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… …
