Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1511 - 1454: Making Something Out of Nothing

The elite main forces, augmented to their full potential by the Legion Talent of Zhang Fei's Legion, originally achieved a nearly four-to-one casualty ratio against the Military Spirit Legion. With Lyu Bu's Corps Talent further increasing quality by ten percent, the exchange ratio was pushed close to three-to-one.

Additionally, the Ma Chao's Corps Talent enhanced everyone's reaction force, Sun Ce disrupted the enemy's Legion Talent and army cohesion, and Zhuge Liang's over one hundred trusted aides astonishingly demonstrated a level close to the Northern Huns Guards.

The moment Zhuge Liang's trusted aides clashed with the Northern Huns Guards, Jinn Hedan, the officer of the Northern Huns Guards, immediately shouted to Xubo Cheng.

"Sun-chasing King, retreat quickly; the enemy is not ordinary elites you can handle!" Jinn Hedan shouted, and then thrust his Long Spear directly at Liu Heo, Zhuge Liang's Personal Guard Squad Leader.

Xubo Cheng was startled by these words but didn't doubt Jinn Hedan's judgment. As an officer of the Military Spirit Legion, he could accurately assess the opponent's strength. If he couldn't even do that, the Northern Huns might not be far from their demise.

"Everyone, break through to the northeast with me!" Xubo Cheng shouted, taking the lead and charging in the northeast direction. In the next moment, he was confronted by infantry wielding Long Spears for a direct thrust, fighting vigorously to repel the enemy. Xubo Cheng continued to wave his Long Spear with strength, charging towards the northeast.

At this time, chaotic shouts echoed from all directions. As Xubo Cheng led the Northern Huns in a breakthrough towards the northeast, the pressure he faced was immense. However, Jinn Hedan, after breaking through Zhuge Liang's trusted aides' interception, realized the issue.

But Zhuge Liang had long been prepared, and this fabricated thousand-strong troops were meant more to attract the elite forces of the enemy, dividing and distracting them. Now, the separated Northern Huns Guards had no way of informing Xubo Cheng, who was charging towards the northeast.

Naturally, the isolated Chanyu's Imperial Guards were tightly held by Zhuge Liang's trusted aides. Although there was a difference in combat power, they were quite evenly matched. Earlier, when Zhuge Liang made the first strategic move, a wave of assault took down dozens of Chanyu's Imperial Guards with both real and feigned attacks.

The sides were now entirely drawn to a similar level, and upon entering the battlefield, it turned into a chaotic melee, with the constrained Chanyu's Imperial Guards having no chance to relay messages to Xubo Cheng.

Li Tong gazed incredulously at how Zhuge Liang used five thousand infantry to firmly trap tens of thousands of cavalry, even gaining an advantage and forcing Xubo Cheng to continuously abandon part of his forces in an attempt to break through from the northeast.

Zhuge Liang constantly dispatched forces, intertwining and severing, restricting the Northern Huns Cavalry's speed, holding them firmly while constantly weakening the formation, and strengthening the northeast forces to bolster the interception against Xubo Cheng.

As the pressure from the northeast grew, Xubo Cheng had no choice but to opt for abandoning parts to survive, while Zhuge Liang calculated the force deployments to use superior force to annihilate the slowing rear army. The mounting pressure made it impossible for Xubo Cheng to discern the authenticity of the vast army.

"Quickly lead those three thousand troops in a final assault!" Zhuge Liang exerted all efforts to disguise himself, but his forces weren't truly fifty thousand troops. Continuing would risk exposure.

The Ultimate Xuanxiang Eight Gates Heavenly Lock couldn't change its nature of relying on dispatching concentrated force to attack the opponent's weakness. This was why Zhuge Liang left a route to life in the northeast—to lure them into a trap and make the false seem real!

Li Tong hesitated no longer, riding swiftly northwards. With the signal sent, the ambushers Zhuge Liang had laid in the north rushed over with full force.

With Zhuge Liang's constant maneuvering and changing formations, the path to life in the northeast became a road to death. Under Xubo Cheng's lead, the Northern Huns' main forces faced increasing infantry pressure, making speed constraints increasingly evident. Soon, with each charge, several cavalry fell.

However, due to increasingly frantic collisions between both sides, the Eight Gates Heavenly Lock Zhuge Liang set up began deploying one change after another. But due to the stark difference in force strength, Zhuge Liang ultimately couldn't take down Xubo Cheng.

When the Han Army suddenly appeared and surrounded Xubo Cheng in a grand flow, Gao Shun was visibly stunned. With such proximity, dealing with Xubo Cheng, trapped and speed-constrained in the formation's heart, posed no problem in Gao Shun's view.

Therefore, Gao Shun, leading the Trap Formation, merely observed from afar, not engaging, as the opponent clearly had the momentum to obliterate the enemy. Engaging unnecessarily in the claim for achievements was unwarranted. Of course, Gao Shun also worried that the enemy wouldn't recognize him, treating him as enemy forces, complicating the scenario.

But not long after, Gao Shun noticed something amiss and realized that among these tens of thousands, the real attackers numbered only a few thousand, while the rest seemed mostly engaged in shouting.

Initially, Gao Shun thought it might be a misjudgment, but upon closer inspection, he confirmed he was not mistaken. Startled, he then understood he had possibly encountered a sophisticated, unfathomable Xuanxiang Formation.

Yet, the nature of Xuanxiang was to avoid strength, exploiting weakness—to make the opponent perceive an overwhelming force, hesitating to attack, while the user exploited weaknesses by concentrating superior force for focused assaults.

Clearly, Zhuge Liang's superior forces converged on the northeast, entirely besieging the speed-lost Northern Huns. But at such a slaughter pace, Zhuge Liang's disadvantages couldn't be overturned. His forces were likely only half the enemy's, and infantry at that.

Upon realizing this, Gao Shun hesitated no more, understanding Zhuge Liang's setup. It was a display of bluster. After a night of battle, the Northern Huns, encircled by an expansive army and ferociously attacked, wouldn't have the capacity to discern authenticity.

Moreover, with Zhuge Liang deliberately leaving a path to life in the northeast, Xubo Cheng naturally charged that way, reducing pressure from other directions, so that just over a thousand troops could feign a force over ten thousand. Once the northeast was secured, Xubo Cheng would have no doubts.

Gao Shun led the Trap Formation in a vigorous strike, as the high-flying "Han" banner under which they marched closed a three-mile distance in merely dozens of breaths. Unhesitatingly, Zhuge Liang opened the southern formation, allowing Gao Shun to enter, then directly bolstered the Trap Formation with Radiance.

Zhuge Liang's Eight Gates Heavenly Lock lacked a team for powerful destruction. Upon the Trap Formation's entry, Zhuge Liang immediately augmented the formation with power, bolstering the strong assault team, while these forces spontaneously redirected from all angles, luring the Northern Huns into lateral charges.

Instinct in war dictates attacking the proximate enemy, a duty of all soldiers. By exploiting this technique, Zhuge Liang continuously shifted deployments, making several Northern Huns, which would otherwise be challenging to address, redirect along the crushing path of the Trap Formation.