Mythical Three Kingdoms

”Are they trying to get themselves killed?” Chen Xi asked, puzzled.

”Fish-Scale Formation, are they planning a head-on assault?” Guo Jia too was baffled. Unlike military generals who would become overly excited and throw caution to the wind, Guo Jia furrowed his brows as soon as the enemy changed formation.

”There must be demons at work when things behave abnormally,” Chen Xi commented with a curl of his lip, ”They think such petty tricks can fool us.”

”You know what they’re planning?” Guo Jia asked in surprise.

”Of course, I have no idea. Would I be like this if I did?” Chen Xi rolled his eyes. He too was curious about what the opposing commander intended to do, as from the performance over this period, their command had been quite excellent.

”You’d better be careful. I have a bad feeling about this. The opposing commander’s previous performance has been impressive; you don’t want to be outwitted and end up contributing to their fame,” Guo Jia said after a careful observation of the entire army’s situation.

”Don’t worry, our army has too much of an advantage. Besides, the Fish-Scale Formation isn’t like the Fish-Scale Formation. Even if we fail to break their formation, we can simply cut our losses and retreat by abandoning the front. They can’t retreat if they fight a head-on assault; they’ll only get more entangled. Are they that confident?” Chen Xi frowned.

Seeing that Guo Jia remained silent, Chen Xi recalled a saying: ”The most important thing in war is to prevent the enemy from accomplishing what they want to do, and only then to accomplish one’s own goals.” This thought gave him some reassurance.

With that in mind, Chen Xi no longer hesitated and said right away, ”If they want a head-on fight, I simply won’t engage with them! I would like to see what the opposing commander really wants to do.”

”That’s a prudent strategy, although it doesn’t seem like your style,” Guo Jia nodded and commented.

”Send a message to our vanguard, form a phalanx for defense and suppression, be sure not to let the enemy breach our formation, and gradually crush them!” Chen Xi instructed a messenger.

Soon the entire army stopped engaging Yuan Shao’s Army head-on and began forming into blocks of phalanxes, then clustered together, launching an attack on Yuan Shao’s Army in a nearly uniform manner.

In an instant, the offensive and defensive situations of Liu Bei’s Army and Yuan Shao’s Army reversed. Initially pressing down on Yuan Shao’s Army, Liu Bei’s forces were now being forcefully pushed back by Yuan Shao’s hard-hitting assault.

However, a closer look would reveal that although Yuan Shao’s Army was like the surging waves of a tempestuous sea, Liu Bei’s Army stood like a cliff amidst the waves, enduring the relentless pounding without yielding.

Jiangh Qi, observing the situation of both sides, knew he had been too eager. If not for his desire to minimize casualties and hold out just a bit longer, Yuan Shao’s Army and Liu Bei’s Army would undoubtedly be entangled with each other. Once his trump card was played in a while, it would be much harder for Liu Bei’s Army to retreat.

[I am still not ruthless enough, I shouldn’t have rushed into the Fish-Scale Formation. I thought the enemy would bite down hard on us in their delight, but instead, they switched to a defensive stance and started to slowly press down on our forces. What’s wrong with the opponent’s commander’s thinking? I didn’t reveal any threats, and yet they dare not attack!]

As Jiangh Qi lamented his own lack of resolve, he also questioned whether something was wrong with the opposing commander’s mind.

After all, Yuan Shao’s Army’s performance was wholly inferior to that of Liu Bei’s Army, and originally, Yuan Shao’s Army’s goal was to drag out time whereas Liu Bei’s Army should have aimed for a swift conclusion. Yet, now it had turned into a situation where Yuan Shao’s Army was attacking strongly and Liu Bei’s Army was defending.

”It does look like there’s no problem. Could the enemy be doing this on purpose, to arouse my suspicion and delay our troops?” Chen Xi inquired with a frown.

”I don’t know,” Guo Jia said with a bitter smile, ”this battle is beyond comprehension now.”

”Never mind, regardless of whether they have any trump cards, I’ll wipe them out first! Let them have all the strategies they want, this time I’ll direct crush them. I want to see what other schemes they can pull.” Chen Xi said with a cold laugh, ”Send my orders to the generals, move Zhao Yun to the left and right flanks, Guan Yu School Sabre Bearer, Xu Zhu Tiger Guard Army, I want them to strike with full force, to shatter their ranks!”

Speaking of the fierce battle between Guan Yu and Yan Liang, neither had the advantage over the other, each unable to overcome his opponent. Furthermore, both were holding the strategy to kill if possible, or to drag out the fight otherwise. Thus, after the peak of their combat, both were paying attention to the situation of their own forces.

Liu Bei’s Army broke into the military camp, and Yan Liang hurriedly fought desperately to hold Guan Yu, in case Guan Yu’s return would boost the morale of Liu Bei’s Army. Similarly, when Jiang Qi rallied and pushed Liu Bei’s Army back, Guan Yu also fought desperately to cut down Yan Liang, to prevent him from returning and stabilizing the defense line.

In this way, Guan Yu and Yan Liang swung their great swords, while keeping an eye on the gap between their enemies and allies, each gaining a certain understanding of the opposing army’s strength.

It wasn’t until Xu Zhu broke the camp’s fence walls with three strikes that Yan Liang cursed in his heart and became anxious. He tried to rush back, preparing to lead a counterattack. Naturally, Guan Yu wouldn’t allow it; their great swords clashed again. Looking back, Yuan Shao’s Army made a strong push and recovered the defensive line, so Yan Liang was no longer so worried.

But soon enough, Xu Zhu came over, shouting from a distance, ”General, Marshal Chen orders you to return to the army!”

”Clang!” With one strike forcing Yan Liang back, Guan Yu turned his horse and left, paying no mind to the possibility of Yan Liang launching an attack.

Sure enough, as Guan Yu retreated, Yan Liang did not seize the opportunity to attack. Xu Zhu stood by; although he would not attack from both sides, if Yan Liang tried a sneak attack now, the other side certainly wouldn’t be polite.

Guan Yu and Xu Zhu left together, and after hesitating for a moment, Yan Liang also turned and left. Once Yan Liang was far away, Xu Zhu looked at Guan Yu with admiration and gave him a thumbs up.

”General, you are mighty,” Xu Zhu said to Guan Yu with an admiring face.

Guan Yu didn’t speak; to be precise, he had no idea what Xu Zhu was talking about.

”That turn you did earlier was so mighty,” Xu Zhu said in admiration, ”Such boldness is truly remarkable.”

Guan Yu didn’t respond, his expression remained as stern as ever, but cold sweat had soaked through his inner armor.

Guan Yu, having seen Xu Zhu coming, had turned around without thinking. Now, thinking about it, Xu Zhu didn’t actually have Inner Qi, right? All three of his special moves were released by Xu Zhu himself. It’s one thing to fight miscellaneous soldiers, but facing Yan Liang, dare you be without Inner Qi? You better first achieve the state Dian Wei did before you talk!

On the other hand, Yan Liang had also come to his senses, heaving a long sigh, ”Guan Yunchang is indeed a hero of the world!” Without dwelling on it, he rode back to his troops, ready to follow Jiang Qi’s commands.

”It’s nothing,” Guan Yu replied with an aloof demeanor. To tell the truth, Guan Yu was always stoic, never one to indulge in jokes or laughter, Xu Zhu never considered that Guan Yu had acted out of instinct without thinking.

”Marshal Chen ordered us to prepare, each with our trusted aides, with me leading a strong assault to break the enemy, General leading the troops to break the formation, and Zilong to disrupt their military force,” Xu Zhu said, noting Guan Yu’s lack of small talk and turning the conversation to important matters. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian ), and cast your monthly votes, too. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)