Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 666 - 631: Still Have to Do It Myself
Let’s not talk about Zhao Yun’s current melancholy; Chen Chi’s mighty army had already pressed against Tian Feng’s Stronghold with heavy crossbows and chariot crossbows. Yet Yuan Shao’s soldiers were not to be trifled with either, as they were all battle-hardened, and under the leadership of a large number of lower and middle-tier officers, they relied on the stronghold, holding great shields and counterattacking with bows and arrows.
"Boom!" A loud noise rang out as a crossbow bolt, almost as thick as an arm, finally pierced the perimeter of Tian Feng’s Stronghold. Then, a large volley of bed crossbow shots were fired, punching a huge hole in the outer fence of the stronghold. Using bed crossbows to intimidate the enemy forces was one thing, but to destroy buildings was the correct use of bed crossbows.
Chen Chi continued to order his troops to launch a fierce attack on the damaged part of Tian Feng’s Stronghold, while Garrison Commander Jiang Gong and others immediately gave the command to their subordinates, lifting the few large shields they had and advancing toward Tian Feng’s Stronghold at the forefront.
"Hmph, if not for the fact that our cavalry has not yet taken their position, your current formation would certainly be made to suffer," Jiang Qi sneered as he ordered Zhu Han’s troops to block the advance, bolstering them. The morale of Hebei Army was not weaker than Liu Bei’s Army, and their will to fight was just as strong. Zhu Han led his private troops to clash with Jiang Gong at the gap in the fence, and both sides immediately began to fight fiercely in that narrow space.
"Sima Ju, Wang Fu, each of you lead a garrison to press forward and tear down that fence for me. Xu Zhu, prepare to attack the fence of Tian Feng’s Stronghold," ordered Chen Chi, waving the great flag, and the soldiers of another two garrisons pressed forward, ready to seize the opportunity to tear open the outer fence of Tian Feng’s Stronghold.
"Order Zhu Han to fight vigorously after the enemy reinforces this position, and then show signs of being overwhelmed, enticing the enemy to launch a strong attack here!" Jiang Qi immediately issued a new command after Zhu Han blocked the breach.
"Yes!" the messenger soldier immediately responded.
"Liu Xian, Liu Yu, prepare to fight a bloody battle there. Don’t push the enemy out; fight and retreat to make the enemy feel that this defense line is about to break, but do not let them completely destroy the fence!" Jiang Qi said in a steady tone to Liu Xian and Liu Yu, without the slightest concern for Jiang Gong’s charge.
Soon, led by Sima Ju and Wang Fu, their respective troops charged against Yuan Shao’s Army’s rain of arrows. Sure enough, once the troops pressed forward, several soldiers broke through, forcing Zhu Han to retreat.
Just as Jiang Gong and others were about to break through Zhu Han’s defense, Liu Xian and Liu Yu arrived in time. The originally teetering defense line was immediately stabilized once more, and both sides engaged in a fierce battle in that cramped territory. One moment, Liu Bei’s Army advanced; the next, Yuan Shao’s Army exerted their force and pushed Liu Bei’s Army back out.
All three private troops of both sides fought in that small area. Although Liu Bei’s Army’s morale was sky-high and their combat power was stronger than Yuan Shao’s, the breach was not big enough to accommodate more than a few dozen soldiers fighting at once. Even though Jiang Gong and his men were close to breaking through, the arrival of Yuan Shao’s new army meant that they had no good way to defeat them.
"This is troublesome, but it’s also good," Chen Chi’s face darkened a bit. Marshal Chen had handed over the direct command of the General’s Legion to him precisely because his previous command of troops had been excellent, intending to give him an opportunity, but he had not expected the enemy to be so difficult this time.
"Gong Xi, you are too hasty. Don’t focus only on one spot," Chen Xi remarked as he listened to the report from the messenger soldier and understood the situation ahead. It was clear that the breach was designed to lure them into a strong attack.
"A ruse, huh?" Chen Chi’s face darkened instantly, as he understood what was happening.
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.
"Never mind, I’ll help you out. Utilizing the soldiers’ strength is one way, but when the battle is at a stalemate, it’s better to reduce the soldiers’ strength and highlight the role of the generals. Order Xu Zhu to withdraw the Cloud Qi and launch a strong attack!" Chen Xi stood up, unable to watch any longer.
Chen Xi acknowledged that Chen Chi had a good grasp on the strength of the soldiers, but the enemy commander was not bad either. Simply relying on the morale and will of the infantry was no longer effective, as Yuan Shao’s Army was not inferior.
"Call upon Cloud Qi for a strong attack? If it doesn’t succeed in one hit, our side’s Cloud Qi will suffer depletion, leading to an overall decline in the army’s strength," Chen Chi turned and said to Chen Xi.
"Continuing this stalemate will cause even greater damage to our army. A quick battle and quick resolution is essential. General Guan lured Yann Liang away with the same idea in mind. As for the overall decrease in the army’s strength due to the diversion of Cloud Qi, as long as we break through the enemy’s stronghold and crush their morale, it’s all insignificant," Chen Xi stood up and said coldly.
Chen Chi’s way of commanding troops wasn’t suited for this kind of battle, just like during the battle of Qingzhou. If it weren’t for Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, and Zhang Fei directly crushing the morale of the million Yellow Turbans, even with the elite Mount Tai Army, there would have been only death awaiting them, surely ground down to extinction.
As for the diversion of Cloud Qi to unleash super attacks, causing the strength of each of the four to decrease to fifty percent of their original, what of it? The enemy’s morale collapsed, and even if there was only thirty percent remaining, it still meant victory.
"Pass my command, order Xuu Zhu to mobilize Cloud Qi to trigger a super attack, to strike true within three slashes!" Chen Xi rose and spoke to the messenger. As for Chen Chi, he could stick to defensive battles in the future, offense was not his forte.
"General, Marshal Chen orders you to divert Cloud Qi for a devastating attack, to strike true within three moves!" A messenger rushed over to relay the command to Xuu Zhu.
"Brothers, grab your weapons and get ready to go up!" Xuu Zhu roared, drawing out his Nine-Ring Elephant Trunk Saber and frantically drawing upon the army’s Cloud Qi, then a hundreds of meters long attack was unleashed directly from the edge of Xuu Zhu’s saber!
"Pfft!" The dark Light Blade struck into Yuan Shao’s Army’s Cloud Qi, dissipating quickly, but that section of Yuan Shao’s Army’s Cloud Qi also became significantly thinner in an instant,
"Not good!" Jiangh Qi was taken aback and immediately circulated Cloud Qi to reinforce the weakened area, but Xuu Zhu’s second slash followed swiftly. This time, the hundreds of meters long Light Blade shattered the weakened Cloud Qi, yet it consumed a huge amount of energy, leaving only enough force to kill dozens of Yuan Shao’s soldiers.
"It’s too late, doesn’t matter anymore, order the entire army to attack!" Jiangh Qi, upon seeing a breach in the Cloud Qi, was shocked and then gritted his teeth, directly issuing the command for the entire army to charge!
"Break for me!" Xuu Zhu drew upon all the strength he could muster this time, including all of his Inner Qi, and with that, the dark Light Blade, nearly five hundred meters long, was unleashed. Xuu Zhu diagonally slashed his Great Sword, tearing down a large section of the palisade and in the process, took the lives of hundreds of Yuan Shao’s soldiers.
The moment Jiangh Qi’s command was issued, archers within Yuan Shao’s Army’s palisade immediately launched a volley. This time, the Liu Bei soldiers who were struck received serious injuries, as the Cloud Qi had been diverted by Xuu Zhu, the vanguard hadn’t reacted in time, and the thinning of Cloud Qi naturally resulted in reduced defense.
"All troops charge, command the cavalry ambushed earlier to cross from the left and right, and slice the waist of Yuan Shao’s charging army for me," Chen Xi said with a cold laugh. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcomed to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com), and your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
