Mythical Three Kingdoms

”No need to thank me, no need to thank me. There’s still a bunch of mundane stuff, I’ll give it to you later. Now, let me take you to the camp. However, little military advisor, that place is a bit strange. If you feel uncomfortable, just let me know.” Li Jue advised unusually; as for the others, if they kneel, they kneel, what’s it to him?

”Is it because it’s higher?” Zhuge Liang asked.

”Uh, now that you mention it, it seems like it.” Li Jue looked up at the sky and thought, then, while thinking, he merged his Xiliang Iron Cavalry with Zhuge Liang’s army on the two wings, and the few of them mixed in with Zhuge Liang.

”This guy looks a bit like Boda.” Guo Si sized up Sima Yi, stroked his beard, and said, ”You wouldn’t be called Sima Zhongda, would you?”

”I am Sima Zhongda, nice to meet the Marquis of Meiyang.” Sima Yi wasn’t annoyed by Guo Si’s gaze, he saluted very solemnly.

”Mm, mm, the children of the Sima Family learn their manners well.” Li Jue introduced the few guys around him to Zhuge Liang, while completely treating Sima Yi like a child.

Zhuge Liang smiled wryly, not knowing how to respond, he could only silently introduce the people on his side to Li Jue.

”Isn’t this Gao Gongzheng and Zhang Wenyuan?” Li Jue flexed his fingers, looking at Gao Shun and Zhang Liao coming on horseback, a cold smile on his face. Though defeated, finding excuses was meaningless, but the discomfort lingered.

”Long time no see.” Gao Shun said expressionlessly.

”There will be no lack of opportunities to spar with your Trap Formation.” Li Jue said very calmly, although they served different masters, the strongest legion of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry was no more.

”Suit yourself.” Gao Shun remained expressionless, unlike others who feared Li Jue, he had no fear whatsoever. Though the Xiliang Iron Cavalry was brave, they weren’t pushovers either.

”It feels like most who came are young people.” Fan Chou stroked his prickly beard with slight confusion and said, although each of them was either at Inner Qi Manifestation or wielded Spiritual Talent or had unique skills, they all looked too young.

”We’re mainly here to gain experience.” Zhuge Liang replied, ”A grand unification war is about to occur in the Central Plains. They want us to leave to avoid being affected and to preserve some Vital Energy, no matter the outcome in the Central Plains, it won’t follow us.”

In fact, Zhuge Liang knew this was just a lie, but saying it could alleviate some discontent Sunx Quan had toward Sunx Ce, regardless Sunx Ce’s demeanor was truly eye-catching.

”Training, huh? What a coincidence, I was planning to take you there; since you’re here for training, I’ll take you with me.” Li Jue tilted his head and smiled. Proper training just as there’s an opportunity to witness as an allied force.

”Roughly what’s the matter?” Zhuge Liang asked on behalf of the others.

”Parthia wants to fight the Romans and invited us to boost their morale. They have gathered about twenty at Inner Qi Manifestation, with an army of 120,000 ready to set off in July. I’ll take you to have some fun.” Li Jue chuckled, narrating a certain terrifying fact, ”Vologases V is a decent person. Over there, you don’t have to worry about logistics, so I planned to let you experience it.”

Sima Yi, Sunx Quan, Pan Zhang and others were already a bit numb, wondering how there could still be so many at Inner Qi Manifestation outside the Central Plains.

Guo Huai, Wei Yan, Lyu Meng, who participated in the Northern Frontier battles, were also somewhat aghast. If mishaps happened on such a training battlefield, their meager prowess couldn’t withstand it. Can such a legion survive, and how many will return?

”Twenty at Inner Qi Manifestation, an army of 120,000?” Zhuge Liang was a bit tongue-tied, ”What about the other side?”

”Not sure, but probably not too strong. Last time, I fought with Ganasis in Western Asia, they seem just like that. Vologases V has mobilized the entire army, so I plan to go and add to his momentum, after all, we are allies.” Li Jue said with a smile.

”Relax, relax, there won’t be any major issues.” Li Jue glanced at Sunx Quan, Pan Zhang, and others whose complexions were a bit pale, and said with a smile, ”I’m very reliable, I won’t act recklessly, so you can rest assured, plus the Parthian Emperor is very reliable. I’m taking you there mainly to broaden your horizons.”

With Li Jue’s reassurance, this group felt slightly relieved. After all, anyone would be worried about participating in such a war with twenty of their own Inner Qi Manifestations and several hundred thousand troops engaged equally with the enemy; such battlegrounds, if targeted, would spell disaster for even Breakthrough Level warriors.

”When roughly, and what’s the purpose?” Zhuge Liang thought and asked.

”In July, now it’s already June, so we’ll rest and reorganize at my camp before taking the cavalry there. The rest will stay and train; I reckon this massive army doesn’t have many qualified ones.” Li Jue looked back and said.

Zhuge Liang nodded silently, thinking it’s good to witness it. The war between Parthia and Rome, the clash of empires, would provide clearer direction for their future paths.

Li Jue hurried back to his camp with Zhuge Liang and others along the way. Unfortunately, they were delayed by the infantry, and by nightfall, they hadn’t yet reached their destination. Li Jue didn’t mind too much and ordered his men to cook on the spot, set up camp, and continue marching the next day.

After breakfast on the second day, they continued marching towards Li Jue’s camp. As previously mentioned by Li Jue to Zhuge Liang, the road was becoming increasingly difficult.

”Damn it!” Sunx Quan, riding his precious steed, angrily questioned Pan Zhang and Lyu Meng, ”Why are our soldiers only halfway and can’t go any further!”

Pan Zhang and Lyu Meng had no words. How would they know about such matters? Sunx Ce’s infantry, which he handed to Sunx Quan, was almost entirely wiped out. After all, these men were used to living at altitudes of less than 200 meters on the plains, and now they were facing altitudes of four thousand, nearly five thousand meters—it’s no wonder they struggled to adapt.

”You can rest here, don’t force yourselves if you can’t go up,” Duan Wei said to Lyu Meng and the others in a neutral tone.

Upon hearing this, Sunx Quan felt a surge of anger and, with a violent flick of his whip, urged his horse forward. The elite of Danyang silently continued to climb. Although they were also unaccustomed to this environment, as a dual-talent super elite force, they weren’t just making empty boasts.

”Oh, my, it seems your Wolf Cavalry is starting to lag behind,” Li Jue commented, looking back and noticing that the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry led by Zhang Liao was beginning to lag.

Of course, it wasn’t the cavalry lagging, but the infantry. After all, Bingzhou couldn’t be purely cavalry; however, these infantrymen could transform into cavalry as long as they had horses.

Gao Shun, without expression, glanced at Li Jue and then pointed to the trap formation behind him, indicating that the mere plateau posed no problem for them.

”Boji, order those soldiers who can’t endure to rest on the spot,” Zhuge Liang instructed after notifying Wei Yan, who then relayed the message to Guo Huai. Guo Huai observed the elite infantry and cavalry led by Wei Yan and Guann Hai, noting that some could no longer endure the pressure.

”The higher we go, the harder it becomes,” Li Jue said with a grin, appearing to take some joy in the spectacle.

In reality, even Zhuge Liang had some difficulty adapting to this environment, but since he was on horseback, although he was unaccustomed, his precious steed could carry him forward.

”Just what kind of place is this? We’ve only gone halfway, and we’ve already lost so many,” Wei Yan mused curiously. As for himself, he didn’t feel anything unusual, as the Out-of-Body experience in such places didn’t seem out of the ordinary.

”He’s filtering soldiers. The higher we go, the more demanding it is on the soldiers’ physical qualities and spiritual will,” Zhang Liao said, suppressing his displeasure. Anyone watching the Xiliang Iron Cavalry march effortlessly while their army frequently had soldiers fall behind couldn’t help but feel discontent.

”But the Xiliang Iron Cavalry truly are monsters; none have fallen behind yet,” Wei Yan remarked with some admiration.

”Our Wolf Cavalry riders won’t fall behind either,” Zhang Liao responded with a cold smile.

”The opposition seems completely unaffected,” Wei Yan observed, glancing at his own soldiers behind him. Although the Headquarters Guards showed some anomalies, they seemed manageable. As for the infantry and cavalry further back, they appeared less able to withstand the conditions.

Gao Shun, with a stony expression, looked at his soldiers, then at the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. From any angle, they almost seemed not to be outdone by his trap formation. Observing the elite of Danyang, despite their heavy steps, they did not appear worn out. Indeed, compared to his unit, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry was superior by threefold.

After a difficult climb, the army finally reached Li Jue’s camp.

Under Sunx Quan’s command, apart from the elite of Danyang and a few veterans given by Sunx Ce, his army was essentially decimated. Zhuge Liang’s forces lost a quarter, while the 6,000 infantry and cavalry mixed army led by Cao Zhen lost a third.

Led by Zhang Liao and others, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry and the trap formation seemed unfazed. As Zhang Liao stated, none of the Wolf Cavalry riders fell behind, but the few infantry suffered significant losses.

”Firstly, congratulations to you all; reaching this destination means your soldiers have reached the minimum standard,” Li Jue spoke, turning his horse around to congratulate everyone.

As soon as these words were spoken, about half of the remaining soldiers fell to the ground. It was evident that reaching here was entirely due to their willpower. However, whether through willpower or physical quality, making it here was remarkable.

”Of course, I won’t mention certain legions in this army. This test was for regular elite forces. If either of your units fell behind or collapsed here, it would definitely mean you’re joking with us.” Li Jue’s gaze swept over the trap formation and the ultimate Danyang, indicating that for a military spirit legion and a super elite like them, this test was meaningless.

”Looks like another group has come,” Gao Lan said, looking at the new soldiers arriving, noting that compared to before, today his soldiers climbed fifty additional meters. This fifty-meter height difference made Gao Lan clearly recognize the average progress across the legion.