, sometimes that have greater firepower than a lone cultivator's finishing move." Another member argued.

"But it's not like we have that many of those types of Talismans anyway. Besides, anyone can use them as long as they have spiritual energy so it's not a problem." A different member piped in.

"That's right. We should have more people protect the ones holding the demonic beast's attention so there isn't any mistake." Another one agreed.

"Alright, alright. Don't argue so much." Elder Yu told everyone to calm down and turned to Shen Tianyu and Muo Jeng.

"What does the Miss and Former Master think?" She asked them instead.

"I think we should go with that option since it'll probably be a long battle, we should try to preserve everyone's stamina as much as we can. We should also have two Ancient Script practitioners for the two main people keeping the demonic beast's attention. Three would be too many and one seems too few." Muo Jeng stroked his beard as he spoke.

"Right. then, we should have combat ability and/or agility as one of the criteria so they can avoid attacks and won't be taken out too easily. Talismans can be gathered from the others so it's not that important but they should still have the ability to write Talismans on the spot in order to deal with the changing situation. People that fit both criteria would be best..." Shen Tianyu glanced at the team down where the Poisonous Earth Dragon was sealed to gauge their progress.

"Uh... Unfortunately Miss, I think Senior Shao is the only one that fits both requirements." One of the members of the Ancient Script department scratched his head with a downcast face and spoke.

'Well. It's no surprise. Though they have cultivation, they are more focused on understanding and learning the Ancient Script. Bookworms, in other words. Though they have participated in missions before, they are usually the backup or support of the group and rarely had the chance to gain any combat experience. The fact that there is even one among them with combat experience should be considered a good boon.' Shen Tianyu sighed as she also scratched her head.

'Perhaps I should start to require that they do solo missions once they get to a certain level. Only Ancient Script practitioners in organizations and Sects can be so complacent.' She thought to herself as she scrutinized the group of people scratching their heads and avoiding her eyes.

It is often said that when someone is good at something, they usually rely on it too much, sometimes to the point that they become dependent on it. For swords, those that have a naturally strong physique think that they can solve everything with brute force and so do not train themselves in other aspects, hence the saying "all brawns and no brains". On the other hand, those that need to really work hard or do not have the natural talent to wield a weapon have to hone their brains in order to outsmart their opponents. The same can be applied to the different paths of cultivation in this world. Those that specialize in weapons are good at them and can overpower other cultivators but only in pure combat. While Ancient Script practitioners are more skilled at ambush-type styles with their laying down arrays beforehand or throwing talismans and are naturally less skilled in pure combat since they spend most of their time studying up. On the other hand, powerful Beast Tamers have contracts with a variety of spiritual beasts and rely on the natural born superiority of their partners in combat. Sometimes they even have their partners help with their everyday life and end up becoming lazy.. Though not as much time is required to be a powerful Beast Tamer, luck plays a bigger part, but contractors that no longer respect their partners are always in for a heavy backlash.