Chapter 14

Chapter 648: The Aesthetics of Looseness

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Yang Chui and Yang Xiao did not dare to face the attacking Weiyue army from behind, nor could they break through the Guanxi army, which had a much larger force. Therefore, they chose the Jiagui army as their target.

In their eyes, the formation of the Jiagui army was incredibly loose. In terms of bravery, they could not compare to the Weiyue army, and in numbers, they fell far short of the Guanxi army.

Thus, it was only natural for Yang Chui to choose the Jiagui army as the target for breaking through.

However, the strength of the Gongjin formation lay in its unpredictable changes.

The central formation could shrink to as few as five rows or expand to more than twenty rows, swiftly shifting between the Chujin and Gongjin formations.

But in the forest, one cannot see the forest. With the battlefield a chaotic mix of various forces, Yang Chui's army did not realize the might of the Jiagui army's formation.

The Jiagui army had already shifted from the Chujin to the Gongjin formation, but to Yang Chui, it only appeared as a simple straight line.

"Those guys seem the loosest."

"Commander, you mean to break through them?"

"Yes, they are the loosest, so if we concentrate our strength, we can definitely break through. Later, we can regroup the scattered troops and head back to Anzheng."

Yang Chui decided to return to his base in Anzheng and wait for a better opportunity.

However, while they could come and go as they pleased, the Jiagui army, despite being a ragtag force, had several times more troops than Yang Chui's army.

Unless Yang Chui's army was as strong as Lü Bu's, there was no way to overcome the numerical disadvantage.

Yang Chui predicted that they would surge towards him as they advanced in his direction.

'These guys! Do they think I, Jiagui Yang Dao, am so easy to deal with? I'll make them feel the power of my Gongjin formation with their whole bodies!'

Jiagui gritted his teeth and thought of a strategy to counter Yang Chui's army.

However, the Gongjin formation was hastily created, and only the shield soldiers had practiced it properly. The archers and auxiliary troops merely followed the movements of the shield soldiers.

Given the lack of time, it was perhaps natural that they could create such a formidable formation and use it in battle.

In any case, the problem was that they had to stop the enemy's breakthrough with their current strength and numbers.

* * *

"They are targeting us and breaking through!"

One of the cowardly auxiliary troops, intimidated by the momentum of Yang Chui's army, blurted out something foolish.

Despite the enemy numbering only a few hundred, the Heda soldiers, who numbered in the thousands, were afraid.

However, most of the Heda soldiers had never fought a proper battle on their own. Without the support of the Xiahedong soldiers led by Weiyue, they were naturally afraid to fight on their own.

Jiagui responded to the situation with quick thinking.

"Central army, retreat a hundred paces!"

As soon as Jiagui gave the order, the auxiliary troops in the central army retreated. Their movements were so agile that they could be called elite soldiers.

They were already retreating, so when the order came, they moved quickly.

"Front army, form the Anxing formation!"

Jiagui gave the order to change the formation a bit late. The shield soldiers had already formed the Anxing formation before he gave the order.

Seeing this, Yang Chui was confident in his choice.

"Yang Xiao, look! The enemy is fleeing! They are pretending with the Anxing formation, but it is incredibly loose!"

"Remarkable. With you, Commander, above the enemy commander, breaking through them is almost as good as a victory. Everyone, follow me! We will break through in one go!"

The movements of the Jiagui army were so sloppy that Yang Chui's army clashed without any hesitation. Jiagui secretly rejoiced.

'It worked! We can swallow the enemy in one go and achieve a great victory for our Heda men!'

Jiagui gave the order to attack, expecting an easy victory.

"Fire the arrows!"

As soon as Jiagui gave the order, the archers and crossbowmen fired from between the shield soldiers. Although their archery skills were not as good as elite archers, they were effective in this situation.

In fact, they didn't need to aim precisely. Just firing roughly at the charging enemy would do the job.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

"Ah!"

The screams of Yang Chui's soldiers followed the whistling of the arrows. Dozens of soldiers were hit by the arrows.

However, such losses were not significant on the battlefield. Moreover, Yang Chui's army was not discouraged. They had to break through the Jiagui army to escape the battlefield.

The sight of their comrades falling did not affect the determination of those who were risking their lives to break through.

Meanwhile, Jiagui successfully formed a straight line with the auxiliary troops who had retreated a hundred paces. However, the formation was loose, resembling a snake formation.

This, however, became a trap for Yang Chui's army.

"Front army, form the Chujin formation!"

The most basic formations are the Chujin and the straight line.

However, this ragtag army did not coordinate well.

Half in fear, half in confusion, these emotions subtly altered the movements of the Jiagui army's shield soldiers and archers.

The formation change centered around the auxiliary troops in the central army, so the shield soldiers and archers in the Anxing formation retreated.

However, the auxiliary troops in the central army formed a loose straight line, so the front-line soldiers were blocked by the rear-line soldiers and had to join the straight line.

The straight line was uneven, unintentionally forming a snake formation.

Yang Chui's army bravely clashed with the Jiagui army. As expected, the Jiagui army was no match for Yang Chui's army.

Pushed back by the desperate charge of Yang Chui's army, the formation changed unintentionally. The straight line broke, and the central soldiers were pushed back, forming the Anxing formation again.

However, the formation change of the Jiagui army did not end there. The auxiliary troops were pushed back further, narrowing the distance between the left and right wings of the Anxing formation.

Fortunately, the Jiagui army had a numerical advantage over Yang Chui's army. These situations inadvertently led to the Jiagui army surrounding the enemy.

'This is what we call divine fortune. Divine fortune is with me, Jiagui Yang Dao!'

Jiagui clenched his fist in joy as his army surrounded Yang Chui's army.

"Leave no one alive!"

Jiagui personally drew his sword and faced Yang Chui's army.

Although his martial skills were mediocre and weak compared to Lü Bu's army, he could easily cut down a few enemy soldiers.

"Shield soldiers, forward! Archers, one hundred paces back!"

As the archers withdrew from the front line, the battle reached its peak.

Yang Chui's soldiers fought bravely, but the Jiagui army, relying on their numerical advantage, did not break the encirclement.

The shield soldiers performed admirably. Although they were not skilled in combat, they protected themselves and their allies with their shields, blocking the enemy's spears and swords.

Yang Chui's soldiers fell one by one, overwhelmed by the numerical disadvantage.

* * *

Yang Chui and Yang Xiao, back to back, were making their last stand against the Jiagui army. Their soldiers, numbering in the hundreds, had all fallen, leaving only these two.

"Commander! It seems we are in trouble."

"It's all my fault. I never imagined the enemy commander would be a master of military tactics, capable of using the snake formation freely."

"At least we are fortunate. If we must meet our end, it's better to do so at the hands of a great commander, isn't it?"

"That's true. If I die defeated by a weakling, I won't be able to rest in peace even in death."

Yang Chui would likely not rest in peace even in death.

As usual, a ragtag force becomes the strongest army in the world when they win a battle. They had forgotten their fear of Yang Chui's army, which was only a fraction of their size, and now fiercely charged to capture the enemy commander.

Yang Chui cut down a soldier and shouted.

"Enemy commander, if you have the courage, come out and face me!"

Yang Chui provoked the Jiagui army's commander, hoping to challenge him.

Of course, he did not recognize Jiagui, who was not far away, as the commander. It would be difficult to recognize the commander even under the banner.

'Ah! What should I do? The enemy commander's martial skills are formidable...'

Jiagui was secretly afraid of Yang Chui's provocation. It was not easy to face Yang Chui with his mediocre martial skills.

Jiagui knew this well, so he could not easily step forward.

After a moment of hesitation, he shook off his fear.

'Even if the enemy commander's martial skills are formidable, they are nothing compared to General Lü Bu or the valiant generals under his command.'

Yang Chui was undoubtedly a famous general in Guanxi, but his bravery paled in comparison to the valiant generals of Lü Bu's army.

Moreover, Jiagui had the ambition to forget his fear. He had a