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"Clashing with a Great Array is a perennial topic on the Central Plains battlefield."

"Not only during the era of humankind but even in the time of demons, when two top forces engage in battle, there’s no lack of such confrontations."

"After all, not all powers possess an abundance of low-end soldiers to serve as auxiliary; they can only muster resources to cultivate a small number of elite troops with noble bloodlines. Therefore, generally speaking, those with a Great Array actually have the initiative."

"War is a struggle for resources. Your elite tactic is a reluctant response to necessity, while I can simply keep my elite troops in reserve and use my lesser forces to wear you down, can’t I?"

"Normally, that’s indeed the case. A Great Array has a higher tolerance for mistakes and can sustain some breaches without collapsing, provided the formation controller is sufficiently skilled.

With ten times the troops, complete collapse is unlikely unless you manage to break through five key nodes in succession, which is almost impossible. "

"And even if you just breach one or two Formation nodes, although it will cause an overall decline in vitality, forcing a retreat, the losses won’t be excessively high."

"On the contrary, the elite tactic of a charging formation can’t afford losses. Once surrounded, it spells the annihilation of the entire army."

"This is why the Northern Wasteland, no matter what, cannot conquer the Central Plains. With scarce resources, one loss would cause significant damage, while the opponent can afford to lose ten times without serious consequences. That’s the key."

"But now, the situation is different..."

Deputy General Tian Yu looked at the distant, fierce battlefield and quickly analyzed, "For the Great Array to maintain stability, not only a large number of soldiers is required but also sufficiently strong Guard Commanders at the nodes. Otherwise, if the leading generals are too powerful, it is very possible for them to rapidly breach a node. When too many Formation nodes are broken, the whole Great Array falls into disarray, and no matter how you try to adjust, it’s futile. "

"The reason Murong Yunji became famous is due to her terrifying speed and the Wind Wolf Guard who could keep up with her.

Often in just a moment or two, they would take down the Guard Commander and by the time the cumbersome Great Array adjusts, Murong Yunji has already changed direction and attacked somewhere else, practically tearing us apart. "

Chen Baifeng bitter-smiled upon hearing this.

That year, Youyun lost sixteen cities, which enraged Your Majesty, but there really was no other option at the time.

Lumings and the Emperor did not easily go to war, and none of the remaining generals were guaranteed to hold against Murong Yunji.

At that time, Weichi Peng was still just a child.

"The current situation seems very similar," said Tian Yu in a low voice. "There appears to be more experts on the side of the Four Holy Guard!"

Chen Baifeng nodded; his eyesight wasn’t bad either.

The Four Holy Guard was divided into four teams for a fast attack, with each team further splitting into four squads, seemingly made up of about a thousand men each.

This scattered attack method is a standard tactic for elite strike forces, but the leaders of those teams were frighteningly strong.

They led the charge with immense momentum, casually taking the lives of four or five transcendent soldiers with each blow. With such overwhelming power and presence, even his True Dragon physique wouldn’t last more than a few blows against them!

"The Imperial Court’s army has strong Guard Commanders, and their Deputy Generals seem stronger than I am. But they’re no match for the Four Holy Guard leaders. Those leading generals are on par with the ones who once kidnapped our boss; almost each of them is equivalent to our boss’s level!"

Chen Baifeng furrowed his brows upon hearing this.

The Ancient Demon Clan indeed had a deep foundation.

In the forces of Chen Qing, a person like Tian Heng would at least rank in the top three, yet here, any charging general seemed to match him in strength.

No wonder they dared to directly charge at the formidable Ghost Army of the Siao Family.

"Logically, with the overall quality of the Four Holy Guard almost ten times higher than that of the Ghost Army, and their leaders vastly surpassing the Imperial Court’s Guard Commanders, this battle should be a certain defeat.

No formation could stand against such absolutely overwhelming force, but. .."

There was an anomaly there!

He had lived his life halfway through, and it was the first time he’d witnessed such a scenario...

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"Isn’t this guy a bit too much of a handful?"

At this moment, even Zhang Xiaoyun, who dared not join the battle, had an extremely unsightly expression.

He was of the Imperial Clan bloodline, and having lost Fei Jun’s physique, it was impossible to just pair up with another Four Holy Guard’s body at this time; he could only watch from a safe distance.

Yet, he was on pins and needles right now, because the army’s assault was a risky move. Although they left behind two thousand of the Four Holy Guard, nobody could be sure if someone else might target them.

He had originally thought that, given the quality of the Four Holy Guard and the overwhelming quality of their leaders, capturing them should be simple, especially since both the Emperor and Empress were disabled.

But he hadn’t anticipated that things would not be so simple!

The only high-end combatant left on the opposing side could actually achieve to that extent!

Even the war priest embroiled in the midst had been incredibly surprised.

He had already tried to overestimate that guy but hadn’t expected the opponent to be even more outrageous than he thought, managing to single-handedly hold back sixteen generals!

Yes, sixteen!

It’s often said that one can be stretched too thin, but this guy was different; he possessed extremely terrifying speed and assassination skills which even he dreaded immensely.

On his side, the sixteen lead generals were all nobility of the Ancient Demon Clan. Although their strengths were not equivalent to a priest’s, they were incredibly close, at least on par with Tian Heng.

Logically, they should have been able to take down the node guard commanders in the enemy’s big formation in one encounter, but a quarter of an hour had passed, and still, not a single front had fallen!

Because it was all because of him alone!

His exaggerated speed and top-notch assassination skills had become the shadow everyone feared to face head-on.

Whenever anyone had a chance to kill the enemy general, they would feel a chilling presence as unrelenting as a shadow, and in that moment, everyone knew that if they didn’t pull back to defend, they would surely die!

However, once they pulled back, the enemy generals would regroup, and to find another opportunity would require an unknown amount of preamble.

And these Ghost Generals had rich fighting experience to boot, far from easy kills.

This had led to a very awkward tactical stalemate.

It would take at least ten bouts to take down an enemy general, and as the battle evolved with the enemy growing more familiar with his own tactics, this limit only stretched further.

But each time he was close to a kill, that chilling feeling would emerge, leaving him always one breath short of success.

Yet his forces were meant to breach the enemy’s, and as time dragged on, losing their momentum meant dying themselves!

Yet, frustratingly, they had no means to counter; that effeminate man was like a specter, seemingly able to support anywhere on the battlefield!

Had it been in the past, they never would have imagined the outcome of a battle being decided by an assassin!

Even the war priest, named for combat itself, was somewhat stupefied now. His bloodline had inherited countless battlefield arts, but this was the first time he had seen such a strategy. It was quite the eye-opener!

"Priest sir, what should we do now..."

His deputy general’s face was also clouded with gloom, evidently not expecting the situation to develop this way either!

The priest remained silent, knowing full well the capabilities of Sparrow Bee.

To say who could stop him – only he himself could but.

.. As a priest and the supreme commander, to personally engage one-on-one with that Sparrow Bee would undoubtedly place the entire war’s outcome upon personal bravery, a great taboo in military strategy!

But if he didn’t take action, as things went on... his own soldiers’ stamina, he feared...

To act or not to act?

He had always thought of himself as a resolute general, but it seemed now that was not entirely the case...