Chapter Four Hundred and Thirty Four – Formation Change
Ming Lie hadn't even managed to send out an order before his field of vision widened. They had completely broken through the other's encirclement!
But Ming Lie did not feel any joy at all. His heart slowly sank. The other's reaction speed was faster than he could have ever imagined. They did not face their charge at all, only tightly following them, attacking and then retreating at once. If his own force was a screw that was spinning at high speed, then the enemy were the threads that wrapped themselves around it.
Even worse was that due to the other's response, they were gradually losing speed.
Speed was most important factor of a charging assault. If they lost speed, these bothersome enemies that were like strings would instantly completely encircle them. At that time, they would end up in an even more reactive situation.
The enemies roaming around them were like cunning packs of wolves. They would gather and scatter abruptly like the wind.
"Twinkling Brilliance Formation!"[i]
Ming Lie quickly made a decision. The troop that had been attacking at high speed seemed to curl up like a worm. In a blink, they switched from the Wood's Horn Formation to the Twinkling Brilliance Formation. This meant that from this moment, they switched from assault to defense.
It had to be said that Ming Lie had some skill. The two had only fought for two rounds, and he had already detected the problem. His reactive ability was slower than his foe's, and his sword xiu were not as experienced as the other's. Understanding his disadvantages, Ming Lei decided to to pull the rhythm of battle into formation battle.
Formation fighting was different than encounter fighting.
If fighting encounters were determined by the experience and reaction of the sword xiu, then formation battle competed on the battle determination and quality of the two sides as well as the average strength of the sword xiu.
In this area, Ming Lie had absolute confidence!
Every sword xiu of his battalion had been carefully selected from different sects. The lowest cultivation among them was second stratum ningmai. Each person also had their unique skill, and they had never slacked off in daily training. He dared to state that they were an elite force.
If he had to say what weakness this troop had, then it would be that they had not gone through the test of battle.
Formation fighting was undoubtedly more suitable for them.
The front and the back ranks joined up, so Ming Lie Battalion quickly set down layers of defenses. It was possible to see their training from this. From an assault formation to a defensive formation, the entire process was smooth and natural, completed in an extremely short amount of time.
Battalions were a very unique group in Four Realm Heaven. No matter what type of xiuzhe, the stronger they were, the bigger their temper. Normal xiuzhe were not willing to go to a place like battalion where they had to follow the rules. For battle generals, the obedience of his subordinates was more important than having individual power.
The benefits from being in a battalion were better than other places, but jindan xiuzhe would not be badly treated no matter where they went. Who was willing to go to a battalion to suffer that?
This was also why Kun Lun Realm had countless sects, but there were not many sects that had battalions. Only colossal entities like Kun Lun, that controlled an enormous population, could selectively choose the xiuzhe who fit their requirements. The sword xiu that came from subordinate sects were trained in a completely different manner than normal disciples. From a young age, they were trained in the manner of battalions.
All the members of Ming Lie Battalion were such cultivators.
Quickly entering defense mode, no one panicked. Everyone methodically entered their own positions.
Vermillion Bird Camp went along with the flow and took back the advantage of the battlefield. With a woosh, they completed the encirclement again.
The two landed in a standoff again.
Gongsun Cha understood what the other was planning with slight thought. He couldn't help but feel slight amazement. It seem the other battle general wasn't an idiot. To be able to notice their own weakness in such a short amount of time and intelligently use their advantage, not every person could do this. This person who had come from Kun Lun had not had the so-called pride of fame go to their head, that really wasn't easy.
However ... ...
He wasn't a match for encounter battle, so would he be able to reverse it for formation battle?
A barely discernable smile flashed on Gongsun Cha's lips. It did not cause anyone warmth and was like a blade that appeared in the air!
Finishing their encirclement, Vermillion Bird Camp did not rashly attack but instead seemed to be waiting.
———
"Daren, what are they planning?" the subordinate spoke with puzzlement. He was confused by that dazzling series of changes.
Liang Wei tightly stared at the battlefield and said without turning his head, "They are planning to have a formation battle."
"Formation battle?" The subordinate was even more confused.
Liang Wei did not explain, and deep wariness flashed through his eyes. The battle generals on the two sides were both very powerful. If it was him, he didn't dare to guarantee that he could best them.
It might have been alright for him to lose to Ming Lie Battalion. He did not know their name, but the Kun Lun emblems on their bodies was too eye-catching. It was possible to see with a glance. A battalion of Kun Lun, it was natural they would not be lacking. What shocked him the most was the battle general inside the black ship!
This unknown and mysterious battle general had forcibly suppressed this battalion from Kun Lun from the beginning till now.
If using poison could have been called trickery, then the collision he just saw now was not; it was a demonstration of skill.
His eyes didn't dare to waver because he believed what would be coming next would be an even crueler formation battle!
In an instant, his pupils suddenly shrank. This wasn't right!
Having finished surrounding the enemy, the black ship sword xiu looked as though they were roaming aimlessly around the outside.
But there seemed to be a structure that gradually became clear between these sword xiu.
This was ... ...
A battle formation! It definitely was a kind of battle formation!
Liang Wei did not feel any joy at his realization. His eyes were extremely wide, fearful of missing the slightest detail.
This was not strange. In reality, the xiuzhe, yao, and mo were very familiar with the formations of each camp. He was able to recognize Ming Lie's Battalion's Twinkling Brilliance Formation at a glance. But Liang Wei was unfamiliar with the formation of the black ship battle general.
What kind of battle formation would it be?
His mind moved quickly. He put himself in that position. If it was him, what battle formation would he use at this time?
Twinkling Brilliance Formation was a defensive formation, but it did not emphasize defense. Rather, it was famed for its ability to change. There were many variations of Twinkling Brilliance Formation. Every setup had many modifications, and it was liked by xiuzhe battle generals due to this.
What battle formation was suitable for defeating the Twinkling Brilliance Battle Formation?
The indiscernible lines and structures in Liang Wei's eyes gradually became clear, and his curiosity was also drawn out. The skill that the black ship battle general had shown was very high, and filled him with anticipation.
The structure finally became clear.
Little teams that spun were like a pile of gears shoved together. They spun at high speeds without stopping.
"What battle formation is this?" Liang Wei's vice commander said what everyone was thinking.
Liang Wei did not know either, but he did not make a sound. He knew the mysterious black ship battle general definitely would not do something meaningless.
What they did not know was that in all the major yao jie, this type of battle formation was the most popular battle formation of the moment! When Xiao Mo Ge and Yu Heng had their battle, they had already reached the front lines. A battle maniac, Liang Wei took his troops and spent all their time roaming Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie in search of prey. They were completely ignorant of what had happened back home.
Everyone widened their eyes.
———
Zuo Mo opened his eyes, and they were filled with ecstasy!
Fulcrum! He finally found that fulcrum!
He hadn't just found that fulcrum, he finally understood how mo battle generals gathered everyone's power together.
The power of the flesh could not leave the cage of the body, but it could connect everyone's power through an unique method, resonance!
Yes, resonance!
Zuo Mo was not unfamiliar with resonance. This kind of scenario was repeatedly mentioned in low level forging, especially for forging items like Eight Treasure Sound Boxes. However, the resonance between the power of the body was much stronger than the resonance of low level talismans like Eight Treasure Sound Boxes. This was a kind of resonance that was invisible, it didn't have sound!
It was this kind of resonance that was able to gather everyone's power into one. The use of the battle general was to channel their own power and guide everyone along to complete group resonance.
This was a powerful ability!
Zuo Mo suddenly understood. It was like opening a new window into another mysterious world!
He also finally understood why the battle methods of mo battle generals were so strange. It was only the mo who had such strong bodies that could create such powerful vibrations and reach resonance!
Zuo Mo stood and secretly channeled the Great Day mo physique. He raised his head and saw a panicked A Wen. He laughed. "Don't be nervous." He then said, "What do you feel?"
A Wen hesitated and then said, "Like my body is not in my control, like something is pulling me, it's a very strange feeling."
"Try to channel your mo skill," Zuo Mo said right after.
Heart beating wildly, A Wen carefully channeled his mo skill. Threads of black smoke came out of his body and formed panels of black armor on the surface of his body. He quickly became covered in armor. The layers of light, slender, and long black feathers made him look like a large bird.
"Follow what I do," Zuo Mo said. Before he finished speaking, he suddenly threw out a punch!
A faint gold fist energy left his hand!
A Wen unhesitatingly flicked and thrust with his black spear. A black energy left his spear.
Yet what happened after that caused A Wen to widen his eyes.
The black energy he had release flew out of the spear point, and drew towards Zuo Mo's faint gold fist energy as though it was being attracted by an magnet.
In a blink, the black energy entered Zuo Mo's fist energy as though it was a baby sparrow returning to its nest!
The fist energy grew a sliver, the sound it created increasing and deepening as though something was shaking! In the center of the faint gold fist energy, a bean-sized, black dot was visible to see!
A Wen gaped!
What was this?
When the spear energy left the spear point, he had detected a great suctioning force. But he could also feel that he had not lost complete control of the spear energy.
Such a strange feeling!
Even though the Great and Little Mo Kill of the Crow Fiend Mo Killing Formation could gather many into one, but it felt completely different this time with Daren!
In front of A Wen, Zuo Mo grinned widely, his eyes lit up as he snickered dumbly.
Was there anything that embodied the method of many fighting against the few like this? No! Definitely not! This was undoubtedly the ultimate move for gang-fighting!
Ge really is a genius!
Zuo Mo became excited the more he thought, and eagerly ran towards Guard Camp.
If he was going to play, he was going to play big!
[i] Twinkling Brilliance is the seventh star of the Northern Dipper. This makes it a match for Ming Lie's Celestial Balance which is also a part of the Northern Dipper.
Translator Ramblings: All this stars and constellation stuff makes me think of twinkle twinkle little star. Also, Twinkling Brilliance is Wikipedia's translation. You have the Celestial Balance, the Celestial Pivot, the Jade Sighting-Tube, the opener of heat, and then ... ... twinkling brilliance... ...
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Chapter Four Hundred and Thirty Five – Red Eyes
Burning, beautiful streaks of light in the distance were the sword light energies from flying swords rushing by.
The light of fire, explosions, and all kinds of spells reflected against Liang Wei's handsome face. The scar on his face was like an earthworm struggling at the boundary of light and darkness.
He had stopped breathing. The upcoming climax to the battle caused the temperature of his blood to rocket up. His mouth and throat was dry, and there seemed to be a fire burning in his chest.
He suppressed the desire for combat in his chest. His stubborn gaze was focused and fanatical in the light.
But Liang Wei quickly frowned.
The two sides had not fully come into contact. They were still in the early stages of probing. In Liang Wei's eyes, the actions of the black ship sword xiu were somewhat amateurish. He couldn't help but be bewildered. Twinkling Brilliance Formation was not an obscure battle formation. Even though the Twinkling Brilliance Formation that these Kun Lun sword xiu used had many modifications, but it did not deviate significantly from the conventional structure of a Twinkling Brilliance Formation.
There were many methods to of deal with the Twinkling Brilliance Formation, but almost all the solutions followed one rule, attack the central defense area. The central defense area of the Twinkling Brilliance Formation was its strongest defensive area, but it was also the crux of the entire battle formation. If that was broken, the entire battle formation would quickly be defeated.
Twinkling Brilliance Battle Formation was one of the battle formations that xiuzhe battle generals most frequently used. Supposedly, the one who had created this battle formation was a sword xiu battle general. As a testament to its exceptional power, the formation had gained widespread usage in less than two hundred years.
The black ship's battle general seemed unfamiliar with the Twinkling Brilliance Formation. Compared to the spectacular command abilities he had shown earlier, the skill he showed now was as if a completely different person had taken command.
Had someone else taken control of their side?
Liang Wei found it weird.
———
Gongsun Cha really did not know the Twinkling Brilliance Battle Formation.
But his eyes were very powerful. The two seemed to just begun their face off, but this short face off was enough for Gongsun Cha to pay close attention to this unfamiliar battle formation.
The Twinkling Brilliance Battle Formation was really exceptional. It actually was the skeleton of a battle formation that gave enough room for battle generals to react to many situations as required. Ming Lie was very skilled in using the Twinkling Brilliance Battle Formation. This was his best battle formation, and his wariness of Gongsun Cha could be seen from this course of action.
But even though he was wary, Gongsun Cha did not panicked. He widened his eyes. The battle formation stirred his interest.
A very powerful formation!
Seven sword xiu to a group, groups that then interlocked. There were all kinds of illusory formations that had been carefully arranged. All of the xiu in each group tightly grasped their flying swords, waiting. But what shocked Gongsun Cha was not this profound battle formation, but the talismans that this group of people wore.
The entire battle formation was shrouded in the light of the talismans!
Seeing this, Gongsun Cha's eyes became red!
Compared to their enemies, they were just street beggars. Each of the sword xiu had one or two fourth-grade talismans, all the flying swords they had were also fourth-grade! Each of those jindan could be described as being bathed in the light of treasures, and it was blinding! Even more exaggerated was that the entire battle formation was covered in a layer of faint blue light.
The enemy even had large scale battle formation talismans!
When compared to his side, the talismans they had were mostly third-grade. The number of fourth-grade talismans could be counted on his fingers. The only thing that comforted them were the flying swords on their hands. They were all Gold Crystal flying swords that Zuo Mo had forged in the Golden Crystal Sand Sea for everyone.
But there were more than two thousand people in Vermillion Bird Camp. No matter how powerful Zuo Mo's Great Day Banded Flame was, it was a vast amount of work to forge more than two thousand flying swords. In order to save time, he had created a mass forging method that could forge twenty Gold Crystal flying swords in one go.
But the Gold Crystal flying swords created through this method were lacking compared to the ones he had forged at the start. Low fifth-grade, and each possessed two very practical formation techniques, [Sharpness] and [Air Sweep].
[Sharpness]increased the sharpness of the flying sword and [Air Sweep] greatly increase the speed of the flying sword. After great efforts the xiuzhe of Vermillion Bird Camp had basically all comprehended sword essence. These two formation techniques could be used to their full power in their hands.
Compared to the flying swords on their hands, the talismans on their bodies were really poor. No wonder Gongsun Cha's eyes turned red when he saw the light of the fourth-grade talismans on the enemy sword xiu.
Zuo Mo was greedy and money-hungry. His style of disliking individuals with good talismans had deeply influenced everyone else.
Without any additional motivation, the entire Vermillion Bird Camp seemed to be full of adrenaline, all of them excited as they greedily rubbed their hands, their faintly red eyes sweeping to and fro on talisman decorated bodies of the enemy sword xiu.
"Daren, let an go to test the waters," Lei Peng widened his eyes and rumbled with an innocent face.
The laziness on Ma Fan's face instantly disappeared. He spat out the grass stem in his mouth and silently raised a thumb up at Lei Peng. Hearing this, like magic, a mirror had appeared on Nian Lu's hand and he was combing his bangs in the mirror.
The other sword xiu of Sky Peak Platoon raised their chests and tried to seem very authoritative and brave.
Sly!
Someone got there first again!
The other divisions looked with unfriendliness at this group. Many people had vexed expressions. That Lei Peng looked like an idiot, but how come he could act so quickly?
Gongsun Cha thought and then nodded in consent. "Stay safe."
It was the first time he saw the battle formation. Letting Ma Fan and the others go to test the waters would allow him to see this formation clearly.
Ma Fan and the others were overjoyed. No matter what, they had gotten the accomplishment of the first strike!
Even the usually complacent Ma Fan was excited, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Brothers, we need to show these brats the power of our Sky Peak Platoon!"
Everyone in Sky Peak Platoon was eager to fight!
Ever since more and more people comprehended sword essence, the status of Sky Peak Platoon became more and more awkward. They also needed a victory to bolster the status of Sky Peak Platoon as the elite of Vermillion Bird Camp!
As all the members of Sky Peak Platoon assembled. Everyone's gazes landed on them.
———
Liang Wei did not speak, and the feeling of strangeness increased. When he saw a little team exit the black ship sword xiu, he was finally sure that the black ship battle general did not know the Twinkling Brilliance Battle Formation.
A battle general who did not recognize the Twinkling Brilliance Battle Formation?
This absurd conclusion was impossible to him, especially when he considered the spectacular command from earlier. The feeling of absurdity rose.
"No way, they don't even recognize the Twinkling Brilliance Battle Formation," a subordinate exclaimed.
"Maybe they have unorthodox training?" another subordinate spoke uncertainly.
Liang Wei paused to consider this and felt that it was plausible. Unorthodox battle generals were not uncommon. In truth, not every yao could attend a yao art house, and not every yao art house had the ability to educate a battle general. Only the yao art houses with great power had the ability to nurture battle generals.
Learning to be a battle general was a long process compared to learning yao arts. It was much harder to find the job, other than joining the military. Due to this, the yao who learned to be battle generals mostly came from rich families.
According to what Liang Wei knew, this situation wasn't just unique to the yao, xiuzhe, and mo had the same problem.
Unorthodox battle generals would occasionally have spectacular attacking abilities, but compared to educated orthodox battle generals, there was great differences in terms of their control and ability to assess a battle.
The he had thought that it was a yao battle general inside the boat because the other's battle had the flavor of yao, but now he wasn't so sure.
He also felt anticipation.
Unorthodox battle generals were full of unpredictability. This kind of unpredictability would usually cause them to be defeated, but this unpredictability would also create headaches for their opponents.
No one was willing to meet an opponent that did not act rationally.
———
Sky Peak Platoon charged into the Twinkling Brilliance Battle Formation.
The Twinkling Brilliance Battle Formation was a variant of the Northern Dipper Battle Formation. The entire battle formation was divided into seven intersecting areas. However, while other variations of the Northern Dipper Battle Formation used the Heavenly Pivot star as the center of the formation, the Twinkling Brilliance Battle Formation was creative in using the seventh star, the Twinkling Brilliance Star as the center of the formation.
There was a long history of sword xiu using the Northern Dipper Seven Star Formation in techniques. From the beginning sword scriptures, to the seven person formations, to mountain guarding formations, then to large scale battle formations, its structure could be found throughout the entire history of sword xiu development.
There were reasons that sword xiu preferred the seven star formation. The sword essence gathered through a seven star formation was very good, and it was multi-purpose as it could be used for both offense and defense.
However, Ma Fan truly lived up to being the former core under Lil' Miss. His tactical abilities were several levels above normal sword xiu. The position he chose to attack was very special.
The Northern Dipper Seven Star Formation was shaped like a spoon, and the place Ma Fan attacked was the place where the spoon and the handle joined, the Celestial Balance.
Entering the attack range of the other's battle formation, everyone felt their surroundings changes.
It was as though they suddenly entered a patch of grassland. Under their feet was a green carpet of grass that spread out endlessly. A curving great river was like a belt of jade that slowly flowed.
A gentle wind blew past. The smell of green grass that Ma Fan liked the most entered his nose.
An illusory formation!
Without needing his orders, the two sword xiu behind him shouted at the same time, two golden energies flew out of their hands and burrowing into the ground!
Boom-om-om!
The illusion of the grassland instantly shattered!
Sword xiu mostly were generally not skilled in illusory formations. The enemy had cast the illusory formation by relying on the talismans they were carrying. How could they stand up to the attack of fifth-grade flying swords?
The illusion broke, and the surroundings returned to normal. But seven sword energies had already reached them!
The other hadn't expected the illusory formation would trap them, it was a distraction. The attack that followed was the true killing move!
"Follow behind me!" Ma Fan shouted a reminder. His movements were fast, his flying sword lightly swinging and a transparent and irregular sword energy charged at the incoming sword energies like ripples of water!
This was a new sword move created from merging his [Illusory Shadowless Sword of Destruction] into [Clear Sky Sword Scripture].
When this move was combined with his third stage sword cultivation, its power was explosive!
The other members followed closely behind him, the flying swords in their hands unmoving as though they did not see the incoming sword energies.
The ripple and the incoming sword energies of various colors crashed together without any finesse!
Pew pew pew!
When the sword energies hit the ripple, it was like a handful of pebbles landing in water and created many ripples.
The water ripples and the sword energies were like two bubbles that hit each other, cancelling each other out they disappeared at the same time.
The faces of the sword xiu on the other side changed slightly, their pupils contracting!
Sword essence manifestation!
An elite!
Translator Ramblings: So poor, we are so poor, we only have fourth-grade talismans for a few thousand people. This reminds me how far Zuo Mo has come from his yellow paper crane that doesn't even have a grade.