Chapter 517: Chapter 114: Who is the Main General?
Several Golden Core Level Cultivators acted together, and even though they encountered an interception, only slightly more than thirty cultivators perished.
Such a small victory is pitiful.
It’s because the Three Generals Camp itself is part of the military force organized by Liangzhu Country, becoming an integral part of the national defense, benefiting from the augmentation of National Power. Any external attack will surely face the reduction from the country’s defense.
Furthermore, the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp have been continuously forming a battle formation, marching in the One-Line Long Snake Formation, with their Military Power concentrating as one, hence possessing a certain defensive capability.
But when Liu Er, Guan Hei, and others saw such losses, they shouted in shock and anger.
The scale of the Three Generals Camp was not large, consisting of just over three hundred people.
The first wave of the assault caused the death of about one-tenth. A couple more rounds like that, and the morale would crumble, with the army dispersing.
This army wasn’t like the Golden Halberd Army; having been recently established, its foundations were the weakest among all armies.
Once casualties reached around thirty percent, the cultivators would be frightened and terrified, scattering in all directions.
Describing them as a mob would be quite accurate.
“Change formation!”
“Change formation!”
Liu Er and Guan Hei shouted simultaneously.
On the other side, Guan Hong clenched his teeth, enduring the intense pain, just having swallowed Elixir Pills to stabilize his injuries, hastily bandaged up his right arm.
His right arm was seriously injured, almost completely crippled.
But now, with the army under attack, hearing Liu Er and Guan Hei’s Divine Sense transmissions, he knew he must hold on!
Guan Hong channeled Mana, coordinating with Liu Er and Guan He, directing the soldiers around him, starting to change formation.
The One-Line Long Snake Formation was apt for marching, but when facing a few strong and elite enemies, the line was too long, and the head and tail were too far apart, making it difficult to attend to both ends.
Thankfully, the Three Generals had undergone special training, arduous and extraordinary, mainly practicing two sets of battle formations.
The One-Line Long Snake Formation was the latter learned, but the Triangle Arrow Formation was where they spent most of their effort and time.
The soldiers of the Three Generals Camp felt their scalps tingle, hastily obeying commands and urgently adjusting according to the training they received on ordinary days.
Their sense of reason still intact, they knew that if they, being Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment Level cultivators, were to scatter, they would surely be ruthlessly slain by Golden Core Cultivators without a chance for survival. Only by forming a formation could they use the battle formation and national prestige for self-preservation.
If they were lucky, they might even repel the attacking Golden Core Cultivators and obtain military merit!
In an instant, the long snake within the mountains turned its head and coiled its tail, winding into a ball.
“Quick, attack them now!” Chen Lingfeng hurriedly sent out his Divine Sense, giving commands.
Changing the formation had its intricacies.
Recklessly changing formation would create vulnerabilities.
Referencing White Jade Camp’s encounter with Tu Ming, when Shuangjing was commanding the troops, during the formation change, only the inner elite soldiers and personal soldiers would change formation, while the outer layer still maintained the Jade Barrier Sky Formation.
This was to cover up the vulnerabilities during the formation change.
But the Three Generals Camp couldn’t do this.
On one hand, the Three Generals Camp had too few people, just around three hundred, unable to form two sets of battle formations internally and externally.
On the other hand, their training was insufficient. This shortcoming of the Three Generals Camp was even greater than that of the Barbarian Demon Camp! At least the leader of the Barbarian Demon Camp, Xu Dali, had his own personal soldiers and elite soldiers, but Liu, Guan, and Zhang, the three generals, were lone wolves, starting from scratch to build their troops.
Luckily, the enemies they faced at this time were not as numerous and strong as the Barbarian Demon Camp.
Wind Technique – Wind Like Darkness!
Chen Lingfeng flapped his wings, mobilizing his Innate abilities and cast the spell.
In a moment, heaven and earth lost color as darkness fell, and the violent wind swept up, forcing the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp to close their eyes, some even unable to stand, their bodies swaying, nearly blown away by the ferocious wind!
Wu Hen had escaped to a safe area.
“I’m also joining in!”
Strange Technique – Shadow Silk Binding!
The edges of Wu Hen’s black robes crazily dispersed into shadows.
The surging shadows, like a layer of pitch-black tide, adhered to the ground, assaulting the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp.
The soldiers of the Three Generals Camp had gathered together, their shapes connecting to form patches, which made Wu Hen’s attack all the more convenient.
Liu Er shouted loudly, on top of the gloomy fierce wind, he rode a Yellow Steed holding high the Xuanhuang Sword!
Military Art – Defending the Land.
This was the Military Art inherent in the Xuanhuang Sword, once cast, immediately forming earthen yellow halos that augmented each and every soldier.
The halos spread rapidly, enhancing the entire army, forming a robust defense against the raging wind, but unable to withstand the black shadow tide surging across the ground.
This was the advantage of the Strange Technique.
Wu Hen was unhindered, coming into contact with the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp.
“Got you now.” He bared a chilling grin.
The next moment, the soldiers touched by Wu Hen turned rebellious, forming strands of Shadow Silk, rising from the ground, entangling their legs and upper limbs, restricting their movements.
For a time, the speed of the formation change slowed down significantly.
Many soldiers fell to the ground, struggling frantically, but they couldn’t break free from the Shadow Silk’s binds.
Some, in impatience, employed spells or activated Magic Artifacts on their own shadows.
As a result, as their shadows took damage, corresponding physical injuries appeared!
This put them in a Catch-22, feeling completely powerless.
“Very good, very good.”
Another Golden Core Cultivator, named Luo Xiwei, practiced the Earth Element Skill “Earth Communication Skill,” adept at digging tunnels.
Following the previous arrangement, he then took action, wielding the Magic Artifact Five Knot Staff of Earth Veins and casting Earth Element Magic.
In an instant, the mountainous terrain changed, the firm rocky ground rapidly softening, crumbling, and eventually turning into vast expanses of quicksand.
The soldiers of the Three Generals Camp, bound and restrained by the Shadow Silk, were helpless to do anything but watch as they were swallowed by the quicksand.
The quicksand tactic was particularly vicious.
Not for a moment would they deal immediate death to the soldiers; instead, they would force them to watch themselves slide into the abyss of death with wide open eyes, greatly shaking their morale, and thus, undermining the entire army’s spirit.
“Damn it.” Liu Er was incomparably anxious.
Guan and Zhang, the two generals, were also grinding their teeth in anger.
The weapons in their hands each harbored a Military Art, but all were intended for offense.
Now, maintaining the Triangle Arrow Formation required three generals as the core; should any one of them break formation to kill the enemy, it would inevitably collapse one angle of the battle formation, revealing such a large flaw that other Golden Core Cultivators could take the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, causing heavy casualties to the soldiers.
Naturally, none of the three generals wished to witness this scene—it was their only asset.
However, the defense of the Triangle Arrow Formation itself was also not outstanding; continuing like this, bleeding troops, the formation would eventually collapse sooner or later.
Zhang Hei was shocked and thought of something, and couldn’t help but transmit his Divine Sense, shouting: “Big brother, second brother, isn’t this the Omen Poem predicted by the Military Adviser?”
That Omen Poem—
Horse hooves trample flowers down, as winds rise shadows sink into sand.
Who can retain the moon’s glow, who again will bury the rosy clouds?
The current situation corresponded exactly to the line “as winds rise shadows sink into sand,” aligning splendidly to it without equal!
Liu Er and Guan Hong had actually already thought of this, hastily transmitting their thoughts, warning Zhang Hei not to be reckless.
Now that the army’s spirit had already been vehemently shaken, with the three generals desperately holding on, should all three of them panic, the entire situation would utterly collapse beyond salvation.
Zhang Hei kept his mouth shut and regretted in his heart: “If I had known this would happen, I should have heeded the Military Adviser’s words more.”
Ning Zhuo’s Divine Sense pierced through the carriage, already observing the battlefield. Seeing this unfold, he felt a strange sentiment.
“A random Omen Poem I thought up is actually proving accurate?”
“What’s going on?”
“It must be a coincidence.”
At this moment, he had not yet guessed that this was a deliberate suggestion by Mo Yuan Cave Master, taking advantage of the situation.
This strategy was indeed ingenious; even if Liu, Guan, and Zhang, the three generals, did not proclaim it, their own hearts had already been shaken by it!
They were the fundamental support of the army’s spirit. Once chaos entered their hearts, it immediately affected the combat power of the entire battle formation.
The Golden Core Cultivators who took action felt much more relaxed, and the soldiers sank into the quicksand even faster.
“Is my army destined to be utterly destroyed today?!” Liu Er couldn’t help but feel despair.
“Sooner or later if we’re to perish, why not go out now, and fight a memorable battle!” Zhang Hei clenched his teeth, eyes flashing with ferocity.
Guan Hong’s face was cold: “Since the situation is difficult to change, why not make a risky charge?”
Doing so, the number of casualties among these soldiers would likely be enormous, but the three generals seemed to have no other choice.
“Generals, do not worry, watch my technique.” At the critical moment, a young Cultivator stepped out of the carriage.
It was Ning Zhuo!
To his right was the Heavy Blood Ape, Big Victory, and to his left was the Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin.
Ning Zhuo’s waist no longer bore the Mechanical Dragon, and Sun Lingtong had already quietly distanced herself from this army.
Ning Zhuo took out his own Military Adviser’s Seal, multitasking, while activating the seal, he also cast his spell.
Earth Element—sand consolidation!
He was the Official Military Adviser, enjoying the national defense of Liangzhu Country, and the amplification of the Triangle Arrow Formation. The battle formation itself could enhance the offensive, making his magic extremely sharp.
Immediately, with Ning Zhuo as the center, a yellow wind arose.
The yellow wind blew across, and wherever it went, the flowing sand congealed, reverting back to solid ground.
The Golden Core Cultivator Luo Xiwei, having to counter the national power, saw his magical potency greatly reduced. Having been attacking with his magic for a while, he himself suffered backlash from the national power, his combat strength plummeted rapidly.
On the other hand, Ning Zhuo, bolstered by the formation, was like a fish in water.
In the exchange of offense and defense, Ning Zhuo’s magic continuously triumphed, forcing Luo Xiwei’s techniques to retreat step by step.
Moments later, the ground of the Three Generals Camp was restored to its original state!
“It’s that Ning Zhuo!” Chen Lingfeng, with a high vantage point, overlooked the battlefield and saw this scene, and felt a bit of resentment.
“Wu Hen made the wrong choice.”
“He attacked the three generals and failed to kill even one. It would have been better to concentrate the forces and strike at Ning Zhuo instead.”
Luo Xiwei also felt regretful: “I was about to succeed! Who would have thought Ning Zhuo would actually possess a spell specifically tailored against mine; isn’t this luck a bit too good?”
But he did not know, this was Ning Zhuo, who observed for a moment and learned the principle of his Quicksand Technique, yet reversed it, spontaneously creating a new countermeasure.
“It’s him!” Wu Hen’s heart stirred upon seeing Ning Zhuo.
He snuck inside the carriage, and from the first sight of Ning Zhuo, he had a premonition that this young Cultivator would be trouble.
Now, his premonition had come true!
Wu Hen’s fingers snapped inwards suddenly, pulling numerous Shadow Silks, attacking Ning Zhuo from all directions.
“Protect the Military Adviser!” Liu Er shouted.
Without a doubt, Ning Zhuo was key to the defense!
Guan Hong was too far away, while Zhang Hei had already moved, charging towards Ning Zhuo.
Facing the myriad Shadow Silks, Ning Zhuo stood unyieldingly still.
Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin lightly swayed her arm, Mechanical Sickle circled in mid-air, then gracefully paused, returning to its original position.
Whoosh!
Like the sound of waves crashing against rocks, the myriad Shadow Silks disintegrated completely, collapsing into nothingness.
Wu Hen’s body trembled, his expression drastically changed, and blood spilled from his mouth and nose: “Such a powerful Night Rain Demon Soldier!”
The generals Liu, Guan, and Zhang, who were paying attention to this scene, were also shaken to the core. Zhang Hei, being the closest, even felt a chill on his neck.
The three generals were immensely shaken, realizing that their own Military Adviser actually possessed such formidable Golden Core Combat Power!
“He seems even stronger than I am.”
“This… who is really the Main General?” Along with amazement, Liu Er also felt a hint of absurdity.