Chapter 827: Breaking the Formation

After Zhao Yun charged into the formation, he followed Jia Xu’s instructions, unleashing various large-scale attacks. His objective wasn’t necessarily to kill the enemy but to change the terrain, leaving the battlefield riddled with craters from his strikes.

Since Xu Shou’s Xuanxiang Formation was designed primarily to confuse and not to focus on combat strength, whenever Zhao Yun's White Horse Cavalry encountered Qu Yi’s Xian Deng Guard, they would clash briefly before the Xian Deng soldiers would slip away like eels. Zhao Yun would carve a straight path, and they would evade him along that line. With their immense speed, Qu Yi and his troops were left eating dust. The Xian Deng Guard couldn’t match the speed of the White Horse Cavalry, making it impossible for them to catch up.

If not for Xu Shou’s Xuanxiang Formation, which prioritized confusion and directed all its combat power into the Xian Deng Guard, the White Horse Cavalry would have had a much harder time maneuvering. Normally, such a formation could block the lightly armored White Horse Cavalry, and the heavily armed Xian Deng, trained in using crossbows, could have easily taught the cavalry a hard lesson by restricting their movement.

But there were no "what-ifs." Zhao Yun’s cavalry continued to dash around the battlefield freely while Qu Yi could only trail behind, kicking up dirt in frustration. As for the formation’s confusing effects, Zhao Yun dealt with it by having his White Horse Cavalry alter the landscape. Jia Xu, having witnessed Zhao Yun’s technique "Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix," knew that as long as Zhao Yun attacked in a straight line, the Xuanxiang Formation couldn’t manipulate the attack into a curve. The most it could do was misalign the angle slightly, but that would be enough for Zhao Yun to dismantle the formation.

“What is going on?” Xu Shou muttered in confusion as he observed the White Horse Cavalry wreaking havoc inside the formation. Their movements seemed to have little impact on the overall structure of the formation.

Xu Shou soon realized that because the White Horse Cavalry was so fast, the Xuanxiang Formation hadn’t gone through enough layers of transformation to confuse them. Zhao Yun’s forces simply sped past, and while the formation managed to trap a few dozen of the White Horse soldiers each time, it was nothing like the earlier phases, where the confusion could ensnare just the right number of enemies with each shift.

To Xu Shou, as long as the formation kept working, the fate of the White Horse Cavalry was only a matter of time. The real threat lay in the Xian Deng Guard, and Xu Shou saw no sign that Zhao Yun’s forces could take them down. Without significant combat power aimed at the core of the Xuanxiang Formation, there was no way to truly shatter it.

"Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix!" Zhao Yun shouted, and a fiery phoenix-shaped burst of energy shot from his spear. Earlier, he had briefly crossed swords with Zhang He, but the latter had quickly withdrawn to an unreachable position. Now, with no hesitation, Zhao Yun unleashed his most powerful strike, as per Jia Xu’s instructions.

As Zhao Yun unleashed the attack, his face noticeably paled. This strike had drawn on a third of the White Horse Cavalry’s collective strength, draining him significantly. Nonetheless, after completing the attack, Zhao Yun immediately swung his sword to his left, leaving a hundred-meter-long gash on the battlefield. Without even checking if his strike hit anyone, he charged to the left, with the White Horse Cavalry following closely behind.

Damn, I’ve already lost over forty men! The rate at which they’re disappearing is increasing. I can’t stay here any longer.

Zhao Yun realized that yet another squad of White Horse Cavalry had vanished during his last turn. Fury surged within him, but with Jia Xu’s strict orders still in mind, he reined in his impulse to turn back and search for them. No matter how dangerous the situation behind him, Zhao Yun wasn’t willing to let his men disappear like this, but Jia Xu’s orders were absolute.

"Move!" Zhao Yun bellowed, directing his rage into a furious charge to the left. His mission was complete. But just as he set his horse into motion, he encountered Qu Yi and the Xian Deng Guard. At that moment, Zhao Yun’s pent-up anger exploded as he unleashed his fury on the enemy. The White Horse Cavalry wheeled around the Xian Deng in a wide arc, and a storm of arrows rained down on them.

"Zhao Yun, today you and your White Horse Cavalry will meet your end!" Qu Yi taunted Zhao Yun mercilessly. He wasn’t afraid of Zhao Yun engaging his Xian Deng Guard head-on; his biggest concern was that Zhao Yun would simply turn and flee.

Although the Xian Deng Guard was arguably the most elite force in the land, one thing remained unchanged: the White Horse Cavalry was still the fastest, most agile, and quickest-striking cavalry unit in existence. No matter how powerful a military unit was, none could outrun the White Horse Cavalry as long as there were no obstacles in their path.

After circling the Xian Deng Guard with a flurry of arrows, Zhao Yun sneered at Qu Yi, flashing a look of disdain before leading his cavalry away, leaving the Xian Deng Guard standing there, ready for battle but left behind. Zhao Yun wasn’t foolish enough to engage them in a prolonged fight.

As Zhao Yun’s spear strike landed, it pierced straight through Yuan Shao’s Xuanxiang Formation. While the attack only managed to kill a few dozen soldiers in a straight line, most of its power was expended outside the formation itself.

"Haha! So it works just like I thought!" Jia Xu laughed, watching the outcome. By now, Guo Jia had caught on, looking at Jia Xu with an expression of astonishment.

"Zichuan, link up with everyone. Whether it's through the army's cloud energy or their shared will, channel everything into General Guan. Have him strike along the path where Zilong’s previous attack landed!" Jia Xu instructed with a smile.

"Huh?" Chen Xi was puzzled, but seeing Guo Jia nodding in agreement with a similar expression, he complied without further question. Soon, the entire army’s cloud energy began to twist and converge, while Guan Yu, who had retreated earlier to prepare, felt a surge of immense power flowing into his body.

"So this is how the formation can be broken," Guo Jia sighed with a bitter smile, marveling at Jia Xu’s ingenious solution.

"My lord, after General Guan strikes, the enemy formation will be split in two, and their forces will be thrown into disarray. Please lead our troops to take advantage of this opportunity and break through!" Jia Xu bowed respectfully to Liu Bei, making it clear that this was a prime moment for Liu Bei to gain renown.

Guan Yu’s momentum built steadily as his phoenix eyes snapped open. The Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hands flared with intense light. He swung the blade down in one mighty strike, connecting heaven and earth. With a deafening roar and a violent storm accompanying it, the blade cleaved into Yuan Shao’s army, slashing through their formation.

With a thunderous crash, the strike obliterated Yuan Shao’s Xuanxiang Formation, expending a fifth of Liu Bei’s army’s collective strength. A two-meter-wide, miles-long gash appeared in the ground before Guan Yu’s horse, stretching all the way to the Yellow River. Though Guan Yu’s face paled, his spirit was unshaken. As soon as he saw the enemy formation falter, he led the charge forward.

"As expected," Jia Xu mused. "Zilong’s attack disrupted the terrain, and once the soldiers moved into that area, they couldn’t follow the original commands. The formation is indeed formidable, but in the end, humans are still humans. After enough pressure, the accumulated tension and the weakened structure allowed that strike to shatter it."

With a slight tilt of his head, Jia Xu watched the battlefield with an expression of serene indifference.

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