Mythical Three Kingdoms

Of course, Sima Yi did this because he felt that teaching Cao Zhen was troublesome; it was better to give him a core, and let him figure it out himself.

This way, if there were any problems during the process, he could naturally deflect by saying, this is your understanding of the military formation, and it’s your deductions. Mixing other inputs would spoil it, thus effectively dismissing the issue and allowing himself plenty of time for research.

After all, Sima Yi was also very busy, with many things to attend to, and in his opinion, Cao Zhen was a bit obtuse. Little naive child, play on your own; I’ll strengthen myself as well. I have many things to handle too, and Zhuge Liang, this bastard, always gives me the impression that he secretly plans something. I need to make some preparations.

Similarly, on the other side, Zhuge Liang was also strengthening himself. The battlefield in Western Asia made Zhuge Liang realize both his many advantages and his shortcomings. Now, what Zhuge Liang needed to do was to continue getting stronger.

After truly being on the battlefield, Zhuge Liang gained a much deeper understanding of himself. He realized how easy it was to become stronger, and he gradually understood the deeper reasons why Li Youu sent him here to gain experience. He needed to skillfully use everyone’s strength to exert his own and others’ powers.

“This military formation…” Zhuge Liang murmured, touching the formation diagram on the silk manuscript, looking somewhat hesitant. It was the Eight Formation Diagram he designed, a formation that appeared to most to be full of errors, yet it represented the essence of Zhuge Liang’s hard work.

“I must experiment with this formation in the upcoming battlefield,” Zhuge Liang muttered to himself.

Both Li Youu and Chen Xi believed that all legion talents should have a corresponding reference in military formations, and if Zhuge Liang’s Spiritual Talent had a reference in legion talents, Sima Yi’s Spiritual Talent should reference a complete absence of such.

The so-called Eight Formation Diagram places presence within absence, a formation utilizing absence to manage presence. Theoretically, it can grind down specialized formations with properties similar to legion talents.

[No, perhaps it could go a step further. Ardashir’s troop, there should be a formation capable of grinding down elite talents.] Zhuge Liang looked back at the position of the Parthian Army led by Ardashir, giving him another point of reference. [Military formations can reflect all talent effects.]

Or rather, the legion led by Ardashir gave Zhuge Liang a different perspective; elite talents aren’t entirely unsealable; it’s more about the degree of sealing.

It was based on this that Zhuge Liang understood what the Sassanid Fars once said: that the Parthian Sacred Corps needed three Dual Talent Legions to support it, and what Chen Xi advised Zhuge Liang before departing not to underestimate Parthia. The Empire itself inherently held a depth of meaning.

Parthia’s core legions were only two: one was any legion that broke through to the Military Spirit, and the other was Parthia’s unified dual talent as the backbone. The second talent in this set, namely the talent to burn away the enemy’s elite talent, was actually the true core of the Parthian Army.

Among other six Grand Nobles’ Double Talent Legions, truthfully speaking, none were as crucial as this Dual Talent Elite, which also explained why the Sulun Family could stand above other families.

Initially, Zhuge Liang hadn’t understood, but now, he did. The significance of this talent lay in its capacity to jointly defeat top-tier legions, and this is also why back then, Parthia could suppress Rome with only one Military Spirit Legion.

Military Spirit Legions are, in essence, the product of Dual Talents Elites’ Will Explosion surpassing their original state. Their innate talents were twisted by will into the capabilities of a Military Spirit Legion.

So, whether the unified elite of Parthia can unleash the expected effect against Military Spirit Legions, Zhuge Liang pondered for a long time, finally inclining toward yes. Even if Will distorted the original elite talent, rising as a Dual Talent whisper, they still possess elite talents.

This also means that even if Parthia’s unified dual talents aren’t capable of burning an entire talent as before, they’re sufficient to affect talents condensed by will. It doesn’t take much; having this effect is enough.

Because as long as there’s an effect, even if only ten percent of it existed before, the Parthian Soul Legion would secure absolute supremacy to win the final victory in the upcoming war.

The same applies to the Three Talents; that goes without saying. Even if the foundation of the Three Talents is solid and heavily enhanced, from what Zhuge Liang has learned, he already guessed that three Parthian unified Dual Talent Legions could directly neutralize one elite talent of a Three Talents legion.

That would essentially be disastrous; no matter how strong a Dual Talent is, it can never be a match for a Military Spirit Legion. Even the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, without a qualitative change, cannot defeat a Military Spirit Legion.

This also implies that a normal mode Roman Soul Legion with three Dual Talents would definitely lose to a Parthian Soul Legion with three unified Dual Talents, because replacing roughly means a Parthian Soul Legion with three elite legions fighting a Military Spirit with diminished capabilities, and three Dual Talents. Once the former edges out the latter, the latter’s demise is imminent.