Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1771: Chapter 1659: The White Horse that Rides the Wind (Part 2)

”You mean to say that the White Horse’s damage is too low and needs other methods to improve it?” Chen Xi scratched his head. This had been discussed many times, and he even came up with a Cloud Qi Formation for Zhao Yun, but unfortunately, it didn’t have much effect. No matter how the White Horse’s attack was improved, it couldn’t reach the average level of elite cavalry. It’s a sad reality.

”Not really. The attack power of mounted archery has reached this level and can’t be improved further. What I mean is that the White Horse can actually fight in close combat.” Zhao Yun shook his head. He also understood the White Horse’s attack power was pitifully low.

”Close combat?” Chen Xi scratched his head. ”Are you kidding me? The White Horse engaging in close combat is suicidal. It lacks both attack and defense, only speed is high. It’s easy to be wiped out in close combat.”

”There’s no defense, but in close combat, the White Horse’s attack isn’t low. Whether it’s using arrows in close combat or directly wielding a saber, the damage won’t be low.” Zhao Yun shook his head and said.

”That makes sense, but given the saber is so short, in close combat with other cavalry, like the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, it would get killed, right?” Chen Xi mused aloud, and Zhao Yun was speechless.

”That’s true.” Zhao Yun said helplessly. ”Moreover, its defensive power is very poor, and the saber’s damage can’t be higher than a long spear, so the White Horse has no advantage in close combat.”

”Yeah, poor defense.” Chen Xi said speechlessly, ”With such terrible defense, still thinking about close combat...”

Just as Chen Xi was sighing, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart, looked up at the frustrated Zhao Yun beside him, and said, ”The White Horse might really fight in close combat. Reasonably speaking, the agility of the White Horse can be described as bizarre, right?”

Speaking of this, one has to mention how high the agility of the White Horse is. Generally, when charging, daring to turn a curve over sixty degrees would break a horse’s leg, and if it’s heavy cavalry, daring to turn thirty degrees could be deadly.

Yet, the White Horse can perform a 180-degree turn on the spot at very high speed, roughly faster than the Xiliang Iron Cavalry’s charge, and can also maintain its speed. As for inertia and such physics knowledge, it’s all devoured by the White Horse.

This heaven-defying agility leaves no room for other cavalry. Even for humans, making a 180-degree turn on the spot at full speed is extremely difficult.

In short, the White Horse Soldiers are a peculiar type of cavalry. At first, their training seemed like regular cavalry, but it became increasingly bizarre. The defense and attack rapidly decreased, transforming entirely into agility and speed.

”Uh, agility and speed are indeed bizarre.” Zhao Yun nodded, even he couldn’t deny this.

”Zilong, if you close your eyes and can’t sense Inner Qi, can you still fight?” Chen Xi asked.

”Yes, even if I can’t sense Inner Qi, the flow of the wind around me...” Zhao Yun responded confidently, then suddenly realized mid-sentence.

Due to their speed, the White Horse Soldiers have a high understanding of the wind. This level of understanding, paired with the White Horse’s bizarre agility and superior speed, allows them to easily dodge attacks.

”The lack of defense has a significant impact in close combat, but if all attacks can be dodged, then defense doesn’t really matter. Moreover, using a saber in close combat, the White Horse’s speed boosts the saber’s attack enough to kill most enemies.” Chen Xi sighed and said.

From a distance, the arrow attacks of the White Horse don’t significantly increase their attack power despite their speed, but when transitioning to close combat, the speed of White Horse’s thrusts combined with saber slashing results in significant damage.

”I think I understand. This was probably how General Gongsun’s White Horse was back then.” Zhao Yun said with a bitter smile. Some things are very simple once realized, but if not contemplated, one might be stuck indefinitely.

”But even if it is trained, the White Horse still can’t handle dense formations. In close combat, the White Horse requires extremely high speed to clearly feel the wind, so their combat relies on high-speed slashing.” Chen Xi pondered and said.

”That’s enough, especially for the White Horse.” Zhao Yun chuckled. The next step was training, which wasn’t too difficult for the White Horse. Their elite attributes might already include aspects of this; Zhao Yun just hadn’t inherited them. Now it’s about activating these attributes.

”Speaking of which, when I saw that Golden Eagle earlier, I felt some familiarity. Thinking now, I must have seen this method in General Gongsun’s camp. It’s a talent for sensing the wind, which makes that eagle even harder to deal with.” Zhao Yun, understanding what the White Horse was missing, happily explained to Chen Xi.

”If I remember correctly, animals that advance to Inner Qi Manifestation eat Divine Stones, right?” Chen Xi pondered and said, ”Animals that rely mainly on instinct will naturally enhance their instincts, while birds of prey like eagles mainly rely on Wind Rider for flight, right?”

”Most animals reaching Inner Qi Manifestation did eat Divine Stones, and some consumed certain plants.” Zhao Yun replied, ”Hanmou once researched this. It’s said that animals become very strong after absorbing Divine Stones, but what about plants? Plants absorb Heaven and Earth Essence far more than animals, so why aren’t there peculiar plants?”

”Now that you mention it, it makes a lot of sense.” Chen Xi rubbed his chin. ”Indeed, we’ve never seen super plants, but plenty of super animals.”

”Didn’t Zichuan read Hanmou’s book on animal and plant transformation research?” Zhao Yun asked curiously.

”No.” Chen Xi said somewhat awkwardly.

”The book mainly discusses why we see many animal transformations but not plant transformations. Simply put, once plant-contained Heaven and Earth Essence exceeds a certain limit, animals, with their keen perception, will consume the plants with high Heaven and Earth Essence.” Zhao Yun explained briefly.

”That’s a very reasonable hypothesis.” Chen Xi nodded. ”Wild animals can sense the presence of Divine Stones, while humans can’t. From this perspective, it wouldn’t be surprising if wild animals sensed plants with Heaven and Earth Essence. So, have wild animals consumed many plants with Heaven and Earth Essence?”

”Yes, that’s why there aren’t many Divine Stone Fragments, but animals with Inner Qi exceed Divine Stone Fragments. It’s because certain plants absorb so much Heaven and Earth Essence, they have the same effect as Divine Stones.” Zhao Yun nodded and said, ”Plants rooted in the earth naturally have an advantage in absorbing Heaven and Earth Essence.”

”Oh, Hanmou came up with another useless study. I remember now; he once tried to use this to con research funding, claiming he would cultivate plants that, once eaten, would grant Inner Qi. But I rejected it, and he probably used it later to deceive others. That guy sometimes lacks scruples.” Chen Xi said to Zhao Yun and suddenly remembered, saying it.

Zhao Yun looked at Chen Xi in disbelief. Could he say he was genuinely overwhelmed by Qu Qi’s great idea and handed over his life savings without any doubt, only to be told by Chen Xi that Qu Qi was scamming for research funding?

”Zichuan, are you sure he’s scamming for research funding?” Zhao Yun asked with a dark face.

”Definitely scamming. Think about it for a moment. Plants absorbing Heaven and Earth Essence is purely incidental, and we can’t even determine which of two identical plants contains more Heaven and Earth Essence or less. Without solving this, the rest is definitely a scam.” Chen Xi rolled his eyes and said.

”Achoo!” Qu Qi, resting in an abandoned mountain stronghold deep in the woods, sneezed and rubbed his nose. ”Didn’t those two guys say I was immune to all poisons? Why would I sneeze? Could someone be after me?”