Mythical Three Kingdoms

This matter, which is exceedingly simple for the Kushan Inner Qi Manifestation, has become an insurmountable chasm for Gan Ning due to the differences in systems between the two sides.

Simply put, after the enemy injected its faith and will into the Cloud Qi and completed its activation, Gan Ning’s naval techniques were utterly outmatched.

Though the items remained the same, and the techniques were unchanged, the opponent could casually execute them at a level far surpassing Gan Ning’s proficiency, leaving Gan Ning with no chance of victory.

At this time, Zhou Yu, leading the fleet, had already distanced himself considerably. After the activation of Cloud Qi, the qualities displayed by the Kushan Navy skyrocketed, and simply put, this time around Zhou Yu saw no hope of Gan Ning’s victory.

”This situation is truly tragic; Gan Xingba might face total annihilation this time.” Zhou Yu, retreating while observing, wore a sort of empathetic smile as he watched the fierce naval battle between Gan Ning and the opposing navy.

Although Zhou Yu still did not know the identity of the opponent fighting Gan Ning, he had basically guessed that they should come from another powerful nation, as merely having nine Inner Qi Manifestation practitioners wasn’t something any ordinary nation could muster.

”Ah, we should lend Gan Xingba a hand. Even though the opponent is leading pirates from God knows where, under these circumstances, not lending a hand would be morally unjustifiable, as this is essentially a foreign war.” Zhou Yu looked helplessly at the ships of Gan Ning being sunk by the Kushan Navy and said to Jiangh Qin next to him.

”But we can’t beat them!” Jiangh Qin said awkwardly. He wasn’t a fool; although Zhou Yu was a genius, some things couldn’t be learned instantly.

There exists a high technical barrier between the Han Army’s ships and the Kushan ships. If there wasn’t this barrier, Zhou Yu might have been able to engage in tit-for-tat and ultimately push the opponent to destruction; of course, that would be under ideal circumstances.

Given Kushan’s current method of activating Cloud Qi, Jiangh Qin wasn’t a fool; even if Zhou Yu employed the same method, without the technique, they’d still lose.

”Let’s go, let’s fight on the shore; we can do without the ships.” Zhou Yu said indifferently. The navy was outmatched completely due to technical reserves and tactical skills. As for ground battle, as long as the quality of the troops is similar, Zhou Yu wasn’t afraid at all.

Well, in general, the Eastern Wu Navy’s ground combat is the worst in the Central Plains, but it doesn’t matter; at least the navy brought this time is quite capable, at least there’s no problem in dismantling the Kushan’s military camp on the north bank of Malacca, probably...

”Ah!” Jiangh Qin, looking at Zhou Yu in bewilderment, remarked that Zhou Yu always solved problems that could be settled by naval battles decisively without resorting to ground battle. If the naval battle couldn’t resolve it, well, this seemed like a first.

”Don’t think too much; I can’t win the naval battle against them. Give me five months and the Seventh Generation Xingba Vessel that Chen Zichuan prepared for Gan Xingba, I might be able to put up a fight against this group, but it’ll only be a fight. Right now, I can’t win.” Zhou Yu said candidly, admitting he couldn’t win and had no better solution.

Zhou Yu waved, signaling Jiangh Qin to inform Li Yan, Dong Xi, Ling Cao, and others of the situation, and then started rowing towards the north bank of Malacca.

Qiu Lique’s lookout soon noticed this, informing Qiu Lique, who only glanced in Zhou Yu’s direction and didn’t pay it much mind.

Previously, due to Lyu Bu occasionally attacking the new city on the south bank of Malacca, Qiu Lique and others assumed the enemy was Mahesvara, hence they didn’t dare attack with large forces and moved the land forces to the military camp on the north bank.

That is to say, currently, nearly seventy thousand land forces are on the north bank of Malacca, including a small number of cavalry. Although two land force commanders were cut down by Lyu Bu previously, there remain two Inner Qi Manifestation commanders within the land forces.

On this point alone, Qiu Lique paid no heed to Zhou Yu; while the Han Army could fight, with a twofold force disparity, Qiu Lique refused to believe anyone could easily win, thus merely instructed people to notify Barry and Duruka that bandits had landed and were rushing towards their camp.

Yet the reality was akin to how Zhou Yu couldn’t comprehend why the Kushan Navy’s command was so extraordinary, similarly, the Kushan land forces couldn’t understand why, even though Zhou Yu’s land forces were on par with theirs, they were thoroughly beaten with half the manpower.

Barry and Duruka were both considerably injured during the prior siege of Lyu Bu, so upon receiving Qiu Lique’s accurate information, they decisively chose to focus on command rather than leading charges themselves to boost morale.

Zhou Yu also faced uncertainty regarding the enemy’s land forces; accurately speaking, Zhou Yu was severely lacking in intelligence.

Normally, with his disposition, Zhou Yu wouldn’t engage in such a war, but guessing Chen Xi’s involvement, Zhou Yu couldn’t just turn back; some matters can’t be brushed off if something is seen, pretending ignorance would be insulting to both his and others’ intelligence.

Hence, faced with a war lacking sufficient intelligence, Zhou Yu had no choice but to charge through it, hinging hopes on his general judgment. If the enemy’s land forces were as fearsome as their naval forces, all he could say would be that the Great Han Dynasty was in for trouble.

With this feeling in mind, Zhou Yu prepared from the moment they landed, considering every aspect, luckily, the Kushan forces maintained caution, opting not to directly intercept the Han forces onshore.

With this, Zhou Yu’s mind felt somewhat prepared, immediately placing two thousand ordinary sword and shield infantrymen at the forefront, followed by Jiangh Qin’s trusted aides and Li Yan’s Elite Troops of Danyang as the second line of defense. Dong Xi was on the left, Ling Cao to the right, and it was at this moment that Sun Ce happened to return, carrying Lyu Bu.

”Gasp, it really is Marquis Wenn!” Zhou Yu watched in shock as Sun Ce carried Lyu Bu back. The news of Lyu Bu’s Ascension was incredibly famous in the Central Plains, and seeing Lyu Bu carried back in this state, what on earth had happened, not to mention, when was Lyu Bu ever this weak?

”Gongjin, I’m doomed!” Sun Ce said with a face full of trepidation. He realized he might end up being beaten by a combined attack from Ma Chao and Zhao Yun; this was practically lethal!

”Whether you’re doomed or not, set it aside for now. What exactly happened? Youping, first lead your trusted aides to fortify the third line of defense.” Zhou Yu said nonchalantly, turning to instruct Zhou Tai, and quickly arranging the troops into an inverted triangle.

This formation is a standard command military formation, but Zhou Yu merely arranged it this way; its significance lay not in formation or Cloud Qi support but in responding to the subsequent battle situation.