Chapter 87

As the blue horse under him gradually became unable to support itself, Chen Hai reined in and stopped at the side of the training ground, looking at the bandits lying on the ground, their skin torn and muscles exhausted, unwilling to get up again. With a mocking smile, he asked, "Who among you can stand up and talk to me about how to cultivate this war spear?"

The bandits remained silent.

"You, I remember your name is Qi Hanjiang," Chen Hai placed the frost-tempered golden spear across his horse's back, leaned down, and called Qi Hanjiang over, saying, "Show me again the Mountain-Cleaving Spear Technique you learned in the brothel..."

Qi Hanjiang was not stupid and was usually fierce, but at this moment, with Chen Hai staring at him, he wished he could dig a hole and bury himself. Everyone laughed, seemingly forgetting that they had been punished just as severely as Qi Hanjiang.

Only the dozen or so skilled swordsmen thought more deeply. They were puzzled as to why their martial arts techniques could entangle the magical treasures and spirit swords of cultivators, yet Chen Hai, whose cultivation level was not particularly high and who had never used true essence, could simply use basic spear techniques and a warhorse to scatter them. They had no choice but to admit their inferiority.

"These useless fellows," seeing Zhou Jun and the others approaching, Chen Hai coldly ordered, "Add a handful of bitter lotus powder to their meals tonight and tomorrow morning to replenish their blood and qi!"

Hearing this, the sixty or so bandits could not help but groan. Bitter lotus powder was a good medicine for healing wounds and nourishing blood and qi, but it was bitter. Usually, it was made into pills or applied externally. Now, Chen Hai was ordering a large amount of bitter lotus powder to be mixed into the food, turning delicious, sizzling lamb legs and large pieces of beef into something as unpalatable as feces.

These bandits were in the stage of recuperating their bodies. They were collectively resisting training, which was not a major offense. Chen Hai could not use physical punishment or starve them, as it would deplete their physical and qi strength. He could only use this method to discipline them.

Unless they were willing to go hungry, they would have to swallow the food mixed with bitter lotus powder.

Zhao Shan and Shen Kun smiled slightly. These fellows still needed to be disciplined; otherwise, even the fiercest beasts would eventually be tamed.

"Starting tomorrow, after explaining the key points of the cavalry formation and spear techniques, everyone will use leather to wrap the blades and practice the cavalry formation. Zhou Shixiong, Wu Meng, Zhao Shan, and Shen Kun, you will form a triangular formation to charge and break their formation repeatedly. If they can force you to use defensive spells or magical treasures, they will return to normal meals. Otherwise, starting tomorrow, every meal will have a handful of bitter lotus powder mixed in. I don't believe I can't break their bad attitudes!"

Zhou Jun laughed and said, "If it's really like that, we won't need to practice in the copper man hall of the trial tower."

The trial tower had copper puppet warriors that could form a battle formation, and disciples could quickly improve their combat skills and adapt to the ever-changing battlefield. However, the cost of entering the copper man hall was not cheap.

Zhou Jingyuan smiled bitterly. This training method could discipline these unruly bandits, but the cost was staggering.

Although the blades were wrapped in leather to avoid serious injuries, the heavy war spears would still cause flesh wounds. Sixty to seventy doses of medicine a day would cost a lot of money.

Moreover, the cavalry formation practice, which emphasized leveraging the momentum of the warhorses, would be extremely damaging to the horses in such intense training.

Chen Su would only provide normal supplies, but the consumption under Chen Hai's training method would not just double or triple. They would need to find other ways to make up for the shortfall.

However, without a significant investment, it was impossible to train elite troops. Zhou Jingyuan, now in charge of the Eastern Garden, had to find ways to overcome these difficulties. He could not complain to Chen Hai, as he feared being looked down upon.

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During the remaining days in the Medicine Garden, Chen Hai, apart from necessary cultivation, would go to the training ground every day to supervise the training.

The sixty or so bandits, either leaders of rebel groups or notorious bandits, along with a dozen or so wandering swordsmen, regardless of their wandering thoughts or individual plans, and regardless of their cunning or ferocity, were repeatedly torn apart and charged by the triangular formation formed by Zhou Jun, Wu Meng, Shen Kun, or Zhao Shan. They were beaten to a bloody pulp, and their anger and defiance were thoroughly aroused.

Defiance and unwillingness to lose were not enough. The bandits were not stubborn. After suffering, they gradually learned how to cooperate and coordinate.

Soon, the key points of the cavalry formation explained by Zhao Shan were gradually understood and mastered. They knew when to form a strong charge, using the momentum of the warhorses to block Zhou Jun and the others' charges. They knew when to disperse to dissipate the force of Zhou Jun and the others' charges. They knew how to use more flexible combat methods to entangle Zhou Jun and the others. They knew how to flank and attack Zhou Jun and the others from the side. They knew how to find Zhou Jun and the others' weaknesses...

These bandits had a solid foundation and broad experience. Previously, they were too unruly, unfamiliar with each other, and hostile to Zhao Shan, Shen Kun, and the others. After these flaws were forcibly eliminated, the sixty-person cavalry formation gradually took shape.

Once the cavalry formation took shape, the basic spear techniques used in coordinated combat also gradually showed their power.

As long as they had a martial cultivation foundation, mastering basic spear techniques was not difficult, and understanding the key points of the cavalry formation was also not difficult.

Even if most people could not master the martial secrets that could mobilize the essence and qi of their bones, the basic spear techniques had incomparable advantages over more profound and mysterious spear techniques. Whether it was the synchronized chopping and thrusting during a charge or the use of different spear techniques to entangle strong enemies during a flanking attack, the basic spear techniques were more effective.

Without unifying the offensive and defensive techniques, each person practicing a different profound technique, and being unfamiliar with their comrades' techniques, how could they cooperate?

In the midst of thousands of soldiers, the space for maneuvering on a warhorse was extremely limited. At such times, the simpler and more direct killing moves were more powerful.

Facing strong enemies, there was no room for retreat. At such times, they could only rely on their comrades to fight together.

On a warhorse, a nine-foot spear could be used to simultaneously flank and attack an enemy with seven or eight riders on each side. With sixty riders, when they cooperated to the extreme, they could form a continuous and unbroken offensive, a combat power that scattered soldiers could not match.

After the cavalry formation gradually took shape, Zhou Jun, Wu Meng, Shen Kun, and Zhao Shan, even when all four went together, were often blocked back and could no longer break through the formation in just two or three short attempts.

The bandits, who were previously openly unruly, gradually developed a more restrained and sharp edge, like a sword in its sheath...

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Every day, Chen Hai trained the bandit soldiers at the training ground on North Mountain. Although ordinary people were not allowed to casually watch the training ground, Chen Su was clearly not among those prohibited. Standing on the ridge of North Hill, he could see the training ground clearly, and he was surprised to see that the bandits, who seemed impossible to tame, had been disciplined by Chen Hai in just over twenty days.

"I didn't expect the young lord to have such talent in training troops..."

Chen Su was startled when he heard someone speak behind him. Turning around, he saw Su Ziling, who served Miss Chen Qing, quietly appear behind him. He was puzzled; how could this girl, who had just entered the Spirit Opening Realm, approach without him noticing?

Su Ziling did not explain. She frowned and looked down at the training ground, continuing to mutter to herself,

"In just twenty to thirty days, these sixty or so notorious bandits and slaves have been trained to such a degree that even Lord Wu, Lord Zhou, Uncle Zhao, and General Shen cannot break through. Perhaps only the elite soldiers of the Marquis's guard could match this combat power! If the Marquis knew the young lord had this ability, he might bring him closer, leaving no room for Lord Chen Zhang!"

Chen Su guessed that Su Ziling, having been bullied by Chen Hai, was harboring resentment and was trying to provoke a conflict between Chen Hai and the young master, Chen Zhang. However, he admitted that Su Ziling had a point. To train a group of unruly bandits, who were all harboring their own plans, into a disciplined and elite force in less than a month was not something that could be achieved with simple rewards and punishments.

Chen Hai's insights into cavalry formations, military formations, and the integration of profound spear techniques into these formations were far beyond the ordinary, which made this possible.

It seemed that the young master, Chen Zhang, had indeed underestimated this competitor.

Chen Su felt a sense of caution for his "young master," Chen Zhang, but he also decided to write a letter to inform Chen Zhang of everything here, especially after seeing Chen Hai's methods. Chen Su no longer thought about causing trouble—given the Marquis's prime age, anyone who secretly caused trouble would not fare well if discovered. He could only write a letter to remind Chen Zhang to work harder and not be outdone by this discarded son of the Yao family.

Chen Hai looked up and saw Chen Su and Su Ziling standing on the ridge, frowning, but he could not drive them away.

The training ground was open, and he could prohibit irrelevant outsiders from watching, but Chen Su and Su Ziling were, after all, considered high-ranking officials in the Medicine Garden, as well as the heads of the alchemy room and the foundry. If they wanted to understand the training of the bandit soldiers or the disciples, Chen Hai could not refuse.

If he refused, Chen Su would cut off the additional supplies.

Chen Hai called Ge Tong over and said, "Tomorrow, bring the disciples' camp to practice with the bandit camp and see who can gain the upper hand!"

Chen Hai could not hide the fact that he was training the bandits, so he openly referred to them as the bandit camp.

The young disciples, regardless of where they lived, whether they stayed in the Dao Academy for cultivation or wandered around the mountains, had to return to the Medicine Garden for two days of military formation training every ten days.

Chen Hai initially set this rule to fundamentally train these young people as reserve military officers.

In this regard, the Dao Academy under the Taowei Sect was far from adequate. Even the black-robed disciples mostly viewed military service as a trivial experience, partly because there were too many clan disciples, and the Dao Academy lacked the authority to discipline all of them.

None of the young disciples in the Medicine Garden were from the Chen family's main branch, so Chen Hai could control them. Otherwise, there would be constant challenges to his authority.