Chapter 157: Action (Fifteen) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
A skilled strategist seeks advantage from the situation, not from blaming others.
Its momentum is like a drawn crossbow, and its timing is like the release of a trigger.
This Captain Yang was no novice on the battlefield, but his astonishing performance indirectly confirmed one thing—
His lack of success over the years is not without reason.
Several subordinates gathered around.
They either looked solemn or anxiously pleaded for help.
Among them were veterans who had followed Commandant Yang for many years, as well as newly promoted subordinates in the past two years. They had little combat experience and had mostly participated in bandit suppression. Most of those bandits were forced to become outlaws because they couldn't survive, while the rest were probably thugs who had wandered over from nearby counties. Seven or eight out of ten of them were ordinary people.
Dealing with them is naturally not difficult.
However, the enemy's first appearance consisted of two unfamiliar scholars whose strength and background were unknown, and who knows how many troops were hidden in the shadows. Before they could even see the enemy's faces, more than forty soldiers in the camp had already committed suicide, their blood splattering and covering the wooden carts.
The impact of this scene was far greater than that of the bandits who had little ability to resist. The subordinate, who was used to reading his superiors' moods, was terrified.
For a moment, he forgot that he himself was also a martial arts master.
"Captain—"
Another subordinate officer beside him elbowed him directly.
Why are you making such a loud noise?
They were afraid the enemy wouldn't know where the captain was.
To shoot a man, first shoot his horse; to capture a thief, first capture his king.
Commander Yang snapped out of his daze, only realizing his mistake a beat or two later. Just as he was about to intervene, Zhai Le had already done what he was supposed to do. The young man in black armor remained calm and decisive, showing no sign of panic.
For a moment, I thought he was the commander.
Commander Yang felt no displeasure. With a formidable enemy at hand, defending against them was the top priority, and personal grudges could be put aside.
There were one thousand soldiers in the camp.
As a seventh-rank duke, Zhai Le could choose to convert 350 soldiers or an equal number of soldiers, armor, and weapons.
Yang Duwei was a tenth-rank Left Vice Minister, and there were more of them than him, totaling five hundred. He originally wanted to join in, but was interrupted by Zhai Huan.
Zhai Huan's voice entered my ears in the form of a whisper.
He said, "Transform the troops! Form ranks! Gather momentum!"
This is already considered a command.
Commander Yang is indecisive by nature and suffers from decision-making difficulties. He also has a bad temper and is easily swayed by flattery. However, he is not without merits. One of his strengths is that he is obedient and has a strong ability to execute orders, doing them immediately.
As a tenth-rank Left Vice-Chief, and with the same martial aura soaring to the moon, the formation drawn up by Commandant Yang was more than twice as large as that of Zhai Le. The wave of energy completely dispelled the shadow brought by Chu Yao with overwhelming force.
The soldier, now fully conscious, stared at his comrade's corpse lying in a pool of blood, a chill running down his spine. He couldn't recall where the urge to commit suicide had come from... he only knew that he didn't want to live anymore.
As the military formation gained momentum, the intense desire to kill the enemy firmly took over, and an invisible force filled their limbs.
But then a third display of martial energy shooting towards the moon appeared.
Judging from his aura, he was only slightly weaker than Commandant Yang!
Zhai Huan was somewhat prepared, so she remained expressionless.
"Benevolence wins over the masses, courage enables decisiveness, and strictness establishes authority."
A general possesses five virtues: wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence, courage, and strictness.
Three streams of spiritual energy flowed into Commander Yang's body, causing his already powerful aura to surge even higher. In the blink of an eye, five hundred neatly dressed martial arts soldiers landed around the camp. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that their rattan armor was more solid and visibly more refined than usual, and their weapons were heavier and sharper.
At the same time, Chu Yao also activated the "Five Virtues of a General," but unlike Zhai Huan who only activated three, he activated all five simultaneously.
Instantly leveling the rank difference between Gong Shuwu and Commandant Yang.
Gong Shuwu was almost moved to tears.
Mr. Chu's skills are still sharp; his actions are exemplary.
He led his martial arts soldiers in formation and charged toward the temporary camp. The two sides' martial arts soldiers clashed with their shields, their shouts of battle deafening.
Martial Qi Soldiers, simply put, are puppet soldiers formed from condensed martial energy, lacking any independent fighting consciousness. Their strength is directly influenced by their commander. When the commander's aura is strong, they are strong; when the commander's aura is weak, they are weak, and may even lose the will to fight, abandoning their armor and fleeing.
Similarly, their attacks and coordination require human command; otherwise, they will blindly attack enemies outside their own territory.
In the midst of a chaotic battle, the destructive power of a high-level martial artist is immense.
Either both sides could comfortably remain in the rear and control their martial arts soldiers, or they could fight generals against generals and soldiers against soldiers to prevent high-ranking martial arts masters from harming ordinary soldiers. Commander Yang understood this better than anyone, and he handed over control of his martial arts soldiers almost without hesitation.
Prepare to expose the hidden adversary.
As long as the enemy leader is killed...
Zhai Le shared the same thought.
But what the two of them never expected was—
The enemy's leader was not the unfamiliar ninth-rank, fifth-grade physician, but someone else entirely. Almost before anyone could react, a figure charged towards Commandant Yang like a powerful projectile. The blade in this person's hand left a trail of white light in the air, and in the blink of an eye, he had moved from the edge of the temporary camp to the strongest person present—
Commander Yang remained calm and fearless. He mounted his horse, sword drawn, and unleashed a powerful slash that stretched over ten feet. The blade gleamed with a pale yellow light, and his warhorse, seemingly unable to bear the weight, let out a neigh.
With a clang!
The two weapons collided violently, creating a shockwave that sent ordinary soldiers staggering about in a sandstorm, further disrupting the already chaotic camp. The officers guarding the area tried to rush forward to help, but were caught off guard by the sudden rise of black and white aura beneath their feet.
The magical energy tightly coiled around the warhorse's hooves, causing it excruciating pain and making it whine incessantly. They could only watch as the charging enemy, instead of being cut in two by the sword energy, steadily stepped onto the horse's head, while simultaneously raising his foot to kick Yang Duwei's breastplate.
The kick, delivered with an unknown amount of force, sent Commandant Yang tumbling off his horse. Only then did the officials get a clear look at the newcomer: a tall, muscular man with a thick beard and a scarred face, dressed in a worn-out brown robe, his chest half-open, his muscles bulging.
This man also had a thuggish air about him; his trousers were rolled up high to above his knees, revealing two thick, muscular calves—the kind of guy an ordinary person would be tempted to hand over their wallet. The only thing that felt out of place was—
The burly man's weapon was neither a sledgehammer, a broadsword, nor a large axe, but a long and beautiful narrow sword.
The sword has a bright, slender blade and a simple, unadorned design. Its most striking feature is its hilt, which is entwined with nine golden dragons of different shapes. The eyes of the nine dragons are made of translucent gemstones, exuding a touch of luxury in its understated elegance. One can also faintly hear the sounds of gold and jade, as well as the roars of dragons and tigers.
The burly man showed absolutely no martial ethics when he attacked.
First, he violently kicked people off their horses, and then, taking advantage of the fact that several subordinates were preoccupied with the scholar's words, he stomped hard on the horse's neck and broke it.
The poor horse only had time to let out a short, pitiful wail before crashing to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. The burly man used the momentum to strike at Captain Yang. Admittedly, the burly man's attack was too unexpected, and Captain Yang suffered a minor loss due to being caught off guard.
But he wasn't in much of a sorry state.
|ω)
I wasn't feeling well yesterday, and while I was typing, I almost fell asleep on the keyboard. My face...
1. The Five Virtues of a General come from the Strategy chapter of "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. This article describes five types of enhancements, or five types of buffs.
2. [A skilled strategist seeks advantage from the situation, not from blaming others]: A person skilled in warfare always tries to create a favorable situation rather than making unreasonable demands on his subordinates.
【Its momentum is like a fully drawn bow, and its rhythm is like a crossbow ready to fire】: The perilous situation is like a fully drawn bow, and the rhythm of the attack is like a crossbow ready to fire.
These two sentences are also from the "Power" chapter, but they have been slightly modified and excerpted.
P.S.: I typed the "Five Virtues" incorrectly because I typed too fast. It has been corrected. It should be "Wisdom, Faith, Benevolence, Courage, and Strictness".
(End of this chapter)
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