Chapter 825: The Initial Battle Formation of Xuanxiang

"If it were me, I would definitely use the Xian Deng Guard as the spearhead. If we break their vanguard, their front lines will collapse, and even the Xian Deng Guard won't be able to stop it," Lu Su interjected from the side. He had confidence in the Xian Deng Guard's combat power, even though it was an enemy unit.

"There must be some other plan," Chen Xi shook his head. He couldn't quite understand it. The Xian Deng Guard was clearly the sharpest blade, but keeping it sheathed served no purpose. As for using them as bodyguards, it seemed wasteful to keep such fierce warriors confined to mere defense.

At that moment, Yuan Shao's army suddenly unleashed a volley of arrows. Several successive waves followed, creating a gap between Yuan Shao's and Liu Bei's forces. Then, Yuan Shao's formation swiftly shifted.

"Is Yuan Shao looking to die?" Lu Su muttered in confusion, turning to Chen Xi. He didn’t care about the cold anymore, and he placed his hand on the chariot, gazing toward Yuan Shao’s direction, noticing the disarray in his opponent’s army.

From what Chen Xi knew about formations and troop movements, those who attempted to change formations mid-battle were either novices or masters. In the middle of a war, only someone suicidal or a true expert would dare to change formations. Li You had once explicitly stated that if an enemy could shift formations mid-battle without falling into chaos, the best strategy was to avoid direct confrontation and crush them with superior numbers.

"It does seem like suicide. The enemy’s formation is in complete disarray. The war chariots are out of sync, and the once orderly soldiers are becoming noisy and chaotic," Chen Xi said as he leaned half his body out of the chariot to get a better look. With the cold mist now dissipated, he could clearly observe the enemy's movements.

"Indeed," Liu Bei nodded, his face also showing signs of confusion. Even if Yuan Shao was foolish, he shouldn’t be making such a disastrous move. This sudden shift would only give them the perfect opportunity to strike and break the stalemate.

"No matter the reason, order the central army and the flanking forces to press the attack and take advantage of this chaos to break Yuan Shao's army!" Liu Bei gave the order after a brief moment of thought. He had already noticed that Yuan Shao's army’s cloud energy was beginning to dissipate.

"Charge!" At Liu Bei's command, Sun Guan, Sun Kang, Wu Dun, Yin Li, and over six thousand soldiers with shields and crossbows charged forward from the flanks, like two giant shears cutting into Yuan Shao’s army.

"Something doesn’t feel right," Guo Jia muttered, frowning as he stared at the clouds above Yuan Shao's forces. But soon, he confirmed that the cloud energy was indeed thinning.

Sun Guan and his troops quickly tore into Yuan Shao's forces, wreaking havoc. It was as if tigers had leaped into a herd of sheep, plunging straight into the heart of Yuan Shao’s army and causing utter chaos.

"My lord, quickly send General Zhao and General Guan to attack together! This isn't the result of Yuan Shao’s army falling into disarray; we’ve been deceived by their formation. Close your eyes and listen to the rhythm of Yuan Shao’s army. Don’t trust what you see!" Guo Jia suddenly stood up and addressed Liu Bei. After Sun Guan's forces penetrated Yuan Shao’s army, Guo Jia sensed something was amiss.

Liu Bei closed his eyes in confusion, and when he opened them again, he was shocked. "Fengxiao, do you have a way to break this formation? What I hear and what I see don’t align at all. What kind of formation is this?"

"It’s the Xuanxiang Formation, and likely an early version with no significant changes. The main purpose of this formation is to deceive the enemy, making it difficult to gauge the strength of the forces within, confusing real troops with illusions and blending the weak with the strong," Guo Jia was about to respond, but Jia Xu spoke first.

"This formation can only be broken from within. Attacking from the outside is useless; the only way to defeat it is by collapsing the central core. But even then, the concept of a central core is just a metaphor," Guo Jia raised a finger and explained. The most challenging aspect of the Xuanxiang Formation was that its weak point constantly shifted within.

"The strongest point of this formation is always changing and moving. The original Xuanxiang Formation was known for its constant transformations, but this kind of formation shouldn't even be possible to deploy," Jia Xu remarked with a strange expression.

"This is a dead formation. Xu Shou can only replicate the Xuanxiang Formation’s superficial changes. He cannot continuously adjust the formation, and the strongest point is likely...," Chen Xi suddenly realized something and looked up at the others.

"The Xian Deng Guard!" All four men gritted their teeth in unison. The Xian Deng Guard was renowned for being the sharpest spear in the world. Though they might claim to be the world’s most elite, those in the know recognized a touch of self-aggrandizement in that claim, yet it wasn’t without merit.

"Break the Xian Deng Guard? In the middle of this disorienting formation? Are you joking? Fengxiao, do you have any other ideas?" Chen Xi asked, knowing how impossible this task seemed.

"Xu Shou's Xuanxiang Formation may be constantly shifting, but fundamentally it’s a dead formation, meant to confuse us. It can’t be too drastic, and Yuan Shao’s troops aren’t trained well enough to execute rapid changes. So, we can try using the Fish Scale Formation to pierce through the northwest flank!" Jia Xu suggested after observing the enemy formation.

"Huh? Why the northwest flank, and why use a reckless formation like the Fish Scale Formation?" Even Guo Jia was baffled. While he didn’t have a surefire strategy to break the formation, his method would have led to mutual destruction at best, possibly even worse.

"Since this is a flawed version of the Xuanxiang Formation, I doubt Xu Shou would risk altering it too much. I bet he won’t dare attempt a full transformation, as doing so could throw the Xian Deng Guard into chaos, and then..." Jia Xu grinned coldly. The danger of relying on such a fragile trick was that once it was exposed, it could backfire spectacularly.

"In that case, we might as well try it," Liu Bei said, seeing that the others had no objections. He immediately accepted Jia Xu’s suggestion and ordered Zhao Yun's elite cavalry and the Tiger Guard to circle around and launch a Fish Scale Formation assault on the northwest flank of Yuan Shao’s forces.

When Zhao Yun received the order, he had already been circling Yuan Shao’s army, searching for a weakness. Although he had seen several vulnerabilities, his instincts told him that these were traps meant to lure them in.

[Attack the northwest flank to break the formation? How could that break the formation? This is the authentic Xuanxiang Formation, the prototype from which the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation and even higher-level formations were derived. Xu Shou wouldn’t use it without careful preparation. Rather than risking that, we should bet on Qu Yi’s mentality.]

Jia Xu gazed at the enemy with a calm expression, as if fully confident in breaking the formation. In truth, he was inwardly laughing coldly. With his mental prowess, he knew that leading a direct charge would at best result in mutual destruction.

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