Mythical Three Kingdoms

Although Zhou Yu had already seen through the essence of the Kushan Navy’s techniques, even crushing the opponent’s intellect, this kind of open and aboveboard suppression was actually the hardest to break with stratagem. Before resolving the Han Army’s shortcomings in naval combat techniques, Zhou Yu simply had no way to gain the upper hand at sea.

”Troublesome. Let’s try it. Since their so‑called technique is Cloud Qi transformation, then we can give it a shot.” Zhou Yu fought as he retreated, not particularly inclined to compete with the Kushan Navy in naval skills. After all, the Han Army’s naval techniques at this point were indeed far inferior.

Zhou Yu calmly commanded his own warship, minimizing losses as much as possible, gradually shifting the vessel into the position he wanted. In the sky above, the Han Army’s Cloud Qi was still that same solid, heavy mass as before, yet faintly, there were already some changes.

[As expected, it can be altered. It’s just that naval battle and Ground Battle are ultimately different; the Cloud Qi on each ship is essentially relatively independent. Under such circumstances, the Cloud Qi techniques used for Ground Battle become somewhat ill‑suited to Naval Battle.] Zhou Yu felt rather helpless in his heart; this matter was truly troublesome.

As the Cloud Qi was constantly adjusted, the army under Zhou Yu’s command gradually gained a more proper and effective Cloud Qi enhancement. For Zhou Yu, this was merely an experiment, but for the Kushan Army facing him, it was a disaster—the enemy kept growing stronger in the midst of Battle.

”Crack!” Zhou Yu’s warship suddenly accelerated; its fierce speed even flung several Eastern Wu Soldiers standing near the edges straight off the deck. But that sudden burst of speed, at this distance, was extremely difficult to evade; Zhou Yu’s warship directly closed in for a head‑on collision.

”Sure enough, compared to that kind of delicate control technique, our warships fundamentally don’t need those flashy tricks. The design priorities of both sides’ warships are different from the outset.” The prow of his warship shattered most of the enemy vessel’s hull, and the Navy on Zhou Yu’s ship all launched a fierce assault against the opposing sailors, while Zhou Yu silently felt out the differences between the two sides’ techniques.

[Given the strength of their ships, even with Cloud Qi Defense shielding them, it’s impossible for them to execute overly high‑intensity maneuvering. In fact, with our warships, the correct way to use them should be built around sheer simplicity and brutality—no need for variation, just hard strikes and hard resistance!] Zhou Yu lowered his head silently, continuing to sense the tangible impact brought by the Cloud Qi changes.

Zhou Yu knew many Cloud Qi techniques. As someone capable of developing Military Formations, he had his own insights into most Cloud Qi methods. Moreover, compared to others, back when he painstakingly constructed a Military Formation unique to himself, he had already grasped every minute fluctuation of Cloud Qi.

Though Naval Battle and Ground Battle differ greatly, as long as it is a matter of Cloud Qi transformation in essence, then the Cloud Qi of Naval Battle and that of Ground Battle are, at their core, the same—both are a fusion of Heaven and Earth Essence, Inner Qi, and Faith Will.

In this regard, Zhou Yu possessed extremely deep understanding. Thus, once he saw through the essence, these Kushan techniques, if directly applied to Han Dynasty warships, setting aside the eventual effect, the question of whether they could even be executed properly was already doubtful.

After he figured this out, the corner of Zhou Yu’s mouth curved upward with a hint of mockery. With this premise, what Gan Ning was currently doing now appeared somewhat awkward in Zhou Yu’s eyes—the Han Dynasty warships simply weren’t suited to Kushan techniques.

The techniques most fitting for Han Dynasty warships were precisely the simplest and most brutal ones that Zhou Yu was now using, methods that drew out the vessels’ greatest advantages.

[We don’t need all sorts of messy protective measures; remove every Cloud Qi transformation related to Defense. We don’t need collective resistance; the hull strength is sufficient. For the Han Dynasty in this early phase, the most suitable approach is actually high‑speed assault. All we need are acceleration techniques.] Zhou Yu’s eyes were icy as he looked at the Kushan Warship ahead; this single technique was enough to alter the current situation.

Once Zhou Yu understood the comparison between both sides’ vessels, he, who had previously been fighting while retreating and mainly probing, suddenly ordered a reverse acceleration. In that instant, the distortion of Cloud Qi and the expenditure akin to a Legion Attack triggered an entire fleet to erupt with maximum speed.

The wild speed even made these Han Dynasty warships—which had undergone material Nurturing and structural Nurturing—emit a mournful creaking from the hulls, as if the ships could not bear such strain. Fortunately, even with Zhou Yu using them so violently, these Han vessels, known for their toughness and durability, did not fall apart on the spot.

On the contrary, after adapting to this terrifying impact‑style acceleration, the rampaging speed directly delivered a fatal strike to the Kushan Fleet that was in hot pursuit of Zhou Yu. Though the enemy possessed high‑speed evasion techniques, their ships were large and simply couldn’t dodge away in an instant.

With one counterattack, Zhou Yu forced the Kushan ships and his own warship into mutual entanglement. At the moment their hulls locked together, the Cloud Qi of both sides also clamped down tightly upon each other. Seeing this, Zhou Yu immediately initiated a second round of Cloud Qi transformations.

The purpose of this transformation was not to grant enhancement to his own Soldiers, but to use Cloud Qi to neutralize the enemy’s enhancement to their own Cloud Qi.

In terms of Cloud Qi understanding, Zhou Yu’s knowledge was absolutely abundant. For that kind of loose, spontaneous Cloud Qi buff, he had plenty of ways to erase it. Back when he developed his Military Formation, all sorts of conjectures and data had long been stored in his mind, and now it was time to put them to use.

When Zhou Yu’s warship jammed the Kushan Warship in place, the sailors on the Kushan vessel, though shocked by Zhou Yu’s brutish method of using his ship, did not fall into obvious panic. Under the lead of their respective captains, they launched a counterattack directly onto Zhou Yu’s warship.

The double‑layer Cloud Qi enhancement that followed appeared only for an instant before it disappeared. Zhou Yu glanced over and basically confirmed that the opponent’s Cloud Qi buff was only at the level of spontaneous Cloud Qi augmentation. He then swept his gaze over that mass of Cloud Qi, several times thicker than his own, and at that moment Zhou Yu basically determined that this reserve Cloud Qi itself had inherent issues.

Presumably, eight or nine times out of ten, it was because it lacked the seamless penetration of Faith Will. Otherwise, with such a dense army Cloud Qi, if it were given to Zhou Yu, he could even play out a Cloud Qi Army Formation.

”What a pity. Our Cloud Qi is far too thin. Otherwise, the best choice right now would be to use Mao Xiaoxian’s Cloud Qi solidification, directly forming the most powerful Military Formation enhancement in the sky. Unfortunately, the ships’ Cloud Qi is simply too sparse.” Zhou Yu looked at the Kushan Cloud Qi and then at his own, sighing slightly.

Judging from what Zhou Yu saw now, the Military Formation technique Mao Jie had developed back then was actually most suited to this very situation. Sadly, the Han Dynasty’s Cloud Qi here was far too weak, making its use completely meaningless.