Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1668: Chapter 1607: The Two Men’s Doubts

Under the hail of arrows shot from beyond five steps, the Miscellaneous Hun Elite Cavalry and the Xiliang Iron Cavalry clashed head-on. For the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, these were like raindrops; sometimes getting shot in the head was indeed quite awkward, but it barely affected their combat power.

For the Miscellaneous Huns, it was a whole different matter. At such close range, any arrow that hit would cause significant injury, and if one struck a vital point, the only path was death.

In such a harsh environment, facing a cavalry charge by the enemy, the Miscellaneous Hun Elite Cavalry even felt a desire for death. However, previously, when the Eastern Wu Archers charged into the formation, they didn’t stop the Miscellaneous Huns at all. Naturally, the Miscellaneous Huns charged forward at the highest speed, now making it impossible to turn back.

Thus, they had no choice but to charge headlong through the rain of arrows. Naturally, the outcome was evident at the instant of the clash, as the full-speed charging Miscellaneous Hun Elite Cavalry, unable to turn back, faced the most formidable Xiliang Iron Cavalry head-on. Even if the Xiliang Iron Cavalry weren’t already a Military Spirit Legion, it would have still made the Miscellaneous Huns lose their direction.

Under Duan Wei’s leadership, they charged forward in one go, straight along the path the Miscellaneous Huns entered, forming a complete straight line. All the Miscellaneous Huns along this route were overturned by Duan Wei, completely unable to resist.

However, shortly after charging out, Duan Wei suddenly turned around to start a defensive counterattack on the periphery, not actively charging into the main army of Miscellaneous Huns, but relying on the Eastern Wu Archers to steadily block the Miscellaneous Huns, not allowing them to advance any further.

”Zichuan, don’t you want to see what my military formation is all about?” Seeing that the formation was compressed once more, yet the entire army repeatedly achieving phased victories, though the defensive circle was compressed, morale was steadily rising. Zhou Yu suddenly turned to Chen Xi and said.

On the contrary, the Miscellaneous Huns, being repeatedly blocked by the Han Army, and suffering countercharges again and again, especially after once more reducing the defensive circle, found the entire formation as stable as a rock. Even with the wave-like attacks from the Miscellaneous Huns, they couldn’t break through the defenses set up by Zhou Yu.

In this manner, the momentum from the first charge, then decline, and finally exhaustion could be clearly seen as the Miscellaneous Huns’ morale significantly decreased. Were it not for the Northern Huns’ command, many Miscellaneous Huns might have already decided not to gnaw at this tough bone.

At this point, a zither sound suddenly came from Zhou Yu’s formation, which in this noisy battlefield should have been imperceptible beyond several dozen steps. Yet this sound seemed to resonate within everyone’s heart.

The zither sound was just a momentary presence, quickly dissipating, leaving behind only confusion and dismay. These uncouth Miscellaneous Huns couldn’t comprehend what happened, but somehow their battle spirit weakened a bit, while their Inner Qi and physical strength fleetingly drained faster.

”This...” Chen Xi inhaled sharply, realizing Zhou Yu’s zither sound was undoubtedly a secret technique!

From the moment the zither sounded, Chen Xi noticed the Miscellaneous Huns’ frightening Cloud Qi thickening continuously, but upon reaching a certain threshold, it abruptly began to reinforce Zhou Yu’s Army’s Cloud Qi. Now, Zhou Yu’s Army’s Cloud Qi started replenishing every soldier’s losses.

”You guessed correctly; my military formation is indeed used for plundering the enemy’s Essence Qi and Inner Qi, then replenishing my own troops. However, even if I were willing to teach you this trick, you wouldn’t be able to learn it. As for Miss Cai, she lacks experience in formation battles and doesn’t understand when to use it.” Zhou Yu said proudly.

In this world, only Zhou Yu could accurately grasp the timing to use zither music to disrupt the enemy’s battle spirit. This wasn’t any technique, but solid experience. Even if taught to Cai Yan, even if someone reminded her, she’d still struggle to understand the enemy’s mindset.

Similarly, dealing with various reasons causing morale declines required different zither sounds to resonate, skills Cai Yan couldn’t possibly acquire.

Simply put, writing verses by Liu Yong and Su Shi were extremely polarized. Although Zhou Yu’s playing has themes of romance and elegance, when it comes to killer moves, it is perfectly suited for the battlefields of iron horse and icy river.

”Indeed, some paths can’t be imitated even if others desire to.” Chen Xi shrugged helplessly, ”But there really are too many Miscellaneous Huns; if this continues to drag on, although your formation can recover physical strength, the mental exhaustion can’t be compensated.”

”That’s why I need help. Didn’t you see I’m just maintaining balance, only showing enough strength? The Miscellaneous Huns’ battle spirit isn’t strong, and we’ve shown our power—without taking the initiative to launch a strong attack, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to provoke us.” Zhou Yu glanced at the Miscellaneous Huns fighting at the periphery but clearly not as diligently as before.

”It’s completely normal. The Miscellaneous Huns and Northern Huns could never be of one mind. But seeing this situation shows that after heading south, the Miscellaneous Huns must cooperate with the Northern Huns.” Chen Xi nodded.

”The Northern Huns seem to have control over the food supply, though I don’t quite understand why they must go this far.” Zhou Yu frowned, ”The Northern Huns’ plundering seems meaningless to reality.”

”At least doing this beforehand facilitates ruling the Miscellaneous Huns. With the food supply cut off, not following orders would mean certain death; under command, tens of thousands cooperating with the Northern Huns might still have a chance.” Chen Xi thought briefly, suspecting something regarding this matter.

”Even so, don’t you think it’s a bit excessive?” Zhou Yu then redeployed a group of archers to retreat for rest, replaced them with another group, pressured the left flank, and let the Xiliang Iron Cavalry reinforce the flank of the Elite of Danyang, achieving defense through attack.

”It’s overdone indeed. Last year the Great Prairie suffered a snow disaster. Now, judging by the cattle, sheep, and horses we see, the total likely represents the entire prairie’s accumulation. So, I’m puzzled as well.” Chen Xi looked at Zhou Yu who returned his gaze.

Both saw the expression in each other’s eyes, clearly they both held a suspicion, but there were substantial issues with it.

”Better think about how to break out from these Miscellaneous Huns; if this drags on, we might end up like egg yolk.” Chen Xi collected his thoughts, taking a deep breath, ”The Northern Huns’ command seemingly has seen through your intentions; they seem prepared to spend their energies against us.”

”They aren’t foolish after all, surrounding us layer by layer. Though it doesn’t matter much, we can withdraw anytime we wish.” Zhou Yu remarked, glancing at the formerly Northern Huns camp that continued to rage with fire.