He changed Tiwat

Fortunately, just as Bennett had become accustomed to pain, Han Fulai had also become used to the occurrence of "accidents." Now, he would basically consider leaving enough room for subsequent contingencies when making any plans, and he would never say anything definitive unless absolutely necessary.

The current situation is one of "unsurprisingly unexpected events," but he has certainly left room for contingencies.

The original plan was that an "ambush" should involve outnumbering the enemy. The logic was for everyone to disregard code of honor and fight side-by-side.

However, Abedo's sudden display of martial virtue and his declaration of a one-on-one duel with Abedo was actually within his calculations—although he is an artificial human, Abedo is not an "artificial electronic robot"; he possesses a human heart.

Earlier today, in the laboratory, Han Fulai said the following to Yura and Abedo:

"Gentlemen, I have a plan... We can ambush him."

Upon hearing Han Fulai's words, both Yura and Abedo wore strange expressions.

Just now, Abedo said that he couldn't sense Abedo's location unless Abedo used the Corruption Sword to suck blood. So how could he ambush Abedo in advance?

Faced with two puzzled faces, Han Fulai remained confident and spoke eloquently: "Miss Yura, do you remember the 'luring the snake out' plan that Abedo mentioned to us before?"

“Of course.” Yura nodded. “But you should also know that even if we ambush around Abedo and use him as a target to lure the enemy out, it may not be effective. In a situation where the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light, we are just passively taking hits.”

Han Fulai smiled and said, "Miss Yura, would you be willing to explain to me why we were passively taking the beating?"

Yura frowned, but still explained it to him in detail: "This is the simplest principle of formation in battle. When the number of soldiers is limited, it is impossible for the defender to defend every aspect, especially when the timing of the opponent's attack is unknown."

“For example, we are now responsible for guarding Abedo, which may be attacked at any time. Abedo’s seat is set as the center of the battle formation. The enemy can choose to attack from any direction, such as east, west, south, or north. But we only have two people. I guard the east side, and you guard the west side, so the north and south sides are left undefended.”

"Moreover, if either of us is negligent, we may not be able to stop the enemy even if they attack from the direction we are guarding. In my experience as a guerrilla knight, it takes at least several times the enemy's strength to ambush them. It is almost impossible to ambush them with the current manpower."

Han Fulai smiled and nodded: "Miss Yura is absolutely right. 'Therefore, if you prepare for the front, you will be weak in the rear; if you prepare for the rear, you will be weak in the front; if you prepare for the left, you will be weak on the right; if you prepare for the right, you will be weak on the left; if you prepare for everything, you will be weak in everything.' That is exactly the principle."

Although Yura couldn't quite understand the convoluted ancient Chinese he was speaking, she still understood that it was probably the content of Liyue's military treatise.

Han Fulai then read a passage: "'Therefore, the skillful attacker makes the enemy unaware of where to defend; the skillful defender makes the enemy unaware of where to attack.'"

"The enemy's greatest advantage lies in the fact that we do not know when or from where they will attack us. Conversely, if we knew when and from where the enemy would attack, wouldn't we be able to ambush them in advance?"

Yura hesitated and said, "Well... theoretically, that's how it is. An ambush should be set up on the enemy's only route! But the problem now is that we don't know where he is. And the other side can lie in wait and test their patience with us."

Yura was telling the truth. It wasn't like Abe had received a system mission to kill Abedo within a time limit. As long as he could afford to wait, he could remain hidden in these vast snow-covered mountains for days, months, or even years, since the Alchemy Notebook and the Corruption Sword were both in his hands.

Abe had already revealed his presence in front of everyone, and his plan to impersonate Abedo had been exposed. At this point, even if he successfully killed Abedo, he wouldn't be able to take Abedo's identity. It would be better for him to lie low and wait for the right opportunity to slowly accumulate power and resurrect the dragon Dulin.

Han Fulai judged that Abedo would not take any further action in the short term, but would instead hide in the snow-capped mountains and wait for an opportunity. Abedo and Yura both agreed with his assessment.

From their perspective, this matter should be resolved before the Corrupting Sword grows stronger, the sooner the better... but Abe has no reason to cooperate with them and offer himself up for death.

The most perplexing aspect of this situation lies precisely here.

"Well then, I have some good news for you two—I know when and where Abe will attack Abedo, and if I want, I can force him to act tomorrow."

Han Fulai gave Youla that smile that made people's fists itch.

Chapter 113 Attack Where They Must Rescue, Crush Their Bones and Scatter Their Ashes (Bonus Chapter 6)

Hearing Han Fulai say this, Yura pondered for a moment and then shook her head.

Despite her somewhat rudeness towards this important figure from Liyue, Yura remained blunt: "I don't believe it."

Han Fulai claimed he could predict when and where Abe would attack Abedo, and even asserted that he could force Abe to walk into his trap at will—Yula saw no evidence to support his claims, nor any reason to believe him.

The tactical deployment of a mission is a very serious matter. The tactical choices made by the commander on the battlefield can affect the life and death of his soldiers.

From the moment she agreed to help Abedo capture Abeshao, she had already switched into work mode—just like Yanfei has a switch button between "ace lawyer Yanfei" and "landlady Yanfei", Yura also has a "switch button" between "guerrilla knight" and "Yura Lawrence".

As the captain of the guerrilla squad, Yura would never allow her knights to be put in danger because of her tactical command mistakes, nor would she lower her standards for people for the sake of face or merit.

When Yura is at work, she doesn't care whether you're the Grand Master of the Knights or a big shot from Liyue next door; if there's a problem, she'll definitely point it out to you face to face.

In her opinion, although Deputy Minister Han from Liyue was indeed quite capable, he still had the Liyue civil servant habits that Yanfei had complained about—like some bureaucrats in the Knights Order's upper echelons, he habitually exaggerated and spouted empty words and clichés.

Those bureaucrats and nobles didn't need to go to the front lines; many of their plans were basically just to show off their achievements. For example, Illock, the former chief inspector of the Knights of Favonius, was such a person.

Irok was arguably the person Yura hated most in the Knights. Driven by greed, he frequently imposed arbitrary quotas and tasks on his subordinates, showing no regard for the lives of lower-ranking knights. Yura had clashed with Irok many times because of this, and Irok saw her as a thorn in his side, repeatedly attempting to use his authority to expel her from the Knights.

Fortunately, that guy fell from power more than a year ago, otherwise Yura's life in the Knights would probably be much more difficult than it is now.

Han Fulai's current "everything is under control" expression always reminded her of Ilock's smug face.

...He's just asking for it.

Abedo also couldn't believe what Han Fulai had just said, but compared to Yura, Abedo was much more tactful: "Mr. Han must have had some basis for what he said, right?"

Han Fulai's smile remained unchanged as he pointed to the "Cinnabar Spindle" that Abedo had placed on the table.

"My proof is this sword."

"You mean he also wants to seize the sword?" Abedo frowned. "That's certainly possible... but..."

Yura added, "But even if he wants to take this sword, we can't predict when he will attack."

The "Cinnabar Spindle," gifted to Aberdot by Rheindorf and possessing the power to combat the Corruption Poison, is indeed a treasure, and a key item in the fight against the Corruption Sword. Aberdot might certainly want to steal the sword, but that wouldn't change the current situation.

Han Fulai raised his index finger and shook it. "No, no, you two are mistaken. Whether he wants to take this sword or kill Abedo has nothing to do with my plan."

"So what exactly are you trying to say?" Yura was starting to get fed up with the civil servant's cryptic manner.

Han Fulai smiled faintly and said, "I just asked Abedo two key questions, and the answers I received were: First, the Corruption Sword relies on the power of the Demon Dragon Dulin to grow; second, Abedo can also resonate with the Demon Dragon Dulin through blood. This is the key to the plan—Abedo is very dependent on the power of the Demon Dragon Dulin, while Abedo, your sword has the power to restrain the Demon Dragon Dulin."

Abedo paused for a moment, then a look of sudden realization crossed his face: "Ah... could it be that you want to...?"

Han Fulai smiled and nodded: "Just as you thought."

Yura, having never heard of the Corrupting Sword and the Demon Dragon Durin before, couldn't quite figure out what cryptic the two were talking about, so she could only ask in a low voice, "Please enlighten me, Vice Minister Han."

...Although Yura felt that asking the question would be like admitting defeat, now was not the time to care about such things.

Han Fulai raised his hand again, pointing to the "Sleeping Dragon Valley" in the north.

“My plan is called ‘encircling the enemy and attacking their reinforcements.’ Young Master Abe wants to resurrect the dragon Dulin, right? Tomorrow we’ll go to ‘Sleeping Dragon Valley’ and scatter Dulin’s ashes to the wind… I mean, we’ll use this sword to destroy Dulin’s remains and kill the sleeping Dulin.”

Abedo then explained to Yura, "According to my investigation, the heart of Dulin's remains is still slowly beating underground in 'Sleeping Dragon Valley,' and its dragon power is still influencing the ley lines of the snow mountain. A while ago, the traveler Ying obtained dragon teeth and dragon blood from 'Sleeping Dragon Valley' to forge the 'Dragon Spine Spear'... If I were to pierce Dulin's heart with this 'Cinnabar Spindle,' it would be possible to kill Dulin completely."

Han Fulai laughed and said, "More importantly, after Dulin is injured, the sword connected to it by blood and Young Master Abe will both sense it. This is equivalent to us surrounding Dulin, and Dulin will send out a distress signal saying, 'Young Master Abe, quickly help your brother'... And we will ambush him on the road he is bound to take."

"In this way, we can turn from passive defense to active attack, and switch from defense to offense. Unless he gives up his attempt to revive Dulin, he will surely fall into our trap."

"Wow, so that's how it is..."

Yura's eyes widened, and she couldn't utter a word for a long time. As a proud knight, she had never thought of such a thing before—it was equivalent to using a wounded enemy as bait on the battlefield, then lying in ambush to wait for the enemy to come to the rescue, which was a despicable act.

But Han Fulai was not a knight; he was a civil servant and did not adhere to martial ethics.

He summarized it in one sentence—

"Therefore, if I want to fight, even if the enemy has high walls and deep moats, they will have no choice but to fight me, because I will attack what they must defend."

If we follow Han Fulai's plan from that afternoon, luring out the lurking Abe is a sure thing, and the initiative is entirely in their hands.

From a tactical perspective, the best course of action is to strike when the Corruption Sword has just begun to absorb blood and grow, and when the Demon Dragon Durin is not yet fully awakened and strong.

So the three of them agreed to launch their operation the next day. Abedo would feign an attack on Dulin, while Han Fulai and Yura would lie in ambush. If Abedo came, they would capture him on the spot; if he didn't come, they would turn the feigned attack into the main attack and actually puncture Dulin's heart, at least eliminating the threat of Dulin's resurrection.

If Han Fulai was worried about which link might go wrong, it would definitely be Abedo.

Whether it's Abe or Dulin, Abe needs to "sacrifice his own family for the greater good" on either side.

But... even towards his brother, whom he had never met and who even wanted to kill him, Abeldo probably still felt a sense of kinship.

After all, as an artificial human, he has very few relatives in this world.

Chapter 114 Going Back on One's Promises

Han Fulai could completely understand Abedo's feelings.

After Rheindorf disappeared, Aberdo was like an orphan abandoned by his mother in a foreign land.

Although he had Aunt Iris, his sister Klee, and colleagues, friends, and students from the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt, adding many human bonds to his life... only the kinship residing in his blood could not be replaced by these bonds.

In particular, their blood ties resonate with each other; they are truly "blood is thicker than water" relatives.

Even if he ultimately has to "sacrifice family for the greater good," Abedo at least wants to have one last conversation with his relative, Abes.

He requested to see Abesel alone, presumably because he still harbored some hope of saving his brother.

Although Aberdo seemed a bit indecisive, Han Fulai was very understanding of Aberdo's feelings.

The most concrete evidence against Abedo at present mainly consists of impersonating Abedo to steal things, indiscriminately killing thieves from the treasure-hunting group, and attempting to resurrect the dragon Durin. As for the idea of ​​murdering Abedo and impersonating him, that is speculation and may not be true.

After all, Abeille is an artificial human, just like Abedo, a failed product of the "Primordial Man" project. His original form is a unicorn, and he was abandoned by his "mother" Rhinedot after birth. He is a pitiful child who was born but not raised by a mother... It is obviously unrealistic to expect Abeille to grow up to be a moral and law-abiding young man.

If Abe gave Han Fulai a sum of money to "launder" Abe's name, Han Fulai was confident that he could act like a legal consultant and clear Abe's name completely.

Stealing can be explained by the fact that the victim has already let it go, killing the treasure-hunting gang can be explained by excessive self-defense, and attempting to resurrect the dragon Durin can be explained by his desire to save his family... It's just a matter of perspective.

There are plenty of journalists on Weibo who can say both the truth and the sarcasm. Han Fulai has seen plenty of them. He's well-versed in the Three Hundred Tang Poems. Even if he can't write poetry, he can still recite it.

He offered advice to Abedo because he genuinely wanted to help him. From Han Fulai's perspective, his involvement was simply doing a favor for a friend, building rapport, and doing a good deed. After all, he had no prior acquaintance or grudge against Abedo, and there was no reason for him to want to kill him.

Abedo said he wanted to try to persuade Abe to lay down his weapons and become a Buddha. He asked Han Fulai if he would support him, and he would definitely support him.

Han Fulai was experienced in the matter of "sacrificing family for the greater good," and he and his "Sister Ningguang" had actually come to the point of fighting each other.

He once said to Zhongli, "I will take action against Ningguang," but when the time actually came... he was still reluctant to do so.

Okay, so I did take action, and the result of that action—well, this led to Ningguang trying to conceive?

Well, so Abelardo is pretty much the same.

Human hearts are made of flesh and blood, and the hearts of artificial humans are also made of flesh and blood. The eldest brother won't laugh at the second brother for this.

Han Fulai silently patted Abedo on the shoulder.

Hearing that Han Fu was willing to respect his decision, Abedo's face lit up with a hint of joy.

"...In that case, could you please help me persuade Yura?"

He finally revealed his true request to Han Fulai for a private meeting.

Han Fulai looked knowing and thought to himself, "They've come."

Yura is different from Han Fulai and Abedo; she is a true knight who shoulders the honor and responsibility of protecting Mondstadt.

To put it more clearly, even if Abedo abandons his knightly duties and inherits the obligation of the "Cinnabar Spindle," Yura will still take over his task of continuing to hunt down Abedo without hesitation, as this is Yura's responsibility as the Knight of Favonius.

Han Fulai's judgment on Yura before her death was actually quite accurate:

“Miss Yura is a true Knight of the West, with the pride and principles of a knight.”

If Yura were in Abedo's position, she would probably not hesitate to "sacrifice her own family for the greater good."

To Yura, Abeshau and the likes of the "Abyss Order" are no different; both are major hidden dangers that could lead to calamities threatening Mondstadt.

So even though Han Fulai's plan to "besiege the point and attack the reinforcements" seemed less than honorable, or rather, rather despicable, Yura still joined the plan and became the main attacker—if Abedo couldn't bring himself to do it, Yura would do it for him.

Just as Yura would immediately retaliate when others spoke ill of her because of the Lawrence family's status, she wouldn't hesitate to give a man like Abbe, who framed her fellow knights and attempted to resurrect the dragon to harm Mondstadt, a scoundrel.

Although Abedo wasn't very familiar with Yura, he had heard about her character. If he went to Yura to discuss letting Abedo off the hook, he would definitely be met with a cold shoulder.

I convinced Yura to join the plan in the afternoon, but then I changed my mind that evening and said I wanted to let Abes off the hook—Yura would really be furious if I went back on my word like that.

Furthermore, Abedo personally told Yura to trust his integrity as a fellow Knight of Favonius and to witness his actions as his "witness"...

As a scholar, Abedo was actually quite shy about such things. He genuinely didn't know how to talk to Yura about it.

But Han Fulai was different.

Today, he chatted and laughed with all sorts of people in front of Abedo. With his silver tongue, he first recruited Yura, then moved Bennett to tears. Amber was another story, and even Sugar, who was a bit socially awkward, got along well with him, leaving a very deep impression on Abedo.

If you were to ask Aberdo who the most eloquent person he knows is, he would undoubtedly recommend Han Fulai.

Moreover, the plan was originally proposed by Han Fulai, and now that Yura is his bodyguard, if he says he wants to change the plan, Yura should listen to him, right?

At least that's what Aberdo thought.

Unfortunately, he was disappointed.

Han Fulai waved his hand: "I can't persuade Miss Yura on this matter. In terms of relationship, you and Miss Yura are colleagues, while I'm not even an acquaintance. The main reason I can persuade Miss Yura to help you is because Miss Yura herself has the pursuit and principles of a knight, and asking her to let your elder brother go now would obviously violate those principles."

“Eh…” Abedo didn’t know what to say for a moment.

He knew he was in the wrong, and asking Han Fulai for help was his last hope.

But now they've clearly told him it's impossible. What should he do next?

Even Aberdo's brilliant mind was at a loss.

At this moment, Han Fulai added, "However, if you can agree to one condition, Professor Abedo... well, I do have another way to help you."

Chapter 115 The Script to Deceive Yura